Walked into the practice rink today and was met by 20 or so familiar looking middle-aged men. That’s right, many of the Rangers’ fathers bear a striking resemblance to their sons.

My personal favorite was meeting Jaakko Korpikoski (aka Mr. Korpedo), who approached me to say he’s a big reader of the blog back in Finland. [...]

Both Zipay and Obernauer are busy promoting their own live chats, which I certainly won’t discourage you from checking out.

But remember, mine tomorrow will have the added allure of video. If that sounds too good to be true, I should remind you that the person on the video will be me. Sorry if I got [...]

Some quick notes from today’s non-practice:

Just a quick off-ice workout for the Rangers today. Tom Renney said he wanted to mix things up, and didn’t even have the video session he was planning. That part will come tomorrow, and it sounds like there will be plenty to discuss.

That said, no lineup changes are expected, making [...]

The Rangers reversed course and opted for an off-ice workout session today, but the plan was to still have an extensive video review of last night’s “adventures and misadventures against the lowly Isles”:http://www.lohud.com/article/20090114/SPORTS01/901140386/-1/SPORTS.

I’ll check in with news then.

In the meantime, don’t forget we’re coming back with a live video chat tomorrow at 1. Follow “this [...]

…unless you’re Aaron Voros or Dan Fritsche. Both players are again scratches, as expected.

Markus Naslund’s groin is fine.

Beyond that, not a lot of hard news to report. The Rangers are obviously leery of taking the Islanders lightly, which is easy to do against the team with the worst record in the league.

As for an explanation [...]

Due to popular demand (or because my boss said I have to), we’ll be bringing back the live video chat Thursday at 1.

Tell your friends! Bring a date! (Actually, don’t do that. You’ll give the rest of us a bad name if that’s your version of a good date).

Meanwhile, I’m already at the Coliseum, where [...]

Larry Brooks has the story this morning of the “Rangers beginning contract talks with Nikolai Zherdev”:http://www.nypost.com/seven/01132009/sports/rangers/blueshirts__zherdev_talk_new_contract_149935.htm.

Zherdev is due to be a restricted free agent at season’s end, but if the team has aspirations of preventing an offer sheet extended to him from another team, they could lock him in before then.
“This is where I want [...]

I won’t take it personally that Petr Prucha says he doesn’t pay much attention to what’s being written about the team, or more specifically, him.

If anything with Prucha it’s a necessary measure of self-preservation. During most of the last few seasons and definitely during the Mats Sundin Saga, Prucha’s name has been mentioned in trade [...]

For a team that is riding a scintillating one-game winning streak, the Rangers were a buoyant bunch at practice today, a mood best encapsulated by an impromptu 55th birthday celebration for trainer Bruce “The Masseuse” Lifrieri. After the entire team gathered in a trainer’s room for the surprise, Paul Mara brought in a cake and [...]

Marcel Hossa had a “hat trick in the KHL All-Star Game yesterday”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rumRSWRIQ0.

I’m going let that thought sink in for a few moments.

In other news, three outstanding individual efforts highlighted the Rangers’ win in Ottawa last night: Petr Prucha’s persisence in setting up Brandon Dubinsky’s first goal; Nikolai Zherdev’s artistry in setting up Lauri Korpikoski’s second [...]