Lenny, in case you didn’t catch the game, the effort was better than the past two games. However, even in a tightly contested game, the Rangers got nothing out of it because of Kozlov’s surprising wrister which beat Valiquette thru a screen. It’s definitely one which fooled the backup and might have surprised him.

However, he did play well. Don’t be fooled by the SOG (34-21 Rangers). The Thrashers had many odd-man rushes and great chances which tells you that the Rangers aren’t all there right now. They’re a fragile team which could be very bad timing for tomorrow.

Jagr did show some semblance of life hitting a post and skating better. But at the end of the night, once again the Ranger leader wasn’t on the scoresheet. There have been too many instances where that’s happened. They’re not paying him to just show up. But to score and setup teammates.

He and Straka also were again guilty of not getting back for one-time Blueshirt Pascal Dupuis’ tying marker off a two-on-one.

Whatever the reason, this team misses Sean Avery badly. They are average at best without the pest.