The Puck Stops Here

When the New York Rangers started the season 5-7 (with one loss counted as a regulation tie), a lot of people said here we go again. The Rangers had spent big money on free agents Chris Drury and Scott Gomez and it looked like the pre-CBA Rangers who conclusively proved that they couldn't buy a winning team.

Since then, the Rangers have gone on a tear. They are 9-1 in their last ten games. They have the best defence in hockey (allowing only 1.85 goals per game). While they are not a high scoring team, they have been able to move past the Edmonton Oilers in the scoring race to climb into 29th overall.

Henrik Lundqvist has played very well in goal. He has been one of the best goalies in the league so far this year. Their defence has been a very strong well coached until with a lot of credit going to Tom Renney for the coaching job he is doing. Though the Rangers lack any big name defensive stars, Michal Roszival, Daniel Girardi, Fedor Tyutin and Marek Malik have done very well as a unit. Offensively, Jaromir Jagr leads the way with 17 points. Scott Gomez has come alive netting 12 of his 15 points in the last ten games. Brendan Shanahan has done the same scoring nine of his 12 points in that span. Agitator Sean Avery has scored all eight of his points this season in that span (though he was injured earlier). This is why the offense is waking up. The key offensive players on the Rangers have started to show some life.

As long as the Rangers offense can stay alive (it does not have to lead the league with Lundqvist and their defense around), the Rangers will be a good team this season. They have been the hottest team in the NHL in their last ten games and could continue that success into the future.