Rangers Report Blog

Henrik Lundqvist was understandably crushed after tonight’s 4-3, double-OT loss by the Rangers. He said he didn’t expect to sleep tonight, and that he’d probably stay up wondering what he could have done better.

Here’s what he had to say…

On the final goal being a freak play:

“I don’t know what to say. I have to look at it. Like I said, I tried to just freeze it and nobody’s there. Gaby, I think, tried to put it behind the net and it hit their guy. I don’t know what to say. It’s just really frustrating.”

On his leg cramps:

“Yeah, my calves (were cramping). It was so warm and it was a pretty tiring game actually. The toughest part is to stay focused. It’s definitely a tough sport when you’re playing a long game and an intense game.”

On whether he and Gaborik tried to communicate with each other:

“No. It all happened so fast. I thought he saw me coming, but he probably didn’t see me. He just tried to put it behind the net I think. It’s just a really tough bounce for us.”

On putting the game behind them:

“It’s going to be tough until tomorrow. Then you just have to move on. You can’t get stuck here. I don’t know how much I’m going to sleep tonight. I’m going to think about what happened and what I could’ve done differently. Then I’m going to have to move on.”

On what he did between periods to re-hydrate himself:

“Salt. A lot of salt. And I drank a lot. But it’s just really tough right now.”

On the inability to close in the third period:

“We just had a tough time getting pucks out. A couple of times we had the puck and gave it away and they capitalized on it pretty easily. I don’t know the reason for it. We just have to correct that.”

On if Semin’s shot fooled him:

“It’s was just so close. It hit my arm here. I honestly thought I had it under my arm. I could feel the puck. Then he came and chopped it underneath me. I was hoping for a whistle, but no.”

On the final goal:

“It was a miscommunication. It all happened pretty fast. Unfortunately, when he played the puck it hit their guy and game over.”

From the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

April 9, 2011 – New York Rangers 5, New Jersey Devils 2 (Game No. 82, Home No. 41)

•The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, today at Madison Square Garden, to complete their 2010-11 regular season schedule with a record of 44-33-5 overall, including a 20-17-4 mark at home.  New York posted a record of 11-4-1 in their final 16 contests, and won six of their last eight games at MSG (6-1-1).

•New York currently sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and will advance to the playoffs with a Carolina loss tonight vs. Tampa Bay.

•The Blueshirts had 14 players register at least one point in the contest.  The last time they had 14 or more players with at least a point was January 19, 2010 vs. Tampa Bay (8-2 win, 16 players).

•Ryan McDonagh tallied his first career NHL goal, the game-winner, at 11:59 of the second period, and posted a plus-two rating in 22:12 of ice time.  McDonagh has posted a plus or even rating in 32 of his 40 games, and ranks second on the team and sixth among NHL rookies with a plus-16 rating.

•Rangers’ Captain Chris Drury notched a goal in his return to the lineup after missing the previous 27 games due to injury.  He tallied the goal at 3:14 of the first period, just 1:11 after the Devils took the lead.

•Vinny Prospal recorded his fifth multi-point performance of the season with two points, including the primary assist on the game-winner and a goal at 10:49 of the third period.  He has registered 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in the last 21 games, and leads the team with 14 assists and ranks second in scoring with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 29 games since returning from injury on Feb. 3.

•Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to improve to 36-27-5 overall, including a 16-14-4 mark at home.  His 36 wins are tied for sixth most in Rangers’ history.  He is 11-4-1 with a 2.10 GAA, .930 Sv% and three shutouts in the last 16 games.

•The Rangers were credited with 40 hits in the contest, led by Brian Boyle (eight) and Brandon Dubinsky (seven).  Entering today’s contest, Boyle led the Rangers and ranked 11th in the NHL with 232 hits.  Dubinsky also registered the primary assist on Brandon Prust’s goal at 16:06 of the second period.

•Wojtek Wolski notched a goal at 1:52 of the second period to tie the game at two goals apiece.  He has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the last three games.

•Brandon Prust tallied one goal and was credited with four hits in the contest.  The Rangers improved to 19-7-2 when he registers a point.

•Marian Gaborik recorded an assist on the game-winning goal, and registered a game-high, five shots on goal.  He has now tallied four assists in the last five games.

•Ruslan Fedotenko and Michael Sauer each tallied an assist on Wolski’s second period, game-tying goal.  Fedotenko has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games.  Sauer has recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in the last three games.

•Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello each registered an assist on Drury’s first period goal.  Christensen has recorded 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in the last 18 games, and the Rangers improved to 15-4-0 when he registers a point.  Zuccarello has registered four assists in his last seven games.

•Dan Girardi, Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov each recorded an assist in the contest.  Girardi completed the regular season with career-highs in assists (27) and points (31).  Stepan has recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in the last four games.  Anisimov has tallied 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in the last 16 games, and the Rangers improved to 24-6-2 when he records a point.

•The Blueshirts do not have practice scheduled for tomorrow, Apr. 10.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on the team… “I think we have a plan.  I think that it is very important to have a plan.  I like the youth that we have infused.  I think we have used our minor league system.  The foundation, the guts of this team is our guys.  I think we are only going to get better.  I think we created an identity.”

Henrik Lundqvist on the year… “I think last year was really tough.  This year, it feels like we have been consistent the whole year.  We had a couple bumps here and there.  It is hard to be satisfied or disappointed right now.  If we are in, I think it is a great year.  If not, you cannot be happy about the year.  We will see.”

Chris Drury on his goal… “You don’t want to give them a chance to get comfortable with the lead and build momentum off of it.  Anytime you give up a goal you try to respond the right way and as fast as you can.”

It was 17 years ago today. NHL.com reminded me of the anniversary of The Great One scoring his 802nd goal to pass Gordie Howe as the all-time leader, on March 23, 1994.

On that night, in Edmonton, Adam Graves was making his own history, scoring goals No. 50 and 51 to tie and pass Vic Hadfield’s Rangers single-season record.

Of course, Graves’ record was somewhat overshadowed across the continent, even in Edmonton.

Here’s NHL.com’s story about the Gretzky anniversary.
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AP photo.

Courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

March 3, 2011 – New York Rangers 1, Minnesota Wild 3 (Game No. 66, Home No. 33)

•The Rangers were defeated by the Minnesota Wild, 3-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, and are now 33-29-4 overall with a 14-16-3 mark at home.

•Sean Avery notched the game’s opening goal at 3:13 of the first period and registered three shots on goal.  He has now recorded five points (three goals, two assists) in seven career games vs. Jose Theodore.

•Erik Christensen tallied the primary assist on Avery’s goal and won four of five faceoff attempts (80%).  He has now recorded at least one point in three of the last four games, registering six points (three goals, three assists) in the last four games.

•Vinny Prospal registered one assist and three shots on goal, and won four faceoffs in five attempts (80%).  He has now recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last 10 contests, including five points (one goal, four assists) in the last five games.

•Brandon Dubinsky led all skaters with a season-high, eight shots on goal while skating in his 300th career NHL game.  Dubinsky, who was originally selected as the Rangers’ second round choice, 60th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, has registered 66 goals and 102 assists for 168 points, along with 323 penalty minutes.

•Brian Boyle was credited with a team-high, five hits, and registered four shots on goal and a team-high, nine faceoff wins in 14 attempts (64%).  Entering tonight’s contest, Boyle led the team and ranked 10th in the NHL with 190 hits.

•Marc Staal logged 21:38 of ice time in his return to the lineup after missing the previous three games due to a knee strain sustained on Feb. 22.

•Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves and is now 25-23-4 overall, including a 10-13-3 mark at home.

•The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Ottawa Senators tomorrow, Mar. 4, at Scotiabank Place (7:30 p.m.), in the second game of a back-to-back set.  The game will be televised live on MSG 2 and can be heard on 970 The Apple and newyorkrangers.com.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on moving forward… “We are going to keep our heads up, we are going to stay together and we are going to find our way.”

Henrik Lundqvist on the team’s play… “The last couple of weeks the puck seems to be bouncing on a lot of guys.  We are there but the puck seems to be finding our net.  I felt pretty sharp and am doing the right things out there.  I think we are all trying to think positive.”

Ryan Callahan on tonight’s game… “We had a good start and we played a pretty good game but we are not going to win games scoring one goal or two.  We have to find a way to score more goals.”

This just in from the Rangers: Chris Drury had arthroscopic knee surgery today and will miss six weeks.

Here’s the release from the Rangers:

New York, February 11, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that Chris Drury underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee today, and will be sidelined for six weeks.  The procedure was performed by Dr. Andrew Feldman at the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Hospital for Joint Diseases in Manhattan.

Drury has missed 33 games to injury this season, including a 29-game absence from October 18 to December 12 due to a fractured finger sustained vs. Toronto on October 15.  He had skated in 22 consecutive games before missing the last two contests with the knee injury.  The 13-year veteran has registered 254 goals and 360 assists for 614 points, along with 468 penalty minutes in 891 career regular season games.

You won’t have Doc Emrick to kick around for this one. Feel free to rip on Joe Micheletti, though. Anyone else still miss JD?

Tonight’s pregame notes, courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS at ATLANTA THRASHERS
Friday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Philips Arena • Atlanta, GA
Rangers: 29-23-4 (62 pts)
Thrashers: 24-22-10 (58 pts)

• All information through NHL games on Feb. 9
  TONIGHT’S GAME:
  The Rangers will conclude a three-game road trip when they face-off against the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at Philips Arena (7:30 p.m.). The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 29-23-4 (62 pts). The Rangers enter tonight’s contest having been defeated by the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, on Monday at Joe Louis Arena. Fourteen of the Blueshirts’ last 18 games have been decided by one goal (6-6-2 in those games), including seven of their last 10 road games (4-2-1 in those games). The Thrashers enter the contest with a 24-22-10 (58 pts) record to rank ninth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost 11 of their last 13 games (2-7-4). Following tonight’s contest, the Rangers will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at Madison Square Garden (3 p.m.) in an Atlantic Division matchup.

  BROADCAST INFORMATION:
  •TV: MSG 2
  7:00 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay
  7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Thrashers
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst)
  •Radio: 970 The Apple and newyorkrangers.com
  7:00 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
  7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Thrashers
  Broadcasters: Don LaGreca (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst) (more…)

I got to thinking a little bit about Chris Drury during my 50-minute commute home last night.

Specifically, about a Sunday in the summer of 2007. I was on my way to work that evening when I heard the news that the Rangers had signed Drury AND Scott Gomez to massive free-agent contracts. I walked into the office and proclaimed that the Rangers would be the 2007-08 Stanley Cup champs.

Those contracts — while not quite Reddenesque — turned out to be dreadful. I should have known better at the time. These are the Rangers, after all. (Actually, these WERE the Rangers. I think we’re now all enjoying their commitment to building a foundation with young, homegrown talent.)

Anyway, a few hours after I got home last night, I happened to see some highlights from the hockey game that broke out at the fight between the Bruins and Canadiens. Watching Tim Thomas and Carey Price wrestle made me think of our Islander friend Rick “Glass Jaw” DiPietro. Brent Johnson’s speed bag easily has the worst contract in NHL history. He’s basically getting paid thousands per save, and he’ll be collecting until his Social Security kicks in. Where do I sign up?

That, of course, got me to thinking about another brutal Islander contract, the one handed out to Mr. Carol Alt. Alexei Yashin, of course, was the Daniel Boone of bad NHL contracts. He was largely a waste thereafter, although I’m sure he’s living happily ever after somewhere.

I stopped thinking too much after that, because I never would have gone to bed, and I wouldn’t be able to get any work done today, so I’m throwing this open to all of you. What are some of the worst contracts you can think of? They could be in any sport — I don’t discriminate. The puck drops now. Play nice.

Well, at least not for the next six weeks. Chris Drury will have surgery on his troublesome knee. Here’s the blurb from The Associated Press:

NEW YORK — Rangers captain Chris Drury will have surgery on his left knee and be sidelined for six weeks.

Rangers coach John Tortorella made the announcement of Drury’s injury after practice on Wednesday. Drury sat out the Rangers’ previous two road games because of the troublesome knee that Tortorella said was bothering the center for a couple of weeks.
Drury has played in only 23 of the team’s 56 games this season and has no goals and four assists. The 34-year-old forward broke his left index finger twice, causing him to miss 32 of the first 33 games.

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I don’t wish Drury any harm, but I’m not exactly broken up by this news. I might be able to contribute as much on the ice as Drury did. Heck, even Darren Pang could have contributed as much. Anybody disagree with me on this one?

Excellent post by cw. I agree with almost all of it, although I would contend that the Versus telecast was bearable because of the presence of Doc Emrick on play-by-play. Not quite Sam Rosen, but very good at what he does.

So, who the hell am I to take over Carp’s blog? Well, maybe this will put things in perspective. One of my vivid memories growing up was watching the final game of the 1988 season, when John Vanbiesbrouck shut out the Nordiques at MSG. I then climbed into bed in my pitch-black house and listened to the Devils-Blackhawks game on the radio until John MacLean scored in overtime to push the Devils over the Rangers in the standings and into the playoffs — ripping my heart out in the process. “Byfuglien” was the first word that came to mind.

As you all know by now, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so I’ve gotten over that heartbreak — and all the other ones. I don’t get to watch as many games as I used to, not with a 4 1/2-year-old centering soon-to-be 2-year-old identical twins throughout my house. But I still feel qualified to comment about this team — and I possess an irrational hatred of the Flyers, which makes me doubly qualified.

Yes, this team has lost five in a row. Yes, this team has deficiencies (can we decline all penalties for the remainder of the season?). But, you know what? The Rangers are in every single game they play. There’s home-grown talent everywhere. They play hard, and they play for each other.

Are they good enough to win more than one playoff round? I doubt it. But after several seasons of oftentimes disinterested play, wouldn’t you have signed up for this at the beginning of the season?

Courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 7, 2011 – New York Rangers 2, Detroit Red Wings 3 (Game No. 56, Away No. 29)

• The Rangers were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, tonight at Joe Louis Arena, and are now 29-23-4 overall with a 17-11-1 mark on the road.
• New York out-shot Detroit, 47-35, including an 18-5 advantage in the third period. The Blueshirts have now out-shot their opponent, 91-26, in the third period of their last seven games.
• Derek Stepan tallied the Rangers’ first goal of the game at 3:09 of the third period to tie the score at one goal apiece. He was also credited with a career-high, five hits.
• Brandon Dubinsky responded to a pair of Red Wing goals with an even strength tally at 15:55 of the third period to pull the Rangers to within one. The goal was Dubinsky’s 40th point of the season, marking the fourth straight season he has reached the 40-point plateau.
• Sean Avery registered the primary assist on Dubinsky’s goal, and tied for the game-high with six shots on goal. Avery ranks third on the team with 19 assists on the season.
• Martin Biron stopped 32 of 35 shots while making his second consecutive start in net, and is now 8-6-0 overall with a 4-3-0 mark on the road. He is now 7-5-0 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in his last 15 games.
• Marian Gaborik recorded an assist on Dubinsky’s goal at 15:55 of the third period, and has now tallied 10 points (five goals, five assists) in the last nine games.
• Matt Gilroy tallied the primary assist on Stepan’s goal at 3:09 of the third period, and registered three shots in 15:46 of ice time. The Rangers have now posted a record of 5-1-1 when he registers a point.
• Wojtek Wolski recorded one assist and logged 17:41 of ice time. He has now tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in 13 games as a Ranger since being acquired on January 10, including eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last 10 contests.
• Marc Staal led all skaters with 25:27 of ice time while skating in his 300th career NHL contest. The Rangers’ first round selection, 12th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Staal has registered 19 goals and 52 assists for 71 points, along with 186 penalty minutes and a plus-16 rating in four seasons.
• Vinny Prospal registered a game-high-tying, six shots on goal, and has now recorded 13 shots in three games since his return to the lineup vs. New Jersey on Thursday.
• Mats Zuccarello was credited with a career-high, five hits, and registered three shots on goal in 15:52 of ice time.

• The Rangers will conclude their three-game road trip when they face-off against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday, Feb. 11, at Philips Arena (7:30 p.m.). The game will be televised live on MSG 2 and can be heard on 970 The Apple and newyorkrangers.com.