QUESTION: The Rangers general staff dispatched recuperating Fiery Fil Chytil across the continent but didn't play him on the recent road trip. Why not?

ANSWER: Not So Cheery Chytil must still be wondering why he collected air mileage since he could have recuperated at home. Not to mention that jetting a guy 3,000-miles so he could do five crosswords and eat three plane meals – and then not play him – reads like the script from "Dumb and Dumber."

QUESTION: Why doesn't Boss Chris Drury tell us what's REALLY going on with the Igor Shesterkin new contract negotiations?

ANSWER: Drury must figure that it's none of our business; and maybe even none of Iggy's business either. Then again, it was Drury who promised that he'd sign Alexis Lafreniere AND Shesty. Well he made good on Big Al's but Drury is only batting .500 on his two-part signing vow.

QUESTION: Is criticism of Mika Zibanejad fair or unfair?

ANSWER: If your name is Sean McCaffrey and you publish Blue Collar Blueshirts it's more than fair because Magical Z is getting big, BIG bucks and returning a penny on the dollar. But if you belong to the Mika Marching and Chowder Society it's unfair. The guy is aging, needs a haircut badly! It appears that he's doing a modern version of Rip Van Winkle. The Maven is reserving judgment until the NO-DOZ wears off in March.

QUESTION: Who are your favorite and least favorite Rangers?

ANSWER: My favorite Ranger is left wing Will Cuylle because he plays the game the way I'd play it if I was in his skates. He does the most hitting, has learned how to score and was a 60th Draft pick in 2020. I like players who come from out of nowhere and become aces. My least favorite is defenseman Chad Ruhwedel because I'm bad at spelling and I have to triple-check my version of RUHWEDEL every time I write it. RUHWEDEL. See what I mean!