First off, happy Thanksgiving to all of the great BR writers who contribute such great articles to this site. One thing we all can be thankful for is this great BR community. The great feedback I have received from all of my readers has made me a better writer.
Today is turkey day, the day we give thanks for things that are important to us. There are some things that Rangers fans definitely should be thankful for this year, and of course, it starts with Henrik Lundqvist...
Henrik Lundqvist
The king of New York has been key for the Rangers this year. He leads the league in wins, and has stolen some games for the Rangers.
He had a bad game against Vancouver, but we couldn't expect him to be amazing the entire season, that would be unrealistic. The king was not bothered by it at all though, following up the poor game with two very good ones against Phoenix and Tampa Bay. All hail king Henrik!
Steve Valiquette
The only real blemish on his season was the game against Toronto, in which he was not far away from getting a shutout. He wound up giving up five goals in what seemed like just a blink, but overall, he's been very good this year, and has filled in when necessary.
The Rangers should be thankful that they can give Henrik a night off when needed.
Scott Gomez
Boy did the Rangers miss him when he was injured. They were 3-2 in his absence, but probably didn't deserve to be, and it showed in the two losses. The two wins against Boston and Ottawa were games in which they didn't play well at all, and escaped with a SO win. The two losses were both horribly played games, and the team lacked the speed that Gomez has become known for.
In the two games since his return, The Rangers are 2-0, beating the Coyotes 4-1, and the Lighting 3-2 in a SO. They have also found the speed that made them look so great earlier in the year.
Tom Renney
Yes, I said it, we should be thankful for Tom Renney. It was only two games ago that many were screaming for him to be fired (and I wrote "Tom Renney Is Screaming at Deaf Ears") but Tom was gotten a response from his team.
Every year that the team has hit its lowest, Tom Renney has been there to lift them up (with the exception of the end of 05-06, but not even Scotty Bowman could have helped them) and get them back on track.
Monday's game against Phoenix was key for him. If they played like they did the previous two games, it might have been the end of the Tom Renney era. Instead, the team has responded the way we all were hoping they would. Tom Renney's system may not be the most exciting to watch, it might not be the most offensive, but it sure is working.
Nikolai Zherdev
He's an elite talent. With five assists in the last two games, "Z" has emerged as a great talent for the Rangers. His amazing dekes and quick skating has given the Rangers an offensive threat. You never know what Zherdev is going to do with the puck.
It won't be long before he's first on sportscenter's top 10 plays.
Markus Naslund
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