Injuries Will Be Scapegoat Again
by Steven Zeltser
I’m going to have to go against current hype and say the Rangers will miss the playoffs again this year. Alright, before you start getting on me about being a pessimist let me say that I would like nothing more than to see the Rangers battle thru their current injuries and miraculously scratch and crawl their way into the playoffs. If they were somehow able to do that, without suffering further injuries, while nursing their injuries back to full health I believe they would absolutely be set to do some major damage regardless of who their first round opponent ends up being. I just don’t see it happening.
Since the injury to Brendan Shanahan the team has been hit with an onslaught of devastating injuries. First, Martin Straka suffered a shoulder injury and has since made his return thanks to injection into his shoulder that is allowing him to play. However, make no mistake; he is not at full strength. Coach Tom Renney may believe that Straka is valuable for gaining the zone on the power play, but his shot, which has never been spectacular, is less than stellar at the moment. Then, Fedor Tyutin, who has been a steady defensive and physical presence on the blue line all season, went down with an MCL sprain that will keep him out of the lineup for 2-3 weeks. Next, Marcel Hossa suffers a similar injury. While early in the season losing Hossa may have been seen as inconsequential, he has emerged as an important piece of this puzzle we call the Rangers. His solid two-way play all season and his emergence as a solid penalty killer earned him ice time on the power play as well as top line duty which has all greatly boosted his confidence and resulted in his recent emergence as a goal scorer. Then to round it all off, the Rangers spark plug Sean Avery is banged up and Mara who has looked good is also hurting due to a bruised shoulder.