Five Questions And Answers About The Rangers:
Question 1: Is Mike Sullivan the right coach for the Rangers?
Answer: He was until the season started. Since then, Sully's replacement in Pittsburgh, Dan Muse, is doing a heckuva lot better with the Penguins than Michael is with the Blueshirts. (A more detailed answer has to wait until Christmas.) Meanwhile, let's not forget that after three straight missed playoffs in Pittsburgh, the Penguins couldn't wait to unload Sullivan.
Question 2: Will Mika Zibanejad win another "Minus Derby" in the Blueshirts Plus-Minus Ratings Game" as he did last year?
Answer: At this moment, Lafreniere has a minus-10 in the ratings, while Mika trails at minus-8. But that, of course, could change over the marathon season.
Question 3: How strong – or weak – are the Rangers at center?
Answer: At the start of the season, the centers were rated in this order: A. J.T. Miller; B. Mika; C. Vincent Trocheck; D. Sam Carrick; E. Juuso Parssinen. The question is this: Can Miller be rated a top center.? If he is not – and we won't know until, say, February – then the answer is that they don't have a #1 center.
Question 4: What should GM Chris Drury's next move be?
Answer: The Maven agrees with Sean Avery, who is correctly lobbying for the promotion of Gabe Perreault from Hartford. Let's not forget that Perreault, 20, was a top player for Team USA in the previous pair of World Junior Championships.
Is The Broken Down Rangers Machine Fixable?
The impatient citizens of Rangerville want their team fixed as quickly as possible. (Like right this minute.)
Question 5: How can the Blueshirts get back on track?
Answer: Easy. Start with the fact that the season is a marathon not a sprint. The Canucks are beatable. A win tonight could easily start a winning streak. All that's required are will and skill.
The skill is there. We'll soon find out about the will!