Jaromir Jagr’s pride is the key element that was universally overlooked before the season when the Rangers were picked by everyone in the hockey community to be farther out of the picture than Herman Edwards at a Jets family reunion.
“I know one of the reasons we were picked to finish in last place is because of the large number of Europeans we have on the team, and I think that a lot of that was because I’m on this team,” Jagr told The Post after Saturday’s 4-3 OT victory in Philadelphia that lifted the Rangers into first place in the Atlantic by a point over the Flyers, who lost 5-0 at Montreal yesterday.
“I think people were saying that I didn’t care about the game anymore, that I didn’t care about working hard and winning,” said No. 68, whose right circle one-time scorcher won Saturday’s game. “But that was not true. People didn’t understand some of the things that had happened with me, but I didn’t doubt myself.
“You have to work with what you’re given. If I took the pen out of your hand right now, would you be able to write down anything?”
The Rangers have given Jagr a comfortable environment and compatible teammates. They have shown him respect – listen, respect to an athlete goes way beyond the number on a contract – and Jagr has responded with a magnificent season in which he’s on pace to win his sixth Art Ross scoring title and is the clear front-runner for the Hart Trophy as MVP he previously won in 1999.
In this melting-pot town, Jagr has six Czech teammates in addition to five from other parts of Europe, seven from Canada and three from the United States. They all communicate and accept direction from head coach Tom Renney, who has provided his team with leadership as enlightened as we’ve ever seen in this city.
“It may sound crazy, but having all these players who speak the Czech language, it’s so much easier to talk about what we need to do on the ice; you don’t have to try to think about the right way to put it into English,” Jagr said. “It’s easier for me to tell these guys what I need. We can get together between periods and tell each other what we need to change.
“The things that happened in Washington made me work much harder. Even when I was there, maybe the people couldn’t see it, but I worked harder than I did in Pittsburgh, even though the results were not there.
“Now, with this team, we’re all getting results. We don’t know yet how good we are, and that’s understandable.
“But I think we’re going to find out. I think everyone is going to find out.”
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Word on Petr Prucha’s right knee was better than expected, with yesterday’s MRI revealing a grade-two sprain of the MCL that should allow the rookie winger to return in no more than a month. While the blow he sustained Saturday in an accidental knee-on-knee hit from Turner Stevenson will prevent him from competing for the Czech Republic in the Olympics, he’s likely to miss fewer than 10 Ranger games.