Pregame: Rangers Visit Calgary for Match with Flames

The New York Rangers are coming off of a big 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, but will be up for more of a challenge when they take the ice in Calgary tonight. Now 10-6-1, the Blueshirts will be looking to start up another winning streak, as they have been a bit cyclic in their recent efforts, going 2-3-0 in their last five. The Flames have had themselves a decent first month and a week of the season, as they currently sit in eight place in the West with a record of 9-4-1.

As I reported earlier (See Below Post), Stephen Valiquette will start in his second straight game tonight. This is being done to give Henrik Lundqvist extra time to rest and recover from a "minor injury" that has been bothering him over the past week or so. Valiquette is 2-1-0 on the season with a 2.63 goals against average, including a 26 save performance on Thursday night in Edmonton.

Also, it appears that Donald Brashear and Aaron Voros will be scratched tonight, leaving Dane Byers in the lineup after sitting out in Edmonton due to a one game suspension. Like I said, I believe that it is at the point where Torts prefers to have Byers in the lineup over Brash, mainly because he likes what he has seen from the Hartford forward more.

Rangers Projected Lineup:

Prospal - Dubinsky - Gaborik
Lisin - Drury - Callahan
Higgins - Anisimov - Kotalik
Avery - Boyle - Voros

Staal - Girardi
Redden - Gilroy
Del Zotto - Rozsival

Valiquette

Obviously the big storyline going into this one will be the first meeting between Dion Phaneuf and Sean Avery since the comments that were made last December. Whether or not anything will come of it in the game, I am not sure, but it seems as if everyone has moved on. However, Phaneuf is known around the league as a tremendous hitter, and has been guilty of cheap shots in the past, so we will see what happens. For more on this and quotes from the players, you can read my earlier article HERE.

Players other than Avery that you may want to watch for tonight are Chris Higgins, Michael Del Zotto, Ales Kotalik, and Matt Gilroy. Higgins, after going on a sixteen game scoring drought, has recorded a goal in each of the last two games, and has been playing as if he has regained his confidence. Specifically in Edmonton, Chris was holding the puck for extended amounts of time, and was not afraid to attempt various moves. He was very strong with the puck in taking it to the net, and did a great job creating chances on the powerplay as well. Higgins has been shooting every chance he gets, and that right there is a sign of self-assurance.

Ales Kotalik is coming off of one of his best games a Ranger on Thursday, registering a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over the Oilers. Kotes has been a constant threat on the powerplay for most of the season, but what has caught my eye as of late is his play at even strength. Ales is a much better stick handler and puck supporter than I expected him to be going into the season, and I think I am speaking on behalf of most Rangers fans when I say this. He has been spectacular on the forecheck with relentless effort, and has been a difference maker on this team.

Mikael Del Zotto was a force on Thursday night with his accurate passing and puck movement. Some of the outlet passes this kid can make are simply jaw-dropping. It has become a pattern that when Del Zotto has the puck in the back-end, our forwards are creeping up to the opposite blueline to receive the head-man pass and rush in on the opposition. Mike also picked up an assist on a perfectly executed deflection with Ryan Callahan on the powerplay.

The same can be said of Matt Gilroy, who was outstanding on Thursday. Gilroy was a part of a perfect give and go with Chris Higgins for a first period tally that gave the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead. The fact that he is a defenseman and was able to come down behind the goal line and read the play is impressive in itself, and then to go and convert it for a goal just makes it that much sweeter.

Special teams played a big role in the Rangers win in Edmonton, as the powerplay converted three times, and the penalty-kill completely shut down the Oilers. If you can have your special teams units coming up big like that at a consistent rate, you are going to find yourself adding many games to the win column just as we saw on Thursday.

Calgary Flames Projected Lineup:

Nystrom - Jokinen - Iginla
Bourque - Langkow - Dawes
Glenncross - Boyd - Moss
Sjostrom - Conroy - McGrattan

Phaneuf - Regehr
Bouwmeester - Sarich
Giordano - Pardy

Kiprusoff

Captain Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen are a killer duo for the Flames on offense, and will be watched closely by the Rangers defense. I would expect Mike Sullivan to try and get Staal and Girardi out against them as much as possible, but then again, Torts and himself say that they do not like to get too caught up in match-ups. Offense is not the only strength for Calgary, as they posses three stars on defense in Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, and Jay Bouwmeester. Not to mention the likes of all-star netminder Mikka Kiprusoff between the pipes.

With a blueline of this caliber, and the coaching style of Brent Sutter, the Rangers cannot afford to trail at any point in this game, because if they do, it will be a long uphill battle to get back in it. We know very well how Brent Sutter teams like to play based on his time with New Jersey, and that is defense first, which includes neutral zone trapping to protect any type of lead, big or small. Special teams will be a major factor in what I would assume to be a close game, so if the Rangers can convert on the powerplay like they did in Edmonton, they will be well off.
(Pictures courtesy of AP Photo and Getty Images)