Marc It Down

With apologies to Humphrey Bogart, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, they walk into mine.

OK, fine, so Smith's Bar on 44th Street and 8th Avenue - where I went to celebrate following the news of my pending employment on Tuesday - isn't "mine," but I have been known to spend a few Tuesday nights there and sing karaoke. And no, I don't think I saw that much gin being served there, either - I myself went with a Coors Light while watching the Wild-Avalanche game.

However, when one of my fellow karaoke singers answered the KJ's question (KJ = karaoke jockey) about where he was from with "You wouldn't know it, it's way up in Canada," I had to ask where.

"Thunder Bay," he said, to which I asked, "Aren't the Staal brothers from Thunder Bay?"

And that was how I came to learn that I was sitting at the next table over from Marc Staal's uncle and aunt, in town to see the Rangers-Devils series, with a possible side trip to Pittsburgh to see Jordan play if the Senators could have forced a Game 5 (which, of course, didn't happen).

I chatted for about 20 minutes with Marc's uncle and aunt about hockey, New York, and what have you. Sure, he may have been BSing me, but really, who makes that up and why?

In any event, they certainly got something to make their trip worthwhile last night, when Marc scored the game-winner to beat the Devils at the Garden, his first career playoff goal.

Marc has played very well for the Rangers in this series, and may even be the Rangers' best defenseman at the moment. However, when you're looking to a rookie to lead your blueline corps, that strikes me as a sign of trouble.

Another potential sign of trouble: with the Flyers in the driver's seat in their series against the Capitals, Rangers-Penguins seems likely for the second round (and no, I'm not saying the series with the Devils is over, it's just likely that the Rangers will win one of the next three games). That, of course, would mean the second year in a row in which a Rangers player would face his brother in the playoffs, with Marc vs. Jordan Staal following last year's Marcel vs. Marian Hossa matchup in the first round.

I'm a bit concerned about how Staal would handle that level of media attention, being a focal point in the series when it's usually all about Jagr, Shanahan, Lundqvist, Avery, Gomez, etc. Then again, the Staal family has been getting plenty of attention for some time given the talents of the four boys, so this may not be something to be concerned about.