Rangers Report Blog

We’re live from the press room at the Garden and I’ll be honest with you: There’s definitely a sense of excitement here.

Big game tonight, and since I don’t have much to report I’ll tell you this: I expect a wild night. I eavesdropped on Brent Sutter’s pregame chat and left with the impression he wants to Devils to really mix it up tonight. He said they haven’t embraced the rivalry with the Rangers all season.

“There’s a reason why we only won one game,” Sutter said. “Not because they’re so much better then we are. … They’ve found ways to win.”

Sutter said every game was the same, with the result marred by a 3-4 minute stretch of bad hockey.

Now? He believes the Devs are  “in desperate mode.”

My immediate thought was that Sutter wants his team to play with the same edge it did on Friday. How that edge manifests itself will be crucial to the outcome. Will the Devils disrupt what has been a successful game plan for the Rangers? Or will they spend the night playing musical chairs in the visiting penalty box? We shall see.

Tom Renney repeated the same sentiments from the morning skate, so I won’t recycle his thoughts from the previous post. Still, here were two items of interest:

1. Colton Orr could technically play late in this series, but he’s not close. “We’re starting the beginning of the process of getting him fit,” Renney said. It’s not a matter of Orr’s toe, which has healed.

2. Renney on Christian Backman’s cross-check:

“It’s a hockey play,” Renney said. “You try to finish a check. You can’t blame him for that. Our guy didn’t cross-check him. He hit his stick. (Backman) could’ve maybe protected Zach by havnig his stick down but he didn’t. Those things happen.”

Also of note: Jagr strolled in wearing a suit AND a Stanley Cup ring. Someone asked him if the ring was from ‘91. “No,” he said. “Two-thousand eight.”

Many of you are probably sitting home, about to go into a conniption in anticipation of Game 3. Sorry to report, but there’s not much news to help pass the time.

Tom Renney inferred we’ll see the same lineup tonight when the Rangers host the Devils for a Game 3, including Christian Backman. The D-man was at the rink this morning but did not skate. Renney said there’s nothing up with him or any no-shows at today’s optional skate. The club appears ready to resume.

As far as the lineup goes, Renney said: “I think most coaches are creatures of habit,  so if it’s working — even if it doesn’t look like it — you go with what’s there. We do have some very good hockey players in the wings, waiting to help us out. We know that and I sure don’t like those guys having to wait too long.  This is the season now. What we’re doing on a game-to-game basis is crucial in terms of wins. We’ll see how the series evolves. If feel like we have to put somebody in, we’ll do that, but it’s a game-time thing.”

That’s a long quote, but the message was: You’ll see the same players tonight.

The other theme was appropriately handling their playoff debut at the Garden. Obviously, Game 2 was borderline nasty at times. The Rangers will be cautious contributers to the mayhem tonight, hoping to play with the required edge all while avoiding the penalty box. A couple dumb penalties could stir up a Devils comeback, and no one in blue wants that.

“It’s about emotional control and recognizing that the consequence for retaliation or playing outside of our team needs could be crucial to the series, never mind the game that you’re in,” Renney said. “It’s about emotional control. It’s about making sure you are passionate to play, that you’re not allowing yourself to be pushed around, that you are proactive, but you have to be intelligent about it to and recognize that any extracirricular activity could cost you a game if you’re the team in the penalty box or you’ve got off the ice. It’s just about emotional control and recognizing that the team comes before any individual.”

I asked how he felt they handled their emotions on Friday.

“We were happy about it, for the most part,” Renney said. “You’ve gotta be there for each other. I think we made that statement and we’ll continue to when we have to. But the bottom line is, we don’t want a penalty parade. When we can do that, we can allow our great players to do on the ice what they need to do and it doesn’t tax our penalty killers as much.”

And — one for the road — the coach was asked what makes the Garden so special. “It’s like a temple,” he said, a sentiment I’m sure many of you share.

If a return to New York’s hockey shrine doesn’t get you pumped for Game 3, you’re on the wrong blog.

Talk to you later…

The Rangers just finished up at the MSG Training Center and many of them spoke to the same theme: To win again, they’ll have to play better.

Tom Renney conveyed that message to us in last night’s postgame, and continued doing so during the team’s video session this morning.

Blair Betts told me the Devils thrive off the opponent’s mistakes, he and his teammates made far too many of them, and Renney pointed out as much to his club.

“There are some minor little details we have to tidy up,” Renney said. “How we manage the puck, in particular. This is a team that preys on the counter-attack, the turnover and the counter-attack. We just have to make that a little more difficult for them.”

To a man, most of the Rangers felt they were outplayed, or at least matched play for play. Renney went so far as to say his team needed to adjust, but he’s not so sure about the Devils. Jaromir Jagr agreed, saying the 4-1 final in Game 1 was “unfair” to the Devils.

Mind you, the tenor of the Rangers’ comments wasn’t all negative. Many showered praise on Henrik Lundqvist, who clearly outplayed the great Brodeur. Hank continued to speak about how physically and mentally strong he feels. Obviously, the implication being, he didn’t feel so hot two years ago.

As for the lineup: the lines were the same today, both up front and on defense.

“There’s a couple of question marks there,” Renney said, but didn’t elaborate further. Paul Mara did take an ill-advised hooking penalty early and Ryan Hollweg had just one hit and one blocked shot in 6:08, so you never know.

Colton Orr removed the boot on his foot and went for a skate today. Renney said he’ll need several more looks before thinking about inserting Orr into the lineup. I wouldn’t expect to see him this series.

Anyone have questions, I’ll be around for a while.

After a quick writethru, here’s some final thoughts before Carpie and I head out into the great unknown (downtown Newark):

— Marty Brodeur said he wanted to keep the play going (remember: the Devils were on the PP and he didn’t want the faceoff to end up in his own zone) and that he simply forgot about Ryan Callahan. I, for one, found that stunning.

— The Rangers, in unison, said they were lucky to see Brodeur make such a mistake. “Good thing we took advantage of it because he’s not going to do it very often,” Callahan said.

“We got a lucky break, but that’s what’s always made Marty the best,” Scott Gomez said. “He won’t think about that. He’ll let that go and he’ll come back.”

— Gomez was the man tonight, creating the opportunities on all three goals. He dished to Brendan Shanahan before charging to the net, which must’ve bothered Brodeur because that was a softie otherwise. He then tipped Callahan’s rebound to Brodeur, leading to the fateful play. The third goal had his name written all over it…he tucked it underneath Brodeur from beyond the goalie line to a cutting Sean Avery. … All in all, what a game for Gomez.

— Avery’s just Avery. He had two points tonight, drew two key penalties and probably has a few more stitches to show for it.

— I wrote through my story quick and didn’t really mention too much about Henrik Lundqvist, but let’s be honest: He was reason No. 1 why the Rangers have a 1-0 lead.

Lundqvist actually said he “took his time” sliding across the crease when he made the great stop on Patrick Elias with 2:30 left in the second period. He said he saw Elias didn’t receive the puck cleanly, signaling to him he had time. Let me tell you: If he can think that quickly, he’s a better man than you and I.

“I had pretty good timing there,” Lundqvist said.

— So you know, I’ll be back tomorrow. The Rangers practice at noon, so I’ll check in at some point after 1 p.m.

9:22 p.m.: I’ll tell you…Avery is always in the mix, making something happen, in these big games. A goal and an assist.

Still, Scott Gomez is easily the player of the game. He made all three plays happen, at least to some extent.

Rangers now should be free and easy on Friday with a one-game lead  in the series.

8:59 p.m.: Unfortunately, the blog is fading in and out. I can’t add much right now anyway since we’re closing in on deadline.

Can’t tell you I’ve figured out yet where that Gomez penalty occurred. Tough call. … It would be 2-1 if it weren’t for Lundqvist.

8:06 p.m.: Ranger goal scored by Brendan Shanahan, who got the puck along the side boards after it appeared Scott Gomez lost possession of it. Shanahan really looked like he was trying to feed a cutting Gomez, but Gomez didn’t get the deflection (although in real time I though he had).

Ironic goal. Not just because Gomez — the crowd’s whipping boy — scored it, but because the Rangers had just finished another dreadful PP. Well…now it’s time for another.

7:44 p.m.: It’s a 0-0 tie through one. Blueshirts on the PP to start the 2nd.

Not a good finish to the period for the Rangers, who are struggling to do much against the Devils’ defensive system.

Avery, as you probably know, returned only a few minutes after he left the ice. As my colleague Carp said when he saw the stitches, that won’t look good tomorrow…Of course, that’s probably how Avery prefers it. (As an aside, the consensus here is the puck that hit Avery came off Marty Brodeur’s stick…that outta continue their love affair.)

That period will not go on the resume tapes of most Rangers. Surprisingly, you can count Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi among them.

Also, I saw Jagr go to the locker room with 1:12 to play. Not sure if he’s banged up or just getting back there early because he had just finished his final shift of the period. It’s worthwhile noting that he missed the PP.

7:26 p.m.: No update on Avery, but that looked like it hurt. The puck deflected off his stick blade and into his left eye. For such a tough guy, Avery sure seemed to be in serious pain.

What effect will it have? The Rangers just had a terrible power play without their emotional leader, including a near-goal by Sergei Brylin.

7:21 p.m.: Above is a picture taken from my seat at press row, which is a far cry from the Garden.

Good action so far (only three whistles in 9 minutes), not many chances. Jagr came awfully close to burying that one-timer. That would’ve been a nice start for the Rangers.

7:06 p.m.: Sorry…Officials: Greg Kimmerly, Bill McCreary as the refs, Greg Devorski and Brad Kovachik as the linesmen.

And geez, is this building nice.

Scratches:

NYR — Marek Malik, Petr Prucha, Colton Orr, Jason Strudwick

NJD — Vitaly Vishnevski, Sheldon Brookbank, Rod Pelley, Barry Tallackson, Karel Rachunek

Starting lineups:

NYR — Marc Staal and Michal Rozsival; Martin Straka, Brandon Dubinsky, Jaromir Jagr; Henrik Lundqvist

NJD — Colin White and Mike Mottau; Dainius Zubrus, MIke Rupp and David Clarkson; Martin Brodeur

Obviously, this means Mara is in the lineup, as is Hollweg. And…admittedly, I must’ve been seeing things yesterday with Avery.

Not that you care, but I have this one friend whose parents owned an incredible house in the mountains outside of L.A. About 10 bedrooms and probably just about as many bathrooms. We went there once for Spring Break when I was a junior in college.

I mention this house because it had a couple bathrooms that were larger than the press room here at the Pru. Throw in the fact that there’s absolutely no windows and the size and smell of my surroundings aren’t much different from a very small locker room. I, too, can’t wait for the game to start.

Unfortunately, your desperate waiting for the lineup is going to continue. Tom Renney was yet again non-committal in his pregame chat with reporters. He offered the following:

“Game-time on that,” he said.

There was a little back and forth and it was clear Renney was playing coy. Hey, at least he had fun with it, right? (Belichick could learn from this.)

One reporter pressed Renney on whether his decision had anything to do with injuries. He said no, then added the following:

“I’m contemplating the assets and attributes of different people that would be in the lineup tonight and what I’ll need. It’s not necessarily based on what this game requires. It’s more based on what we require to win.”

Is what they require to win a couple physical guys? If so, we may very well see Hollweg and/or Strudwick. Stay tuned…

I’ll throw up a post once we find out the scratches, then I’ll have more to share throughout the game. I won’t be quite as diligent with the blogging as I was during last year’s first round series. Sammy was here then, so I had more time. Please stay with me during the game though and I’ll pass along any news  I can share.

Talk to you in an hour…

In addition to Carp’s playoff prediction contest, you can now pick who will win the big series on this site. I’ve added a poll to the right that asks: Who’ll win the Rangers-Devils series?

Note my playoff devotion: As I write this post, I’m sitting here at the press room in Greenburgh next to a half-eaten bagel. I never, and I mean never, leave food half-eaten, but I understand the task at hand. Much like the Rangers, I have to put aside my own desires (in this case a sesame seed bagel with plain cream cheese) for the good of the team.

Hopefully, between Carpie, Sam and myself we can form a decent line until Sammy returns from the hideous monstrosity that is Augusta National. For now it’s my turn, so here are a few things to consider as the Rangers prep for Game 1:

— It appears Brendan Shanahan will return to his usual spot alongside Scott Gomez and Sean Avery. Shanahan, who played the fourth line in Sunday’s finale, skated there during practice. To me it’s not much of a surprise as the club becomes so dependent on leadership from its oldest player this time of year. That leadership’s a lot easier to provide from the second line, wouldn’t you say?

— The LW spot alongside Blair Betts and Fredrik Sjostrom may fall to Ryan Hollweg. The ‘Stached One skated there today. Petr Prucha worked himself in, but Hollweg earned most of the ice time next to Betts.

— The most interesting of the three lineup decisions (Shanny, LW on 4th line, Backman’s partner on D) appears to be in the back end. Jason Strudwick was paired with Christian Backman for practice, leading to speculation that he’ll end up there tomorrow. It would constitute as a surprise when you consider Strudwick has played just once since March 15th (Thursday vs. the Islanders) and only four games since Feb. 24. My questions to you: Does Strudwick provide what the Rangers need against the Devils moreso than Malik or Mara? Will Jersey actually get a double dose of ‘Stache? Should every Ranger go Tom Selleck, perhaps starting a trend that ends in the defeat of the playoff beard?

OK, I’ll have more to share later. Talk to you then…

It’s been so long since I subbed at the training center for my boy Sam that I forgot how cold the rink was. Thankfully, I’ve returned quickly to the relative warmth of my apartment. (Hopefully, my thoughts on today’s optional skate will be all the more coherent for it…)

With just two points (either won by the Rangers or lost by the Caps) between the club and a third straight playoff berth, 12 guys took the ice today. Most were young guys: Callahan, Prucha, Dawes, Avery, Strudwick, Valiquette, Dubinsky, Sjostrom, Hollweg, Malik and Straka (obviously not a young guy).

If you count, that’s 11, but not because of my faulty math. The 12th was Blair Betts, who skated for 45 minutes and said his toe felt fine. He’s currently on oral antibiotics, and wraps the toe in gauze after applying another antibiotic.

“The toe feels great. I don’t think that’s the issue anymore,” Betts said. “I just have to get back in shape and get comfortable out there. I should be able to play. I’m just not sure when that’s going to be.”

Betts will skate harder tomorrow. The possibility remains that he’ll play Thursday and/or Friday, and both he and Tom Renney want the return to happen before the playoffs.

“At least Sunday, if not Thursday-Friday,” Betts said. “I definitely want to get in the game, just for the mental aspect of it. It should be three pretty intense games. … If I can help it, I don’t want my first game back to be a playoff game”

Betts said the problem shouldn’t rear it’s ugly head again (and in the case of his infection, “ugly” is an appropriate word), but he’ll have to fix it permanently in the offseason.The other injury news is what you’d expect. Renney said Brendan Shanahan was day-to-day after missing the second half of Monday’s game.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Renney said. “He’s just getting a little bit of work on his muscles.”

At 6-foot-1, 150, my man Sam could use help on his muscles, too. Then again, couldn’t we all?

I’ll have a story for tomorrow’s paper on the Rangers’ quest for home ice. They are clearly keeping an eye on the standings, hoping the playoff opener is at MSG.

“We’ve been really good at home,” Henrik Lundqvist said, “so we should definitely try to get that.”

Renney said he’ll try to balance who should play and who should rest if the opportunity presents itself the rest of the week. He was non-committal on exactly what approach he’ll take.

In the absence of my ill colleague, the King of the Rumpled Golf Shirt, I tried to hop online from 30 Rock, where Brian Leetch joined the media in anticipation of tomorrow night’s ceremony. Would you believe there was NO wireless signal? Maybe it’s just me, but that was an upset along the lines of USA-USSR…

OK, I’m exaggerating. Still, it was a shame I couldn’t check in to set the scene for everyone. There were a multitude of former Rangers on hand at La Cucina, a restaurant near the Rockefeller Center skating rink. They included: Messier, Richter, Graves, Jeff Beukeboom, Tie Domi, Darren Langdon, Stephane Matteau, and others. Messier looked like a human block of granite. Carp told me one player said, “Wow, Messier really let himself go.” That might’ve been the line of the afternoon.

Anyway, there were lots of great stories told by all, but, to me at least, the two most interesting nuggets were these:

1. Adam Graves said repeatedly that Leetch was the toughest player he ever played with. “Make no mistake, he is quiet and reserved and a gentleman, but he was as mentally tough and competitive of a guy as I played with.”

(No joke: a few minutes after he said it, Graves literally adjusted a false tooth by removing it, then reinserting it in his mouth…You gotta love hockey players.)

2. Leetch, who was always quiet, unassuming and non-controversial, said he was still disappointed and bitter because of how he departed. He mentioned Glen Sather by name.

I won’t go into it more because Carp has the quote on his blog. “You can go there to see Leetch’s comments and check out Carpie’s thoughts.”:http://carp.lohudblogs.com He covered the team for a long time and he shares some of his thoughts on the afternoon.

Sammy should be back tomorrow, so I bid you adieu.