With Sundin on Hold, Drury and Rangers set for tough Western swing

Is Mats Sundin coming to the Rangers to team with Swedish hero Henrik Lundqvist?

They’re finally headed west for the hardest part of what’s been a challenging early schedule which has seen them play the most games in the league.

Despite the two-game Prague series to kickoff the season earlier than most, the Rangers continue to play more hockey than anybody else. Is it fair? Probably not. But what’s that got to do with common sense from a league which doesn’t seem to care how busy it keeps the team on Broadway?

At 20-11-2 with nearly half the victories coming via the skill competition, the Rangers aren’t giving those points back which have them currently second in the East with 42 points trailing the first place Bruins by four despite playing three more games.

Speaking of which, they lead second place Philadelphia by four heading into tonight’s first of three in the Pacific against former champion Anaheim. There’s also this. The Flyers have played three less games. Then there’s the league darling Penguins who also took part in a two-game series over in Europe but somehow have managed to play three fewer games trailing the Blueshirts by six which they can still makeup.

Did we mention how the Devils have only played a league low 27 games and at 16-9-2 and 34 points having won nine of 11 minus Martin Brodeur are eight off the pace and have a ridiculous six games at hand? How could this be possible? Only in the NHL. That’s how.

Part of the reason the Rangers have been so preoccupied has to do with the club sharing Madison Square Garden with the Knicks which usually means a slew of home games during the first half leading to a ton of road games in the final three months. Still, it’s mind boggling to think that the Devils could’ve played so many less games at this portion of the season. Why? They’re certainly not sharing The Rock with the Nets or Seton Hall.

So, what gives? Is this a league fix to help the Devils get Brodeur back for as many games as possible?!?!?!?!?! We’re kidding of course. It’s hard not to play Devil’s Advocate especially when the vast majority of New Jersey fans will tell you the NHL has something against their team.

Boy, how I wish my team could win three Stanley Cups instead of one in 68 years and counting with no end in sight. It also would be nice to have the kinda schedule their team has but that’s not happening anytime soon. So, why bother?

Instead, the Blueshirts will continue their season tonight versus a strong Ducks club which has a respectable 17-11-3 record for 37 points- good for fifth in the ultracompetitive West. They’re eerily similar to the Rangers in that they play a lot of close games possessing a plus-five goal differential (90 GF, 85 GA) compared to Even for the visitors (88 GF, 88 GA).

However, most would say that a team which boasts stars such as Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger on the back end with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry up front is more of a bonafide Cup threat than a Ranger roster chalk full of underachievers with Mister Softee 11.5 million tandem Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival along with overpaid centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez.

At least the Rangers seem to be the odds on favorite to land Mats Sundin due to the Swede’s New York fascination. And can you imagine his impact playing alongside Olympic gold medal teammate/hero Henrik Lundqvist and Markus Naslund?

Just picturing Sundin flying down the ice centering for a trailing Naslund would be worth the price of admission compared to the bottled up wretched style Ranger fans currently get at high costs. Would you be enthused if you watched how putrid the Ranger power play is having allowed a league worst 10 shorthanded goals while showing little chemistry?

The lingering question is how the Rangers plan to make cap space to get Sundin here. They could waive Petr Prucha cutting a million in salary and send down rookie Lauri Korpikoski to get almost to three million. The more attractive option would be finding a taker for the struggling Rozsival, whose five million price tag won’t be easy to unload.

I also was never a fan of bringing Redden in here and then giving him a limited no-trade clause at an average of 6.5 million. But who’s taking the former Senator whose game continues to slip since being dominated by the Ducks two Springs earlier?

I’d still love to know what convinced Glen Sather to give Dmitri Kalinin 2.1 million. Had he not, Corey Potter would be a regular and Brian Fahey who impressed in camp would likely be the extra D saving money.

While the Ranger GM tries to sort it out, the club will try to build on a nice 3-2 shootout home win over Carolina over the weekend. Coming off a miserable loss to the Devils, the effort was much better with an actual PPG being scored by club leader Naslund and the team’s third shorthanded marker by the consistent Blair Betts, who game in and game out always shows up win or lose.

A novel concept. Play hard every night. How about sticking an ‘A’ on his jersey? Ditto Dan Girardi, who’s evolved into the club’s best defenseman and who never backs down from opponents unlike softer overpaid teammates. Just ask Zach Parise and Travis Zajac.

It was also a wise choice for Tom Renney to go back to Lundqvist following the eight-goal debacle which was hardly his fault. When faced with the prospect of losing the valuable extra point, King Henrik locked in stifling the Canes’ two top guns Eric Staal and Ray Whitney before Drury who played one of his better games deservedly netted the winner going backhand on Cam Ward.

Lundqvist was again there to stifle Justin Williams feeble attempt shutting the door in improving to 7-1 in the shootout this season. It may as well be renamed for him.

Where would this team be without the skill competition and in particular the goalie who never wants a day off and is always there win or lose even when things aren’t  going well as had been the case recently? The answer is obvious enough.

It was vital for Lundqvist and the club to bounceback earning the ‘W’ even if it went to their favorite pasttime. They needed something to build on as this tough part of their sched hits with visits at Anaheim and Los Angeles back-to-back before a couple of days between facing league best San Jose, who still has yet to lose in regulation (16-0-2) at home after edging the Kings in a shootout last night.

It’s well documented that Drury (8-9-17, -8 in 33 GP) and Gomez (6-16-22, -10 in 28 GP) haven’t played to capability emulating their early struggles in Year One when they were adjusting to life in Manhattan with No.68 still around.

Might one be on the way out if Sundin is coming? We’ll just have to wait and see. For now, they must perform better and start leading.

It won’t get any easier.

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