When the final buzzer went off last night at MSG I could hear the Blueshirt faithful groan. Another tie. Another missed point. While I'm upset that we left two points on the table over the last two games, I'm not upset with the team, the coach or anything else. Sure, I'd love to have won both games. We're gonna need those points fer sure.....but I can't kill these guys. Not yet anyway.

Dunham has played well in his last two starts. The penalty kill is getting better. Now we need to work on popping a few goals and getting the power play going while sticking to the good defensive effort.

One thing I have noticed is that the Rangers are not getting the opposing keeper to move before a shot. Instead, the keeper is square to the shooter. Get him to move and more goals are the result.

The Rodent gives you the good, the bad and whatever else he's got lying around.

Fact or Fiction looks to go jersey shopping. I get my jerseys with my own name on 'em.....Slats can't trade me. I think.

Newsday - "They're not shooting the puck," coach Glen Sather said. "In training camp, we shot the puck. Now we're trying to over pass it every time."

Daily News - Sadly for the Rangers, their supposedly potent power play also remained pointless for the season. It failed four more times last night - including thrice in the third period and overtime with the score tied. That left the Rangers 0-for-15 on the power play this season. And that pretty much has nullified the strong work being done by the penalty-killers, who have slain 17 straight Rangers infractions.

NY Post - They haven't won at home in two tries, they haven't scored a power-play goal in 19 tries. What's more, they have yet to develop any discernible chemistry among any of the four lines Glen Sather constructed very early in training camp.

NY Post again - Yes, it's true, Mark Messier did sign a one-year, $4 million contract with a club option for 2004-05, but the captain won't be paid so much as a nickel until 2006. Slap Shots has learned that Messier will receive the money in five deferred payments of $800,000, commencing Jan. 1, 2006, resuming on Jan. 1, 2008, and then again on the first day of 2009, 2010 and 2011. Messier, whose option year contract is similarly structured, has bonuses under which he can earn up to another $1M that would be paid out over three years.

NY Times - ...Messier, off a nifty feed from Matthew Barnaby, answered with his first goal of the season at 7:06 to tie the score at 2-2. The goal was the 677th of Messier's career. With 1,846 points, he is 4 from tying Gordie Howe for second most in the National Hockey League.

Journal News - Eric Lindros, who scored his first goal of the season at 7:59 of the first period by intercepting a poor pass from Craig Adams while forechecking, said the Rangers must shoot more from the point to earn respect, then begin getting closer to the net. Nedved advocated "pouring'' shots on net and getting the ugly goals, knowing the prettier ones would be sure to follow.

Journal News again - Different mentality: Fighting is a part of hockey, always will be, and not just in the games. Teammates occasionally take it out on each other in practice. Such was the case this last Sunday when Rangers left wing Dan LaCouture came to blows with defenseman Joel Bouchard.

Star-Ledger - Lindros said of the power play. "Everyone kills penalties a little differently, even within a game. It's always been the rule to get (the puck) back to the point, shoot it at the net, and get it through (the goalie). Just get the puck above the sticks of the defending players, put it on net, and you never know what's going to happen. That has to be our staple until we get things going."

I'll try and get you some NHL stuff later. Until then, why not hang out on the boards ?

----}- Bird

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