So I have been communicating with Steve over on NYRangersCast.com about various Rangers related stuff. Here is a message I sent him earlier that I though you guys might enjoy reading.

I wanted to talk for a second about why the Rangers are going to be a very good team. Want to know why?

Because of the Ottawa Senators.

Say wha?

Heres why. One thing that really caught my eye when watching the Senators and Rangers play, is that the Rangers game kind mirrors the Senators game in certain aspects. While the Senators tend to drop back and trap a lot more than the Rangers do, what they do VERY well is something Tom Renney has been preaching for 3 years, and something you saw them do last year down the stretch, and are already doing fairly well this year to start of the season. What I am talking about is “5 in the picture”. Its something the Senators do so damn effectively with, i hope you agree, a slightly less talented overall team than us. They effectively use their defenseman to sustain the offensive pressure, and use their forwards to provide defensive pressure. One hand feeds the other till you drive the opponents absolutely apeshit.

The problem the Rangers are having now seem to circulate on 3 different aspects, 2 of which are entirely correctable, and the third probably is as well.

1)Key defenseman just arent holding their own weight. These 3 are Jason Strudwick (who should never lace up his skates for an AHL team leave alone the new york rangers), Paul Mara (I attribute this to a lack of confidence) and Marek Malik who has been talked about ad-nauseum

2)A lack of chemistry between Jaromir Jagr, and everyone else not named Marcel Hossa. Right now Jagr is having trouble staying in synch with everyone else. I think the key to fixing him may be doing a lineup like this:
Hossa Straka Jagr
Drury Gomez Shanahan
Prucha Dubinsky Callahan
Hollweg Betts Orr

And then slowly changing the lines till they get into a more conventional attack formation with Drury and Gomez as your first two centers. Yes, I know Drury was brought in to be a top 2 center, but sometimes you need to worry about what actually works, instead of what should work.

3)Key players just arent finishing. I hate to sound like a kool-aid drinking ranger fan who just spouts off what the team is saying, but I happen to agree with them. I would be WAY more worried if they just werent getting any chances at all. The fact that they are getting chances, but arent burying them do not worry my whatsoever, so long as the team keeps 5 in the picture.

2 and 3 should take care of themselves, but point 1 is a bit trickier. My solution is this, trade Malik. I know, not the most original idea, but its an idea worth exploring nonetheless. Honestly Malik has some value, and his salary is still pretty low and it is an expiring contract. I think if you look hard enough you may be able to bring a key piece back (perhaps an Adam Foote if a deal can be made on both sides that makes sense), or perhaps even someone elses reclamation project (an unpalatable one to most that I would do is for Nikolai Zherdev, whose speed would be insane along side a guy like Gomez). Getting rid of Malik may be addition by subtraction.

So there you have it, I’m not worried about the Rangers because they preach what we already know works (5 in the picture–Ottawa), and the issues they have are correctable, and should be corrected just by playing more games together.

Also, I will NOT be posting between period posts during the Thrashers game, as I will be attending it live in person. If there are any Atlanta area Ranger fans that want to stop by and say hello, I will be in Section 202, Row F, in seat 20 or 21. Expect post game thoughts late after the game, probably around 11-12.

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