Avery was signed to four-year contract on July 2nd, and brings with him a fierce attitude that will fit in nicely with the Stars already aggressive bunch. Avery comes from the New York Rangers where he finished last season with 15 goals and 18 assists in just 57 regular season games. He did have quite the playoffs, as he had 4 goals and 3 assists in eight games.

Dallas fans have to like the idea of Sean Avery teaming up with Brenden Morrow and Steve Ott. This will make for a nice balance of rough lines that teams will certainly have to be aware of when they take on the Stars.

Avery is not just a physical player, but also one who can attack the net and make those around him better because of the presence he brings. The Stars reported that he is exactly the type of player that will complement their style of play.

The Stars have been locking up players they feel will not only make an impact this year but for the next few seasons, and that is what they believe Avery will deliver. This kind of firepower has to have the Stars as a favorite to make tons of noise in the 2008-2009 season, and it will be exciting to watch this team perform especially with the addition of Sean Avery.

One could make a strong argument that this player is one of the best at his position ever in the NHL. WIth his five James Norris Memorial trophies, one Conn Smythe, having appeared in nine All-Star games, having been voted to the NHL All Rookie team and the Olympic tournament All-Star team and just recently winning his fourth Stanley cup Nicklas Lidstrom  also made history.

Lidstrom is the captain of the Wings. Having been named captain after Steve Yzerman retired at the beggining of the 2006-07 season, Lidstrom has never looked back. Being that Lidstrom is the captain of the Wings, this means that he will go in the history books as the first European to be the captain of a Stanley Cup winning team.

Before this season, no European was ever captain of a Stanley Cup winning team. No small feat. Yes one could argue that Europeans haven’t been in the NHL since the beginning of the league, but even so, one could look at some teams that boast having a European as their captain and see if they have ever won the cup with them.

The Mats Sundin Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin is an excellent player and captain on his team, but for whatever reason, the Leafs haven’t won the cup with him at the helm, albeit not the fault of Sundin.

The Saku Koivu Montreal Canadiens. Same could be said for them.

The Markus Naslund Vancouver Canucks. Same.

The Jaromir Jagr New York Rangers. Same.

To name a few, the European captain teams mentioned above have not won the prestigious cup with those captains. Those teams all have had a chance but have not been able to capture the biggest prize in the NHL.

Not that those captains aren’t good players, they are, but for whatever the reason be it lack of talent on the team, no goalie or whatever, they haven’t won it. This is just an overview but the stats remain.

Nicklas Lidstrom has taken a great team and lead them to the promise land. Something that European born players should be proud of. Lidstrom has now opened the door for others to follow. And this should quiet the “No European has ever been the captain of a cup winning team” talk.

Lidstrom will forever be in the history books as the first European born player to have won the Stanley Cup as a captain.

There is no more of a deserving European captain to be the first. With Lidstrom’s impressive resume, he will undoubtedly be in the Hall of Fame. He might even capture one more cup in the process. And he can now add something else to the list of accolades he possesses, European captain winning the cup.

Congratulations to Nicklas. All his hard work and determination as well as his dominating the offensive defense-man position has paid off before, when he won three Stanley Cups, but this one the fourth, will be the crowning achievement of his career.

First off, RDS is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens are under negotiation with Andrei Kostitsyn. Kostitsyn who is slated to become a restricted free agent come July 1, is said to be general manager Bob Gainey’s top priority.

Bob Gainey said this about the RFA,

“We think in Andrei’s case considering the season he just had, that he is the most important RFA that we have to resign.”

When asked about Mark Streit Gainey had this to say,

“Mark brought the team a particular contribution this year. He had many points on the power-play. The question is if we will have enough room in our team salary structure.”

With the Streit statement, one could surmise that the Habs want to keep him but not at any price. Could there be something else going on for the Habs to possibly use their money?
RDS is also reporting that Habs affiliate team the Cincinnati Cyclones have won the Kelly trophy in the ECHL. A team which Bob Gainey has helped to build.

Now for the good stuff.

The Hockey News is reporting that soon to be unrestricted free agent Mats Sundin might not resign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And that the Detroit Red Wings could be gunning for him. But Sundin is also rumoured to be asking for 2 years at $8 million per year. Montreal and Ottawa are also rumoured to be getting ready to make a pitch to Sundin.

Next we have un-confirmed reports that Saku Koivu could be trying to convince Teemu Selanne to play with the Habs, this being Koivu’s last contract year. Koivu would like his best friend to play at least one year with him before Selanne retires for good.

Another un-confirmed report states that the Canadiens could be interested in soon to be RFA Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators. Although I do believe that Redden still has juice in the tank, is he the answer the Habs need at the blue-line? Redden is a puck mover, and is not physical, considering that when the Sens went to the final last season that the Anaheim Ducks pounded him like there was no tomorrow, I’m not sure that he is the answer. He is still good, depending on the price, and depending on who the Habs will have surrounding him to be the physical presence.

Next there is the fact that Pavol Demitra could be interested in the Vancouver Canucks and the Canadiens. Although this winger might still have a good season or two left in him under optimum conditions, he is not the answer for the Habs. He is good but why take a roster spot away from a youngster, I would rather see Selanne.

Lastly, something I mentioned in another article is that Olaf Kolzig could be in Montreal next season. With the New York Rangers so far being the only other team manifesting interest in him, the Habs could luck out. Kolzig is also part owner of the Tri-City Americans, a team which new number one Habs goalie Carey Price has played for.

Also there is mounting evidence that the Tampa Bay Lightning may be a little worried about Vincent Lecalvalier’s shoulder, and might be willing to trade him. Montreal is rumoured among other names to have thrown in Chris Higgins as part of a possible trade. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Having swept the Ottawa Senators in four games then taking care of the New York Rangers in five games, it was only fitting that the Pens took care of the Flyers in five games as well. So far in the 2008 play-offs the Pens record is 12-2. Pretty good if you consider the fact that the Pens were not a great defensive team in the regular season.

Pittsburgh’s defence in the post season is, well, great. Pittsburgh with players like Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Malone, Jordan Stall, Petr Sykora, and Sergei Gonchar have the offence to compete with any team in the NHL. The elite scoring players of the Pens are not only scoring goals, coach Michel Therrien also has them playing defense.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc Andre Fleury who was sent down to the minors this season for some conditioning has played outstanding this post season. Ty Conklin who took over for Fleury when he was sent to the minors has yet to see a post season game for the Pens. For the past couple of seasons Fleury had not been consistent in his play. Fleury has chosen the right time to play well it would seem.

This new Pens team seems like the old team in 1991-92 when they had such players as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Alex Kovalev, Mark Recchi, and  Alexei Morosov. WIll this current team have what it take to bring home Lord Stanley’s Cup?

Pittsburgh now awaits the winner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. The WIngs lead the series 3-2. The Stars will try to tie the series at three games a piece tonight.

Whichever team joins the Pens in the final will meet a rested team ready to prove to the NHL that youth is a good thing.

The NHL is most probably excited that one of the teams that they wanted in the final has already made it. The NHL will never admit that it favors one team or the other, but it must be happy that their t.v. revenues will be high as the Pens are a high t.v. rated team with all their stars. Stars or Wings, doesn’t really matter to the NHL as all three of the remaining teams have marketable players.

Pittsburgh has been waiting for a long time to reach the finals again, question is will they profit from the situation? 

Since the lock-out season in 2004-05, the cap has steadily continued to increase. From three years ago until now the NHL has increased it’s cap, with three years left in the CBA, it isn’t ludacris to suggest that by the end of the current CBA the NHL will have a salary cap of over 70 million at the current rate of inflation.

It’s a good thing that the cap continues to climb, sure the fans are paying more for their tickets, but it also means that even if ticket prices have soared the fans are willing to pay, which in turn means more revenue for the NHL, and teams.

Unfortunately for the NHL when the current CBA ends, if the cap is 70 million or over, teams like the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and maybe a few others will be able to maintain a competitive team, however there might be another debate as to small market teams like the Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames–to name only two– and if they will be able to survive with the cap and floor being so high.

This could result in the public and players as well as the owners losing one year of hockey and revenues as well as salaries for nothing, Eventually you might have teams being able to support two three or four players making over 8 million a season. That doesn’t mean that a certain team will be the best. Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning, until the trade deadline Tampa had Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, and Martin St-Louis, and they did poorly even though those players had a good year.

I presume that for now all the fans can do is go with the flow, and challenge their respective teams to use the accending cap to acquire better players or keep the good players that they already have. However if the world of hockey is subject to another lock-out in three years I don’t think that the fans will be so quick to come back to the sport.

For now let’s all enjoy the fact that there is hockey, and make our teams use the money that is available to them and acquire some more players, let’s enjoy it while we can.

Avery played the whole game, obviously not knowing what was wrong with him. Apparently he suffered his injury while blocking a shot. He must have been going through alot of pain, but dealt with it and played anyway, proving that the annoying bastard that he is, is able to deal with pain and play.

Since Avery came into the league, he has been a pest to put it mildly. Fortunately for him, he can also play hockey, and he has good hands as well, adding more value to the way he plays. Unfortunately for him, it’s a 50-50 split on his team as to who likes him, and the only reason he is a media darling, is the fact that he gives the media plenty to write about seemingly on a weekly basis.

That being said, if I was a general manager of a team other than the Montreal Canadiens, I would take him on my team, but not at the salary that rumours have put between 3 and 4 million that his agent will be looking for for the 2008/09 season. He does pose a risk, but has talent, and can disrupt the other team, ask Martin Brodeur about that one. He’s a talented pest, although he goes over board sometimes, he is still a good player.

At least Sean Avery didn’t go out because of a vicious hit from behind, which he has also done a little of, but few can boast that they have not done the same. Avery also was not the victim of a high-stick to the eye, as Saku Koivu was a couple of years ago, he got injured blocking a shot, and dealt with the pain for the whole game, way to be a real man.

Although as I stated, I would put Avery on my team if it were anywhere else than Montreal, he isn’t one of my favorite players, as talented as he is, he is a risk. However, I am glad to see that it doesn’t seem to be a life threatening injury, and that he should make a full recovery, and continue to be hated around the NHL. He went out the right way, not the cheap way.

In the Western Conference you will see the Dallas Stars against the San Jose Sharks, and the Detroit Red-Wings against the Colorado Avalanche.

Stars, Sharks: Evegeni Nabokov against Marty Turco. Nabokov is the better goalie this year by far, but Turco has played really well, and didn’t play as many games during the regular season as Nabokov, one would have to think that Nabokov will get tired eventually. Nabokov has the edge as long as he doesn’t get tired. The Stars still don’t have Sergei Zubov, which could hurt them in this series. If the Stars hope to defeat the Sharks they will have to do the same thing as they did against the Anaheim Ducks, as the Sharks are also a physical team, however they might be a little bruised after their last series against the Calgary Flames. Technically the Sharks should win, but then again, everyone had the Ducks winning too, as the Stars had a bad end of the season, and look what happened.

Avalanche, Red-Wings: As much as it pains me to say it, with the recent play of the almost extinct Dominik Hasek, Jose Theodore is the better goalie so far, Chris Osgood is a good goalie, unfortunately Theodore has been standing on his head in the play-offs, the edge to starting goalie goes to the Avalanche. Ian Laperriere, he has got a target on his back after smashing Niklas Lidstrom into cloud nine at the end of the season. The scorers for both teams are about even, the defence however goes to the Red-Wings. This series should go to the Red-Wings, but they didn’t impress too many people in their last series, are they too old? The Avalanche have some speed, but will it be enough to win? Colorado could upset.

In the Eastern Conference you will see the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers, and the Montreal Canadiens against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Penguins, Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, enough said. Lundqvist is superior to Ty Conklin, and Marc Andre Fleury, by far. Pittsburgh’s offence is better than the Rangers, but, Jaromir Jagr has come out of his shell, that could hurt the Pens. The Pens are all offence, and didn’t have much trouble sweeping the Ottawa Senators in their last series, but the Rangers are not the Sens. The Rangers have Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, to shut down either the Sidney Crosby line, or the Evgeni Malkin line. But will the Pens be able to defend against the re-appearance of Jagr the great, Brendan Shanahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Martin Straka? Fleury, or Conklin will have their hands full in this series. The only factor that will not be one is Sean Avery, yes he can score some nice goals, which he just might, but his intimidation antics will not work in Pittsburgh with big George Laraque on the ice, Avery better hope that those two don’t meet, or else Avery can book his hospital room right now. Besides goal-tending which the Blue Shirts hold the advantage, the Pens have more explosive talent up front, question is, will they be able to explode on the Rangers, the Rangers aren’t the Sens. Keep the Pens in their own zone. I believe that the Rangers could win this one, if they are able to slow down the Pens, if not, the Pens take it.

Canadiens, Flyers: Where to start, well to keep it short, Carey Price is better than Martin Biron. The Flyers defence is slow, and Derian Hatcher has seen better days. These two teams were no.1, and no.2 in the regular season on the power-play, with the Habs being no.1. The Habs had a hard time against the Bruins on the p.p., but if they can manage to bring it back now that Saku Koivu is back then they will do well as the Flyers are an undisciplined team. Daniel Briere will be deaf when he leaves the Bell Centre, and may have to work on his confidence as well as the Montreal fans will let him have it big time. Montreal has the edge in coaching staff, and defence, as well as in between the pipes. With Mike Knuble, and Simon Gagne out, for sure the Habs have the edge in offence as well, question is, will Philly be able to contain it for seven games if necessary? Montreal should win this one, as the Flyers only impressed themselves by winning, but you never know, still the Habs should prevail if their power-play clicks, and they play their game, and don’t play the Flyers way, yes the Flyers have Steve Downie, but the Habs have Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, Francis Bouillon, and Maxim Lapierre to a lesser extent. The Habs two best players in Alex Kovalev, and Carey Price, are better than the two best players of the Flyers in Mike Richards, and Daniel Briere. Should be a good one to watch.

The scorers for the Habs were, Mike Komisarek, from Alex Kovalev, and Saku Koivu, then Mark Streit, from Maxim Lapierre, and Kovalev, then Andrei Kostitsyn, from Sergei Kostitsyn, and Roman Hamrlik, the fourth goal was scored by Andrei Kostitsyn, from Patrice Brisebois, and lastly Sergei Kostitsyn, from Andrei Kostitsyn, and Tomas Plekanec. Carey Price made 25 saves for the shut-out.

This was the real Habs, the Habs of the regular season, the Habs that took a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of game no.1. Where had they been hiding all this time? The Boston Bruins didn’t stop all game long, but Carey Price was spectacular on many occasions, Price made some exciting saves at opportune times, even though the Habs scored 5 goals, it was the Price show tonight, most likely a little disgusted at the fact that he let in 5 goals in each of the last two games.

The whole team played well, even Sergei Kostitsyn who once again got a couple of un-timely penalties, played well. Sergei got hit hard on the boards and had to go get some stitches, but came back and played well. The rest of the team played well too, but for the few times that the team was lacking some defensive zone coverage, Price was there to prevent the Bruins from getting any momentum.

If the Canadiens played like that all series, it would have been over in 5 games maximum. Boston’s light for the future is Milan Lucic, what a thorn in the sides of the Habs, but a good player. Yes the young factor had something to do with the fact that the Habs didn’t play well for a few games, but they prevailed, this time. Let the kids go out and celebrate tonight, and let the team breathe for a few days, no hard practices, let the bumps and bruises heal, and let Saku Koivu, and Francis Bouillon completely heal.

The Canadiens did almost everything right, they blocked shots, scored a power-play goal, and didn’t stop when they got the lead, of course Price helped, especially during the penalty-kill. Once again the referees made some bum calls, and let many penalties slip by, but it didn’t hamper the Habs tonight.

The Habs won this series, but await the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals series which after the Caps won tonight, is tied 3-3, if the Flyers win, then the Habs would play them in the next round, if the Caps win, the Habs would play the New York Rangers. Although I think that the Habs have a better chance to get to the Conference Championship if they play the Flyers, I don’t think that they want to chose their opponents. It doesn’t matter who the Habs play, as long as the whole team shows up every game, and they play their style, they can beat anyone in the east.

Koivu, and Bouillon returned in game no.6, even though they are not healed completely, Koivu who won over 70% of his face-offs in both games, and was key in certain plays, helped the Habs give the Bruins something they didn’t plan for. Bouillon played decent, but more to the point, he gave the Habs another veteran on the blue-line, for which Andrei Markov could take a breather. Guy Carbonneau wore his ugly lucky tie, I’m starting to like that tie.

So the Habs wait for another day to see who they will face, Flyers, or Rangers. As long as the whole team plays, it doesn’t matter. Congratulations, it took longer than everyone thought, hopefully adversity will help the young kids get back to earth, and bond the team even more.

The lone scorer for the Habs was Patrice Brisebois who was assisted by Andrei Kostitsyn, and Alex Kovalev. The big story in this game wasn’t the hitting, of which there was alot of again, but the spectacular saves by Carey Price, of which he made 27 for the shut-out.

Carey Price is showing why general manager Bob Gainey chose Price over Christobal Huet. Price has been great so far in the post season, sure the Bruins don’t have the talent that the Pittsburgh Penguins do, or the New York Rangers, but they have had there share of great scoring chances anyway. For a twenty year old goalie to be making his NHL play-off debut, and playing so well gives the fans more confidence in the Habs upper management.

Once again the Canadiens supporting cast played better than the stars of the team, Brisebois scored for the Habs, and in the previous games, Brian Smolinski, Tom Kostopolous, and so on, anyone see a pattern here? Does this team really miss Koivu that much?

For the Habs to play the Bruins in the first round is a little lucky I guess. Francis Bouillon, and Saku Koivu are still out after they both took shots off their feet a couple of games before the end of the season, so I guess playing a team that is deprived of their best player to start the play-offs is a good thing.

Mike Komisarek, and Andrei Markov both played more than 25 minutes in this game. The team played a little better than in the two previous games, but let’s face it, I know that the play-offs is a different season, but the highest scoring team in the league scoring only two goals in 2 games, come on! It’s time for the Habs to show the Bruins why they scored so many goals this year, sure in the post season it’s little more difficult, but two goals in 2 games doesn’t quite cut it, lucky for the Habs they have a 20 year old goalie named Carey Price.

Francis Bouillon hopes to be ready for Thursday’s game, or Saturday if necessary. For Saku Koivu, he has an x-ray appointment Wednesday morning in Montreal, if the broken bone in his foot has healed enough, the doctor may give Koivu the green light to start skating, meaning hopefully Koivu will be ready to play on Saturday if necessary.

Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch tonight, Ryan O’Byrne played well in his first post season game. Perhaps one could say that the Habs played decent road games, and hey, they still split the two games in Boston. Let’s hope that the Habs get their act together and show the Bruins who scored the most goals in the league this year and win the series on home ice on Thursday.

The New York Islanders achieved a measure of revenge last night as they gutted out a hard-fought shootout victory over the New York Rangers, 4-3. This game featured much more intensity than the one the previous night had. Even though the Islanders season, for all intents and purposes, ended midway through March, Ted Nolan’s crew did not “go gently into that good night”. They rode goals by Kyle Okposo, Miroslav Satan and Richard Park (who not only scored a shorthanded goal, but contributed the game winner in the shootout) to win the contest. The Rangers countered with tallies by Daniel Girardi, Nigel Dawes and Jaromir Jagr.

After watching this game, an Islander fan would have to feel good about his team’s Youth Movement. D Jack Hillen played his second game in the NHL and recorded his first assist. Blake Comeau scored in the shootout. Sean Bergenheim was, once again, a force around the rink, creating havoc and scoring opportunities for himself and others. However, the real reason to be excited is Okposo. He scored a beautiful goal in the first period and tallied first in the shootout. Each game sees him grow in confidence and his formidable skills are starting to emerge. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that he can be a Top 6 forward in this league (and likely a starter).

What more does Wade Dubielewicz have to do to convince GM Garth Snow that he ought to be re-signed immediately? The Man They Call Dubie once again performed acrobatics in net, turning away 48 Ranger shots. The Islanders need to have an extremely capable back-up goalie due to concerns over Rick Dipietro’s health and Dubielewicz fits the bill. Joey MacDonald, a fine goalie in his own right, was given his One Way contract for next season because of doubts about Dubie, but he has more than answered the bell on that account. Look for Dubielewicz to be resigned and MacDonald to either be traded or lost to Waivers.

A quick note to Ranger Fans: When you initiate the “Potvin Sucks” chant every 30 seconds, you dilute the impact. By the third period, all but a few of the Blueshirt Faithful had grown weary of the ritual. Also, I must ask: How many Ranger fans actually know WHY they are chanting “Potvin Sucks”?

Since the season is now over, I will be rolling out my Draft Coverage starting Tuesday. At that point, the Draft Lottery will have been held and we’ll know where the Islanders will pe picking. I will highlight a different prospect each week and ponder where they might fit into the scheme of things.

Unfortunately, that exact scenario occurred last night. The New York Rangers pounded the Islanders into submission by the score of 3-0 to clinch their own playoff spot and hammered yet another nail into the coffin at the same time. The Rangers got two power play goals from Jaromir Jagr and an even-strength goal from Martin Straka.

Islander-Ranger games usually are hotly contested tilts that are full of chippy play and teeth-rattling body contact. Those elements were noticeably missing last night. The Rangers simply took over the game early and Isles failed to respond. What was disappointing from an Islanders fan’s perspective was not necessarily the score…being dominated in games this season was an all too frequent event. What really drove the fans crazy was the lack of physicality Ted Nolan’s squad exhibited. Sean Avery of the Rangers hounded young phenom Kyle Okposo all night, dumping him hard into the boards on a couple of occasions, yet no one stood up to the pesky winger. Had we been in a different era and Avery had done the same to Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies would have shoved his stick so far down Avery’s throat that Sean would have been pooping “Koho” splinters for a week.

Another distressing reality of Islander-Ranger games at the Coliseum is the overwhelming presence of Rangers fans. This is far from a new trend, but it seems clear that Ranger fans have no trouble gaining access in droves to the former “Fort Neverlose”. In order to garner the amount of territory they take up, it’s obvious that many Islander season ticket holders choose to sell their tickets for these contests. I certainly won’t fault someone for taking advantage of a financial opportunity, but this seems somehow traitorous. Can you imagine a Leafs fan willingly exchanging their seats for money from a Sens or Habs fan? Perhaps it does occur, but the idea seems unfathomable.

Islander fans need to recognize that, without their unwavering support, this team is possibly going to move sometime in the future. I’m not suggesting that every fan blindly follows and believes in every move the team makes, but honestly asks themselves why they are a fan and what is expected of them.

If they cannot support the team through rough patches, then how much integrity do they really have?

Islander’s goalie Joey McDonald put on an exemplary performance last night, turning aside 45 shots in a 2-1 OT loss to the New Jersey Devils. Though he had a lineup dominated by AHL stalwarts in front of him, McDonald battled hard and kept a formidable Devils team (who actually still has something to play for) from dominating the contest. The Devils could only force one PP goal by Patrick Elias past him in regulation time until Zach Parise tallied in the extra frame. Josef Vasicek scored for the Islanders.

McDonald’s play will likely cause Snow more than a few sleepless nights regarding what do with the backup goaltender position. McDonald is already signed for next season to a one way contract, which means that he cannot be sent to the minors without having to clear waivers on his way back to the big club. There is a decent chance that he could be snapped up by some other team en route. Therefore, the question becomes: What to do with Wade Dubielewicz? The diminutive goaltender is not a only a big fan favorite, but he has certainly earned the right to merit strong consideration for the job himself. Unless Dubielewicz, an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, accepts a two way contract and somehow is satisfied with a minor league role, he is going to probably be the odd man out in the situation.

Up next are the hated rival New York Rangers, who the Islanders will play in a home and home series to close out the season. Coach Ted Nolan has not allowed this team to succumb to the litany of legitimate excuses they have to explain away this lost season and he won’t start now. Expect them to fight the Blueshirts tooth and nail in these games. However, this notion places some serious conflict in the minds of Islanders fans. Though they always want to beat the Rangers in any circumstance, they also recognize that losing these two games might result in a better draft position which would enable their club to get better.

It’s certainly not an enviable place to be in.

Now, with only one game left in March and four total, the Rangers need another spark before their (hopefully) playoff run. The candle is still burning, but the wind has been blowing in March. They won 3, lost two, won two, then lost two during a 9 game stretch in the middle of march. Now to be fair, they could have run into some hot teams at the time, but what that tells me that is the Rangers have not been consistent since finding their game in the middle of February. The Blueshirts NEED to win at least 3 of their final 4 games in order to help themselves not end up in the 7 or 8 spot of the Eastern Conference. Not to mention it wouldn’t hurt to play that well at the end of the season for a confidence booster.

Tommorow night is the key time to start this. Today’s game wasn’t what many Ranger fans were hoping for, but their was hope. They outplayed the Penguins in stints (once again, inconsistent), Henrik played great per usual, and Fleury did well too. Tomorrow night is key because we have had the Penguins number at MSG this year, and we need to continue that. Following the Pens Monday are the Islanders on the Island Thursday. The Islanders have been tough this year which is why, in my opinion, we need two points Monday to make up for today. After Thursday its a date at MSG with the Islanders and then the Sunday finale with the Devils at the Rock. All 4 games are cause for concern, which is why the Rangers need another spark ASAP.

As for today’s loss at Mellon to the Pens, I think the Rangers need to have some amnesia. Here is the good, bad, and other:

- The Rangers played ok, in stints. For Example, the Rangers outshot the Pens 11 to 4 in the second period, but really got nowhere with it. Thats how I felt the whole game. The Rangers played ok, but just not well enough. I was only on edge during the game right after Dubi scored to take the lead, I was into it. Past that, the Rangers got nowhere. They didn’t get any really spectacular chances and failed to even produce chances on the PP.

- I thoughts the refs sucked.

- Speaking of the PP, we need someone in front, constantly. It is a big key to any good power play, go take a look at Montreal’s highlights.

- Off Topic: Clarkson loses in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Ice Hockey Tourney, here’s to a good season boys!

Thats it for now, I kind of lost my train of thought as I had to tend to a small issue while I was writing this. Remember, Pens @ Rags tomorrow, 7 PM EST, MSG Network. Look for a post after it! Peace - Rob

As witnessed by their reported interest in Brad Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning before he was moved to the Dallas Stars, the Blue Jackets are willing to spend big bucks to fill their biggest needs (i.e. a number one and number two center). And with between $15 million to $20 million in salary cap space at their disposal, they may just pull the biggest moves of the summer.

With that in mind, Portzline suggests that Blue Jackets GM may inquire about the availability of Daniel Briere of Philadelphia, Patrick Elias of New Jersey, Scott Gomez of the New York Rangers. The thought there is that those three clubs may be looking for “roster and payroll flexibility.”

Of course, rumors continue to swirl that the Blue Jackets will trade for San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau before the entry draft, as Portzline and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun both have reported. As Gary Peterson of the Contra Costa Times documents in his article, Marleau has had a tough season with the Sharks and has seen his name pop up in numerous trade rumors.

So, getting any one of the aforementioned players would definitely resolve their need for a top-line pivot. But what will Columbus do about their second-line center position?

Portzline suggests that trading for Matthew Lombardi of the Calgary Flames may be an option.

The Flames have two pending unrestricted free agent forwards they would like to re-sign in Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow, and would consider shedding Lombardi’s salary to make it happen.

“You don’t get (a top-six role) by acclamation, you have to earn it,” Flames GM Darryl Sutter said last week. “To be quite honest, Langkow and Conroy have outplayed him this year.”

According to Bucky Gleason of The Buffalo News, the Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon will try to move high-priced forward Martin Havlat and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin during the off-season.

Trading both players, who become unrestricted free agents next summer, would give the Blackhawks $12.75 million to spend in free agency.

If the Blackhawks don’t trade both players, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes that the club will certainly deal Havlat.

Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal reports that Los Angeles Kings pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Rob Blake would like to continue his NHL career for one or two more seasons. And preferably with the Kings.

However, for that to happen, Matheson suggests that the veteran blueliner will have to take a significant pay cut down to around $3 million per season.

Matheson also reiterates earlier reports that the Ottawa Senators can buy out goalie Ray Emery between June 15 and June 30 at one-third of the $6.75 million left on the last two years of his contract. That translates to a salary cap hit of $562,000 each of the next four years. Matheson suggests that that the Senators will indeed take advantage of this opportunity to dump Emery.

Look for the Edmonton Oilers to shop defenseman Joni Pitkanen in the off-season, according to Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch.

Portzline also reports that Oilers pending UFA forward Geoff Sanderson will retire at season’s end.

Garrioch believes that the New York Islanders will not trade goalie Rick DiPietro despite the friction he and head coach Ted Nolan.

Garrioch also reports that Colorado Avalanche pending UFA goaltender Jose Theodore could be pursued by the Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning should he decided to go on the market.

More from Garrioch, he reports on a number of non-trades leading up to last month’s trade deadline.

First off, word is that the Philadelphia Flyers were willing to part with forward Jeff Carter and their first round draft pick for Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The deal fell through when Kaberle invoked the no-trade clause in his contract.

Secondly, the Atlanta Thrashers were unsuccessful in their attempts to move defenseman Alexei Zhitnik.

Lastly, Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough wasn’t willing to meet the asking price for Florida Panthers forward Olli Jokinen.

- It looked as though Friday night the Panthers just plain played better than us. They were making great passes and plays to lead to odd-man rushes and wayyyy to many breakaways. I guess the defense had too much fun this break. Anyways the highlights weren’t anything special. They had good goals and we had good goals, we just couldn’t beat them.

- Saturday night looked a little differently. They got their first goal on a crash the net play at the end of the 2nd with Picard jamming it home out front, not much you can really nitpick on that. Same goes for the 2nd by St.Louis, a tip and two bounces gives them a 2-0 lead. The Rangers seemed to play much better after that goal. What can you say when Sjostrom gets absolutely robbed by Smith on the wrap around? Nothing. What can you say when Picard makes a kick save and a beauty at that on Jagr with 6 minutes to go? Nothing. It just seemed like both nights we just weren’t meant to win, so I think the Rangers should take this weekend with a grain of salt and move on to Tuesdays date with Crosby & Co.

- Henrik Lundqvist took his break pretty seriously. He kept the Rangers in it on both games and made some fantastic saves of deflections and breakaways. We need another great performance on Tuesday to stifle the Pens.

- Will Renney change the lines now? Who knows. I didn’t watch the games shift-in and shift-out so I’m not one to judge right now, but I bet you no major changes will be made. Announcers say he was thinking about it after Friday night, but who will he move? You can’t break up Avery-Dubi-Jagr now, and its tough to break up Dawes-Gomez-Shanny, so only time will tell what happens.

- As I said, Pens are up next on Tuesday at the Garden, lets hope we find our touch again. - Rob

“I’m not sure. I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”

But what about the comments made by Rangers GM Glen Sather during a recent press conference that Jagr has told him he’d like to retire in New York?

Jokingly, Jagr says that he know where he will finish his career and it’s not in the Big Apple.

“I know where I’m going to finish my hockey career - in my hometown,” he said, smiling. “I know that for sure - because the league is not (as strong as) the NHL. I know I can play there longer than here. That’s one I know for sure.”

“If nothing bad happens, I’m going to finish my hockey career in Kladno (Czech Republic), that’s for sure.”

More seriously, Jagr says he doesn’t put much stock in Sather’s comments.

“I don’t really pay any attention to that, because I know how people react when they’re pressured by the media - sometimes they can’t tell the truth,” Jagr said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

So why exactly hasn’t the Czech forward thought about his hockey future?

Mostly, it’s because he never imagined he’d be in this position. Jagr had an option in his contract that would have automatically kicked in for next season if certain statistical milestones were met.

“Let me tell you something: I didn’t think about it because I didn’t think I wasn’t going to hit the number,” Jagr said, his 59 points leaving him 25 shy with only 12 games remaining. “I didn’t think I was going to be a free agent. So I didn’t think about it. I was sure I was going to do it - that the team was going to make it and I was going to make it.”

However, by naming Peca an alternate captain, management may be sending him a message.

“Hopefully, it says they want me to be around for a little while,” said Peca, 33.

“This is a place we would love to stay and there has been an indication that it might be a reciprocal feeling on their part, but we’ll see what happens.”

Bob Hunter of The Columbus Dispatch suggests that the Blue Jackets may pursue a trade for struggling San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau to fill their first-line center position.

The Blue Jackets could receive a first round draft pick, from a deadline deal that saw defenseman Adam Foote moved to the Colorado Avalanche, that they can package along with “a good player or two” to acquire Marleau.

Marleau has a no-trade clause that takes effect July 1st, so he’d have to be moved before then without his approval.

Speaking of the Sharks, USA Today’s Kevin Allen suggests that should Sharks defenseman Brian Campbell become an UFA he could get a six-year deal worth at least $50 million this summer.

Campbell will undoubtedly be the most sought after blueliner on the market due to the lack of top-tier defensemen due to become available.

Allen also believes that pending UFA defensemen Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators and Michael Rozsival of the New York Rangers could also get significant contracts.

As for Pittsburgh Penguins soon-to-be UFA forward Marian Hossa, he could definitely land a deal averaging more than the $7 million per season the Atlanta Thrashers were offering him before they traded him.

Lastly from Allen, he suggests that the Thrashers will have a big off-season after losing Hossa, while the Edmonton Oilers continue their efforts to land a “Star” player. Look for the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders to possibility do the same.

As long as the New Jersey Devils have Martin Brodeur on their team, they will be in the race for first in the east, as their whole team is built around Brodeur, and a boring put you to sleep style of play, but at least it seems to work for them in the win column, they have a great All-Star goalie and that helps win championships in the NHL, however they lack scoring punch.

The Ottawa Senators are a good offensive team, and have some good defenseman, but will they be able to solidify the goalie position by the time the play-offs begin? The Sens have skill almost everywhere, but their recent demise has let other teams in the race for first in the conference as it looked like the Sens were running away with it earlier this season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora, Jordan Staal, Marian Hossa, I think they have enough scoring punch, but even-though their defence can score, they lack defensively, and who will be their no.1 goalie? The Pens also lost their grit master in Colby Armstrong, but they seem to be doing well anyway.

The re-surging New York Rangers, with Brendan Shannahan, Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez, Martin Straka, and Chris Drury, the Rangers have scoring punch, and a really good goalie which is why they are only 6 points back of the #1 seat in the east, their defence seems to be picking it up at the right time as well.

The Montreal Canadiens, with all the players that have scored for them this year helping the Habs be three goals away from having the most in the NHL, they have enough scoring, Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak are the ones who will have to carry the load which is the question mark for the Habs, their defence is good, not great, but good, but their goal-tending will determine what the outcome will be for them in the end.

Every team listed above has question marks surrounding them as they head into the play-offs, which is why it is so entertaining to watch this year, call it parody if you will, I call it every team needs something, and that might be what makes the east this year, whatever the outcome of the end of the season, it will be interesting to watch the next ten games in the regular season for each team.

- The biggest rumbling and evidence about the NHL Winter Classic this week came out of New York involving the Rangers. The Daily News of NY went as far to say that the Rangers have all but locked up to be the host, but with only the task of finding the right opponent. The game would be at Yankee Stadium, and it would be the last event in its history. And here is more evidence of this:

That photo was taken by a man who was touring the stadium and happen to stumble upon this evidence. Its an interesting placement for the rink. The picture is courtesy of the website NHL Tournament of Logo’s, and you can read the whole story here. I am all for NYR getting an outdoor game as I have said before, but I have a few problems with this idea and situation.

Baseball stadiums are unique venues. As you can see from the photo, the first rows near the dugouts will be closer than a football stadium but will they be high enough to see all of the action? I like how it will be a closer feeling to the rink, but I would rather have the NHL stick to keeping the Winer Classic in football stadiums. Another thing with this photo is that they would almost certainly build makeshift stands in the outfield, bringing the fans even closer. Wikipedia says that the stadium holds just under 58,000 for a baseball game. So an accurate guess with the layout above would be around 60-65,000 due to the fact that most of the outfield seats wouldn’t be used because of the makeshift stands that would have to be created in the outfield. I do not think that is enough people, which is why the Winter classic should stay in Football stadiums, where more people can get through the gate ($$$) and where putting the rink up wouldn’t be a logistical problem. If the Rangers have truly locked up the ‘09 classic, they should attempt to play it in Giants Stadium, which fits 80,000 no problem. I see a couple of advantages and disadvantages.

For one, filling Giants stadium wouldn’t be a problem. 40,000 tickets sold out in Buffalo in 37 minutes, which is a testament to the loyalty to the fans and what a fantastic event this is. Another advantage and disadvantage at the same time is that Giants Stadium is located in New Jersey. Its an advantage because the event wouldn’t be in the Bronx, but its a disadvantage because it might turn away the average fan FROM the Bronx who doesn’t want to travel. Regardless, I’m glad to see that the Rangers are heavily in the talks for the ‘09 classic. Rumored teams to play the Rangers are the Islanders, Bruins, and Red Wings. I believe the best choice would be the Bruins. The media would play off the Boston-NY rivalry heavily. If you chose the Islanders the Buzz might not grow as big because of the game being so local. If you chose the Red Wings it might become to bland. The Bruins play hard and have given NYR great games this season, and all I want is to see a hockey fight outdoors in the Bronx on National TV.

- Moving on to Franchise relocation. Being an old-tyme (get it, with a y!) Hockey-ist, I’ve never liked the rapid expansion into the Southern part of the US by the NHL. And to begin, if the NHL decides to expand past 30 teams they will surely regret it. The NHL has planted the seeds of the “New” NHL, now they need to water it from time to time and let it grow. I feel like the NHL is trying to “grow” hockey upon markets instead of trying to find Hockey markets and place teams there. There are many rumbles of possible cities for relocation above the Mason-Dixon line involving Kansas City, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, and moving into Canada with Hamilton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Teams that are involved in moving rumors are Florida, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Nashville, Atlanta, and Phoenix. First I will Rank each team in my opinion on who should move ASAP from 1 through 6.

1. Nashville. As much as Business is reportedly coming back, the franchise is in trouble. Bettman did now allow Basile to buy the franchise because of his intentions to move it to Hamilton in Ontario. I have a feeling this franchise will be on the move in the next five years though. The following isn’t enough to support a franchise with greater market opportunities out there.
2. Florida. Florida for this season so far is ranked last in % filled in total attendance. (ESPN) Although you don’t hear about many problems from Florida, you don’t hear much of anything either. When your home city is named Sunrise, your just not a hockey town. Its bad enough Florida has two teams, and at least one has to go. Sorry Panthers, but you don’t have a cup unlike your in-state foes on the west coast.
3. Next up would be Columbus, who edges out Florida in total attendance by 1.2%. The same goes here. As much as there aren’t many problems, there also aren’t many positives coming out of Ohio.
4. Phoenix. A move back to Winnipeg could be in the cards for the former-Jets. Winnipeg is pressing hard for a franchise and Phoenix hasn’t enjoyed much success in the desert since its move. There are two problems though. First, Jobing.com arena is almsot brand new and in sparkling condition. Second, Winnipeg needs a new arena. Don’t look for this to happen anytime soon.
5. Atlanta. The All-Star game might not have been a big hit on TV, but fans packed Phillips Arena all weekend. Phillips arena is another obstacle as it too like Jobing.com is in fantastic shape. Atlanta will still be around past 2015 but if its still b