The Hockey Gods have long enjoyed tormenting New York. And
other than a burp that sounded like 'Matteau' in 1994, they
have found ways to cruelly taunt Ranger fans with crushed
visions of mediocrity. The history is our own mythology.
Recent Mythology Began in 1996
The story of Narcissus is simple. Picture a convergence of
Bobby Holik and Mark Pavelich. Narcissus was on the opposite
end of the looks scale.
But what the gods giveth, they also take away. And Narcissus was
so taken with his looks, he could not turn away from his
image in a reflecting image.
Inspired by the story, the Hockey Gods mimicked it in NY.
In 1996, Gretzky led an injury-depleted team into the
Conference Finals by turning role players like Dallas Eakins
and Russ Courtnall into impact players.
Quick to think themselves beautiful geniuses, the Rangers
set about believing every mediocre veteran was the key
to a Cup run.
Oh, this drama has provided hearty chortles from the Hockey
Gods, rivaled only by Mark Messier's chip commercials. Each
year saw a new parade of comedians - Bruce Driver, Stephane
Quintal, Valeri Kamensky, and so on.
But the Hockey Gods have grown weary of this fable as Ranger
fans have caught on and developed skepticism to overpaid
veterans. So even the signing of Dave Karpa for $1.7 million
didn't tickle the way it once might have.
So the Hockey Gods decided to greet New York with a new
mythological character...
Tantalus
In mythology, Tantalus tricked the gods. Bad idea. He was
placed in Hades where he had water by his chin and fruit
above his head. But if he reached for the fruit it was pulled
away, and if he tried to drink, the water sank to the ground.
Why is this applicable to New York Ranger fans?
Well, like manna from heaven, the Hockey Gods have granted us
players with no illusion of personal grandeur. They did this
through injuries to enough regulars to force Hartford call-ups.
Bouchard, Lintner and Cross on defense. Lundmark, Tripp, Fata,
Dwyer and Tibbetts on offense.
This is a group of players willing to listen and follow a leader
like Holik, who talks about defense and paying a price to win.
Will the Streak Last?
Four things enabled this winning streak. Bobby Holik, Mike Dunham,
a big and offensively conservative defense. and a group of
younger players willing to run through walls to see the ice.
Bobby Holik will still try to lead, and Dunham is a solid 'tender.
But the other factors...
The Defense Rests
Rotation was already six deep, and Bobo makes seven. (8 if you
include Dave Karpa)
That leaves Cross and Bouchard, two important cogs of the recent
streak, on the sidelines once the injured return.
It also means that Trots will over-rely on Poti and Leetch,
playing them 26-30 minutes per night.
And the simple, defense-first, mistake-free, physical play
that got our winning streak will fade.
Really Offensive Forwards
When everyone returns from injury, our second and third lines
will most likely be:
Nedved-Bure-Dvorak
Messier-Petro-Samuelsson
This group cannot match the physical intensity and defensive
instincts displayed during our winning streak. Nor is this
a group that will follow a guy like Holik in the trenches.
The New Mythology Has Begun
We've seen what real hockey is like. It's at our fingertips -
even the necessary players are within our grasp.
But as injuries heal, the water and fruit will be tantalizingly
moved out of our reach. And it's already begun...
Poti, despite suffering from a sore neck, played 26 minutes
last game, including almost 5 minutes on the penalty kill.
Forwards Dvorak and Samuelsson have suffered almost no
reduction in minutes, while Dwyer and Tibbetts are back in
Hartford, and Fata, Lundmark and Tripp are next to be pushed
out the door.
Donato gets important minutes, including penalty killing, over
a hustle guy like Fata.
Karpa is being fawned over by Sam and JD, while Bouchard needs
to score an OT goal to get noticed. And Cross gets the 'flu'
and is replaced by Karpa.
The players who brought intensity, hustle, camaraderie (they
actually hang out with each other), are being weaned out. And
in their place will be the players who dug our first hole.
We've begun our new chapter in Ranger mythology...
Posted by Gabe at January 16, 2003 11:39 PMeMail this entry!
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