Valiquette Struggles in Hartford

Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants did a great job of digging up the story out of Hartford last night, where the Wolf Pack fell to the Manchester Monarchs, 7-1, and former Rangers back-up goaltender Steve Valiquette allowed five goals on 31 shots. In fact, three of the first nine shots in the game beat Vally, which later the lead to him being pulled after just 9:21 into the first.

Matt Zaba then came into the game in Valiquette's relief but was immediately lit-up by the Monarchs when he let in two out of four shots. Valiquette went back into the game in the second and the the Monarchs struck again with a powerplay tally just over a minute into the period.

So obviously Valiquette is rapidly losing his instincts in net. Steve gave up 19 goals in five starts with the Rangers this season and was placed on waivers by general manager Glen Sather as a result. The original plan was for Vally to spend some time with the Pack where he would find his game again, but based on this awful performance, his days are done as a Blueshirt. Now it is time for Slats to acquire a capable back-up for this team behind Henrik Lundqvist. Corey Scneider's name has been thrown around, and I believe that he would be a great choice. I remember watching his first game in the league with the Canucks when the youngster was nothing short of stellar. We will have to wait and see.

Back in a bit...
(Photo courtesy of Reuters Pictures)