AUTHOR: The Maven TITLE: Is Bragging Allowed? DATE: 12/11/2006 01:05:00 PM ----- BODY:

Pardon me for a bit of bragging so here goes: Remember when I said long ago that Darius Kasparaitis belongs in the Rangers’ lineup? Well, Kasparaitis is back and guess what? The Rangers are winning and sit tied for first in the Atlantic Division. For weeks in New Jersey I urged coach Claude Julien to employ his fourth line of Mike Rupp, Erik Rasmussen and Jim Dowd on a more regular basis. And guess what? His Devils now have a five-game, season-best winning streak thanks in part to the hard-working fourth line. And I especially promoted Rupp with the coach. My feeling always has been the big Clevelander could be everything that Viktor Kozlov was – and more – because of his positive attitude and his Devil-like style of play. And it’s quite clear now that the more we see of Rupp the more we appreciate his usefulness. And I believe the coach feels the same way. And speaking of Kozlov, I told Garth Snow that the gifted Russian could be an asset to the Islanders under the right circumstances. Guess what? Kozlov has helped Teddy Nolan’s club remain competitive during the absence of Alexei Yashin. One more thing, I’ve been a supporter of Kevin Weekes through thick and thin and, as everyone knows the Garden once was thick with anti-Weekes booing. Kevin’s performance Sunday night merely confirms my confidence in him. Which brings us to an interesting bottom line: All three Met Area teams are in the thick of a compelling playoff race which should take us five more pulsating months until the season ends in April.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: faux rumors DATE:12/12/2006 02:19:00 PM 1) Kasper is but a shadow of his former self. We wouldn't pin much to the recent Ranger play to his return.
2) As a whooe the ranger defense core is pretty shaky. If they don't recieve a stellar game from their goalie, they usually lose ----- --------