AUTHOR: The Maven
TITLE: Hossa's a star in the making
DATE: 11/22/2006 12:52:00 PM
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BODY:
HUZZAHS FOR HOSSA
It took a while, but Tom Renney and I have finally had a couple of disagreements.
Nothing major, mind you.
In fact, it was all out in the open at the post-game press conference follow the 4-0 trashing of the defending champion Hurricanes.
When I told Renney that his club had “dominated,” he shot back, “DOMINATED???” as if I had just come down from Mars.
Of course they dominated. All you had to do was be there as was the New York Post’s Larry Brooks and the New York Times’ Lynn Zinser, each of whom seemed to agree that it was in its own way an overwhelming victory.
In my eyes, the most important element is not so much Henny Lundqvist’s first shutout of the season or another sterling performance by Jaromir Jagr, but rather the constant improving of Marcel Hossa’s play, which included his scoring of the first goal of the game.
To be honest, I will be amazed if the Rangers fail to take the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday, nor will I be at all surprised if they come back on Sunday at the Garden and take what many believe is the best team in hockey, the Sabres.
My sidekick, P.J. Lally agrees with me on the Hossa issue. He adds these observations:
The biggest positive about Rangers’ 4-0 rout of the Hurricanes last night wasn’t the fact that Lundqvist had another stellar performance stopping all 34 shots he faced, posting his first shutout of the season. Nor was it the fact that Jagr scored twice passing Jari Kurri’s mark of 601 goals to be the NHL’s all-time European scorer.
The biggest breakthrough for the Rangers came 3:39 into the first period when Marcel Hossa tipped a shot from the point and scored the game-winning first goal of the contest – his first tally of the season.
The Rangers’ game plan is no mystery to their opponents. They rely primarily on their first and second line to do all of their scoring. If a team can shut down the Jagr – Nylander – Straka line and keep Shanahan from working any magic with his linemates Matt Cullen and Petr Prucha, the Rangers don’t have much of a chance at winning a game.
Though Ryan Hollweg and his linemates Adam Hall and Colton Orr [or Thomas Pocke on any given night] serve an important role defensively for the Blueshirts, they can’t be relied on for any offensive productivity whatsoever and their shifts serve as a breather until Tom Renney can get the Jagr or Shanahan lines back on the ice.
For the first time in six games, a Ranger other than Nylander, Straka, Jagr or Shanahan scored a goal.
Not only that, but the third line consisting of Hossa, Blair Betts and Jason Ward received a substantial amount of ice time throughout the game – and had more scoring opportunities other than the goal that Hossa put on the board.
This third line, centered by Betts, got a substantial amount of ice time last night – only about three minutes less than the top two lines – and enabled Renney to spread the shifts around keeping every forward under 20 minutes of time on-ice.
Though it may seem insignificant at a glance, these stats will become increasing important down the stretch of the regular season when Jagr and Shanahan – both more than 15 seasons into their NHL careers – feel the wear and tear of playing more than an entire period’s worth of time each game.
If this third line can produce, it will give the Rangers the depth and dynamic that has been missing from their game thus far now a quarter of the way through the regular season.
GOMEZ BACK – GOOD OR BAD?
When Scotty Gomez went out with part two of his groin problems, it was generally anticipated that the Devils would sink to the bottom of their division.
As it happened, New Jersey has done very well minus their glib center.
Interestingly, with Gomez in the lineup, Claude Julien’s team is a mere 5-5-1. In the eight games without Scott, the record is 7-1.
Go figure!
Skating against the Coyotes in Phoenix on Wednesday night, it would seem as if the Devs have an easy one prior to their journey to the California coast.
T’ain’t so.
Old reliable Mike Ricci is returning to the Coyotes’ lineup and figure to give them a boost. Plus this is precisely the type of game in which the Devils invariably take their foe for granted – and lose. That’s my wake-up call for the D’s; now let’s see what they do with it.
CHAMPS OR CHUMPS?
On Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders are in an excellent position to make a statement against the Carolina Hurricanes.
And the statement is – turning the Champs into Chumps.
After losing to the Rangers on Tuesday night in Manhattan, the Canes figure to rebound with a strong game and the Isles should be prepared for same.
Which is not to say that fear should be part of Ted Nolan’s thinking. The Isles are now in position to establish home ice dominance with some continued Alexei Yashin leadership and solid goaltending.
Bottom line: a win against the champs could be the start of something big.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:11/22/2006 01:51:00 PM
Stan,
Please keep it shorter for this medium.
Luc
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:11/22/2006 02:39:00 PM
Those are some very interesting W-L numbers with Gomez in and out of the lineup. I imagine since the Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner line is meshing so well that the E-G-G line will be put back together, but don't you dare call it the "First" line.
Before "The Streak" last season, NJ was pretty bad against the bottom rung teams. Tonights game against Phoenix will be a big test for Julien. I wish him the best of luck.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:11/22/2006 11:06:00 PM
Stan,
any chance you would be willing to swap links?
i run www.rangersreview.com
lemme know!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:11/26/2006 10:28:00 PM
You stated on the Ranger - Sabre pre game show 11-26-06 that the Sabres "were playing over their heads and are ripe to fall". This statement shows that your myopic way of thinking is just as outdated as the trap. The Sabres are the new NHL and they beat the Rangers tonight with 6 rookies in the line up as they have a bunch of injuries. Speed kills – throw in solid goaltending and 4 lines that can finish and you have a legitimate Stanley cup contender. Wait until they get healthy and hit stride. Watch them a little more closely Mr. Maven because you are dead wrong about this team.
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