Rangers News

"Jaromir Jagr ended months of playing coy and finally let his feelings be known Tuesday: He would like to finish his NHL career as a Ranger. "First I am going to talk to the Rangers - that's the No. 1 option for me," Jagr said. "I don't like to change. I feel very comfortable here, with all the people around this organization who are nice to me. "They gave me a chance to show everybody I still can play hockey. Everybody doubted me when I was playing in Washington, for whatever reason. The Rangers gave me a chance and believed in me." "

"Jaromir Jagr said yesterday that his first order of business as an impending free agent will be to talk to, "[GM] Glen [Sather] and the Rangers; that's the No. 1 option for me." Brendan Shanahan said yesterday that if he concludes he wants to continue his career next season, "This would be my first choice." "

"Jaromir Jagr walked into his future on Tuesday and sounded a little more encouraging about returning to New York. “First, I am going to talk to the Rangers,” said Jagr, an unrestricted free agent. “That’s No. 1 option for me. I don’t like to change. I feel very comfortable here, with all the people around this organization who are nice to me. They give me a chance to show everybody I still can play hockey.”"

"The season began with visions of another Stanley Cup being hoisted at Madison Square Garden. It ended with the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrating around Lundqvist after dispensing of the Rangers in five games. Anyone who would suggest the Rangers took a step forward this season would be accused of hallucinating. Yet anyone who says the team took a giant step back should probably study up on their history."

"Two years ago, simply qualifying for the playoffs was enough for a Rangers' team that hadn't played a postseason game in nine years. Last season, there was progress and hope for the future after a hard-fought second-round loss in six games to the Buffalo Sabres. Falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games in this season's second round has to be viewed as a step sideways at best, however, if not a step back for an organization that had its sights set a lot higher."

"The NHL's salary cap is expected to rise to between $55 million and $56 million next season, up from $50.2 million, and the Rangers should have plenty of space to maneuver - especially if the front office sheds most of their over-30 free agents, or signs one or two to reasonable short-term deals."

"Sean Avery is thinking of the future now, but last Wednesday while lying in a bed in the Intensive Care Unit of St. Vincent's Hospital suffering internal bleeding from a lacerated spleen he'd sustained at the Garden hours earlier in Game 3 against the Penguins, the Rangers' winger had no such luxury. "I was writing my will that first night," Avery told The Post by phone yesterday. "I was in bad shape. I was nervous. I was trying not to think about it. "I thought I was done." "

"If the Penguins do not have enough money to offer Hossa, who is making $7 million this season, the Rangers may be in the bidding for him. He is a strong two-way player and seems to be the kind of finisher the Rangers could use on a line with center Scott Gomez. If the Rangers keep him from returning to Pittsburgh, they would take a chunk out of the lineup of a division rival, one that looks as if it will be formidable for years to come."

"It's over for the Rangers -- a few of them more than others. The 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins on Sunday afternoon closed out the 2007-08 season with modest success, but only lateral movement from the previous year, when the Rangers were also knocked out in the conference semifinal. On the surface, this one may sting more. Jaromir Jagr, who played like the superstar he still can be for the first nine games of the playoffs but spent Sunday in one big fit of frustration, is free to do what he likes now, a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. He was quick to remind everyone in the wake of Sunday's loss that his destiny is in his hands now."

"A team that was assembled to make a run at the Stanley Cup in 2008 is now a team in transition that needs to retool. Four of the Rangers' top six wingers and two of their top six defensemen are unrestricted free agents. The defense could use size in a crease-clearer and/or a power-play quarterback."

"Although Jagr fell short of certain statistical benchmarks that would have triggered an option year on his contract with the Rangers for next season, there is the chance the team could re-sign him to a new deal this summer. One of the determining factors is whether the Rangers have the desire to invest in a player who made more than $8 million, and is coming off a disappointing 71-point regular season. But another is whether Jagr wants to remain in New York."

"Jagr becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and is said to be mulling over the possibility of going to Russia next season. He would have needed to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in order to trigger one more year on his contract with the Rangers. Last time we checked, they don't hand out the Smythe to players whose teams last only two rounds. Jagr would not commit to his future, other than to vow that he will play next season. Exactly where that will be, only he knows for certain. "I don't think this will be my last year," Jagr said. "

"For the first time in his professional career, Jaromir Jagr is on the brink of unrestricted free agency. In the moments following yesterday's season-ending 3-2 overtime Game 5 defeat to the Penguins, No. 68 sounded very much a man who is more than ready to control his own destiny. "This year, what's going to happen is what I want," Jagr said. "Whatever makes me happy, that's what I'm going to do."..."I'm going to talk to my parents. I'm sure they're going to give me good advice about what I should do.""

"This year's team didn't play well enough to beat Pittsburgh. The Rangers had the opportunity to establish something in Game 1 and squandered that chance and a 3-0 lead at the same time. That defeat essentially ended the series, though the official pronouncement wasn't delivered until Marian Hossa scored at 7:10 of overtime here yesterday afternoon in the Penguins' series-winning 3-2 victory in Game 5. "

"On a play almost broken up at the blue line and inches from being offside, the puck got from Sidney Crosby to Pascal Dupuis. The speedy winger flubbed his feed across the slot for Marian Hossa, but Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi's left-skated kick merely got the puck to its intended destination. And Hossa loaded up for the shot that Henrik Lundqvist said always sails high. But this time Hossa didn't get all of it and it wound up sliding low and through Lundqvist's pads 7:10 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory Sunday at Mellon Arena that eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs in five second-round games. "

"His recovery from a lacerated spleen suffered in Game 3 having accelerated, left wing Sean Avery was released from St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan Sunday morning. Avery had been in intensive care until Friday morning as doctors worked to stop internal bleeding. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in September, though he will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1."

"Jaromir Jagr skated right from his final exchange of the handshake line to the door leading to the Rangers' dressing room. No final look back at the ice. No wave. No acknowledgment either way about where he goes from here. And amid the quiet of the postgame locker room, he offered no hints about his plans for next year and beyond - other than to declare that he would be the one in charge of his fate. "

"After the final shot eluded him, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stood alone in his crease Sunday afternoon, pain radiating from his blue eyes. His teammates had skated back to their bench, and the Penguins celebrated in a giant mob to his right. For what seemed like minutes, Lundqvist bore his agony alone. Eventually, the Rangers skated over to console him. Marian Hossa’s series-winning goal 7 minutes 10 seconds into overtime gave the Penguins a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, sending the fans at Mellon Arena into a frenzy, and leaving the Rangers to grapple with their emotions."

"After his season - and perhaps NHL career - ended abruptly with Marian Hossa's overtime goal, Jaromir Jagr's first decision was to shave off his playoff beard. The razor cuts on his neck were still bleeding when Jagr emerged from the showers and into the New York Rangers' locker room after a 3-2 overtime loss Sunday to the Penguins in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal. They weren't the only fresh wounds for Jagr, who is contemplating playing in Russia next season. If so, Jagr's NHL career ended in the same building, Mellon Arena, it started."

"Mario Lemieux and Ray Shero were all smiles late Sunday afternoon at Mellon Arena. Their deadline dandies delivered. Marian Hossa, the winger co-owner Lemieux craved for star center Sidney Crosby, scored twice and Hal Gill, the hulking defenseman general manager Shero desired for his finesse-laden blueline, frustrated New York captain Jaromir Jagr - and that 1-2 punch pushed the Penguins past the Rangers, 3-2, in overtime. The Penguins won a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, 4-1."

"Marian Hossa scored in overtime to give the Penguins a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers today at Mellon Arena, clinching their second-round playoff series. They advance to the Eastern Conference final, where they will play cross-state rival Philadelphia. Dates and times for the third round are pending, but Games 1 and 2 will be at Mellon Arena."

""I can't control what other people say about my playoff performance," he said. Actually, he can. And if Hossa offers up many efforts like he had in the Penguins' 3-2 overtime victory against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series yesterday at Mellon Arena, the only point of contention will be just how gaudy the adjectives used to describe his work should be. "Hossa," Penguins left winger Jarkko Ruutu said, "was great today.""

"All the Rangers have done so far is stay alive. The next, more difficult, step is to turn this Eastern Conference semifinal against the Pittsburgh Penguins back into a series. The Rangers can do that by building on their elimination-avoiding 3-0 win in Game 4 on Thursday night with another victory over the Penguins this afternoon in Game 5 at Mellon Arena."

"Sidney Crosby would do it all over again, whether people agree with his actions or not. Crosby and fellow Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin have taken some heat for going after the New York Rangers' Daniel Girardi midway through the third period of Game 4 on Thursday, actions which caused both to be hit with minor penalties. "

"The internal bleeding from his lacerated spleen under control for a second straight day, Rangers left wing Sean Avery was released from the intensive care unit and moved into a standard room at St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan Saturday. Avery, who suffered the injury during Tuesday night's Game 3 at the Garden, is expected to remain hospitalized for the next several days."

"Can we stow the talk about how, if the Rangers win Game 5 here this afternoon, then the Penguins will really, really, really be thinking about how if they also lose Game 6, then they might actually lose these Eastern semis in Game 7? Can we wait until the Rangers actually accomplish something beyond winning once to suggest the team in the lead should be looking in the rear-view mirror? As Tom Renney concluded following yesterday's practice at home: "This game will change the tenor of the series if we win, but it does if we lose, too, come to think of it." "

"From the homade signs in the warm-up imploring Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan to re-sign for next season to the chanting of the again-dominating Jagr's name throughout the game to Henrik Lundqvist's brilliance to Chris Drury's guts, there was plenty that was memorable about Thursday night at the Garden. Still, all the Rangers really accomplished was extending their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Sunday, the Rangers can accomplish something far more profound. Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Rangers can change the entire series. And get it back to the Garden Monday night for what would be a dramatic Game 6. "

"His Rangers teammates fell neatly in line after Saturday’s practice, expressing the conventional wisdom about never looking past the next game. With the one-game-at-a-time cliché seemingly written in professional athletes’ DNA, Jaromir Jagr was willing to take on all the demons at once. The way Jagr looks at it, the Rangers will not just try to stay alive in their playoff series when they play Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. They are trying to come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. Winning one game, he said, is not the point. “I wasn’t just talking when I said I believe,” Jagr, the team’s captain, said."

"At the moment, for whatever reason, the 36-year-old Jagr is positively possessed. He has figured in on seven of the Rangers' 10 goals in the series, including five of six in Games 3 and 4. If he goes wild again today, the series might well shift back to the Big Apple for Game 6. If not, this could be Jagr's NHL curtain call. He has hinted at playing in Russia next season. I doubt he'll retire, but there is at least a chance his career could end today, in the same city where it began. And that raises a question: What kind of send-off would he warrant from Penguins fans after the post-series handshake? "

"Everybody saw Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik blast Rangers star Jaromir Jagr after Jagr's second-period goal in Game 4. Few people witnessed the conversation the two had during a break in the action later in the game. "He said, 'Holy (cow), Orpik, you're trying to kill me,' " Orpik said. "I said, 'No, I'm just playing hard,' and he said, 'I know. I saw the replay, and it was a good hit.' " "

"Rangers star Sean Avery was still hospitalized as a result of a lacerated spleen Friday night. The Rangers, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan and his publicist refused to comment on his condition, but the 28-year-old was previously in stable condition in the intensive care unit. "

"Having lamented going into Game 4 that the Rangers had yet to test the Penguins' ability to handle adversity, winger Brendan Shanahan didn't proclaim Thursday night's victory a devastating blow. More like the first scoring jab in a bout that will require several more effective combinations. "Obviously, you have to keep things in perspective," Shanahan said. "It's just a start for us. But it's the kind of start we wanted." "

"Shut out? Watch out, Penguins coach Michel Therrien says. Hoping to ward off the Spectre of '75 by finishing off the Rangers tomorrow, Therrien wants to see that famous Rocket Richard gleam from Sidney Crosby. The Penguins' first loss of these playoffs, 3-0 to the Rangers on Thursday at the Garden, didn't prompt panic among the first team since the 1994 Rangers to win their first seven games of postseason."

"This is where we came in, with the Rangers needing a victory in Pittsburgh, and with the Rangers needing the game officials to allow them to play the kind of game that will translate into a victory. None of the Rangers will touch the subject now, and why would they following the storm that was whipped up last week when officiating was front and center among topics of conversation? "

"As the end of Game 4 between the Rangers and the Penguins devolved into something between a scuffle and a brawl, the Rangers had, at the very least, thrown the first piece of drama into the Penguins’ playoff march. Until Thursday night, Pittsburgh had not lost a game this postseason. Everything the Penguins had touched seemed coated with pixie dust in four victories over Ottawa and three against the Rangers."

"Penguins fans dreaming of an Eastern Conference showdown against either Philadelphia or Montreal are advised not to sleep on Jagr or the Rangers, who trail this Eastern Conference semifinal series, 1-3, but easily could be ahead, 3-1. The Rangers blew a 3-0 lead in a Game 1 loss. They out-shot the Penguins, 39-17, in Game 3, but Lundqvist was awful, allowing five goals. He rebounded expertly in Game 4, turning aside each of the 29 shots he faced."

"Even as some of the Penguins' more exuberant followers were contemplating the likelihood not only of them going 16-0 this spring, but also of earning a Nobel Prize and possibly a Grammy in the process, Roberts offered a few unpleasant truths. Stick around the playoffs long enough, and games will be lost. Guys will be hurt. Challenges will arise. "We'll have to face some adversity," he said. "We've been very fortunate to be 7-0. This isn't going to be as smooth to the end as it has been. We're going to have some bumps in the road.""

"He came sweeping along the left side, one of the few Ranger forwards capable of doing anything special anymore. Jaromir Jagr's snap shot finally beat Marc-Andre Fleury at 12:45 of the second period, broke the scoreless tie, and then he was blind-sided from the right side by Brooks Orpik. "Right in the head," Jagr said after the Rangers beat the Penguins, 3-0, in Game 4 Thursday night. "Like a boxer who got hit. I couldn't celebrate it. I wanted to start dancing, but just couldn't do it." "

"Jaromir Jagr said his goal for the evening wasn't to extend his Rangers career. It was merely to earn the right to play one more playoff game this season. Henrik Lundqvist's mission was similarly about simple self-preservation: Atone for a rare off night that had helped nudge his team to the brink of playoff extinction... With Jagr again dominant and Lundqvist back to brilliant, the injury-depleted Rangers all got what they came to the Garden for Thursday night: a 3-0 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins that staved off playoff elimination."

"The series between the Rangers and Penguins had been billed as the savvy veteran Blueshirts who would rankle the talented, emotional and young Pens. With 13.6 seconds left Thursday night in Game 4, young Penguins star Evgeni Malkin finally showed some frustration. As he and Paul Mara raced back toward the Rangers' net, Malkin kicked the legs out from under the defenseman while pushing him back with his arm. Malkin was whistled for a 10-minute misconduct penalty, capping the frustration of the Penguins' first loss in the playoffs. "

"Finally, after four games, Tom Renney has a head game he can play. He hopes his Rangers have cracked open the Door of Self-Doubt on the only team in the Atomic Age to blow a 3-0 lead. No longer invincible, the previously perfect Penguins didn't put up much of a fight last night, and their first loss of these playoffs was more than that. It became a reminder of that 1975 blot in their history. "If there's any doubt at all, that's better than none," Renney said after his Rangers ended the Penguins' seven-victory playoff start with last night's 3-0 triumph at the Garden. "

"The roar through the "Star Spangled Banner" was half as loud as it had been for Game 3, an occupational hazard for a team that lost that contest to invite the fans back two night's later for a potential season's funeral. The Rangers, getting into the dimmed spirits of the occasion, were generating little offense and looked ready to get swept. Good thing Henrik Lundqvist was not the same goalie he was in Game 3. "

" Yes, Sidney, there will be a Game 5 - or, as Jagr, who scored the first and last goals in last night's 3-0 triumph, said, "The next game will be Game 7 for us just like this was a Game 7. "Pittsburgh was playing Game 4 and we were playing Game 7. Maybe next time they'll be a little more nervous. Hopefully they will be. I don't know. "

"For the first time in the series, Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin was out of options. He had launched his approach toward the Rangers’ goal on a penalty shot by charging hard to his right, but as he cut back toward goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Malkin curiously slowed down. Lundqvist was standing his ground and decided to make a move only after Malkin made his... Malkin ran out of time and space, and he flicked a timid wrist shot. Lundqvist batted it away with his glove, and the Rangers and their fans rejoiced. "

"Rangers agitator Sean Avery remained in stable condition in the intensive care unit of St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan Thursday night, after lacerating his spleen in Tuesday night's Game 3 loss to the Penguins at the Garden. But according to Rangers spokesman John Rosasco, Avery had "no internal bleeding during (last night's) game," and "could be out of ICU by (today) if his blood levels are good." "

"It was a vintage, momentum-gaining goal and a clutch playoff performance. It was Jaromir Jagr at his best... "He's a driven man right now, there's no question about that," New York Rangers coach Tom Renney said of Jagr, who scored his club's first and third goals, and assisted on center Brandon Dubinsky's back-breaking tally early in the third period in a 3-0 victory against the Penguins."

"Now there is one more Pittsburgh appointment to keep in the fabulous career that extended itself last night, because Jagr extended himself, pumping home two goals and adding an assist as the cliff-dwelling Rangers snapped the Penguins' seven-game postseason win streak, 3-0."

"The New York Rangers were 60 minutes from extinction when Game 4 of their second-round playoff series began. They knew it. More important, they played like they knew it. The Penguins, conversely, played like a team that had its edge and senses dulled by winning the first three games of the series. Understandable, perhaps, but not relevant anymore, now that the Rangers have sliced their advantage to 3-1 with a 3-0 victory at Madison Square Garden last night."

"At the biggest moment of his season, Jaromir Jagr was facedown on the ice. He had just scored what would be a season-saving goal in the win-or-go-home game against Pittsburgh on Thursday night, and an opponent’s shoulder nearly knocked him cold. While Jagr slowly got up, the Madison Square Garden crowd thundered, then spent the rest of the night celebrating the 3-0 Game 4 victory that Jagr, the Rangers’ captain, had made possible."

"While the news about Avery threatened to cast an even darker pall over a group that is now just one loss from elimination, the Rangers, at least outwardly, were still embracing the chance to make history. Only twice before in NHL history have teams rallied from 3-0 deficits to win a series. While the three losses thus far have been relatively close, there has been little indication the Rangers can pull off that feat against a Penguins team that has yet to lose a game in the playoffs. But to Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr, the more unlikely the prospect, the greater the opportunity."