Finally the episode of 24/7 featuring the Winter Classic – starring Michael Rupp and his two goals – is upon us. We hear more from Ilya Bryzgalov and see another New York Rangers win over the Philadelphia Flyers, much to the (expletive) chagrin of the Philly faithful.
Not many players can say they appeared in every episode of HBO's 24/7: The Road to the Winter Classic. Michael Rupp is an exception and in the final episode of this year's version, he plays a prominent role by scoring twice and mocking Jaromir Jagr with a salute.
Rupp is one player who also appeared in the series last year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rupp was first returning from injury when the new series began four weeks ago but, while his two goals took center stage in the Winter Classic, the final episode offered another all-around glimpse of two teams in different states of mind heading into their matchup.
Episode Four starts a few days before the big event with a shot of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov taking the burden after a 5-1 loss to the Lightning. Asked how to describe his performance, he says, "Outstanding, what do you think?" The segment shows Bryz flinging his pads into the equipment bag while the team heads to Pittsburgh at 2 a.m. on a silent bus.
In Pittsburgh, Peter Laviolette conducts practice and urges his team to be the hardest-working (expletive) team on the ice. Laviolette maintains he is more ticked than worried when the team loses a few in a row, and doesn't announce who the goaltender will be for the Penguins game.
Max Talbot, who starred on last year's "24/7," gets a nice hand a few minutes into the game. Jagr gets booed at every stage.
Meanwhile in Washington, Brandon Prust and Sean Avery sit down for breakfast after a 4-1 loss. Avery's biggest problem in this moment is internet connectivcty and if the orange juice is unlimited.
After practicing, the Rangers head to Florida and have a mid-morning film session at the hotel. John Tortorella calls out Brian Boyle by telling him, "We just got to eat it."
He also tells Anton Stralman that he can't have Mike Sullivan tell him to get his head in the game but the biggest frustration is when the film malfunctions. The session ends with Tortorella telling them that the Capitals played hard was (expletive) but that the Rangers did not.
"You had your night off but it better not be (expletive) tonight."
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Talbot reflects on his time there before signing autographs. Bryzgalov is not starting and rookie Sean Couturier smiles without any teeth as he returns from taking a puck to the face a few weeks ago.
Laviolette demonstrates what it means by saying "Let's work on winning tonight, put an exclamation point on a good month." And when he announces Jagr will start, the ex-Penguin trots out a huge smile of his own.
Six minutes into the game, Talbot gets cheered loudly by the crowd but then the niceness ends. Hartnell calls a Penguin the ugliest guy in the league and then the Flyers score as Hartnell exclaims "(expletive) right!" after a Kimmo Timonen goal. A period later, Jagr scores on a backhand which draws a "(expletive) right!" and a salute to the crowd from Jags.
The game ends with a Talbot empty-net goal and another "(expletive) right" with Laviolette telling his team "it was a huge (expletive) win."
Meanwhile in Florida, the Rangers head to the arena but without Avery, who was waived. But once the game starts, the Rangers score three in the first period. During the intermission, Tortorella walks in and tells his team to "keep your foot to the pedal" – but before the final horn, Michael Del Zotto is sucker punched, urging a barrage of f-bombs from Tortorella.
Afterwards, we hear more about Avery. Tortorella says the decision "is what's best for our team" and that he's sure Avery is upset, but it will not determine how business is conducted.
As the Rangers reach Philadelphia, the Flyers are practicing for the final time in 2011. They are instructed to be sharp, fast and execute. During a brisk practice, Claude Giroux's wrist shot goes off Wayne Simmonds' hand and following some graphic needle shots, Simmonds appears to be fine.
Now we go back to Bryzgalov, who said he understands the decision to have him not start the Winter Classic. Laviolette has made up his mind but won't reveal it publicly until after practice. That plan is foiled when Brygalov makes the announcement himself.
After some New Year's Eve moments with family members on both teams, the New Year's Day practice is next.
Jeremy Roenick tells Bryzgalov not to worry about anything while Laviolette urges his players to not drink, eat well and get rid of annoyances in their lives.
After practice, Bryz finds out the news from goaltending coach Jeff Reese. He says I have great news and better news. The great news being that he's not playing and the better news being that the Flyers have a chance to win. His mindset will be to take his Thermos, drink some tea and enjoy the bench.
Then the Rangers arrive and hang out in the third-base dugout with Boyle yelling "No Batter, No Batter." Then it's on to business with Marc Staal wearing the red jersey, for no contact in practice.
As game day approaches, the clubhouses are quiet due to the pushed back start time. A shot of rabid fans from both teams in the parking lot shows tailgating at its finest.
Back to the clubhouses, Laviolette tells his team about winning 1-on-1 battles while Rupp says it will be tough to come from behind. Little does he know how wrong that statement will be.
"It's all business here, remember who we are and how we win," Tortorella tells the team before they head to the ice.
As the game starts, chances are traded by both teams as well as nastiness. HBO shows the puck dying on the ice with the refs noting that fact. Then Giroux asks Lundqvist to "let him get one tonight."
Late in the first period, Jagr is robbed by Lundqvist and then skates off with a leg injury while waving the HBO crew away from the trainer's room. Back on the ice, Scott Hartnell tells Del Zotto he doesn't know his name.
During the first intermission, Laviolette says skating and physical play will put you in tune while Tortorella urges his team to throw everything at the net and chase the puck.
In the second, the Rangers begin throwing their weight around with Del Zotto telling Harry Z he plays "(expletive) five minutes a game" but then the Flyers score as Brayden Schenn beats Lundqvist for his first career goal.
Then comes the light snow and another Flyers goal. With urges of "let's (expletive) shoot the puck,"Giroux scores, drawing an "(expletive) right!" That is brief because Rupp scores and then mocks the Jagr salute.
At the second intermission of a one-goal game, Laviolette preaches the theme of rebounds and traffic while Torts tells his team to do the job on the walls and end zone to gain increased puck possession. In other words, chip and chase the puck.
As the third period starts, the Flyers talk about Rupp's salute but then are helpless to stop him from scoring the tying goal. Just two minutes later, Brad Richards scores and Laviolette calls a timeout featuring six f-bombs.
Then, Ryan Callahan curses numerous times on a controversial penalty and during a scrum, a penalty shot is awarded when Ryan McDonagh puts his hand over the puck trying to keep it from Danny Briere. HBO does a tremendous job of capturing this moment with slow motion, no noise and a lone cello as Briere shoots high to the glove side only to be denied.
That generates an "(Expletive) Yeah" reaction from the Rangers bench and then the game ends with a skirmish as the referees tell the players to "(Expletive) Cut the (Expletive)."
That's three wins for the Rangers over the Flyers and we are treated to postgame shots of the locker rooms.
In the Rangers' room, we see hugs abound and a shot of owner Jim Dolan and the "Broadway Hat" being handed to Rupp for his two-goal salute. Then we get a shot of 10-year-old Liam Traynor congratulating his favorite hockey coach for the victory with a hug.
Meanwhile in the Flyers' room, we get shots of silence with the players quietly dressing in their suits and heading out.
The show ends with various clips of both teams from previous episodes and narrator Liev Schreiber telling us that "hockey may be just a game but it's also who they are."
Appropriately enough the final shot is a black-and-white image of Jagr saluting the viewers, who will await the third installment of this series a year from now.
Favorite Quotes
"That's a great hit on whatever his [expletive] name is" – Tortorella during an intermission of the Winter Classic.
"If you're going to [expletive] up, do it in warmups." – Laviolette to Talbot on his return to Pittsburgh.
"I can't get on the internet, it's very frustrating." – Avery at breakfast in Washington.
"Make sure if your life is complicated with people in town, get rid of the people." – Laviolette to his players on New Year's Day.
"I have great news and even better news. Great news, I'm not playing tomorrow news and good news we have a chance to win the game." – Bryzgalov revealing to the media he will not play.
"Make sure I don't forget my Thermos, put in some tea and enjoy the bench." – Brygalov on his mindset about not playing.
“I was gonna jump him, but I didn’t want to get suspended. Not right before the Winter Classic.” – Brandon Prust explaining to his teammates why he didn't retaliate after Del Zotto was sucker-punched.
"Go rip your own teammates again." – Del Zotto to Hartnell as the first intermission starts.
"We've got to get pucks to the net and it's got to be a full [expletive] assault." – Laviolette to his team during the third period timeout.
Favorite Moment
The hockey moments were good as always but some of the brief off-ice moments were cool, including two from New Year's Eve gatherings. One was Brandon Dubinsky's grandfather telling us to "Drink Up." The second was the Laviolette family posing for pictures while expressing their real feelings for the Rangers.
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