Message to Peter Laviolette: Play The Kids And Keep Your Job

You and I know that the Rangers boast some of the best kid talent in the NHL. So, how come the coach doesn't know?

Why doesn't Peter Laviolette put his best players out on the ice when all you need is a goal near the end to tie the game?

The fans know it, Pistol Pete. Will Cuylle has been your best forward – not Vinnie Trocheck; not "What Happened To Him?" Alexis Lafrenière and certainly not that famed Phantom of the Ice, Mika Zibanejad.

Oh, yeah, the second best is Brett Berard, all five-feet-nine of him.

So, why – near the end – weren't these two awfully good guys out there against fast-fading St. Louis the other night?

Those two Young Turks, Berard and Cuylle, have shown more vim, vigor and vitality than the likes of very-fading – they desperately want to trade him – Chris Kreider and You Pick 'Em.

My Eagle-eyed scout Jess Rubenstein has the answer; see if you agree: "It was a matter of 'Never trust the youth.'" says Rubenstein.

You, the fans who already love Berard, can't figure Lavvy's curious thinking. It was the peripatetic Berard who scored the first goal against St.Louis to launch the comeback. Meanwhile, Cuylle was hitting any Blues opponent in sight.

Rubenstein: "There are 31 teams that reward hard work with extra ice time but the Rangers are afraid to trust the kids."

Tonight would be a good time to trust them and use them in the clutch. After all, dead wood does not score goals!