If Rangers end is near, Jagr working to go out with bang

Amid a wake-like dressing room atmosphere, Jaromir Jagr sat gamely in front of his stall, managing a weak smile and an even weaker explanation for the optimism he insists is still appropriate for his team.

"I've got a very funny feeling about this series; I actually believe we can change this," the Rangers captain said after his brilliant individual effort was wasted in New York's 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3. "It's not over."

The Rangers' Jagr Era might be down to one game. (AP)

Well not officially anyway. The final curtain won't drop on Broadway until at least Thursday when the Rangers host Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinal they trail three games to none. They might even be able to salvage some pride by winning to postpone the inevitable outcome of this series. But logic and history tell everyone but Jagr the Rangers aren't coming back in this series against a superior Penguins team that New York coach Tom Renney admiringly says is "bending, but not breaking."

And that should spell the end of the Jagr era in New York, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for an organization that has developed an unfulfilling habit over the years of bringing in aging marquee names and counting on them to lead the team back to glory.

The Rangers traded for Jagr a few months before the lockout, which was too late for that season, but set the stage for revitalization of a laughing stock franchise once the work stoppage ended. New York had overhauled its lineup by the time play resumed in 2005, surrounding the Czech-born superstar with enough fellow countrymen to make him feel comfortable and to create a free flowing European style of play that was supposed to be better suited to the new NHL.

It worked to the extent that Jagr became the runner-up in the MVP voting that season and led New York to a surprise appearance in the playoffs. But the Rangers were overmatched and swept out of the first round by New Jersey in large part because Jagr seriously injured his shoulder acting out of frustration. He has not been the same since.

Jagr did recover enough to help New York reach the second round last season and he was a force in the Rangers opening-round victory against the Devils earlier this month. However, against a younger, more dynamic and more determined Penguins team, the talents of the future Hall of Famer have been unable to carry New York the way they once might have.

Jagr tried, of course, despite the suggestions by many this season that he had seemed to have lost his hunger for the game. He was absolutely dominant playing nearly 22 minutes in the crucial third game against Pittsburgh. He was strong on the puck, engaged and spirited enough to get involved in the scrums and "conversations" that inevitably occur after whistles at this time of year.

Jagr even managed to bury one of the 10 shots he took from a sharp angle, a goal that briefly tied the game and gave the Rangers some fleeting hope of making this a series.

"The best player on the ice tonight," was how Renney described him.

Not to mention being every bit the leader the Rangers expected as well. Still, Jagr's effort wasn't enough to compensate for the flaws on a team in need of fundamental revamping to take the next step in what is now a faster paced, younger man's game.

New York actually began the transition before the season, North Americanizing its roster by signing high-priced free agents Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and providing roster spots to several young players who came through the system. But if it was a sign the Rangers were ready to pass the torch to a new generation, it was tempered by the team's hope that veterans like Jagr, Brendan Shanahan and Martin Straka still had enough left to make one last run at a title.

It looked possible after New York managed a convincing win against the Devils in round one, but despite the legitimate chances the Rangers had to win in all of the three games against Pittsburgh, reality should now be setting in. The Rangers have some genuine building blocks with Gomez and Drury, goalie Henrik Lundqvist and the talent they are developing internally, but the current configuration is still out of whack -- too old, insufficient along the blue line and often too soft to come up big when it counts.

That makes more changes inevitable, starting with the 36-year-old Jagr, who does not have a guaranteed contract beyond this season. For their part, the Rangers have not demonstrated any urgency in trying to re-sign him, while Jagr has spent the last few months dropping broad hints that he might retire or finish his career in Europe.

Right now though, Jagr insists he isn't thinking beyond the next game and is just trying to draw on his own experience in the hope that he can somehow help the Rangers make history.

"You never give up," Jagr said. "It might be my last game, eh. Let's make it special."

Or a memorable goodbye.