The goaltending issue can be distilled to this: Will Kevin Weekes ” undoubtedly set back by, a) not playing last year, and, b) suffering a groin injury two weeks ago ” be a constructive presence as the clear-cut No. 1 Henrik Lundqvist’s understudy, or will the veteran chafe at the role reversal?
* It’s not that Tom Renney didn’t like Tom Poti’s game on the Island Thursday, it’s that the coach doesn’t like the finesse-oriented defenseman’s game much at all. Problem is, the Rangers have no one else back on “D” who can transport the puck up the ice or make any kind of a difference joining the rush. The idea that the team is going to be able to trade Poti, in for $2.356M this season, is silly, given that the Blueshirts didn’t get so much as a nibble on him during the Deadline Purge of ’03.
* Maybe our eyes are deceiving us, but Fedor Tyutin (above), whom everybody likes a lot (and with good reason), sure doesn’t seem to be playing with the same edge and intensity he displayed when he was up for the final 25 games of 2003-04. Rather, it appears as if the 22-year-old is on cruise control, and that’s not good.
The first person who says “Tyutin is loafing it because that’s what all Russians do” is going to get wacked.
And, if Poti goes away in a trade (please please please), I think you’ll find that Maxim Kondratiev will be more than adequate running the power play in his place, given time.
who is the number one goalie on the rangers?