That is easily the best game the Rangers have played since I’ve been on this blog, which goes back to Jan. 29, and some of you have said that it may have been their best game all year.

Since I’ve been around, whatever game is second best isn’t even close.

And it could not have come at a better time, because the Rangers not only desperately needed both points, but they needed to get a lot of things straightened out—offense, defense, goaltending, coaching, holding a lead, using some smarts, discipline. To do it against such a formidable opponent (even though the Devils are struggling, they were cranked up for this game) is very impressive.

Now comes the challenging part. Do it again. The Rangers have had flashes, though none as bright as this, during the John Tortorella era. But they’ve usually followed up with something less than stellar, sometimes downright bad. Consistency has been a problem, and you need look no further than Atlanta last Thursday for proof. The Rangers need consistency to go anywhere in the playoffs, assuming they get there, and they need a couple more games like this, at least, to get there.

1) Sean Avery was genius. Pure genius. (“The Godfather” was on TV on at the same time as the game and Avery used the Corleone logic: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.) To be that aggravating and disciplined at the same time, well, you can’t teach that. He didn’t even deserve the minor penalty he got when he suckered Clarkson into taking a double-minor and a misconduct.

2) Tortorella realized he had to pull back a bit on the go-go-go pressure, and it worked. That’s a pretty good adjustment to make this late in the game.

3) Hank’s back. Tortorella has said he’s the best goalie in the league, but for a while now he has not been that. He hasn’t been in the uppermost tier of goalies. He has to be that, and he was against the Devils and Marty Brodeur, whom he owns.

4) Curses Versus. How bad can a telecast get? How about Versus starting out of the gate, and repeating throughout, the promo about Buffalo having the most passionate fans in the NHL. Yeah, all the other fans want to hear that, right? 

5) I love that Heineken ad with the guys in the walk-in refrigerator full of beer.

Now your boys go back on the road … with no room for slipping back at all.

Here are the official game summary and event summary.
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NOON UPDATE: No new info, but I just wanted to remind you all that Montreal has two games in hand and Florida one. The Cats and Canadiens both play tonight. The Rangers-Habs game next Tuesday could be the deciding game in terms of playoff berth for either team. Of course, if the Rangers can get three or four points out of Carolina and Boston Thursday and Saturday, they could be in really good position by then. Or, on the half-empty side … if they only get two, or one, or no points out of those two road games, that could be the game that knocks them out.

Rangers get a big win tonight and put three points between their seventh-place spot and Montreal in eighth. Hard not to talk about the playoffs this time of year.

“We don’t have a playoff spot,” John Tortorella said. “We are in the playoffs but we are still fighting for our lives. We are just trying to find a way to get points. I thought we played really well in Pittsburgh.

“We let a point get away in Atlanta. We played well enough in Pittsburgh to at least get a point but we didn’t come up with a big play, they did. Tonight, we started the first half, I thought we were solid just with our fore-checking getting through that neutral zone. We are just taking it a game at a time. I know playoffs is a subject, but we want to just get in and we are going to take it a game at a time to give ourselves a chance to get in there.”

Henrik Lundqvist addressed the question of whether he would like to meet the Devils in the playoffs and he said Whoa Nelly, or the Scandanavian equivalent.

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The game was the main event, but the history between Rangers left wing Sean Avery and Devils goalie Martin Brodeur made for an interesting sideshow. Avery took it to a referee when Brodeur popped him with his stick after being screened.

It was a technique reminiscient of the move that generated The Avery Rule, but Brodeur said Avery didn’t bother him, and the shove would’ve been applied to anyone trying to block him.

“That’s his job,” Brodeur said, “and that’s my job to try to see so it doesn’t matter who was there.”

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With the 3-0 lead in hand in the third period, David Clarkson grabbed a passive Avery and threw him to the ground — twice  — before an official stepped in. Somehow, Avery was given two minutes for roughing even as Clarkson drew two roughing minors and a major misconduct.

“It was a 3-0 game at that point and I didn’t think there’s anything to be gained (from fighting back) at that point,” Avery said. “You fight for your team and you fight for your teammates. At that point I didn’t need to fight for either of them so there was really no point.”

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“That’s the new Sean,” Lundqvist said. He’s been very focused since he got here.”

Starting at 7 on Versus, the Devils (47-24-4) take on Sean Avery and the Rangers (39-28-9)! (Actually, borrowing from NBC’s hockey coverage in that lead-in.)

Before tonight’s game Rangers coach John Tortorella was asked if this is a must-win game for his team, and he said he just couldn’t put it in those kinds of terms. If he did, he asked, what would he say to them after a loss?

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Tortorella also said the Rangers were having a hard time protecting the middle of the ice, and used as an example Pittsburgh’s go-ahead goal. I don’t want to describe it in too much detail because I know some of you have delicate stomachs, and between that and the Versus coverage… Anyway, here’s Torts.

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I think it’s interesting that he says the system just can’t be installed this quickly. I’m wondering if that means something for the rest of this season. Enjoy the game!

I just got back from a pleasure trip. Took my mother-in-law to the airport. Ba-dum-bum.

No kidding. I just took my mother-in-law to the airport.

I don’t normally venture out into morning rush hour traffic, but I had no choice, and I want to tell you, it’s frightening out there with all the nut-jobs driving 85 mph on the parkway, zigging from lane to lane, not to mention that 80 percent of people seem to be on the phone. Also saw a few people texting while they drove, and one lady—I swear to God—reading a magazine she had propped up against the steering wheel.

And, with the stream of Lexus, Mercedes, Range Rover and BMW SUVs I saw, I have this question: is there really a recession going on?

I know, this is a Rangers blog, and we’re supposed to talk about the Rangers. But, you know, unless you have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. At least that’s what some of you said when you jumped on me for being a tad negative after that nice, nice loss in Atlanta Thursday. So following Saturday’s loss in Pitt, I bit my tongue. Don’t want to get anybody annoyed by pointing out some deficiencies the playoff-bubble Rangers might be showing (again).

Not to mention that we had some 600 comments on the thread for that game, and, well, after the game got away the ones who weren’t complaining about the awful officiating were saying pretty much the same things I said after Atlanta.

By the way, one of our loyal blog members—it may have been Perkins, but I apologize if it was somebody else—earlier pointed out that if the Rangers had found ways to win in places like Atlanta, they wouldn;t have to go into a building like the Igloo for a must-win (which they lost, also). Great point!

I will say this: I am a bit befuddled by all the people kicking John Tortorella and Henrik Lundqvist to the curb. Neither has had a very good little stretch here, but geez. Are you tired of ragging on the usual suspects?

I want to discuss that topic later on.

First there is this little matter of the only home game in this five-game stretch, tonight against the winningest goalie in NHL history, who will be re-introduced to his old nemesis on Garden ice. Time for the Rangers to show us something, isn’t it? Time to make the playoffs or get the golf clubs out. Every cliche in the book: Do or die, backs against the wall, men or mice. All of that.

Be prepared for the worst from Versus, though.
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Jane here with the update off the morning skate. Michal Rozsival (left knee) was working out on the bike today and coach John Tortorella said he would skate tomorrow and possibly practice with the team on Wednesday.

Rozsival was unaware of those plans, but eager to get back on the ice. “I’m going to push a little bit harder today and see how it goes tomorrow,” the defenseman said.

Speaking for the first time since being injured in the Ottawa game, Rozsival said it was hard to sit out this time of year, but was relieved it wasn’t something worse. “When I left the game I felt something was wrong but after the MRI and they told me it was not that bad, I felt OK about it,” he said.

There were 11 of players out there today; Morris, Valiquette, Betts, Orr, Girardi, Mara, Voros, Potter (No. 38), Avery, Korpikoski, Sjostrom.

Blair Betts is the Rangers’ Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy candidate. He seemed a little underwhelmed, and said it was an honor but that he owed it to his teammates to be focused on tonight’s game.

I’ll be at the game tonight, so more then.
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SORRY, GARY, NHL, RANGERS. JANE MEANT TO SAY “LOWER BODY INJURY.”  SHE’S NEW HERE. FORGIVE HER.—Carp

The Rangers practiced today on their home ice after losing a tough one in Pittsburgh. The two-game road trip yielded just one point, but captain Chris Drury said he thinks the Rangers can still make the playoffs despite the two losses and tough schedule.

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In the audio clip below, coach John Tortorella answers a question about the low-producing third periods and how that has got to change.

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I asked him about his 30-second interview, the one where he used some colorful words to describe his team after a shootout loss to Atlanta. Maybe you can tell from the clip below, but he has become a little more relaxed around us. Some of the other beat writers say it started in Pittsburgh, after the outburst. Hmmm… teachable moment?

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Sean Avery, who had an epic blowup with Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, won’t talk to reporters until the Devils game is over tomorrow night. Tortorella said he was not sure if someone from the Rangers had contacted the league about the differences in officiating that he sees Avery subject to—Torts asked if someone else making the same moves would get the penalties Avery does, and he thinks they wouldn’t. …Paul Mara’s eye injury wasn’t the reason he didn’t play more yesterday. … Corey Potter was at practice. He’s the in the white jersey above getting ready to shoot. … Tortorella expects that Michal Rozsival will be back on the ice early this week.

Here is Henrik Lundqvist talking about New Jersey and Pittsburgh.

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And that’s it for now. I tried to post a lot more audio because you have said you like the clips and I had the time to edit. I have noticed that if I try to upload something longer than about 1:30 I get a file-too-fat message. So alas, I will not be able to post an entire Tortorella presser—unless he storms out again after two questions.

And here’s the video of the screening tactic that gave birth to the Avery Rule.

After a poor performance yesterday in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh (-2 in 1:59), Michael Sauer was sent back to Hartford and Corey Potter has been brought up to replace defenseman Michal Rozival, out for another week or so with a “lower body” injury.

Practice was pushed back to 11:45 today, and I’m at the training facility now. I’ll report back on what is said after a roadtrip to nowhere. And if Torts has another 30-second presser, you’ll hear every moment.

I was actually thinking abut this during the third period Thursday night, and now even more so as the Rangers prep to face Evgeni Malkin (notice I list him first) and Sid the Kid (a.k.a. Cindy, in the Festivus blog).

Where does Kovalchuk place among the best offensive players in the game today? And how much of your right arm would you sacrifice for him to come to Broadway to wear No. 17 (sorry Dubi, give it up)?

OK, he’s not the goal-scorer Ovechkin is, and Ovechkin is the best player in the league, IMO. He maybe isn’t the overall offensive player Malkin is, and perhaps not even as good as Crosby. Then again, you have to wonder how good Kovalchuk would be if he had Malkin or Crosby playing with him, as Malkin and Crosby do. Plus he’s got a little bit of nastiness in his game.

Kovalchuk is sixth in the league in points on that lousy team in Atlanta, and we all saw how he can take over a game by himself—especially if you let him, as the Rangers did. Yet the Rangers don’t have any two players who combined can give you the offensive punch this guy does by himself. 

The Rangers, by the way, are still terribly flawed under Tortorella, who refuses to explain how he can sit out his best goal scorer during a shootout his team needed to win. They don’t have the offensive players to play his system, they aren’t good enough on defense to survive his system, and even though they are way, way better than they were a month ago—partly because they have added Avery, Antropov and Morris (two of whom may be departing July 1), partly because of the coach—I could see them making the playoffs and getting swept in ugly fashion, or going out in five in the first round, because they can’t stop anybody consistently and they can’t score consistently and their power play isn’t good enough to be called dreadful.

This is becoming a rant I had no intention of posting at this time. Wasn’t I talking about Kovalchuk?

Well, the next couple of games ought to be an interesting little test, if not a season-making/breaking portion of the schedule, if not a complete exposure of this team’s legitimacy of lack thereof.

Enjoy the game.

If you wanted an idea of how rotten last night’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Thrashers was, all you need to know is that Rangers coach John Tortorella couldn’t keep it together for more than 30 seconds before storming out of the postgame.

“I thought we sucked right on through the game,” Tortorella said. “I think we’re fortunate to get a point, very fortunate to get that.”

And that was the composed part. How I wish I had audio of the whole thing for you all. The Rangers were up 4-1 in the second period before letting it all slip away. The NHL.com game recap is here. Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record has a first hand account of the debacle here. Larry Brooks of the Post asks some fine questions here. And Steve Zipay of Newsday asks why the system keeps giving up third period goals.

As for the standings, the Rangers are in seventh and a point behind Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference standings. And next up: the Penguins, tomorrow. The Canadiens are sneaking back up and are two points behind the Rangers in eighth place. Fasten your seatbelts…

Don’t forget to write those Thank You letters to the Florida Panthers, who are making it awfully simple for the Rangers (and Montreal Canadiens, and others) to make the playoffs. The Cats’ collapse last night leaves your NYR in a good spot, up five with eight to play, no games in hand.

Everybody else who matters in the East won last night, and it looks like 5 through 8 or at least 5-7 are going to fluctuate daily.

Here’s a great site that charts the races for you in graphic detail. Check it out.

And for those with greater minds than mine, who want to get into some serious formulas and percentages about the Rangers’ (or other teams’) odds to make the playoffs, try this one.

I’m not going to try to figure out anything. All that matters, to my thinking, is just to get into the top eight. From there, does it really matter whom you play, or where? You might want to avoid Pittsburgh with all its weapons, but really Philly, the Devils and Boston are all the same type of poison. None of them scares the heck out of you in a short series, but they are all very, very good.

Anyway, while the Rangers are finishing up their morning skate in Atlanta, I’m at blog headquarters talking to you guys (I haven’t mentioned the boneheads in a while; Hi boneheads!). And I’m getting the suitcase out again, heading back upstate (Glens Falls, former training camp home of your Blueshirts) for one last time. I know the New York State Thruway better than I know 33rd and Seventh these days.

Jane and I will try to piece together info and updates during this little trip through the South and the ‘Burgh, but we probably won’t post as much as usual. Sorry.

Enjoy the game.
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NOON UPDATE: Just got word from the deep South that Valiquette will start in goal tonight, and that Naslund is fine and will play, as expected.

When the Rangers lost to the Thrashers on Feb. 3, it was one of the lowest points of the current season. It was Adam Graves night, and a host of Ranger legends had taken the ice at the start of the evening to bring back the memory of that 1994 team.

And then the current Rangers couldn’t make a go of it against a team with a losing record. New York was booed, on it’s own ice and in front of a full house.

“I remember that was a really tough loss,” goalie Lundqvist said. “It’s funny how the energy and feeling can change really fast during the season. Right now we feel really good about how we play.”

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New coach, new system and an influx of players before the trade deadline have made a big difference. The Rangers (39-27-8) have now won seven of the last 10 and are tied for seventh place with Pittsburgh with 86 points. Atlanta is 30-38-6 and out of playoffs contention.

“They’re a dangerous team,” coach John Tortorella said. “Their goaltender has played very well. They’ve got some quality people. Again they’re not in the playoffs and sometimes that makes them a very dangerous club they’re looking to knock people off.”

Here’s Tortorella on the power play.

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“We got to keep them at bay,” Paul Mara said, “but we just have to concentrate on our own game and keep playing the way we have been and we’ll get two points if we keep playing with confidence and play the way we have been.”

Michael Sauer got good reviews for his Garden debut. His dad, Curt, was even there for the first time ever to watch his son play. But first, he took one of those doubledecker tours of the city. Here is some audio of me and Katie Strang of Newsday asking Sauer about how this opportunity can play out for him.

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Markus Naslund didn’t practice today, but Tortorella said he would play against Atlanta. Aaron Voros skated in the line with Chris Drury and Nik Antropov. Tortorella kept the lines the same.