What a difference a few weeks make eh ? It wasn't that long ago the most of us (me included) had given up on the season, called for coach Low's head on a stick and began to question Glen Sather's sanity. Now, the Rangers have strung together a series of impressive wins and play with passion, grittiness and have made MSG a tough place for the opposition to play in.
According to the Rodents Real power rankings as of this date, the Rangers are amongst the top tier teams in the NHL. They have successfully moved out of the bottom in team defense and continue to climb up the ladder in offence. Ranger players actually appear in the top scoring lists. With all these positives going for us it's time to look at the negatives.
The Power Play.....with all the talent on this team, everyone had the Rangers PP to be one of the best in the NHL. That's not the case. Why ? C'mon....you know it and anybody that has seen it knows it. There is NO ONE in front of the net ! This has been going on in NY for years now. For the life of me I can't explain it. Both Sather and Low have been around the game long enough to know better. These perimeter, non skating, non moving, 17 perfect passing plays are just too ugly for words. I don't care if you have five Wayne Gretzkys on the ice......one of 'em has to get in front of the net and one of the others has to shoot ! Until the Rangers do something about this, they cannot be considered a real threat in the playoffs.
Defense.....someone in Section 407 suggested that Bryan Berard should be tried at the forward position. Why not ? He's deep in the offensive zone with regularity, almost ignoring his point position. While the forwards have done a much better job of fore-checking.....they could get better. And why is it that opposition players are still allowed to camp out in our crease ? One last thing......stop watching the puck and play your man ! In our own zone, the minute two or more Rangers move to play the guy with the puck one or more opposition players are wide open. Tighten up guys or again.....no playoff run.
Personnel....is Nedved out of place on this team now ? I've read that enough times. You know Slats will make some moves but which ones ? Who will he look to move ? Who is he looking to get ? What do we really need ? In addition, who in Hartford is worth holding onto or bringing up ? OK.....I admit, here I have no answers, only questions. There is plenty of time between now and the trading deadline and many things can change before then. Don't expect to read about what Slats has in mind before it happens.....it's not his style.
For the first time in a while we have a real team. One that is living up to it's paper stats. I know, we're only an injury away from a bad season but while the team is successful, I'm going to enjoy it. Just don't get too cocky.....the Islanders and Devils are still forces to be reckoned with and the Flyers have too much talent to dismiss. Ottawa, Toronto and Boston aren't bad either. And that's just here in the east.
----}- Bird
Posted by Bird at November 22, 2001 05:54 PMeMail this entry!
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