Rangers Report Blog

From the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES
November 30, 2009 – New York Rangers 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 5 (Game #27, Home #13)
The Rangers were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2, in front of a sold-out crowd (18,200) at Madison Square Garden.

• New York have sold out 169 consecutive regular season games, dating back to Nov. 5, 2005 against New Jersey; the last regular season non-sellout was Oct. 31, 2005 vs. Montreal (17,697); including the playoffs, the Rangers sellout streak is now at 183 games.
  The Rangers are now 13-13-1 (27 pts.) on the season and 7-6-0 at home; in their last 22 regular season games at MSG, New York are 15-7-0, and have out-scored their opponents, 76-52, during the stretch.
  The Blueshirts notched one goal in three power play opportunities to improve to 14-48 (29.2%) at MSG with the man advantage.
  Marian Gaborik tallied two goals in the game, including one on the power play, to improve his league-leading goal total to 21 on the season; this marks his sixth career 20-plus goal season.  He also registered a game-high seven shots in 22:23 of icetime.
  Chris Drury collected a power play assist on Gaborik’s second goal of the game; the Rangers Captain has registered three assists/points in the last four games after missing the previous five to injury.
  Marc Staal recorded one assist to extend his point streak to three games (one goal and two assists); he finished with five hits and led all skaters with 25:58 of icetime.
  Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto tallied one power play assist and delivered a game-high six hits; entering tonight’s contest, he ranked third among NHL rookies in hits (56) and tied for fourth in points (five goals and 16 points).
  Vinny Prospal recorded an assist on Gaborik’s goal at 3:12 of the second period; he now has four points (one goal and three assists) in the last three games at MSG.
  The Rangers next practice is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 (11:00 a.m.), at the MSG Training Center.
  The Rangers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 5, when they will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena (7:00 p.m.); the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.
  POST-GAME QUOTES
  John Tortorella on tonight’s game… “I thought we played better defensively, first of all.  I thought we had the puck more.  We generated some offense.  It is discouraging.  I thought there were a lot of good things for a lot of minutes of that game.  Right now we are just not figuring out how to win it at key times.  We need another big play, another big defensive play, another big offensive play, another big save.  That is the fine line between winning and losing in this league and right now we are not getting it done.”
  Marian Gaborik on the positives of the game… “I don’t think we gave them much.  We gave them a couple of power plays.  I think we had a lot of chances, quality chances.  That is what we have to take out of this game.”
  Chris Drury on tonight’s game… “I thought we did a lot of good things throughout the game. It’s really a frustrating loss.  Hopefully we can take some good things from it, get a good week of practice and get ready for Buffalo.”

First the news. Sean Avery will play on the No. 1 line with Gaborik and Prospal. Question: What took so long?

Enver Lisin will be prucha’d apparently. Donald Brashear on the third line. Question: Why?

Henrik Lundqvist in goal.

Biggest question: Which line would John Tortorella trust to play man-up against Crosby and Malkin, if and when they are together, and which lines will he employ against them if they are apart? Answer: There is no good answer to either of these questions.
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Here’s something from the Rangers about the Garden of Dreams, which will take place during the first intermission:

MARK MESSIER TO ACCEPT MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION AWARD ON BEHALF OF THE GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION
Garden of Dreams Presented with Annual Chris Greicius Industry Icon Award during the November 30th New York Rangers Game at Madison Square Garden
New York, November 30, 2009 – On Monday November 30, 2009, as the Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden, the Garden of Dreams Foundation will be presented with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America’s annual Chris Greicius Industry Icon award which acknowledges exceptional dedication to Make-A-Wish Foundation’s mission by helping grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
During the first intermission of Monday’s game, Make-A-Wish Foundation Metro New York President and CEO Patricia Clemency and wish child Matthew Von Dollen will take the ice to present Mark Messier with the prestigious award which he will accept on behalf of the Garden of Dreams Foundation. The presentation will be followed by a special video feature highlighting the Garden of Dream Foundation’s ongoing relationship with Make-A-Wish.
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Hey, maybe the Captain can give the Rangers a little talk, too. Or suit up.

Enjoy the game.

Well, at least they won’t be giving away Penguins hats tonight (although they probably would if somebody offered them enough money).

To review: The Rangers have one regulation victory and two skills competition victories in their last nine games, and in that one regulation victory they scored seven goals and allowed four. They went 2-3 in that stretch of five games in eight nights (tonight makes six in 10). They allowed 13 goals in their last two.

To say tonight is an important test of character, let alone ability, is an understatement.

Larry Brooks wrote today that it’s time for Tortorella to show us something, too, and I agree.

Will it get ugly? With Matt Cooke suspended, that’s doubtful … unless the score gets lopsided again.

Here are the pregame notes. 

I’m getting in the car to drive through the rain from Syracuse. Wooohoooo!

See youse.

Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke won’t be on the ice tomorrow at the Garden. He was suspended two games for his cheaphot on Artem Anismov Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Here’s the official announcement from NHL.com.

Good afternoon from the Carrier Dome. Nice game last night, huh?

Nice road trip. Nice 3-in-4. Nice back-to-backs. Are these guys not in the kind of condition they claimed to have been in when the season began? Or were they just outclassed? No doubt, the Rangers do not have the skill to match teams like Pittsburgh, not to mention teams like Tampa. They will have to outwork them, out-goalie them, out-special-teams them (not likely). They will have to play well defensively (ahem, that’s 18 goals against in the last four games, and that includes the really good game in Florida).

So don’t hold your breath. I don’t think the Rangers are this bad, but they sure aren’t nearly as good as the team that started 7-1 with special teams and defense and conditioning and goaltending.

That all said, I think you have to live with it. I really do.  I understand your frustration and anger. But this is what you signed up for. You wanted to see the young kids? You have to accept it when they take their lumps. You want to complain about the veterans who’ve been stinking it up? That’s fine. But the results are what they are, and that’s at least in part due to the youth on the roster  —and I wonder how much of that youth would even be here if it weren’t for the salary cap situation.

You live with Michael Del Zotto’s -5, which is hard to do in a game in which your team allowed six even-strength goals. You live with it. 

I don’t think you live with the fourth line being on the ice when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are feasting on your rookie defensemen and backup goalie. I don’t think you live with the fact that this team has no checking presence at all, no defense-minded forwards or shut-down defensemen to deal with top-shelf opposition talent. That’s another matter, though.

Here are the official game summary and event summary from the carnage.

From the NYR:
NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
November 28, 2009 – New York Rangers 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 8 (Game #26, Road #14)

* The Blueshirts were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-3, tonight at Mellon Arena to drop to 13-12-1 overall, including a 6-7-1 mark on the road.

* Each of the Rangers three goals were tallied by a defenseman, marking the second time this season the New York defense corps registered three goals in a game (Oct. 12 vs. Toronto, 7-2); entering tonight’s contest, the Blueshirts’ defensemen combined for 15 goals on the season, tying Chicago for fourth in the NHL.

* Marc Staal opened the game’s scoring at 8:50 of the first period and blocked two shots in 22:22 of icetime; Staal has now recorded a point in back-to-back contests (one goal and two points).

* Marian Gaborik led the team with two assists/points; he currently leads the NHL with 19 goals and ranks second in scoring with 35 points.

* Following three straight Pittsburgh goals, rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy responded to cut the Rangers deficit to one goal with 5:27 remaining in the second period.

* Michal Rozsival answered a Penguins goal in the closing second of the middle frame with an even strength tally 33 seconds into the third, and finished with a game-high four blocked shots and a team-high 23:05 of icetime.

* Four Rangers skaters – Ales Kotalik, Sean Avery, Vinny Prospal, and Chris Drury – recorded one assist apiece in the contest.

* Michael Del Zotto and Dan Girardi tied for the game-high with five hits.

* Christopher Higgins led all skaters with six shots on net, and led all New York forwards with 22:40 of icetime.

* The Rangers return to action on Monday, November 30, when they will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to close out their home-and-home set; the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

Hi all. Been busy with football all day in the Carrier Dome. Sorry. Got to turn my focus to Mellon Arena, or the Igloo.

So here’s a blank slate for you. Lundqvist is not expected to play tonight, and Brian Boyle might get prucha’d.

Here are tonight’s pregame notes.

Enjoy. See youse all later.

Little time for whining about last night, not with the defending champs awaiting in a home-and-home.

But …

1) You want positives. OK, the young guys are getting great experience. Del Zotto is even getting more physical every game. Sanguinetti didn’t look out of place. One of the goals was scored by his man in front, but Higgins made an ultra-soft play trying to fish the puck away with his stick before it was scored. …

2) Speaking of which … The Rangers are a soft team overall, but last night they were astonishingly soft, especially around their own net. Although they did continue to stick up for one another. 

3) If you counted the six most talented forwards in the game last night, it was Gaborik and five Lightnings.

4) Would you trade the Rangers entire group of forwards, right now, for the Islanders’ forwards?

5) Speaking of the Isles, they really ticked off the Penguins for you yesterday.

6) Torts didn’t really enjoy that video tribute, did he?

7) Avery was good again. Very good.

8) Rozsival, Girardi, Drury, Higgins all regressed. Lundqvist was bad, and many of you are right. I wouldn’t call him awful this season, or even mediocre, but he hasn’t been as good as we’re conditioned to seeing.

9) So does Lundqvist play back-to-backs? Does he sit out the third in four nights and play the Pens Monday at MSG? Could they possibly beat Pittsburgh with an average LQ or with Valiquette?

10) Maybe Wade Redden is underpaid.

11) Did Mike Smith make one memorable save?

From the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES

November 27, 2009 – New York Rangers 1, Tampa Bay 5 (Game #25, Road #13)

* The Blueshirts were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-1, tonight at St. Pete Times Forum.

* The Rangers dropped to 13-11-1 overall, including a 6-6-1 mark on the road.

* Rangers Alternate Captain Ryan Callahan notched a goal at 17:53 of the third period.

* Arten Anisimov recorded one assist in 16:40 of icetime; he currently ranks ninth in the NHL among rookies with 12 points (five goals and seven assists).

* Defenseman Marc Staal registered one assist and two blocked shots in 21:08 of icetime.

* Christopher Higgins led all skaters with six shots on net; Michal Rozsival led the team with 23:00 of icetime.

* Vinny Prospal led the team with eight faceoff wins, and finished with a 53% (8-15) success rate.

* The Rangers return to action tomorrow, November 28, when they will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena (7:30 p.m.), in the second game of a back-to-back road set; the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

* Prior to the game, the team’s morning skate at Mellon Arena is TBA.

Never liked those singular names. Ought to be Lightnings. Or Lightning Bolts. Or Lightning Strikes. Or just Bolts. Or whatever.

Anyway, here was my checklist for today: Get up, blog, go to office, drive to Syracuse, survive that (despite rain and sleet and some snow), check into hotel before 7:30, find out if they have MSG. Well, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.

Wait a minute! Panic! The Knicks are playing tonight. I’ll bet the hockey game is on one of those cheesy Plus-Deuce MSGs. Grab the paper. Find out your right. Grab the remote. Spin around  the dial. See Brad Park talking to Fran Healy. I guess this is MSG Plus. So I may have the game in my room. Now, new checklist: call Ruby Tuesday’s for a takeout order, go pick it up, get seated for puck-drop. And if this isn’t the channel the Rangers-Lightnings are on, then drive to a sports bar. I know where there is one, fortunately.
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According to my buddy Arthur Staple (filling in for the vacationing Zipay) Kotalik (ribcage strain) will play tonight as expected. Sanguinetti will be paired with Gilroy, at least to start, in his NHL debut. Lundqvist in goal, which brings up an interesting scenario. Does LQ play three games in four nights, or does Valiquette start in Pittsburgh tomorrow? Or does it depend on how tonight’s game goes? I’m guessing Voros will get prucha’d, but I’d sit the bigger guy.
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This message from Laurel:

It’s go time! Blogmama here. Rock and roll heads……