PENGUINS WILL BENEFIT FROM RANGERS' SWAP WITH VANCOUVER

 Of All Things:

Is it too late for J.T. MILLER to change his 

mind and refuse to relinquish the no-trade part 

of a contract that allowed Vancouver to deal 

him to the New York Rangers? … In his first 

game back with the team that made him its top 

draft pick in 2011, Miller easily was the 

Blueshirts’ No. 1 star, scoring a pair of goals 

and barely missing a third … but the Rangers 

nevertheless dropped their third in a row … to 

fall five points out of a wildcard playoff berth 

… The final was 6-2 Saturday afternoon in 

Boston where 2022 Norris Trophy winner

 ADAM FOX was minus three on a defense 

that got much too much credit for a recent 10-

game non-losing streak (7-0-3) that gave false 

hope of a major turnaround from a horrendous 

4-12-1 start … On ABC television, MARK 

MESSIER had no choice but to join P.K. 

SUBBAN in coming down hard on the visitors. 

Understand, Messier, one of the stars on the 

last Ranger team to win a Stanley Cup (1994), 

undoubtedly thinks he could do a better job 

than coach PETER LAVIOLETTE and/or 

GM CHRIS DRURY(and has offered his 

assistance to ownership which, to date, has 

wanted no part of him … mindful perhaps of 

the havoc he caused in a similar role in 

Vancouver.) … In the meantime, Messier 

publicly defends the indefensible … almost 

always giving the front office as well as 

players like D’ANDRE MILLER benefit of 

the doubt.

Miller (no relation), at 6-5, 220 pounds an 

excellent skater with a strong shot, continues to 

play soft, avoiding contact whenever possible 

… and, like most of the NY d-men, is caught 

out of position too often … leaving it up to the 

$80 million goalkeeper, IGOR 

SHESTERKIN, to overcome their mistakes. 

Trouble is, the 28 year old Russian is only 

human, after all … and hasn’t been nearly as 

sharp as a year ago when the Rangers had the 

NHL’s best regular-season record (55-23-4, 

114 points).

There's nothing like helping a Metro division 

opponent while you're at it.

Having obtained a first-round draft choice in 

the trade for J.T. Miller, Vancouver promptly 

turned it over to Pittsburgh in a large package 

for defenseman MARCUS PETTERSSON

 and forward DREW O’CONNOR … The 

Canucks also got FILIP CHYTIL, a talented 

but concussion-prone center, and rookie 

defenseman VICTOR MANCINI from the 

Rangers … The loss of Mancini, who was with 

AHL Hartford, seemed to bother Ranger fans 

about the deal most of all. What they failed to 

realize was … despite being good size (6-3, 

218), having a good shot and not backing 

down when challenged … he had a lot to learn 

and tended to drag down whoever Laviolette 

paired with him. Mancini’s last game before 

being shipped to Hartford was a 5-1 loss to Los 

Angeles Kings Dec. 14 at MSG where he was 

a minus three … and, trying to kick a puck 

from harm’s way in front of Shesterkin, sent it 

directly to LA center PHILLIP 

DENAULTwho had no choice but score, 

thanks to the perfect if unintended assist from 

Mancini.

--------  During the first five minutes against 

North Carolina Saturday, Duke freshman

 COOPER FLAGGhad two steals, four assists 

and a pair of three-point field goals as the Blue 

Devils raced out to a 15-6 lead (en route to an 

86-70 victory). The consensus No. 1 NBA 

draft choice-to-be also missed a pair of free 

throws … Maybe he should stick around for 

another college campaign – or three or four – 

to work on his unguarded marksmanship from 

10 feet … What do you think, Cameron 

Crazies?

-------  At least, in the post-mortems of Saturday’s 90-

49 mercy killing by VCU over Richmond, there were 

no accusations of the Rams running up the score. Check 

the box score, and you could understand why … Only 

starter to play more than 22 minutes was MAX 

SHULGA, who sat down after 27 with a team-best 20 

points … presumably needed if the talented guard is to 

convince fickle voters he should be first-team all 

conference.

Until next time ...