AUTHOR: The Maven TITLE: No such thing as a lost cause DATE: 10/24/2006 05:38:00 PM ----- BODY:

SATHER SUPPORTS: During the Summer, when most – if not all – of the Rangers media had considered Sandis Ozolinsh a lost cause for the Blueshirts, I disagreed with their impetuous thinking. Granted, the gifted defenseman has suffered through off-ice problems but, then again, so have many other hockey players and they have solved them. More importantly, I remembered one cogent point and that is this: if any hockey person has consistently shown faith in troubled players and helped them get back on track. That person happens to be Glen Sather. He straightened out players in Edmonton – Craig MacTavish being a good example – and he continues the same policy in New York. There’s never a guarantee that everything will work out honky-dory but I’ll put my money on Ozolinsh coming out okay. His stint last Saturday was not bad at all and he should get better with time. We’re talking about a talented individual in the prime of his career. If the reclamation project works, the Blueshirts not only will have a singularly effective point man for the power play but can forget, once and for all, about bringing back Brian Leetch. ________________________________ DEVILS DILEMMA: Unlike Lightning coach John Tortorella, who put his club through a brutally tough practice after a recent loss, his New Jersey counterpart, Claude Julien gave the Devils a day off following their 8-1 defeat in Ottawa last Saturday. We’ll find out how effective that strategy works tonight when the Devs visit Pittsburgh and are confronted with the awesome Sid Crosby-Evgeni Malkin scoring combo. Let’s face it; Julien – and his defensive coach Jacques Laperriere – have a challenge on their hands considering that Jersey has recently used a trio of relatively untried NHLers on the backline. Johnny Oduya, Jim Fahey and Alex Brooks played as well as they could but, obviously, require time. With Brad Lukowich returning to the lineup, Brooks has been dispatched back to Lowell of the AHL but, still, the Devils D still has plenty of tightening up to do in front of Marty Brodeur. More importantly, the time has come for Patrik Elias to bust out with a goal or two. The captain has played effectively in spots but certainly not up to the standard that he set for himself during the homestretch of 2005-2006 and in the Rangers series. Unfortunately, Travis Zajac remains sidelined with a hip injury which means that former Minnesota star Barry Tallackson will get another shot to show his stuff. Tuesday night’s game has significance in that the Devils at 4-3-1 are at a point where they must show whether they can remain above .500 in a very tight race or whether the start will be as iffy as it was last year. _______________________________________________ ISLES SMILES: You may remember my saying before the season began that Alexei Yashin will return to his productive form thanks to the inspiration – and heavy pushes and shoves – from coach Ted Nolan. Okay, it’s still plenty early but Yash is playing like Ye Yash of his early Ottawa days and that first wonderful year on the Island. Having fellow Russian, Viktor Kozlov on his line certainly has helped but I believe that credit belongs mostly to Nolan and Alexei, himself. The Isles Thursday night home match vs. Florida will give us a good idea whether there’s productive consistency to Yashin’s game. I’m convinced that he’ll stay on track for, perhaps, the best season of his NHL life. Remember, you heard it here first.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/24/2006 05:55:00 PM I guess Yashin will be surprised, this Thursday, when the Buffalo Sabres will skate out onto the ice instead of the Florida team. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/25/2006 06:45:00 AM Yep. Yashin is man on a mission. If he can stay healthy, this could be his career year. Let's see what happens against BUFFALO on Thursday. ;o) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/25/2006 09:32:00 AM When it comes to the Devils defense, Johnny Oduya has been a pleasant surprise. Colin White is the one I'm not impressed with. Can you explain to me why he makes three million a year? So far he seems to be screening more shots than he is blocking.

Apparently that day off didn't help the offense any. They looked lost at times, often bumping into each other. When going after a loose puck they seem to look at each other and say, "I got it... oh, ok you got it... no wait, I got it."

The best player by far the last couple of games has been Zach Parise. The kid is looking great in his sophmore year. And I'm not talking about his smile, which is going to look a little different after taking that stick in the grill last night. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ed in Westchester DATE:10/25/2006 09:40:00 AM I certainly hope we are seeing a new and improved Yashin. He needs to continue to step it up. As Captain, he owes it to the team to set the example for the other guys, particularly the youngsters.
Nice to see Sillinger playing well. Good signing there.
I am a little concerned about Satan however. He needs to step it up so we can have 2 solid lines that can score. ----- --------