As Rangers Injuries Mount, Improbable Nears Impossible Mount

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The New York Sun

After their stirring first-round victory over their Hudson River rival Devils, the Rangers were flying sky-high. But the dream has rapidly transformed into a nightmare, as the Blueshirts have fallen behind 3-0 in their second-round series against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Compounding the matter further, the Blueshirts have been struck by a rash of ill-timed injuries.

They discovered late Tuesday night that Sean Avery is done for the season with a lacerated spleen. The injury is believed to have occurred during a collision with a Penguins defenseman in the first period of Tuesday’s game. Avery was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital afterward and was admitted following a CT scan. He is expected to make a full recovery during the off-season, but will not suit up for the Rangers again in these playoffs.

Coming back from 3-0 down was already a difficult proposition. Only two teams have done it in 149 tries in NHL history: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders (against the Penguins). Now, it’ll be even more difficult without Avery. One of the NHL’s most effective agitators, Avery’s combination of grit and skill makes him the perfect complement to the Blueshirts’ talented forward corps. When Avery was in the lineup this season, the Rangers were 33-14-9; without him, they were 9-13-3. Last February, the Blueshirts were 25-24-4 when they acquired Avery from the Los Angeles Kings; they finished the regular season 17-6-6 after adding him to their roster.

Avery is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, and it’s possible that last night was the final time the Rangers’ unequivocal fan favorite will suit up for the home team. Contract negotiations with general manager Glen Sather haven’t been particularly constructive — last summer resulted in a contentious arbitration hearing. Unless one or the other stubborn parties makes a significant and surprising compromise, it’s probable that Avery will seek employment elsewhere. And if Avery were to sign with the Islanders or the Devils, it would be a huge public relations hit for the Blueshirts to absorb.

The walking wounded of the Rangers also include clutch center Chris Drury, who battled through an undisclosed upper body injury to play a regular shift in the third period of Tuesday’s game. But he was clearly hampered, and his status is questionable for tonight’s Game 4.

Another pivot, fourth-liner Blair Betts, was struck in the face with the puck on a shot by the Pens’ Ryan Malone on Tuesday night, and his status is also questionable for tonight’s game. And Henrik Lundqvist, the victim of an un-penalized slash to his wrist by Pens forward Marian Hossa, was noticeably shaking his left arm numerous times throughout the remainder of Game 3. He will most certainly be in the lineup when the Rangers take the ice tonight, but he may not be operating at 100%.

That all said, just as the Rangers shouldn’t blame their losses in Games 1 and 2 on the officials, they cannot blame their Game 3 loss on injuries. The simple fact of the matter is that the team’s energy level didn’t consistently match that of captain Jaromir Jagr, who played one of his finest games as a Ranger.

Shift after shift, Jagr battled through checks with unwavering tenacity, perhaps in part due to the fact that his time with the Rangers — and his NHL career — may be coming to a conclusion. The only way Jagr can trigger a one-year extension to his contract is if he were to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, and with the Rangers now on the brink of elimination, that scenario seems highly unlikely. And with Avangard-Omsk (of the Russian Super League) vying for his services for 2008-09, it’s unlikely that the salary-cap-restricted Rangers will be able to come close to matching the lucrative tax-free offer he’s expected to receive.

Looking ahead to tonight’s Game 4, the Rangers have to take things one game at a time. They need to battle their way in front of Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and they have to devise ways to counter the Penguins’ devastating shot-blocking efforts. On Tuesday night, the Rangers fired a total of 75 shots at Fleury, with only 39 getting through (17 were blocked, and 19 missed their mark). Of those 39 shots that got through, few required Fleury to do very much; simply by being in the right position, he was able to make the saves.

One critical change the Rangers must consider making is to the personnel on their power play. In Detroit, the Red Wings’ power play thrives in no small part because of the work of Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen, two big Swedes who consistently wreak havoc in front of the opposition’s goal. The Rangers have a big, gritty winger of their own, Fredrik Sjostrom, and would be wise to give him an opportunity to create some time and space for Jagr on the first power play unit.

Another key reason why the Red Wings’ power play is so effective is due to the stellar point play of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. To this point, head coach Tom Renney has done a brilliant job of minimizing pressure on young defenseman Marc Staal. Perhaps it’s now time to give Staal and regular partner Michal Rozsival a chance to quarterback the top power play unit. Neither Paul Mara nor Christian Backman was particularly effective in Game 4, while Staal has arguably been the Rangers’ best defenseman throughout these playoffs. Giving him an opportunity on the power play at this stage is a chance worth taking.

Put simply, if the Rangers can’t find a way to challenge Fleury more effectively, this series will probably not go past tonight’s Game 4. But if they’re able to get some success on the power play and gain some momentum in this series with a win in Game 4, it just might be enough to plant a seed of doubt in the young Penguins’ minds.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.


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