April 3, 2006
Jagr recharges Rangers to first in Atlantic Division
Rangers' playoff hopes a reality for first time in several seasons.
By Wendel Clark

Thanks in large part to the resurgence of superstar Jaromir Jagr and the brilliant play of stud rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers are holding on to first in the Atlanta Division and third-overall in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers, much like some of their counterparts, were able to regroup before the lockout and build a well-rounded club. With Jagr and Lundqvist standing out this season, the entire organization has benefited from their fantastic play.

Jagr, who is having his best offensive season since he notched 149 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1995-96 season, has scored 52 goals this year, while adding 62 assists, and is on pace for nearly 130 points. 

He is one of the few players in the league who can capitalize at any moment, as a result of the new rules. If you let him go, he can create a scoring chance because you can't hook and hold him. And if you hook and hold him, he'll draws a penalty and burn you on the man-advantage. With 50 powerplay points this season (good for tops in the league), Jagr can make something out of nothing when you think you've got him contained.

The 34-year-old is a big, strong guy with immense talent and that has benefited the majority of his teammates.

Forward Martin Straka is having his best season since the 2000-01 campaign, winger Martin Rucinsky was notching more than a point per game before breaking a finger, center Michael Nylander is enjoying a career-year, and rookie Petr Prucha is on pace for 33-goals.

Prucha, 23, has profited from time on the powerplay and has been able to finish a feed from the likes of Jagr or Nylander perfectly. Even though he is playing with the league's most offensive skater, he still needs to be able to put the puck away and be in the right spot at the right time, and he has done just that.

While the Rangers lack the "big-name" blueliner, they have proven that they simply do not need it. They have a group of solid defensemen, led by such players as Michal Rozsival, Darius Kasparaitis and Marek Malik.

But the team's best defensive asset sits between the pipes. A great goalie makes a coach and a team's defense look exceptional, and the 24-year-old Lundqvist has done just that.

Perhaps if he weren't a goaltender, he'd be named in all the Ovechkin/Crosby rookie hype – that's the level he has been playing at. He means as much to his hockey team as the other two guys do to theirs, except the Rangers are winning and that may mean a little more when it comes down to voting for the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year. 

If you go around the league and talk to the coaches and general manager's that have to face Lundqvist day-in and day-out, they have got him rated right up there with "Alexander The GR8" and "Sid The Kid."

You can group Jagr's outstanding play with Lundqvist making big saves and it gives the entire Rangers squad added confidence. The team will rally because they know their big guy is going to get them a point or two a game, and the guy guarding the goal is going to stop just about everything that comes his way.

The Rangers rank seventh in the league with a 19.1 powerplay percentage and fifth with an 84.3 penalty kill percentage. With eight games left in the regular-season, the Blueshirts are heading down the stretch loaded with confidence. Everyone seems to be moving in the right direction and the club's head coach, Tom Renney, has each player performing as per their specific role.

Whenever your star player can be happy and in his zone, as a coach you want to keep him there and Renney's been able to do that. He has managed to communicate well with Jagr, and the entire team, and that has proved to be vital New York's success.

While the playoffs are an entirely new season, it will be interesting to see how the Rangers maintain their stellar performance. With Jagr playing like Jagr, and Lundqvist putting up Vezina-type numbers, the Rangers appear to be in good shape.
 

Wendel Clark, drafted first-overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, played in 793 career NHL games with six different organizations. Over his career, the former Leafs captain accumulated 330 goals, 234 assists and 1,690 penalty minutes. Now, as a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com, he offers his "17-cents" on the NHL throughout the entire season. Check out Wendel Clark's column every Monday, exclusively on TheFourthPeriod.com.