Devils 3 – Rangers 1
No acceleration with or without the puck, no scoring chances generated for himself or created for others, no shots on goal in 18:08 of ice; in other words, not much of anything from Jaromir Jagr in last night’s 3-1 Garden defeat to the Devils that was much less competitive than the score might indicate.
“I could tell say that my groin is bothering me, and that’s true, but I can’t use that as an excuse,” Jagr told The Post. “It hurts, but I’m not injured to where I can’t play, or can’t play better. I should play better.”
Partnered once again with Bobby Holik against both logic and the Devils’ elite checking unit of John Madden, Jay Pandolfo and Jamie Langenbrunner – splitting the Ranger pair would force the opposition to make a choice in its matches both up front and on defense, but Tom Renney obviously doesn’t see it that way – Jagr displayed little of the fire he showed through his first weeks as a Ranger, or even last week on the road.
“This game was as much in my head as anything to do with my leg; it was just very frustrating,” said No. 68, who has just four points (1-3) in his last six games and five (2-3) in the last 10 after recording 15 (8-7) in the previous eight. “It was a hard game for me.”
It was a hard game on the fans, who have seen the Rangers – or their remnants – go 4-12 in their last 12 on home ice. It was, however, not a hard game at all for the vulnerable Devils, who, despite the absence of three of their top four defenseman -Scott Stevens, Brian Rafalski and Colin White – limited the Blueshirts to 18 shots while pumping 43 themselves on Mike Dunham, as lucky as good throughout.
“I would have to say that this didn’t measure up to some of our previous efforts [last week on the road] at all,” said Renney, whose decision to keep Holik with Jagr also eliminated his ability to utilize the home match against the formidable Scot Gomez-Patrik Elias-Turner Stevenson unit. “I was hoping for better, more of the passion we had last week, but we didn’t have it.”
* RJ Umberger, the 16th overall selection of the 2001 Entry Draft whose rights the Rangers obtained from Vancouver in the Martin Rucinsky trade, will begin skating with the team today in a look-see that will last through the weekend before reporting to Hartford on an informal tryout basis.
The 21-year-old, 6-1, 200-pound center, who left Ohio State after last season and has been sitting out the year following a negotiating impasse with Vancouver GM Brian Burke, will become an unrestricted free agent if he’s not signed before June 2. Should that occur, the Rangers would get the 16th pick in this year’s second round as compensation.
“I know I’m only a couple of months away [from free agency], but I’d rather be able to get something worked out here,” the Pittsburgh native said. “This is probably one of the best places in the NHL right now for a young player to come into, and I’m excited to be a part of it.
“Everybody is entitled to have an opinion of me for not signing, but for those who question my character, I have a lot of pride in myself and how I play, and hopefully my play will be able to change some minds.”
