Blueshirt Boggle

Something For Everyone

There was something for everyone at the Garden last night as the Rangers broke their long losing streak with a 4-1 win over the decimated Caps -- four Ranger goals, two by Petr Prucha, and even one by Darius Kasparaitis; good defense, goaltending, and penalty killing by the Rangers; a penalty shot; and lots of hitting, fighting, cheap shots, and statements, especially by Brendan Shanahan and Colton Orr on the positive side for the Rangers and Donald Brashear gooning it up for the Caps.

The defining moment of the game and perhaps the defining moment of the season was Shanahan challenging Brashear to a fight in the third period. With the Rangers up 3-0, Shanahan had had enough both with Brashear, who was running Rangers left and right, and with the Rangers' seven-game losing streak, which included two blown third period leads in Florida.

"Our team needed a little extra," Shanahan said. "The opportunity presented itself with some of the things he did to Jaromir [Jagr] throughout the game. I went to the face-off and I asked him to fight me, and he did. There's no point fighting a guy who doesn't fight. I don't think he wanted to fight me -- I don't think he thought I was serious. In the beginning he gave me a chance to back out of it, and I told him no. I wanted to make that clear when I came back to the bench. I said to the guys, 'He didn't pick that with me.' I said to Colton, 'I got no problem with Donald Brashear -- I'm the one who instigated that one.'"

"He took it upon himself," coach Tom Renney said. "When your leaders do things like that, it clearly demonstrates that they're willing to pay any kind of price to win. It suggests how badly he wanted to get us out of what we've just been through seven times. And it lends itself nicely to make sure that we don't get ourselves into that kind of streak again. But it's incumbent upon his teammates and all of us to make sure it doesn't happen [again]."

"There's always those moments in a season where you look for such a catalyst to propel your season forward," said Aaron Ward, who absorbed a sucker punch from Brashear on his way to the penalty box that got Brashear an extra major, a game misconduct, and no doubt a suspension. "You have to answer the bell, whether it's guys fighting or guys sticking up for each other. We had to find something to rally around. It always takes an odd moment in the season when you hope that your team looks at each other to the left and the right and you feel a sense of unity. I'm not saying it wasn't there before, but games like this are sometimes the spurring factor that ignites us. Hopefully this is something you can build on."

"I saw it evolving at the face-off dot," Ward went on. "I was kind of -- no! And then it happened. I'm a spectator now. He's a fiery Irish Catholic and that's in his nature. He sticks up for his teammates -- if he feels someone's been wronged, he'll say something." About his own encounter with Brashear, Ward said, "I just asked him a question. It's self-evident. It's an obvious question -- what he was doing after the play. He dusted his hands off. It was grammatically correct -- I was polite about it."

"It was great," said Jagr of Shanahan's statement. "Not only Shanny, but Orrsy and the other guys. But Shanny, he faced probably the toughest guy in the league. That's just great. It's tough to describe in words, it's just great to see it." Jagr didn't shy away from Brashear himself -- after a scuffle off a draw, Brashear skated into Jagr and Jagr took him down (Jagr was improperly penalized for that -- Brashear was the one who committed the interference).

"I don't know what Glen's intention was in lining Brashear up against Jags all night long," Renney said. "Jaromir is a big strong guy himself, not that I expect him to drop the leather and go. But he can handle himself in tough situations. You want it to meld your team together in what you have to do collectively in order to win. We need to play a spirited game, we need to be a team that's physically engaged, we need to perpetuate that shift to shift through three periods. I'm not talking about fighting, I'm talking about physically engaging yourself in the hockey game."

But Renney talked about fighting too: "When it comes down to that, everybody's got that in their line-up," he said. "We'll do what we have to do to insure the safety of our star people." This kind of statement is radical departure from what Renney has said over the past season and a half, insisting that this aspect of the game was obsolete and that the refs would protect his star players. The Rangers have finally realized that that is not the case and will not take it anymore. Time will tell if they will carry this over through the rest of the season.

The Rangers sent more of a message to the rest of the league than just Shanahan taking on Brashear. They also showed, for the first time, a willingness to do unto others' stars what others were doing unto their stars -- Kasparaitis blasted Alex Ovechkin in the second minute, the hit leading directly to the Rangers' first goal, Prucha's first of the game, both of them backhand rebound shots; Michal Rozsival ran into Ovechkin too in the first period, but he got the worst of it and had to absorb a number of retaliatory hits; and Orr ran Ovechkin late in the game, catching him in the jaw with a crosscheck that loosened some teeth.

Orr had an eventful game. It's hard to fathom that he had less than four minutes of ice time, and that he was credited with just one hit. He had two fights, challenged Brashear in the first period only to see Brashear run to the bench in an attempt to draw a penalty, challenged Brashear again when he poked Henrik Lundqvist, and even got off a shot and blocked one. Orr went over to Shanahan in the locker room as reporters waited to talk to Shanahan and hugged him.

"There have been times this year when we tried to respond that way but there weren't any takers," Shanahan said. "There are very few guys in the league who do that anymore. But I don't want the game to get lost in that. This game was about us coming out in the first period the way we did and then limiting some pretty explosive offensive players to perimeter chances. The things that happened in the third period are secondary. Definitely in the second intermission it crossed my mind what happened the last two third periods we went out with the lead. We didn't want that to happen again, so we wanted to make the third period a little different than the last two."

"It was a tough situation for us here," Jagr said of the seven game losing streak the Rangers carried into the game. "I've played for 15, 16 years -- Shanny same thing, maybe longer. We talked about it -- we never faced that kind of situation. I was kind of scared -- I wanted to have the losing streak over. If you care a lot, it's not easy. It wasn't easy for me. I care a lot about this team and the fans. You know what, I thought the fans helped us a lot. I thought they were gonna respond differently, and they did, they were on our side from the first shift, and it helped us a lot."

"We have to keep this in perspective," Renney said. "We've just lost seven in a row, we got one back now, but we have a long hill to climb here. What we've got to do is understand the emotion we did tap into tonight and how we did stand shoulder to shoulder. Our leaders exhibited certain things, each of them individually. We've got one foot back on the rung and have to start climbing the ladder again."

While it's true that the Caps came in fatigued, playing their fourth game in five nights, and decimated by illness and injury, the Rangers were in no position to be sympathetic, having gone through the same themselves over the past few weeks. They took advantage on a number of fronts -- Prucha finally got some luck and scored two huge goals, the first and the last; Michael Nylander had a heck of game, with one goal, one assist, and one improperly disallowed goal (though it didn't mean much, since Prucha followed up moments later with a goal on the same power play); Karel Rachunek had a good game, with four hits, a rare +2, a pair of assists, and a shorthanded breakaway on which he hit the goal post twice and was awarded a penalty shot (stopped by Kolzig); Thomas Pock had a huge game that was lost in all the brouhaha, batting down a breakaway pass to Ovechkin in the first period, making several big plays during a Washington five on three that could have gotten the Caps back into the game, and making the outlet pass that ultimately led to Kasparaitis's goal ("You can only hold Darius Kasparaitis for so long before he lets loose," quipped Shanahan).

And Lundqvist turned in a third straight strong performance, having now given up only four goals in his last three games, having only one bad period in the past four games. He wasn't really challenged all that much in this game, but he stopped Ovechkin on a number of good shots, even though all but one was from the perimeter. He even got a piece of the goal that broke his shutout late in the third period. A huge scare was thrown into this game when Ovechkin was tripped by Ward into Lundqvist, smashing the goalie's right ankle into goal post, with Fedor Tyutin's skate catching Henrik in the mask on the same play. But Lundqvist, who said the ankle was tender after the game, resumed play and showed no ill effects.

Game reports today in the News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, AP, SNY, NYR.com, and NY Sports Day. More in the reporters' blogs -- Blueshirts Blog, Blue Notes, and Rangers Report. Washington point of view in their Post. In the Sunday columns, Shanahan talks to Larry Brooks about marginal penalty calls in the Post, Steve Zipay has some midterm awards in Newsday, and Sherry Ross mocks the idea of enlarged nets in the News. Hartford lost in their latest attempt to get over .500, while Charlotte won. Prospect update and WJC report at NYR.com, and Jess Rubenstein's Prospect Park:

We start with the WJC, where Tomas Zaborsky’s Slovakian team faced off against Team USA in a must win for the Amerks. The US pulled out a 6-1 win to keep their hopes of a medal alive for another day. Zaborsky was not only scoreless in the game but finished the tournament without any points. Team USA needs a win on Sunday against Sweden or else they will be knocked out of medal contention. Moving on to college action, Greg Beller was scoreless as Yale blew a 4-0 third period lead and had to settle for a 4-4 tie against Nebraska-Omaha. In the consolation game at the Great Lakes Invitational, Dylan Reese’s Harvard Crimson defeated Jordan Foote’s Michigan Tech Huskies, 3-2. Neither prospect scored. Kenny Roche did not score but his BU Terriers shut out Dartmouth, 3-0. Darin Olver had an assist but it was not enough as his NMU Wildcats lost to Notre Dame, 4-3.

Turning to the QMJHL, Ryan Hillier set up the tying goal in the third period as Halifax came from behind to defeat St. Johns 4-3. In the OHL, Bobby Sanguinetti's first of two goals (16th and 17th of the season) turned out to be the game winner as Owen Sound defeated Brampton, 7-4. We also found out that Dalyn Flatt has not been scratched -- he is sitting out a two game suspension for a checking from behind incident prior to the holiday break. We finish out west in the WHL, where three road games in three nights turned out to be too much for Michael Sauer and Medicine Hat as they lost to Swift Current, 5-2. Sauer had a rough night, ending up -3. Brodie Dupont and his Calgary Hitmen also had a rough evening, losing to Brandon, 4-2. Eric Hunter and Prince George also had it rough, losing 6-1 on the road to Kamloops.

Stars of the Night: First Star -- Bobby Sanguinetti (Owen Sound OHL) -- Quietly, the 2006 first rounder is having a decent season. His two goals tonight makes him the fifth leading scorer among the prospects this season. Maybe there has been too much hype so he is not getting enough credit for a pretty good season. Second Star -- Ryan Hillier (Halifax QMJHL) -- Setting up a tying goal in a win is always going to get noticed -- nice job, Ryan. Third Star -- Darin Olver (Northern Michigan CCHA) -- An assist in a losing effort as Olver tries to help NMU get on a roll.

Happy new year, everyone! Thanks for your support over the past year.

Roster Moves

Henrik Lundqvist starts in net tonight, Colton Orr dresses again in place of Jarkko Immonen, Marek Malik remains out of action even though he skated today, and Bryce Lampman was returned to Hartford, with Tom Renney intent on keeping his line-up intact from last night in Ottawa (although he would re-insert Malik if he could). Hugh Jessiman was sent to Charlotte along with Zdenek Bahensky and Ryan Constant, who had been playing there most of the season -- that makes three first or second round draftees now playing in the ECHL (Bruce Graham and Lee Falardeau are the others).

Jess Vetoes Mitch on Senators Vote as Mitch Packs It In

Greetings, boys and girls. We have another very busy night of hockey for you and once again, I [Jess Rubenstein] am subbing for Dubi while he and E.T. are bar hopping. For the record E.T. is the good looking one who gets the girls while Dubi gets the check. After spending the afternoon enjoying that awesome comeback win by the Oregon State Beavers, it is going to take a ton for me to be impressed tonight with whatever the Rangers toss at me.

On paper, the Rangers are catching the Senators at the right time, with the Sens missing Jason Spezza and a couple of others. Too bad they play the game on ice instead of on paper, as the first thing we witness is that Tommy Boy has mixed up his lines for the 9,874,345th time this season. But who’s counting, right? Nylander with Straka and Jagr is a great way to show how bad play does have its rewards. We have a Prucha sighting on the second line -- too bad the Rangers continue to be the only ones who don’t realize that Cullen is not a second line center. Hollweg is on the third line with Betts and Hall, with Jason Ward punished by centering Hossa and Orr.

I am already wishing I taped the Beaver game so I could instead recap a two-touchdown comeback and have a great Friday night. Everything is in place for a blowout. I get nervous when I see Kerry Fraser as the ref, but nerves give way to disgust as Lundqvist is left all alone while Alfredsson deflects the first shot of the game in just 32 seconds in. It turns out to be the only goal of the game. People who did not see this game will be misled by the 1-0 score into thinking they missed a great contest. But all they missed was a great demonstration of goaltending by Lundqvist, who kept this game close.

The sad truth is that in the first period only Lundqvist kept this from being a total blowout. The Rangers were pathetic in every area of the game and badly lacked any kind of intensity or heart. The Rangers were so bad that they did not make an appearance in the offensive zone until there was 13:45 left in the period. They did not register a shot on goal until just past the midway mark of the period. On the other hand, it was impressive to watch the passing and puck-handling clinic the Senators put on in the first period. The way they passed the puck and moved it around, the Rangers looked like minor leaguers.

Jagr turns the puck over in the neutral zone and then plays Captain Hook to give the Sens a power play, the first of two bad Jagr penalties. One can wonder if it is his health or his heart, but whatever it is, Jagr needs to either get his head out of his backside or get his shoulder examined as he is not helping the team in any case. We have a so-so fight as Orr goes at it with a big boy named McGrattan, but unless you count hitting them with your equipment, neither puts up a good fight. I would have given them an additional two minutes for dull fighting. We do have an Aaron Ward sighting -- his once a week offensive attack, breaking in on goal, and he he he he shoots! And does not score. Thanks Aaron!

Dany Heatley proves that even the Senators can do something dumb, taking a bad penalty tripping up Rozsival. It should be 2-0 as Alfredsson strips Prucha of the puck and walks in untouched on Lundqvist, who makes not one but two super solid saves to keep the score where it is. Chris Neil rightfully is called for a five minute major but is not ejected for charging Petr Prucha. Right idea, wrong call. Had he been ejected, it might have kept other cheap shots from happening. The Rangers are so inept on offense that this is turning into an ad for “No-Doze”. We go to intermission with Perry telling us what we already know, that the Rangers lack intensity. Thanks, Perry -- now go have a cookie with that glass of milk.

The second period begins, and the question is, will the Rangers screw up the power play? They do not disappoint, our pal Nylander, a whole 18 seconds into the period, ending the major with a hook. But wait, Heatley shows he one day wants to be a Ranger by taking a his third dumb penalty of the night. Rangers do nothing 4-on-3, Shanny gets off a blast 4-on-4, but then the Sens get not one but two 2-on-1 breaks. If not for Lundqvist, this game is already a major blow out.

Sadly, the second period became a battle of cheap shots. Kasparaitis sticks his butt out to take out one guy, and Schubert sticks out his knee on Hollweg. Cheap is cheap and it has no place in any level of hockey. I will not buy that Schubert did not intend to hit Hollweg like that, since we saw him repeat his cheap shots later in the game. Here is where in my eyes both refs deserved to be suspended, as it was a miracle that nobody was badly hurt. The evening is not a total loss as we get some poetic justice as Kasparaitis takes out that creep Neil. We are now over two full games since the Rangers last scored a goal, but before we head into intermission, we see Kasparaitis acting like they are talking about the game in front of a couple of cute ladies.

The Rangers played a slightly better second period, outshooting the Senators, but the real scoring chances belonged to the Sens. Henrik is keeping this from becoming a channel switcher. In the third, we lose the picture midway through the period because, I believe, the NHL did not want us to see that the trap is still alive and well and living in Ottawa. What really matters, though, is that the Rangers still lost. The losing streak is up to seven games, the Rangers having failed to score a goal since the 8:17 mark of the second period in Tampa, a total of 151:43. I thought about going on a rant, but what good would it do? I will simply let you folks have the fun as the Rangers get to turn right around and play at home against the Caps Saturday night. I have a feeling that we might see some boo-birds if the Rangers can not overcome a Cap team that is missing five players.

-- Jess Rubenstein

Riddle me this Batman… When is a joke not so funny? Answer: When it’s the truth… It was good news and bad news for sure for the Ranger organization last night. In Bridgeport, a town whose very name rings fear only in those who have to live there, the Wolf Pack were in town, and yours truly [Mitch Beck] took in the action from ice level. There were some really interesting things to see. The Pack won, 3-2. Jed Ortmeyer was Second Star, all over the ice making sound passes and hitting everything short of the coaches -- he even hit the refs a couple of times, but as far as I could see, they were deserved. Nigel Dawes had a great game, scored an amazing goal, and was named First Star.

But like I said, it was a good news, bad news scene. The Sound Tigers came out early and dominated the game, controlling everything down to the color of the laces on the Pack’s skates. Sound familiar? Al Montoya, who has been great since his Ranger call-up allowed him to spend some time with Benny Allaire, was tremendous with a ton of stops that were, simply put, Lundqvistian in nature. His saves fired up the Pack, who took over dominating the game once the Tigers began to parade to the penalty box. The goal scorers were Dawes, Mark Lee, a recent call-up from Charlotte and a former Sound Tiger, and Dane Byers, who had a sound game all around.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that on three, that’s right three occasions, Montoya was seemingly hit by a bus (Sound Tigers) and shaken up with NO response whatsoever from a single player on the Pack bench. Lee was called for goalie interference -- nonsense, as he was shoved from behind and fell on the goaltender, the cross-check that sent him flying not called. But does the lack of a retaliatory response sound familiar? I may be off-base here, but on the last one, Montoya stayed down, hurting -- even as play went on at the other end of the ice, he was stretching, trying to shake the cob webs out. He kept looking at his teammates, almost asking for someone to protect him, but nothing was done. That was about the only thing that wasn’t right for the Pack, who moved back to .500 and into the tenth seed, three points out of playoff position with two games in hand.

Between periods, I visited Bruce Berlet, who told me the Rangers were losing 1-0 after only 32 seconds. I told him not to tell me anymore, as I had just eaten and didn’t feel like throwing up. I went home to the greatest invention of all time, the DVR, and put on the game, and sure enough, 32 ticks in, there it was. The Rangers felt they were doing so well, skating in with a six game losing streak, that they took the period off to rest. It’s completely understanding -- skating a full 60 minutes, you know, is very tiring. They need to stay peppy for upcoming photo shoots, and if I’m not wrong, isn’t there a team party soon to welcome their new coach? Oh is that premature? After watching this performance I am not so sure.

If it weren’t for Henrik putting on a Dallas-like performance and Ottawa seemingly unable to put a shot anywhere near the net when they had the chances, this one would have been a blow-out. The Rangers played an uninspired game, just going through the motions. Every chance that they got they either blew by making too many passes (I know, I know... nothing new there) or they couldn’t hit the net if they fell into it.

Jagr continued his dominance of the pouting superstar category and could do nothing. And I will say it again -- Brendan Shanahan needs a game off. He looks exhausted and totally frustrated. This team as currently constructed has no real heart like last year’s team did. When things go bad, they fold up tent and wait for the charter. Sure, in this one they had moments where they looked like they were going to make a serious run, but their shots were coming from bad angles. Ray Emery put on a good show, but not nearly as good as his counterpart at the other end of the ice.

Here’s the bottom line, Ranger faithful. This team is going nowhere. The team has no tradable assets that they are willing to part with. The young guys in Hartford, while steadily improving, are not ready to move up to the NHL level yet. Tom Renney is probably not going to be fired. Who’s out there who is going to change this around so drastically? Scotty Bowman couldn’t get the necessary motivation and talent required to win. They are what they are.

Now you ask, what do you think they are going to do? Do you remember the movie “Remember the Titans?” Well, in this case, “Remember the Owner” and his desire to raise ticket prices next season. He’s convinced this is a playoff team missing only a piece or two. I completely expect that Sather and Co. are going to try and pull off a trade for a veteran player or two and will ship out a couple of young guys, and we are all going to erupt when it happens. I don’t want to say who, because I have no idea, but I fully expect it to happen. Bottom line, the Pack looks promising, the prospects in juniors and all over the globe look promising, but the parent club is a total mess right now and personally I don’t think there really is anyone or anything out there to put a new bow on this pig and call it a Siamese Cat and have people believe it.

Enjoy the hockey season while you can, my friends, because it’s going to be over April 7th. Now what was the good news again? Oh yeah, Dubi will be back today…

-- Mitch Beck

Only two New York papers sent reporters to Ottawa to cover the game -- the News and Newsday. Other recaps can be found at AP, NYR.com and NY Sports Day. From Ottawa, coverage by the Sun, Citizen, and Globe and Mail, with more from Sun on Shanahan and other game notes. The best read of the day, though, is at John Dellapina's Blueshirts Blog, where Renney is quoted extensively on Jarkko Immonen, roster changes, and other subjects. Hartford's win in Bridgeport is written up by Bruce in the Courant. NYR.com has a prospect update and WJC report. More on the WJC -- a recap of Canada's win, led by Ryan Russell's twin brother Kris, two reports here and here on Canadian player Sam Gagner, son of one-time Ranger Dave Gagner, and Team USA on thin ice -- Jess might have more to say about why that is some day. Speaking of Jess, as if you haven't heard enough from him already today, here is his Prospect Park:

I will turn this over now to that great wonderful guy Jess (wait that’s me) for the world of prospects, as there was a busy day there. Take it away, Jess:

Thanks, Jess. We start with the WJC, or, as it is turning out, the Canada-Russia show, both nations earning first round byes with wins Friday. For Canada, Tom Pyatt continued his solid play with another assist as Canada held off Germany 3-1. Marc-André Cliche was +1 while Marc Staal continued his strong defensive play. All three will hopefully be wearing Ranger uniforms within a couple of years. Russia meanwhile blew out Belarus 6-1, with Artem Anisimov not showing up on the scoresheet. Team USA faces Slovakia early Saturday.

Colleges were back in action last night. Dylan Reese and his Harvard Crimson continued their disappointing season, losing to 14th-ranked Michigan State, 5-2, at the Great Lakes Invitational. Reese did not score. Jordan Foote was scoreless as MTU lost to #3 Michigan, 4-1, in the other game at the Invitational to set up a Harvard-MTU consolation game Saturday. Kenny Roche had an assist but BU lost in OT to St. Lawrence. Greg Beller did not score in Yale's loss to Minnesota State, 3-1. Billy Ryan had the game of the night, scoring his fifth of the season and adding two assists (one on the game winner) as Maine doubled up Western Michigan, 8-4, at the Florida College Classic.

Turning to the CHL, Ryan Hillier did not score as Halifax lost in a shootout, 4-3, to St. John in QMJHL action. In the OHL, Dalyn Flatt was a healthy scratch while teammate Bobby Sanguinetti did not score as Owen Sound defeated Sudbury, 6-2. Trevor Koverko continued his strong defensive play for Oshawa as they beat Brampton 3-2. Out west, Lukas Zeliska returned to the Prince Albert line-up with an assist and a +2, but his Raiders fell to Swift Current, 5-2. Someone forgot to tell him that most European rookies’ play drops off, but Zeliska has instead caught fire. Michael Sauer had a quiet night as Medicine Hat was shutout, 2-0, by Lethbridge.

Stars of the Night: First Star -- Billy Ryan (Maine, Hockey East) -- a goal and two assists as slowly Ryan is stepping out from Greg Moore’s shadow, the junior showing signs that he has good potential. Second Star -- Tom Pyatt (Canada, WJC) -- simply take any of the things we have been saying about the player we are nicknaming “Prime Time” and you have it. He is going to quietly come to the Rangers with three WJC medals -- it is believed that no other Ranger prospect has ever done that. Third Star -- Lukas Zeliska (Prince Albert, WHL) -- Slovakia’s mistake is PA’s gain, and boy, are they happy with his play this season. He is pushing his way past Zaborsky as the best offensive prospect from this last draft.

Rangers Four on Three on January 3rd

Everyone is looking forward to the first of the year, New Year's Day, but here at Blueshirt Bulletin we always look ahead -- to the fourth of the month, the traditional date of our Rangers Four on Four live online panel discussion, hosted by the inimitable Mitch Beck. In January, however, with the Rangers scheduled to play on the night of the fourth, we're going to penalize ourselves by one day and hold a Rangers Four on Three on January 3rd, starting as usual at 7:00 PM and running through 9:00.

This month Mitch has organized a Writers' Roundtable discussion. Returning are past guests, the one and only Hockey Rodent, fresh off his citation in the New York Times, and FoxSports.com columnist Spector (AKA Lyle Richardson), coming to us from his home in PEI (Prince Edward Island) where he holds court in Spector's Hockey. We will also have Sam Weinman, the Journal News Ranger beat writer and Blueshirt Bulletin contributor whose Rangers Report blog has quickly become one of the top online destitations for Ranger fans. And certainly not least, New York Post reporter and columnist Larry Brooks, perhaps the most candid reporter on the Ranger beat and a perennial fixture on The Hockey News People of Power and Influence top 100 list.

The format will remain the same as in the past -- we will use our Comments section to field questions for our panelists, and they will post their answers in the same manner. Please join us -- this one looks like a good one.

The Rangers travel to Ottawa tonight hoping to break the horrendous six-game losing streak that threatens to derail their season far too early in the campaign. Fans are calling for Tom Renney's head (see John Dellapina's eloquent defense of the coach in his Blueshirts Blog). Jaromir Jagr is struggling (see the News, Times, Journal News, and Post). Brendan Shanahan is struggling, but no one seems to notice. Henrik Lundqvist is hoping to build on a good outing last game and reprise his performance in Ottawa from three weeks ago (he will start, according to Rangers Report, as will the reunited trio of Jagr, Straka, and Nylander).

On the flip side, sophomore Chris Kelly will center the first line for Ottawa with Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher sidelined with knee injuries, according to the Ottawa Sun. Meanwhile, Dany Heatley will be playing without his gap-toothed grin, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The Senators had been on a 2-6-0 skid (giving up six or more goals in four of those losses) before winning their last two games over the Flyers and Islanders. See NYR.com for a game preview.

NYR.com also has their daily prospect update, and they have a summary of yesterday's WJC action. Bruce Berlet writes about the Wolf Pack's heinous schedule this week in the Courant. Jed Ortmeyer's stay with the Pack will last only until New Year's, says Dellapina in Blueshirts Blog. Two goals by Bruce Graham plus one by Lee Falardeau fell just short of erasing a 4-0 deficit in Charlotte's loss. And certainly not least, Jess Rubenstein has today's Prospect Park:

Another busy day of hockey, so let us get right to it, starting with the World Juniors where Artem Anisimov had a power play goal in Russia’s 6-0 whipping of Switzerland. Anisimov, according to reports, was a force at both ends of the ice in helping Russia now emerge as Canada’s chief challenge for the gold medal. Tomas Zaborsky had an assist as Slovakia lost to host Sweden 6-3. David Kveton was scoreless in the Czech Republic's 6-2 loss to Finland. Up on Friday will be Canada vs. Germany, while USA-Slovakia is slated for Saturday.

Switching to the Canadian junior leagues, we start with our featured game, Michael Sauer’s debut with the Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Brodie Dupont’s Calgary Hitmen. Neither prospect appeared on the scoresheet, but both players drew raves for their play by the analysts calling the game. Sauer is going to be a huge factor in helping the Tigers win a WHL championship and a spot in the Memorial Cup tournament that goes with it. Prince George with Eric Hunter got beaten by Spokane, 6-2, as Hunter was scoreless. Ryan Russell had two assists in helping Kootenay defeat Lethbridge, 5-1. Over in the OHL, Trevor Koverko had a strong defensive performance as Oshawa took care of Guelph, 3-1.

Stars of the Night: First Star -- Artem Anisimov (Russia) -- When I attended the draft, several people told me Anisimov was a better pick than Sanguinetti. Hopefully we will see that in this tournament. The skinny on him is that he is a strong two-way player. Second Star -- Ryan Russell (Kootenay WHL) -- Two assists the day after earning the third star here. Nice going Rusty. Third Star -- Trevor Koverko (Oshawa OHL) -- We reward solid defensive performances and Koverko has taken on a leadership role with the Generals as they push for the playoffs. He has size and a willingness to learn, so do not count this prospect out.

Jed Cleared, Assigned to Pack -- No-Show Ozo on IR

Jed Ortmeyer has been medically cleared to play again and has been sent to Hartdord on a conditioning assignment, the Rangers announced today. Meanwhile, Sandis Ozolinsh was placed on injured reserve with a phantom knee injury, possibly to provide cap relief after he failed to report for his assignment to Hartford. Or the move may have been necessitated by the AHL's limit on the number of veteran pros per team, although by our unofficial count the Pack still have one veteran spot open.

No Need to Panic or Meddle Yet

Someone wrote in an online forum somewhere that we'd better hope that the team isn't reacting as badly to the current losing streak as fans are, or else most of them would just quit. The Rangers have a lot of work to do to turn their season back around, but everyone is still trying, no one has quit. We're not even halfway through the season, we're still over .500, we're still in playoff position. Everyone is talking about how good the Isles have become, yet they only just caught us in the standings. The Rangers are not going to lose all their remaining games -- things will turn around.

The dose of accountability handed out in the third period last game should help -- it was no coincidence that the Rangers' play picked up once a couple of sets of fresh hungry young legs (Immonen and Prucha) got a chance to skate regularly, and it's no coincidence that Pock elevated his game after a couple of rusty starts. The message about taking bad penalties has at long last been sent -- and FOJs (friends of Jags) are not immune, with JWard and Nylander given seats on the bench, along with Hossa and Kaspar.

The big issue is whether coach Tom Renney will be allowed to do what he feels he needs to do to get things going again. Renney has had free reign to run his team since taking over the head coaching position, and assistant GM Don Maloney has been willing and able to help him. But a recent entry in Steve Zipay's Blue Notes blog about GM Glen Sather interrupting a "What moves can we make to fix this team" meeting between Renney and Maloney suggests that Sather may be backing off his most successful management strategy since taking over the Rangers -- backing off and letting others run the hockey operation.

But Jagr is still here, as are Shanahan and Lundqvist. These guys are not going anywhere anytime soon. These are the guys who have to carry this team over the top, and they have all stumbled during this streak. Jagr has only one assist and is -2 in the past three games, all of them bad games for him. Shanahan has only one goal in his last nine games and has scored goals in only four of the last sixteen games. Lundqvist continues to look for consistency, although he played well against the Isles. Jagr and Lundqvist stayed out after everyone else left the ice at practice yesterday working with each other, according to Rangers Report -- Shanahan didn't practice at all, he and Cullen given an extra day off to rest.

The Rangers return to action tomorrow night, trying to break the schneid in a tough place, Ottawa. Renney is uncertain about his lines, but he needs to practice what he preaches and return to the simplicity of the units he used to start the season -- Nylander centering Jagr and Straka, Cullen centering Prucha and Shanahan, Betts and Ward along with a real plugger like Hollweg rather than the ineffective Hossa or Hall, and those last two on a fourth line centered by Immonen with enough minutes to fulfill a mandate to hit everything that moves. The slumping power play needs to be given orders to shoot the puck or else face further benching. It would help to have Cullen and Rachunek on the points to further that cause. Hall has no business being on a power play that doesn't take point shots, so either they start firing artillery shots with him in front or else get him out of there altogether. Prucha needs power play time with Jagr.

In the papers, the Post and Newsday write about Nylander's benching. Hartford failed again to reach the .500 mark -- Wolf Pack weekly update at their web site. Charlotte gets ready to return to action tonight. NYR.com has their daily prospect update. WJC reports on Canada's win over Team USA as well as other action from NYR.com, Slam! Sports, TSN.ca, and the Globe and Mail -- think the 0-2 Amerks could have used some help from Bobby Sanguinetti? And the return of Prospect Park by Jess Rubenstein:

Well, today was when I expected to return to work, and boy do we have a ton of stuff to report to you about. I have to start with the match-up between Team Canada and Team USA. In most cases I would be rooting for Team USA, but with Michael Sauer and Bobby Sanguinetti left off the roster (and last year it was Dubinsky), I find it hard to root for a program that is living off its one gold medal. Canada as expected dominated, with Tommy Pyatt contributing a goal and an assist to their 6-3 win.

Pyatt is Canada’s third line center, a role I see him filling down the road as a Ranger. Fellow prospect Marc-Andre Cliche centered the fourth line, but I see him as a RW for the Rangers. One thing I do like about Marc Staal is how he seems to play up to the level of competition, so ignore his -2 and realize he was out on the ice in all the key situations for Canada. Staal showed his defensive smarts as he was not caught out of position while matched with Team USA’s best line every shift.

As for Team USA, they deserve to lose every game for leaving off not only the Ranger prospects but Sanguinetti’s teammate Bobby Ryan as well. One day I hope Dubi will allow me the space to explain why USA Hockey needs to be fixed just as badly as the Rangers from top to bottom. Elsewhere at the WJC, Slovakia dropped a 4-2 decision, with Tomas Zaborsky held scoreless. Slovakia made a mistake by not selecting Lukas Zeliska, who is fast becoming one of the best playmaking prospects the Rangers have. And we also should mention that neither David Kveton of the Czech Republic nor Artem Anisimov of Russia were factors in their match-up Tuesday.

Sauer must feel like he won the lottery, as he was traded from the third worst team in the WHL, the Portland Winter Hawks, to the best team in the league, the Medicine Hat Tigers. Now that he will not be expected to do everything, his skills will become more visible. I expect now that I will hit up Dubi for paying for me to attend the Memorial Cup this spring as I forecast a few Ranger prospects playing in it.

Not only is my winter break over, but so is the break for CHL players. Ryan Hillier got his second half off to a great start with two goals, an assist, and first star of the game honors as Halifax defeated Saint John, 5-3. Those goals give him twenty on the season. In the WHL, Zeliska was not in the line-up as Prince Albert won via shootout, 4-3, over Regina -- Zeliska flew back from Christmas break in Slovakia and did not arrive until 3 AM, so he was given the game off. Eric Hunter’s 101st career goal (his fourteenth of the season) for Prince George tied the score in the third period, but Spokane scored in OT to win 4-3. Ryan Russell had a goal (number fourteen) and an assist but his Kootenay Ice lost in OT, 4-3, to Red Deer. Russell was named the game’s third star for his efforts.

Stars of the Night: First Star -- Ryan Hillier (Halifax QMJHL) -- Nice job from a prospect who has really caught fire this month. Good for him as it will help Halifax in a playoff run when they get their players back from the WJC. Second Star -- Tom Pyatt (Team Canada WJC) -- Big games call for big efforts and Pyatt, who does not get any love except from those of us here with the Blueshirt Bulletin because we know he is a PRIME TIME PLAYER, came through with one. Hello, he has a gold and a silver medal from two previous WJCs, and he will add another medal this year. We know he is a truly legit NHL level prospect. Third Star -- Ryan Russell (Kootenay WHL) -- Yes, that is his twin brother Kris playing for Canada in the WJC, and if not for his injury earlier this season Rusty would be there too. That is OK -- the Prucha clone with an attitude will get to show his stuff on Broadway.

Point-Counterpoint With Mitch & Jess

Dubi is on vacation boys and girls and I was honored that he asked me to give you the recap. Unfortunately it's not a Bob Murphy "Happy recap" but more of a disgusted one. Tonight was one MAJOR puzzling game. If you watched this contest, or worse yet actually were in the Coliseum, you realized that it really wasn't much of a contest. After seeing how Coach Renney decided to shake up the lines, my first thought was, man, I haven't heard from Jess in a while. My second thought was, hey, throwing Jason Ward on the first line is sure going to shake things up. I'm sure Blake, Yashin, and Satan were quaking in their boots at the prospect of that.

From the first drop of the puck you could see how intimidated they weren't as they immediately went on the attack and did not let up one iota for 60 minutes. The Rangers seemed to have no motivation whatsoever. They couldn't get anything started, they couldn’t seem to make a pass or have a halfway decent rush. The only decent chance they had was by Adam Hall, who's playing more like Monty Hall and can't make a deal for a goal, but he missed a wide open net with DiPietro down and out. Jagr did not even have a shot on goal until the third period. The Rangers never really threatened in this contest. They were fortunate that the Islanders were shooting everything wide and high, otherwise it could have been much worse. Henrik was stellar in net. I don't fault him on either goal as he was screened by Rachunek on Asham’s, and just a great shot by Blake.

Here are some random thoughts I had while watching the game:

1) I didn't like in the pre-game when Coach Renney said "we should be motivated for this game..." Should be? Isn't that his job, to make sure they "ARE motivated for the game"? I want to hear more definitive statements by the coach.

2) I really did not like the way the lines were made up. Jagr, Nylander, and Straka have been the only functional and productive line all year. Why break them up? Jason Ward to the first line makes no sense whatsoever.

3) Could they bury Petr Prucha any deeper? Going into the second period, Petr only had a little over two, that's right two minutes of ice time.

4) Why is Matt Cullen continuing to play out of position? He's a third line checking center. He knows it, we know it, why doesn't the team know it?

5) I think Brendan Shanahan needs a game off. He looks totally spent out there. He is being WAY overused.

6) Why was Bryce Lampman called up if he isn't going to play, especially when Baranka and Girardi have been playing better and Baranka played with Pock those few games he was in back in Hartford?

7) Someone tell me why Michael Nylander is benched for the third period when Karl Rachunek (who is what, -15 by now?) continues to get uninterrupted ice time. Prucha, who does nothing but throw himself around out there like a ping pong ball on steroids and gets so little time, and Immonen were the beneficiaries as Nylander, Jason Ward, and Hossa sat out just about all of the period.

8) Chris Simon said something interesting. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that the Rangers are a very fast team and that you have to slow them down by being physical against them. A very fast team? Is he playing against the same team that we're all watching? Which brings me to the last point…

9) The Rangers have got to be the softest team in the entire NHL. Jagr is getting slammed around. Rangers are getting pushed off of pucks and are putting up as much resistance at the blue line as you get going through the EZ Pass lane at the GWB at 2 AM.

So, it's easy to offer up all of what's wrong. What can be done REALISTICALLY to fix all of it? Well, truth be told, not a whole lot. The Rangers don't have a lot of players that anyone else really covets. There aren't a lot of players in Hartford ready to take the step up. And they are restricted by the cap. That only leaves one potential solution -- a change behind the bench. And I don't really think that's coming any time soon either. Folks, it's going to be a long season. There's a lot of stuff to chew on, but basically, a bad performance that has followed five other bad performances in a row. What's going to turn this around? Well, the staff has until Friday to figure it out...

-- Mitch Beck

Either space aliens or Mitch Beck’s relatives have kidnapped Dubi, as he is claiming to be in Pennsylvania on vacation. C’mon, no Ranger fan goes to Pennsylvania of his own free will. Even worse, he claims he can’t watch the game because they don’t have MSG. Yeah right, interrupting my vacation so you can goof off with ET and Darth Vader. Therefore, he wants me to recap the game for you folks and perhaps provide a logical version in case Mitch has not sobered up enough to do his. In that case, are you guys in trouble, as I am so ticked off by the current nonsense being sold to Ranger fans as to why things are in the toilet. So here goes.

The telecast opens up with our pals Sam and Joey explaining why Tom Renney has changed the lines once again. Blah blah blah, yada yada yada -- the talking heads are just doing their job, but you wonder if even they believe what they are telling us. If you watched the telecast then I will not bore you with those phony details as Renney has changed his lines more times this season than McDonald’s has sold burgers. The truth is when you have lost five games in a row you are either in a state of panic or just right on the edge of it.

OK, why not? If I have to suffer, so will you. Jason Ward who has next to no offense is with Nylander and Jagr; Shanny with Straka and Cullen; Hollweg, Betts, and Hall; and last and really the least, Hossa playing with Immonen and Prucha. Here is why I dislike those lines: You take the best possible counterattackers against the speed of the Islanders (Immonen and Prucha) and bury them on the fourth line. Ward is a checker not an offensive threat -- I would have used Immonen or Prucha there. Hollweg, Hall, and Betts is great if you want a grind it out game, but against the Islanders it will be hard if they dictate the pace with their team speed.

The good news is the Rangers made it a whole minute and half into the game before Ward was blasted from behind by Sean Hill to create a scoring chance for the Islanders. Heck, the first five minutes is “Blast’em Rangers,” the Islanders hitting Rangers every chance they had, that physical play setting the tempo of the period. The Rangers really were not all that outplayed in the scoreless first except when it came to shots on goal and hits. Still, the Isles’ hitting paid dividends later in the game -- they had set both pace and tone for this game and the Rangers simply were no match for it.

The Rangers despite all the physical play had the better offensive chances in the period but one could see the differences in how the teams approach defensive responsibilities. The Islanders use the body to clear out the sight lines for DiPietro. Come close to their crease and expect to be hit hard. The Rangers’ finesse style allows people to skate in with little fear of being hit, to set screens and attack the net. Later, this will cost them this game.

Jason Ward earned the Rangers’ first penalty by not trying to avoid DiPietro (who was playing the puck way too far from the crease). Chris Simon negated the power play by going after Ward, which to be honest I respect because one day I pray a Ranger will defend one of his teammates like Simon did.

Jason Ward got the first scoring chance in the second, but DiPietro was able to see it and gloved it. Shanny takes a hooking call a few moments later and Kaspar then takes a bad penalty in his defensive zone while playing four on four. If not for Lundqvist, the Islanders would have taken the lead as he stopped three straight shots with Blake sitting on his lap. Of course, Hossa, that defensive specialist, fails to clear the puck and helps the Islanders generate a scoring chance.

The Rangers actually went on a power play of their own when Cullen drew one but they did nothing with it. No sooner do I type that out than Asham picks up a loose puck, skates in, and using Rachunek for a screen beats Lundqvist to give the Fish a 1-0 lead. This finesse defense does so much damage -- but not as much as brain dead plays like Nylander taking a double minor for cutting Martinek with his stick. I am sorry, but that kind of play is pure laziness and there is no reason for this constantly happening.

As the second period is winding down, Robatille found Gervais wide open sneaking in from the point with Lundqvist off guard and the Rangers napping on the PK. But he not shot wide. The third period started with Lundqvist making four solid saves, but his teammates never could get control of the puck and Jason Blake finally got one past him. This goal you could see coming -- despite all that Lundqvist was doing, his teammates’ failures to get the puck away from the Isles made the second goal strictly a matter of time.

Down 2-0, it is time to play with some urgency. Now the Rangers start doing what the Islanders have been doing all game long. Sorry folks, but the game is over at this point as the Islanders have dictated the pace and tempo for way too long while hitting the Rangers at every possible moment. They have been swarming, and if not for Lundqvist I would be writing about a bloodbath. Ted Nolan has the Islanders playing at both ends of the ice. This is going to be a team to fear come crunch time. They attack the net and everyone comes back to play defense.

Of course, as I dream about the Rangers playing defense, Dubi’s role model Rachunek takes a penalty to help further send the Rangers on their way to their sixth straight loss, allowing the Islanders to pass them in the standings and take a 3-0 season series lead. As we watch the Rangers drop number six in a row what have we learned girls and boys? That Ted Nolan has enough faith in Tom Poti to play him on defense late in the game says a ton about how much the Rangers blew it by not hiring him when they had the chance. This is not that laughingstock of a franchise we all loved to abuse.

-- Jess Rubenstein

Game reports in the Post, Times, Journal News, Daily News, Newsday, SNY, NYR.com, and NY Sports Day, with additional game notes from Newsday and Rangers Report. Nice article by Emma Span in the Village Voice, unfortunately rendered somewhat obsolete by the ongoing losing streak. Hartford shut out Worcester with a lot of new faces in the line-up. At NYR.com, a brief prospect update and a Ranger-centric report on yesterday's WJC action. Jess's take on the WJC: "The World Juniors opened today and like the Rangers, Team USA was a huge disappointment, upset 2-1 by Germany. Tom Pyatt, Marc Staal, and Marc-Andre Cliche contributed to Canada's 2-0 shutout of host Sweden. Russia, with Artem Anismov, edged the Czech Republic, with David Kvelton, 3-2. Action continues Wednesday."

"Minor" Roster Shuffle

The Rangers announced that Jed Ortmeyer and Bryce Lampman were recalled from Hartford and that Brad Isbister was re-assigned. "Ortmeyer will remain a non-roster injured player pending medical examination for clearance to play," according to the announcement. The Ortmeyer and Isbister moves have been on the Wolf Pack transaction list since Saturday, along with the recall to Hartford from Charlotte of Mark Lee, Ryan Constant, and Zdenek Bahensky (possibly a series of temporary moves until Charlotte returns to action later this week).

As the Rangers prepare to face the Islanders tonight on Long Island, hoping to end their awful five-game skid, the focus in the the papers today is mostly on the resurgent Isles -- see the Post, Newsday, and Journal News. NYR.com has a game preview as well. In the Courant, Bruce Berlet has stories from overseas from Wolf Pack players. At FoxSports.com, another preview of the WJC, which begins today.

Being on vacation this week, we're not sure if we'll be able to see the games live, but we'll try to cover the action as best we can.

Quiet Christmas

Things are mostly quiet in New York City on this Christmas morning, where it seems like this year is one of Father Guido Sarducci's "littla" Christmases -- either that, or I have managed to scrupulously steer clear of the city's more congested holiday districts.

Things are certainly quiet on the Ranger front -- a little too quiet perhaps given the five game losing streak and two third period collapses in Florida. Larry Brooks is making some more noise at the Post about the deficiencies of the team and what might be done about it, and once again he is close to 100% accurate in his assessment. Over at the News, John Dellapina gives Tom Renney room to make some noise about what he thinks, and that runs counter to much of what Brooks writes. And in his Blue Notes blog entry from yesterday, Steve Zipay asks whether the tree needs to be nurtured or pruned, and goes through the roster player by player.

According to Hockey Rodent, fans are making noise about their dissatisfaction with Jaromir Jagr, believing that the gifts he is seen giving in the illustration at left are turnovers to the opposition, and that it is therefore time to trade him. Rodent explains why the gift in question will not be the Rangers giving Jagr away. Anyone who thinks Jagr is, as Rodent writes, "infecting everyone else in the dressing room with his softness," has obviously not spent any time in the dressing room. Only Ranger fans can believe that the league's second leading scorer is the problem with this team. There, I've said it -- grinch me. Actually, I haven't personally seen or heard anyone complain about Jagr to that extent, certainly not here at Blueshirt Bulletin, so I guess the type of fan calling for Jagr's head is still a small minority (and doesn't understand the new CBA all that well).

On the prospect front, the WJC begins tomorrow evening in Sweden (afternoon here). NHL.com has a preview of Group A, where four of the five Ranger prospects will play (three for Canada, one for Slovakia). At NYR.com, today's prospect update has a single entry, Jan Marek playing in Russia. All other prospects are off.

[Illustration by Blueshirt Bulletin art director John Coutihno]

Magical Evening as Rangers Get Boyled Alive [Links Added]

The NHL, ever on the lookout for new ways to entertain its audience, decided to use a Mexican jumping bean instead of a puck when the Rangers visited Tampa last evening. When that failed to get the crowd going, the Rangers took matters into their own hands, performing a stunning feat of magic -- a disappearing act of titanic proportions that brought the locals out of their seats en masse.

But for Ranger fans viewing the game back in New York and across the country, it was more a case of deja vu -- that ephemeral feeling that you've seen this happen before, but you just can't put your finger on it (perhaps because your finger is now firmly glued to the panic button, as well it should be).

Martin Straka started things off off the opening face-off of the third period with an invisible hook (not that it lets the Rangers off the hook for what happened next, but he didn't do anything). Next, Henrik Lundqvist did an uncanny body switch, magically tele-transporting himself and his first two periods of excellent shutout hockey into the body of Johan Holmqvist, his understudy with the Swedish National Team, starting the third period in relief in the Lightning net. And in an astonishing first in the annals of entertainment history, Lundqvist astrally projected an image of himself to fill the Ranger net -- the image of himself from a week ago in Toronto, where he absorbed a 9-goal shellacking.

We can go on and on here -- Jaromir Jagr spent the night duelling with the jumping bean, and lost badly. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we can say with certainty that Brendan Shanahan also did quite the disappearing act. Jarkko Immonen disappeared as well, but it was not his own doing -- the coach limited his ice time to under five minutes. And if you thought that was defenseman Brian Boyle out there torching the Rangers for a hat trick, you would be wrong -- it was the Rangers conjuring up the spirit of Bobby Orr, but placing him in the wrong uniform.

The Rangers have now lost five games in the last eight nights, after winning five games in eight nights prior to that. They have blown multi-goal third period leads in the last two after falling behind badly in the first three. They have given up three or more goals in all five while failing to score more than three themselves in any of those games, giving up 11 power play goals in 28 chances while scoring only 4 in their own 29 advantages (although they did perform the minor miracle of converting a five on three last night).

Can the Rangers magically transform themselves back into a contender after the incendiary beatings they have taken in the past eight days? Right now it looks like it will take a Christmas miracle for it to happen.

Game recaps from the Post, News, Newsday, St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, NYR.com, and NYSports Day. Hartford lost, falling just short of its goal to reach .500 by Christmas. NYR.com has its daily prospect update. And from the Halifax Daily News, a player by player look at Canada's WJC team, including three Ranger prospects. In the Sunday columns: Larry Brooks of the Post on how Gary Bettman has ruined hockey, Steve Zipay of Newsday on several NHL topics, and Sherry Ross of the News on divisional realignment.

In other Ranger-related hockey reading on this mild Christmas Eve: the Times, has an article on hockey stats that mentions Hockey Rodent. From the Edmonton Journal, an article on Joe Micheletti's connection to Phil Kessel. From the unlikely locale of Eureka, California, a columnist reminisces about his youth in Flushing, watching the Rangers and playing pond hockey. And the Daily News names Jimmy Dolan New York's anti-sportsman of the year and begs him to sell the Garden, along with the Knicks and Rangers.

Have a happy holiday, Ranger fans. Remember: when the Rangers were going great guns at this time last year, the future looked rosy, but when they collapsed in the spring, they said you don't win anything in October or January. If the team can emerge from the current struggles and gel, it could do better this time around when spring rolls around. OK, just shoot me -- I must have seen "It's a Wonderful Life" a few too many times.