That's right . . . all alone . . . by themselves . . . the New York Rangers are in first place in the Eastern Conference. Here we are, November 25, 2005, already 25 games into a season where Sports Illustrated predicted that the Blueshirts would finish LAST in the NHL, and the Rangers lead the Atlantic Division by 6 points over the Flyers, and are ahead of Ottawa by 1 for the Conference. Amazing.

Yeah, yeah, I know they have played more games than anyone in the league (and SIX more games than the Senators), but what does it say to you that they have been gotten through a busy schedule, a five game road trip, and some injuries, and still sit atop the Conference? Additionally, as the Rodent points out in his RealStats, the Rangers are heading into an easier part of their schedule.

Just to put things in perspective, they now have 15 wins and 33 points . . . in the 2003-04 season, it took them until December 26th to reach 33 points, and until January 10th to win their fifteenth game.

This team is filled with confidence. Not cockiness, but a quiet confidence. Check out these quotes:

Jaromir Jagr: "We don't go out there to play the game, we go out there to win the game . . . I'm not saying we can beat anybody, but pretty close . . . The confidence is here for a reason. I can feel it."

Tom Poti: "Since Day 1, everyone has pretty much counted us out and said we had no chance whatsoever . . . I think people are starting to realize that we're for real and we're not going to fall apart."

Blair Betts on expectations that the team will collapse: "We're having fun and use that as motivation . . . If people are still saying that, you've just got to look at the games . . . We're playing too well and we have too good of a team to have that kind of stuff happen to us. So we just sort of ignore it for now."

What is most encouraging for Ranger fans is that the team been able to battle through those injury problems I mentioned to put a good effort into just about every game. However, they are starting to build up a little. Martin Rucinsky has been out for several weeks with a knee sprain, but is now skating with the team. Kevin Weekes had a net fall on his foot early in the third period last night and will be evaluated again today. Steve Rucchin missed the game because of back pain, and will probably take off tomorrow night as well so he gets a full eight days rest, as the Rangers don't play again until Thursday. Fedor Tyutin missed another game with a broken finger, but may return tomorrow. Jaromir Jagr missed some ice time last night due to hip pain, but will play against the Caps.

Despite all this, with some line juggling by coach Tom Renney, the Rangers have continued to play well shift after shift. Luckily, their young players have stepped in and compensated for the loss of key guys. Petr Prucha has been outstanding in place of Rucinsky. Ryan Hollweg has come in and instantly made the team more physical. Henrik Lundqvist should easily be able to jump in as the #1 goaltender while Weekes heals. Jason Strudwick has played a capable blueline while Tyutin was out. Chad Wiseman played well last night as Martin Straka was moved to center Rucchin's normal line.

It is all clicking right now. Their schedule eases up for them just a little, hopefully enough to get everyone completely healthy again.

NY Post: Last night's match ended a stretch in which the Rangers played seven of nine games on the road within a period of 16 days. They went 5-2 on the road, 2-0 at the Garden. They've played a league-high 25 games in the season's first 51 days. After a home game tomorrow night against the Caps, they're off until the Penguins come to the Garden on Thursday.

NY Daily News: Its season-long goaltending woes notwithstanding, Atlanta is one of those formidable foes. But the Rangers rarely looked overwhelmed by speedy, skilled forwards like Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa, Peter Bondra and Marc Savard. Instead, they dictated the terms of battle more often than not - just as they have since the first game of this season that continues to confound.

NY Newsday: The Rangers kept plugging along last night, shrugging off a small injury to Jaromir Jagr and what could turn out to be a big one to Kevin Weekes. Still, they took over the top spot in the Eastern Conference with their fourth straight win, 6-3 over the Thrashers at Philips Arena.

The Journal News: Injuries are starting to take a toll on the Rangers' depth. But it's the sign of a good team when a mix-and-match lineup can be as successful as the regular one.

NY Times: The Rangers' victory was marred by an injury to goalie Kevin Weekes, who went down awkwardly early in the third period and appeared to hurt his right leg. He remained on the ice for several minutes before heading to the locker room.

Colin Stephenson of the Star Ledger has a great article on Ryan Hollweg. I hope he sticks around for a while.

The World Anti-Doping Agency president, Dick Pound, told the London Free Press that he suspects up to 1/3 of all NHL players take some form of performance enhancing drugs. Boy, that is a great name, huh? Dick Pound . . . I wonder if he got beat up in school by a kid on performance enhancing drugs??

In case you missed it yesterday, CalderCup is back with a new Calder's Corner. In this episode, Calder says that the only thing consistent in the Wolf Pack's season thus far is that they have been around .500 all year.

By the way, yesterday Larry Brooks wrote about a couple of trades he thought the Rangers could make, suggesting that Glen Sather "must, simply must" try to bring back Brian Leetch. Ya' know, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the best "going out" nights of the year. I think Larry might have gotten home after a few too many cocktails and wrote that. Does he mean the 37 year-old Brian Leetch who has been out almost a month with the first knee injury of his career? The same Brian Leetch who makes $4 million dollars a year?

Listen, I love Brian, as most Ranger fans do, but not on this team, not anymore. I thought we were past that already. Rebuild . . . youth movement . . . anyone remember those phrases? I know things are going great right now, and I know people have reasonable hopes that this team will have a spot in the playoffs, but let's not lose sight of the big picture. I want them to move forward to build a great team for the next decade, not try to recapture something that is over a decade gone.

I brought this up after mentioning Calder's article because there is a young defenseman down in Hartford who moves the puck well and could help the Rangers on the power play (and is drastically cheaper than Leetch). Thomas Pöck scored 2 goals and an assist the other night against the Albany River Rats, has 12 points in 17 games, and had probably earned a chance to play on Broadway during training camp.

I am in no way suggesting that Thomas Pöck is, was, or will be the next Brian Leetch, but let's move forward now, huh?

HDH

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