Hockey Roots

Being from New York, and how much I love its rich tradition, I'd love to talk about my New York Rangers. The Rangers have been quietly playing a well fought season, earning 25 points with 12 wins, 9 losses, and 1 overtime loss. They have been getting most of their production by their replacement first line, consisting of Artem Anisimov(7 goals, 8 assists), Brandon Dubinsky(12 goals, 7 assists), and Ryan Callahan(5 goals, 12 assists), as well as their top defensive pairing that consists of Marc Staal(3 goals, 2 assists) and Dan Girardi(2 goals, 11 assissts). I say replacement line because the original first line of  Chris Drury, Vaclav Prospal, and Marian Gaborik was injured, and I mean the entire line! For a team that was missing 3 of their top scorers(Gaborik returned last weekend), I'd say they performed pretty well.

Now the Rangers have gotten a lot out of a guy who was supposed to man the 4th line, C Brian Boyle. If you didn't know already, Boyle has 9 goals, including one last night in a 2-1 win over Calgary! He certainly exceeded expectations since arriving here in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings. Another surprise would be LW Ruslan Fedotenko, who just barely made the team after a hard fought training camp. Fedotenko currently has 11 points(4 goals, 7 assists), and has certainly proven his worth so far this year, whether it be scoring, passing, intimidating the opposing skaters, or even on the forecheck.

A guy whom I think has just lost his mind right now is Sean Avery. He's such a good player, he does a great job of intimidating and antagonizing the opposing players(especially players named Brodeur), but yet he can't seem to catch a break. I don't understand what coach John Tortorella is doing by moving him around until finally putting him on the fourth line. I mean, what is the point of a guy of Avery's status and talents if you're going to drop him to the fourth line. I mean, yes, he has only scored one goal this year, but he had been doing so well on the third line with Derek Stepan and Ruslan Fedotenko that I just don't understand the move to the fourth line. It seems that the move has made Avery lose confidence. He's not the same now with such little ice time. Over the last 5 games, Avery has averaged 9 minutes and 10 seconds of ice time per game. You can't get a lot if you only give a little coach! Put in Avery! He's a guy who can score 15-20, or even 25 goals a season in a non-scoring role. Give Avery the ice time he deserves! He's a fan favorite, and he makes the crowd feel alive, and we all love him as Ranger fans.

Watch the Rangers vs Lightning game tomorrow at 7:30 on MSG2, I know I'll be watching. LET'S GO RANGERS!