After a remarkable 13-0-3 run through the Eastern Conference gauntlet the New York Rangers have now changed their goal from simply making the playoffs to now winning the Atlantic division and Conference. By doing that, the Rangers would ensure home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and after last year’s six game series loss to Buffalo we know how important home ice can be as the Rangers dropped all three games at HSBC Arena last spring.  

The unique quality of this hot stretch is that Jaromir Jagr is not doing all the heavy lifting as he did the past two seasons but this year they Rangers are getting equal performances from all 20 guys each night. The resurgence of Sean Avery, who is finally healthy, and Brandon Dubinsky continue to make Jagr’s job a lot easier because they can dig pucks out of the corner and work over the defensemen quite well, a trait Jagr has possessed since entering the league.

Henrik Lundqvist seems to be back on his game even though I personally never thought he got off it but his critics love him when he is winning and pounding him when he’s not. Take last Tuesday’s shootout loss to the Islanders for example; thanks to two deflections (one of his defenseman) and a defensive breakdown by none other than Christian Backman, Lundqvist was bashed for giving up “soft” goals. Bottom line is that Lundqvist has not lost in regulation since February 7th against the Ducks. This team winning streak is also still alive because of The King’s performance against the Bruins on Sunday when he stopped 29 shots and then three more in the shootout to ensure another much needed point for the blueshirts.

The Rangers travel down to Florida to visit the Panthers on Friday and the Lightning on Saturday. These are two games and four points that the Rangers need and should be able to get if they have any hopes of finishing atop the rest of the conference this year.

It is no secret that in order for the Rangers to make the playoffs they need their star player to take them there. Jaromir Jagr, one of the most prolific players to ever step on the ice is mired in his worst statistical season of his life. I really can’t stand the critics who blast Jagr and declare that he does not want to play and has no heart. That is a bunch of crap. The bottom line is that Jagr is just having a difficult time putting the puck in the net right now. It has been 9 games since the Ranger Captain has lit the lamp but even without scoring, Jagr contributes in other ways.

Take the Montreal game from Super Bowl Sunday. Jags was held without a point but if it were not for his hard work to get in front of Canadiens goalie Cristobal Huet for a monstrous screen, Marc Staal’s shot would not have been kicked out right to Scott Gomez, who in turn had a wide open net to bring the Rangers back from a three goal deficit. Its plays like that where Jagr makes his mark. Everyone goes through scoring slumps in the league, it is a natural part of any sport but Jaromir is getting blasted for his cold streak because let’s face it, it has never happened to him before and no one is used to seeing number 68 with only 47 points in February.

If GM Glen Sather decides to trade Jagr it will without a doubt be one of the worst things this franchise has ever done and they have done some pretty dumb things in their long history. By trading Jagr, the Rangers will lose not only their Captain but they will lose their most valuable player. Night in and night out Jagr is covered by the opposing team’s top defenseman like no other player on the Rangers. Last week for example against the Ducks, Jagr did not have one single shift the entire game where he did not have Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer or Mathieu Schneider draping all over him. Those are three of the top defensemen in the NHL and that was just for one game.

Without Jagr’s presence on the ice it will be too easy for the opposition to shift their focus to Scott Gomez and Brendan Shanahan. If that were to happen, the Ranger’s offense would sputter so badly that Henrik Lundqvist would need to win every game 1-0 in a shootout for New York to have a chance. New York needs Jagr and Jagr needs New York, he doesn’t want to play anywhere else. He wants to bring the Stanley Cup back to Manhattan.

Yes, he needs to start producing for the Ranger’s to win but there are 23 games left and Jagr will explode just in the nick of time. Get your Jaggerbombs ready.

Newly Single, BroadwayHockey.com Favorite Avery at Fashion Week with GQ Blueshirt Shanahan

However it went down, of course, is of no import whatsoever. The only good thing about almost any break-up, after all, is the day you meet someone who is indefinably better, hotter, smarter and lovelier than the one you were sure this time was all that, and who, just as mysteriously as their predecessor one day appeared and seemingly the next did a Houdini, like another kind of magic, plain and simple, fantastically appears and somehow sticks. Because, c’mon, even the most confirmed and dire wolves of either gender among us know that the shared warmth of the den is where one sups the sweetest and the best. Tennessee Williams once said as much — don’t ask me which play — and of course said it much better. But while Tennessee obviously worked Broadway, he never played center for the Rangers, famously preferred sailors to both actors and actresses, and to the best of my knowledge, never crashed a net.

That said, we’ve got Sean’s back, as any good fan or friend immediately would. And if we were hangin’, we’d invite him over for beers to watch the cinematic masterpiece Swingers, which Liman, Favreau and Vaughn have yet, and may never, top, followed by a round-robin tournament of Sega Hockey. The version where the players could draw blood and take slappers that would break the glass behind the net.

But Aves, whatever your pain, if causal to the sartorial, you needn’t hurt yourself by way of the unflattering specs. Please.

After all, you’re Sean F#^%-’in’ Avery. You’ve got it going on, north-south, in the corners and mucking the crease. You don’t hesitate to shoot, find your share of twine, and will dish shrewdly, when necessary, to the better positioned mate. And yes, Aves. You’re at Fashion Week. Where Demi and Maggie hang out in the front row with Hilary (the latter, of Clint’s boxing film, not to be confused with Senator Pantsuit) to do what women do… Chat, sniff out the babes strutting the runway and assist the remaining single BFF among them to find a suitable slamstick. And we’re not talking Sher-wood or Koho, Aves. But someone whom Hil could trade body blows with between humps for Oscar. Hell yes, why not you?

Take a note from the veteran Shanahan, so effortlessly smart in the midnight-blue button down and golf tan. For goodness sakes, that’s why Shanny — in place of his stunning wife, who happens to put the wan Seventh Avenue girls to shame — so generously invited you out with him in the first place. Because Shanahan, like the Iceman, like the unanimity of Rangers fans who understood your importance to the team the very first game you stepped on the ice in a blue sweater, we knew, even if Slats was foolish enough for a nano-second to pretend he didn’t, you’re worth it!

You’re f*&^%’in worth it, Aves!

Besides, eyewear or no, one can’t reasonably imagine fashion models or convicted celebutards would ultimately be good for your game, anyway, Sean. It’s plainly evident you’re a man of intense focus, and so it’s not surprising you were seriously involved with an actress, since dramatic artists, like elite-level athletes, perform best when playing in an unconscious, but paradoxically zen-like state of concentration. So perhaps it is advisable to stick with the honeys from Hollywood. Who knows? Granted, I’m just a fan. Not the weird old dude on the television hawking eHarmony. Or maybe find yourself a nice, simple babe raised on a dairy farm in Saskatchewan. If indeed, such a one in that particular province can be found. Let me know, I’ve never been.

Pushing these matters aside, Sean, have a terrific camp. We’ll see you and your Ranger mates October 4th, at the Garden season opener when the team starts its way towards a fifth Cup — the one, appearing unexpectedly and then unforgettably, which last year got away. But in your arms and hoisted high above your head on Garden ice this spring, we know will look just great.