1. YAY, Zac Jones for proving that he should have been a regular long ago instead of a Press Box alien wondering what he did wrong to hiss off Peter Laviolette.
2. BOO to the genius coach for allowing "Zenzational" Zac to rot like dead wood when he could have been running the power play better than Adam Fox, IF Lavvy would only have let him.
3. There's no reason why this re-energized Blueshirts team shouldn't invade Ottawa tomorrow and lay a licking on a team with a brilliant coach – Travis Green, who else? – but can't match up, talent-wise, with New York.
4. But the Senators are not in the hospitality business. That means attack- attack-attack, start Jonathan Quick and -- for crying out loud – score the first goal just for the fun of it.
5. Nothing but kudos go to coach Dean Evason and on down the Blue Jackets roster for emerging from the Gaudreau tragedies and playing over-their-heads over .500 hockey all season.
6. But Columbus lost its second straight last night and is ready to be taken by the Rangers on Sunday at The Garden. Nobody needs to be told -- but I'll do it anyway, this is a MUST WIN -- even for Al (He Must Think It's July) Lafreniere and Mika (Enough With The Coddling & Minus Hockey) Zibanejad.
7. Will Cuylle is turning into the best Rangers forward since Vic Hadfield. The Rangers originally thought Vic was a third-string fighter. He turned into a first-string scorer who could fight. That's what Not-So-Wee-Willie is turning out to be.
8. Every single "tough-team" the Rangers will meet down the stretch is beatable. The trick for the Blueshirts' shrink – whoever it is – will be to convince the Rank And File that it's possible.
9. Here's why Pistol Pete Laviolette won't win The Jack Adams (Best Coach) Award. Lavvy's fourth line was his best unit, beating the Islanders. Here's how they were rewarded in the next (Caps) game. Rempe, 4:12; Othmann, 6:30; Brodzinski, 7:30. Sick!
10. When the Bruins looked like they had a contender, Boston was willing to deal for Chris Kreider. But the nauseating club that got Jim Montgomery fired, now is looking more like a sub in a crash dive.
11. Chris Drury hauled in Reilly Smith because Smith was supposed to make a difference. It was close; as a Ranger, Reilly made an IN-DIFFERENCE!
12. WARNING TO MIKA AND ALEXIS: Starting at 12:20 p.m. tomorrow, The Fat Cat Patrol will go on duty. It will be working Deadwood Drive and if you guys are caught "Slowing," you'll be ticketed by The Maven.
13. Now that Chad (Call Me Yo-Yo) Ruhwedel is back in The Show, it would be nice if The Beloved Coach showed him some compassion and played the man, already.
14. So far, the best thing about newly-acquired Carson Soucey is that he's from Viking, Alberta, home of the Six (Fighting) Sutter Brothers. Oh, yeah, Sean Avery likes Soucey so it looks like a find for the D.
15. Scary Stat Department: Gorgeous George Grimm, one of my favorite author-pals, came up with this: "Lafreniere has two shots on goal in his last five games. With considerably less ice time, Rempe has three shots on goal." (Don't blame The Maven. I'm not the coach!)
16. "If 'The Big Whistle,' Bill Chadwick, was still broadcasting," adds Grimm. "he'd be shouting, 'Shoot the puck, Laffy, Shoot the puck!'"