John Tortorella (continued): I said that on breakup day he mentioned the need to upgrade the skill level, and that July 1 is an opportunity to do that without altering the plan of staying with the youth, and asked how crucial tomorrow is. “It’s an important day for us because… Read More →
Rangers president/GM Glen Sather addressed the media in attendance in Minnesota following the draft today and discussed a number of issues, though some of those vaguely, including the futures of Chris Drury and possibly Matt Gilroy, and the trade of Evgeny Grachev for a third-round pick. Gordie Clark also commented… Read More →
Wow. Pretty good Game 1. I’m sure you weren’t thrilled with the outcome, and sure you weren’t thrilled with the play that decided it. Thoughts: 1) I thought Marc Staal and Dan Girardi had some strong game, with loads of minutes, taking and doling out lots of punishment. Alex Ovechkin… Read More →
AFTERNOON UPDATE, 1:57 P.M.: Here’s the info on playoff tickets, from the Rangers: RANGERS INDIVIDUAL PLAYOFF TICKETS GO ON-SALE Monday, April 11th – 12 PM (Editor’s note: That means noon.) New York, April 10, 2011 – The New York Rangers announced today that tickets for the first two rounds of… Read More →
Will have Tortorella quotes, however brief, soon. Chris Drury is back in (he’ll add some juice, the coach said). Mats Zuccarello is in, presumably in case of a shootout. That means Sean Avery—who agitates the heck out of the Devils—is prucha’d. Also, Matt Gilroy is in for Steve Eminger. Back… Read More →
Looking forward before looking back: Do you know the last time all three metropolitan New York teams missed the playoffs in the same year? How about never? Do you remember 1988? That was the year the Rangers shut out Quebec at the Garden (John Vanbiesbrouck doing the honors) on the… Read More →
John Tortorella: (He was in a good mood, wanted to know if he finished in the top three in the voting for the Halligan Good Guy award for cooperation with the media, which was won by Callahan. Then he joked that he wanted to get nowhere near that (byfuglien) award).... Read More →
Could be interesting tonight. I forgot that Village People Gillies is back from his perpetual suspension. Maybe he goes back out after his meeting with NHL HQ tomorrow. But Haley, the mini-brawler, is in the lineup, and Avery already had pleasantries with Konopka during warmups. Then there’s Matt Martin, who’s… Read More →
This was one of the dullest pre-gamers of the season. The news, as you all know already, is that Avery and Eminger are back in, Wolski and Gilroy are prucha’d tonight. The last question of the press conference was whether the Rangers will wear their white jerseys again tonight. Tortorella… Read More →
And then there were 12. Your heroes sure came up big in the Shark Tank last night, or should I say this morning? Perfect? Not nearly. Better than Anaheim? Only about 100 times better. Big, huge skills competition win. That Bettman Bonus Point could come in handy. Thoughts: 1) The… Read More →
This was like taking four punches. Ugh, ouch, ooof, ouch. The Rangers lost, Buffalo won, Montreal won, Carolina won. I will say this about Buffalo, with its three games in hand. I am not impressed based on that game last night. Except for the goalkeeper, that is. The Rangers need… Read More →
Will have quotes shortly … but here’s the news. McCabe will play with Eminger and wear No. 28, and play on the power play. Duh. Fedotenko is out, so Newbury will play. Del Zotto is still here, even though the Rangers made a paper transaction to send him to the… Read More →
That’s what Bob McKenzie tweeted. If that’s it, it’s a darn good deal for a rental who will help the power play and add some veteran presence, and some physical play. Not giving up Matt Gilroy at this point gives flexibility for a larger deal before the deadline Monday, I… Read More →
Here’s a tweet from Nick Kypreos—former Ranger (first off the bench, prematurely, to celebrate the Cup; first to kiss the Cup). Seriously, he’s pretty plugged in. I put a lot of credence in this: #NHL news. Look for #Panthers Bryan McCabe to be traded to the #Rangers as early as… Read More →
No Marc Staal (knee), so Ryan McDonagh slides into the first pair with Dan Girardi and faces the fun task for a youngster: facing Alex Ovechkin (=Monster) every shift. Maybe Dubinsky can fight him again and get him off the ice for five minutes. Lundqvist is in goal. Eminger is… Read More →
Or not? The Monday trade deadline is coming fast, and a lot of teams have jumped out ahead of the parade and made big deals. I still suspect there will be a massive number of trades Monday. And we will be here, at Blog HQ with youse, from breakfast, through… Read More →
So two buddies are on a fishing trip, when they come across a grizzly bear. One of them says, “Run!” The other says, “You can’t outrun a grizzly bear.” And the first guy says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.” That’s the way… Read More →
Will have more in a moment. The only news: Wojtek Wolski will skate in warmup. He wants to play. If he can’t, Kris Newbury will. Back with Tortorella quotes in a few. The most interesting stuff was about how he doesn’t want Prust fighting the heavyweights, and how he takes… Read More →
Same old story for the NY Rangers. Keep it close for 55 minutes, and then turn it on. That scenario didn’t bode well for our boys: On the road against a superior team that has been shut out two games in a row. I wasn’t betting on tonight being the end… Read More →
As I’ve told youse guys, I’m going away from here for a week. Not my choice. I’ll schedule some blank canvas posts, and my sports editor, Sean Mayer (Rangers fan), will put up some of the pre-game and post-game notes the Rangers send along and any news that breaks, and… Read More →
