A True Fan

A true hockey fan is loyal in good times and in bad, but one things for sure when it's a bad time all kinds of bad thoughts go through your head about your team. I was having a conversation about my beloved Rangers last night, and I realized that now that they're down 2-0 against the Penguins, I am more poised for another loss tonight than I am to see a Rangers win. All sorts of bad thoughts went through my head and I am already looking forward to another play-off run next year. I'm just waiting and hoping that Jagr goes back to his homeland and that Shanahan finally calls it quits. Both these players I adored a year ago, but they're just not what they used to be and it’s a sad thing to see. Shanahan and Jagr alike dominated the game at one point, but when they were wing men for another perennial superstar. Shanahan was always in the shadow of another great except when for when he played on the Hartford Whalers during the prime of his career when he could handle the heat. Jagr has always needed to be a right-hand man, he had Lemiuex in Pittsburgh and after that he has slowly declined in performance. He's had decent help with slow moving playmakers, such as Nylander, but his style and mental toughness does not give him the capacity to perform under pressure especially in a city like New York. Another thing that really pisses me off about Jagr, is that he gives fans a false hope, through his first six games of this year's play-offs he lead the league with 10 points and actually looked motivated and was skating at both ends of the ice. Last game he just packed it in, he couldn't work the offense he was looking to generate and most likely got discouraged and just stopped playing all together, the Penguins would be running a line rush while Jagr was still in the corner of their zone. It's just a hard thing to comprehend as a fan and a hockey player, when you're a superstar, and especially one that wears the captain "C" you cannot pack it in early during any game. I hope game three tonight brings some different fortunes for New York, but if not I will most likely be writing about off-season acquisitions and signings that the Rangers should make.