Rangers: The Password IS 'CAPITAL'
Does anyone remember Jagr, Avery, Shanahan or Straka?
Posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 at 11:10 AMThe password for the Rangers today is CAPITAL.
That is, as in:
1) Having a CAPITAL opportunity on Monday night to continue surging at The Garden and thwack the Senators from Canada's capital.
2) And to CAPITALIZE on a disorganized – perhaps even dissension-ridden, about-to-be-reorganized – Ottawa team sinking slowly into the NHL depths.
Certainly, the rip-roarin' 3-2 victory over the previously-bombastic Bruins on Saturday night offers even more evidence that the only obstacle between the Blueshirts and another two-pointer is overconfidence.
With a 13-5-2 record, Tom's Renney-gades have delivered a league-wide statement; actually, after 20 games, several statements: They miss none of the missing.
To wit:
JAROMIR JAGR: With all his pizzazz-filled pirouettes, the Czech ace really wasn't a CAPTAIN. Chris Drury, intense, subdued, clutch-oriented and eminently listen-able, IS a captain. Losing Jagr, as I've said before, was a plus disguised as a fuss.
SEAN AVERY: Love him as I did, The Great Gabbo simply is not missed in the overall picture of this revamped squad. The Dallas Stars, replete with stars, have been an egregious failure since Avery donned the green. Coincidence? Who knows? But his absence, I'll bet, makes Renney's heart grow fonder.
BRENDAN SHANAHAN: We know that the Rangers don't, and most likely didn't, want him. But if Shanny has any appeal to any NHL team, why hasn't he been picked up by now? (All theories will be welcomed here.) And, as demonstrated against Boston, the New Yorkers can win a shootout without Brendan's gun.
MARTIN STRAKA: One of The Maven's favorite competitors, Marty simply would have had trouble keeping up with the spate of Kid Lightning's on the current sextet; and that's no rap against a good guy, just the facts!
Which is not to suggest that, with less than a third of the season expired, the Rangers should automatically be awarded the Conference title as I predicted on air prior to the opener. As we all know, the 82-game season is a marathon, not a sprint. My forecast was not based on a couple of dozen games.
Still, if you have to win a 20-game sprint, and you're on top, there's nothing wrong with that. By contrast, there's PLENTY wrong with the Senators, as I noticed covering their Saturday night loss to the Islanders in Nassau.
Goaltending is mediocre, the defense is average at best – yes, the Senators miss Wade Redden – and the heavy-hitters up front are playing like lightweights. We have here a team on the verge of panic and there's no Ray Emery to blame this time around. Perhaps captain Dan Alfredsson's speech to the troops will inspire them on Seventh Avenue. I think not.
BOTTOM LINE: The Rangers must go for the Senators' jugular, nothing less!
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