Dan the Man: On the flight to Anaheim, all coach John
Muckler wanted was to get his team steered in the right
direction, that being the faraway land of .500. Well, three
games later and an indecisive 1-1-1 mark, the Rangers come back
to the East Coast with more questions and even less answers than
when they left. In fact they wound up posing a previously
unasked whopper: Who is their No. 1 goaltender?
Having started 14 of 16 games before the trip began, the Rangers'
net was Mike Richter's second home with youngster Dan Cloutier
more like the teenager who occasionally gets the house all to
himself.
But after playing well in the win over Los Angeles and following
that up with a 41-save effort that snatched a 2-2 tie from San
Jose, neither the coach nor the 22-year-old goalie made it a
point to remind everybody that Richter remains the unquestioned
No. 1 goaltender.
"Oh, he'll get his starts, no question about it," Muckler said.
"If you're asking me who we're going to start on Wednesday (at
Buffalo), I'll decide that. But Danny played exceptionally well.
I mean, he won us the hockey game. He was the first star in my
opinion."
"Obviously not," said Cloutier when asked if his back-to-back
performances would cause him to expect more frequent starts.
"Our coach has been around for a long time and whatever decision
he's going to make I'm going to respect and go with it.
Obviously, he's our coach and he knows what's better for the
team. But obviously, I'm happy with the way I played in the last
two games. We'll see what happens."
While Cloutier's play has raised a few eyebrows over who will
backstop the Rangers most nights, Richter's new contract almost
guarantees he'll carry the load. However, Cloutier has shown
that he is ready to play in the NHL and sooner or later will be a
full time goalie somewhere in the NHL. Probably sooner before
later.
"I think they've been pretty good with me so far and I'm just
going to keep working hard and hopefully get more ice time. But
if not, I'm just going to keep working hard to one day be the No.
1 guy."
Alex the Great or the Fake?: To be or not to be, that is
the question. That famous quote seems to be right on the money
when it comes to Alexei Kovalev. He just can't decide what to
be, a goal-scorer who uses his worldly talents to draw penalties
and out-skill his opponents or a defensive mistake meandering
aimlessly on the rink.
Guess it's that time of the month to play the role of offensive
powerhouse because after missing five games with a separated
shoulder, he's skated with power and authority in the last two.
He set up a goal and drew four penalties against the overmatched
Mighty Ducks. He then played a commanding game against Los
Angeles, drawing two more penalties, staging an impressive
defensive show during one especially grinding shift and scoring
his first two goals of the season.
"I was thinking a lot during my shoulder injury that I have to
play like I played before," Kovalev said. "That's why the
Rangers drafted me and it's why they brought me here. I said,
'Why don't I come back to my game and play like I did before?'
That's trying to control the puck and make plays."
It's a high-risk style. But it is also a style given to 10 to
20-game spurts of dominance the likes of which these Blueshirts
could use right now.
Beuke-Kaboomed: Los Angeles is known for its numerous
gangs and crews. Well, it looks like Kings tough guy Matt
Johnson is in one of them after he sucker-punched Jeff Beukeboom,
knocking him unconscious.
Johnson was suspended 12 games by NHL senior vice president and
director of hockey operations, Colin Campbell.
"I know Johnson a bit. You like to give someone the benefit of
the doubt, but I think it's something that could have been solved
in the proper way," said Beukeboom, who hit the ice face-first
and has no memory of the shift or the punch. "I think he knows
who I am and I know who he is, and we play the type of game where
it could have been solved the way hockey players solve it."
