If only the Rangers were as bad as everyone predicted, tonight would mark the end of the season. If only they were as awful as the experts thought they would be, we would be hoping for a lottery pick instead of a division title. If only they had been eliminated from the playoff picture, we could talk about the prospects and picks we got, rather than discussing the postseason scenarios.
But nooooooooo, here we are talking about winning the Atlantic Division. Here we are talking about who the Blueshirts might face in the first round. Here we are talking about home ice advantage.
Tonight marks the Return of the King. There will be a buzz in the building as soon as his name is announced, for sure. Let's be honest though, how can anyone expect that he is going to jump into the pre-olympic form after sitting for several weeks? How can anyone be comfortable with him playing only one game before the playoffs start?
Nonetheless, as Pete mentioned yesterday, these recent troubles aren't just about Henrik or Steve Rucchin playing. These are top-to-bottom troubles. They start with Tom Renney and his strange decisions of late, and they end with the players losing that discipline and drive that got them to this point in the first place.
Here we are, April 18th, 2006, Rangers versus the Senators, a win clinches the Atlantic Division. First place. If only we didn't have to worry about such things.
NY Newsday: This is a huge one for the Rangers, who are clinging to a one-point lead over the Flyers and the surging Devils. A win would give the Rangers 102 points and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs; anything less would open the door for the Devils and Flyers, who also close out the season tonight.
NY Post: Astonishingly in control of their own destiny after losing four straight, the Rangers can capture a top-three seed in the tournament with a win tonight against the Senators. They'll likely have Lundqvist back in nets and Darius Kasparaitis back on the blue line, and the Rangers will have only one thing on their minds when the puck is dropped tonight.
NY Daily News: The Rangers play one game at the Garden tonight for the right to hang just their seventh division championship banner from the famous spoked roof. Pursuit of a more coveted symbol begins this weekend. As success in both quests is hardly mutually exclusive, the importance of tonight's season finale against the Ottawa Senators is obvious.
John Dellapina also reports that Sandis Ozolinsh will be benched due to Darius Kasparaitis' return to the lineup. People on the message boards seem to feel that Jason Strudwick will be the sixth defenseman, but I think Thomas Pöck might stick around. He has played fairly solidly, and is capable offensively. My pairings for tonight would be Malik-Rosival, Kaspar-Tyutin, and Poti-Pöck.
Karen Krouse of the Times has a piece on Sandis.
The Journal News: "Somebody's looking after us," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "It's time we looked after ourselves. We can do it here. That should be the ultimate objective. It's all about (tonight) — there's no other focus, no distractions."
The Star Ledger: "I just said we're going to win," Renney explained. "Is that a guarantee? The bottom line is that I'm not going to say, 'I think ... I hope ... maybe.' I want to be sure. And I want my team to be sure of themselves. It's all about being confident and recognizing that there's a reason we should win. I'm not like Mark (Messier) was a couple of years ago."
The Rodent has a nice little puzzle for you to figure out. Actually, he figures it out for you.
Marc Staal was assigned to Hartford yesterday after practice. Also, Brandon Dubinsky was signed and will report to the Pack as well.
Around the league: Sidney Crosby became the youngest player to reach 100 points with 3 assists last night . . . The L.A. Kings have fired GM Dave Taylor and have reportedly let go of the entire coaching staff.
Dominic Hasek will remain out for tonight's game. Ottawa's goalie Ray Emery has lost his last five starts. Let's hope the Rangers take advantage of it. Oh, and Jaromir Jagr needs a three points to win the scoring title over Joe Thorton, and needs a hat trick to overcome Jonathan Cheechoo for most goals.
They don't get any better than this . . . Rangers and Sens in MSG . . . game time is 7:00 pm EST.
HDH
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