AUTHOR: The Maven TITLE: Don't stress! DATE: 10/26/2006 04:01:00 PM ----- BODY:

A mere nine games into the season the media noodniks are all huffy-miffy because the Rangers are 4-5, one game under .500 and not yet consigned to the American League. What’s remarkable about the panic press questions following the 4-2 loss to Florida on Wednesday night is that every player to whom I spoke said he felt the club played better than they had in winning over Toronto last Saturday. “The difference,” Brendan Shanahan told me, “is that we beat the Leafs and lost to the Panthers. Frankly, I’d rather have the two points having played a bad game than not getting anything playing well. But that’s the way it is.” Henny Lundqvist was another who told me he believed that the Blueshirts played a generally good game although – good man that he is – the goalie allowed that he could have been better. Judging the team overall, I can see three areas of improvement that will put Tom Renney’s sextet back in the winning groove. DEFENSE Players who starred last year simply are not playing up to their 2005-2006 standard. Michal Rozsival is one example and Marek Malik another. I would have liked to have seen Sandis Ozolinsh back in the lineup for a second game in a row vs. Florida but Renney appears to be nursing him along. JAROMIR JAGR I studied him carefully in the Florida game. No question, there were flashes of stickhandling brilliance and yet another assist – he now has two goals and 12 assists in nine games -- but his ability to intimidate the opposition on every shift is egregiously lacking. * PEP: The élan so evident last season is missing. Maybe it’s the absence of Dom Moore and Jed Ortmeyer who contributed so much hustle. Maybe skaters such as Adam Hall and Matt Cullen need more time to blend into the lineup. We’ll see. This much is certain; the Rangers are hurting in virtually the same areas as the Devils. Jagr often is unseen but, then again, the same can be said of Patrik Elias. New Jersey’s defense has been wanting; ditto for the Blueshirts. And neither Martin Brodeur nor Lundqvist have been overwhelming. The Rangers upcoming road trip will go a long way toward determining the club’s recoverability. As for the Devils, their Thursday night home contest against the suddenly revived Panthers will give a better idea as to whether their slump becomes a SLUMP or if the D’s (4-4-1) climb above .500 once more. There are times when I feel my Ranger viewpoint is clouded by tunnel vision. In such cases I rely on other eyes to give me perspective. My buddy, Ira Gitler, offers this view of the Blueshirts: “In his post-game interview Jagr said it: ‘We had a lot of shots but not that many chances.’ “When I brought the subject up to Renney he answered: ‘Ed Belfour gives a lot of rebounds.’ “True, but the Rangers were not driving to the net for them. “The giveaway differential is very revealing. Florida had 11; the Rangers, 27!!! Two Panther goals were scored off giveaways, the worst error being committed by Rozsival in the third period. “You would think ingrained hockey experience would have had him attempting to throw the puck in the direction of the boards instead toward the middle as he and Juraj Kolnik were skating in the Rangers defensive zone. “The Rangers have a lot of work to do on their western excursion.” Well, Ira and I agree on that! BUFFALO-ING THE SABRES At this point in time, the Islanders are the best of the three Met Area NHL clubs. How good is another question. We’ll know a lot better after Thursday night’s match with the amazingly undefeated Sabres at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A victory – and I believe that it will happen – will go a long way toward turning Uniondale skeptics into believers. And there are plenty of good signs, starting with Alexei Yashin’s revival and ending with Rick DiPietro’s motivation to deliver a definitive victory against the league’s best team. I’ll be focusing on the Isles defense and the manner in which they cope – or do not cope – with Buffalo’s speed and the Sabres desire to maintain their undefeated streak. I believe that this is a game that will demonstrate whether Viktor Kozlov has the goods to skate with the best. Coach Ted Nolan has turned him into a legitimate force but Big Vik’s problem always has been consistency. I see at least one Kozlov score and an Islanders win. If not, I’ll reconstruct my Dream Machine!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/27/2006 09:08:00 AM How 'bout them Sabres !

I'll take my "Ferrari" (to quote Jagr) over your dream machine any night. ----- --------