ESPN.com - First Jagr, now Selanne and Kariya

ESPN.com: NHL

Sunday, October 15, 2000
Updated: October 16, 4:34 PM ET
First Jagr, now Selanne and Kariya

By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com

Lead Pass

Games of Note

Ottawa at Philadelphia, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET: John LeClair's back injury looks to be worse than previously thought, and it's doubtful he'll play in this one. But Ottawa has problems of its own with Patrick Lalime's knee injury. Philly hasn't won since opening night. Pressure is on the Flyers to win one at home.

Colorado at Washington, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET: Not much to say about this one. If Patrick Roy wins, he becomes the all-time wins leader with 448.

St. Louis at Detroit, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2: Two division rivals jockey for position in the early going. This will be a good test for Blues goalie Roman Turek. He'll get more quality chances against, and we'll see how much his confidence was -- or was not -- affected by the Blues' early playoff exit last spring.

Tampa Bay at Minnesota, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET: Tampa Bay is much improved, but this is a great opportunity for the Wild to get a home win. To do so, Minnesota must find a way to play a complete game. They've yet to put together three good periods in a row.

Frozen Ponderings
Minnesota is in the midst of a five-game homestand, their longest of the season. The Wild have scored three goals in each of their first two home games, their most productive games of the season. If they can score three in one of the four remaining home games, one of their goalies should play well enough to get their first win. ... The Oilers' line of Bill Guerin, Doug Weight, Ryan Smyth could be one of the league's most dangerous this season. ... It's a shame John Grahame broke his ankle in an off-ice incident. He would be playing a lot for the Bruins with Byron Dafoe hurt, and now Andrew Raycroft is getting a chance to prove he's an NHL caliber goalie.

-- Brian A. Shactman

In watching the Rangers in the early going of the 2000-01 season, it's obvious they are a better team.

Mark Messier already has five points in three games, and Theo Fleury has two goals in the same span. And on defense and in net, all indications were, that with just two goals allowed in the first two games, the Rangers were playing slid, two-way hockey.

But Saturday's 8-6 loss to the Penguins -- when Jaromir Jagr potted four goals -- exposed a potential problem: Can the Rangers contain the league's dominant players?

In the first two wins against the Thrashers and Canadiens, the Rangers didn't face a line that could be considered "elite". In fact, there isn't one player on either roster who will finish in the top 15 in scoring this season. But any time Jagr is in the lineup, his line fits the elite category.

So, Monday's game against the Mighty Ducks should be interesting because Anaheim comes to town with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

It's up to the Rangers' defense to make sure that doesn't happen. Or more specifically, the Rangers need their forwards to help out when top-flight talents are on the ice.

Forwards Jan Hlavac, Petr Nedved and Radek Dvorak were minus-3 against the Penguins. That total was a team worst -- and more than any blueliner in the lineup. Too often, blame for defensive breakdowns and goals goes on the shoulders of defensemen and goalies. The fans and viewers at home only the see the play's final stages.

But when dealing with the Jagr and Selanne's of the world, forwards need to get back and help out -- or at least not allow the opposition to get too much momentum in the neutral zone. This is especially important late in games, and the Penguins scored four times in the first 10 minutes of the third. Game over.

The Rangers should win games when they score six goals, and losses like last Saturday's are the kind coaches and players kick themselves about come April when every point counts for the playoff drive.

We'll see if coach Ron Low gets the message across in time to shut down the Anaheim's tandem of Kariya and Selanne, who despite slow starts, combined for 171 points last season.

Mailbag
During the season, I'll try to answer a question or two from ESPN.com users for every edition of In the Corners. If you want to get a question answered, click here and ask away.

Question from James Murphy of Long Beach, N.Y.: What do you think the possibilities are of a trade between the Bruins and the Sabres? Say maybe Michael Peca and a minor leaguer for Anson Carter and maybe Cameron Mann?

Response: It would be an interesting trade for both teams. Peca would be popular in Boston because of the style he plays. But ultimately, the deal doesn't make sense for two reasons:

If Buffalo won't pay Peca his money, what makes anyone think Bruins GM Harry Sinden would give a 40-point guy $2 million more than Joe Thornton earns.

Neither GM would want to make an intra-division deal and have it come back to haunt them.

Despite Peca's press conference last week where he asked for a trade, In the Corners says it's more likely Carter will get dealt before Peca.

Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com.