I didn’t have a chance to update the last few days, but it doesn’t seem to matter at this point. The Rangers have been writing the same story for three games now, a story of disappointment.

How do you go from playing your two best games to your two worst games? The way the Rangers played against the Islanders and Senators and then against the Hurricanes and Leafs is only even more stinging with the loss to the Thrashers. Against the “Canes and the Leafs, the Rangers just didn’t show up to play. Against Atlanta, for part of the game at least, they seemed intent on reverting to their play from the two victories. Yet the problems they faced were reminiscent of the way the team looked before the Islander game. Only now, the close game didn’t go their way for once.

Once again, the Rangers are displaying significant problems scoring goals. Despite outshooting their opponents significantly, the team just can’t score goals with any level of consistency. Yes, you can make the argument that Steve Valiquette let in a bad goal or two, but that doesn’t change the fact that good teams have to score more than two goals a game on a consistent basis. It’s an especially frightening situation when Henrik Lundqvist plays the way he did against Carolina and Toronto.

All the good things that the Rangers did against the Isles and Sens seemed to evaporate over the last three games. For one, the Jagr line, except for some brief spurts last night against the Thrashers, reverted back to a messy, disorganized group. The dominance that Jaromir Jagr displayed in those two wins was absent, with Brandon Dubinsky and Martin Straka showing little in the way of chemistry.

As nice as it is that Scott Gomez seems to be consistently racking up assists, it hasn’t gone unnoticed how many shifts for his line are wasted thanks to his turning the puck over upon entering the offensive zone. He had two assists in the Toronto game, yet ended up minus two. Brendan Shanahan’s stats read the same way.

The Drury line exhibited the kind of work ethic that has become expected from all three players of late, resulting in a goal against Atlanta. All in all, however, they too need to be producing more offensively.

It really shouldn’t be surprising, though, that the Rangers have trouble scoring. Consider their roster. Some teams have fourth lines that regularly contribute offensively. They’re not racking up the same number of points the first liners are, but when they score, it isn’t a special occasion, the way it is for the Blueshirts. The Rangers fourth line is not a line that is going to put up more than a small handful of goals per season. So that’s already three guys from whom you won’t get scoring.

Then you have guys like Petr Prucha and Marcel Hossa. It’s good that Hossa got his first of the season against Atlanta, but between the two of them, they have three goals this season. Blair Betts and Colton Orr have two between them, so essentially Prucha and Hossa are scoring at the same pace that the fourth line is.

Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky are the guys most likely to break out of the slump and start scoring, but until that happens, the team is left with Jagr, Straka, Shanahan, Gomez and Drury, as well as a healthy Sean Avery as the guys scoring goals. That means the team is relying on essentially six guys to score, six guys who aren’t exactly doing that great a job of it right now.

In today’s NHL, you need contributions from everywhere. Thankfully, the defense has started to put pucks in the net on a regular basis for the Rangers, which is certainly a good thing. However, until more of the forwards start scoring, the Rangers will continue to barely get by, if at all.

More on the Devils game later on…

I covered an Islanders/Hurricanes game earlier this season and had a chance to speak with Matt Cullen. I wrote this piece about him back then, but since the Rangers are playing the Hurricanes tonight, I figured it would still be of interest. I’ll have more on the game itself later today.

A few months after winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, Matt Cullen signed a four-year contract worth $11.5 million with the New York Rangers. Despite helping the team to the second round of the playoffs last year, the Rangers traded him back to Carolina this summer after just a season. After somewhat disappointing numbers on Broadway, Cullen is playing excellent hockey during the early portion of the 2007-08 season.

After posting career-highs of 25 goals and 49 points on the Hurricanes’ cup-winning squad, Cullen scored just 16 goals in 2006-07, recording 41 points. While he spent much of the year centering Brendan Shanahan, who scored in bunches early in the season, Cullen was rarely involved in Shanahan’s goals. This year, however, Cullen is averaging almost a point per game, with 25 points through his team’s first 27 games (That’s more than anyone on the Rangers has, just in case your keeping track). With much of the team intact from the 2005-06 season, Cullen has had no trouble reacclimating himself to the ‘Canes.

“It’s been such a great start to the season because I’m familiar with the system,” said the 31-year-old Cullen. “I don’t really need to get used to a different style of play or anything like that. I feel comfortable playing on this team because I have experience with most of these guys and with the coaching staff. We have a talented team and we utilize the right system.”

For a Carolina team that missed the playoffs last season, a year after winning the Stanley Cup, the addition of Cullen has helped the ‘Canes look like one of the NHL’s elite teams this season. While Cullen has enjoyed being back with his former club, he can’t deny being taken a back when he learned of his trade back to Carolina.

“I was surprised,” Cullen said. “I didn’t really see it coming. We had a lot of success (in New York) last season, we were this close to making it to the Conference Finals.”

Dealt back to the ‘Canes on July 17th in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, prospect forward Joe Barnes and a third-round pick in the 2008 draft, Cullen’s contract became a problem for the Blueshirts after they signed free agent centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez to lucrative deals several weeks prior. Cullen was criticized at times for not producing enough offensively, despite not being used as the point man on the power play, a role that brought him much success during Carolina’s cup run and is producing similar results this year.

“I was a little disappointed,” said Cullen. “I thought a big part of the reason they got me was to play the point, so it was a little strange to not really get that chance. That’s a coach’s decision, though. I don’t really have a problem with it. Obviously, the way we were doing things wasn’t so bad, we were pretty successful.”

Still, despite some philosophical differences, Cullen had nothing negative to say about his time as a Ranger.

“It was an interesting experience,” recalled Cullen. “The fans are amazing, they’re so passionate and so excited by the team. Obviously it was nice to have the kind of success that we did, we only wished that we could have gone just a little further. It was really nice to play on the same side as talents like Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan. Those guys are living legends of the game. You learn a lot from playing with people like that.”

It’s tough to complain about that one, folks. It really is.

That first period was the best period of hockey the Rangers have played this season. The way they played in that period was the way a winner plays. They took the attack to the Senators, they created offensively while maintaining strong play in their own zone.

This was also the second straight game where the team scored two power play goals, not to mention scoring four or more goals for the second match in a row. Could it be that this team is finally starting to develop some of that elusive chemistry?

Still, the tactics the Blueshirts employed after that first period, especially in the third, were at times frustrating to watch. It’s understandable that it’s hard to be as dominant offensively when the other team is pinching every time they get the puck, but sitting back and waiting for them to come at you isn’t the answer, either. It would have been nice to see the Rangers spend more time in the offensive zone in that third period.

Overall, though, it is indeed tough to complain.

Once again, the Straka-Dubinsky-Jagr line was excellent, especially in that period. Seeing Jaromir Jagr maneuver his way from the side boards towards the center of the Senators’ zone and absolutely rip a shot, several times no less (including one that scored) was a pleasant surprise. Ranger fans have seen Jags do that move many a time, just not very often this year. Obviously, it’s still effective. Maybe this win proved that to Jagr and he’ll start reinserting it into his repertoire.

It was also nice to see Brendan Shanahan get two goals. I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say that he still just doesn’t seem quite the same as he did in the first half of last season, but he still seems to be finding a way to put a decent amount of goals on the board. At this rate, he’s on pace for 28 goals and 56 points. It’s not quite the 29 goals and 62 points Shanny amassed in 67 contests last season, but it’s not bad for a 38-year-old.

Marcel Hossa also continued to play well on the line with Shanahan and Scott Gomez, notching a couple of assists. However, after last season, his second straight with 10 goals, I think everyone was hoping that he might breakout this year and score somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20. Right now, he’s still on zero.

He’s so good at carrying the puck and so strong defensively that it’s just a crying shame that he can’t seem to find offense. He’s got a decent shot, too. He showed that last season. It’s a matter of confidence for Hossa. He found that confidence when he got to play with Jagr last year. Maybe playing with Gomez and Shanahan will unleash it, too.

Ryan Callahan again played well, really giving his all on every shift. He’s such a sparkplug. He can become the next Jed Ortmeyer on this team, only with offense. He’s already a fan favorite like Orts. He’ll hit anything and anyone at anytime. Plus, he’s clearly got talent on offense.

Chris Drury and Petr Prucha, however, weren’t quite as noticeable in this game. However, I was hoping to see more of a response to the Chris Neil/Prucha altercations. Granted, the team was leading, so no sense in stirring up trouble and taking unnecessary penalties, but still…make it clear that you won’t tolerate that stuff.

Oh, yes. Can’t go without talking about Mr. Malik. Well, in his return, Marek Malik was…not bad at all. He didn’t do anything bad, at least. That’s something, isn’t it? Sadly, Marc Staal’s ice time did seem to go down a bit. He played a little over 19 minutes against the Islanders, while he only saw the ice for 15 minutes against Ottawa. I have a feeling that as the season progresses, the coaching staff will find a way to make that number go up, whether it means skating the third pair more often or giving Staal some power play time.

More tomorrow on the game against the ‘Canes, including a look at Matt Cullen and his time with the Rangers.

After finally getting the Islander monkey of their backs, the New York Rangers will now head to the Canadian capital of Ottawa, where they’ll try and beat the 16-6-2 Ottawa Senators for the first time this season. The Sens have beaten the Rangers this season by scores of 2-0 and 3-1. Those scores are flattering to the Rangers, though, because had it not been for superb efforts in each game from Henrik Lundqvist, the scores might have been different.

Luckily for the Rangers, Ottawa has lost five games in a row, though two of those losses came in shootouts. Make no mistake, though. The Rangers need to be extremely careful, because this is one dangerous Ottawa club.

There’s a reason they were the hottest team in the league earlier in the season. They can be THAT good. Now, they are wounded animals. They’re in a terrible slump. What better way to break out of a slump than to come out fired up against one of your top competitors in the standings, a team that you’ve dominated this season?

According to John Dellapina’s Blueshirts Blog, Marek Malik is likely to return today because Paul Mara was injured late in the game against the Islanders. No word on the severity of the injury, but it’ll be interesting to see how Rozsival plays, going from Marc Staal to Malik and how much the Rangers will be hurt by Staal seeing less ice time, which is likely since he’ll be paired with Jason Strudwick.

The Sens, who lost their last game against the Nashville Predators, 6-5, in heartbreaking fashion, will be without injured regulars Anton Volchenkov and Patrick Eaves. Volchenkov especially will be missed, as his stellar defensive play against the likes of Jaromir Jagr will be tough to replace. He’s become one of the better defensemen in the NHL.

In goal, the Sens are expected to have Martin Gerber, who started both of the prior games between the teams this season. Gerber is 13-3-1 this year, but of late, he hasn’t played well, much like the rest of the team. For the Rangers, it’ll be Henrik Lundqvist, not surprisingly.

To win, the Rangers will need to do several things. Most importantly, they need to do a better job containing the Senators’ top line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. They scored goals in each of the previous games and were able to largely do as they pleased against Blueshirt defenders.

The aforementioned injury to Volchenkov is key as well. Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Brandon Dubinsky have to keep up the style of play they exhibited in the team’s last game by taking advantage of Ottawa’s misfortune. Jagr cannot allow himself to be dominated physically by Ottawa’s lesser defenders. With Volchenkov out of the lineup, it should be easier.

From time to time, I’ll be posting articles that I’ve written for other publications here. They aren’t blog entries, per se, but I figured they’d be interesting enough, anyway.

Last Thursday at Madison Square Garden, midway through the third period, with his team leading the rival Islanders, 3-2, Rangers winger Petr Prucha found himself in perfect position to score and give his team a much-needed insurance goal. Instead, after receiving a pass off the boards from center Chris Drury, the young Czech stumbled in the slot and shot the puck wide. Though the Rangers eventually got another goal, winning the game 4-2, the moment encapsulated the season Prucha has been having.

Two seasons ago, Prucha opened eyes as a rookie, scoring 30 goals in his initial NHL campaign. Unluckily for Prucha, his debut coincided with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Dion Phaneuf and his own teammate, Henrik Lundqvist, among others. Had he entered the league any other year, he would likely have been a front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.

Prucha didn’t have as stellar a year in his second season, but he certainly didn’t succumb to a sophomore slump. Despite struggling to find chemistry early in the season on a line with Brendan Shanahan and Matt Cullen, Prucha still managed to light the lamp 22 times in 2006-07.

52 goals in two NHL seasons. Not bad for a guy picked in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Prucha quickly became a fan favorite at the Garden, drawing chants of “Proo, Proo” whenever he did something noteworthy on the ice, a frequent occurrence. His scoring contributions aside, Prucha always displayed a willingness to battle for the puck against players much larger than his 6-foot, 175-pound frame.

Much has been made this season about the Rangers’ team-wide problems scoring. Like most of his teammates, Prucha has been unable to elude the criticism. Through 25 games, Prucha had scored just two goals and notched five assists, putting him on pace to score only seven times for 23 total points through 2007-08. That’s about half of his average of 43.5 points per season. Suffice it to say, there are a lot less “Proo, Proo” chants at the World’s Most Famous Arena this year.

It’s hard to pinpoint Prucha’s lack of production offensively to one particular factor. Away from the puck, the feisty, baby-faced 25 year old has been as effective as always, never failing to hurl his body after a loose puck into the corner, knowing full well a thundering hit is likely to follow. However, when he gets the puck, he simply hasn’t been able to create offensively, whether getting the puck on net himself, or setting up his teammates.

The biggest reason for Prucha’s disappearance from the score sheet might be his lack of power play time. Thanks to almost immediate chemistry between Prucha and his elder countryman Jaromir Jagr, 16 of his 30 first-year goals came with the man advantage. With the arrival of Shanahan last season, Prucha wasn’t out on the power play as much, but he still recorded eight goals with the opposition down a player. This year, though, “Prooch,” as his teammates call him, has been a rare guest star for a Ranger power play that has, coincidentally or not, been mediocre throughout the first quarter of the season.

Prucha has also seen little stability in terms of linemates. He’s spent time with the likes of Drury, Blair Betts, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Nigel Dawes and others, with a different combination every few nights. Furthermore, players like Callahan and Dawes, while certainly unique individuals in their own right, play a similar style to Prucha, perhaps limiting what a line featuring any two of the three can do.

At various points last season, when fans thought Prucha was struggling (struggles they’d certainly take over his current performance), there were rumors abound that the Chicago Blackhawks, among other teams, were interested in acquiring him. While some fans dismissed the idea of trading such a popular and exciting young player, other fans and analysts alike suggested that Prucha was not the player his statistics indicated. They claimed that the Rangers would be smart to, as they say in the stock market, “sell high,” with Prucha benefiting from playing with a talent like Jagr and his value as an asset as high as it ever would be.

So far this season, Prucha still elicits warm reactions from Ranger fans, even though his name hasn’t been heard quite as often from the arena announcer. Thanks to an injury to Avery, Prucha should start to see more time on the power play, too. However, if Prucha fails to revert to form as the season progresses, the Rangers might wish they had made a sound investment and traded Prucha while he was still a big commodity on the market.