The surprising Rangers are 1-0-1 with three points in their first two games. Here’s a look at how each of their players has performed so far:
JAROMIR JAGR: He may not be the captain, but he is the man. After dominating Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia, he found little open ice against a suffocating Montreal defense. Still, he found a way to get involved, dishing off some nice passes, controlling the puck deep in the Montreal end, and cycling well with linemates Martin Rucinsky and Michael Nylander.
MARTIN STRAKA: Fits in well amongst his Czech counterparts, but needs to reach another level as a scoring threat. Straka has the talent to be the Rangers’ No. 2 sniper behind Jagr. If he and his linemates can establish a presence on the second unit, it will take a lot of pressure off the Jagr one-man show.
MICHAEL NYLANDER: Before the year is out, he’s going to drive some people nuts with his unwillingness to shoot the puck. He’s a terrific playmaker and has great chemistry with Jagr. But please Michael, just once before the end of the season, shoot the puck on goal.
MARTIN RUCINSKY: Rucinsky has so far been pretty much the same player he was during his stay with the Rangers in ’03-04 – smart, heady, and reliable in the offensive zone. He provides a good balance between the playmaking of Nylander and the goal-scoring of Jagr.
MARCEL HOSSA: Showed some good flair with the puck against Montreal and made a nice tip-in in Wednesday night’s win. The former first-round pick clearly has some offensive skills. But the question is, can he keep it up?
STEVE RUCCHIN: He hasn’t looked out of place playing between Straka and Hossa, which is something of an upset when you consider he’s not Czech. He once centered Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, so he knows what to do with the puck. He made a nice dish that Jamie Lundmark missed on Thursday night. In the defensive zone and on faceoffs, Rucchin has looked very solid. A good choice by Tom Renney as an alternate captain.
JAMIE LUNDMARK: Nice goal against Philly, but still struggles to assert himself offensively. Had a chance to score against Montreal and missed an empty net. He needs to put those away. In the meantime, he’s been more aggressive physically, which is nice to see.
RYAN HOLLWEG: He’s gotten under the opponents’ skin with his forechecking and aggressive physical play. He’s also taken some penalties, which he’s going to have to cut out if he wants to stay in the NHL.
JASON WARD: You hardly noticed him in the preseason, but he’s quickly established himself as a good penalty killer alongside Blair Betts. He hustles to the puck and is not afraid of contact, making him an ideal third or fourth line winger. The one drawback: He has no elegance to his game, which means he won’t do any scoring.
BLAIR BETTS: Has already proven to be a good faceoff winner and a very good penalty killer. Seems to have a good mind for the defensive game. But again, no offensive instincts whatsoever.
DOMENIC MOORE: He looked nervous and jumpy with the puck at times, but he’s played well defensively. Maybe he’ll relax after scoring a fluky goal to tie the game up on Thursday night.
JED ORTMEYER: To no one’s surprise, Ortmeyer has hustled all over the ice, taken the body well, forechecked, and played unselfishly in his own end. No one expects him to put up any numbers, but he’s been a leader on the Rangers’ energetic third and fourth lines.
FEDOR TYUTIN: The Rangers’ top defensive prospect has been alright – not outstanding – in his first two games of the season. He still seems to be feeling out the new NHL. His level of physical and positional play is down a notch from where it was at the end of the 2003-04 season. But let’s give him some time pick things up.
MICHAL ROZSIVAL: Who? He sat out the preseason with a knee injury, and hasn’t had much of an impact in the first two games. Like to see him do more with the puck on the power play.
TOM POTI: Poti seems out of place on the new Rangers. He’s made some decent passes, and some bad ones. Pretty much what you expect from him.
MAREK MALIK: Did a great job killing penalties on Thursday night, but he’s got zero offensive ability. He’s not a great skater and he’s committed some bad giveaways already. Maybe the Rangers use him strictly as a penalty killer.
DARIUS KASPARAITIS: Another Ranger who seems somewhat out of place on this rebuilt team. He’s thrown some big hits, but he’s committed some lazy penalties. Says here he’ll be playing somewhere else before the end of this year.
JASON STRUDWICK: Everyone who picked him to score the Rangers’ first goal of the season, raise your hands… Yeah, I didn’t think so.
KEVIN WEEKES: Talk about a mixed bag. Weekes has allowed seven goals in two games, but he’s made some big saves with the Rangers trailing in both games to keep them in it. He allowed an OT cheapie on Thursday; but the Rangers don’t get to overtime if Weekes doesn’t stand on his head in the third period of that game.