Blueshirt Boggle

Rangers Hab Another Comeback in Them

It took Scott Gomez a month to get accustomed to being a New York Ranger. But since November 1st, having scored just two goals and one assist in eleven October games, Gomez has registered points in 25 of 28 games, 33 in total on seven goals and 26 assists. Last night, he extended his latest point streak to a dozen games (four goals, thirteen assists) with a pair of first period assists that staked the Rangers to a 2-1 lead. Along the way, he helped jump-start Brendan Shanahan from an early season goal drought -- Shanahan's overtime game winner was his 13th goal since the end of October. And now he has helped re-start the slumping Jaromir Jagr, who scored his fourth goal in three games in extending his own point-scoring to seven games (four goals, eight assists).

That revived scoring came in handy against a Montreal Canadien team that was virtually a lock to win once they scored their third goal of the game -- they were 17-1-2 so far this season when scoring three or more goals, 13-0-1 the last fourteen times they have done so. Especially since the Rangers, offensively challenged so much of this season, didn't look like they were going to get another sniff at the net after getting only one shot on goal during the entire second period -- only that one shot from the time they took a 2-1 lead late in the first period on Jagr's goal through almost all of the first three minutes of the third (though they did attempt fourteen shots during that span, most of which were blocked, compared to fifteen total shots by the Habs, eight of which were on net, and two in the net).

But from that point on it was all Rangers -- Montreal only got two more shots on goal in the third period (three shots on goal total) and attempted only three other shots. The Rangers meanwhile came close to scoring once when Fedor Tyutin's wide angle shot hit the crossbar, and scored less than a minute after that to tie the game and send it into overtime. When the Rangers were struggling, nothing bounced their way. Tonight, they got the bounces -- Paul Mara's point shot hit Sean Avery square in the skate, but it rebounded right to Chris Drury for the equalizer. And Remember when the Rangers had a great overtime scoring chance, but lost on a breakaway when Shanahan fell? This time, with Montreal attacking four on two, the puck bounced to Dan Girardi, and a Shanahan breakaway resulted for the game winner.

So the Rangers finish the year with a three-game winning streak in which they've outscored their opponents 14-6, getting at least four goals in each game. And this one could have been easier had the Habs not blocked 20 shots (the Rangers attempted 54 shots to 36 by Montreal). Jagr and Shanahan are scoring, Gomez is on fire, three others are scoring at a point per game clip -- Martin Straka has five goals and six assists in his last nine, Drury has three goals and five assists in his last eight, and Michal Roszival has two goals and seven assists in nine -- and Dan Girardi has two goals and two assists in the three wins. And the centers went 41-19 on draws in this game -- Blair Betts was 9-2, Brandon Dubinsky was 4-1, and Drury was 15-6. Now they head out on the road, starting the new year with a rare visit to western Canada -- Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton, three games in four nights.

We usually start with the New York area game reports, but today we have to go first to the Montreal Gazette, where the story of the game from the Montreal perspective was that they were happy with themselves despite the loss. "I thought that we played one of our best games this season," Hab coach Guy Carbonneau said. That's a turnaround from just a couple of weeks ago where the Rangers were lamenting that they were playing well enough to win but were losing instead. Unable to stop the Rangers in the first, the Canadiens went into a defensive shell in the second period, leaving it to their power play to win the game for them with two man-up goals (five on four and six on five on a delayed penalty call). But the Rangers broke the shell in the third period.

Other game reports: Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, AP, SNY, and NYR.com. Look at who got the third star of the night from the NHL -- Dan Girardi, who wasn't even one of the three stars of the game! More from Newsday on Petr Prucha and from Dan Rosen at NHL.com on Marc Staal. Stan Fischler and Dave Kolb check in at MSG.com -- see here and here. Interesting items in Slap Shot on the difference between the Rangers and Knicks and the anomaly of the Rangers playing all six Canadian teams in a seven-game span, including five in a row. Hartford got a jolt from Nigel Dawes, who tallied twice during a five-goal half-period burst that broke a scoring drought of nearly 120 minutes for the Wolf Pack in a 5-2 win -- see the Courant. For other prospect action, see Prospect Park. The Rangers made Hockey's Future's top ten in their organizational rankings.

Rangers Rake, Bag, Shred, and Burn Leafs

The Rangers pulled a classic bait and switch on Toronto tonight. Sean Avery put himself on the hook for all of Canada to focus on. But while everyone was booing the Rangers' motor-mouth super-pest and waiting to see what heinous crime he would commit this time, Avery kept quiet and let his team do the talking, roaring to a 6-1 rout of the falling Leafs. And there was no better example of all that than the play Avery made early in the second period to set up the Rangers' third goal, taking all remaining life out of the Leafs after they applied some early pressure against the Rangers' 2-0 lead.

Avery was wiped out while he was going to the net on a power play, filling in for Jaromir Jagr while his skates were being fixed. No call, despite the fact that the Leafs were being tagged with almost every other infraction they committed. But while the Leafs took the loose puck that resulted and turned it over to Martin Straka at the point, Avery dusted himself off, got back into the play, collected a cross-ice pass from Straka, and made a perfect seeing-eye backhand pass out of the corner to Petr Prucha in the crease for the goal while Toronto defenders stood around enjoying the view from their excellent vantage point.

That's how things went this evening for the Rangers. They got the calls -- an 8-1 edge in power plays over the first half of the game, including three straight five on three advantages, in a Canadian building no less. They got the goals -- ten in their last two games, with the defense restored to early season form, allowing only three goals against. They got the power play goals -- 5-for-10, showing how to extend a lead with the man advantage, and extend it, and extend it, and extend it.

And they got several players off the schneid in a major way -- a four-point night for Jagr (one goal and three assists, making it three goals and eight assists during his current six-game point scoring streak), a two-goal night for Prucha (doubling his season total in goals after going 17 games without one), and a three-assist night for Brandon Dubinsky (a career-high point total that was more than what he tallied in his last dozen games combined). Blair Betts had his first goal in twelve games to open the scoring (his first non-empty net goal of the season), and Paul Mara, ostensibly an offensive-minded defenseman, got his third assist in his last 18 games.

In fact, the first half of this game produced some amazing numbers. There was the 8-1 margin in power plays, with a 4-of-8 conversion rate -- by the end, the Rangers made it 12-for-37 over their last seven games. There were 29 shots on goal -- only five the rest of the way, despite some crocodile tears from the always-aggrieved Toronto press that the Rangers were running up the score on the pooh widdow Weafs. There were 49 shots attempted in total during that time (68 in the end). There were eleven different players on the score sheet -- most notably, in addition to those already mentioned, Straka with a goal and an assist.

And all of this while resting Henrik Lundqvist for tomorrow night's Garden match against Montreal -- Steve Valiquette made it a clean sweep of both Ranger visits to his hometown of Toronto filling in for Lundqvist. He didn't have all that much work while the Rangers were piling up their lead over the Leafs, but he made some crucial saves nonetheless to keep the Leafs from ever thinking they could get back into the game. And he praised fellow Toronto-area native Avery for firing the Rangers up with his anti-Canadian words, telling the press afterwards that Avery just said those things jokingly to get under the skins of their opponent.

Hard to tell, really, how much impact it actually had on the Leafs, though -- this moribund band of putative hockey players looked like they wouldn't have let floods, locusts, or tornadoes have any impact on their beauty sleep.

Game reports: Daily News, Newsday, Times, Post, AP, and NYR.com. From the rabid Toronto press, the Sun here (on Jagr), here, and here, the Star here, here, and here, CP, CBC, and Globe and Mail. More from the Daily News, Newsday, and Slap Shot, mostly about Avery. Stan Fischler looks ahead to Montreal at MSG.com. Rodent's Jagr trade possibilities are at FoxSports today. Howlings has an interview with Glen Sather translated from Russian. From Raleigh, what Sean Avery did to Andrew Ladd despite being held back by a linesman. The Wolf Pack were shut out -- see the Courant. The Pack's previous win is recapped at Howlings. The U.S. edged Russia at the WJC yesterday, with Alexei Cherepanov scoring for the Russians on an assist from Artem Anisimov -- Bobby Sanguinetti was held scoreless. Sweden upset Canada, with Carl Hagelin not figuring on the scoresheet. Prospect Park has results beyond the WJC.

The Rangers face Montreal this evening, the Canadiens finishing up a road trip on which they are already 3-1-1. They are 5-2-1 in their last eight after going 2-5-2 before that. When the Habs score, they win -- they are 10-0-1 the last eleven times they scored three or more goals. But when they don't score, they lose -- they are 0-10-2 the last twelve times they've scored two goals or less. They have been winning even though their vaunted power play has cooled off -- it's been only 6-for-33 (18%) during their 5-2-1 run after going 24.3% until then. Their penalty killing -- 3-for-30 during their last eight -- will be put to the test if the Rangers can stay on their current 12-for-37 roll.

For more reading, see game previews at Rangerland and the CBC. Larry Brooks chides those who complain about Colton Orr's hit on Matt Cullen in the Post, while Jay Greenberg has Avery making Sather look like a genius in his year-end review in the Post. Howlings has a recap of last night's Wolf Pack loss and a preview of their game today. Also, in case you missed it, Howlings had this interview of Anisimov a few days ago, translated by our friend Laurie. At the WJC today, David Skokan had a pair of assists as Slovakia won its first game of the tournament, edging Denmark 4-3.

Rangers Need to Get Off and Running

UPDATE: Steve Valiquette starts tonight -- Brandon Dubinsky questionable with the flu, might be replaced by Marcel Hossa. Colton Orr's major and game misconduct rescinded by the NHL -- it was a clean hit (refs not rescinded, though). Thanks to Blueshirts Blog and Blue Notes for these updates from the morning skate in Toronto.

Exactly one year ago today, the Rangers traveled to Canada and lost their seventh straight game, 1-0 to Ottawa, leaving them well outside of playoff position with 40 points through 39 games. Tonight, the Rangers travel to Canada to play their 38th game of this season in Toronto, their 40 points equal to three other teams currently in the fifth to eighth playoff seeds. So many things are different between this year's predicament and last year's, not the least of which is that offense is the problem rather than defense. Beyond that, the Rangers' skid this year was 2-6-2, not 0-7, and the playoff race is tighter than the security expected during tonight's pre-game warm-up, with nine points separating second place in the conference from 13th.

Last season, the Rangers emerged from their December swoon with four straight wins. But then they lost four of five, won two and lost two, won three and lost three -- until the arrival of Sean Avery triggered a desperate playoff run. This season, with that experience under their belt, the Rangers know they have to build on their 4-2 win over Carolina, put a run together, vault to the top of pack, and establish themselves as a contender in 2008. Having Avery back in the line-up will help, as it did last season. It will also help that the Rangers are facing a Leaf team that has misplaced its own offense, scoring only ten goals while going 1-3-2 in their last six, and will be without injured goalkeeper Vesa Toskala, who had allowed the Rangers only five goals on 92 shots in three games this season.

The Daily News talks to Renney about this year vs. last year. Otherwise, Avery remains the center of attention going into the game, given the fireworks that erupted the last time he played in T.O. Jaromir Jagr talks about him in the Journal News and the Post, Stan Fischler talks about him at MSG.com, the Leafs talk about him in the Toronto Sun, the Toronto Star talks about the steps the NHL is taking to monitor tonight's pre-game, and CBC.ca reviews the whole situation. Blueshirts Blog discusses the Nigel Dawes demotion, Rangers Report discusses the impact of Martin Straka on his linemates, and the AP (several segments down in this article) discusses one of those linemates, Scott Gomez. Game previews can be found at NYR.com and Rangerland. Spector reviews the Columbus-Ranger trade scenario at FoxSports, while Hockey Rodent has some sources who say that Jagr might accept a trade under certain circumstances.

On the farm, the Wolf Pack withstood a third period rally to win 3-2 last night (see the Courant), but Charlotte lost 4-2, with former Hartford farmhand Daniel Sparre scoring the game winner. Prospect Park reviews Bobby Sanguinetti's big day yesterday at the World Juniors, as well as other junior action back on this side of the Atlantic. In early WJC play today, David Skokan is representing Slovakia against the Czechs, who are once again without David Kveton. Other big match-ups later today pit Canada vs. Sweden and the U.S. vs. Russia.

You Can Go Home Again

UPDATE: Nigel Dawes, as expected, was re-assigned to Hartford.

The Sean Avery Show has a return engagement tomorrow night in Toronto, site of its most tumultuous episode to date, back on November 10th when Avery got into a pre-game, in-game, and post-game war of words, sticks, and fists with doppelgänger Darcy Tucker. Avery won that battle with a goal and an assist in the Rangers' 3-2 shootout win, and he has yet to complete his battle with a radio reporter and a newspaper columnist over the since-refuted allegation that he targeted Jason Blake with inappropriate remarks. But so far, the Leafs have won the war, winning the two games the teams have played without Avery's participation due to injury.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the local area product will be on the ice in Toronto tomorrow night, and he vows to play his usual game. Which means Tucker is going to have earn his paycheck for a change. Avery is already in trash-talk mode, dissing his hometown yesterday, blaming even the exchange rate for his animosity (jokingly, of course, although many on the receiving end of his jokes don't always appreciate them) -- see the Daily News, Times, Post, Blueshirts Blog, and Toronto Sun to read about it. Those same reports also note that neither Avery nor Colton Orr will be suspended for their actions in the Rangers' last game, and that indeed (according to the Post) the Rangers have requested that Orr's game misconduct be rescinded.

The News and Post also name, for the first time, the Toronto Star reporter, Rosie Dimanno, who is part of Avery's lawsuit against Howard Berger, the FAN-590, and the Star. We missed her column when it first appeared in the aftermath of the November debacle. Reading it now, one can see why Avery is suing her for libel. In addition to repeating Berger's unfounded report, which Avery had by then denied, she calls him a blockhead, schmuck, lunatic, and several other less offensive monikers. She concludes by writing, "This may be the guy's primary value to any team – his talent to nettle. But it's no great skill. In the spirit of free speech, I'll say this. Sean Avery: You're a schmuck." In addition to being a hypocrite -- doing to Avery exactly what he does to others (although not to his face) -- Ms. Dimanno is also learning that free speech is not a boundless right.

In other news, Newsday reports about Jaromir Jagr's one-game goal-scoring resurgence, the Hartford Courant reports about Greg Moore, and Howlings reports about Charlotte's all-star Jordan Owens (scroll forward at Howlings for more). Owens had two assists in Charlotte's 4-1 win last night -- Bruce Graham had a goal and an assist and was then recalled by Hartford. In WJC action, David Kveton did not dress for the Czechs' 5-2 win over Denmark yesterday. Today, Sweden routed Denmark 10-1, with Ranger prospect Carl Hagelin not figuring statistically in any way. The U.S. beat Switzerland 4-2, with Bobby Sanguinetti getting a goal and an assist, setting up a power play goal by fellow New Jersey native and fellow Ranger fan James Vanriemsdyk, and getting a return favor from Vanriemsdyk on his own power play goal.

Perseverence Pays Off This Time

The calendar said it was the day after Christmas. But it felt more like Groundhog Day to Brendan Shanahan. "The room was a little quiet," he said of the mood when the Rangers went into the second intermission trailing 2-1. "Maybe a sense of, 'Is this gonna happen to us again?' We come out and dominate in the first period, fall behind in the second. " But this time, enough was enough. "Rather than let it happen to us, we decided to go out, take everything to the net, play it with a determination that we were going to get chances, create chances, or drop helmets. We just said, 'Let's go to the net, take the puck to the net, take each other to the net.' If we stay on the perimeter, we're gonna be an easy team to play this period. It was that drive and intesity that drew the penalties, and then on our power play, just throwing the puck on the net, having guys camped out in front, pouncing on rebounds."

On the strength of two third power play goals (after going 0-for-4 and allowing a shorthanded goal during the first two periods against the league's worst penalty kill) and Jaromir Jagr's two goals (breaking a ten game goalless streak), the Rangers roared back for a 4-2 win that made this iteration of Groundhog Day different than the previous eight losses in ten games. "The last half dozen games or so have been like this one, where we haven't finished it off correctly," Shanahan said. "Going into the third period, we were just fed up with the way things have been going for us lately, coming up short." Shanahan started things off with a shot that Chris Drury deflected up and over the goalie that he was screening. Then he took a harmless looking shot through Drury's screen that created a rebound for Dan Girardi to put home.

"We really had to stick to the game plan," Girardi said. "That's what keeps things on the right track. Being down one goal going into the third, we had to keep it simple, just get pucks to the net, get traffic, put in the rebounds. We tweaked [the power play] a bit in the third, just to get pucks to the net, get guys going, putting in rebounds, and it worked." Shanahan said the same thing. "We talked about [it in the] third period," he said. "Getting more pucks to the net on the power play. We threw two innocent shots at the net, found a way to get goals out of them. It doesn't have to be pretty, just get the puck to the net." Chris Drury picked up on the theme as well. "There are going to be ugly goals," he said. "We just need to get a lot of traffic and a lot of shots."

The win let the air (bad air) out of the Rangers' ballooning desperation. "Urgency is good, panic is bad," Shanahan explained. "Walking through the halls the last few days, we were sensing urgency turning to panic, and that's never a good thing -- it doesn't help. We all have higher expectations and we want better results. We all had this anger and urgency." "We've been preaching about getting a win like that," Drury said. "It's nice to actually get it done." "We had to get it together," Scott Gomez said after assisting on both of Jagr's goals. "We could only talk about it so much. We've got to start making a run." "It's one thing to say we're doing the right things, to say we're having good spurts of hockey," concluded Shanahan. "But you gotta get a win!"

The win was highlighted by the Jagr's pair, by the power play winning a game, by the penalty killers wiping out a second period major and a six-on-three in the final minute, and by Henrik Lundqvist, who had little work until the closing moments, sealing the win with a series of highlight reel saves late in the third (including a pair on Ray Whitney that had him looking to the heavens). But it also featured a frightening collision reminiscent of that between Shanahan and Mike Knuble last season. Former Ranger Matt Cullen cut across the high slot with the puck and skated right into Colton Orr, who was lining him up for a check. "Cully had the puck, had his head down," coach Tom Renney said. "Colton braced himself, and even, rather than all shoulder, he used the front of his body to make contact -- his face would suggest that, he got helmet in his face." With Orr's gloves hitting Cullen high in the chest, the players' helmets collided, knocking Cullen out.

The referees totally botched the call, giving Orr a major and a game misconduct -- they penalized him for interference, even though Cullen had the puck. "I thought it was a clean hit," Renney said. "And judging by the fact that no [ref's] arms [were] in the air, it took a discussion to determinte that it was a penalty. It was a discussion." "It's a bit of knee-jerk reaction, the blows to the head, players laying in the ice," said Shanahan. "Matt Cullen did look like he was in bad shape. For a referee thinking, 'If I miss this one and it was bad, I look bad. If I call a five and a game and it wasn't really a five, it's not going to be replayed all over Canada tomorrow.' The referees see a guy laying there hurt, they're gonna try to err on the side of [caution]. But if you watch the replay, it was clean hit. What happened was their heads collided. Colton Orr is cut in about three different places from Matt Cullen's helmet. I was over talking to the refs and one ref was telling me that it wasn't a penalty. Then all of a sudden they had a little meeting and it's five and a game. They weren't gonna call it, they talked about it, thought about it, changed their mind."

Not only did Orr not deserve a penalty, the Rangers should have gotten a power play when Mike Commodore instigated a fight with Orr. A similar scenario recurred later in the game when Sean Avery was in the middle of a scrum -- Andrew Ladd instigated a fight with him despite Avery being held by a linesman, and Tim Gleason roughed up Petr Prucha (a brave move there by both players -- sarcastically so in Gleason's case), but Avery got the extra minor as well as a game misconduct. "The problem is that their guy is not getting held and he's seeking Sean out," Renney said. "You can't just tie one guy up and let the other guy roam around. Let 'em scrap and get it over with, and that's it." Meanwhile, after calling Orr for interfering with a player who had the puck (well, they couldn't call him for elbowing, charging, or roughing, could they?), the refs let frequent Carolina interference go routinely unpenalized.

But in this instance, as Renney had suggested after bad breaks cost the Rangers the last game, the Rangers persevered through the bad calls and bad breaks (more goal posts and shots deflected just wide and juicy rebounds just missed, etc.). They recovered from the few moments of dominance Carolina enjoyed after their second goal, and blew the Hurricanes away in the third period. After the game, Renney went around the dressing room and shook each players' hand, one by one, congratulating them for their effort.

Game reports: Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post ("an obscene display of officiating from a four-man unit that had no control of the match at all and simply invented a major penalty against Colton Orr"), AP, SNY (photo of Orr's bloodied face), NY Sports Day, NYR.com, and the Raleigh News & Observer. Hockey Rodent breaks down the 'Canes' broken down penalty killing. More on Cullen and the Orr hit at Slap Shot, Sports Ticker, and the N&O, and more from the reporters' blogs -- Rangers Report, Slap Shot, Stan Fischler at MSG.com, and Blueshirts Blog, the latter on the rumored trade of Petr Prucha to Columbus.

The Columbus Dispatch, however, says that "we've been told that no trade between the Blue Jackets and Rangers is in the works. The two teams have talked, but nothing has been agreed upon and nothing will be announced when the roster freeze is lifted." Spector at FoxSports looks at every team's prime trade bait -- Rangers: Malik. Greg Cimilluca places Renney on the hot seat at CBS Sports. Howlings has a story on the Wolf Pack's team photographer, whose work has been used to illustrate Blueshirt Bulletin articles on the Pack for several years. At WP.com, Bob Crawford has the Wolf Pack Weekly. The Rangers have avoided a rehash of the Knicks' ugly public lawsuit by settling the case against them (Daily News).

Artem Anisimov had a goal and was +2 in Russia's 7-4 World Junior tournament opening win over Finland yesterday. This morning, Anisimov assisted on Alexei Cherepanov's goal that completed Russia's comeback from a 2-0 deficit en route to a 5-4 win over Kazakhstan. Anisimov and Cherepanov, who missed the opener with bronchitis, combined for twelve of Russia's incredible sixty shots on goal. Canada swept the Czechs and Slovaks in their first two games. David Kveton had five of the Czechs' 44 shots on goal yesterday and David Skokan led Slovakia with four shots on goal this morning, but both were blanked along with their teams by the tournament favorite. For more on the WJC, see Prospect Park, and for a look at Team Russia, see Hockey's Future.

Wild Mood Swings

Like most NHL teams, both the Rangers and Hurricanes, who meet at the Garden tonight, have gone through major swings in fortune this season. The Rangers, we know all too well, stumbled out of the gate 3-6-1, roared through November with a 12-3-2 stretch, and have since gone 2-6-2, beginning with a loss to the Hurricanes the last time the two teams faced off. The Hurricanes for their part started out well, going 11-4-3, but then went 5-10-0 before a recent 3-1-0 turnaround (although, with two of those wins coming in three-point games, they're not completely turned around).

The key for the visitors is their penalty kill. They are last in the league, having given up two or more power play goals in ten of their 37 games (3-6-1). That has helped place them among the league's worst defenses (27th overall). But can the Rangers capitalize? They are last in the league in offense in part because their 19th overall power play cannot win games, extend leads, or narrow deficits when it most needs to. And their once-best defense has slipped to sixth overall, having given up four or more goals in seven of their last ten after giving up that many only twice in their first 26 games.

For the Rangers, their offense, defense, and power play all boil down to the same thing -- Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist. Pick as many nits as you can find elsewhere in the line-up, but in order to win, the Rangers need Jagr to put pucks in the net and Lundqvist to keeps pucks out. Jagr has shown signs of life since he started skating with Scott Gomez, with six assists in his last six games and several other third or fourth assists on scoring plays. But he is goalless is his last ten and has just ten points in his last 18 games.

Lundqvist has been wildly inconsistent since getting angered at losing a shutout in Tampa in the last minute. While he has given up only four goals in his four wins since then (two of them shutouts), he has given up 29 in seven losses, putting him in 4.00 goals against territory in those games (with an .832 save percentage). His last two games are a perfect example of what he has gone through -- he was all-world in the first period in Colorado as his team left him exposed repeatedly to point blank shots, but he was ordinary the rest of the way, giving up four goals on 21 shots; and he was victimized by two deflections off his own player in a 3-1 loss to Ottawa, but he dropped the rebound of a harmless shot into the crease on the game winning goal.

In the news, Larry Brooks looks at various trade possibilities with Columbus in the Post, the most intriguing being defenseman Rosti Klesla for Petr Prucha-plus. Brooks wrote about Prucha the day before in the Post. For a hearty laugh, check out this trade rumor ("Trade rumors buzzing around the Big Apple" -- hockeybuzzing, maybe, which makes them fictional). Many readers have wondered about the availability of RFA-to-be Alex Ovechkin -- Lyle Richardson looks at his situation at FoxSports. Game previews for tonight can be found at NYR.com and Rangerland, as well as here, here, and here. The Post has an article on Matt Van Dollen. Howlings has a Rangercentric take on a famous Christmas ditty, and Prospect Park takes time out to hand out thank you notes.

The World Juniors are under way, with three Ranger prospects having already completed their opening games. Bobby Sanguinetti was even and +1 with two shots on goal in USA's 5-1 rout of Kazakhstan. In Sweden's 4-3 win over Slovakia, Carl Hagelin was scoreless and -1 for the winning side, David Skokan was scoreless and even with three shots on goal for Slovakia. For more, see Prospect Park's WJC preview, and a series of team and tournament previews at Hockey's Future here, here, and here, in which it is noted that the Rangers are one of two teams with the most draftees participating -- five (tied with Philadelphia), Russia's Alexei Cherepanov and Artem Anisimov joining the three already mentioned.

NOTE: Comments are open without moderation for the remainder of the day and through the game tonight.

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Ill Luck an Illusion?

Was it bad play or bad luck? The Rangers outplayed the first place Senators for much of last night's game, but lost 3-1 because their every chance (almost) bounced the wrong way while the Sens' every chance (almost), what few they had, went into the net. Two harmless shots deflected past Henrik Lundqvist off Marc Staal, while two sure Ranger goals hit squarely off the goal post, first by Ryan Hollweg, then by Jaromir Jagr. When Jagr backchecked into Lundqvist's crease to help his goalie with a rebound that he dropped, the puck skittered past him to the Sens, who scored. When Jagr drove to the Ottawa crease in search of a rebound with the Sens' net open, the puck skittered past him, out of harm's way. While the Rangers were deflecting pucks into their own net, their own best deflections sailed just wide. Even when they got good breaks, they couldn't capitalize -- twice, dump-ins caromed out into the Ottawa slot to open Rangers, but neither time could they get off good shots.

"We had some pretty good chances," Sean Avery said. "Shanny missed that chance in the second that makes it a 2-2 game," he said of a Brendan Shanahan shot from the slot that missed a gaping net. "Third goal, we tip it in. The first one is a floater, Hank doesn't see it. We're having a little bit of a run here. We're gonna turn it around and we're gonna go on a run in the other direction. We're gonna regroup." Lundqvist sounded a similar note. "So many things were good," he said. "The energy -- we created chances. But they had two deflections from our own player, a stick that broke [Staal's stick on the second goal] -- it's tough. We have to battle through this. It's a long season -- the bounces are not on our side. It's not like we're playing bad -- it's small things that happen during the game that were the difference tonight."

"Maybe they had a little more luck," said Jagr. "First period was OK -- two tough breaks got them back in the game. But it happens, it's part of the game. We had some chances, but we only scored one goal. Sometimes you get tough luck." But coach Tom Renney was not having any of that as an excuse. "You've gotta battle through things that might not bounce your way," he said. "You've gotta persevere. Until we embrace that opportunity, these nights are going to happen more than we want them to." Which leaves the Rangers with a burning question -- is it ill luck that has undermined their latest efforts in losing their last three games, or is it an illusion that they're playing well enough to win, and the bad breaks are a consequence of their bad play? It would be easier to deal with bad luck -- that will, as Avery and Lundqvist said, change. But it would be devastating to do nothing while blaming bad luck when luck is not really the cause of their 2-6-2 December skid.

The power play had a chance to alter the outcome of this game, but was unable to do so. Up 1-0 in the first, the Rangers got five shots but couldn't score -- the truth is, none of their shots were good enough to beat an NHL goalie, including Shanahan's putback from the slot after collecting a weird carom off the glass. The Sens tied the game shortly thereafter. The power play had a chance with the score tied at 1-1 to restore the lead, it had a chance with the Rangers down 2-1 to equalize the game, and it had a chance shortly after the Rangers fell behind 3-1, with plenty of time left, to get the Rangers back within striking distance. No dice. That can't be chalked up to bad luck -- that's just a bad power play, despite a plethora of power play specialists who simply cannot get the job done.

The Rangers' fourth line of Blair Betts centering Hollweg and Colton Orr had a heck of game, though. "They did everything they could to get our team back into this game and try to win it for us," said Renney. "So it certainly would have been poetic justice [had they scored]. They did two things -- they hemmed in Ottawa's big line, they took the body to them. From that, they were able to get some chances. There's probably a subliminal message there." The third line lost much of their ice time to the fourth line. But that doesn't mean Renney has given up on them. "The third unit is a little on the young side," he said. "They've got the ability in them, but they don't have the physical attributes. I think my third line has terrific potential."

Chris Drury has flown somewhat under the radar, with most of the attention on Jagr's continued goal-scoring slump (even as he has gotten assists since Scott Gomez started centering him). Drury was dreadful in Colorado, and he committed the turnover on Ottawa's third goal while otherwise being invisible and ineffective -- he was one player who could not point to bad luck as a factor in his play. Sean Avery returned to action and did his part, agitating from the drop of the puck and skating fairly well considering his lack of playing time due to injury. But in this case, he was not a difference maker -- Staal's stick, Lundqvist's glove, and the Sens' goal post were the difference makers in this game. What will make the difference when the Rangers resume play after the holiday? Better luck? Or better play?

Game reports: Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, AP, SNY, NY Sports Day, NYR.com, Ottawa Sun, and Ottawa Citizen. More on Avery from the Journal News and AP. Stan Fischler has his take at MSG.com. Prospect Park has gifts for all of the Rangers' prospects. NHL.com looks at Carl Hagelin on the eve of the WJC. And in case you missed it, Howlings has a recap of the Wolf Pack's last game. Here is the full video of that cretin Don Cherry ranting about Chris Simon -- while mocking the Ruutu brothers for not fighting, he excuses Simon for taking "steps" against Jarkko Ruutu other than fighting, and (laughably) claims that Simon let up on Hollweg, hitting him in the chest, the cut on Hollweg's chin notwithstanding Cherry's struggle with the truth.

Rangers Face Resurgent Senators

UPDATE: Sean Avery returns to action tonight, as does Marek Malik (though he will not pair with Michal Rozsival). Marcel Hossa remains out, and will be joined on the sidelines by Paul Mara and Petr Prucha. Thanks to Rangers Report for the update from the morning skate. For more, see Blueshirts Blog and Slap Shot.

Since the Rangers handed Ottawa their sixth straight loss on December 1st, the Senators rebounded from their horrendous streak, losing only once in regulation in going 6-1-2 over the rest of the month. But two of those losses came in their last two games -- yesterday's OT loss to Chicago and a regulation loss two days earlier -- after a six-game winning streak. The common thread in their recent wins and losses has been special teams -- they went 6-23 (over 25%) on the power play and held opponents to 3-25 (12%) while winning, but went 0-7 on the power play while allowing opponents to go 3-11 in the two losses. They outscored their opponents 29-12 during their streak, an average of just about five goals per game, but have scored only five goals total in the two losses.

In the news today, check out the slew of great quotes in John Dellapina's game-day article in the Daily News as well as his Sunday column on Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Larry Brooks has some appropriately harsh observations about the state of the team in the Post. Steve Zipay discusses Henrik Lunqvist in Newsday. Game preview at NYR.com. More on the Chris Simon suspension today from Brooks in the New York Post, from the Denver Post (including an unrelated section on Drury), and from Don Cherry, all too predictably taking Simon's side (CP). A Daily News Christmas-themed list has Simon as naughty, but Sean Avery as nice -- go figure! Hartford lost after a pre-game scuffle led to an early first period brawl (see the Courant), and Charlotte lost again too.

Beginning late tonight or tomorrow, I am instituting a new comments policy, at least for the duration of winter break (which for me runs for the next two weeks), due to my sporadic availability during that time to monitor the increasingly volatile posts from readers. All comments will be moderated, which means they will be accepted, but will not appear until I have had a chance to review them and possibly edit them for inappropriate content. And because of my sporadic availability, it may at times be hours before I get a chance to review posted comments. Unfortunately, this will take something away from the give and take of readers responding to other commenters -- so take this opportunity to state your own views rather than react to others' opinions. Unmoderated comments will remain open through tonight's game to give people a chance to comment in real time on what is happening.

My apologies to the many commenters who already post their observations in a manner that does not require moderation. The actions of a few are unfortunately making things difficult for everyone else, which seems to be a problem throughout our society these days, as anyone attempting to board an airplane knows all too well. It's a shame that it has come to this, since we are all Ranger fans and are supposed to be on the same side. Hopefully, this circumstance of my unavailability during winter break will give everyone time to take a breather and refocus themselves on the subject at hand, the New York Rangers.

Late Update

A late update on today's links, having spent most of the day getting a start on the kids' winter break: John Dellapina of the Daily News was the only New York area reporter in Denver last night. In his game report, he wrote, "Given no benefit of the doubt by a couple of rabbit-eared referees the night before, the Rangers were victimized by an astounding no-call on a blatant interference infraction that wiped out defenseman Dan Girardi to create the opening that Marek Svatos exploited to tie the game 8:23 into the third period." Other reports: NYR.com, AP, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, and the Avs' web site.

Elsewhere, the AJC grades the big summer moves, starting with the Rangers signing Gomez and Drury. The Wolf Pack lost 2-1 to Bridgeport in a shootout last night -- see recaps in the Hartford Courant and Howlings. Howlings also has a preview of the Pack's game game tonight vs. Syracuse. Charlotte also lost 2-1 in a shootout, with Matt Zaba making 34 saves. Prospect Park takes a look at Ranger prospects participating in the World Junior Championship, which gets under way next week in the Czech Republic.