The other night after the game against the Hurricanes, a bunch of us headed out for a few drinks, and a friendly face approached as I headed out the door.

“Love the blog,” he said. “Keep up the good work.”

“I will,” I said.

OK, so maybe that wasn’t completely true. Because what I didn’t say then is [...]

By our calculations, the feel-good vibe around the Rangers lasted roughly 23 hours, covering the time between their fifth win in their last six games, and the start of their third-period face plant last night in Pittsburgh.

Players made the case of saying that other than a five-goal third period, they played a good game, which [...]

There are two choices on snowy days like today: You can either spend hours at the airport in the small hope of actually getting off the ground and making it to  Pittsburgh.

Or you can decide long ago—or better yet, have it decided for you—that you were never going in the first place, and instead enjoy [...]

For all the heat Scott Gomez takes—some of it certainly deserved—for being inconsistent on the ice and an occasional clown in interviews, the way he spent his All-Star break says something about his aspirations for this season.

Because while a bunch of Rangers dispersed for points south—some to Florida, some to Cancun, others to Jamaica—Gomez opted [...]

No, it doesn’t sound that the placement of Dan Fritsche on waivers is going to open the door for any blockbuster deal (not that the Rangers would say anything if it was. And not that saving $362,800 in cap space is going to allow the Rangers to make any blockbuster deals, anyway).

Instead, Tom Renney said [...]

The Rangers have confirmed that they placed Dan Fritsche on waivers. It’s unclear whether this is a precautionary move to clear up salary cap space for down the road, or a precursor to something else more imminent.

Either way, this is probably an overdue measure for Glen Sather. But as tempting as it would be to [...]

Our crack research staff here at Blog Headquarters—also known as me with a dog-eared media guide—says the Rangers haven’t had home-ice advantage in a playoff series since an opening-round win against the Canadiens in 1996.

(First prize to the reader who can guess the team’s top three playoff scorers that year. If you guessed Mark Messier, [...]

A couple of quick hits after practice:

Stephen Valiquette will start tomorrow against Carolina to give Henrik Lundqvist a chance to rest up for Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh.

Lundqvist said practice wasn’t optional for him today, but the Rangers’ occasional spare practice goalie Chad Killam (a former Manhattanville College) goalie had brought his stuff to the rink [...]

Henrik Lundqvist and the rest of the Rangers are back on the ice for their first practice after the All-Star Break.

It appears the lines for tomorrow will be the same as last Tuesday’s win over Anaheim, meaning Petr Prucha and Lauri Korpikoski would again be scratches.

Mike Richter’s on-again, off-again flirtation with a run for political office is back on, or at least it is “according to this story”:http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/24/2009-01-24_former_rangers_goalie_mike_richter_may_t.html, which says the former Rangers goaltender might make a run at the House seat soon to be vacated by Senator-designate Kirsten Gillibrand.

I’m not sure where Richter stands on all the issues. But [...]