The internet outage in Asia and the Mideast must have contributed to me losing my entry here in Philly.
So this will be a quick replay with more to come:
As mentioned as a strong possiblity here yesterday, Steve Valiquette is giving Henrik a breather. He last played Jan. 3 and faced the Flyers in the 5-3 loss at MSG last Feb. 17 when both Shanahan (concussion) and Lundqvist (shoulder) left the game.
One surprise is that D Paul Mara is sitting, Marek Malik and Jason Strudwick are dressing. Marc Staal will play, still a little flu-ish.
No callups. I'm mystified. Just 12 healthy forwards.
Some line tinkering: Straka back with Gomez, Jagr. Avery back with Dubinsky, Shanny. Might happen, but Renney said not to read too much into it.
More on the way...
Comments (5)
12 healthy forwards and NO call-ups?!?! That makes absolutely no sense. The Wolfpack players must hate playing for this organization. First, the way they treated Dawes and now this. It would not surprise me if all of Hartford wanted out.
Strudwick is in because..he's tough? And yet, Mara is out? I have supported Renney, for the most part, for awhile..but this not calling up anyone, continuous tinkering of lines, players not listening, defense not working so well on defense...there is a bright neon elephant of 'Houston, we have a problem' in the room..and everyone can see it, but we're not going to do anything about? I'm lost
Seamus, half of Hartford will be RFA's at the end of this season, so they might get their wish.
This will get much worse before it gets better. Renney with his many hiccups this season might be coaching his way out of NY.
It's really not that mystifying.
Dubinksy and Dawes are the only ones that have played well while with the Rangers so far this season. Prucha is not playing all that well either. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery when we have room on the roster not being filled but, if the kid does not come up and qualify to play it is a waste of space and time.
Vaughn, you make good points and the one that sticks out the most is - "there is a bright neon elephant of 'Houston, we have a problem" in the room"
There is a bigger picture problem here that we are all not up on. I am convinced of it. Remember Malik saying something along the lines of "What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room". It is true and it only lasts as long as the problem does. First problem we all know about, Malik is still in the room. As long as that is, you have a problem in the room, with the team, on the ice and off the ice. It causes ripple affect all around. As it was said before here, last year we got Avery which sparked the team no doubt. But, alot of the emphasis goes on that trade and not the fact that there was a big problem between Jagr and Ward. Which who knows how many other guys it affected. Which in turn affects the whole team. I think there is definitely more then meets the eye here with this team and lack of chemistry.
Which also reflects more on the GM's inability to move a player or decide to send him to Hartford or just the fact that maybe the problem is a piece that can not be moved right now. I'll say Jagr as just an example. Malik needs to get traded and soon to start sorting out the problem behind the doors. Once he does the stories will leak about things nobody knows that are going on right now. Not to mention the other rumors of the usual Jagr is pouting and not happy. I am sure there is more then that one too.
I guess my point is that sometimes problems internally do not solely rest on the shoulders of Renney. Making sense here at all?
I have been here for the past two seasons. I have tried to stay as upbeat as possible and as optimistic this year as possible. But, sooner or later it becomes real clear. This team has issues but, I for one don't think they start and end with Renney. Alot of what people write about and complain about Renney are actually choices made above Renney.