AUTHOR: The Maven
TITLE: It's all about perspective
DATE: 11/29/2006 05:37:00 PM
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BODY:
HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
After the last two games – an OT loss to Buffalo, ditto for Atlanta – you can’t sell the Rangers on the idea that their glass is half-full.
“Two out of four ain't bad,” I told Tom Renney after Tuesday night’s Bobby Holik-ache.
The coach agrees with my math but not the optimism.
“I feel sorry most for the fans,” Tom said in what was a very sensitive and perceptive reply. In both games his Blueshirts rallied in utterly dramatic fashion and seemed on the brink of overtime triumph.
But it was merely a build up to a let down.
On Sunday it was Chris Drury’s OT goal followed by the devastator delivered by Holik.
That’s why the troops see the glass as half-empty.
We’ll know better on Friday night when the lads visit Buffalo for a Sabres rematch.
It’s time for a Kevin Weekes return; and, hopefully, a surprise edition of exiled Darius Kasparaitis to the lineup.
DEVILS DILEMMA:
It’s still too early in the season to consider Friday night’s game with Pittsburgh at the Meadowlands a “crisis” encounter but it has taken on greater importance now that Claude Julien’s sextet has lost the playoff cushion that was in place at the start of the road trip after the victory in Toronto.
How Patrik Elias and company react on Friday night could have major significance when one considers how tight the playoff race already has become; and it won’t get any easier Saturday night in Philly.
Captain Elias MUST improve his game pronto. That includes the elimination of careless passes and not trying to do too much and a little less work will do.
I agree with Elias and his assessment of the California excursion, “as bad as the results are, the last three games we skated well, especially in Anaheim and San Jose against very good hockey teams. The Kings are playing better now, so it wasn’t easy and we stayed with them. We made a couple of mistakes here and there and they ended up in our net and offensively we didn’t come through.” Patrik makes all the sense in the world but what really matters is how and when they get in the win column.
The New Jersey backline has been offensively anemic. Through 23 games Devils defensemen have only accounted for one goal from Brian Rafalski. Paul Martin and Rafalski must find a way to bury a few.
No question this is Julien’s first major test in terms of rallying the troops.
I like his attitude but when all is said and done it will be the results that matter.
Pittsburgh is a team that must be beaten out for a playoff berth.
Let’s see what happens.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:12/01/2006 10:45:00 AM
I agree that Paul Martin and Rafalski have to help out more offensively, but I think Johnny Oduya has great offensive potential as well. I have seen him several times skate through the neutral zone with a lot of speed just to stop at the blue line and dump the puck. Somebody needs to give him the green light in some of those situations to just keep going to the net.
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