Sinking in the Atlantic

The signing of Brendan Shanahan was made for times like what the Rangers went through in the last two days. You'd have to go back to the 2000-2001 season to find a time when New York was crushed so thoroughly in back-to-back games, and that was in the era when Messier, Graves, and Leetch roamed the ice. Even with Jagr wearing the "C" last season, the Blueshirts didn't suffer a two-game stretch like their 9-2 loss at Toronto on Saturday and the 6-1 drubbing at home to the Devils yesterday. We'll see just how resilient the club is, and how deft Shanahan's touch is off the ice as the Rangers attempt to put their Lost Weekend behind them.

Regardless, it seems that the Atlantic Division, once the most intensely-competitive division in the NHL, has become the modern-day version of the old Norris Division of the late 1980's - the one which featured a Blues team which won the division with a losing record (1986-87), and which had a .500 team (1988-89 Red Wings) finish first in another year.

This morning, the Rangers sit atop the division with an 18-12-4 record, but a negative goal differential (107-109) thanks to the torrent of goals given up. The Devils, perennially lurking in the weeds are second (18-12-2, 83-79) and their goal differential finally tipped to the positive side after last night's blowout. They are akin to the Capitals of the late 80's - the team that starts off horribly then gets stronger as the weather gets colder. You wonder why they just don't cancel the first 40 games of the season, set them up with an arbitrary losing record, and let them play out the remaining 42 games. The Islanders and Penguins keep swapping places between third and fourth, and each team is a mirror of the other: Pittsburgh the squad with all the hot young talent and a little veteran spice that overachieves in some games, and looks their age in others, and the Isles the team with all the veteran talent and some young spice that overachieve in some games and play their age in others. And, of course, there are the Flyers drowning in the basement, on whose back every other team stands just to catch their breath above the waterline.

The whole of the Eastern Conference is just one big oozing mess. Nobody has distinguished themselves, and it's all just a bunch of teams suffering the sophomore slump or bearing the brunt of unreal expectations. But everyone has their eyes affixed to the Atlantic because every team has a juicy storyline affixed to it: Can the Devils play a full season at full strength and NOT rely wholly on Brodeur? Will Crosby and Malkin be enough to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh? Are the Flyers REALLY done with Old Time Hockey? Can the Islanders avoid being embarrassed with a ragtag bunch of free agent veterans and Bridgeport castoffs? Will Shanahan be the proper shock to the hearts of all that European talent on Broadway? We're soon to find out about that last one.

Whoever finishes first in April will have the "benefit" of getting a three-seed and at least home ice for the first round of the playoffs. It's pale shelter because the way the postseason is set up, a six has an excellent chance of beating a three because home-ice advantage doesn't mean much anymore. However, it should be noted that the "cream" isn't always the first thing to rise to the top, or to stay there. With 32 divisional games each year, it won't take much for one team to go on a hot streak by feasting on the fourth-and-fifth place clubs. At this point, it could realistically be any team except the Flyers. Which is sad.

Here's hoping someone takes the reins in the New Year and plays some exciting hockey on their way to winning the division crown. The last team other than the Devils or Flyers to take the Atlantic were the Rangers in their Cup-winning 1993-94 campaign. It would be nice to have a little change in that department, since the Flyers, Devils, and Islanders have dominated the top of the standings since the Patrick was created in 1974.

By the way, this title is no pun whatsoever, given the tragic situation facing the family of Montreal Canadiens' general manager Bob Gainey. His oldest daughter, Laura, was swept overboard by a "rogue wave" (I love how the media plays up the capricious ways of Nature as if it were lurking just around the corner waiting to strike at Innocent Humanity) while serving on a ship sailing through the North Atlantic on its way to the Caribbean. At 25 years old, she lived quite a life, marred as it was by the premature death of her mother, the subsequent drug problems, and the roundabout way she tried to get her life back on course. Her father had to step down as coach of the Dallas Stars when his wife passed from cancer in 1996, and the toll it took on father and daughter was tremendous. Sadly, the story didn't get to have a happy ending, though the journey back to normal was one that I'm sure will be treasured by those who survive. Through all this, the Canadiens are a surprise top team in the East, and a pleasure to watch in English or French (no thanks to you, RDS!) when my job dictates.

From the Bad Joke Department: Why is it that as a hockey fan, I have to switch over to the NFL, NBA, and MLB to find the fisticuffs and cartoonish violence I once treasured as part of the NHL? Whether it's "Malice at the Palace," Saturday night's "Rumble at the Garden," or any bench-clearing square-dance on the baseball diamond, I'm seeing the violence and incivility that once marked the game of hockey spill over into the other major sports - without the code of honor and protection which made fights in the NHL so enjoyable. I propose a massive switch within the leagues - Gary Bettman gets to be commish for a week in all three other leagues, while David Stern, Roger Goodell, and Hair Bud get to fill that seat in the NHL. Hell, it should be easy, just a bit of a walk through Midtown Manhattan for all four to ponder their fortune while sitting in different Big Leather Chairs. The change in perception could do wonders for all involved.