Well it was good to see Larry Brooks and Tom Renney jump on the Ranger Pundit's bandwagon to change the lines in general and give Petr Prucha some quality time on the top lines. (See Rangers Cap-Sized 12/4/05). While Renney did change the lines he didn't move Prucha up to the top line but did give him quality time on the first power play unit. Up against the number one penalty kill in the NHL the Rangers scored two power play goals by that man, Petr Prucha, added an empty netter by Martin Straka and hung on to win a hard fought 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Prince was excellent in the nets with 22 saves. Martin Rucinsky celebrated his return, again, with three assists.
Prucha's goals both came from in front of the net as he continued to exhibit his toughness around the net. This is the reason why Prucha should be on the first line. He is a perfect compliment to Jaromir Jagr's perimeter game. Right now the way the first line is composed they are all perimeter players. Renney can mix and match Jagr, Nylander, Straka and Rucinsky all he wants but there is no one there that can crash the net. Prucha is that type of player. The "New NHL' is made to order for the Petr Prucha's with the restrictions on the defensemen in front of the net. So complete the move Renney and put Prucha on with Jagr and Straka to formulate a Czech Line which will make Jaromir Jagr happy. Maybe we can get Larry Brooks to champion this move.
The one move by Brooks that I will continue to champion with him is to trade for Brian Leetch. Surely after dumping Joe Thornton, and it was a dump to give up such a dominating player like Thornton, the Bruins would be willing to part for Brian Leetch in exchange for Tom Poti and a draft pick. The move would save the Bruins about two million a year on the cap. Harry Sinden has never been above saving a few bucks. They would also save years as Poti is much younger than Leetch. The Rangers desperately need a puck carrying defenseman who would quarterback the power play. As I have stated before he would help the younger players pick up their offensive games.
The Prince. After every bad game he's had (I believe three) he has bounced back magnificently. His GAA in those games is less than 2.0. The D helped him for once with a strong third period where he only had to stop four shots. The pressure is on him as the team takes to the road for games in Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis. I don't know if Kevin Weekes will be back this week so lets hope we don't have another Dan Blackburn situation where we go to the well too often.
ICINGS: Ryan Hollweg missed his second straight game since his gash over the eye injury against Pittsburgh. He is sorely missed. The win for the Rangers was the fifth straight home win and they are 10-2-2 overall at the Garden. Remember years past when we couldn't hit .500 on home ice? The Prince is 8-1-1 at the Garden. No wonder the peasants love their Prince so much. The Rangers moved back to ten game over .500 with a 18-8-3.
Game Recap [NHL.com]
Kevin Maney of USA Today met former "minor league hockey goon," Rich Stromback, who is now the CEO of a high tech company. The company, Ecology Coatings, sells "liquid nanotechnology." Nice work for a former hockey goon.
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