Postgame: Rangers Close Out 2009 with Bounce Back Win Over Hurricanes

So the Rangers bounce back with a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes after being blown out by the Philadelphia Flyers the night before. Sound familiar? Yes it does, as that was the same case when the Blueshirts where embarrassed by the Islanders, but came back and won big on the Island. Sure it is a satisfying comeback win, but again, it does not solve all of their problems. However, when comparing the overall performance, much better than what we saw last night.

The Rangers originally scored first to begin the game when Dan Girardi’s slapper hit the twine behind Ward, but the goal was waived off as the refs ruled that Erik Christensen, who was moved to the first line, interfered with the goalie. Shortly after, Joni Pitkanen put the Hurricanes on the board on a 5 on 3 powerplay when his slapshot that hit the post was put in by the swinging blocker of Henrik Lundqvist. The Blueshirts have now surrendered the first goal in five straight games.

The Rangers then got their opportunity with the man advantage, a 5 on 3 in fact, and capitalized. Marian Gaborik rifled a slapshot from the point which ricocheted off the pads of Ward and onto the tape of a wide open Christensen, who buried his first as a New York Ranger. That is the way it would stay through the second period as both goaltenders where great in the stanza. The Rangers were outshooting the ‘Canes 15-7 at that point.

With less than ten minutes to go in regulation, Marian Gaborik again sent a shot towards the net, but this time it was Brandon Dubinsky who picked up the loose change and what would be the game-winner. That tally would be Brandon’s third in the past three games. It was all defense and goaltending from there, as Carolina poured it on late. Henrik Lundqvist, with the help of the iron behind him, stood strong, as did the defensive squad in front of him.

I said in the pregame that the Blueshirts did not crash the net hard in last night’s loss to the Flyers. Well, they did just that tonight and both goals were scored on rebounds right outside of the crease. Let’s face it; the Rangers are not going to be scoring many pretty goals unless they are coming from Marian Gaborik, so if they want to score goals and win games, they have to be willing to get into the dirty areas of the ice and bang those loose pucks home.

That starts with their battle level, which was drastically better than it was against the Flyers, especially on defense. The defense, while they made some mistakes, clogged the middle and forced Carolina to take outside shots. Funny enough, I remember saying the exact same thing in last week’s win over the Hurricanes. Coincidence? Maybe, but nonetheless the D was not as porous as they were on Wednesday.

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi came out and played great. While the other four blue-liners were not standouts, Staal and Girardi carried the load in the back end for the Rangers. The way in which these two specific individuals are going to be effective is if they play a physical game. That is when we see the best of Staal and Dan, and that is what you saw tonight. Also, Marc always seems to step his game up a notch when he sees his brother Eric at the opposite end of the rink.

I must say that I was a bit surprised when I saw Christensen on the top line, but he played very well. In his 15:38 of ice time, by far the most he has seen since coming to New York, Christensen registered a goal and an assist, and was also strong on the puck. I really liked his game, but I highly doubt he will continue to play like this on a consistent basis.

I was a bit disappointed in Marian Gaborik. Yes, he had two assists but the amount of times he missed the net was quite unusual for him. Luckily, Dubinsky, Callahan, and Avery all had strong games so what Gabs lacked did not hurt the team. It is not like he played a bad game, but he didn’t meet expectations in a way. I guess we have just been spoiled with his talent this season.

So that will do it for 2009 and the decade. Hopefully the Rangers can build on this win, and they will get a chance to do that on Saturday when they host the Hurricanes back at Madison Square Garden. Until then, I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!
(Images courtesy of AP Photo and Reuters)

Pregame: Which Rangers Will Show Up Against 'Canes?

Obviously the talk around the locker room will be about redemption tonight as the New York Rangers are coming off of their worst loss of the season at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. In this game, it will be the 30th place Hurricanes, which the Blueshirts defeated 3-1 just over a week ago, in Raleigh, North Carolina. We have been in this position before. The team plays with an extremely poor effort, but then they get a chance to bounce back the very next day. However, New York should come away with a win in this one, which is expected of them, but a single win will not solve all of their problems.

What we saw yesterday was nothing but a disgrace, and until I see three, four, five straight wins from the Rangers, they have not redeemed themselves by any means. Thankfully tonight’s tilt is on away ice, because John Tortorella’s squad is just 2-8-2 in their last twelve games at Madison Square Garden. That is pathetic considering they are playing in the world’s most famous arena, in front of the some of the world’s most dedicated fans. That gives them not one ounce of jump or energy in their game, it is just another match-up that they must play in order to collect their salary.

Anyway, the lineup for tonight’s game, other than Henrik Lundqvist in goal, is uncertain at the moment and is up in the air. That being said, I just have up what we saw towards the end of yesterday’s contest, which led to Chris Higgins being removed from the first line just as expected. If something else surfaces between now and 8 p.m., I will have it up.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Avery - Dubinsky - Gaborik
Higgins - Drury - Callahan
Anisimov - Christensen - Lisin
Brashear - Boyle - Kotalik

Staal - Rozsival
Redden - Gilroy
Del Zotto - Girardi

Lundqvist

Scratches: Vinny Prospal (knee), Aaron Voros

Henrik Lundqvist had a rough outing, errr, period last night for the Rangers. Three out of eleven shots got past the Swedish netminder. Again, the defense was not there for him, but he should have made saves on at least one of the three.

The offense was not going hard to the net, but looked rather satisfied being held to the perimeter and taking outside shots. You are not going to score that way, and I am pretty sure we have been going over this quite often on the site. During the four-game winning stretch, all forwards were crashing the net and picking up rebounds. That is one of the major points in coach John Tortorella’s offensive system, yet it is so rare of an occurrence that we actually see it happen.

The Blueshirts’ Blueline was simply atrocious. The positioning was awful, they did not take the body, and players were constantly left wide open at the goalmouth. I mean, that is pee-wee hockey basics right there and they aren’t being executed correctly by professionals. That is more of a mental mistake than anything, so I believe if this defense can improve their mentality here, they will have the ability to play much better.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Jokinen - Cullen - Staal
Whitney - Brandon Sutter - Ruutu
Samsonov - Dwyer - Kostopoulus
Yelle - Brind'Amour - Walker

Pitkanen - Ward
Wallin - Gleason
Alberts - Carson

Ward

This game will be no walk in the park. Yes, they will likely bounce back with a solid effort, but I am not sure the win will come easily to them. The Hurricanes are coming off of a 6-3 toppling of the Washington Capitals, meaning they have an advantage in confidence over the crushed Rangers. We will see how this one turns out, but in case the team displays a lifeless performance yet again, I will say Happy New Year to all the readers now so I do not forget to in the midst of an angry postgame later tonight.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

No Battle, No Urgency; Do They Care?

"It's a privilege to put this jersey on and play in this city, but I don't know if we know that as a team right now"

"I don't know what to do to try and find that, but that sense of pride has to be found. It's a privilege to play for the Rangers and for these fans, especially. The organization treats us too well for us not to give a @#$!, which is exactly the way it was in this game."

This quote coming from Rangers forward Sean Avery, clearly saying that he felt the squad did not care about Wednesday's game in which they were shutout 6-0 by the Philadelphia Flyers. The quote is courtesy of Larry Brooks at the New York Post.

While watching the Blueshirts get pounded at Madison Square Garden last night, and repeatedly give a half effort, the question of whether they care or not certainly pops into one's head. The battle level was not even close to matching that of the Flyers, only a small handful of players were willing to throw around the body, and most of the team skated around looking like lifeless zombies with high-paying occupations. For a pro athlete, not only is that unacceptable, but it should also be embarrassing. Was it for some of the players on this team? I highly doubt it because they are receiving the big paycheck in the bank account no matter how they play or what they achieve, or do not achieve for that matter.

When Brooks asked coach Tortorella if he thought his group cared, the coach initially responded "No", but then went on to say this; "[But] I believe they do," he added. "I think I have a good understanding of the people in that locker room, but the way we played. . . . I'm stumped how we played that game.

"That first period was a period I could not understand. The soft passes, the turnaways, the turnovers, the coverages, right on through. I'm being honest -- I don't know why we played the way we did.

"We just have to start over."

Obviously the coach doesn't even know the answer to that question because he answered it twice, contradicting answers in fact. He says they have to start over, which is frightening to hear as that was the same message from head coach Tom Renney last season right before he was fired. Reney constantly said "We have to go back to square one". Guess what? There is no starting over. This team has embarrassed the fans and the organization multiple times this season and there is no forgetting that. You pick your head up, realize why you were brought to one of the largest sports markets in the world, and you play like you actually care about winning games. You don't sulk around feeling bad for yourself. What happened happened, it cannot be erased.

It has been said many times, but I will say it again. These players are spoiled rotten. They are flown on fancy charter planes, they are served lunch and dinner, and barely have to lift a finger when not on the ice. The Rangers are one of the most well-treated teams in all of sports by their organization next to probably the Yankees of Baseball. What us common folk go to work every day of the week in order to get, these players get for simply showing up and skating on a rink. A player could have his worst game of the year, yet that three course meal is still waiting for him when he gets out of the shower. However, if you underachieve just a bit at your own personal job, you find yourself being fired and unable to feed yourself and your family.

I state this because this is what Sean Avery is saying when he mentions it is a privilege to play for this team. They have top-notch service, 18,200 dedicated fans cheering for them at every home game, yet they manage to play careless games multiple times in a three month span. There is no excuse and no exceptions, the effort and urgency in the contest with the Flyers last night was pathetic, and if we see many more occurrences such as that one down the road this season, changes will have to be made within the organization because nothing else is working.

At the same time, there are a few players that "get it". Those being the Brandon Dubinksys, Sean Averys, Henrik Lundqvists, and Ryan Callahans. All four of these players were man enough to admit to playing a horrible game, and Avery went as far as telling us why, with explicit language I might add. Dubinsky stated that he was atrocious, and you know what, as long as he realizes that and comes out and fixes it, I won't put much blame on him. The players that stay bottled up and do not admit to their mistakes, thoug, well, they are just cowards. We will see what the response is tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Postgame: Rangers Demolished by Flyers, 6-0

Needless to say, tonight’s effort was the worst of the season. Worse than the 8-3 loss to the Penguins, worse than the 2-1 loss to the Islanders a few weeks back, and possibly even worse than last year’s 10-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. I mean, I really cannot pick out any one thing the Rangers did right in this game. The defense was porous, the offense had just nine shots halfway through the game, and both goaltenders allowed three goals. Nothing went right for this team at all tonight, and that is clearly shown on the scoreboard which reads 6-0.

The fun all began with a rebound goal by former Ranger Blair Betts 54 seconds into the tilt. It was Marian Gaborik who should have taken the stick of Betts out of the play, but for the third time this season (yes, I am counting) he was unable to do just that, leading to Blair’s fourth goal of the season. Danny Briere followed that up with a tally ten minutes later, as he was given all of the time and room he needed to freeze Lundqvist and beat him low to make it 2-0 Flyers. To cap-off the third period, Claude Giroux sent a low wrister past Lundqvist, igniting a John Tortorella timeout. Much like in the game against the Devils back in October, Torts went on a rant, yelling and screaming into his players’ faces. However, this time around it was to no avail as it did not change one thing about the way the game was being played.

Henrik Lundqvist was removed from the game, leaving rookie goaltender Chad Johnson to make his NHL debut on very short notice. 23 seconds into Johnson’s career, Simon Gagne sent a sharp angle shot into the back of the net, giving the Flyers a 4-0 lead right out of the gate. After about twelve minutes of defensive mistakes, missed opportunities, and powerless powerplays, the Blueshirts were burned yet again when Gagne netted his second of the game with a 5 on 3 man advantage goal. On this particular play, Johnson made at least three consecutive saves, but the defense in front of him gave him absolutely no help, and eventually Gagne was found for the tap-in.

The third period just had no action or no life to it, really from either team. It was just laid back defensive hockey by the Flyers with the Rangers constantly turning the puck over when entering the offensive zone. With just under eight minutes remaining in the tilt, Gagne recorded his first hat-trick since 2005 when Philadelphia was allowed to walk in and make a pretty play. The story of the night for the Rangers.

I will start my rant with discussing head coach John Tortorella. His team was flat to start the game, so he went with plan A; timeout. You could see the anger in his face which was beat red, but it had not one ounce of an impact on the players. They did not respond, so on to plan B; pull the goalie. Thinking the team would pick themselves up after seeing their starter put on the bench and a first-time rookie in net, Tortorella’s brilliant ideas failed him yet again. No response from the boys in blue, leaving the steaming head coach with nothing to do but jumble the lines. Torts had no clue as to where to go from there, so all he did was shake up the lineup and wait for the final buzzer. He even admitted to it in his postgame conference, “I have no answer”. He may not realize it, but that sure answers a lot of our questions.

This loss comes because of not only a lack of execution, but a lack of effort as well. When a team is missing both of those and does not have either or, the result is not a pretty one more often than not. Well, here you go, a perfect example with this debacle.

As I predicted on the blog yesterday, Chris Higgins did not last more than two periods on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky. Like I had suggested, Tortorella put Avery on that line and at least there was a bit of a spark. However, still no goals, still no conversion. Same story, different night. It is getting tiresome when watching this team not able to produce offense, and I do not know at what point GM Glen Sather will become the least bit alarmed.

When Marian Gaborik has a terrible game, you would have to assume as did the team. That was the case tonight. Sure, Gabs has been fantastic for this team this season, but he did not play well in the contest. He barely had the puck, he was turning it over at the blueline, and just was not himself. Do not get me wrong, it is not solely his fault, but I am just making it a point that when Gabs is off, so are the Rangers.

Rookie Chad Johnson had a nice welcoming into the league with the first shot against going in, but after that he settled in and made some key saves. I was pretty impressed with his effort, as Chad played well for a rookie entering a blowout such as this one.

New York will be back at it again tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina. Now I would like to say something of importance here. It seems like whenever this team is blown out, they always bounce back with a solid effort and everything is good and well yet again. No, that should not be the mentality here. We are at about the midway point here, and this team has already had several games in which they looked like they did not care. They need a hell of a lot more than just one single win if they want to redeem themselves.

(Pictures courtesy of Getty Images and AP Photo)

Pregame: Rangers Host Rival Flyers in Last Home Game of 2009

The New York Rangers will be hosting the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Madison Square Garden, coming off of a disappointing overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Blueshirts, currently in ninth place, are 4-0-1 in their last five and have been playing relatively well for the past three weeks. As for the Flyers, they have dropped five of their last ten and are sitting in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The last time these two teams met, the Rangers edged Philadelphia 2-1 at the Wachovia Center on a fluky goal by Artem Anisimov.

New York will be without forward Vinny Prospal, who had knee surgery performed on Monday. With this, Christopher Higgins will move up to play on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik. Also, Captain Chris Drury is questionable heading into the game as he is “under the weather” and is also currently dealing with personal matters.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Higgins - Dubinsky - Gaborik
Avery - Anisimov - Callahan
Lisin - Christensen - Kotalik
Brashear - Boyle - Voros

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Redden -Gilroy

Lundqvist

Scratches: Chris Drury (illness), Prospal (knee)

Henrik Lundqvist….you finish the sentence. While Henrik gets the nod tonight, head coach John Tortorella did mention that back-up Chad Johnson will get a start soon. However, that will not come in either this game or tomorrow’s tilt with the Hurricanes.

The offense once again had trouble scoring goals on Saturday in their 3-2 loss to the Isles, but that is due in part to the fact that they were not going to the dirty areas of the ice. During the four-game winning streak, the Blueshirts were always around the net and finding ways to bury loose pucks. That was not the case against the Isles and it showed. When they did in fact decide to crash the net, they found themselves with two goals; thank you Brandon Dubinsky.

The defense, overall, was solid and has been solid, cutting down the total number of chances against, as well as goals. Sure, that has a lot to do with Lundqvist, but the blueline has clearly tightened up for the Rangers. They have been lead by the better play of both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. These two have stood out in almost every game this month, and are leading the way for the youngsters such as Del Zotto and Gilroy.

Again, I do not agree with Higgins being moved up to the first unit to play with Gaborik, but that is the way things will start. Erik Christensen will definitely be in the lineup, and if Drury is unable to play, so will Aaron Voros. Voros has not played in a game since November, surprisingly.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Gagne - Richards - Giroux
Hartnell - Carter - Briere
Van Riemsdyk - Powe - Asham
Carcillo - Betts - Laperriere

Pronger - Coburn
Carle - Timonen
Parent - Bartulis

Leighton

Live game updates, as always, courtesy of yours truly at www.twitter.com/rangerstribune.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Team Canada Releases Olympic Roster

Announced by Steve Yzerman, team Canada has just announced their roster for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Unfortunately, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal did not make it, but with the pool of blue-liners the front office had to choose from, this does not come as a surprise.

Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur (Devils), Marc-Andre Fleury (Penguins), Roberto Luongo (Canucks)

Defensemen: Drew Doughty (Kings), Dan Boyle (Sharks), Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Scott Niedermayer (Ducks), Chris Pronger (Flyers), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks), Shea Weber (Predators)

Forwards: Sidney Crosby (Penguins), Joe Thornton (Sharks), Corey Perry (Ducks), Brendan Morrow (Stars), Patrick Marleau (Sharks), Rick Nash (Blue Jackets), Patrice Bergeron (Bruins), Ryan Getzlaf (Ducks), Dany Heatley (Sharks), Jarome Iginla (Flames), Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks), Mike Richards (Flyers), Eric Staal (Hurricanes)

Team USA, which Drury, Dubinsky, and Callahan are all candidates for, will be releasing their roster in the coming days as well.

Rangers Prospects Dominant in World Juniors

In the United States 12-1 victory over Latvia on Tuesday evening, New York Rangers prospects Chris Kreider, 18, Derek Stepan, 19, and Ryan Bourque, 18, all displayed why they deserved to be there. First off, 2009 First Round Drat Pick Kreider registered a hat-trick with a goal in each period of the game. The third came on an awarded penalty shot with just over a minute remaining in regulation, when the speedy prospect came in and put a wrister past the Latvia goaltender blocker-side. Kreider is currently tied for tournament-lead in goals scored with four.

Derek Stepan, team USA Captain, notched two third period goals as well as two assists in the game. In fact, the two assists came off of Kreider goals; nice to see future Rangers showing chemistry before they even hit the NHL. Stepan leads the team in points with eight. As for Ryan Bourque, he recorded his second assist of the tourney, but was one of the better skaters out there for the United States. Ryan had his widely-known father, Ray, in attendance as well.

Watching this tournament has given myself, as well as many other Rangers fans, a fantastic opportunity to physically view what these players bring to the table. You can read all you want and listen to all of these "expert" opinions, but until you actually watch these individuals, it is impossible to asses their talent. Well let me tell you this, these youngsters that are Ranger property hold a boatload of talent and have been displaying it on a consistent basis throughout the tournament.

Ryan Bourque reminds me of current Blueshirt Ryan Callahan. This is because of his work ethic and hustle. It is suspected that Bourque has been playing with a minor injury, so he has not been one-hundred percent over the past week, but you can see the trust the coaching staff has in him in different situations, much like John Tortorella does with Callahan. The NHL Network broadcasters were talking often about how great Bourque is on the penalty-kill, and how he is out there for pretty much every one.

Derek Stepan just simply has it all. The kid can pass, he can score, and has an unbelievable set of hands. It says a lot when Stepan enters the team for the first time this year and is named Captain over players that are returning to the team from last year. Some of the moves Derek puts on the opposing defensemen are jaw-dropping, almost like Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. Obviously not of the same caliber, but that is who he looks like when entering the zone. Stepan buried his third period rebound tally through his legs, a nice way to finish off what they call a "garbage goal".

Chris Kreider's speed is clearly an advantage to him, and the best part about it is that he knows how to use it. There are players, even in the National Hockey League, who have an advantage over others, but they just do not have the correct mentality and do not use the talent as they should. That is not the case with Kreider, who looks like a lightning bolt out there. I noticed that he is almost always the first one in on the forecheck, always the first forward back on the backcheck, and gets to the open space on the ice rather quickly. Kreider, in an 8-1 game, was mad at himself for allowing his check to get a shot off the rush. These sort of actions prove how mature these young prospects are, and how well they are being taught where they are playing, in Kreider's case, College Hockey with Boston College.

The ultimate test will come on New Year's Eve when Team USA and Team Canada clash for a first place showdown. Both of these teams have completely destroyed everyone in their path, which is usually the case in these tournaments, but this specific game will not be played that way. Both clubs hold a lot of young talent and some determined players. We will really get to see what Bourque, Stepan, and Kredier have when they are put to the test against their biggest enemies on Thursday.

Also, Blueshirt Banter will be interviewing Chris Kreider today at 1:30 p.m. on their radio show; a must listen for Ranger fans. You can tune in and listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blueshirt-banter.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Torts Not Using Call-Ups, Christensen In

Remember this morning when I said we are usually dissatisfied when decisions are left to be made by Rangers head coach John Tortorella? Well, here is a near perfect example why. Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants reports that John Tortorella refuses to recall any help from the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) with Prospal's absence due to knee surgery, and will go with what he has for the time being. This means forward Erik Christensen, who has been a healthy scratch for the past week, will be inserted into the lineup, and will possibly even see some powerplay time according to the coach.

Christopher Higgins will be moved up to play on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky at center and Marian Gaborik at the opposite wing. Ales Kotalik will also jump back into the top nine after doing fourth line duty ever since being sidelined for two straight games. Expect Drury to be centering Avery and Callahan with Anisimov centering Kotalik and Lisin, or vice versa.

First off, I said earlier today that I did not want to see Higgins playing with Gaborik and Dubinsky. The guy simply cannot put the puck in the net this season and will not contribute much to that line. If Tortorella cannot see this then he should not be a coach in the National Hockey League. Higgins will last there for maybe a game if they win, but once the Blueshirts lose a single game, Higgy will be off that line unless he magically begins scoring. It is now becoming a pattern; Tortorella tries the same thing over again, it doesn't work, so he punishes that player for lack of production. Maybe it is not the players that are the big problem here.

Anyway, I also think that if Christensen will be entered into the lineup, he should at least be given a good look, not just three or four shifts a game. We do not know what this guy brings to the table because we barely have seen him play since he was picked up by GM Glen Sather about a month ago. And then how ridiculous will it look if the guy gets eight minutes of ice time at even strength, but then is plugged into the powerplay unit like Torts said? That is absurd, plain and simple.

Gross also mentioned that Captain Chris Drury missed today's practice for personal reasons.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Schneider on Waivers, Rangers Interested?

Multiple sources on twitter are reporting that the Vancouver Canucks have placed veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider on waivers. Schneider, 40, has been filling the role of seventh defenseman on most of the teams he has played for over the past few years. In seventeen games played with the Canucks this season, the New York native has recorded two goals and three assists for 5 points.

Recently, Coach John Tortorella has hinted at the fact that he is looking to add a seventh defenseman to the club, but he has not shown much patients with youngsters. With that, GM Glen Sather's best bet would be to go with a veteran here. Mathieu Schneider definitely fits that description and can still play. However, there is a catch. Schneider has a cap hit of around $2.75 million, while the Rangers only have about $900,000 in cap room. The only way to make this work would be to dump forwards Aaron Voros and Erik Christensen, a move we have been waiting on for quite a while now.

Personally, I would like to see a veteran like Schneider brought to New York, not only for on-ice purposes, but for the teaching he could provide in the locker room to the younger players such as Matt Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto, and even Marc Staal. Schneider has 24 hours until he clears waivers, but until then, the Rangers could possibly have a shot at claiming him. We will see if Sather is willing to make room by parting ways with Voros and Christensen, two players that are becoming healthy scratches on a nightly basis.
(Image courtesy of Reuters)

Tortorella Faces Tough Decisions with Lineup

With forward Vinny Prospal now out of the lineup anywhere between 10 days and three weeks after undergoing knee surgery yesterday, Coach John Tortorella will yet again be forced to make some challenging decisions when it comes to the current lineup. However, he will not have to make these decisions until Wednesday when the Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. First, I think he will consider his options when thinking about how, exactly, he will fill the vacant spot.

There are two ways to go about doing this. The first would be to enter one of Aaron Voros or Erik Christensen back into the lineup. Voros has been a healthy scratch for 21 straight games now, so I do not really see him be called upon by Torts, but Christensen, on the other hand, seems more likely. Since picking up Christensen on the waiver wire earlier in the month, the faceoff-specialist has not really been given a good enough look, not only because he has been scratched, but when he does play, he does not see more than six or seven minutes of ice time. Now I do not know about you, but I cannot asses what a player can bring to the lineup just by seeing him take the ice about three times a night. It seems more like Tortorella just doesn’t have the patients to contend with teaching him at the moment.

His other option is to recall a forward from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Almost everyone has been given a try except Corey Locke, and I think that would be my choice this time around. The 25-year-old center from Toronto, Ontario has been stellar with the Wolf Pack this season, registering 15 goals and 26 assists for a combined 41 points. Those stats see him leading the team in scoring by a large margin, and this is only through 38 games played. Corey is emerging as an excellent prospect for the Blueshirts, and I think he finally deserves to show what he can do at the National Hockey League level.

That being said, who do you plug into Prospal’s spot on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik? My personal choice would be Sean Avery. Avery has been the spark plug on this team whether they are winning or losing, and has been playing a smarter product of hockey this season. Really, your only other options are Higgins, Callahan, Lisin, and possibly Anisimov. Anisimov looks comfortable at center, so moving him from that position right now would be a mistake in my opinion. Callahan or Avery would be the best choice for Tortorella.

Both players have been playing well, but Avery has lacked production as of late, and placing him on the Gaborik line should surely fix that problem. Callahan has been just fine and should stay right where he is on the second offensive unit. If you recall, Avery played with Gaborik and Prospal in the game against Detroit, as well as when the Rangers clashed with the Hawks in Chicago. In both games, Gaborik and Prospal were completely shutdown, limiting scoring chances for that first line. Philadelphia is not going to be stopping Gabs like the Wings or Hawks did, so I think plugging Avery with the Slovakian Star would be wise and worth a try.

There have been decisions made this season that we have agreed with, but also ones that we have been disgusted over. When it has been left in the hands of John Tortorella like a situation like this usually is, we have been generally unsatisfied with the moves that were made and the players involved. At the same time, Torts has been preaching a “play the kids” type of mentality so maybe we will get the opportunity to see some of the young up and coming talent this organization possesses.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Around the NHL: Caps Acquire Chimera for Clark and Jurcina; a Trade the Rangers Missed Out On

It was announced today that the Washington Capitals have traded Captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for veteran left wing Jason Chimera according to NHL.com. I am putting this up for several reasons; the first being that it is big news on a rather quiet day with the Rangers being off, the second is because this was so hyped up around the Internet prior to the transaction going down, and this is a trade the Rangers could have benefited from if they had trading assets. Also, the Capitals have traded their Captain, meaning all-star Alex Ovechkin may be receiving the "C" in the near future.

Anyway, the Blue Jackets are looking for any sort of spark they can get right now as they are winless in their last nine games and are only a point ahead of the 15th place Edmonton Oilers in the West at the moment. Clark is more of a third line player, but Jurcina certainly adds some grit to the lineup, something that may be missing from the current roster. That brings me to my next point.

Clark and Jurcina are certainly individuals that the Blueshirts would have loved to get their arms around and welcome into the organization. Clark is experienced and can score on lower lines, while Jurcina definitely would have taken away from the "softness" of this club. However, the Rangers and GM Glen Sather do not possess the required assets to complete a trade like this, because quite honestly, who wants Rozsival or Redden? Those are probably the two names Sather throws out as trade bait, but who wants underachievers at such a high price? The answer is no one as of yet, and this trade just makes things more realistic from a Ranger fan's standpoint.

Oh well, yet another missed opportunity for New York's front office.
(Image courtesy of Reuters Pictures)

Prospal to Have Knee 'Scoped', Out 2-3 Weeks

A recent tweet from Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that Rangers forward Vinny Prospal will miss anywhere between 10 days and three weeks due to a knee injury. The exact wording was that the 34-year-old winger/center will be having his knee 'scoped', which research tells me is a minor surgery which makes a small incision and repairs damage to the joint. So my guess would be that Vinny has been having discomfort in the joint/knee area lately, and it is likely at the point where it is worth fixing.

Recovery time will determine whether he returns in the ten days or if it will take him deep into January for things to be good to go, but nonetheless, this is not good news for the Rangers. Prospal is currently the second-leading scorer on the team with eight goals and 24 assists for a combined 32 points. Vinny has also been star winger Marian Gaborik's partner in crime all season long--I do not foresee Gaborik being affected by this, but I am not going to make definite predictions here. Prospal has played in all 38 games so far this season, not missing one, but that will obviously change with him undergoing this upcoming surgery.

No other sources have confirmed this just yet, but usually Brooks is right on with announcements such as this one. I am sure it will begin to spread around the net once one of coach John Tortorella or GM Glen Sather confirm.

Back Later.....
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

What to do with Christopher Higgins

Christopher Higgins, acquired in a trade that sent former Ranger Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadians, is currently on pace for about a total of eight goals this season and only about twenty points. I will be honest here and say that I was excited to see Chris signed to a 1 year, $2.25 million deal over the summer, knowing his potential and remembering that he had once scored close to thirty goals a few seasons back. However, he has not been that player that recorded 52 points in 2007-08 by any means, and I think it is time management starts looking deep into this, and maybe find a way to rid themselves of the struggling winger and bring in a true secondary scorer.

This has been an offensive squad that has had trouble scoring goals this season, obviously. Having a player that simply cannot put pucks in the back of the net when he has prime opportunities isn’t helping the cause, and surely does not help the overall confidence of this team. The effort is there, the skating is there, the chances are there, but the production is not. I know we are beating a dead horse with this, but these are the facts, plain and simple and in black and white.

Everyone, including myself, has said that if he continues to work hard the goals will begin to come. Well, that clearly has not been the case as this guy is simply snake-bitten and nothing really seems to be changing that anytime soon. There is really nothing Higgins can do for himself right now other than hope and pray pucks find the twine. I mean, he is able to find the open space and get into the key places on the ice, but once he is given the puck, either the shot hits the post, goes wide, is stopped by a sprawling goaltender or he just fans.

In fact, the 26-year-old Smithtown native is one of the only players that did not score more often while playing on a line with Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. Enver Lisin, Sean Avery, Brandon Dubinsky all saw an increase in production while spending time playing with the league’s leading goal scorer, but that is not the story with Higgins. Like I said, nothing seems to be helping him here and for that reason, I think he needs to be removed.

You cannot bench him because he has given extra effort in almost game he plays in, you cannot send him down because then he will have to go through waivers and he will be claimed with the Rangers getting nothing in return, and trading him will be tricky. Although, making a trade would be the best way to solve several problems on this team. For starters, head coach John Tortorella has previously stated that he will be talking to GM Glen Sather and will continue to do so, as the two discuss acquiring a seventh defenseman for the club. Now the only available option for that as of right now would be to call up a player from Hartford, because free agency will just be too expensive and cost New York money they do not have with them being so close to the cap ceiling.

By trading Higgins and possibly another piece, the Blueshirts may be able to get that seventh blue-liner. On the other hand, you could always trade Higgins and try to get some sort of depth scorer for cheap. General Manager’s around the league, though, will be well aware of Higgy’s struggles so that is what makes trading him so difficult. Sather has be known to make some pretty pathetic signings in the past, but one thing he has proved himself capable of doing is pulling off near impossible trades, so maybe he can work some of his magic when looking at it from that standpoint.

I just do not believe that keeping Higgins on this club will improve the lack of scoring situation at all, and right now the Rangers are going to have to start scoring a bit more frequently if they want to capture a playoff spot down the stretch. Yes, there may be larger problems in Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival, but I think an easier one to deal with is Christopher Higgins. It will be interesting to see this guy’s future with the Rangers as time goes on, but I am quite sure many of the fans are hoping it comes to an abrupt end sometime soon.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Rangers Prospects Shine in USA Win over Switzerland

As you may know, the annual IIHF World Juniors tournament is being held over the next couple of weeks up in Saskatoon, Canada. The tournament consists of prospects from all over the globe, and on team USA there are three future Rangers wearing the red, white and blue and playing in the tournament. Those three are forwards Ryan Bourque, Captain Derek Stepan, and 2009 first round draft pick Chris Kreider.

Team USA kicked off the tourney yesterday with a dominating 7-3 victory over Slovakia, in which Stepan recorded a goal and two assists and Kredier an assist. Today, all three prospects were involved in the scoring with Kreider deflecting a Cam Fowler shot for the first goal. Stepan assisted on that one for his fourth point in two games, leading team USA in scoring. Third round pick Ryan Bourque's hustle led to the third US goal, picking up his first point of the tournament.

I must say, I have not seen much of Kredier at all since drafting him in June, but this kid can sure skate. Many questioned the picking of Kredier when it first occurred, but I do not think there are any doubts of the decision after seeing what he is accomplishing. He is great in front of the net and around the crease, and also managed to draw a penalty while being tripped due to his lightning speed. Chris' Boston College coach went as far as to say the youngster is the fastest skater he has ever coached, which is sky high accolades considering the different players that have been brought up through their system over the years.

It is great to be able to see these kids playing for once, let alone seeing them succeed like they are. Hockey's Future rated the Rangers farm system as one of the top five in the National Hockey League, and we are now seeing why. You can thank Gordie Clark, head scout for the Blueshirts, as he is responsible for Kreider, Bourque, Del Zotto, and probably Gilroy as well.

You can read more about the tournament over at Jess Rubenstein's blog, The Prospect Park.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Lundqvist Named to Team Sweden Olympic Team

Not much of a surprise here, but over the next week or so, each Olympic team will be releasing their rosters for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics which will be held in February. Today saw Team Sweden releasing theirs, and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was named to the team as the starting netminder. Lundqvist, 27, backstopped the Swedes to a gold medal victory in the men's Ice Hockey finals in 2006 in Torino, Italy. Henrik will be backed-up by Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and Stefan Liv of the Swedish Elite League.

Among other NHLers to make the roster are defensemen Tobias Enstrom of the Thrashers, Niklas Kronwall of the Red Wings, Niklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings, Douglas Murray of the Sharks, Johnny Oduya of the Devils, Henrik Tallinder of the Sabres, and Matthias Ohlund of the Lightning. On offense, Sweden will consist of some real talent with Daniel Alfredsson (Senators), Nicklas Backstrom (Capitals), Loui Eriksson (Stars), Peter Forsberg (MODO Hockey), Tomas Holmstrom (Red Wings), Daniel Sedin (Canucks), Henrik Sedin (Canucks), Henrik Zetterberg (Red Wings/NHL). In addition to Fredrik Modin (Blue Jackets), Sam Paahlsson (Blue Jackets), and Patric Hornqvist (Predators).

I believe that with a deep roster like this, and the King in net, Sweden definitely is in the running for Gold yet again. Although, Russia and Canada will put up a strong fight as well. It should be a lot of fun to watch, and there is a good chance that I will be attending the games in Vancouver, so it is something I am anxiously looking forward to.

Full Story Here
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Postgame: Rangers Fall to Islanders in OT, 3-2

Despite battling back late in the third period to send the game to overtime and outshooting the Isles 38-22, the New York Rangers fell short of the Islanders thanks to a Kyle Okposo wristshot that eluded Lundqvist to send a depressed Garden crowd home. The Blueshirts had surges in this game where they were really sharp on offense, but also had times when they lacked in their own zone. And yet again, a lack of conversion on prime opportunities came back to haunt this team, especially in the extra time.

The first period was fairly slow, only seeing a total of ten shots between the two clubs, but I felt the Rangers did not have their legs in the period. A collision at center ice between Prospal and Girardi led to Okposo making a spin-around pass to set-up Frans Nielsen for a tap in goal. Obviously there is not much you could do about a blind collision, but there was a lack of physicality on Okposo and they allowed him to make the pretty pass to set up the tally.

The second period saw the Rangers coming out a bit stronger, but a Michael Del Zotto turnover on the powerplay cost the Blueshirts. Blake Comeau came in and put one past Lundqvist to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead shorthanded. For some odd reason the Isles always seem to score at the Garden shorthanded and it didn't fail tonight. That is now twice Del Zotto has coughed the puck up in his own zone on the powerplay this season, but that is a part of dealing with the bumps in the road with our rookie defensemen. So even though the Rangers held a 15-9 shot advantage in the period, they still found themselves being shutout through two.

The third stanza was a bit different, however, as the Rangers completely dominated and this time converted on opportunities. First it was Brandon Dubinsky six minutes into the period, burying a rebound for what would be his first of two on the night to cut the Islander lead to 2-1. The Blueshirts left their fans at the edge of their seats in anticipation until 47 seconds remaining in regulation when Dubinsky deflected a Ryan Callahan slap shot through the legs of Roloson to tie the game. Those two were Dubi's fifth and sixth goals of the season.

About a minute into overtime, forward Christopher Higgins completely fanned on an open-net rebound which pretty much had a packed MSG ready to celebrate a home team victory, but the snake continues to bite at Higgins as it has all year long so far. With overtime dwindling down to a precious minute, Kyle Okposo sent a wrister from the boards which somehow beat Lundqvist and absolutely stunned the building. Henrik makes that save nine out of ten times, but not on this night.

Sean Avery started the game with some foolish penalties, including an unnecessary shove of Dwayne Roloson, but after that first period he was one of the better players on the ice for the Rangers. This was a tilt that was determined by effort and will. Avery displayed both, just went a bit overboard in the early minutes.

I also felt the effort of Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan was solid as well. These players, as always, were clutch on the penalty-kill for the Blueshirts and were involved physically. I wanted to personally give Callahan a hug for shooting the puck late in the third period, being that all the powerplay did was cycle the puck aimlessly prior to that point. Cally had the right idea to just get the puck on net, and hey, what do you know? It was deflected and went in.

Dubinsky skated very well in this one and had the puck quite often from my perspective. Dubinsky has always been good down low in the crease area and has the heart to push his way in there. Well, it paid off for the young forward tonight, having his first two-goal night in quite a while.

I cannot say Lundqvist was amazing like he has been as of late, solely because he allowed three goals on just 22 shots. Sure he made some stellar saves including the one on Sutton in overtime, but I cannot say he was amazing. I am not sure if the Okposo shot was deflected or not because I was at the game and have not seen a replay just yet, but Hank usually makes the save there.

On defense, Staal had another decent performance, as did Dan Girardi, but Michal Rozsival was just horrid. Yes, he had two assists in the third period, but that doesn't make up for the three terrible turnovers in his own zone before that. Wade Redden even received a good chunk of ice time from Tortorella tonight as he played fairly well himself. Gilroy and Del Zotto also seemed to be out there often, especially Del Zotto, but DZ did have a bit of a rough night. Like I said, you cannot get angry at plays like the one that resulted in the shorthanded goal, remembering he is a 19-year-old rookie that is going to make mistakes.

The Rangers are fortunate to come out of this one with a valuable point in the standings. It may have felt like it was their's to win after they battled back and tied things up, but unfortunately it did not end in their favor. New York will return to action on Wednesday night when they host the struggling Philadelphia Flyers at the Garden.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Pregame: Rangers Push for Five Straight Against Isles

With a four-game winning streak on the line, the eighth place New York Rangers will be hosting the Islanders tonight at Madison Square Garden for the fourth meeting between the rivals this season. The Blueshirts, who are 5-3-2 in their last ten games, came out completely flat against the Isles the last time the two clashed at MSG, but since then the team has went 4-0-0. Since falling 5-2 to the Rangers two weeks ago, the Islanders have struggled, going 3-7-0 in their last ten. However, they are coming off of a big win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

I am not expecting any changes in the lineup, which means we will see the same roster we saw in Wednesday’s 4-1 victory against the Florida Panthers. That leaves forwards Aaron Voros and Erik Christensen as the healthy scratches. I am actually a little surprised Boyle was re-entered into the lineup after being injured last week, but that is the way it will be in the contest.

Rangers Projected Lineup

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

Del Zotto - Girardi
Staal - Rozsival
Redden - Gilroy

Henrik Lundqvist

Scratches: Aaron Voros, Erik Christensen

Henrik Lundqvist (did you expect anyone else?) will be in net for the Rangers after allowing just five goals in his last four games. What you have seen over the past couple of weeks has been Lundqvist at his best—all-star caliber goaltending. The guy has been amazing night in and night out and is arguably the number one reason this team has been victorious in four straight.

John Tortorella made some defensive changes for Wednesday’s match-up, but in today’s morning skate he went back to the original pairings. That sees Staal with Rozsival, Redden with Gilroy, and Del Zotto with Girardi. For the first time in quite a while, the Rangers blueline played a full 60-minute game against the Panthers, keeping Florida to the outside as often as possible. Sure there were the occasional mistakes, but far less than what we are used to seeing.

I really liked what I saw from the Avery - Drury - Lisin line against the Panthers. The forecheck was great, they skated very well, and the effort was infinite. While Lisin may not be one of the most defensively responsible wingers, Drury is one of the best backcheckers on the team so it sort of makes up for what Lisin lacks. As far as speed goes, Lisin was all over the place, outskating the Cats on every shift. Tortorella rewarded him with a bit more ice time than he is used to because of the way the Russian youngster played.

Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal also began to show some chemistry with Brandon Dubinsky for the first time since being reunited last week. If that trio can really get going, which is an easy task with Gaborik involved, they can become a dominate first line for the Rangers. Dubinsky is an underrated passer in my opinion, and can find the open lanes as we saw with one of Prospal’s two goals last game. That could surely help out Gaborik in the long-run, taking some pressure off of his shoulders and not having to do everything.

Islanders Projected Lineup

Moulson - Tavares - Comeau
Bailey - Nielsen - Okposo
Sim - Schremp - Hunter
Jackman - Park - Thompson

Streit - Meyer
Sutton - Hillen
Witt - MacDonald

Roloson

We are now well aware that the Rangers need to get off to a quick start in this tilt because if they don’t, we could potentially see a pathetic effort like we did the last time these two met at the Garden. The Islanders will be looking for that fast start yet again, but instead of weathering the storm, the Blueshirts have to come out with some energy of their own. If they can get the early goal and the home crowd on their side, they will be in good shape as the game goes on. Also, the Rangers Tribune will be in attendance tonight, so the postgame analysis may be up a bit later than usual.
(Images courtesy of AP Photo)

Disecting the Turnaround

It was the rival Islanders who essentially turned things around for the Rangers about two weeks ago when they came in and embarrassed the Blueshirts on home ice. It brought out some problems that needed fixing immediately, caused the players to gather and have their own private meeting, and changed a part of the coaching philosophy of John Tortorella. Since then, the Rangers have won four straight and have not come out completely flat again in a game like they did to start that one.

Henrik Lundqvist has rose to the occasion, only allowing five goals in the past four games. Chris Drury has stepped up with three goals in four games. Marc Staal has been leading the defense in ice time, as well as Michal Rozsival; both have been solid in their own zone. And then you add Gaborik's nightly scoring to the mix and somehow this club is finding ways to win consistently. Since that 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Isles, it seems as if everyone has stepped it up a notch and has been playing better hockey.

I think it is a combination of many factors when you look at the Rangers recent success. First off, the scratching of veteran defenseman Wade Redden and winger Ales Kotalik sent a very strong message in the locker room and amoong teh players. Not to mention John Tortorella took the time to put the situation in black and white for everyone, stating that he will no longer be honoring "titles" or "contracts" when forming his lineup. It will solely be based on performance and execution.

The other factory very well may be the shame of these players when they had their home fans literally boo them off the ice against a rival team that they should be playing close games with. The score may have only been 2-1, but it felt like it should have been 5-0 with the way the Blueshirts played. The effort was absent and they knew it, the fans knew it, and obviously the coaching staff knew it (see Tortorella postgame conference). That is most likely the cause behind Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery deciding to hold a meeting with their teammates just one-on-one. Clearly there was some deep soul-searching going on behind closed doors and it has some of these guys looking sharper than they have all season long.

Within the four-game winning stretch, the Rangers have outscored their opponent 14-5, which is pretty good considering they were outscored 49-31 in the month of November. Goal scoring evidently has been a tremendous difficulty this season, but as you can see, once players beyond Gaborik begin to find the back of the net the Rangers automatically become a better team and have a better chance of winning. It is not too complicated, but as we have come to know, is not that simple either.

So it will be the Islanders on home ice again tonight. In a game were the Rangers will have a chance at winning five straight, it could also be looked at as a measuring stick. You know the Isles are going to have the exact same mentality they did the last time they entered the Garden earlier in the month, and that will be to outskate, outshoot, and outplay our Rangers right from the opening face-off. Instead of sitting back and weathering the storm, the Blueshirts need to have the exact same gameplan the Islanders do. Get that quick goal and build from there. We will see if this team has what it takes to capture five straight wins like they did back in October when they reached seven in a row. For some reason, I think they do.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

The Rangers Tribune would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Holiday as well as a Very Merry Christmas! I think we all deserve the break after going through the ups and downs with this Rangers team for the past three months. While at times we may hate them, underneath they mean a lot to us all and are a major part of our lives. That is the reason we gather to this blog daily--to talk about our beloved team.

We are one large family that is growing exponentially here on the site. I appreciate all you guys do to contribute, whether it be leaving a comment, voting on the polls, or even just stopping by and reading every day. It is appreciated and without you, this blog would not be possible.

Again, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday! I will be back with you on Saturday when the Rangers return to action against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden.

Key Players Returning to Form for Rangers

The current four-game winning streak has seen many of the Rangers top players return to form and begin to play top-notch hockey once again. It is pretty evident that this team does not succeed if the players that are relied on the most do not perform to the best of their ability and get the job done on a consistent basis. That very problem played a big part in the struggles of November and early December, but ever since Coach John Tortorella started enforcing the “no entitlement” policy, it seems like everyone has upped the ante, even if it is only a little bit. That makes the difference between winning and losing in a sport that is so tightly played, and we are seeing that with our Rangers as we speak.

Henrik Lundqvist, undoubtedly the most important player on this club, was one of those individuals not playing like himself in November. The Swedish star was getting criticized for allowing soft goals and not coming up with the big saves when they were needed, something that was pointed out by Tortorella. However, starting with the 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo a few weeks back, Henrik Lundqvist has been Henrik Lundqvist, and that consists of amazing saves and standing on his head night in and night out.

Heading into the season, critics were saying that Henrik cannot be the story every night for this team. Well guess what? When he isn’t the story, the team loses, so I think that mentality needs to be rethought. Lundqvist has not had much offensive support, but still manages to hold a 2.41 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. That puts him at eighth in the league in save percentage, a remarkable stat for a goalie on a team that has not been too hot this season. If Henrik is playing well, this does not win. That is the bottom-line and as much as people continue to say Hank cannot be the story every night, he will always be the story if this club is winning.

For example, in the four game winning streak, Lundqvist has faced 141 shots, making saves on 136 of them. That is a .965 save percentage through four games, not something just any goalie can do in this league no matter what team they play on. The Rangers are in the middle of a fight for a playoff spot, but they have a tremendous edge over other teams if they have goaltending like this.

Marc Staal has turned things around on defense, after playing the worst hockey of his career to begin the season. Let’s get something straight about Marc Staal. He is not a flashy defenseman, and not one that is known for his offensive capabilities, but rather a solid blueliner in his own end and in front of his goaltender--Sort of like a Chris Chelios. That being said, I truly believe the thought of having to produce and score goals like Tortorella requested got him off his game, but ever since readjusting his focus, he is looking like the stellar defenseman that is used in crucial situations and put out there against inferior opponents.

Then there is Captain Chris Drury. Drury had a below-par season last year, and started this season off the same way with only two points in the first eighteen games. Within the four game winning streak, Chris has registered three goals and an assist, combining for four points. If the Captain can continue to produce at a pace like this, it will boost the confidence of the entire team. I have always been a Drury supporter and do not feel it is his fault he was handed a $7 million contract. The guy has heart and wants nothing more than for this team to win. I really hope he can continue to play like this and produce on a consistent basis.

Alternate Captain Ryan Callahan, who I spoke about yesterday, is yet another player who has turned things around. Expectations were set high for Cally with him coming off of a career year last season. At first, he was not even close to meeting those expectations, but now has six points in his last ten games, four in his last four. This puts the Rochester native on pace for yet another 20-goal season, but I feel he could hit the 25-30 range if he can continue to score goals like he has the past two or three weeks.

In the end, this all adds up and equals to a winning team. The Rangers are not going to win off of Marian Gaborik goals; they need support from all areas and all lines, not just one. There are still several things wrong with this club, and there are gaps that need to be filled as well as problems that need to be fixed, but for now, the Blueshirts are finally looking like a team, and most importantly, one that is winning games. On that note, enjoy your Christmas Eve everyone!
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Postgame: Rangers Return to Playoff Position with 4-1 Win Over Cats

Tonight’s 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers will bring the New York Rangers back into the playoff picture, putting them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference heading into Christmas break. Their fourth straight win was one of the more satisfying ones of the season, as it took a great amount of effort to be able to score four against a Panthers team that has been playing very well. I mentioned in the pregame that the Blueshirts have been struggling to play a 60-minute game, but that was not the case in this contest, as immediately after allowing an early goal to Florida, the game would forever change in favor of New York.

The early goal came from Victor Oreskovich, as the Rangers were caught on a change, no forwards were back, and Rozsival missed the puck on an attempt to clear it from the front of the net. Oreskovich found it and put it passed past Lundqvist for an early advantage. However, the Rangers responded with a huge goal, ignited by the speed and effort of Enver Lisin. Lisin first beat out a delayed icing call, then fought along the boards, eventually finding Chris Drury in the slot for the 0ne-timer. That one-timer deflected off of a Panther defenseman and into the back of the net, giving the Captain his third goal in four games.

In the second period, the Blueshirts were put on the powerplay five minutes into the stanza when Vinny Prospal broke a 14-game goal drought with a powerplay tally that gave the Rangers a 2-1 edge at that point. That goal would be the only one that was scored in the period, as both Lundqvist and Vokoun were marvelous in net for their respective clubs.

Just 23 seconds into the third period, Brandon Dubinsky fed Vinny Prospal in the slot, who tapped one past Vokoun for his second goal of the night and eighth on the season. Eleven minutes later, the Blueshirts were doing one heck of a job killing off a Panthers powerplay, when Chris Drury was tripped up at center ice, but pushed the puck to a bolting Gaborik, who beat Vokoun 5-hole on the shorthanded breakaway. That goal was Gaborik’s 26th of the season and put the icing on the cake for the Rangers.

The Rangers were backstopped by yet another performance from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in net. The game’s first star made 33 saves in the game, two of which were complete robberies. One was on Horton at the goal mouth and the other on Frolik with the glove. Like I said, when Henrik is at the top of his game, the Rangers have about a twenty to thirty percent better chance of coming out of a tilt with two points, and that has been the case here. Henrik is finally having fun and taking some pressure off of himself, as opposed to the losing stretch when he was breaking sticks and what not.

Then there was the play of Captain Chris Drury. This was probably his best game of the season so far, picking up a goal and an assist on the night. Dru has definitely turned things up a notch here, and is playing some great hockey. The effort has been there, he is taking shots every chance he gets, and has been receiving more ice time from Tortorella. The same could be said of Ryan Callahan, who was spectacular in the game. Cally picked up an assist, as well as 17:36 of ice time. He was crucial on the penalty-kill, something I pointed out in this morning’s player check-up.

Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal are beginning to click yet again, both displaying a solid effort in this one. Gaborik had seven shots on goal, one of which was his 26th of the season and we are not even halfway through the regular season yet. He continues to impress with his speed, his shooting, and pretty much everything else about him. Prospal looked really good in the contest, having himself the second 2-goal night of this season. For one million dollars, Prospal is the second highest scorer on this Ranger club--one of the better signings by GM Glen Sather in quite a while.

I would also like to acknowledge the play of Enver Lisin and Sean Avery, who played with a similar attitude. That attitude being a relentless one, one in which these two did not stop skating and creating chances around the net. Both were in the middle of everything tonight, something that is not usually the case for Lisin, but usual for Avery. I really like what I am seeing from these individuals, and I think I am speaking on behalf of Coach Tortorella when I say that too.

Matt Gilroy, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Michael Del Zotto were the standouts on defense in my eyes. Gilroy is now playing the physically engaged game Tortorella wants to see from him, and is even seeing some powerplay time. Gilroy, while he may not be hitting the net as much as he may like, was shooting the puck often, which is also a good sign. Staal and Del Zotto were more noticeable in their own zone, as was Dan Girardi. Their smooth defensive plays and effectiveness when collapsing to the net paid off and kept the Florida chances down to a limit.

Four in a row, back in the playoffs, scoring more than two goals…..is there any better of a way to enter the Holiday? I really cannot think of one, especially with the fourth meeting of the season with the Islanders coming up the day after Christmas. This could be the turning point in the season, after a horrid month of November, but consistency will be the key factor moving forward.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Pregame: Rangers Eye Playoff Spot in Match-Up with Panthers

For the first time all month, the New York Rangers will be presented with the opportunity to jump back into the playoff race when they host the eight place Florida Panthers tonight at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts trail Florida by only two points in the standings, but have two games at hand, meaning a regulation win in this one would propel New York into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. It would also mean that the Rangers would be winners in four straight since the depressing loss to the Isles last Wednesday. Yes, it may be early, but for this team to get back into the playoff picture after going through a great struggle in November and the beginning of December would be huge and definitively a confidence booster.

At the same time, the Panthers have been on a hot streak themselves, going 5-2-3 in their last ten games, and winning four of their last five. Florida is playing quite well this season, much better than many expected, but really that has been the case in all of the Eastern Conference. Along with the Panthers, Buffalo has been a surprise, New Jersey has been a surprise, Ottawa has been a surprise, and even the Islanders are doing better than we thought. At this point, any points you can get will go a long way and two precious one are up for grabs tonight. These two teams have met twice this year, the first Florida beat the Rangers in regulation, but the Blueshirts struck back with a shootout win of their own, splitting the series at one.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Prospal - Dubinsky - Gaborik
Higgins - Anisimov - Callahan
Avery - Drury - Lisin
Brashear - Christensen - Kotalik

Staal - Rozsival
Girardi - Del Zotto
Gilroy - Redden

Lundqvist

Scratches: Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle (back)

Henrik Lundqvist will be right back in goal after another marvelous performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Lundqvist has been playing all-star caliber hockey lately, completely shutting down opponents. Right when we began to criticize him of the allowance of soft goals, things turned around for him and he looked like himself again. This is, without a doubt, one of the main reasons the Rangers are on a winning streak right now. If Hank is not going, neither is this team, unfortunately, so his stellar goaltending has helped a lot.

I am expecting Coach John Tortorella to stick with the lineup that we saw in Carolina, as there is no logical reason to split the lines up. The first line of Gaborik, Prospal, and Dubinsky is showing signs of developing chemistry for the first time since being reunited last week. I am still amazed at the beautiful passing play the made to combine for the Dubinsky goal, which turned out to be the game-winner.

Then there is the second trio which also played very well against the Hurricanes led by center Artem Anisimov. Anisimov is playing the best hockey of his young career right now, and is being complimented by his wingers, Ryan Callahan and Christopher Higgins. All three of these players are scoring goals more frequently than they did earlier in the season, and I think Torts is very pleased with what they are giving him on that line.

On defense, the Blueshirts have been solid for the most part, but they seem to lack in the third period when Henrik is forced to stand on his head. They still need to play a 60-minute game, but other than that, there are no real complaints here. Marc Staal has been tremendous, and is leading the pack with his smooth defensive responsibility. Marc is quietly becoming a leader on this team, even though he does not wear a letter on his chest.

Panthers Projected Lineup

Frolik - Weiss - Horton
Olesz - Reinprecht - Dvorak
Campbell - Moore - MacIntyre
Duco - Matthias - Oreskovich

McCabe - Ballard
Leopold - Seidenberg
Allen - Garrison

Vokoun

This should be a fast, but low-scoring contest. Both teams will desperately want two points in the standings before heading into the two-day Christmas break Thursday and Friday. Maybe the Rangers will give us all an early gift, and score more than 2 or 3 goals in the tilt. That would make my Holiday that much better.
(Images courtesy of AP Photo and Reuters)

Player Check-Up: Ryan Callahan

After getting off to a relatively slow start to the season in the months of October and November, Ryan Callahan has recently been playing like the grinding goal-scorer that we have come to know and love. The 24-year-old is currently ranked third place in the league in hitting with 121 in 36 games played, and has the most goals on the Rangers with nine behind Marian Gaborik who has 25. These stats explain what I mean when I say "grinding goal-scorer" because unfortunately many have the misconception that a grinder is automatically a fourth liner, but with Ryan, that is not the case even though he is a spark plug willing to throw around the body.

Coming off of a 22-goal season last year, which was probably his breakout season, expectations were set high going into 2009-10. However, when the forward began to struggle, on scoring just two goals in sixteen games, fans were beginning to doubt him. Callahan was simply trying to do too much with the puck. He is not the kind of player that is going to carry the puck in himself, make a strong move to the net and bury a pretty goal. Well, that was the type of player Cally was trying to be and all it ended up in was frequent turnovers and built-up frustration. Cally is more of a scorer who finds the open areas of the ice, is fed the puck, and finishes efficiently.

Once Callahan again began to fight to get to the dirty areas, find open space, and allow for others to create the play and for him to finish, the goals have started to come at a more frequent rate. Five goals in the past ten games, seven points in the last five contests and a positive plus/minus in three of the last five are just some of the areas in which Ryan has shown improvement in when comparing his recent game to that of the beginning of the season.

For example, of his recent goals, Callahan has been set up on three of the past five. In the two-goal game at the Coliseum, Marian Gaborik fed Cally for both of his goals right at the goal mouth. His goal in Buffalo came off of a perfectly placed shot by Sean Avery skating down the wing. If Ryan finds those open, but dirty areas on the ice effectively, he scores goals. It is as simple as that, but when he tries to move the puck himself, or attempts to be somewhat of a playmaker, it is not pretty and likely will not work out for the Rochester native.

One part of his game that is always consistent, though, is his hitting and grinding. Besides maybe Dubinsky and Avery, there is probably no others on this Ranger squad willing to throw around the body like Ryan does. I have noticed that John Tortorella uses him in more and more situations as he gets to know him better, including on the powerplay, and that is because of the way in which Cally plays. If there is an extra amount of effort, the battle level is up there, and he keeps his feet moving, that right there will land him a lot of ice time in a Tortorella system. In fact, Callahan is pretty much the perfect fit for this offensive minded system as long as he does what he does best.

Now it is not only on offense where Ryan is effective, but he is also an excellent backchecker, again going back to the effort factor. Some of the backchecks this guy makes literally has me sitting with my jaw dropped. At least if he is not putting the pucks in the net, he still is noticeable on the defensive end, something that cannot be said of all of the players on this club. Callahan, along with Captain Chris Drury, have become a dynamic duo on the penalty-kill, just as effective as maybe Fred Sjostrom and Blair Betts were for Tom Renney last season.

If the Rangers are going to rely on secondary scoring beyond Marian Gaborik at times, then there is no question that Ryan Callahan needs to play a role in that. He is the main player I wanted re-signed by Glen Sather and the Ranger Brass this past summer, knowing he is a big part of this team's future moving forward. With the new "Play the kids" motto going around, Callahan is definitely one of those kids that needs to be played even though he may not be a rookie. A combination of will, effort, and skill earned Callahan the Alternate Captaincy, and there is no real other player I would like to see wearing that "A" other than Cally.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Dubinsky and Boyle Exhange Punches, Tortorella talks about Win Streak

In his description of this morning's optional skate, Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants stated that forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Brian Boyle engaged in a minor scrap in which they exchanged several punches. The altercation was broken up quickly. This sounds more like the players fooling around rather than seriously fighting, as Aaron Voros looked to get in on the action as well, but I thought it would be worth putting up on the site. The players joked about the occurrence later on in the locker room.

Gross also caught up with head coach John Tortorella, who spoke about the recent 3-game winning streak as well as changes that have been made in their mentality.

“I think sometimes it’s a misconception on the team concept,” Tortorella said. “We want to forecheck. But when we talk about it as far as getting up the ice and forechecking and pressuring, people say they just want to go. That certainly hasn’t been our philosophy from Day 1 because you have to play defense in this league. We have changed a little bit in the neutral zone where it’s kind of a hybrid right now. When we have chances to go, we’re going. When we’re not, we’re going to be a little bit smarter as far as filling the middle. That was probably a couple of weeks ago we changed into that. But I think we’ve gotten better defensively, too. When you’re having problems scoring goals, you fall into that trap of just scoring goals and you forget about the details of playing defense. We have always talked about playing defense first and when we say defense first, it doesn’t mean we’re falling back and playing in our end zone. Defense is when you don’t have the puck, just being on the right side of the puck. We’ve gotten better and better on the odd man rushes and that’s just being cognizant of being on the right side of the puck.”

The change that Tortorella is speaking of was the same one I addressed in the month of November. (read that post here) The team is not as aggressive as they once were to begin the season, and it probably was a change that needed to be made because they were being caught pinching much too often, eventually leading to odd-man rushes. That has not been so much of a problem lately.

Postgame: Rangers Win Three Straight, Top 'Canes 3-1

I know I keep putting out these pleasant facts to begin my postgame analysis, but they are worth recognizing. Tonight’s 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes has the Blueshirts victorious in three straight for the first time since the middle of October during their 7-game winning stretch, and also returns them to the top eight in the Eastern Conference, meaning they are in playoff position. However, it is only December, but at least they are there. This game had a tremendous pace to it and was very entertaining despite it containing two clubs that have struggled to score goals.

The first period started off fairly slow, but things picked up as the stanza progressed and saw both teams with some great opportunities. Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Ward, though, were very sharp and were making saves left and right. To be exact, Lundqvist made eight while Ward made nine in that first period. Both teams had a strong forecheck in effect.

The Hurricanes ended up striking first when Lundqvist lost sight of a Sutter shot 46 seconds into the second, and Sergei Samsonov capitalized with a wraparound goal to put Carolina up 1-0. This play was obviously misplayed by Hank, but at the same time the defenseman, which I believe was Michal Rozsival, has to either take the body or lift the stick. One of those two would have prevented the tally. Just 28 seconds later, Marian Gaborik answered with a goal of his own when he deposited a loose puck into the back of the empty cage. It was sort of a broken play with the puck bouncing off of the defenseman’s stick and to Gaborik, but nonetheless, the Rangers had this tied at one, and it would stay that way until early in the third period.

After killing a penalty which was leftover from the second, Vinny Prospal, Marian Gaborik, and Brandon Dubinsky connected for one of the prettiest plays of the season that resulted in a goal, the game-winner at that. Prospal skated in, fed Gaborik at the side of the net, and Gabs one-timed a pass to Dubinsky who deked his way to the front and shoveled a backhander over Ward for the 2-1 lead. It was an all around beautiful combination by the three first-line forwards.

I will start with the yet again great effort of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in net for New York. Lundqvist made 31 saves in the game, but the time in which he made the saves was crucial. Henrik is such a fun goalie to watch when the big saves need to be made, and that sure was the case on this night. I could think of at least three big saves Hank came up with while on the penalty-kill, which were game determining at the end of the day.

I thought Marc Staal was fantastic on defense, as was Dan Girardi and once again, Michal Rozsival. Staal was the clear standout, using his body to ward off the opposition, getting to loose pucks, and making some great defensive plays. Staal is finally coming around and has been solid in the process. There is no individual on the team that I would have liked to see get the empty-netter more than Staal. He deserved it, coming up with a great effort against the Hurricanes led by his brother, Eric.

Matt Gilroy was quiet in his return to the lineup, but his battle level was definitely better. The MSG broadcast pointed out several instances when Gilroy used the body to gain control. I cannot say I noticed Redden much besides a few turnovers, other than that, he was pretty much silent.

Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, and Sean Avery were all making a difference on the offensive end of things. Gaborik registered six, count ‘em, six shots on goal in the game, two which were on semi-breakaways. Vinny Prospal and Brandon Dubinsky had their own chances and seemed to be all over the place. For the first time since being reunited, this first line for the Rangers looks really good out there and is developing chemistry as displayed on the artistic tally.

Artem Anisimov is playing the best hockey of his three-month NHL career. Now playing on the second line with Higgins and Callahan, Anisimov is skating extremely well and is showing extraordinary strength with the puck. Anisimov received 14:25 of ice time. Avery, who is more of a grinder, was hitting and battling like usual. This guy is relentless and does everything in his power to create chances on offense.

So the Blueshirts are looking sharp for the first time since October. While the goal scoring has been relatively low, goaltending has been there, the forecheck has been excellent, and the defense is tightening up. I know it may be early, but it actually looks like things are being turned around here. This has been the case ever since the “no entitlement” policy has been promoted within the locker room, starting back with the sending down of Gilroy. The Blueshirts, who are now a game over .500, will back at it on Wednesday as they look to make it four straight against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden.

(Images courtesy of AP Photo and Reuters)