Well, a full 60 minute effort was displayed by the Rangers, and surprise surprise, they won.? Which, by the way, was the exact result of the only other full 60 minute efforts I can remember this team playing (against the Sharks, and against the Devils).? There is a lot to be happy about in this one, as the Rangers have not gotten 9 out of a possible 10 points in their last 5 games coming against teams who have a combined 121 points (~24 points each), and have now improved to a sparkling 7-2-0 on the road this year.? I think we can now safely say there are 2 significant trends that we can point to.?
1)The Rangers play to the level of their opponent.? When they play teams with more losses than wins,IE? the Flyers,? Panthers, Coyotes, and Kings their record is a measley 3-3, however when they play against teams with winning records, IE the Caps, Pens, Sabres, Leafs,? Devils, Predators, Ducks, Sharks, and Thrashers they are now 6-3-1, and more importantly 4-0-1 in their past 5 games against such teams.
2)When Renney is allowed the final change, he overthinks things and causes his team to overplay their top lines.? This is, I believe, an important fact about how the Rangers have played so well on the road, and so poorly at home.? When hes on the road, Renney more or less just runs all 4 lines out there, but when he is at home, he can put jagr on just about any time, and it is costing his team.? Obviously another reason they play so damn well on the road is because so far, their road teams have been elite level teams.
Colton Orr can play. Period, end of story.? The kid can, and should play regular 4th line minutes.? Ive been screaming about it for over a year now, and I think Renney has finally found my blog (he cant be happy about all my fire Renney remarks aye?).? Colton Orr brings a level of intimidation, and physicality this team really needs, particularly with Kaspar being a complete and utter bust so far this year.? Also the kid has enough smarts to not be a detriment when he is on the ice, and knows when to be agressive, and when to back off, when to fight, and when not to fight.? I dont think he gets nearly enough credit for his smarts, and I think that is what is going to make him an everyday 4th liner.? Good teams have enforcers who can play regular 4th line minutes, at least I feel so.?
Not much else to say about this one.
Rangers 3 Stars Of The Game:
1)Kari Lehtonen.? Lets be serious here folks, Lehtonen was AWFUL out there, directly responsible for 2 goals , and was shaky on just about every shot.
2)Jaromir Jagr.? Was dominant from the opening tip.? Controlled the play, and found the open men.
3)Michael Nylander.? The most opportunisitic 2 goals I have ever seen scored.
-Inferno
