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. Hurricanes 1/27

Hurricanes 5, Rangers 1

• I don't know where else to start than this: This may have been Henrik Lundqvist's worst game of the season.  Eric Staal's eventual game-winner that came just 3:36 into the game was a terrible, terrible goal.  There's no other way of putting it.  The 4th goal wasn't much better.  The 1st and 3rd were nice deflections, and Hank had no chance at Staal's 2nd goal of the night (a one-timer blast to the top corner).
• After going 10 straight games allowing 2 goals or less, Lundqvist has now allowed 3 or more in 3 straight games.  My guess is that either Chad Johnson or Matt Zaba will get the start in Colorado on Sunday night to give him a couple of days off.
• Cam Ward was great in net tonight for the Hurricanes, and was very much deserving of the first star honors he received.
• The second period was a solid period of hockey, save for the shift after the Rangers pulled the game back to within a goal.  It looked to me like Matt Gilroy blew the coverage on the 3rd Carolina goal.
• Wade Redden was benched from that goal on, and I can't say I'm sure why.  His play didn't seem all that bad and it certainly wasn't his man who deflected the puck past Lundqvist.
• Watching Marc Staal play against either of his brothers is always entertaining for me.  There are always extra shoves between brothers and they seem to all love playing against one another.
• The past two games have revealed a not so good trend from last year of giving up goals on the shift immediately after a big goal.  Tuesday night, taking a quick penalty and giving up a quicker power play goal to let the Pens back into the game after taking a 2-1 lead.  Tonight, after closing to within a goal.
• Artem Anisimov had his 2nd straight strong game after I wrote that he needed a night off.  I was wrong (and am quite happy about that).  He should never have a shift without Enver Lisin on his wing.
• One rush in the third period pretty much summed up how things have going offensively for the Rangers of late: the puck jumped over Marian Gaborik's stick as he was attempting a wrist shot, then Vinny Prospal's stick broke as he attempted a slap shot following up.
• Gaborik also had the puck jump over his stick as he was trying to fire home a rebound in front of Ward.
• In person, Ryan Callahan's goal seemed to be one of the laziest deflections I had ever seen.  Now that I've had a chance to see a replay, Cally did a great job to fight off the defender and get his stick on the puck.
• Ales Kotalik was absolutely brutal.  I can remember 1 decent shift for him in the game, but his passing was FAR off, his shooting was off, and his play was poor.  Can we have Erik Christensen back in the lineup? PLEASE?!?
• Sean Avery was pretty much invisible tonight.  He threw his body around a bit while playing with Boyle and Voros, but he certainly wasn't anything close to an agitator.

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. 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. Hurricanes 1/2

Hurricanes 2, Rangers 1 (OT)

• Christopher Higgins could not hit a parked car with a puck if he was inside of it.
• Christopher Higgins could'nt hit the side of a barn with a grenade launcher if he was standing next to it.
• You get the point...I just don't understand how Higgins continues to see the amount of ice time he's been getting recently (20:21 tonight, including 2:51 on the PP) while Avery (11:22), Lisin (4:03), and Anisimov (12:02) continue to play well in limited time.  I especially don't understand it after Higgins took 2 bad penalties in the first period today.
• Speaking of Enver Lisin...did you see that move he made to create a shooting lane for himself before getting flat out robbed by Cam Ward?!?  That's why Glen Sather gave up Lauri Korpikoski for him.
• Cam Ward played an excellent game and was deserving as the game's #1 star, but the Rangers hit the post 5 times that I counted from my seat and should have put at least 1 of those in the back of the net.  As Torts said in his post-game press conference, this game should not have gone to OT.
• Erik Christensen really looks like he fits in well with Dubinsky and Gaborik.  He played almost 20 minutes, picked up an assist on Gaborik's goal, and got 1 shot of his own on goal.
• I thought Ales Kotalik had as solid a game as he's had in a loooong time (all season?), especially at even strength.  I still think he needs to get himself open more and go back to letting a few slappers rip from the point on every PP.
• I'm happy I can say this...Brian Boyle had a solid game and earned every bit of his 9+ minutes of ice time.  He even got 4 shots on net.
• Dan Girardi has looked good over the past few games, and I like the pairings much better when he plays with Staal and Del Zotto skates with Rozsival.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Islanders 12/26

Final Score: Islanders 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

• Brandon Dubinsky played an outstanding game.  Not only did he score both Ranger goals, but he went 12-4 in the faceoff circle and was effective all over the ice.  He also registered 5 shots on goal, 2 hits, and a plus-1.
• Sean Avery did a good job of being Sean Avery.  That said, the penalty he took for goalie interference was just dumb.  That's one of those penalties Torts has to just hate.
• When I saw just a single referee on the ice to start the game and heard that it was Steve Walkom I began to wonder if this was going to look like a Rangers-Isles game from the 90s, with lots of scraps and what is now called interference.  Fortunately...or maybe unfortunately...it wasn't.
• Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal were each a team-worst minus-2.  It's gonna be hard for the Rangers to win when that happens...
• Prospal's pass to Girardi that set up the first Isles goal was a tough one that took a bad hop on Girardi.  On that goal, what a pass by Kyle Okposo.
• Michal Rozsival posted 2 more assists and was plus-1.  He now has 5 assists and is a plus-5 in the past 5 games.  Despite the 2 assists, Rozsival's game regressed a bit tonight.  That said, I still don't understand why people boo the guy when his assists are announced...seems a lot like punishing good to me.  (I plan to write further on this in coming weeks.)
• Enver Lisin's game regressed a bit as well, but I still thought he had a decent game in limited time.
• See my previous post on Brian Boyle.  I don't remember seeing him on the ice again after his STUPID delay of game penalty for putting the puck over the glass unnecessarily on a delayed penalty.  Hey, at least he was 2-2 on faceoffs, right?
• Chris Drury had another effective game even though he didn't put one in the net.  He did get the primary assist on Dubinsky's first goal though.
• Did I mention how bad Brian Boyle was?  3:01 of ice time...Tortorella agrees.
• On the game-winner in OT, the puck made an unfortunate (for the Rangers) deflection off Staal's skate.  No deflection, do goal...that's a tough one.
• I'm watching NHL on the Fly (on NHL Network) as I write this.  They just played the highlights from this game, and I feel bad for whoever had to listen to John Giannone call this game.  His voice is brutal and it seems like you can see the gears spinning in his head on the screen in front of you.

That's all for now.  I have the USA-Slovakia game from the World Junior Championships on my DVR and intend to watch it tomorrow and blog on it.  Also, congratulations to another Rangers prospect, Roman Horak, on being named to the Czech WJC team.  Horak, a center, was the Rangers' 4th round selection this year.

Postgame Reactions - Rangers vs. Panthers 12/23

This post comes with a disclaimer:  I am a season ticket holder and I sit in section 403 (about even with the goal line at the end where the Rangers defend twice).  That said, the reactions that will follow this disclaimer are based on what I saw live and a little bit of looking at the box score.

• I don't think I need to even acknowledge this, but Henrik Lundqvist has been playing out of his mind.  He made at least 3 highlight reel saves that I can remember.
• Florida's power play has excellent movement.  I don't remember seeing a single player stand still for longer than 2 seconds during any one of their power plays.  John Tortorella should use this as an example to improve the Rangers' PP unit further.
• The PK unit for the Rangers did a great job once again, but they have to get better at clearing the zone.
• I thought Enver Lisin played his best game as a Ranger.  Torts seemed to agree and rewarded Lisin with 13:05 of ice time, his most since the Rangers' last home win.  His foot seems to have healed fully and his speed is a great asset.  Drury's tying goal was completely set up by Lisin's speed negating the icing and finding the captain with a beautiful pass.  He even drew a penalty and was heavily involved in 2 scrums.
• Follow up to my earlier post on Brian Boyle: I thought he played a decent game.  He was credited with 2 hits, but won only 1 of the 4 faceoffs he took.
• Wade Redden had a solid game.  He had 1 shot on goal, 3 hits (only Callahan and Gilroy had more), and did an outstanding job breaking up a 2-on-1 when the game was still tied.
• It's great to see Vinny Prospal rewarded for his hard work.  Since I've been at every home game this season, I always appreciate his visible work ethic on EVERY shift.
• Michal Rozsival had another solid game.  I don't know what Torts did, but it worked!
• Chris Drury too...that 4th line demotion last week is continuing to bear its fruit.  Drury was named the game's 3rd star and deservingly so.

Congratulations are in order for Henrik Lundqvist, who is now alone at #5 on the Rangers career wins list.