New York Rangers

[ericdaoust]

I wanted to post a question about Brandon Prust. I'm doing some sim league scouting and noticed he's really broken out in a two-way/agitator role this season. In leagues with multiple categories he's actually a very solid option to go with at the moment (20 points, 126 PIM, 117 hits, 27 blocked shots). But this sort of came out of nowhere in my eyes. Do you see him as a legit long-term fantasy option in terms of keeping up the multi-category balance of stats?

[littleranger]

I wanted to post a question about Brandon Prust. I'm doing some sim league scouting and noticed he's really broken out in a two-way/agitator role this season. In leagues with multiple categories he's actually a very solid option to go with at the moment (20 points, 126 PIM, 117 hits, 27 blocked shots). But this sort of came out of nowhere in my eyes. Do you see him as a legit long-term fantasy option in terms of keeping up the multi-category balance of stats?

Personally, I see this as being a career year. In what other year would he be on a 3rd/4th line playing with a 18 goal scorer (Boyle)? Also, while the Rangers faced an enormous amount of injuries (Drury,Prospal,Callahan,Dubinsky,etc.), he was playing 17-18 minutes a night...where he did play well, but again look at Boyle. The other 4 categories I believe will stay just about where they are now for a while. Since hes been a Ranger hes been close to the league leader in scraps and with the decline of heavyweights in the NHL, it gives him even more opponents to take on (less Colton Orrs, more Tootoos). Hes great on the penalty kill and creates tremdendous chances so those blocked shots and hits will always be there.

I think hes topped off in goal scoring but all the other categories should be great options.

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Rangers/Pens Preview coming up!

[littleranger]

Feb 13: Penguins (35-18-4) @ Rangers (29-24-4)

3:00PM est.

TV: NHL Network, RDS

Headline:
The bloodlust Penguins take on the winless in six Rangers. Injuries had plauged both teams but the Rangers are now healthy hoping to keep the Pens down in the dumps.

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Play of Late, H2H

With both teams struggling and the face of the Pens franchise missing, this should be a physical game. The Penguins have been relying on grinding games out and Brent Johnsons haymakers lately while the Rangers have been lacking goals and leaving the games to Lundqvist and Biron. This game should be no different while in the last meeting the Penguins grinded out a 4-3 SO win without the services of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Letestu and in the third period missing Jordan Staal.

Today, the Penguins will be without the services of Sid, Geno, Letestu, Kunitz, Cooke, Asham, Jeffrey and off the bench superstar Eric Godard. One should expect a Prust/Rupp lovefest and for Tortorella to roll his star players in hopes they can get their offense rolling. This should be a Marian Gaborik coming out party with his improved play last game having 5 shots on goals and picking up 2 assists.

The NY Rangers have scored a league low 1.74 goals-per-game since January 1st and sport a 7-10-2 record. The Rangers haven't lost seven in a row since 2006.

Head-to-Head

Nov 15: Rangers 3-2
Nov 29: Pens 3-1
Dec 15: Rangers 4-1
Feb 1: Pens 3-2 SO

Player's H2H

-Marian Gaborik has 7 goals and 8 assists against the Penguins in his short-lived eastern conference career.
-Prospal hasn't faired too well with 10 goals in 48 career games against the Pens.
-Wolski has had the most success with 4 goals and 4 assists in 6 career games against Pittsburgh.
Has anyone on the Pens even played the Rangers?
-Jordan Staal has 14 pts in 29 career games against the Blueshirts, his last shorty against them came in his rookie year.
-One time Rangers and 24/7 family man Pascal Dupuis has 6G7A career up against NY.
-D-man Alex Goligoski has 8 career pts against NY. 3 came on the PP.
-Mike Rupp has 51 pims in 35 games dating back to his NJ days.

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Tonight's Starters

Lundy confirmed

Henrik Lundqvist (21-18-4 .922 2.36)

-Lundqvist as well as the team have been poor as late allowing 16 in his last 6 games (including only 35mins against the Devils last week)
-The team has scored 10 goals in his last 4 starts
-18-13-5 2.41 912% against the Pens in his career

Marc Andre Fleury (26-13-2 .922 2.24)

-After winning 6 in a row, Fleury is 2-2 in his last 4.
-Fleury's allowed 12 in his last 5 starts since the ASG
-In his last 3 starts hes has 3 goals support
-2-0-1 with a 2.23 GAA this year against the Blueshirts
-18-8-7 2.69 910% career against the Rangers

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Rangers Notes

-Eminger will be in with Del Zotto being the healthy scratch as I hinted in last games post-game
-Dallas/PHX/TB scouts at the Ranger game today (Come on Richards!)
-Team hasn't won a game with Prospal in the lineup
-Lines shook up: Dubinsky-Prospal-Gaborik; Avery-Anisimov-Stepan; Wolski-Boyle-Callahan; Zuccarello-Prust-Callahan
--Stepan on the wing should be good for his confidence as hes been very poor on the draws this season. Might take some pressure on his defensive play as well.
--Prospal will have to use his vision today with Dubi/Gaborik being great snipers.

Penguins Notes
-Cooke/Godard are out for todays game with separate suspensions
-Crosby/Malkin/Letestu/Kunitz/Asham/Jeffrey's injuries will keep them out
-Despite the Pens success, I expect them to be sellers at the deadline; whats the point in trading prospects when the franchise is out for the season?

[littleranger]

No post game on the Pens/Rangers game...but a few things I did notice...

-The Rangers FINALLY planted a body in front of the goalie on both the PP and 5 on 5 play. On 3 goals they had either Callahan/Dubinsky/Boyle in front of the goalie which was just huge compared to not having anyone blocking Fleurys vision at all.
-Watch for the PP to pick up steam with that and the passing was much more crisp last game than any other one in recent memory
-Starting to believe Zuccarello will be the odd man out when Fedotenko returns.
-Eminger had a decent game but had a dreadful shift on the Pens first goal. He lost his stick and then the puck bounced in off of him for the goal.
-I'd expect Del Zotto back in the lineup on either Thursday or Friday to replace either Eminger or Gilroy.
-Callahan played a great game with a bunch of hits and picking up 2 goals and an assist. Rangers are 8-3-1 when he scores.
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-Wolski was hoping to practice today but will not with a rib cage injury...55% he plays Thursday against the Kings.

-Dubinsky also isn't practicing today...not sure why not yet...

Today's Lines without Dubi/Wojtek

Mats Zuccarello-Vinny Prospal-Marian Gaborik
Sean Avery-Brian Boyle-Ryan Callahan
Derek Stepan-Erik Christensen/Artem Anisimov-Brandon Prust

[littleranger]

http://boston.sbnation.com/2011/2/15...boston-college

Kreider, a sophomore winger, scored two goals and assisted on Jimmy Hayes's game-winner in championship win over Northeastern. But the MVP award was not what he cared about. He wanted the Beanpot.

"I wanted to get that Beanpot bad,'' he said. "I don't even know what the name of the [MVP trophy] was - I mean, I'm honored to get it, but you play so you can win the Beanpot.''

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Torts on Kreider - MUST READ FOR KREIDER OWNERS

'Torts says he hopes 2009 first-rounder Chris Kreider joins Rangers organization for next season. Wanted him to join this season.'

Torts: "college is still a good training ground...but we would love to get (Kreider) in learning the pro game"


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Kreider Watch

http://rangers.nhl.com/club/page.htm...id=DL|NYR|home

[littleranger]

Lines back to normal at todays practice:

Dubinsky-Prospal-Gaborik
Wolski-Boyle-Callahan
Avery-Anisimov-Stepan
Zuccarello-Christensen-Prust

I'm guessing Wolski will play tomorrow for the simple fact that the Rangers haven't called anyone up...

Zuccarello will play the point on the PP

[littleranger]

Del Zotto will return to the lineup with Eminger being the scratch. Guess he didn't impress all that well...

Newbury recalled must mean Wolski likely not to go.

[littleranger]

Feb 17: LA Kings (32-22-3) @ NY Rangers (30-24-4)

7:00pm est.

TV: NHLN/MSG

Headline: The Kings are on a tear going 8-0-2 in their last 10 while the Rangers struggle winning just one in their last 7.

The Kings sit one point outside of the playoff hunt while having 3 games on hand of the Flames. A win tonight for the Kings would move them from 5th to 1st in the Pacific if the Sharks and Coyotes take a loss. On the opposite side, the Rangers sits 4 points up on the 9th seed and are far from safe. Expect lots of urgency and a grinding out game between two squads with some of the best checking lines in the league.

This will be the first meeting this season between these two former-Gretzky teams. Last season Anze Kopitar put one in shorthanded which should be something to watch for tonight with Zuccarello returning to the top PP. The Rangers scored late in the 3rd but it wasn’t enough as the Kings staved off a rally winning 2-1.

Players H2H
• Anze Kopitar has 2G3A in 5 games against the Blueshirts
• Long time Flyer Handzus had 6G9A in 28 games. 6 of his pts came on the advantage
• One time Islander Ryan Smyth has 12 pts career against the Rangers
• Gaborik should have help getting his offense going with 18 goals(10A) in 26 career games against the Kings
• Prospal has 17pts career in 20
• Sean Avery has 1 goal career against his former team. Even with that, I expect an impact from him tonight


Tonight’s Starters


Henrik Lundqvist (22-18-4 .921 2.38)
• Lundqvist is coming off his first win since Jan 22nd
• He has allowed 3+ goals in every game since the ASG
• He is 1-3-0 career against the Kings with a 3.03GAA and .901%

Jonathan Bernier (6-8-1 .903 2.72)
• Bernier has been doing well since the break going 1-0-1 with 1 goal allowed and the loss coming in the shootout
• He has never started a game at MSG or even against the Rangers
• The Kings are coming off a b2b after winning last night against the Jackets



Rangers Notes

- Wolski hopes to play tonight but is doubtful. Newbury has been called up and will likely see 4th line time. Wolski will 100% be in tomorrow.
-Boogaard hopes to play again this season resuming light exercises, but it is looking doubtful as he has only a limited time for conditioning.
-Fedotenko likely back in March
-Zuccarello will man the point on the PP tonight even if Wolski is ready to go
-The lines look the same as last game minus Wolski

Projected Lines
Dubinsky-Prospal-Gaborik
Prust-Boyle-Callahan
Avery-Anisimov-Stepan
Christensen-Newbury-Zuccarello

Kings Notes

- Westgarth won’t be in tonight, instead Richardson

Projected Lines
Handzus-Kopitar-Simmonds
Smyth-Stoll-Williams
Clifford-Loktionov-Brown
Lewis-Ponikarovsky-Richardson

[mister_mcgoo]

nice to see that Callahan seems to be fully back into the swing of things now...5 pts in his last 2 games, he's by far my favorite Ranger. I hope he can keep up this trend

[littleranger]

nice to see that Callahan seems to be fully back into the swing of things now...5 pts in his last 2 games, he's by far my favorite Ranger. I hope he can keep up this trend

Me too. The guy was incredible last night. He was the guy making the plays last night...unlike Gaborik

[littleranger]

Busy today so no Ranger update or post game...I'll put on some links post-game to get a good idea how everyone played.

[littleranger]

Andrew Gross...

The Rangers still covet an offensive-minded defenseman who could quarterback their power play and Sather said before a 1-0 loss to the Devils at The Prudential Center there’s still time and enough players on the market to make a deal.

“Lots of them,” said Sather, adding he’s been making phone calls to gauge the trade market for four months. “I’m listening, watching. It doesn’t matter what the asking price is. It’s what we want to pay.”

But if Sather cannot make a match before the deadline on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m., he’d also consider looking to Connecticut (AHL) for help. Pavel Valentenko and Tomas Kundratek are among the prospects there.

And, of course, Wade Redden, who would have to clear re-entry waivers, is there, too, with four goals and 25 assists in 47 games.

“Sure, we could bring any of those guys up,” Sather said.

As usual, Sather said teams are inquiring about the Rangers’ younger talent. Typically, that includes players such as Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh. The Rangers may also not be eager to lose any high draft picks.

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Worst quote for a Ranger fan after the Devils first 41 games of awful hockey...

“They’re in the race,” Lundqvist added. “It’s unbelievable. But they’re in the race.”

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From Andrew Gross...

Here are the Rangers’ post-game notes:
* The Rangers were defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, tonight at Prudential Center, and are now 31-25-4 overall with a 17-13-1 mark on the road.
* Seventeen of the Rangers’ last 22 games have been decided by one goal, including nine of their last 12 road games.
* Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 27 shots, and is now 23-19-4 overall with a 13-10-1 mark on the road. He has now started in each of the Rangers’ last 29 meetings with the Devils, and has posted a record of 21-9-5 with a 1.85 goals against average, a .937 save percentage and five shutouts in 35 career regular season appearances vs. New Jersey.
* The Rangers are now 16-6-2 vs. the Devils since the start of the 2007-08 season, including an 8-4-1 mark at New Jersey during the stretch, dating back to a 2-0 win on Oct. 25, 2007.
* New York won 25 of 43 faceoffs for a winning percentage of 58%, led by Artem Anisimov’s game-high, 10 faceoff wins in 17 attempts (59%). The Rangers have won 59 of 97 faceoffs for a 61% winning percentage in their last two games, having won 63% of their faceoffs (34-54) last night vs. Los Angeles.
* The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, Feb. 19, is 12:00 p.m. at the MSG Training Center.
* The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, Feb. 20, at Madison Square Garden (12:30 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division matinee match-up. The game will be televised live on NBC and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio and newyorkrangers.com.

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Three Stars by Jesse Spector


NO. 1 STAR: Kovalchuk scored the only goal of the game, and also hit a post in the second period after skating through the Rangers’ zone with so little in the way of resistance that he could have done a triple axel for style points. The $100 million man was the most dangerous player on the ice all night.

NO. 2 STAR: Hedberg beat the Rangers for the 12th time in 19 career games, shutting them out for the second time. He was barely tested in this one, though, thanks to a stifling trap that was absolutely vintage Devils.

NO. 3 STAR: Lundqvist deserved a better fate, left to his own devices far too often as a result of sloppy work by his teammates in the defensive zone. That the Rangers still had a chance to tie after he headed to the bench with 1:22 left was a testament to the work he did in his best performance in a month.

[littleranger]

From Larry Brooks:
Gaborik to be examined at 5pm,believes he suffered concussion on hit from Orpik v. Pitt on 2/13, Post has learned. Gaborik has 14 pts in 14 games against the Canes...too bad.

Fedotenko should be back on Friday or Sunday. Might be later though (Tuesday vs Sabres)

New Lines

Reports from Andrew Gross...

One of the lines that will start tonight features three natural centers with Erik Christensen in between Vinny Prospal on the left and Brian Boyle, who will move to right wing. Exactly where each plays on the line might alter from shift to shift depending on faceoff success and how each player is adjusting to the change. Christensen and Boyle may wind up switching and Prospal certainly might be taking some of the faceoffs.

“It doesn’t make a difference,” said Christensen, acknowledging one advantage to the setup is the different faceoff options. “If one guy is struggling, another can step in. Once you’re in the offensive zone, there are no set spots. In the defensive zone, it’s a bit of an adjustment. Don’t read into it. I try to have the mindset that I can produce with anybody.”

Meanwhile, Brandon Prust, who logged just 39 seconds of ice time in the third period of Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Flyers, will start on the fourth line with center Kris Newbury and left wing Sean Avery. Prust said he has the usual bumps and bruises (right hand and thumb, plus his shoulder never fully healed, though he said his sore foot is better) and knows his game has dipped. Coach John Tortorella said it wasn’t a health issue that kept Prust off the ice in the third period but that Tortorella wanted to go with his top nine (he double shifted Wojtek Wolski and Mats Zuccarello) and Prust wasn’t one of them in that game.

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Morning Skate News...from Andrew Gross

- Henrik Lundqvist will oppose Cam Ward, who’s making his 20th straight start
- Full attendance for the Rangers this morning: two goalies, seven defensemen and 13 forwards, including Ruslan Fedotenko in full gear.
- Tortorella says Fedotenko is looking good and he’s just waiting for the word from the medical staff to re-insert the left wing into the lineup. It won’t be tonight and Tortorella says he’s not sure about Friday at Washington
- Lines: Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan, Vinny Prospal-Erik Christensen-Brian Boyle, Wojtek Wolski-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello, Sean Avery-Kris Newbury-Brandon Prust
- Prust says he has bumps and bruises (right hand/thumb/shoulder) but his foot is fine.
- Don’t be shocked if the Rangers make a deal with the Panthers for D Bryan McCabe.
- Defenseman Steve Eminger is again the healthy scratch, the ninth time in the last 10 games.


-Lundqvist is 9-8-1 2.42 .912 career against the Canes.
-Cam Ward has some sparkling career numbers with a 2.04GAA and .936 against the Rangers. Hes only 9-8-2 career against them somehow.

[littleranger]

Rangers News and Notes

-Staals consecutive game-streak will be snapped tonight. He might not be back for Sundays match against the Bolts.
-D pairings: Girardi-Mcdonagh, Gilroy-Sauer, DZ-Eminger
-------Expect the Girardi/Mcdonagh duo to chew up 27+ minutes tonight. They'll be throwing out Ovechkin every chance they get knowing Staal won't be there to take away the time and space he usually does against him.
-Ruslan Fedotenko will be in tonight and Newbury will be returned to the Whale. He'll have to clear waivers this time. "I feel stronger & I need to play...will do my best"
-Spector: Tortorella said he liked the Prospal-Boyle-Christensen line, but was stronger in saying he wants to keep Wolski-Stepan-Zuccarello together.
-Progressing but still no timetable for Marian Gaborik
-Lundqvist will start in goal. Lundqvist is 10-6-2 career against the Caps. He does sport a 2.90GAA and .900% though.
-One of the last chances for DZ to prove himself before the deadline...if he cant do anything then expect outside reinforcements for down the stretch.


Capital's News and Notes

-Backstrom will play tonight despite his thumb injury.
-Katie Carrera: Mike Green said he still doesn't have a lot of energy today bc of the flu. Not sure if he will play vs NYR, if he does maybe limited mins
-Michal Neuvirth will start tonight against the Rangers. Coming off of a shutout. 1-0 career against the Rangers.
-Ovech 24 pts in 23 games career against the Rangers. Thats up against Staalzy
-Not sure what the lines will look like as the Caps practiced with 4 players on the top line yesterday. Due to the chance Backstrom wouldnt be able to play.
-Backstroms lack of production is killing my fantasy team.

[mikerocksthered]

As seen on twitter:

@mikerocksthered
Mike Allen
#Rangers decide to cancel all trade talks and will watch #caps vs #nyr tape twice a week for a "spark". #NHL

Tweeted by me, so it holds absolutely no credibility, but is damn funny!