She never scored an NHL goal and she never played an NHL game, but she had as much influence as anyone in making the greatest hockey player that ever lived.

Yesterday, Phyllis Gretzky, the mother of #99, passed away at the age of 64 after a long battle with lung cancer. Although she generally stayed in the background, she was the glue that held the Gretzky family together.

We hockey fans should be very grateful to this woman for the sacrifices she made to help her son become "The Great One". Those early morning trips to the rink, the cost of skates and equipment, the traveling for games and tournaments, and all of the other things that come with being a hockey-mom were all a part of her daily life, and her selfless desire to do everything she could for her children gave us, many years later, some of the most wonderful and memorable moments in hockey history.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Wayne, Walter, and the entire Gretzky family. Thank you, Phyllis, for giving us your son.

As many of you are aware, there is a transit strike in New York. There are no subways or buses operating anywhere in the city. Tonight's Rangers-Devils game, however, will be played as scheduled. There are alternate means of transportation, and the Rangers have posted some of them on their website.

I sure hope the Rangers offense isn't on strike.

NY Newsday: "I think it's pretty obvious that our scoring has to be by committee," Renney said. "Our committee is just a bunch of blue-collar guys. There's Jags and probably Petr . . . the balance of our group, it's about hard work and making things happen. If you look at our lineup, it's not a real tough game plan, how to come after the Rangers. At the same time, you can make it awfully tough on anyone if you outwork them."

The Journal News: While their opponent tonight, the Devils, went through a hectic day of change, the Rangers' routine was altered just slightly yesterday. A puck whistled around the Madison Square Garden Training Center boards by left wing Martin Rucinsky struck Tom Renney on the right ankle and forced the coach from the ice.

NY Post: Tonight at Madison Square Garden the Rangers host the Devils for the teams' fifth meeting this season, but it's not a typical late-December game for either team. There's more at stake than the potential to take a few points from a bitter Atlantic Division rival.

Team U.S.A. announced its Olympic roster yesterday. Gone are the likes of Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick, Scott Young, John LeClair, Tony Amonte. In are Jason Blake, Erik Cole, Craig Conroy, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. No Rangers made the team, as you would expect since Jed Ortmeyer and Ryan Hollweg are the only Americans on the team.

Jeremy Roenick was not happy with U.S.A. hockey.

Spector catches up on some of the rumors in the "Trade Rumours" section of his site. He notes that the Ottawa Sun reported that the Rangers were unwilling to give the Ducks Tom Poti in exchange for Petr Sykora.

Anyway, tonight is game five in the series between the Devils and the Rangers. The puck drops at 7:00 pm EST. If you are attending the game, LEAVE EARLY. Traffic is a mess in NYC.

HDH

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