Dawes & Pock to Get Shot…Malik to Get Press Box

Nigel Dawes and Thomas Pock will, in all likelihood, make their season debuts for the Rangers tonight in Atlanta. For Dawes, it’s almost a sure thing that he’ll play, seeing as Marcel Hossa can’t go because of a hip flexor injury. For Pock, it’s not as certain, but following yesterday’s practice it seems probable. According to the Blueshirt Blog and Rangers Report, Pock was paired along side Michael Roszival in practice and Marek Malik was paired with Jason Strudwick. Although Tom Renney said not to read too much into it, look for Struds and Malik to be watching tonight from the Press Box. (If you’re quiet, you can hear champagne corks popping in the home every Rangers fan as we speak.)

For Dawes it’s a shot; for Pock it’s the shot.

When it comes to Nigel Dawes, it’ll be nice to see what he can do tonight. He’ll be playing on the first line with Jagr and Gomez (certainly different than last year when he got to play, but with the likes of Jason Ward and Adam Hall). But let’s be realistic. No matter how well Dawes plays, the road still leads back to Hartford. Even if he makes a case to be in the lineup over Hossa, Sean Avery is on the horizon. And when Avery comes back, Dawes will go back. So take tonight for what it is with Dawes, a possible glimpse into the future. But for Dawes, no matter what he does, the future is not now.

For Thomas Pock this is a completely different situation. For him, this is the be all, end all. Sure he’s been in the lineup before (he actually played 44 games last year). But in most of those games he was subbing in for an injured player and even though Pock probably deserved to win a lineup spot, he continually got scratched for a lesser veteran when the vet came back. This time it’s different. This time Malik is taking a seat because of poor play and Pock needs to seize the moment one more time. He needs to get into the lineup and stick; not allow the coaching staff to take him out. And whether or not it’s unfair, it has to happen tonight. If Pock doesn’t play well, he won’t get another shot on Saturday in Boston. Malik will be right back on the ice and Pock will be right back in street clothes. This is it. Pock knows it, and don’t be surprised if Pock takes advantage of it.

Now let me say this. No matter what happens tonight, it is becoming more and more evident that something has to give on this Rangers backline. Marek Malik, Paul Mara, and Thomas Pock are every day players fighting for two spots. None of them will stay content to be scratched for long periods of time. I’d expect a trade sometime in the near future.