Posts tagged ‘Malik’

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.

So it’s five games into the season and Marek Malik is already doing his best to make Eric and I look dumb. After a fantastic first game in which he had a career high three points and played a relatively flawless defensive game, he has used the last four games to remind anyone who didn’t remember (including us) why he is so vilified by Ranger fans.

As you may be able to tell, we will not be stubborn on this podcast/blog. If we are clearly wrong on a point, we will come out and admit it. Our unwavering support for Marek Malik in the first episode was definitely a little misguided and in that regard we were wrong. Malik’s brain freeze against the Isles was one thing, but his essentially inept play against the Senators was inexcusable.

All that being said I do still think that there may be a place for him on this team, but not playing over twenty minutes a game. Especially not when Tyutin and Girardi are truly emerging as great defensemen (yes, I said GREAT because it’s truly what they are becoming).

The one point, however, on the Malik situation that I stand by, is that the incessant booing has to stop. It’s one thing if it is directly after a huge gaffe, but to boo when the guy’s name is announced for an assist is asinine. If you are truly a fan of the Rangers, then the number one thing that you should want is for the Rangers to win. Whether you like it or not, it doesn’t appear that Malik is going anywhere soon. So all that booing Malik does is make him more nervous and in turn makes him play tighter. In turn, the only thing your booing is doing is hurting a Rangers team that you love.

Give the guy the same shake as everyone else. Boo him when he’s bad, cheer him when he’s good, and don’t do anything when he’s simply got the puck on the ice. But by doing booing him every time he breathes, you’re essentially just hurting yourselves.

On another note, while we will admit our mistakes, we also have no problem reminding you all when we’re right. In the third period against the Senators, Tom Renney finally moved Gomez into the first line center slot. After the game he told reporters that he would continue to look at this combo this next week.

Again, this is a move that I think had to be made and will help to jumpstart what has, for the most part, been a stagnant Rangers offense thus far.