That headline might have a literal and figurative meaning for Tom Poti. Instead of a monkey on his back, maybe he had a Duck. Terrible Tom has been the subject of trade rumors all season long. He was most recently one of the players mentioned as part of a deal to bring Petr Sykora from the Mighty Ducks to New York. Poti has also been the target of very loud "boos" from the Garden crowd for quite some time.

Last night (for the most part) he turned those "boos" into cheers as he scored his first goal since March of 2004, and it just happened to be a desperately needed game winner.

Truth be told, as the Rodent points out, he really didn't play the greatest game. He took a couple of minor penalties and was caught out of position a few times. But this team needs some scoring from the blueline in a very bad way, and right now he is the only hope they have on the point. I would love to see him turn his career around right now. It would be a wonderful story. Do I think it is going to happen? Not really . . . he has been too disappointing too many times. But I can hope, can't I?

The other story last night was Henrik Lundqvist. This kid is simply incredible. While I stand by my earlier comments where I indicated that both Henrik and Kevin Weekes have put the Rangers in a position to win, maybe, just maybe, it is true that the team plays better and harder in front of Lundqvist. The knock on Weekes throughout his career has been that he puts up impressive numbers that don't translate into wins. He hasn't exactly played on the greatest teams, but perhaps there is something else to it.

Nonetheless, coach Tom Renney must, simply must, start Lundqvist on Monday against the Ottawa Senators. As of this morning, Henrik and the Sens' goalie, Dominick Hasek, have the EXACT same stats, with a 2.11 goals against average and .928 save percentage. Of course, Hasek has four more wins than Henrik, but this is a great match up between two hot goaltenders that just should not be missed.

As Michael Nylander sat out because of his penalty problem, the Rangers took the ice with a little more passion than the last few games. They got what they have been lacking recently . . . three power play goals and scoring from the point. They won as a team, and that's all you can ask for.

NY Post: Back to 10 over.500, the Rangers were more energetic, grittier, quicker to the puck and more determined to win battles. Maybe some of it even had to do with the coach's decision to scratch Nylander. Really, how many first-line centers are ever scratched in this league?

NY Daily News: "It felt pretty good," Poti said afterward, smiling. "A, to get the win. And B, to kind of get the monkey off my back and finally get a goal. It felt good. I'd been getting a lot of chances but nothing was going in."

The Journal News: Poti's power-play goal came after Nolan Pratt flicked the puck into the Tampa Bay bench and was called for delay of game at 16:58. Lightning coach John Tortorella directed an obscenity-laced tirade at the referees after the game and had to be restrained.

NY Newsday: The puck was on its way to Tom Poti's stick and the Rangers' defenseman was winding up for a shot. Either that puck was going to be a tiebreaking goal or boos that were poised to exit the throats of Rangers fans were going to rain down on Poti, aka the most maligned Ranger. Stick met puck. Puck met back of net. Boos were swallowed and cheers filled the Garden.

NY Times: As for the booing Poti usually hears at home? "I'm pretty mentally tough," he said. "I've been that way my whole life. I just try to block out the bad things and go out and play hard and let the chips fall where they may."

Blueshirt Bulletin has some post game commentary.

Seven members of the Rangers squad were selected to represent their respective countries in the upcoming Olympics: Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Malik, and Prucha will play for the Czech team; Henrik Lundqvist will be the starting goaltender for Sweden; and Marcel Hossa will play with his brother, Marian, for Slovakia.

There are three more days off for the Rangers this Christmas weekend. On Monday they will face their biggest test so far this year when they travel to Ottawa to face the Senators.

I'll stop by tomorrow to see if there is any news.

HDH

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