Morning News and Notes

• Donald Brashear has been assigned to Hartford, where he'll likely spend the Olympic break earning some of his salary.  I still expect the Rangers to either find a transfer deal that will send him to Europe or pass him through re-entry waivers at some point after the Olympic roster freeze.  As reported by Andrew Gross yesterday, Brashear's cap hit will come off the books for as long as he's in Hartford, but will stay on next year unless he's traded or transferred overseas.
• Corey Potter has been recalled from Hartford once again.  This time it's obviously due to the injury to Michael Del Zotto.  Based on what I saw on the postgame show last night, I have to think Del Zotto will miss tomorrow afternoon's game at MSG against the Lightning.  Thankfully, he'll have 2 weeks to recover.
• Newest Ranger Jody Shelley is expected to be on the ice at practice today and will likely play tomorrow.
• My guess on tomorrow's lineup:  
• Potter in, Del Zotto out
• Lisin in, Gaborik out
• Shelley in, Voros out
• Ex-Ranger (this is becoming a theme this week) Jaromir Jagr carried the flag for the Czech Republic at last night's Vancouver Opening Ceremony.
• Ex-Ranger (see) Jamie Lundmark was claimed by the Maple Leafs on waivers from the Flames.
• The Rangers placed Steven Valiquette on re-entry waivers today.  This move is VERY puzzling.  If another team claims him, the Rangers will be on the hook for half of his remaining salary, further handcuffing them to the cap ceiling.  Also, he hasn't played in a game since allowing 2 goals on 9 shots in under 10 minutes on January 29th.  He .also reportedly broke a finger in that game and has not dressed for another game since.  The only possible explanation for this is that the Rangers want Matt Zaba and Chad Johnson to both play in Hartford during the Olympic break, but are required to have 2 goalies on their active NHL roster.
• Andrew Gross is reporting that Tortorella has ruled both Del Zotto and Gaborik out for tomorrow afternoon's game.  It will be interesting to see how much Gaborik plays in the Olympics now.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Penguins 2/12

Rangers 3, Penguins 2 (OT)

• First things first: Michal Rozsival...can we stop booing him now?  He played an outstanding game all-around.  OUTSTANDING.  He spent over 21 minutes on the ice, played physically and made smart plays with the puck, and his play set up Olli Jokinen's game-winner in overtime.
• I found it a joke that the announcers were expecting a third man in/game misconduct to be called on Rozsival after he tried pulling Matt Cooke off of Chris Drury once they were both already down and Cooke was continuing to throw punches.  If that had happened I would have been livid, and I get the feeling that he would have been too.  He was simply doing the linesmen's job by stopping Cooke from being his normal dirty self (remember that hit on Anisimov from earlier in the season?).  The real question that came out of that scrap for me:  In a year where linesmen have been quick to jump in and stop fights while the player are still on their feet many times, where the heck were they when Cooke was raining down punches on Drury while they were both down?!?
• Big points for Drury tonight.  He backed up his play after Cooke (oh the irony) apparently thought that his clean hit was dirty.  He also drove hard to the net all night, and showed me the consistent effort that I was looking for after Wednesday night's loss.
• I thought that Cooke's hit on Matt Gilroy about a minute later was--no surprise here--dirty.  It was clearly from behind, and not one of those where Gilroy turned his back to an oncoming forecheck.  Cooke also seemed to skate right through Gilroy.  DIRTY.
• Seeing Michael Del Zotto go down like that was scary.  His postgame comments shed even more light on it...he needed 50 stitches on his left side and was lucky the outcome wasn't worse after he lost the fight with Malkin's skate.
• Marc Staal played over 28 minutes just a day after overcoming a stomach bug.  Why has he not been signed to a long term contract extension yet? I would sign him for 7 years at about $3m per season.
• Olli Jokinen had his best game as a Ranger.  He scored the game winner, was credited with an assist on Dubinsky's goal, and was active all over the ice all night, especially in the offensive zone.
• Brandon Prust impressed me a lot last night.  He seems to have very good hockey sense, but lacks any decent shot.  If someone can teach him to shoot, I think he can score 15-20 goals a year.
• Henrik Lundqvist was very good when he had to be, although I think he wants that first goal back.  He wasn't very happy when Crosby beat him 5-hole.
• Vinny Prospal.  Can Slats make a good signing for a change and sign him for another year immediately...please?  He goes all out on every shift and his enthusiasm is infectious.
• I heard someone mention it during the game, but Ryan Callahan knows when he has to step up.  He stepped up into Marian Gaborik's spot after Gaborik left the game and was effective depite failing to score.  He had good battles in front of the net on the power play, and added energy throughout the game as always.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Devils 2/6

Rangers 3, Devils 1

• Three Stars: #3 Marian Gaborik (1g), #2 Ryan Callahan (gwg, 1a), #1 Henrik Lundqvist (41 svs)
• Henrik Lundqvist played his best game of the season tonight.  His rebound control was excellent, and his glove hand was even better.  He had at least 4 or 5 memorable glove saves in this game, including one where he committed highway robbery on Mike Mottau in the third period.
• What is there not to like about Ryan Callahan??  Here's the line on him tonight...gorgeous pass to Gaborik that resulted in the game's first goal (on the power play), hard work to create a turnover by Kovalchuk in the offensive zone and fire the puck past Brodeur, 5 shots, 4 hits, 2 blocked shots, 22:22 of ice time (team-leading 4:32 shorthanded).
• Jokinen seems to be starting to click with Dubinsky and Callahan.  There was one point in the third period where they spent 20 to 30 seconds just cycling the puck int he Devils end and created a few chances.
• Marian Gaborik scored his 13th power play goal of the season.  He's now tied for the league lead in that category with Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, 4th in total goals, and 6th in points.
• The much maligned Rangers defense corps played an outstanding game tonight, save for a few minutes in the third period.  Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, and Michal Rozsival were especially steady and deserve a lot of credit for shutting down Kovalchuk and Parise.  Girardi in particular was all over Kovalchuk all night, and tackled Parise to keep him away from his netminder during the dwindling minutes of the game.
• Michael Del Zotto didn't get an assist on Callahan's eventual game-winner, but he certainly deserved one.  After an absolutely horrible pinch earlier in the game, he pinched effectively to keep the puck deep in the Devils' end, then got it to Callahan behind the net.
• Great job by Sean Avery to get under Kovalchuk's skin with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game and take him off the ice for the remainder of the game.
• Something random that I noticed during the game...the guys who clean the ice during TV timeouts were wearing Callahan, Drury, Gaborik, and Lundvist national team t-shirts instead of their normal warmups tonight.  Each of the 3 forwards scored and Lundvist played out of his mind.  Maybe they should keep wearing those t-shirts...
• You have to love the toughness that Brandon Prust brings to this team.  He was widely touted as a throw-in with Jokinen in the trade, but he's doing his share of the contributing too.  His 2 fights against a much larger Andrew Peters tonight showed just how tough he is, and he added his first point as a Ranger tonight with an assist on Drury's goal.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Coyotes 1/30

Coyotes 3, Rangers 2

• With tonight's final, the Rangers are guaranteed to finish January with a losing record.
• Michael Del Zotto was brutal tonight.  He played just 3:04 in the first period, but was on the ice for all 3 goals against and is now a minus-18 on the season.
• I've been writing it since the beginning of this blog...Del Zotto and Girardi should not be playing together.  DZ-Rozsival, Staal-Girardi.  They play that way sometimes, but it should be permanent.
• The Rangers allowed far too many odd man rushes; completely inexcusable, especially since they weren't generating any offense.  I think they allowed more odd man rushes than they took shots on goal in the first period...unacceptable.
• As I said after his first appearance, Chad Johnson is not an NHL goalie right now.  He's the best option we have in the system, but he's just not ready yet.  The third goal, a high slap shot through a couple of screens, was a tough one.  He needs to stop one of the first 2 though.
• Christopher Higgins had one of his better games, but he still needs work on hitting the net with his shots.
• Ryan Callahan...9 hits...WOW!
• Marc Staal had a very strong game, and did a great job of going in deep and creating offense down the stretch as the Rangers tried for the tying goal.
• Michal Rozsival was whistled for 3 penalties.  At least 2 of them looked very soft, including the final penalty of the game, where Prucha skated right into Rozsival's stick and did some Academy Award-worthy acting.  Stephane Auger has always been one of my least favorite officials, even before the Borrows incident, and it was clear why tonight.  Piss poor officiating.

My question for this team after tonight...what happened that they finally had energy in the third period?  The Rangers were a completely different team in the third, and even more so after they scored their first goal.  The Coyotes were lucky to hang on, but the Rangers put themselves in a bad position by playing a piss poor first period and mediocre second.  Hopefully the intensity they played with in the third will carry over to tomorrow night.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Penguins 1/25

Penguins 4, Rangers 2

• Artem Anisimov...I was wrong.  I said he needed a day off, and it's a good thing he didn't get one since he provided all of the Rangers' scoring.  The best part for me was that he scored one goal using his stick handling skills and the 2nd goal by crashing the net.  He was also robbed by Fleury at least twice on very nice deflections in front.
• John Tortorella did a lot of line juggling during the game, and I can't say I blame him.  When your team hasn't put a single puck in a net for 7 straight periods, you have to try something.  That said, I still don't understand the thought process between sending Erik Christensen to the press box.  For a team that's hurting on the scoreboard, sitting a guy who can cash in for the 5:36 that Brashear played makes no sense to me.  If Torts was set on benching Christensen, Ales Kotalik should have gotten the chance.
• While I'm on personnel decisions, I still don't like the Girardi/Del Zotto pairing.  Girardi/Staal and Del Zotto/Rozsival seems much more effective.
• Henrik Lundqvist had his worst night in a LONG time.  Both goals by Chris Conner (7g in 77 career games before tonight, called up from the AHL today) looked rather soft to me; and according to Stan Fischler, Hank admitted he blew it on the game-winner.
• Without the benefit of replay, I didn't see the apparent slash that Marian Gaborik was called for (and led to the tying goal).  It seemed like a terrible call and I just had a feeling that the PEns would cash in on it.  The usually outstanding Rangers PK seems to have issues killing off penalties that appear to be bad calls.  That's something that needs to be fixed, and it's a 100% mental issue.
• On the officiating...where to start?  I already mentioned the call on Gaborik that seemed to be a soft call to me, but to have Wade Redden essentially bear hugged away from the puck minutes later right in front of the referee and have no interference called is just mind boggling to me.  If there is a video being made to teach new officials what interference is, a clip of that play should be on it.  Also, there was one play in the third period when the puck so clearly hit the netting that all 10 players stopped playing, but it took 4 players staring at the referee for anyone to blow a whistle.
• Marc Staal and Christopher Higgins both rebounded with strong showings.
• What is there not to like about Ryan Callahan?  6 hits, 4 shots on goal, and the best backcheck I've seen all year in catching Orpik from behind on a shorthanded breakaway and taking the puck away before Orpik could get a shot off.  Now if only he could have netted one of those...

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Canadiens 1/23

Canadiens 6, Rangers 0

• After the first 8 minutes or so, watching this game was just as bad as watching the last 6-0 loss (to Philly).  This is now the 2nd time in as many weeks that the Rangers have been shut out in back to back games, and this one time it's far less excusable (not that it ever was to begin with).
• Jaroslav Halak was excellent in net for the Habs tonight.  The Rangers had 3 point blank chances in the first 5 minutes, and Halak stood tall.  He also robbed Chris Drury on a one-timer from the left circle.  The most disappointing part of tonight for me: Halak is on the bench for my fantasy team today.
• Pulling Henrik Lundqvist was the right move.  Not because of anything he did, but because the team was playing putrid defense in front of him.
• Before everyone jumps on Michal Rozsival for letting Gomez get to the net on the opening tally, it was Drury who lost the draw clean to Gomez and then blew the coverage by following the puck instead of his man (as noted by Joe Micheletti on the broadcast).  Rozsival did the best job he could to go to the open man, but got there a split second too late.
• Marian Gaborik failed to score a goal for the 3rd straight game and 8th time in 9 games.  He looked better and recorded 7 shots on goal, but couldn't find the twine.  He also missed a wide open net a few minutes into the game.
• Michael Del Zotto had a horrid game.  Maybe it's time to call up someone from Hartford to give him a rest for a game.  I'm ok with rookie mistakes, but he's looked tired both mentally and physically in the past couple of games.
• I thought Marc Staal rebounded from a terrible showing against the Flyers and was the best Ranger on the ice tonight.
• Ales Kotalik should play on Monday night against the Penguins.  Artem Anisimov or Christopher Higgins should sit.  Anisimov has looked tired like Del Zotto in the past few games and could use a rest.
• Aaron Voros and Enver Lisin should absolutely stay in the lineup.  Voros took a bad penalty night, but I like the passion he's been playing with.  
• Plus, Voros got Marian Gaborik on Twitter.
• Matt Zaba looked ok in his NHL debut.  There's no way to really judge it though, very similar to Chad Johnson's debut in the last 6-0 defeat.
• The Rangers need to regroup and regroup fast.  Familiar foes Pittsburgh make and appearance at MSG on Monday night, and the fans are itching for something to cheer about (see also: goals, a win, and Sidney Crosby getting knocked on his butt).

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Canadiens 1/17

Rangers 6, Canadiens 2

• Is there any better way to shake a scoring slump than with a 6 goal outburst against a team that you're fighting with for a playoff spot?
• Three Stars: Ryan Callahan (2g, 2a), Brandon Dubinsky (2g, 1a), and Marian Gaborik (1g, 2a).
• This was the most passion and physical fire I've seen from this team all season.  Wade Redden deserves a lot of credit after standing up for Erik Christensen.  First, after Christensen took a high, late hit from Benoit Pouliot, Redden was the Ranger who approached Pouliot.  After Pouliot returned from his penalty, Redden managed to find him during a post-whistle scuffle and the two dropped the gloves.  From my vantage point in the 400s it even looked like Redden won the fight, landing some solid shots.  Here's video of the fight.
• Later, Christensen stood up to Scott Gomez on behalf of Dubinsky, who took a shot between the legs from Gomez after the whistle.
• Enver Lisin stood up for himself after being interfered with by Tomas Plekanec.
• The Rangers did a much better job at 2 very important things tonight: clearing the zone and getting traffic in front of the opposition's net.
• The top line of Prospal-Dubinsky-Gaborik seems to be clicking again.  It's only 1 game so consider it cautious optimism, but I'm pretty sure we'll see them together Tuesday night against the Lightning.
• Redden had a strong game on defense to accompany his feisty play.
• Dubinsky had a strong 2-way game and excelled in the faceoff circle, winning 12 of 15 draws.  He also showed unselfishness in setting up Gaborik for the team's 5th goal instead of shooting for a hat trick of his own.
• This game was a great illustration of why Ryan Callahan is on Team USA for the Olympics.  He scored goals on the power play and at even strength, and added assists short handed and at even strength.  Really, his play to get the puck out of the zone and around the defenseman completely set up Dubinsky's shorthanded goal.
• Chris Drury was very good on the power play point.  He took shots when the lane was there, and did an outstanding job of keeping the puck in the zone at least 3 times tonight.
• Michael Del Zotto had his best defensive game in recent memory, and did a great job of forcing Gomez around the net on a third period 2-on-1.
• The second period was one of the team's best all season.  On top of the 3 goals scored, they limited the Habs to 2 shots.  In fact, I think the Rangers limited the Habs to 2 shots for the 30 minutes or so following their 2nd goal.
• Speaking of that 2nd goal, it looked an awful lot to me like Brian Gionta knocked it into the net with a high stick.  I just saw the replay of it on TV, and I still think they got the call wrong.
• From my vantage point I thought Pouliot deserved more than 2 minutes for his high, late hit on Christensen.  It seemed very late and clearly directed at Christensen's head.
• Henrik Lundqvist appeared to be sporting a brand new mask.  If new mask = 6 goals for the Rangers, I think he should have a new mask every night.  He can surely afford it with his contract!
• The last time Lundqvist allowed more than 2 goals in a game was that forgettable outing agains the Flyers on 12/30.  It's now been 8 straight games allowing less than 3 goals for Hank.
• Sean Avery saw most of his time with the 4th line tonight, and had a good scrap with Josh Gorges.  It was the best I've ever seen Avery fight.
• The only way I see a spot for Brashear or Kotalik in this lineup is if Higgins takes a seat.  Everyone else played themselves into a spot in my eyes.
• The Rangers now have three 10-goal scorers on the year: Gaborik (29), Callahan (12), and Dubinsky (10).
• One other thing...I didn't quite understand the reason behind booing Gomez.  He clearly used to be a Ranger, but it wasn't like he asked to be traded or left via free agency.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Blues 1/16

Blues 4, Rangers 1

• Enver Lisin MUST stay in the lineup.  He was the best Ranger on the ice all night, skating hard and creating chances.  I thought he should have drawn a tripping call on his partial breakaway, and he drew one on his next shift after hitting the crossbar.
• Marian Gaborik has definitely hit a rough patch, and not just offensively.  After blowing coverage on the game-winner Thursday night against Ottawa, his turnover led to the game-winner tonight.  He also had a glorious chance and was stoned by Mason.
• The Blues have the best forecheck I've seen all year.  I hope Torts uses it as an example of how to effectively--and consistently--forecheck.
• Chad Johnson was ok.  I still don't see him as an NHL caliber goalie yet, but he seems to be the best in-house option the Rangers have.
• The D pair of Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto has to end.  They were minus-2 together tonight, and the defensive pairs seem to be so much more in sync when Staal is with Girardi and Del Zotto is with Rozsival.
• The power play was brutal, and there's no other way to put it.  I think the Blues had more shots on Rangers power plays than the Rangers did.  Unaccepatable.
• Hockey 101:  Clear the zone...seriously, do it!
• BREAKING NEWS: The Rangers scored a goal!  Now they need to work on increasing that number again.
• Brian Boyle was the one who found the back of the net--ok maybe not the back, but the puck found its way completely across the goal line--and Aaron Voros got the lone assist.
• If I was coaching this team:  Aaron Voros and Enver Lisin both play again tomorrow night.  Kotalik rejoins the lineup in place of Higgins.
• In all fairness, the Blues played a solid defensive game and Chris Mason was strong in net.
• It was good to see JD on MSG (or whatever you want to call it) again, and great to hear he's doing well.  It makes me miss hearing and seeing him next to Sam that much more though.
• The box score says the Rangers had 27 hits to the Blues' 23.  I don't know what game the statistician was watching, because the Blues were hitting everything in sight.  They might have had 23 hits in the third period.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Bruins 1/9

Rangers 3, Bruins 1

• This was the 2nd straight very strong defensive performance from the Rangers, and they seemed to build on their strong play from Thursday night in Atlanta.  All six defensemen played very well, took the body, and didn't give the Bruins much room to work with.  The forwards also had a strong back checking game today.
• The first period was sloppy by both teams and the Rangers were lucky to come out of it with the lead.  Del Zotto's moves on the goal and Lundqvist's poise on the penalty shot provided for the 1-0 margin.
• The second period was probably the 2nd best period I've seen the Rangers play this season (first period vs. Ducks was best).  They outshot the Bruins 21-3 in that frame, and the puck seemed to spend at least the entire 2nd half of the period in the Bruins end.  The 21 shots in a period were a season-high for the Rangers.  Overall, the Rangers outshot the Bruins 34-30, but that number was skewed by the Bruins' 16-6 third period advantage.
• As a team the Rangers took only 2 minor penalties (3 if you count the penalty shot), and 2 of them looked like proficient acting jobs by Bruins forwards.  Also, they have yet to allow a power play goal in 2010.
• The power play still looked dreadful in the first period, but improved a lot after that.  There was more movement, and they did a better job of keeping possession.
• Brandon Dubinsky (1st), Henrik Lundqvist (2nd), and Erik Christensen (3rd) were the 3 stars of the game, and they all deserved it.
• Dubinsky factored in on all 3 goals, posting 2 assists and the eventual game winning goal.
• Lundqvist was very sharp in turning away 29 Boston shots, including 15 in the third period and Marco Sturm's first period penalty shot.  The only blunder was with less than 4 minutes to go in the game.
• Christensen continued his strong play with a very nice assist on Dubinsky's game winner and a rocket of a wrist shot for the insurance goal in the 3rd.  He also had 3 other shots on goal and was credited with 4 hits.  He now has 7 points (3g, 4a) and is plus-7 in 6 games since Prospal has been out.  If it was up to me, he would stay in the top 6 forwards when Prospal returns.
• Michael Del Zotto took advantage of last year's Norris and Vezina winners on his first period beauty.  He took the puck and skated around Chara, then drove to the net with the puck and got Thomas to open up the 5-hole before sliding the puck into the net.  Del Zotto was also especially strong in his own end today.
• Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Michal Rozsival all continued their strong play.  Girardi in particular blocked 4 shots and was credited with 4 hits.  Staal led the team with over 25 minutes of ice time.
• Chris Drury had another strong game and earned all of his 19:10 of ice time.  He was also 13-9 in the faceoff circle.
• The fourth line of Lisin-Boyle-Brashear played very well and was rewarded with almost 10 minutes of ice time.
• Sean Avery drew a roughing penalty in the second period during a post-whistle scuffle.  He had an otherwise quiet game.
• The next game is Tuesday night when the Rangers host the Devils at 7pm.  In case you missed it, there was a lighting issue last night in Newark and the Devils-Lightning game was suspend with about 9 minutes left in the second period.  The rest of that game will be played tomorrow, so both teams should be pretty fresh for Tuesday's contest.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Thrashers 1/7

Thrasher 2, Rangers 1 (SO)

• Chad Johnson really deserved better.  He played better than anyone could have imagined--even stopped Ilya Kovalchuk in the shootout--and got no offensive support.  He got the support on defense for sure, but a loss of any kind to this Thrashers team that had lost 9 straight should be considered unacceptable.  Right after I typed this, Ryan Callahan is said pretty much the same exact thing in his interview.
• Enver Lisin scored the only goal for the Rangers by driving hard to the net and deflecting a beautiful pass from Marc Staal. Chad Johnson got the other assist.
• Chad Johnson's final line: 31 saves, 1 assist, 1 goal allowed, .969 save percentage.  Chad, welcome to the big club, you'll likely get the nod a few more times before April.
• Enver Lisin--remember, the guy who scored a second period goal--played less than every other player tonight.  I don't get it.
• I like Michael Del Zotto as much as the next guy, but choosing him 5th in the shootout?  Did Torts think this was another rookie draft?  A short list of some of the players who could have shot at that point instead: Avery, Anisimov, Lisin, Dubinsky, Drury, Gilroy.  I don't see the logic in having MDZ shoot there, especially needing to score to keep it going.
• Marc Staal and Michal Rozsival had an outstanding defensive game, combining to keep Kovalchuk at bay (1 SOG, -1) and helping keep Johnson calm.  Staal also did a great job rushing the puck up ice to create the Rangers goal.
• Ryan Callahan had a great game--even made a save--but he committed a not so great turnover that led to the Thrashers goal. You have to get that one over the red line, even if you ice it and have to take a timeout.
• Chris Drury was credited with 7 blocked shots tonight.  I think the real number was closer to 10, but his defensive play was outstanding (14-9 on faceoffs didn't hurt either).
• Erik Christensen made another outstanding play when he used his body to shield the puck from Afinigenov before putting a perfect pass on Gaborik's stick for one of the best Rangers scoring chances of the night.
• I like the D pairings much better when Staal and Girardi play together and Del Zotto plays with Rozsival.
• The Rangers are now 2-6 in games that go past 60 minutes.  They also have points in 10 of their last 11 games and 5 straight.
• 2009 1st round pick Chris Kreider and his BC Eagles play against BU at Fenway tomorrow night.  The game will be broadcast live on NHL Network at 7:30pm.
• The next Rangers game is at 1pm Saturday in Boston on MSG.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Flyers 12/30

Flyers 6, Rangers 0

This postgame blog is going to look different than previous editions because there isn't much to say.  The Rangers were outskated, outhit, outplayed, outskilled, outpassed, out-(insert any word here).  Blair Betts (1g, 11-5 faceoffs) showed Glen Sather and John Tortorella why they shouldn't have let him go, Michael Leighton (22 svs) showed them why they should have claimed him when the Hurricanes placed him on waivers earlier this season, and Simon Gagne (3g, 1a) looked like he had never had the groin issues that he returned from just 10 days ago.  The Rangers were outshot 31-22, but those totals are misleading because the Rangers outshot the Flyers 12-2 in the 3rd period.  If you're looking for a bright spot out of the Rangers--and it's really hard to find one--it's that they took only 2 minor penalties, but you could argue it was a result of their lack of hard play overall.

One thing I feel the need to cover in this space is Chad Johnson's NHL debut, which came at the start of the 2nd period with the Rangers already trailing 3-0.  After looking lost on the first 2 shots he faced (1 goal, 1 post), Johnson seemed to really settle in.  He made 17 saves on 20 shots on goal overall and had 2 pucks hit the goalposts behind him.  There were a couple of very nice saves in that bunch, and I don't know that he had much of a chance on either of the other goals he allowed.  The first was during a 5-on-3 advantage for the Flyers and the other was on a partial breakaway created by a pretty pass to Gagne from Claude Giroux.  At the end of the day I don't foresee Johnson ever being a starter in the NHL, but he might be a capable backup eventually...I just don't think his time is now.

My only other thought on tonight's game is this: I think Michael Del Zotto played his worst game in a Rangers uniform tonight.  He looked soft in the defensive end and his passes didn't look like their normal crisp selves.  He struggled all-around and was minus-3 on the night.  The bright note in this is that Torts stuck with him throughout the night and he ended up leading the team in ice time with 23:02.

A quick note...If you're home tomorrow night, you have 2 choices for Rangers hockey at 8pm: The Rangers take on Carolina on MSG.  Also, Rangers prospects Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Ryan Bourque, and the rest of Team USA will face Canada at the WJC and the game will be broadcast live on the NHL Network.