AUTHOR: The Maven TITLE: Rangers revival DATE: 10/17/2006 04:05:00 PM ----- BODY:

Was I right or wasn’t I? While the media’s maniacal fringe were busy pronouncing the Rangers dead before they met the Devils, I made it clear right here that all the Blueshirts needed was a win and everything would be honky-dory. And so it is. Tom Renney’s sextet won the thriller on two primary issues; Henny Lundqvist’s goaltending and superb penalty killing. Plenty has been said about Brendan Shanahan’s contributions – all well-deserved. But the other unobtrusive man of the hour was Jason Ward who’s shorthander at the end of the second really was the old ballgame. As I’ve been saying from the get go, Darius Kasparaitis should be a regular in every game; no questions asked. In the victory over New Jersey he proved it again. The Blueshirt’s winning streak should move ahead to number two on Wednesday against Nashville. POSITIVES IN LOSING Okay, the Devils got beaten 4-2 on Monday night so it’s hard to make nice when the Rangers apply the spanking. Nevertheless there were many heartening signs particularly for a team that entered the game with three unknowns out of the six defensemen – Johnny Oduya, Jim Fahey and Alex Brooks. The latter was an 11th hour call up when it was determined that Brad Lukowich would be sidelined with an ankle injury. Brooks not only held his own but the 30-year-old AHL veteran contributed an assist and showed that he’s worthy of continued work. Despite the loss, New Jersey’s offense was often dominating – particularly in the third period – and rookie Travis Zajac’s second NHL goal was a gem of a shot. Coach Claude Julien must address the powerplay deficiencies which were obvious as his boys went zero for seven. He has until Thursday’s home game against the Predators to fix the problem. FLOATING ISLES A shootout loss is a shootout loss but that shouldn’t discourage Islander fans given the aberration of both usually-dependable snipers Viktor Kozlov and Miro Satan both blowing their SO chances on Monday night in Nassau. Their goals will come and so will the wins as long as Kozlov, Alexei Yashin and – most of all – Mike Dunham remain in high gear. So far it appears as if Kozlov-Yashin have distilled good chemistry and might even benefit from Jason Blake as the third man. Remarkably, Dunham is making the Isles faithful develop a case of DiPietro Amnesia. And it will remain that way as long as Mike stays marvelous between the pipes, although for a second it looked as if Kimmo Timonen’s laser off the goalie’s mask might have been fatal. My guess is that the aftereffects of the blast hurt Dunham in the shootout. The good news: Brendan Witt and Sean Hill are improving on the backline and the club has a quick, bounce-back opportunity at home on Thursday against Sid Crosby and the Penguins.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/18/2006 10:47:00 PM The shootout loss could have been a regulation time win had a few players not turned their back on the play so quickly. But they will find their rhythm. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/19/2006 12:36:00 PM 1) Well when you're wrong, you're wrong!!
2) I assume we won't see a post admitting that your pronouncement that the rangers are OK was premature ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Anonymous DATE:10/19/2006 12:36:00 PM 1) Well when you're wrong, you're wrong!!
2) I assume we won't see a post admitting that your pronouncement that the rangers are OK was premature ----- --------