AUTHOR: The Maven TITLE: Is there a third and fourth line problem? DATE: 11/27/2006 04:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

There’s a feeling among some Blueshirts skeptics that the club is not quite complete because neither the third [Blair Betts, Marcel Hossa, Jason Ward] nor fourth [Ryan Hollweg, Adam Hall, Colton Orr] lines are producing sufficiently. The coaching staff must also be aware of that since there has been some juggling of personnel between the two units. I believe the concern is exaggerated for one simple reason: there’s enough firepower on the first two units to satisfy most winning needs. Think about it; how many teams in the NHL are capable of icing more than two effective forward units? Answer: precious few. Also, Petr Prucha and Matt Cullen may not be scoring terribly well right now, but I’m convinced that they’ll be lighting the red lamp very soon – perhaps as soon as Tuesday night against the Trashers. Another issue that must be addressed for the Rangers to hit full stride is their special teams play. Though the penalty kill has been working well, the club must develop more discipline and avoid taking penalties like those they suffered against Buffalo. And again, you’ve heard that song before. Their power play – 0 for 15 in the last three games – needs a spark. In order for the Blueshirts to pull out games like those against Pittsburgh and Buffalo last weekend, they need to capitalize on man-up situations. But let’s face it, the club is on the upswing and played an excellent team like the Sabres even over three periods. Atlanta will provide a similar test on Tuesday night.Who knows – maybe the third and fourth lines will deliver.

DEVILS – OOUUGAH! You know the sound in the submarine when it’s time for a crash dive. OOUUGAH! That may be the sound you’re hearing in the Devils’ dressing room as the club completes its disastrous western swing on tonight in Los Angeles. A week ago, I sounded a warning here although it wasn’t an OOUUGAH! Having started the road trip with a win in Toronto, the Devs moved on to Phoenix for what appeared to be a relatively easy game against the Coyotes. Easy. Hah! Nothing comes easy with the Devils. What worried me was that Claude Julien’s team would ease up against a desperate Phoenix club, and that’s precisely what happened. This was followed by losses to Anaheim and San Jose and now the OOUUGAH! Has real meaning. Buffalo’s coach Lindy Ruff has a motto: “Never lose two in a row.” Well, it’s now three in a row for the Devs and it’s time to stop the bleeding. For starters, Julien had better figure out a way to produce more scoring. It was pitiful watching Marty Brodeur time and again against San Jose. Brodeur, at his absolute best, had a shutout going midway through the third period. The only trouble was, the Devils hadn’t scored either. Then Brad Lukowich delivered a weak pass; Joe Thornton picked it off and blasted one past Marty and the game was over. Here’s my suggestion to Julien: You’ve got a good fourth line now with Mike Rupp, Eric Rasmussen and Jim Dowd. They create chances, but they’re not getting nearly enough ice time. Put some faith in them and play them regularly, let’s see what happens. As for the power play, simplify it. Put big Rupp in front of the enemy goalie, feed your hardest shooter Jamie Langenbrunner and go for rebounds. This pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass business is time-wasting and unproductive. The OOUUGAH! has been sounded. Let’s see if the Devils avoid the depth charges.

HOT ISLES The loss of Alexei Yashin for two to four weeks with a sprained knee would seem catastrophic to one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Fugettaboutit. Ted Nolan’s team can win without the Captain even though he has 10 goals and 18 assists in 22 games. Nobody put it better than the coach himself: “It’s a big loss, no doubt, especially with Yash playing so well, but every team has to deal with injuries. It’s up to everyone else to step up their games and take advantage of the opportunities they’re provided.” I like the fact that Garth Snow dealt for Eric Boguniecki who moves up from Bridgeport. To me, he’s the poor man’s Jason Blake. Since the club is not playing again until it meets the Flyers at Nassau on Thursday, the newcomer will have time to work out with the big club. The 31- year old Boguniecki is 3-5-8 in 12 games with the Sound Tigers after his acquisition last month from Columbus for defenseman Ryan Caldwell. The 5-8, 195-pound forward has played 167 games over an NHL career with Florida, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He has 32 goals and 44 assists for 76 points in 167 games. His best season with 2002-03, when the center was 22-27-49 in 80 games with the Blues. Last season the New Haven, CT native had five goals and six assists in 36 games with the Penguins. One other thing, my vice president in charge of inside Islanders information, Tim Marino, offers this interesting bit of insight: I like Nolan’s resolve in keeping Chris Campoli down and instilling confidence in Bruno Gervais, who will be a better defenseman in the long run in my opinion. I could see Snow trading one of the veteran d-men to make room for Campoli in the new year, but right now he still needs time to get his game together.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/28/2006 12:04:00 PM OOUUGAH!

Ha! I love it! I want to hear you say that to coach Julien the next time you do a pregame interview with him.

But is it really that time already? Ok, so the Devils have now lost 4 in a row and are now out of a playoff spot. However, with the exception of the Sabres, the teams are pretty close in the Eastern Conference. NJ is only 2 points behind the Rangers with 1 game in hand, and 4 points behind 4th place Toronto with 2 games in hand. I would give them until mid December before I start sounding the alarm.

I tell you Stan, sometimes you are really pessimistic. I will agree with you though, Rupp deserves more ice time. I will offer NJ one piece of criticism, they need to work on their deflections. What's the point of deflecting a shot if you are going to make it go wide or high? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/28/2006 06:01:00 PM Stan, nice to see some AHL news
as well. Thanks, Stan ----- --------