Rangers Report Blog

Some interesting stuff. Brandon Dubinsky and John Tortorella talking about Dubinsky’s progress the last couple of games, especially away from the puck; Tortorella talking about how hard it will be to change his lineup to make room for the guy who could be called up tomorrow, I forgot his name.

The main theme was that this game was the way the Rangers played when they were successful last season … when, if you recall, they played their best against the best opponents.

Also, I didn’t hear Joe Thornton say it, but Tortorella was happy to be told that Thornton said the Rangers were the softest team the Sharks have played.

Here are the post-game quotes:

John Tortorella:

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Ryan Callahan:

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Brandon Dubinsky:

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Dan Girardi:

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Martin Biron:

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Game 10. Third of a six-game homestand.

Last game, perhaps, without Sean Avery. First in the last seven against a non-Canadian team. Just full of big info here, right?

Mike Rupp (knee) and Marc Staal (concussion symptoms) remain out. Artem Anisimov is OK after that hit by Zenon Konopka Saturday. Jeff Woywitka returns on defense because of the return of Tim Erixon to Connecticut. Call-up Andre Deveaux replaces the demoted Kris Newbury.

And of course, Martin Biron starts in goal.

 

Here are the highlights about why the Rangers decided to re-call Sean Avery (or at least, put him on re-entry waivers). Will have audio in a few minutes right below this:

John Tortorella:

Why Avery now?

“Rupper. Rupper has a lot to do with this. We’re concerned about this. So we have to be careful there. Not sure what’s going to happen. There’s a couple other things that come along with it. But this is the right decision. It’s a hockey decision. It’s the right hockey decision now. And it was the right hockey decision when we sent Sean down. So that’s where it’s at.

“As I said yesterday, we have concerns with Rupper. I’m not sure when he’s going to play.

“Sean’s biggest strength are his legs. He’s a terrific skater. Obviously a big part of his game is forechecking, his play underneath the hashmarks. So we want him to play to his strengths and also work on the other parts of the game away from the puck. So it’s just like any other player. When you call a guy up, we want him to help us win a hockey game. It’s not that convoluted in my thinking, whether it’s Sean or Zuc (Mats Zuccarello) or Newbs (Kris Newbury) or Devo (Andre Deveaux), we want them to do the best they can to help us win a hockey game.”

“With Sean, it’s Rupper. …”

“When a guy like Rupper goes out, to me, it’s the right call for Sean in this situation here because it fills that role that we bring Rupper in for during the offseason.”
——————————-

Here’s the audio, with stuff also about Artem Anisimov saying this morning that he lost consciousness Saturday, but team officials insisting he didn’t understand the question. Tortorella also discusses the sky-is-falling feeling after nine games.

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The Rangers, as expected, placed Sean Avery on re-entry waivers at noon today.

That means any team in the NHL can claim him before noon tomorrow. Not likely.

Just to clear it up, if Avery is claimed, the Rangers are stuck with his cap hit, whereas if he is in Hartford the cap hit is off the books. So the Rangers are not doing this to clear cap space. Just the opposite.

It also means that at noon tomorrow, if unclaimed, Avery returns to the Rangers.

Get the parade route ready.

New poll over there———>
———————————
Meantime, here’s a re-post of a comment made by our friend Izzy early this morning:

1. Izzy Mandlebaum October 31st, 2011 at 12:16 am eA little Xmas Spirit…

   Here comes Av-e-ry…
   Here comes Av-e-ry…
   Back from being waived,
   Torts and Sather and all his Rangers
   Pullin’ on his reins.
   Bells are ringin’, children singin’,
   All is merry and bright.
   So hang your banners and say your prayers,
   ‘Cause Av-er-y comes tonight.

Pre-game notes from the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. SAN JOSE SHARKS
Monday, Oct. 31, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
Rangers: 3-3-3 (9 pts)
Sharks: 6-3-0 (12 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Oct. 29

TONIGHT’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the third game of their six-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and 11th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 3-3-3 (9 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, in the shootout on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and have now registered at least one point in four of their last six games (3-2-1). The Sharks enter the contest with a 6-3-0 (12 pts) record to rank fifth in the Western Conference, and have won their last five games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Nov. 3, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), as they continue their six-game homestand.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: MSG Network
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Sharks
Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
* Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio and newyorkrangers.com
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Sharks
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. SHARKS:

• All-Time: 19-6-3-0 overall (8-3-1-0 at home; 11-3-2-0 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight marks the first and only meeting this season
• Last Season: New York was 1-0-0 overall, having won their only meeting, 3-2, in the shootout on Mar. 12 at San Jose. Erik Christensen and Michael Sauer each notched a goal in regulation, while Wojtek Wolski and Brandon Dubinsky (game-decider) both converted their shootout attempt. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves and stopped five of six shootout attempts.
• The Rangers have registered at least a point in seven of the last nine contests vs. the Sharks (6-2-1-0 over the span) dating back to Dec. 28, 2001.
• New York ranks 29th with a 0-1-1 (1 pt) record at home; San Jose ranks second with a 5-1-0 (10 pts) mark on the road
• The Rangers have posted a 0-0-2 record vs. Pacific Division opponents; the Sharks are 2-0-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 2-1-0 record with a 2.35 goals against average in four career regular season contests vs. San Jose; Martin Biron is 2-3-0-1 with a 2.14 goals against average in seven career regular season games vs. the Sharks
• Brad Richards leads the Rangers with eight goals, 12 assists and 20 points in 24 career regular season contests vs. San Jose; Ryan Callahan has tallied three goals and four points in four games vs. the Sharks
• New York lists no former Sharks on their roster

• San Jose lists no former Rangers on their roster (more…)

Holy cow, what an ordeal getting home. Never thought 4-6 inches of snow could create such problems, but roads froze, trees fell, power went out. Yikes. October byfuglien 29th.

Well, at least ya boys are still NHL-.500, even though they’ve won three and lost six.

Thoughts:

1) Marian Gaborik=Beast. Bet you never thought you’d read that.

2) The Brian Boyle penalty? Pansification.

3) Speaking of which, I thought it was an awful call on Zenon Konopka, even if he is a knucklehead. Artem Anisimov had his head down (as usual), Konopka hit him from the side, not the back. OK, Anisimov was vulnerable. Once upon a time, the vulnerable player was responsible for that. Also, once upon a time, you’d see 10, 15 hits like that every game.

4) I agree that Chris Neal nailed Brad Richards in the head—not sure it was an elbow—and I don’t think there was even that much intent on the Wojtek Wolski collision with Daniel Alfredsson’s head. But I will be the least surprised person on the planet if Wolski—who was decent—is suspended for two.

5) And then the Rangers will have to recall a forward. Hmmmm. Here come those two magic words.

6) There was some twitter babble about Sean Avery being recalled. But he’d have to go through re-entry waivers. I don’t think there’s a team out there that would take him for a 1/4 cap hit, so I don’t think the Rangers are concerned about that one bit. I wonder if they’d really consider it. Again, he’s better than Kris Newbury, who went the other way last night, and he’s better than Erik Christensen by a lot. Anyway, Carl Hagelin broke the story on twitter that Andre Deveaux, his roommate, is being recalled.

7) Dan Girardi, Block Ness Monster, finally had a stinker. So did his partner, Ryan McMonster. I thought Michael Sauer was fairly beastly though.

8) Tim Erixon had some problems with Toronto the other night, and yesterday looked kinda out of place vs. the Senators, so I understand the demotion for his development. But that means Jeff Woywitka plays tomorrow vs. the Sharks? Maybe a trade is indeed coming.

9) Though they had some defensive lapses, especially Brad Richards, you sure saw some indications that Richards, Ryan Callahan, and even Brandon Dubinsky are coming around. Dubinsky still came away empty, but this was his best game.

10) There were a lot of empty seats, especially the most expensive ones (is this Yankee Stadium II?). Part of that might have been the matinee, part might have been the mighty Senators, and part was surely the weather. The concourses were therefore less crowded. But I think they fixed a number of the opening-night congestion problems by putting up ropes to control the concession lines. If it’s true that you can’t buy beer and hot dogs at the same place, thus you have to stand in two lines to get one of each, they need to change that STAT.

11) National anthem singers Steven and Madelyn Murphy: When the dad does it alone, I’m not a big fan. But together they were sensational again.

12) Another reason I hate the post-game breakaway contest: You’d all feel different about your club today if the gimmick went the other way yesterday, even though it wouldn’t change anything that happened in the 65 minutes of, you know, hockey. By the way, that was some pretty cool move and shot by Michalek on the winner. Oh, and ya boys haven’t scored a breakaway contest goal yet.

13) Minus the cap ramifications, would you re-trade Wolski for Michael Rozsival right now? Because Rozsival could play on the top two pairs on this team, especially with Marc Staal out indefinitely.

—————

My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Marian Gaborik.
2) Michael Sauer.
3) Ryan Callahan.

————— 

AP photos, above.

 

Here’s some stuff from the post-game room and press conference:

John Tortorella:

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Ryan Callahan:

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Brandon Dubinsky:

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Marian Gaborik:

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Henrik Lundqvist:

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By now you know that Tim Erixon and Kris Newbury have been assigned to the CT Whale. Which means Jeff Woywitka, barring a trade or another callup, and Mike Rupp, on Monday.

Here are the post-game notes, quotes from the Rangers (my audio interviews to follow):

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
October 29, 2011 (Game 9, Home Game 2)
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York

Team Notes:

-        The Rangers were defeated by the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, in the shootout today at Madison Square Garden, and are now 3-4-2 on the season.

-        New York tallied two power play goals in four opportunities (7:00), and are now 5-19 (26.3%) with the man advantage in the last five games.  The two power play goals were notched in an 80-second span in the second period at 6:24 and 7:44, respectively.

-        The Rangers out-hit the Senators, 26-21, led by Brian Boyle’s game-high, four hits.  New York was also credited with 14 blocked shots, including a game-high, three blocked shots each from Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan and Steve Eminger.

-        The Blueshirts won 34 of 62 faceoff attempts for a 55% success rate.

Player Notes:

-        Brad Richards notched two goals, including one on the power play, added a power play assist and won a team-high 11 of 17 faceoff attempts (65%) in 22:45 of ice time.  His power play assist at 6:24 of the second period was his first point at Madison Square Garden as a Ranger, and his power play goal at 7:44 of the second was his first goal at Madison Square Garden as a Ranger.

-        Marian Gaborik registered one goal and two assists, including one on the power play, in 20:30 of ice time.  He also registered four shots on goal and a plus-two rating.  Gaborik has recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in the last two games.

-        Ryan Callahan notched the Rangers’ first goal of the game with a power play tally at 6:24 of the second period.  He also led all forwards and tied for the team-high with three blocked shots, tied for the game-high with five shots on goal, and led all forwards with a season-high, 23:31 of ice time.  Callahan has registered two goals in the last three games, and now leads the team in shots on goal (37).

-        Wojtek Wolski tallied two assists, posted a plus-two rating and logged a season-high, 15:50 of ice time.

-        Michael Del Zotto recorded a power play assist to extend his scoring streak to three games, registering one goal and two assists (both on the power play) over the span.  He was also credited with three hits in a season-high, 24:29 of ice time.  Del Zotto extended his streak of posting a plus or even rating to nine games, and leads the team with a plus-five rating.

-        Derek Stepan tallied the primary assist on Gaborik’s even strength goal at 4:53 of the third period.  He was also credited with two hits and two blocked shots, and won five of seven faceoff attempts (71%).

-        Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 36 of 40 shots through regulation and overtime, and stopped one of two shootout attempts, and is now 2-4-2 on the season.  He has registered 30 or more saves in five of his last six games.

-        Dan Girardi led all skaters with a career-high, 33:14 of ice time, and was credited with three hits and three blocked shots.  He currently leads the league in average ice time (28:12), and ranks first on the team in blocked shots (22) and is tied for second in hits (20).

-        Ryan McDonagh was credited with three hits and logged a career-high, 28:57 of ice time.

-        Brian Boyle led all skaters with four hits, and is now two games shy of his 200th career NHL contest.

-        Steve Eminger was credited with a game-high-tying, three blocked shots, and now ranks second on the team with 18 blocked shots on the season.

Post-Game Quotes:                                                      

-        John Tortorella on today’s game…

“I thought there were signs of a number of players beginning to play their game.  We played in spurts again – longer spurts than we have played.  I’m not dwelling on the bad stuff.  There was some bad stuff, obviously, that is something we have to continue to chip away at and stay with it here.”

-        Ryan Callahan on the power play…

“I thought we moved the puck well.  We got the puck to the net, we scored off some rebounds.  We had guys moving in and out of spots and I think that’s when we are most successful – when we are moving without the puck and making passes and tonight it came up big for us.”

-        Henrik Lundqvist on momentum…

“Hockey is a game where small things can make a big difference.  We got a lot of confidence from our power play in the second and changed the momentum and the energy in the building. But it changed back a couple of times.  We talk about it all the time – when things are going good you try and ride that, but when things are going against you just try and settle things down.”

Transaction Update:

-         New York Rangers President and General Manager, Glen Sather, announced that forward Kris Newbury and defenseman Tim Erixon have been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

 

It’s Snow Time! WTB?

Shouldn’t this stuff have been in Winnipeg last week?

Game 9. Second of a six-game homestand. Sixth straight against Canada.

Mike Rupp (knee) and of course Marc Staal (concussion symptoms) remain out. Probably the same lineup tonight, but with new lines. Yesterday, Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski went from doghouse to penthouse on a line with Marian Gaborik, while Brad Richards slipped down the the middle of Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

 

 

First, he did not give out his lineup, or his lines, saying he wasn’t sure. (Andrew Gross loves when he says that, LOL). But he said it will probably be the same lineup as the home opener.

He did say that Mike Rupp (knee) remains out.

I asked him a few questions about the possible breaking-up of Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik—at practice yesterday Gaborik played with Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski (God help him) and Richards was between Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. As we all know, that could be the top two lines to start the game, and it could all change by the eight-minute mark.

Also, remember that, bad as many of you (we) think Christensen is, he’s had his shining moments with Gaborik, and vice versa.

So here’s John Tortorella’s pre-game presser:

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