Although the New York Rangers struggled early on this season, the Rangers are currently in the midst of a three game winning streak, and all signs point to a turnaround. All three wins came on the road against Eastern Conference powerhouses as the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, and the Montreal Canadiens. The game against the Habs might have been the turning point for the Rangers' season. After falling down 3-0, the Rangers scored five unanswered goals, something unheard of this year for the fifth lowest scoring team in the NHL. The game had all the makings of a playoff atmosphere as it had enough drama to be considered a seventh game finale. Late in the second period Habs' forward Alexei Kovalev elbowed Ryan Hollweg in the head which had the Rangers' grinder fuming on the bench. Hollweg?s next shift saw him take a run at Sergei Kostitsyn and hit him from behind which sparked a line brawl. Hollweg received a game misconduct and will receive a one-game suspension. The Rangers will make the playoffs this year and will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time as they have all the ingredients for a deep playoff run. In goal the Rangers are solid with Henrik Lundqvist since the King Swede has won 24 games while posting seven shutouts thus far. Missing out on the Curtis Joseph sweepstakes might come back to haunt the Rangers if Lundqvist goes down. This could cause the Rangers to look for a veteran backup come the February 26th deadline. On the backend, the Rangers are a prime example of ?defense by committee?. Michal Rozsival leads the rearguards with 13 goals and 17 assists while Paul Mara, Dan Girardi, Marek Malik, Fedor Tyutin, Jason Strudwick, and Marc Staal round out the defense. Staal, a candidate for Rookie of the Year, has been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers and is playing in important situations. The 21-year-old often plays the penalty kill, and his long reach is becoming quite the asset at the NHL level. Although the forwards have not been scoring as much as they would like to, the Rangers boast one of the most impressive forward lineups in the NHL. Off-season pickups Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have finally improved their play while Nigel Dawes and NHL young stars MVP Brandon Dubinsky have been pleasant surprises. Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Sean Avery, Martin Straka. and Petr Prucha round out a very strong offensive lineup. And there are no shortages of role players on the Rangers, either. Blair Betts, Colton Orr, and Hollweg start every game for the Rangers and provide energy on a nightly basis. The only downfall to his team?s performance so far, despite their goal scoring, has been their play on the road. The Rangers are currently 10-11-6 on the road and will need to improve if they want to make a playoff run. Trade Deadline There has been talk that the Rangers are looking to add a top six forward and are considering either Mats Sundin (who isn?t), David Vyborny, or Peter Forsberg. There has also been speculation that Rangers' General Manager Glen Sather has spoken to Buffalo Sabres' GM Darcy Regier about the availability of Brian Campbell. Another aspect worth keeping an eye on come the trade deadline is what Sather will do with the amount of unrestricted free agents his team currently has. Shanahan, Avery, Straka, Mara, Malik, Rozsival, and Strudwick are all UFA?s, and most of them will be looking for a raise which is something Sather might not be able to offer. Tradition On a side note, if you didn?t have the privilege of catching ?Brian Leetch? night last week you definitely missed a franchise that has a rich history. Leetch?s ceremony, which saw his number two jersey being raised to the rafters, was well organized, well thought out, and most of all, classy. The high point of the night saw Leetch inform former Ranger teammate Adam Graves that his number nine jersey will be joining his in a year.