New York Rangers

[littleranger]

Any rationale for Richards on the third line? This seems a little odd to me unless it is just a short term experiment and/or they are trying to have three lines that can do some damage.

I don't have him in any pool but am heavily invested in the Rags this year so love garnering any info I can. Keep up the great work - really enjoying this NYR section.

Cheers.

Thanks Chili!

Judging by with how the lines have been adjusted so far this season, I don't expect Richards to be playing third line minutes by even the second period. Torts changes the lines constantttttttttttttttly unless one of them is working. Last week it seemed like the Dubi-Richards-Cally line was gonna stick together for months, and now look. Gabby is with Anisimov and Stepan and this line looks like its going to stick together for months, but who knows. If I were a Richards owner I wouldn't be too worried about this. The best players are going to play the best minutes. It's as simple as that with Torts.

[littleranger]

Another great game for Henrik Lundqvist and the Blueshirts. Lundqvist made some exceptional saves including a candidate for the save of the year in the second: Uses his head to knock it down then dives to rob PA Parenteau

Here are a few notes on the other Rangers...
-Callahan had an exceptional game setting up a pinching Eminger and used his body really well all night. The captain always brings it every night but last night he just dominated the rivalry.
-Richards also had a fantastic game. "He's not at point per game so why is he getting paid so much?" Here is the answer: On numerous plays Richards draws defenders towards him and that opens up lots of space for the other players. So even when he doesn't have the puck he's a big-time distraction. Also, every play that Richards is on the ice it starts with him. Whether it's keeping the puck in at the line or finding the open man, he is playing exactly how Rangers fans are hoping. He may not be an 80+pt guy but he is doing all the little things to earn the bucks.
-Sean Avery played another great game. He scored a goal, fought and was given a bogus penalty but in the last two he has played like the Sean Avery of old.
-The powerplay applied tremendous pressure all night but couldn't seem to cash. If a team can win games without that extra PPG, they are on the right track.
-Dubinsky was given second powerplay time but played another great game (seems like his 5th or 6th in a row). It will be difficult to match last years totals with second unit PP time, but he should come pretty close even with his rough start. He only has 9 points in 16 games so he could make for a solid buy-low. That is a pace for 48 points and I am thinking more along the lines of 55-60.
-Despite not scoring a goal, the GAS line played a pretty good game. Gaborik is using his explosiveness every game this year and it's reminding me a lot of two years ago (42+44).

The Rangers hope to continue the streak as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at the Bell Centre. I will be attending the game so I'll have an update on the Sunday.

[littleranger]

A very tough night for the Rangers last night being outplayed in every aspect of the game. Biron let in a few softies and the Blueshirts lost just about every battle on the boards. They also returned to there old ways taking numerous penalties for zero reason. Here are a few notes on the Rangers players:

-A very weak game by Marty Biron for the most part. The fans got at him early with 'Biron' mocking chants and it seemed to get to his head. He let in a very weak one against the first star Brian Gionta. Very strange that Lundy got the night off seeing as he's going eight days between games. But I guess you have to start the french kid in Montreal.

-Lines were jumbled all night in hopes they would find success. In the third they put Christensen with Gaborik and Richards. Judging by the volatility in Torts lines, I expect him to pull a rabbit out of his hat for Wednesday's game against the Panthers

-Again, the powerplay moved the puck around pretty well but could not convert. This could be Anton Stralman's chance to draw in. Not sure who he would replace (Woywitka perhaps?)

-Andre Deveaux sparked the team in the third period with a questionable hit on Noekelainen and then fought him. He may face supplemental discipline from Shanahan and maybe a police investigation by the local police.

-Sean Avery played his third solid game in a row. Only one blip with a poor turnover but he was firing the puck on net and playing the game the Avery way.

-Richards, Gaborik, Dubinsky, Stepan and Callahan were all offensively inept obviously. Gaborik was put on the PK with Richards late in the third to try to get something going. Doesn't seem like a smart idea with Gaborik's injury proneness along with his inability to go hard into the boards for the puck. Richards was forcing passes all night in hopes something would finally hit. It was just one of those nights.

The next game for the Rangers is Wednesday night against the Panthers at Sunrise. They have three games in four nights starting on Wednesday.

[littleranger]

A short couple of practice notes...

-Jim Cerny - NYR working on PP with top unit today consisting of: Richards & Stralman at points, Callahan, Dubinsky, Christensen up front.
-Stralman is not sure if he'll be entering the lineup tomorrow.

[littleranger]

This was on NYRangers.com:
All three Rangers currently on the team's Injured Reserve list---defenseman Marc Staal and forwards Mike Rupp and Wojtek Wolski---accompanied their teammates on Tuesday's trip to Florida, where the Blueshirts skate against the Panthers on Wednesday. This is the first trip that Staal---who has been sidelined with headaches---has made with the team this season, while Rupp and Wolski both are making their first trips since undergoing recent surgeries (knee, for Rupp; hernia, for Wolski). The team had no imemdiate official word on the status of any of the three injured players.

Great sign for Staal! Even if it doesn't mean much...

[littleranger]

Not much new to report as the game had quite a similar pace as Saturdays against the Canadiens. The other team outraced the Rangers to the puck and used speed to run around the Rangers defenseman all night.

-Richards seemed to look very much out of sync with the other forwards regardless of who he was lined up with. Whenever he would swing the puck around the boards there would be no other forwards to catch it. Following the game, Torts said he's going to keep the GAS line together even though he had Richards with Gaborik late in the third.
-Stralman made his debut playing 10:26 including 3:25 on the powerplay. Again, the powerplay looked horrific. No movement whatsoever and relying too much on Richards to make anything happen. They would always have two forwards around the net to scoop up the rebounds but no shots would ever make it there. It seems like an adjustment must be made to the unit.
-Andre Deveaux had another questionable hit last night but this one was much worse than Saturdays. I imagine he'll face at least 4+ games for this one. A blatant elbow to the head of Tomas Fleischmann. Fleischmann did return to the game.
-We haven't been seeing the crash and bang game from Boyle/Prust or even Callahan in the last two games. They will need to change that to return to the success they found prior to the slump.

The Blueshirts return to action with a back-to-back on Friday to take on the 'Can you hear us?' Capitals in Washington and then potentially a Jagr-less Flyers squad on Saturday. My money is on Martin Biron starting on Saturday against the Flyers (9-7-2 .930 2.18).

[littleranger]

Here are some notes on the Rangers/Capitals game this afternoon:

- Carl Hagelin made his debut in place for Christensen/Deveaux and looked fantastic. His speed is definently his biggest asset and he worked hard on every shift. Hopefully he gets a few more games as he looked like one of the best Rangers out there today. He played just over ten minutes and picked up an assist.

- Prust and Avery didn't see much ice time and did not have much of a factor in the game. With Deveaux out the next few (and maybe scratched thereafter), Prust might be looked at to fight more often than not. Playing the Flyers tomorrow, expect a scrap. It's tough for Avery to play his game when he's only seeing a few shifts a period. He's getting the short end of the stick again from Torts.

- Brad Richards only has one assist in the month of November. I'm sure it is difficult adjusting to living in a new city and new linemates every shift probably doesn't make the transition any easier. In the third he played with Callahan and Fedotenko and the line was successful. I still think he'll hit 70-75 points.

- The powerplay saw Stepan on the back end with Del Zotto. Stralman was a healthy scratch after his mediocre debut. In the third period they had Girardi and Del Zotto as the d-pairing on the extra man. It's hard to put Stralman (defensive liability) into the line-up when you're facing the run-and-gun Capitals. Then again, Woywitka only ended up playing 7:09.

- The GAS line combined for four points today and each player had a few really good shifts. Every other line is being jumbled every third shift aside from this one. Hey Torts, consistency means something as displayed in the third period!

- With the way Dubinsky has been playing lately, I'd be a little worried having him in a pool. He was doing all the right things before except for scoring; now, he isn't doing much right and isn't scoring. He played the majority of the game with Avery and Prust.

- As I've mentioned throughout this post-game summary, the lines were all over the place. In the third period we mostly saw: Stepan-Anisimov-Gaborik/Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan/Hagelin-Boyle-Mitchell/Avery-Dubinsky-Prust

The Broadway Blueshirts return to action tomorrow to take on the Flyers at MSG. No word on the starter yet.

[littleranger]

An absolutely fantastic defensive game for the Rangers to shut out the league leaders in goals scored.

-The King posted his second shutout of the season. He wasn't tested that much as the Rangers line-matched to perfection today. I was questioning why they would start Lundy for a third time in four days but Torts is pretty knowledgable at what his goalies are capable of.
-The best line today for the Rangers was the Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan unit. They were matched up against the Giroux line and Claude was only able to get two low percentage shots off. Richards scored on the PP and had another one waived off. This was one of the first times all season Torts kepts lines together from the puck drop to the final horn.
-Carl Hagelin again used his tremendous speed to score a goal off his own rebound. He played over ten minutes and as Torts said, "makes the team look faster". It'll be hard for Deveaux to work his way back into the lineup as the Hagelin-Mitchell-Boyle line was exceptional.
-Dubinsky played one of his better games today working well in both zones. He'll need a few more of these games to work his way off of the 3rd/4th line.
-Due to it being Rangers/Flyers, Sean Avery was on the top of his game. All the camera's were on him all game, and he didn't disappoint. The Rangers need him to do that every night and not just against divisional rivals. Infact, that entire line played really well (Prust 2 fights, Avery goading and Dubinsky aware in both zones).
-A quiet game for the GAS line with only four shots. If Anisimov/Stepan can't find consistency in there game, this is where Dubinskys minutes will shoot up.
-Del Zotto played a really comfortable game today and was really smart on the powerplay. Stralman will eventually draw in again, but performances like this will keep MDZ on the top PP.
-Before the season I predicted that none of the Rangers D would break 30 points. I am now doubting that with the way Dan Girardi has been playing. Lots of plays start with the Welland kid and he'll continue to get chances when playing 27+ a night. I can see him getting closer to 40 this year.

The Rangers next game is on Tuesday against Crosby and the Pens. The Garden will be rockin that night!

[littleranger]

A fantastic game all around for the Rangers. When you think of a player on the Rangers and think of what he brings to the team, this game just about summed it up. The Rangers are now 10-2-0 in the last twelve games and currently sit in a tie for fourth in the east despite playing 3-4 less games than most teams around them. Here are some notes on the New York Rangers:

-Sean Avery had a fantastic game with a great fight against Kennedy and doing his best Sean Avery all around. Avery along with Prust and Dubinsky played fourth line time and did what they needed to do all game. Dubinsky saw some powerplay time but right now he isn't looking like the fantasy stud we thought he had potential to be this season.
-Marian Gaborik played his most dynamic game of the year. He played like the $7.5 million player the Rangers were hoping for. He had lots of confidence with the puck and made quite a few dekes throughout the game. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue. Gabby played a regular shift with Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov. As long as they keep winning, I think they'll keep this line together. If they lose two in a row, this will be the first line to be split up. (Marian also missed an empty netter with time winding down but still finished with 1G1A and four shots)
-Brad Richards played another fantastic game at both ends of the ice. Finally has points to show for the way he's been playing. He played a regular shift with Callahan and Fedotenko again.
-The powerplay tonight went two for six but really didn't have that many chances. I don't know whats wrong with it...they have the talent so they should be getting more shots on target. Then again, two goals against the top penalty killers in the league is always a start. Del Zotto played for the most part on the PP along with Richards, Callahan, Gaborik and Stepan.
-With Hagelin and Mitchell playing incredible hockey, I can't see Deveaux or Christensen drawing in for quite a while. Hagelin's speed, skill and drive is a nice change from the usual scrapper they have in that fourth line spot. Apparently those incriminating photos Christensen have don't scare Torts anymore.
-Dan Girardi was a minus-one tonight. That is why statistics don't always tell the tale. Then again, the four hits and four blocked shots do tell a better story.



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-Marc Staal has skated for consecutive days. The Rangers don't expect him back for a while but always a good sign for the team's #2 d-man (with the way Girardi's been playing)
-Here is the unveiling of the Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys

The Rangers are off to Carolina on Thursday and will go to Tampa, Florida on Saturday to open up December.

[littleranger]

Another outstanding team effort for the Rangers. A rough first period but the team got it back in the second and third by outworking on every shift. The difference between this team and the Rangers of past is that Torts has a simple rule - hard work every shift or you're benched. Fourteen different Rangers had points and Biron scooped up another win. Here are some notes on Rangers forwards and defensemen:

-Marian Gaborik had another great game controlling the puck and using his explosive speed in both the offensive and defensive zone. If he sees a break then he goes for it. Lately it seems like he sees one every night of the week. Anisimov had a sweet two-on-one pass to him and the GAS line played of their best games of late.
-The powerplay is heating up. Callahan/Richards and Gaborik are really starting to click. If you know an owner who doesn't believe in Callahan, go for it. Sixty points this season. Stepan and Del Zotto were on the points. The team looks awkward when Richards shifts back to blast one as Stepan and Del Zotto basically stand still so you have three guys at the points and two guys near the net...not so favourable.
-Just incase anyone was wondering, when Avery scored, he was just having a single shift with him. Not playing with him regularily by any means.
-The lines were exactly the same: Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan/Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik/Avery-Dubinsky-Prust/Boyle-Mitchell-Hagelin
-Mitchell left the game last night after taking a shot off the face. Pitkanen blasted it wide of the net and on route hit Mitchell in the side of the head. Didn't look good and who knows with head injuries.


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The Rangers next game is on Saturday against the Lightning. They will then head back to NY to take on the Leafs on Monday. No word on the goaltender for Saturday but why not assume Henrik? Let's Go Rangers!

[HamHouse]

Hi LittleRanger,

I'm trying to get a better handle on Dubinsky's situation. I know he's been on the 3/4 th line (Avery/Prust) lately and his minutes have dropped horribly. Is this due to lack of motivation? or what!? and is being in the doghouse getting Dub to play better. I've had some trade offers on him, but I'm hoping he can turn it around - what is your opinion?

& again, thanks for the insight on teams we don't always get a chance to see!

[littleranger]

Hi LittleRanger,

I'm trying to get a better handle on Dubinsky's situation. I know he's been on the 3/4 th line (Avery/Prust) lately and his minutes have dropped horribly. Is this due to lack of motivation? or what!? and is being in the doghouse getting Dub to play better. I've had some trade offers on him, but I'm hoping he can turn it around - what is your opinion?

& again, thanks for the insight on teams we don't always get a chance to see!

From watching the games and from the commentators analysis, 'Dubinsky is doing everything right but scoring goals'. He's playing really well and responsible in his own zone but he just isn't shooting at the right times and cause of that, he isn't scoring. I think Dubi is tooooo good of a player to continue playing third or fourth line so I suspect that if a player in the top six gets hurt, he will be the first to move up (even with Wolski coming back soon).

This season he's averaging 1.39 shots per game and last season when he scored 24, he was averaging 2.62 shots per game. The Rangers can't seem to do anything wrong and are 12-2-0 in their last 14 but when things start to go sour (law of gravity), he'll be shifted up and the points will come back.

[littleranger]

Here are some notes on last night's game against the Bolts:

-The last few weeks I've been criticizing the Gaborik/Anisimov/Stepan line saying that Stepan and Anisimov and Stepan couldn't really keep up. Well, Anisimov and Stepan have caught up and they're looking as good as they did the day they formed the line. Anisimov and Stepan aren't clicking that well, but Anisimov is clicking with Gaborik as is Stepan. I'm still not sure how long that line will last once a losing streak occurs, but for now, I'd consider picking up Stepan or Anisimov in your pool. Stepan is playing on the point on the PP, and it's starting to click. He's only 13% owned on Yahoo.

-Carl Hagelin played his weakest game so far, but it still wasn't so bad. He looked a little weak on the puck at times, but then again, they were mostly lined up against Lecavalier/St. Louis and Downie. We'll see how he recovers tomorrow against the Leafs. If he has another weak game like that, it'll put the pressure on getting Christensen back into the game.

-What more can be said about Dan Girardi and Ryan Mcdonagh? They are matched up against the best lines in the NHL and still haven't blinked. I wonder what will happen once Staal comes back. It would be obvious to go back to Staal/Girardi and Mcdonagh/Sauer but this duo has been spectacular.

-Ruslan Fedotenko has four points (3G1A) in his last five games. As long as he's playing with Richards and Callahan, the even strength points should happen. Probably not at this rate, but I can discount the fact he has looked solid for Torts.

EDIT: Sean Avery didn't play in the third period. Not sure why.
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The next game for the Rangers is tomorrow against the Leafs back in NY. Toronto is coming off back-to-back losses from the B's and the Monster will start.

[littleranger]

The Toronto Maple Leafs exercised their speed in the first half of the game to take a 3-0 lead. Lupul/Kessel looked incredible and I believe theyre for real this season. They clicked on every play and almost had Sedin-like chemistry. The Rangers did rally back in the second half but couldn't manage to score that third goal for a tie. Here are some notes on the NY Rangers...

-Artem Anisimov played a hell of a game tonight. Seven shots on goal and they weren't low percentage ones either. He's really stepped up over the last few games and was one of the bright spots of tonight's game. He took two minor penalties but aside from that he was the best player on the ice for NYR.

-Michael Sauer got absolutely obliterated by Dion Phaneuf tonight. It looked like when his helmet came off his head hit off the boards. With these big hits you can't be too sure how long a guy will be out (re: Dion on Da Costa) but it didnt look too good for Sauer. He left the game right after and did not return.

-One shift after Dion destroyed Sauer, Del Zotto took an awkward hit by Steckel. It didn't look good at first with his shoulder hitting hard into the boards...but he did return. Del Zotto played the majority of the PP and although I was really advocating that he isn't for real, he looks to have proven me wrong. Stralman may draw in for Sauer though.

-The Kessel line flew right by Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan all night. It's easy to see why him and Lupul are taking the league by storm. I'd have to say that Kessel/Lupul have the best chemistry out of every combo I've seen this season. They made Mcdonagh-Girardi look silly on numerous plays.

-When Brandon Prust fights within the first two minutes of the game, the Rangers are 7-0-0. Prust fought at 2:05 today so the streak remains alive.

-Brad Richards wasn't much of a factor tonight. He does have a six-game point streak with four goals and six assists. Richards is on pace for 33 PPP this season. Just around his usual pace which is surprising due to a little drop in overall numbers.

-I thought Hagelin recovered pretty well after a weaker game. That line didn't see as much action as usual as Torts was pushing the top six in the final twenty.

-Brandon Dubinsky played some second unit PP time incase anyone was wondering why his ice time was much higher than Prust and Avery.

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The next Ranger game takes place on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two teams met last Saturday and here's the recap: http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2011020377

[STONE.]

Richards with 2 in 8? Ouch. What's happening lately?