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While fears of a tremendous breakup are ever-present, don't expect the bomb to drop.
Here is a look at my plan, which isn't all that complex.
1) First, re-sign Jaromir Jagr. Structure the contract in a fashion so that it doesn't wreck the rest of the payroll.
 2) Next, re-sign Sean Avery. We all know what he is worth to the club; don't play any games here.
3) Then, as painful as it might be, let the following contracts expire: Martin Straka ($3.3 million), Marek Malik ($2.5 million), Brendan Shanahan ($2.5 million),and Michal Rozsival ($2.3 million).
4) I would then spend BIG to get Marian Hossa, and the reason is twofold: first, he's a sniper; and second, he'd no longer be Sidney Crosby's sniper.
5) On defense, a powerplay quarterback is a must. A solid free agent, not as costly as Brian Campbell, can be had in John-Michael Liles. Liles would aid Bobby Sanguinetti's development on the backline tremendously.
That being said, here is my 2008-09 opening day lineup:
FORWARDS
Jagr-Scott Gomez-Hossa
Avery-Brandon Dubinsky-Ryan Callahan
Petr Prucha-Chris Drury-Nigel Dawes
Lauri Korpikoski-Blair Betts-Fredrik Sjostrom
DEFENSEMEN
Dan Girardi-Michael Liles
Sanguinetti-Fedor Tyutin
Marc Staal-Paul Mara
GOALTENDERS
Henrik Lundqvist-Stephen Valiquette
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PERIOD ONE
One thing is certain, there is no quit in the Garden faithful. The Garden is LOUD.
The Rangers kill their first penalty successfully, a goalie interference on Marc Staal, and now have their first powerplay. Martin Straka misses two successive opportunities, one from point-blank range in the slot. The powerplay expires, without a goal. The powerplay drought is now a plague!
Staal takes another penalty, this time slashing. The Rangers do a great job killing it, allowing zero shots.
The period ends and the two teams have played even.
Jason Strudwick, inserted into the lineup for Christian Backman has looked rusty, losing the puck once to Pascal Dupuis in the defensive zone and allowing Tyler Kennedy make a nifty move around him, but Henrik Lundqvist made the ensuing save.
PERIOD TWO
A lot of nervous energy here. 40 minutes ‘til possible elimination.
Dupuis makes a great pass to Evgeni Malkin, but the shot is saved. After the shot Malking inspects his stick.
Rangers get another powerplay as Brendan Shanahan was held by Kris Letang while motoring into the Penguin zone. I guess the Pens figure why not, the Rangers have no shot on the powerplay.
Remarkably, the Rangers waste another opportunity. They are now one for seventeen on the powerplay in the series.
12:45 into the period Jaromir Jagr brilliantly uses the defenseman as a screen and rips a wrister past Marc-Andre Fluery to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. As the puck enters the net and Jagr is raising his hand, Brooks Orpik absolutely flattens Jagr.
Jagr doesn’t miss a shift, and the fans cheer "Jagr, Jagr" repeatedly. On the shift Jarkko Ruutu gets called for holding.
The Garden holds its breath as Ryan Malone has a shorthanded breakaway, and exhales as Lundqvist is turns Malone away. That would have been a crusher!
The powerplay ends. One for eighteen, and zero for the last seventeen. OY!
Malkin in on a breakaway gets taken down. A PENALTY SHOT.
Wow.
Dan Girardi was chasing Malkin without a stick and nudged Malkin forward. Questionable call at best. The puck might have entered the net with Malkin’s momentum, and the play is under review.
No goal, and now the penalty shot. Malkin skates deliberately down the ice. He barely makes a move and Lundqvist makes a glove save, smartly staying on his feet and remaining patient.
Petr Prucha, makes several nifty moves entering the Penguin zone and is hooked by Petr Sykora with only 45 seconds left in the second.
The period expires with the Rangers leading 1-0.
They will have 1:15 left on the powerplay when the third period begins. Maybe a clean sheet of ice will cure the Ranger powerplay ills.
PERIOD THREE
I’ve moved from the press box, between the 300’s and 400’s, down to Dr. Thomas Kolb’s (my uncle) seats in Section 73, six rows from the ice. He’s got an empty seat because his 12-year-old Josh is doing a boatload of schoolwork.
And what a great decision it turns out to be as Brandon Dubinsky -- right in front Section 73 -- grabs a lose puck to the right of the net, spins and beats an already-on-the-ice Fluery. Section 73 explodes in conjunction with the rest of the Garden. 2-0!!!
 Ah, the fresh ice!!!
Sit back, or keep pushing? We’ll see.
Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Marian Hossa are now playing together, looking to get back into this game.
Michal Roszival and Staal are matched up against the Pens top line. It’s important for the Rangers forwards to keep the puck deep in the offensive end when the Pitt super-trio are on.
Sergei Gonchar is called for crosschecking Nigel Dawes (who was working hard in front), giving the Rangers another two-minute powerplay. Worst case scenario: it's two minutes off the clock, leaving less than 10 minutes for a Penguin comeback.
Gonchar is back, and we are at a TV timeout, and the fans are starting to feel it; thinking of ways to clear schedules Sunday to see Game 5.
A fracas breaks out near the Ranger bench. Malkin, Crosby and Girardi are all called for roughing. What a bonanza! Two of the best NHLers in the box with six minutes left; and another Ranger powerplay.
The three return to the ice with just over four minutes left.
Gomez gets called for a high sticking penalty, and now the pressure is on.
Shanahan and Dubinsky make clears, Lundqvist stops a Gonchar slapper, and the Rangers are halfway home. Callahan escorts the puck out of the zone, and the puck bounces out of the zone once again and Gomez returns to the ice.
Dupuis hits Dawes in the neck with a stick and the Rangers will go to the powerplay with 1:14 left. Only a two-shorthanded goal miracle will save the Pens now.
With just over twenty seconds left the Penguins clear the puck. As the puck leaves the Ranger zone Malkin trips up Paul Mara away from the play. Mara has Malkin’s number.
Jagr deposits an empty net goal, but no celebration takes place because a brawl breaks out between Mara and Malkin, who get misconducts with seconds remaining.
The clock expires and the Rangers are heading back to the Igloo.
MORE:
Stan Fischler and I continue our spirited debates about hockey for Game On!
In our lastest Point/Counterpoint, we address the use of composite sticks vs. traditional (wooden) sticks.
The Maven feels hockey players should use wooden sticks only, like baseball, but I couldn't disagree more. If the majority of players in the NHL are using the composite sticks, there's gotta be something to it.
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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FIRST PERIOD:
It didn’t take long for the Pens' top line to give them the edge, 1-0. It was all speed and skill as Marian Hossa converted a Pascal Dupuis pass, which originated from ... who else ... Sid Crosby.
The crowd became tense and nervous as Hossa and Crosby played tic-tac-toe several times, but were unable to finish.
The Rangers were coming hard and out-shooting the Pens, which is a must.
Jaromir Jagr got called for hooking, and Hossa was nailed for diving, trying to enhance the hook. After the call, Jagr yelled at Hossa, obviously angered with Hossa’s Greg Louganis flop.
 After Jagr exited from the box, the Rangers countered a Penguins' break and scored off a rebound with tons of traffic in front; Martin Straka got the equalizer. A fight ensued, with Kris Letang getting the better of Brandon Dubinsky.
All the air was sucked out of The Garden when tough-guy Georges Laraque put the Pens ahead, 2-1.
It got worse. Ryan Callahan was given a double-minor for high-sticking Hall Gill. And guess what happened? Evgeni Malkin quickly scored for the Pens, giving them a 3-1 lead.
The 27 or so Penguins fans cheered, the rest of the building ... stunned.
SECOND PERIOD:
Petr Sykora, Pascal Dupuis and Brooks Orpik all were called for penalties “back to back and a belly to belly,” handing the Rangers two two-man advantages, but they can't capitalize.
Special teams was the difference here. No questions asked! The Rangers can set up well, however, they can’t tee it up.
Later, Scott Gomez found an uncovered Callahan in front and made it a one-goal game at 3-2. Oh, if only they played 5-on-5 the whole game!
A look up at the scoreboard and I realized the Rangers lead in shots 28-12! Jagr was playing his heart out this period. I haven’t seen him play this hard all year.
My God! Gomez set up Jagr behind the net and No. 68 sweept around in-front to score the equalizer. MSG was redefining decibel levels at this point.
Gomez had two assists in 1:04; think he is worth the dough?
With all the momentum in the world, Ryan Hollweg got a shift with four minutes left in the second and took a boarding penalty. Haven’t we seen this before?
Malkin makes the Rangers pay; 4-3 Pens.
Momentum gone and the crowd was silenced again.
THIRD PERIOD:
Ryan Malone redirected a Letang shot from the point past Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers were now behind by two, 5-3.
 The crowd was stunned yet again.
But then came chance for New York when Dupuis went back to the box. But, the Rangers couldn't capitalize and wasted another powerplay.
I was wondering if Jagr had any gas left in the tank for another comeback.
With just over 11 minutes left, there was an injury update: Blair Betts took a puck to the face and won't return to the game. Tom Renney had to roll three lines the rest of the way.
With 10:37 left, Adam Hall took a penalty. It didn't really matter because Pittsburgh killed it.
The Pens had three men back at all times and were successfully wasting the clock. With 2:34 left, fans were streaming into the aisles and out the gates.
The Rangers pulled Lundqvist, but can’t put much pressure on and with 20 ticks left, the building was nearly empty.
The horn blew and that meant one thing: Rangers down in this series, 3-0.
A comeback is not impossible, but improbable. Remember, the Islanders did it 33 years ago. But who are we kidding, it's no easy feat.
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I'm at The Garden for the crucial Game 4 and I'll be supplying my thoughts each period.
FIRST PERIOD:
The crowd has great energy, but there's a decidedly different feel in The Garden from Game 3. This game is a pivotal one, and both teams know it. It will be interesting to see if the game has the same flow as the last game or if will it be a tighter, more defensive game.
After 4:20, the Rangers have gotten the better of play and lead 3-0 in shots. While the Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan-Nigel Dawes line has been effective with their tireless forecheck, Drury is still scoreless, in what has always considered to be “his time;” crunch-time.
The same can be said for Devils Captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, who only has one assist through three games. He must begin to produce for the Devils to have a chance.
After a slow start, the Devils have gotten opportunities and drew the game’s first power-play.
On the power-play, the Devs seem very aware of Paul Martin at the right point, passing to him blindly on multiple occasions.
 The power-play is cut short because John Madden was sent to the box for holding. Martin Straka smartly skates around with the puck to kill the Drury penalty.
On the power-play, Dan Girardi -- manning the right point -- takes a pass from Drury and sends it brilliantly to the weak side of the net, where Scott Gomez puts one past his former teammate, Martin Brodeur for a 1-0 Rangers lead. Drury gets his first point of the series.
Fedor Tyutin, despite not receiving an assist on the goal, was largely responsible, making a great play keeping the puck in the offensive zone after a Girardi hard-around.
(A quick note: The team scoring first has won all three games so far in this series. Will the Rangers first goal tonight mean a win?)
It's clear that Marc Staal had no negative carryover from the Devils goal scored off of his skate in Game 3. He has been all over the ice the whole period and accentuated his fine period with a great play pinching into the offensive zone, then setting up Fredrik Sjostrom for a great opportunity. He then quickly skated back to his own zone and then broke up a chance by the Devils. Great hustle!
Shots after the first: Rangers 12, Devils 6.
Score: Rangers 1, Devils 0.
Good period for the Rangers, but as we learned Sunday, a one-goal lead is not safe.
SECOND PERIOD
… And just like that it’s 1-1. It only took 31 seconds. It’s rare that you see a goal like the Devils just scored. Each of the three forwards shot the puck before scoring the goal. First, Zach Parise shot from the left side, then Langenbrunner wristed a rebound that was saved by Henrik Lundqvist, but the rebound went to the right, and Elias was there to score his seventh career playoff goal vs. Lundqvist.
Not a great job from Michal Rozsival and Staal picking up the men after the first shot. Lundqvist surely can’t be blamed for this one.
Martin Straka, in his 100th playoff game, celebrates by scoring the Rangers second goal of the night, at 2:53, converting a sweet pass from Brandon Dubinsky. Rangers lead, 2-1.
The Rangers take an unforgivable postseason too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty and pay the price! Patrik Elias converts.
The score is tied at two and the Devils are gaining confidence.
At 7:59, Jaromir Jagr's stick hits Rozsival in the face, however, Travis Zajac is mistakenly called for a four-minute high sticking penalty. The Devils kill it well, but look winded towards the end.
Less than a minute later, Chris Druuuuuuuury deflects a Tyutin shot home to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
The lead is one, heading into the third.
Buckle up.
THIRD PERIOD
It really seems like the referees are lost tonight. Parise slashes Lundqvist’s stick away, clearly seen all the way up in the press box, however, two officials -- one 15 feet away and another 90 feet away -- miss it. Now with Henrik still without a stick, Mike Mottau scores the equalizer from the point 4:37 into the third. Score tied, 3-3!
The goal has several Rangers staff members fuming in the press box, while The Garden faithful repeatedly chant derogatory remarks towards referees Kevin Pollack and Dennis Larue.
Good back-and-forth action continues, but no odd-man rushes. We’re under 4:00 left and things are tightening up.
Jagr breaks down the left side and rips one, but Brodeur robs him with a brilliant left pad save. There is a long rebound and Langenbrunner can’t handle it. The puck gets sent to Staal at the point by Straka, and Staal blisters one home. His first career NHL playoff goal!
Pandemonium!
Rangers lead, 4-3, with 3:13 to kill before taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.
The fans cheer “defense” and “Let’s go Rangers!” There is massive cheering every time the puck is cleared out of the Rangers end.
A late face-off with an empty net takes place at center ice and somehow Gomez chips the puck forward all the way into the empty net ... 5-3 Rangers!
Good night.
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I'll be blogging live from the press box to give you the feel of being inside The Garden for Game 3.
7:00pm Coldplay's "Clocks" begins to play with video of the greatest moments in Rangers history. The crowd is electric. The Who's "Baba O’Riley" with an "I am a Ranger" video. The building begins to shake, and the highlights of the first two games begin to play.
7:06pm The Rangers hit the ice. The place is now ready to explode. John Amirante sings the National Anthem and we are ready to play.
7:17pm What looks like a Sergei Brylin kick-in off an Aaron Asham rebound to give the Devils a 1-0 lead, is reviewed and later ruled that it wasn't a distinct kicking motion. Replays appear to show that Blair Betts deflected the puck past Henrik Lundqvist.
7: 27pm Fredrik Sjostrom's hard work down low is rewarded as Johnny Oduya takes a penalty after tirelessly chasing Sjostrom behind the Devils' net.
7:30pm Seconds after the power play begins, Brendan Shanahan heads to the box for hooking. Ah, some good 4-on-4!
7:33pm A few ticks into the 4-on-4, the puck is dumped into the Devils zone, and while Martin Brodeur skates out of his crease to get the puck, he is bumped by Sean Avery. The crowd loves it and chants "AVERY-AVERY." The 4-on-4 provides good action, but no goals.
7:38pm After Paul Mara hit the post from the left point, Brandon Dubinsky deposits a spinning wrister past Brodeur from the right side. Time of the goal 12:17. Score now tied, 1-1. The Garden begins to serenade Brodeur with the "Mar-ty, Mar-ty" chant.
7:43pm Danius Zubrus is beaten to an icing, goes into the boards back-first and a scrum ensues, including Avery handing Patrik Elias a face-wash. No penalties are handed out, but the whole mess could have been avoided if the current icing rule was changed to no-touch.
7:48pm Avery is called for goaltender interference. He was tripped by a Devil into Brodeur. No matter, seconds later Parise gets sent to the box for cross-checking; a makeup call perhaps? More 4-on-4 action. Good stuff!
7:52pm The period ends and the Ranger faithful are pleased.
8:11pm Amazingly, Mike Mottau backhands the puck on his own net. Brodeur makes the save. The Devils head down the ice and Ryan Callahan takes a high-sticking penalty.
8:15pm Now, with Elias playing the left point on the power play, the Devils still can do very little. Elias is beaten by Martin Straka for a shorthanded chance, but a pass is broken up (I always dislike forwards playing the point on the power play for that very reason. They just have trouble transitioning to D). The Devils power play ends without a goal once again, even though the Rangers looked a bit sloppy on the PK.
8:17pm Now Vitaly Vishnevski heads to the box and 10 seconds later Bryce Salvador joins him after sending the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. A 5-on-3 and huge opportunity for the Rangers.
8:21pm Avery is literally lifting his stick to block Brodeur's line of site. The puck leaves the zone, but only briefly. Now Gomez has it in the corner and finds a wide open Avery – of course - in front and Avery slams it home, 2-1 Rangers. Yup, you know it. The patented sliding fist pump. Three goals in three playoff games for Avery. There go the "AVERY-AVERY" chants again.
8:25pm After several games off, Dancin' Larry from the blue seats makes his return to GardenVision, dancing to the music and the MSG crowd goes nuts.
8:34pm Uh oh, Fedor Tyutin goes to the box for closing his hand on the puck and just seconds later Elias scores the equalizer on the power play. Once again tied up, 2-2.
8:38pm Now Michal Rozsival heads to the box for high-sticking. I don’t know about you, but this is getting ridiculous! My God, this is the 14th penalty of the night. This is playoff hockey, let 'em play for heaven's sake.
8:40pm Jamie Langenbrunner sends a cross-ice pass to Parise on the right side of Lundqvist. Parise sends a weak backhand on net that somehow beats Lundqvist, who was down before the shot. A power play goal. Devils lead, 3-2.
8:46pm The second period ends with players coming together and it’s announced that Elias will start the period in the sin-bin. That will help the Rangers as the Devils are in control. The Rangers were unable to get anything going since Avery’s goal, mostly because they have been in the box. Down a goal going into the third may be a mountain for the Blueshirts to climb. The power play with fresh ice might help.
9:06pm The third period starts and the Rangers are on the power play.
 9:07pm Just under a minute into the power play, Dubinsky scores to knot the game at 3-3. The Garden erupts. I can’t believe my eyes, I see a vendor singing the Ranger’s goal song. I hope the referees swallow their whistles the rest of the way.
9:16pm Al Pacino comes on the scoreboard with his “Any Given Sunday” ra-ra speech. The crowd is into it.
9:19pm The period certainly does not have a playoff look to it, considering the game is wide open. Brian Gionta is robbed by Lundqvist from point-blank range, and Straka misses the net by inches on the other end. There has been very little dumping of the puck, but I expect that to change the rest of the way as the two clubs tighten up. 8:40 left in the game.
9:28pm With 6:59 left Straka goes to the box for boarding Travis Zajac. Not a call I like with such little time left of a playoff game. But it seems that’s the way it’s being called this postseason. It’s the 17th penalty of the game!
9:33pm With 2:36 left, Callahan, Chris Drury and Avery are heading up the ice. Avery heads to the net and the puck is sent his way. He crashes into Brodeur and Brodeur is down! Big scrum ensues, Colin White and Avery head to the box. More 4-on-4 action. Brodeur is OK.
9:38pm Dan Girardi blasts one from the point and Brodeur makes a game-saving right pad save. His form brilliant as usual.
9:39pm 3…2…1… WE'RE HEADED TO OVERTIME!
9:45pm Peter Halter, of section 424, row B, wearing a blue Brian Leetch jersey peeks over to the press box TV to see the Yankees are losing 6-1 to the Red Sox. It soon becomes 7-1, but who cares. Playoff overtime hockey. Here come the oooh's and ahhh's…
9:58pm Lundqvist makes a big stop on Elias moments after Gionta hits the post. Scary moments for Ranger fans.
10:06pm Off a faceoff to the left of the Ranger net, the puck goes into the corner and Jay Pandolfo gets it to John Madden who shoots with no angle. The puck hits Marc Staal’s skate and goes five-hole to beat Lundqvist and the Rangers; Devils win 4-3. Rangers still lead two games to one, but now the pressure is on to retain home-ice advantage in Game 4. It will no doubt be a massively pivotal game.
See you Wednesday, live at MSG.
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I'm at the Prudential Center for Game 1 of Rangers-Devils and I'll be supplying my thoughts all night long.
PRE-GAME:
It was supposed to be “Rock Your Red” night at The Rock, but driving up to the arena I mostly saw Ranger blue streaming from the Path trains arriving at Newark’s Penn Station.
Inside the place is hopping, and I mean hopping! Fans here early ready to, well, I guess rock The Rock. We won’t know until the Rangers or Devils score to see just how many of each club's fans are actually here, but my feeling is that both sides will be loud and boisterous.
The usual Gladiator and AC/DC music is blaring and the fans have found their seats.The teams went through the motions in warmups with no extracurricular activities and are now about to hit the ice.
Playoffs 2008! What a way to host the first playoff game at The Prudential Center! Rangers. Devils. ‘Nuff said.
See ya in between the first and second.
FIRST PERIOD:
With much anticipation for the first period, things went very much as expected.
 0-0!
The period was not without good action however. There were plenty of hard hits, with Sean Avery setting the tone, slamming Johnny Oduya into the boards during his first shift.
Scotty Gomez was booed by the Devils fans just as he has been during every other game at The Rock this season.
Both teams had good chances.
The Rangers best chance came when Martin Straka found Jaromir Jagr with a bullet cross-ice pass heading into the Devils zone. Jagr one-timed it, and hit the post.
Later, Brian Gionta, who has been snakebitten all year, was in alone on Henrik Lundqvist and he hit the post.
Both teams had powerplays, but neither capitalized, keeping in-line with their regular season performance with the extra man.
The Rangers will be on the powerplay heading into the second as Paul Martin interfered with Ryan Callahan after a scramble in front of Martin Brodeur, late in the first.
One thing I forgot to mention before the first: the NHL has added “Stanley Cup Playoffs 2008” logos just inside the bluelines and the NHL logos right behind each net.
Looks sharp.
SECOND PERIOD:
The Rangers opened the period with the extra man, and the powerplay looked weak again.
However, and it’s a big however, two seconds after Martin left the penalty box, Brendan Shanahan scored on wrister from the right side. It looked as if Gomez might have tipped it in, as he was camped out right in front of his old buddy Brodeur.
The goal was Shanahan’s 59th career playoff goal and scored 1:45 into the second.
Now, with the Rangers leading 1-0, Jay Pandolfo headed to the box giving the Rangers another powerplay. This time the Blueshirts looked great with the extra man and did everything but score. They kept the puck in the Devils zone for nearly two minutes. Perhaps having the Devils best penalty killer in the box helped things out.
It appears as if the Rangers have the edge so far.
With 13:11 left in the second, Gomez barely gets his stick on Bryce Salvador but he is called for a hook as it appears the officials are calling this game tight.
On the powerplay, the Devils set up well in the Devils zone and Straka lost his stick making the powerplay a 5 on 3, and the Devils capitalized. Patrik Elias sent a cross-ice pass to Martin on the right side and after stopping the puck for a second, Martin shot and beat Lundqvist for the equalizer. Time of the goal was 14:14.
 Despite many Ranger fans being at The Rock, it’s a Devils crowd, as they wave their white towels celebrating the Martin PPG.
The teams go end to end with great action. Two brilliant saves highlighted the last few minutes of the period. One each for the two goalies. Lundqvist robbed Elias and then shortly after, Brodeur gloved a Shanahan bullet, headed for the net.
Score is 1-1, heading into the third. Should be a wild period.
Playoff hockey. I love it!
THIRD PERIOD:
The period started with some nervous energy as both clubs seemed a bit tentative.
5:24 into the third, Michal Rozsival is called for holding the stick and the Rangers would have to kill a Devil power play that already netted one goal on the night.
Shorthanded, Callahan and Gomez break into the Ranger zone 2 on 2; they exchange passes and Gomez finally shoots on Brodeur from the right side. Brodeur had trouble finding the puck as it sat in the crease for what seemed forever. Callahan swooping around the net found the puck and put it past a stunned Brodeur.
A shorty!!!
2-1 Rangers!!!
Man, how many times have we seen a Ranger beat Brodeur coming from behind the net in the playoffs?
Anytime the Devils are behind the feeling is that they have a hell of a hole to dig out of, and it is no different here.
With about nine minutes left Ryan Hollweg replaced Jagr on during a shift as it appeared as if Jagr took a stick to the mouth. Jagr is visibly bothered on the bench but looks OK.
With 6:09 remaining, Brandon Dubinsky off-balance hits Jaime Langenbrunner with his stick in the face -- good thing he added the visor this year, Stan -- giving the Devils an all important powerplay.
The Devils are unable to mount any sustained pressure with the extra man and Dubinsky returns.
The pressure is on the Devils now, with only three and a half minutes remaining.
Thirty seconds later, Gomez broke into the Ranger zone but was shielded off from taking a shot on the left wing. He smartly swung the puck back out in front of the net where my man Sean Avery made no mistake about it.
3-1 Rangers!!!
Avery does his patented fist pump, down on one knee, and it appears as if the Rangers have iced Game One.
With 4.5 seconds left, Nigel Dawes adds the empty netter after receiving a pass unselfishly from Shanahan.
4-1 Final, and home-ice advantage now back to the Rangers.
MORE:
The NHL's second season is here, and there's nothing like it. No playoffs match its intensity, ferocity and sheer entertainment value.
Unlike last year, all the young studs -- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin -- will be involved.
The Rangers-Devils series will undoubtedly be the highlight of the opening round, and here’s a look at what might happen in the other seven series, as well.
 Let's start in the East.
#5 RANGERS VS. #4 DEVILS:
Intensity redefined! This battle should be fantastic. I figure that by Game 3 at MSG, the series should be downright nasty. Both teams play a defensive style which reflects in the regular season as moderately boring, but in the playoffs it's positively nailbiting.
Prediction: As Clubber Lang (Mr. "T") predicted for Rocky in Rocky III, "PAIN!" Rangers in six.
#8 BOSTON VS. #1 MONTREAL:
The Canadiens' speed can be blinding. Within a second they go from defense to an offensive scoring chance. They dominated the Bruins in the regular season and should make easy work of the B’s in the first round.
Prediction: The Bruin D can’t handle the speed. Canadiens in five.
#7 OTTAWA VS. #2 PITTSBURGH:
The Penguins are everyone’s choice to defeat the Sens, but Ottawa is taking the me-against-the-world approach, which might make them dangerous. It will be fun to watch Crosby, Malkin and Marian Hossa in the postseason, but much pressure is on Hossa to perform because he is playing for a contract.
Prediction: Crosby & Co. will learn playoff hockey isn’t as easy as regular season play, however they will advance. Penguins in six.
#6 PHILADELPHIA VS. #3 WASHINGTON:
Without Simon Gagne, the Flyers can’t match Washington’s dynamic offense or Ovechkin’s flair for the dramatics. Washington’s late push to get them into the playoffs was impressive, but now the inexperienced Caps will have to prove themselves in the postseason.
Prediction: Can you imagine an Ovechkin overtime goal celebration? Capitals in seven.
Now, let's take a look at the Western Conference.
#8 NASHVILLE VS. #1 DETROIT:
Detroit will have its hands full with the hardest-working team in the NHL. The difference will be Detroit's skill players, and their powerplay.
Prediction: Detroit will advance, but not before taking a bit of a beating. Detroit in six.
#7 CALGARY VS. #2 SAN JOSE:
 I see Calgary as the spoilers in the opening round. They are a team built for playoff hockey. They have a dominating goaltender in Miikka Kiprusoff; a tough, hard hitting defensive crew; and powerful offense, led, of course, by Jerome Iginla. San Jose has too many inconsistent players that can’t be relied upon.
Prediction: Two shutouts for Calgary and the series won in seven.
#6 COLORADO VS. #3 MINNESOTA:
This series could be the most exciting of them all, in terms of scoring. Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra vs. Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny and Ryan Smyth. Looks exciting!
Prediction: The Avs powerplay will tip the scales. Colorado in seven.
#5 DALLAS VS. #4 ANAHEIM:
Despite not playing up to par, the defending Champs should have little problem with Dallas. Better goaltending, more scorers and a world-class defensive unit will help Anaheim dominate this series.
Prediction: The only sweep of the first round. Anaheim in four.
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Stan Fischler and I continue our spirited debates about hockey on Game On!
With goaltending a central issue in the Rangers-Devils series, we address in our latest Point/Counterpoint the merits of the butterfly stance used by today's goalies. After you watch the debate, leave your take on the issue and vote for who made the better argument in the comments section below.
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It's been a very eventful series of debates between Stan Fischler and I so far.
In our latest edition of Point/Counterpoint, I suggest that players who finish overtime in the penalty box should not be allowed to participate in the shootout.
Stan, on the other hand, has a wacky idea.
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First we went head-to-head on mandatory visors and then Stan went overboard about playing NHL games in Europe.
Now, Stan is trying to stick it to my belief that there should only be one-minute penalties in overtime.
Watch our debate and let us know which side of the tracks you're on in the comments section below.
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In the second installment of our new segment for Game On!, David Kolb and I go back and forth on whether the NHL should have season-opening games in Europe.
After you watch the debate, leave your take on the issue and vote for who made the better argument in the comments section below.
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This is getting ridiculous!
Every time the Rangers win, Sean Avery is right at the center of the victory. And against Pittsburgh Tuesday night, the result was no different. The Blueshirts now have a record of 11-1-1 in games that Avery has scored two or more points.
You could tell right away that Avery had jump, almost scoring on his first shift because of sheer hustle. As if all the little things Avery does for the team aren't enough, the guy is currently carrying the Jaromir Jagr-Brandon Dubinsky-Avery line in terms of production.
Over the last seven games, Jagr has one goal and one assist, while Dubinsky has faded considerably and has five assists without a goal. Avery has four goals and three assists during that time, while still being a pest to opponents.
In the dressing room after the game, Jagr had the perfect explanation to his goal drought. He posed as a reporter as the media was speaking to Avery, and asked Avery, "Are you ever going to pass to Jaromir?"
After Avery's second goal –- and let me tell you, that looked like a goal scorer's goal - the MSG crowd began a "re-sign Avery" chant.
"It felt good. Anytime the home team fans chants for you, it's good," said Avery (an unrestricted free-agent) after the game.
Avery showed his appreciation during a TV-timeout late in the third period. Fans in Section 72 were chanting his name before a faceoff deep in the Pittsburgh end, and Avery looked up and acknowledged the fans with a head-nod and a smile.
Amazingly, NHL.com Wednesday morning omitted Avery from Tuesday night's Three Stars. They listed 1. Alexander Ovechkin (1G, 2A); 2. Curtis Glencross (2G); and 3. Fredrik Norrena (Shutout on only 19 shots).
C'mon! Avery lit up Madison Square Garden with two goals in a huge divisional game, with both teams involved in playoff races. All three of those stars are on teams that would not qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today.
I demand a re-vote!
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Hockey fans, welcome to a new segment we have for you where David Kolb and I debate -- or argue -- about key issues in the NHL.
For our first installment, Dave and I go at it over whether visors should be made mandatory.
After you watch the debate, leave your take on the issue and vote for who made the better argument in the comments section below. MORE:
Ever follow one player for 60 minutes?
Well, last night from the press box in Nassau, that is precisely what I did; following Rangers forward and lead catalyst, Sean Avery.
Pre-game
6:25 pm: Avery and the Rangers come out for the pre-game warm-up.
6:36 pm: After all drills are completed, Avery flips a puck up, catches it and neatly tosses it over the glass to a little girl donning a Rangers jersey.
6:41 pm: Avery can’t stand still at the blue line waiting for a teammate to pass the puck to him for a shot. So, he flops into a push-up position and begins to stretch in the offensive zone, instead of the neutral zone where players customarily to their stretching.
 6:43 pm: Avery waits in line, takes a breakaway and scores to the glove side of Henrik Lundqvist, and then proceeds directly off the ice to the sounds of massive cheers for the fan favorite.
First Period
:57 - Avery looks quick and beats an Islander defender wide right. Isle goalie Wade Dubielewicz makes the save and Avery registers the game’s first shot.
3:04 - Now with a Rangers 1-0 lead after Brendan Shanahan converts on a breakaway, Avery starts trouble with the much bigger Rob Davison (6-foot-3) after a Dubielewicz save. A fight nearly ensues, but smartly Avery skates away.
6:56 - With Jaromir Jagr and Brandon Dubinsky controlling the puck, Avery is camped out next to the Islanders net, wreaking havoc. He cross-checks Brendan Witt between five and seven times in the back. No call.
9:14 - Jagr feeds Avery on the left side of Dubielewicz. However, with an open net, Avery hits the right post.
12:25 - Alone in the high slot, Avery receives a great feed from Marek Malik, which Avery neatly redirects past Dubielewicz. Avery of course goes to one knee and gives a little patented fist pump, then points back to Malik in appreciation. Score: 2-0 Rangers.
Second Period
10:05 - After a quiet first half of the second period, Avery whisks a pass cross-ice to a breaking Jagr, but the play is called offside. Avery disagrees vehemently with the call and stares at linesman Johnny Murray. Murray, after discussion with fellow linesman Tim Nowack, agrees with Avery and the ensuing face-off is dropped at center-ice because of the official mistake.
10:34 - Avery gets out-Avery-ed along the boards by Sean Bergenheim as Bergenheim wins a tough battle with Avery by nearly head-locking No. 16. Miro Satan picks up the loose puck and passes it to Bergenheim, who darts off the boards and heads to the net. Bergenheim scores and Avery, clearly stunned there was no call on the play, stares at referee Eric Furlatt. Score: 2-1 Rangers.
15:32 - Perhaps still frustrated from the Bergenheim goal, Avery follows up his own shot by sticking Witt in the face and heads to the box.
16:57 - Out of the box, Avery jaws with Trent Hunter and nearly drops 'em.
 Third Period
1:42 - After Scott Gomez makes the score 3-1, Avery finds Jagr cutting to the net, but Dubielewicz makes a glove save and holds on.
8:55 - A back-checking Avery thwarts a Bill Guerin semi-break by out hustling the Isles captain. The Rangers then turn the puck up the ice for nearly 90 seconds of action in the Islanders zone. Avery, Dubinsky and Jagr all had great chances on the shift, and when Guerin finally clears the puck, the Rangers fans in Nassau give a 10-second applause for the Blueshirt, blue-collar effort.
19:02 - With the Islanders net now empty, Jagr feeds Avery at center-ice -- who has a step on Isles d-man Aaron Johnson. Avery is hooked high around the shoulder, nevertheless the puck slowly trickles into the net as Avery is stopped in his tracks. Rangers 4, Islanders1!
Not bad for a night’s work; two goals, two penalty minutes and the game-winning goal for Avery.
Just another night in the office for the Rangers' MVP.
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If I bought stocks with the same precise timing that I began The Avery Chronicles, I’d be in good shape. Sean Avery has six goals in his past seven games and is a plus-7 during that same stretch.
… And last night in Carolina he did it again.
It always seems like he is the spark-plug to get the Rangers going early, and last night, early in the first period, his aggressive forechecking applied to Joe Corvo caused a Corvo to Brett Hedican pass to go awry in Carolina defensive zone. Jaromir Jagr picked up the puck, sent a pass to a streaking Brandon Dubinsky, who scored and the Rangers were up 1-0.
 No assist was awarded to Avery, but much of the credit for the goal should be handed to Avery. It's plays like this that don’t show up on the stat sheets, and that won't be appreciated when Avery negotiates for his next contract.
Later in the first, with less than a minute to go, Avery hit the ice after a line change and skated directly toward the Carolina zone. In stride, he received a pass from Dan Girardi, springing Avery. Avery scored on a hard wrister shooting far side, past Cam Ward. Celebrating animatedly, he went down on one knee and went to his usual fist-pump.
Scott Walker, frustrated with Avery, tried to get something started with the Blueshirt and the two would exchange verbal barbs at the end of the second. Each were handed 10-minute misconducts. After they emerged from the penalty box, Walker dropped his gloves, but Avery felt no need, with the Rangers on their way to an important road victory.
One more Avery tidbit; he has broken his media silence, so expect some good quotes in the not too distant future.
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Much as he was last season down the stretch, Sean Avery has once again stepped to the forefront, becoming the difference-maker for the Blueshirts.
In the 6-5 debacle in Montreal – a game in which the Rangers blew a five-goal lead - the Rangers led 2-0 and Avery was a plus-2 while scoring the second goal, 14 seconds after Brandon Dubinsky opened the scoring.
All looked great for the Rangers as they opened up a five-goal lead, and Avery was once again one of the stars. However, the Ryan Hollweg-Blair Betts-Jason Strudwick line would give up two goals in the second period, and opened the floodgates that even a Tom Renney timeout could not stop.
 Saturday night in Buffalo, the Rangers again had trouble holding a lead. The Blueshirts led by 1-0 and 2-1, but they fell behind 3-2 midway through the second.
Avery, of course, would be right in the thick of things as he would brawl with Patrick Katela with two seconds left in the first.
Halfway through the third, Avery was the X-factor again. With the Rangers breaking into the Buffalo end, he sent Klarke MacArthur sprawling into Sabre goalie, Ryan Miller.
The puck would bounce around in front with Dubinsky and Avery hacking at the puck. Finally, the puck went to the point off the stick of Avery and Michal Rozsival slid a beauty of a pass to Dubinsky on the left side of the net that was nothing more than a lay-up to tie the score at three.
To top things off, with just over five minutes left, Brendan Shanahan would have a shot deflected; however the hard-charging Avery was headed for the net and shot the loose puck past Miller for the eventual game-winner and gave Avery the Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight).
The celebration was priceless as he would pump both hands upwards, angling toward the stunned Sabre fans.
After the game, Avery took his sweet time leaving the ice, waiving and gesturing to the Sabre faithful, making sure they all knew that they were just beaten by Avery.
The only downer is that the always-quotable Avery is still on mute pre- and post-games!
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