A few hours after cohosting the NY Hockey Report with Joe McDonald, I wanted to make some comments on the locals and other stuff:

1.A belated congratulations to Rangers team captain Jaromir Jagr on scoring his 600th career goal in a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay Sunday. More recently, he notched two more including No.602 to pass Finnish legend Jari Kurri, becoming the highest scoring European in NHL history. That is a remarkable accomplishment for No.68 and he hinted that it probably meant more due to being European. The guy wanted Broadway a few years ago but had to wait a bit longer before getting his wish. Since, he’s lit it up and made hockey relevant again at MSG. That’s no small feat considering all the megastars who came here and failed miserably. Jagr is starting to rediscover the ‘05-06 form which made him the league’s second leading scorer and a runner-up for the Hart to San Jose’s Joe Thornton. With six goals in his last five games after just five in his first 17, Jagr is starting to dominate once again. And linemates Michael Nylander and Martin Straka are meshing well, once again making them one of the league’s most dangerous lines. The difference is this time, they have Brendan Shanahan supporting them and he’s leading the league with 17 goals and playing as inspired a brand of hockey as you could expect. With Henrik Lundqvist finding his game and the blueline no longer lost, the Blueshirts could be primed to go on a run.

2.Despite the Devils’ disappointing 3-1 loss at Phoenix, they should feel very good about where they are in the standings. Despite top center Scott Gomez missing significant time due to a groin injury, they’re sitting where they usually do atop the Atlantic with a 12-7-1 record, tied with the Rangers with 25 points but with two less games played. What also has to be promising is that they have accomplished this with little production from team captain Patrik Elias (4 goals). Elias is a talented player who can be extremely streaky. Once he gets untracked, watch out. Ditto Brian Gionta. The Mighty Mite only has 1 goal in his last 10. With Gomez back, that should change. The best part is they found themselves a reliable second line with North Dakota connection Travis Zajac and Zach Parise teaming up with Jamie Langenbrunner to form a dynamic line that can forecheck effectively and create excellent scoring chances. This is their best cycling line by far. Last year, the Devils lacked an effective forechecking line that could work opponents. This weakness was exposed by the Hurricanes in last year’s second round exit. With this trio showing great chemistry, it should bolster their chances of faring better next Spring.

3.The Islanders continue to defy the cynics by playing a solid brand of hockey under Coach Ted Nolan. They dominated the Hurricanes in a 4-2 win which wasn’t even a contest. In fact, they outshot the defending champs 20-1 in the first period and registered 49 shots overall. Resurgent captain Alexei Yashin continued his inspired play with a goal and assist while team leading finisher Jason Blake notched his 12th of the season. The good news for the Isles is that Shawn Bates also chipped in with a goal and Miroslav Satan added an empty netter. They’ll need more support from them as well as Mike York and Trent Hunter if the surprising 10-7-3 Islanders are to stay in the race. That along with continued solid netminding from Rick DiPietro and backup Mike Dunham will be the key.