Richie's OT winner bolts former club

All Brad Richards needed was his former club to end a slump. The '04 Conn Smythe winner delivered a clutch goal much like he had to win in Tampa Bay- scoring the overtime winner in an exciting Ranger 4-3 comeback win last night at MSG.

Richards entered ice cold with just one goal over the previous 12 games. Finding himself in the unfamiliar position of starting on the fourth line, the first-year Blueshirt who was brought in to add offense worked his way up throughout a spirited third with earlier goalscorer Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin. On a rare occasion where the power play clicked on a Callahan tip off a Michael Del Zotto shot, Richards was able to score his team-leading seventh game-winner at 2:37 of OT thanks to a great set up from Artem Anisimov. It allowed him to breathe easier as teammates jumped off the bench to mob him.

Most importantly, it was another example of a team not giving in following a disappointing showing against the Devils. In an odd yet entertaining affair in which the Lightning led twice, the Rangers picked themselves up with a great third and OT to prevent a losing streak. Playing with a sense of purpose after a second that saw backup Marty Biron let in consecutive Tampa goals off the sticks of Vinny Lecavalier and ex-Isle Bruno Gervais, the hosts attacked their opponents with vigor, creating a lot of chances. Mathieu Garon was steady. Brian Boyle missed an earlier opportunity when he rang one off the post but on kind of a fluky play, the checking center took a Hagelin feed and whipped the puck past the Tampa netminder, tying it with under 10 minutes left.

"It’s like other good teams that I’ve been on. There’s never a panic in the locker room,” Richards said. `We’ve been through it, and we’ve got a game plan. We’ve executed many times and we’re very confident.”

“I think it’s a mindset. If you have some success, and we have had some success in the third period, you try to go back to that,” Tortorella pointed out of his team's resilience. “We were playing well. They are such an opportunistic team, it doesn’t take much for them to score goals.”

Boyle's fourth point over the last six felt like poetic justice following a Dom Moore cheap shot knocked out linemate Ruslan Fedotenko. Amazingly, Moore only received two minutes for roughing for a blindside hit that made contact with his head from behind. Moments earlier, Fedotenko delivered a check to Moore. Was he paying him back? He denied it later. The hit was being reviewed by the league. John Tortorella refused comment. But Richards said it was the type of hit that needs to be eliminated.

As for the game's conclusion, the Rangers still needed a pair of Biron denials on leading goalscorer Steven Stamkos in the final minute of regulation just to make overtime. Stamkos had earlier burned Biron, Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman for a late first period goal on a nice backhand deke five-hole. It was his league best 36th of the season. This time, Biron got the better of the former No.1 overall pick. On a night where he wasn't required to make many stops, those were the best of his 14.

In OT, Anisimov and Del Zotto combined to force a turnover and then helped set up Richards' game decider. Anisimov took a Del Zotto pass and circled down low for a two-on-one and then made a great pass for Richie, who buried his 17th from a tough angle at the left side of a helpless Garon.

"Don't give up on that guy. It'd be the wrong thing to do," praised Tortorella of his star pupil he also coached with the Lightning to their only championship.

For a team that hasn't been lighting the lamp with regularity, it was good to see them dig deep against a team that's been hot of late, winning eight of 10 with only one regulation defeat. They made it tough on the Rangers with our team getting victimized by Tampa's skill. But the win made it the seventh time this season that the Blueshirts refused to lose two in a row. A great quality which allowed them to move five points up on idle Boston for the conference lead. With the Flyers edging the Leafs, it's a four-point lead for the Atlantic with the Devils seven out due to a shootout loss to St. Louis (4-3) and the Pens eight back. Another big test tomorrow with a visit to Philly who they've dominated thus far. It shouldn't be easy.

Biron, Fedotenko spark Rangers past Jets

Sometimes, when you're not going good, someone steps up and makes a play that lifts a team. Such was the case during last night's Rangers' 2-1 win over the Jets at soldout Winnipeg- finally concluding their crazy seven-game trip around the world at 3-2-2. That they managed to go 3-1 on the Western part speaks volumes about the goaltending they received from Henrik Lundqvist and yesterday's hero Martin Biron, who sparkled with 27 saves in his first start since preseason.

“If you look at it, we’ve played seven road games with a trip to Europe and a Western Canadian trip and we’ve only lost two games in regulation,” Biron said after keeping his team afloat with a series of saves early in the third when the Jets buzzed for 90 seconds. “We got points in five out of the seven. You win three of them, it makes a big difference going home.”

As John Tortorella emphasized, they're ugly. But the bottom line is they survived by gutting out tough road wins in Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg and now finally come home for tomorrow's home opener at the newly renovated MSG versus an improved Toronto club. It'll be the first of a six-game homestand. The longest of the season and a chance for the Rangers to take advantage of overwhelming support along with the comfort of their own practice facility in Greenburgh.

Locked in a tie game following ex-Ranger Nik Antropov's blast off a forced Brandon Prust turnover, the Blueshirts were on their heels literally as Winnipeg began to dominate shifts. Despite a huge territorial edge in play, they couldn't get another one past a Biron, who was outstanding making several Lundqvist-esque clutch stops in tight.

While the capable backup got the job done, the Blueshirts had help from Ruslan Fedotenko. The hard working checking wing was the team's best forward, scoring and setting up two actual power play goals. The first came in the second following another meager start in which they had three shots. With nothing working for the top unit, Tortorella sent out Fedotenko, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan, who finally played like the captain we love. With Dan Girardi also out, he took a Mike Del Zotto pass and then patiently waited for Fedotenko to flash open in the slot. With Boyle in front screening Chris Mason, the more conventional look worked as Fedotenko neatly tipped Girardi's shot pass past the Winnipeg backup for the lead.

With the team more assertive, it looked like maybe they'd pad the lead. But Mason made a few key stops before his team drew even thanks to their top unit. Trying to get the puck out, Prust was closed off by former Devil Johnny Oduya, forcing him to fumble the puck, eventually turning it over to Evander Kane. Kane and Alex Burmistrov combined to set up Antropov, who blasted one past Biron.

Getting plenty of support from a wild home crowd 15,000+ strong, the Jets made life difficult on the Rangers. They controlled play for the rest of the second and the first part of the third until a hustling Fedotenko got around the D and forced Chris Thorburn to take him down. All night, Tortorella mixed his lines, eventually sliding Artem Anisimov down to the fourth line while shifting Brandon Dubinsky to center Callahan and Wojtek Wolski, who received over 15 minutes in his return. There were some oddities with Marian Gaborik sitting for a long stretch for unknown reasons.

None of that mattered when Girardi and Fedotenko combined to spring Callahan, who was flying down the right wing. With Winnipeg scrambling back, he centered for Fedotenko right off Zach Bogosian's skate and in for the game-winner. A relieved Cally raised his arms in triumph with a wide eyed grin as teammates congratulated him. It snapped a six-game scoreless drought.

From there, the Blueshirts clamped down defensively- not allowing the Jets to generate much. Even if they pulled Mason for an extra late, making it dicey, a couple of clears allowed them to exhale with a nice win.


BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (PP GW- 2nd of season w/11:19 remaining in 3rd)
2nd Star-Ruslan Fedotenko, NYR (PPG, assist, penalty drawn)
1st Star-Martin Biron, NYR (27 saves, 1st win of season)

Rangers and Boyle re-up for three years

The Rangers got another key restricted done today, re-signing Brian Boyle for three years to avoid salary arbitration. According to Larry Brooks via Twitter, the Blueshirts agreed to bump up Boyle to an average of $1.7 million- rewarding the checking center for a career year that saw the former King shatter marks across the board with 21 goals, 14 assists and 35 points with 74 penalty minutes and four power play goals while playing all 82 games for the first time. He also paced all Ranger forwards with 240 hits.

Boyle's career year came off a disappointing four-goal, two assist Broadway debut in '09-10. Using improved skating due to instruction from a figure skater along with a renewed commitment to diet and fitness, the 26 year-old from Massachusetts stunned Garden Faithful with a strong start, notching 10 of his 21 markers during the first two months. Along with sidekick Brandon Prust and surprise addition Ruslan Fedotenko, the trio formed a reliable checking unit that provided energy, physicality and even chipped in offensively. With Marian Gaborik unable to duplicate his first year success, John Tortorella entrusted them with more responsibility. A welcome change for a coach who's not a fan of rolling four lines. However, on some nights the Boyle line was his best.

In fact, the Blueshirts were pretty successful when Boyle found twine, going 13-5-1 when the former King scored. His career year was not the only development as Steven McDonald Extra Effort winner Prust also had his best season, going 13-16-29 with a club best five shorthanded goals. That production along with key vet Fedotenko, who also reached double figures in goals (10) while netting 25 points, allowed the Rangers to survive Gaborik's struggles. Combined with the success of the Draft Line (Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan) and rookie Derek Stepan, they were able to offset the lack of consistency from their top threat- making the playoffs in miraculous fashion by beating the Devils and then watching Tortorella's ex-team the Lightning end the Canes' season.

For Boyle, he gets a huge raise from $525,000 to $1.7 M, basically tripling his salary. There will be a lot more pressure to prove '10-11 wasn't a fluke where most of the production came in the first half before he cooled, notching only three goals after January, including one in March and none in April. Boyle was scoreless in the club's first round ouster to Washington. Three years is a big commitment for a guy who'd never proven why the Kings tabbed him 26th overall in the famed '03 Draft. Now, he's a Ranger and well liked by coaches and teammates, who have faith in him. That will be tested. Boyle's success reminds of a former player across the Hudson in John Madden, who went from undrafted free agent to unsung hero on two of three Devils' championship teams, including '03 when he replaced Bobby Holik and eventually won a Selke. Boyle still has a lot to prove to reach such lofty status.

Encouraging is that Boyle will center the fourth line due to big fish Brad Richards, while Anisimov anchors the Draft Line and Stepan the third unit. But as was proven last year, there were nights Boyle's line was the best. Tort didn't shy away from using them to change momentum. The Rangers should be a deeper team down the middle. A necessity to compete in today's NHL. Especially in a challenging division that could become the East's best.

With Boyle, Anisimov and Mike Sauer all done, now Glen Sather can turn his attention to key pieces Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan. Can he get either locked up before arbitration. We'll see.

Callahan 4 Rangers 3 Flyers 0

St. Patrick's Day is around the corner. In fact, on a rainy Sunday, Staten Island still celebrated with its traditional parade down Forest Avenue. As much as I like corned beef and cabbage along with a Killians, I went to a cancer benefit show for a three-year old girl in Stapleton at a place called Full Cup. Some really cool metal bands who did a great thing.

As fate would have it, before I got down there for the fun festivities, Irishman Ryan Callahan had himself a game against the hated Flyers. Being that the Rangers hadn't come close to beating them since that cruel shootout elimination last year, perhaps they were due. The leader of this team made certain there would be no celebrating for any fans wearing orange who made the trip to MSG. Even better, it came on our kryptonite, national TV with the Blueshirts finally paying back Philadelphia for the five consecutive losses they had entering by a lopsided 13-4 tally. This was one John Tortorella's club had to have following a routine win over Ottawa. If they are to be taken seriously in this now chaotic day-to-day race with Buffalo refusing to lose and the Devils doing the same while Carolina gets points, it's now or never for our gritty club that can.

Having dropped four straight on home ice (gee what a shock), Tortorella went to his bag of tricks by opting not to wear the cool throwback threads- instead having the team wear the more traditional home white that now are road jerseys. Conversely, they've won three in a row on the road. So, it made sense for our tactical coach to treat this all important game like they were away. The move worked wonders as the Rangers came out and gave the Flyers a thrashing, scoring a touchdown and a PAT on the suddenly slumping conference leaders. Yes, this was the worst beatdown our team's dealt Rocky's Flyers since '92. But really, this wasn't just about how aggressive they were from the outset, winning every battle against one of the Cup favorites even if they were minus flu-ridden Jeff Carter and Sean O'Donnell. How many excuses could Doc Emrick come up with? I know the Devils are chasing us. But geez. Have you seen some of our injuries? I don't usually find fault with one of the classiest broadcasters but come on. NBC had to get that in there.

In any event, this game was about No.24 representing Broadway Blue. All season, Ryan Callahan has been a constant. If he didn't go down, this team wouldn't be nip and tuck for the final two spots but rather fighting for a middle seed. By the same token, you could echo that for Marian Gaborik, who even though he didn't factor in after returning from a concussion which he missed six games for- helped balance our lines out. Everyone was they needed to be with Gabby playing with Sean Avery and Vinny Prospal while Callahan stayed with cohesive homegrown linemates Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky. It also allowed Brian Boyle to reunite with Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust while Tortorella kept Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Wojtek Wolski intact.

Coincidence that they exploded led by Callahan's first career hat trick en route to a four-goal, five point game? On a day NBC rubbed it in by mentioning our first round futility, choosing Bobby Sanguinetti over Flyers' leading scorer Claude Giroux, it was the '04 fourth round gem that trumped the network and its production team. As hard a working player as there is, the heart and soul of the Rangers got his career day kickstarted when he tapped in a Brandon Dubinsky backhand feed 51 seconds in. He was far from finished, adding his second of the first when he caught Brian Boucher down and snuck a wrister top shelf for a power play goal. Prospal and Bryan McCabe set it up. Leading by two, Henrik Lundqvist robbed Kris Versteeg of a potential momentum turning goal. The ex-Blackhawk was all alone on a two-on-one but a sliding Lundqvist denied his low one-timer, earning the familiar "Hen-rik, Hen-rik" chants.

The best aspect of yesterday was the Rangers never let up. They forechecked vigorously with every defenseman getting involved. In particular, the play of rookies Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer who get better all the time. With a top four of Marc Staal, Dan Girardi along with McD and Sauer, how soon before our D is one of the best? Credit must be given to Glen Sather, Tortorella and the organization for finally keeping their word. It's been refreshing to see our kids grow up. Hopefully, Mike Del Zotto will come back a better player next Fall. I'd also like to see Matt Gilroy stay but we do have more kids in Connecticut. Ditto Steve Eminger, who's been a perfect soldier for this group.

The game opened up a bit in the middle stanza with each Patrick Division rival trading chances. On one end, Derek Stepan hit the post while on the other Ville Leino just missed. Finally, McDonagh and Fedotenko sprung Zuccarello on a two-on-one. Having scored in a 4-1 win over the Sens, the MZA didn't hesitate, firing a laser five-hole from the right circle for the big third goal. If there was any doubt, Callahan erased it thanks to an egregious error from Versteeg who overskated a loose puck in front of his net, allowing the next captain to pick up the loose change deke and fire top shelf for the hat trick that ended Boucher's day. As he was mobbed by teammates, piles of hats flew down for a little delay.

"When it rains it pours,” Callahan said. “We haven’t changed our style at all. I believed that goals would come. We just didn’t get the bounces. We stuck with it.”

In between the fun, the Rangers stood up to the Broadstreet Bullies twice with Boyle stepping in for Gilroy to fight Jody Shelley and Dubinsky honoring Flyer captain Mike Richards' request by getting the takedown. This was the team we fell in love with. That's the one that must continue to meet every challenge in this dogfight for the postseason. Fourteen games remain with two pivotal ones in California versus Anaheim and San Jose. We'll see if our True Blue can pass the test.

The final period, it turned into a laugher with Callahan tapping home a Gilroy backdoor feed for No.4, also on the power play- allowing our favorite Ranger to reach 20 goals for the second time in his career. His high is 22 and 40 points- both coming in '08-09, which is the last time our club saw Spring. This time, Cally has 20 markers and 39 points in only 48 contests, epitomizing how much improvement he's made. There's no doubt he'd be chasing his first 30-goal campaign instead of new career bests in goals and points. Both a virtual lock. As good as running mate Dubinsky's been, he had gone eight straight without a point prior to Sunday. It's No.24 who is the lone constant that can be counted on every night. A player who reminds of what former disgraced Devil Jamie Langenbrunner once was. Only difference is Callahan plays more ferociously, finishing every check. He'll also hopefully never be traded.

Anisimov got into the act when he deked Flyer reliever Sergei Bobrovsky for a sweet forehand finish- making it three goals over four plus a helper, hiking his new career bests to 16-19-35. The maturity we've seen from the still 22 year-old lanky Russian is why he's still here instead of in Dallas. Hopefully, this trend will continue.

With the question becoming would Lundqvist record a season high ninth shutout, Zuccarello finished off his third in two games off a blind Wolski feed at the doorstep for the extra point with 73 ticks left. The Flyers made King Henrik make one more stop before the buzzer. He turned aside all 24 for career shutout No.33 and summed up the blowout win over their enemy best.

“This one was a team effort. It felt like a playoff game in the first half. ...We need to build, especially from the way we have been playing lately.”

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (24 saves for season best ninth shutout-33rd career)
2nd Star-Mats Zuccarello, NYR (2 goals, 4 SOG, +2 in 13:30)
1st Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (1st career hat trick: 4 goals incl. 2 PPG, assist, 5 Pts, 5 SOG, 3 hits, +3 in 16:42)

Preview: A Wild visit on Broadway

Tonight, the Wild visit Broadway fresh off a 4-1 loss to the Islanders yesterday that featured yet another dumb hit by Trevor Gillies, who senselessly nailed Cal Clutterbuck from behind. A reckless player who doesn't belong in the NHL is answering some questions today in a meeting with the league. I doubt even he could shed some light on the matter.

Be that as it may, Minnesota had a costly loss which was their second straight. Still in a crowded Western race, the Wild enter with 72 points good for 11th, trailing seventh Dallas and eighth Los Angeles by two with the Ducks and Preds sandwiched between a point off. Calgary is sixth with 75 and Chicago plus Phoenix are both tied with 76. Columbus is hanging in with 69, making this one Wild race.

Can the surprising club from St. Paul recover from consecutive tough defeats against our slumping club that enters 2-4 in its last six, including three gut wrenching one-goal losses that have the Rangers hanging on by a thread with Carolina and Buffalo right on their heels? It should make for an intriguing match if the Garden actually cares about its hockey team when they're too busy rubbing our noses in it with Knick updates on the scoreboard. I like the Knicks but geez. Could Dolan be anymore of a jackass?

“We haven’t been good the last couple of games,” said Wild forward Kyle Brodziak. “We definitely need more desperation. We’re fighting for our playoff lives here. It’s frustrating. It was a must-win and we didn’t get the job done. It makes (Thursday) that much bigger. We’ve got to stop the slide now and do whatever it takes to turn it around.”

“It’s behind us now,” goaltender Niklas Backstrom pointed out after being chased by the Islanders following three goals on 19 shots. “We have to worry about tomorrow. I’ll try to be better tomorrow.”

Assuming he's back in because vet Jose Theodore has been superb in relief, it should be a tough game for a team that has no consistent offense. Especially when Brandon Dubinsky is stuck on 19 goals, disappearing for stretches during our slump. Ryan Callahan also hasn't found the back of the net lately with only one goal over the past half dozen. Sure. Cally always brings it but we need him to finish in front of the net.

More encouraging is that new acquisition Bryan McCabe looked good the other night, picking up his first point as a Ranger on an assist on Erik Christensen's power play tally. The big man got his shot off plenty, pacing the Blueshirts with six. The only issue is that it can't just be one guy taking all the shots. At least the power play resembled one, forcing Ryan Miller to come up with tough saves. Hopefully, that will continue tonight with more production.

Henrik Lundqvist gave up three-or-more for the 11th time in 15 games. But anyone who saw it knows he wasn't the problem. The poor starts have caught up, leaving Callahan baffled as to why they're not being more aggressive. When our team's right, they're an attacking club that gets in on the forecheck and generates off winning board battles. It's time to get back to that in your face style before it's too late.

With no margin for error, every game is huge. The Wild have two more points than us. So, it won't be easy. Marc Staal got through practice yesterday feeling better. Is he back for Martin Havlat and Brent Burns or do they wait until Ottawa tomorrow night? Regardless, they need their top defenseman back for this stretch run. Rook tandem Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer have been outstanding and Dan Girardi as well. They've gotten good mileage out of Steve Eminger. Matt Gilroy tries. But without the anchor, they'll be hard pressed to pull this off. Is Ruslan Fedotenko ready to return, solidifying Brian Boyle and banged up Brandon Prust who saw only eight minutes Tuesday? Every piece helps.

Artem Anisimov scored his 14th of the season, which pulled the Rangers within one against Buffalo. His first point in six. The lanky 22 year-old Russian stays put with Glen Sather unwilling to trade him or any of our prospects to Dallas along with a No.1 pick for Brad Richards. The right move considering it would've been only as a rental. Artie been up and down most of the season. His 14 goals are two better than his rookie year and the 18 assists also are a couple more than '09-10. Anisimov's taken 150 shots or 26 more already with still 17 games to go. His three power play goals and eight power play points are career bests. If he can put it together, it would go a long way to this team making the playoffs. He ranks fifth in team scoring, tied with Boyle.

They also need better from Mats Zuccarello, who remains stuck on three goals in 30 games. It's clear the Norwegian has talent with superb skating and playmaking capabilities. However, he must be more assertive like the other day when he came close to tying it with 6:00 left. The puck glanced off the post. So, he was a bit unlucky. MZA can be a difference maker. We'll see if he and the rest of the team can step it up starting tonight.

Gaborik 4 Rangers 3 Leafs 0

If you were playing the lotto, the winning numbers were 43. Well, at least a successful pair that worked its magic for the Marian Gaborik and the Rangers in a game of 7up over a bad Leaf team last night on Broadway. It'd be easy for us to poo poo the offensive explosion 10 games in the making due to the opponent. However, unlike other bloggers I'm going to accentuate the positives of a game the Rangers badly needed to snap a two-game skid.

For starters, Gaborik answered the bell after learning Brandon Dubinsky was out with a stress fracture three to four weeks. It's essential for the Great Gabby to pick it up and by that, I don't mean just the first four-goal game in the league this season. Here's the facts. With his finest outing that also included a helper for a five-point effort since that virtuoso five goal, six point performance victimizing us when he played for Minnesota, that makes it 10 of his 15 goals scored in three games with the other two hat tricks coming against lesser lites Edmonton and the Islanders. One thing I agree with from the cynics is that Gabby must remember to save some ammunition for stiffer competition starting with a visit to ninth Carolina tonight. The Blueshirts need No.10 to be consistent during this pivotal stretch before the break.

Yesterday was a great start with John Tortorella taking our easy advice of moving Sean Avery up with Gabby and Artem Anisimov, who netted a career high four assists, including a pair of beauties right on the Slovakian sniper's stick which was smoking literally. He started quickly thanks to a great Avery feed with Gaborik doing the rest undressing poor Leaf starter Jonas Gustavsson who was without a stick for the first goal.

It began an onslaught of four in a 4:45 span, blitzing a putrid Toronto club that may have been feeling the effects of a recent road swing that includes stops out West. Ironically, Ron Wilson's club laid a smackdown on the Thrashers recently. On this night, they were no match for a determined group of Blueshirts who made a statement after finding out before the game about Dubinsky's injury. Brian Boyle followed up Gaborik with a neat redirect of a Marc Staal shot for a power play goal. Already with a goal and assist, Gabby lit the lamp again courtesy of a brilliant Anisimov backhand feed across the goalmouth for a tap-in 36 seconds later.

“It feels good," Gaborik said after ending an eight-game drought in fine style. “It has been a battle lately. I need to get going. It is always a big relief to get the first one. It just took off from there.”

They weren't done with Ruslan Fedotenko's peculiar shot dipping under temporary reliever J.S. Giguere for 4-zip 2:19 later. Brandon Prust set it up with a nice pass in the neutral zone. His second point in three after going dry the previous seven this month.

With Wilson wanting to save Giguere for his ex-team tonight, Gustavsson mercifully came back in for more punishment. Before Gaborik completed his third hat trick followed by No.4, the Leafs played more physical with Mike Komisarek throwing his weight around. One such hit came after Fedotenko released the puck with the rugged defenseman going shoulder to shoulder KO-ing the ex-Lightning forward for an extended period. Fedotenko suffered a separated shoulder, meaning Brodie Dupont gets recalled from Connecticut. The way things have been going in that department, pretty soon we'll be fielding an AHL roster. I'm not gonna bother listing the guys who are still here for fear of jinxing them.

Rookie Dale Weise lost a fight to Luke Schenn. Kris Newbury would late take on Dion Phaneuf stemming from a hit from boarding the Toronto captain early on. Former Ranger enforcer Colton Orr also got involved, taking a charging minor which Gaborik finished off for his fourth with a laser past a helpless Gustavsson. Prior, Gabby turned the trick when a harmless shot snuck through The Monster. Anisimov and Wojtek Wolski netted helpers.

Up six having allowed just 13 shots with Henrik Lundqvist hardly breaking a sweat, the Rangers made it a touchdown and a PAT when rookies Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello worked a give-and-go with MZA finishing off his third 53 seconds into the final stanza. Wolski drew his second assist as well. He's 2-3-5 over five thus far and seems to have good chemistry with D-Step and Zucc. The Rangers will need that trio big time without Dubinsky with Ryan Callahan close to returning. The target date is February 1 versus his favorite opponent Pittsburgh. He began holding a stick the other day.

As sometimes happens when you're up big, you let down. That allowed the Leafs to take a few cracks at breaking the shutout. However, Lundqvist wasn't biting. The King made a pair of scintillating stops from in tight late to huge support and the familiar chants of "Hen---rik, Hen---rik, Hen---rik." Even in a rout, the emerging Vezina candidate kept his focus stopping all nine shots in the third (22 overall) for his league high seventh shutout- tying him with frontrunner Tim Thomas.

“They got a couple of chances,” Lundqvist said. “I wanted to get a shutout.”

With the contest winding down, Orr lost his mind intentionally slashing Steve Eminger, earning a major and game misconduct. The kind of ugliness we didn't see when he donned our jersey. I don't know if it's because he's playing for Brian Burke but the way that team plays sometimes leaves something to be desired. Colby Armstrong again tried to pull some shenanigans but Ryan McDonagh wasn't having it. Speaking of McD, he quietly gets better and better combining with Eminger to go plus-six while logging a career best 21:21, including a late power play shift and some PK time as well.

This was one game against inferior competition. The Rangers finished 3-0-1 in the season series against the Leafs. Now, it gets tougher with the Canes tonight, visits to Atlanta and D.C. before returning for the Panthers. Eight points up for grabs. Every single one valuable. Time to put the pedal to the metal.


BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sean Avery, NYR (3 assists-1st helpers since 12/16 vs Phx)
2nd Star-Artem Anisimov, NYR (career high 4 assists, +3 in 13:56)
1st Star-Marian Gaborik, NYR (4 goals-12, 13, 14, 15/assist, 7 SOG, +3 in 17:28)

Dubinsky injury the latest challenge for Rangers

When it rains, it pours literally. How else to explain Brandon Dubinsky going down at the most important stretch? A day after Larry Brooks wrote a suggestive piece advocating returning our leading scorer to center to boost slumping Marian Gaborik, the Rangers learned that the fourth-year emerging star has a stress fracture in his left leg which will keep him out three to four weeks.

To say I'm mystified would be an understatement. When you don't have a working computer and your brother needs your phone, you fall out of the loop. I had no idea Dubinsky was out until I saw a Facebook status which of course said our season was over here at the Library in Great Kills. Look. I'm not going to overlook Dubinsky's importance. It's my opinion that he's been the Team MVP in this surprising season that still has the Rangers seventh a point behind the Canadiens and two up on Atlanta. When Ryan Callahan went down, Dubinsky elevated his play to another level. It might not always be scoring goals cause he'd also cooled off considerably since a hot start but the plays he made helped the team win games. Whether it's winning a battle along the wall to set up Sean Avery a couple of weeks ago or just being in the right position defensively, Dubi has grown up this year.

He's more than the club-leading 17 goals, 21 assists, 38 points, four power play goals, two shorthanded goals and 124 shots. The 24 year-old Alaskan is playing the best hockey of his young career and is about to eclipse career bests across the board. For the Blueshirts to lose him now when Gaborik isn't scoring and the team hasn't scored more than two since a 3-1 win over the Devils concluding 2010, it's dire. There's no questioning the heart of a team that leaves everything out on the ice. Now, they're facing the toughest challenge of their season. Will they bury their heads like a few nervous nellies or will they stand up as they've done all year and fight a la William Wallace's epic speech in Braveheart.

"He's been struggling through it for the past couple of weeks here," John Tortorella pointed out. "He still was playing very well. It was a surprise. But you've got to move right by it, give the other guys opportunities and just go out and play."

"You can't worry about how difficult it is. You have to find a way to get it done. We have five games in seven nights here. There's no time to think, no time to whine. It's time to fight and you have to find a way to get points."

Well stated by a coach who's gotten the most out of his players. This is a team that wouldn't be where it is without the valuable contributions of Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko. They've been a constant. No question Tort needs them to chip in when they can. As was echoed in yesterday's post, it's time for Gaborik to step up. Henrik Lundqvist can't do it alone. Sure. Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Mike Sauer have his back along with an underrated D corps that still makes mistakes due to being the youngest in the league. More will be asked of Artem Anisimov who's capable of scoring more. Maybe they should slide Sean Avery with them. He's been playing much better lately by forechecking with vigor and winning battles. He can create space for our Gabby and Arty.

Keep Derek Stepan, Wojtek Wolski and Mats Zuccarello together. They scored both goals in a grueling 3-2 loss to No.1 overall Philly. The trio combines speed, skill and playmaking forming solid chemistry. It doesn't make sense to break them up. Tort has to be careful not to tweak the lines too much. Chris Drury is what he is at this point. A veteran who can win draws and kill penalties. Keep him on the fourth line with Dale Weise and Kris Newbury if he's still trusted after his idiocy the other night jumping Matt Walker from behind. They'll have to recall someone. Perhaps Chad Kolarik or Jeremy Williams.

In the meantime, the challenge presents itself. They host Toronto tonight, visit Carolina tomorrow and then take on Atlanta and Washington on the road before returning to MSG for Florida. A tough stretch which could prove pivotal if they're to make it back to the postseason. These five games in seven days come before the All-Star break.

"He's in every situation," Tortorella added of losing Dubinsky. "He's maturing, becoming a leader. That's just stuff on the ice. You can see him maturing off the ice. He's a big player for us. He's a very important guy in all situations, offensively and defensively. Because of our struggles in our faceoffs, we've been using him more there. It's a big hole."

Are the Rangers ready to step up? We're about to find out.

Hey Tort: Yes We Can!

Entering yesterday's big showdown against the league best Canucks who came in having not lost in regulation in 18 games, Rangers coach John Tortorella didn't believe his team could win 1-0 over such a lethal opponent. Considering that goals have been hard to come by lately despite the Rangers' good play, you had to figure they needed to heed Tort's advice. Perhaps the fiery coach was just using a wise tactic to get this cohesive group ready to play.

It sure worked. In one of the most exciting 1-0 games you'll see this season, the Rangers responded again following a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Canadiens by going toe to toe with The Sedins and the torrid Ryan Kesler- coming away with a well earned shutout that felt like a playoff game. Dare we say Cup intensity?!?!?!?! Considering how well each team played along with how hard, this wasn't your normal regular season game. Even if unsung hero Brian Boyle's former college Boston College teammate Cory Schneider got the call over Roberto Luongo who was in the previous night in a win over the Islanders, it didn't change the dynamics. Not when the Canucks' superb backup entered unbeaten in regulation with an 8-0-2 mark, making it easier for Alain Vigneault to rest Louie.

The headline was how could our lesser skilled club slow down the high flying Canucks? They'd been a thorn in Henrik Lundqvist's side with our Swedish King having never won against them. That included an embarrassing blowout loss a couple of years ago in which he removed himself from the game, drawing criticism. Last night proved to be different with Lundqvist intent on making every big save after permitting Benoit Pouliot's winner from a sharp angle the other night. Indeed, the All-Star netminder was at his best turning away Daniel and Henrik Sedin along with Kesler and antagonist Alex Burrows, stopping all 31 his way en route to his league-tying sixth shutout and 30th career.

“Every shutout is important,” he said after recording his 196th win a Ranger, closing in on 200. “Even though there is a lot of hockey left, you want to keep your position in the standings.”

While Henrik made some awfully tough stops on tricky shots like a Kesler try that hopped forcing him to kick it out and another off a seeing eye left point shot with similar results, he also got plenty of help from teammates led by Boyle. His line with Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko had a rare off night versus Montreal victimized for the tying goal. However, they redeemed themselves with a virtuoso performance limiting the Sedin line to only six shots. Tremendous attention to detail along with physicality neutralized maybe the best line in hockey. In particular, Boyle had a night to remember coming through with an inspired penalty killing shift with the Blueshirts down two men thanks to a bogus call on Marc Staal after Burrows speared him in the jewel area, retaliating with a slash. As our coach put it, how two refs could miss such a cheap/dangerous play is beyond me. Disgusting. What made it even more galling was Chris Drury getting nabbed for an equally bogus delay of game when he made a great defensive play batting a pass with his stick in mid-air which unfortunately went over the Vancouver bench.

Protecting a 1-0 lead on newest Ranger Wojtek Wolski's first off a wild scramble in front on the power play, the defining moment of the game came on the next shift when the Canucks couldn't find a way to beat Lundqvist. That they only got four shots through was a credit to one of the game's best PK units which always does whatever it takes to get the job done. There was Boyle standing out with not one but two gigantic blocks still limping with the Garden in a frenzy. That kind of warrior-esque effort is what's made him a heart and soul player for this team. It's why his line gets so many minutes against top scoring lines and is out at the end of games, helping boost our one-goal record to 13-3-3. If that's not Selke worthy, then you need your eyes checked. In a star-cessed league where it'll probably be Kesler, Henrik Zetterberg and Mike Richards, Brian Boyle is a throwback resembling former Devil John Madden. He never quits. Neither does Robin sidekick Prust who can always be counted on to be in the right position. Whether it's playing physical or making a strong defensive play transitioning to offense like they did last night with Schneider beating Boyle with a sliding glove save, this duo epitomizes what the Rangers are. Perhaps they should share the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how well everyone played. Every Ranger contributed. Especially the fourth line of Drury, Sean Avery and rookie Dale Weise who is looking better, even coming close to his first goal. They don't see as many minutes but you wouldn't know it by how they work the corners providing a lift. It was nice to see Drury out in that final minute winning a big faceoff and then getting more stellar defensive work from Boyle, who somehow wasn't named one of the Three Stars. Yes, Wolski scored his first as a Ranger but even he'd tell you that Boyle deserved his No.2 Star.

What else was encouraging was that Marian Gaborik looked better with Artem Anisimov generating chances, including a breakaway after blocking a shot. But Schneider beat him, refusing to give five-hole. Every line is working right now. It's just a matter of time before they break out. Perhaps in tomorrow's Habs rematch with the Flyers the following day.

The defense played superb with Marc Staal and Dan Girardi getting plenty of support from improving kids Mike Sauer, Matt Gilroy and Ryan McDonagh. Steve Eminger was large again. So much to like about this team. A reason to cheer!

Rangers OutBolted in shootout

It took 11 rounds to decide. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they couldn't send the home crowd totally happy for the holidays. Despite a highlight reel game tying goal by impressive rookie Derek Stepan, who somehow managed to tuck a puck past Dan Ellis with little wiggle room, the MSG hosts couldn't get that one big shot or save needed to win the shootout- falling 4-3 to the Bolts.

Their second consecutive loss (0-1-1) against a top eight seed though disappointing, wasn't that bad. Not when you consider that the Blueshirts dictated most of the match with a consistent forecheck, outshooting the Lightning 37-24. Credit Ellis, who outplayed Henrik Lundqvist to the tune of 34 saves and one more stop in the skill competition for giving Tampa Bay their second straight win over Gotham in the season series. Not that it's a rip at our goalie who for the most part, was solid despite just 21 saves, including a few money stops in sudden death on Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Remarkably, it was Victor Hedman, former Ranger Adam Hall and shootout hero Ryan Malone who solved King Henrik in only his second shootout. The club's third this season. A sharp contrast from recent years where they relied too much on it.

The game also marked the debut of 23 year-old Norwegian Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. John Tortorella didn't shy away from playing MZA, starting him on the top line with Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky, who was instrumental in setting up the big goal that earned our club a point. Dubi played a strong game, around the puck on both sides making solid defensive reads against Bolt duo Stamkos and St. Louis late in regulation. As for Zuccarello who got nearly 18 minutes, he drew high marks from a pleased Tort who had a good chuckle when the gifted Olympian pulled off a triple deke to keep the shootout alive. MZA used his superb skating and skill to generate chances, including a shot from the left circle late which Ellis gloved. Despite his St. Louis-esque frame, the mighty mite didn't back down, even having a classic staredown with Hedman, who looked like a giant next to him. That kinda fight will benefit Zucc, who goes back down to Hartford to play the day after Christmas. It isn't known when he'll return due to the roster which largely depends on Marian Gaborik.

The club which has proven they can win without him played well enough to win. But a couple of mistakes wound up in their net from Stamkos and St. Louis. The Blueshirts fought back, scoring their two goals in 12 seconds off the sticks of Ruslan Fedotenko and resurgent Alex Frolov who finally seems to be getting it. With the game still tied late in the second, Lecavalier steered Tampa in front when he escaped a check to put home Pavel Kubina's feed. With Ellis standing tall, it looked like the Lightning would hold on. But Dubinsky and Stepan had other ideas, combining on the tying goal. A Matt Gilroy dump was turned over by a Bolt, allowing Dubi to free the puck and pass across to an open Stepan, who managed to tuck it in using the net and sliding it across the right post just passed the red line. A very poised play by the emerging Calder candidate. Our team doesn't score many great goals but that one should make NHL Network's Plays Of The Week just for the dynamic skill alone. Plus it came at a crucial moment.

Neither team could get another past either netminder with Lundqvist making two strong denials on Teddy Purcell late, forcing overtime. The four-on-four was exciting but both goalies showcased their skills forcing extras. Hedman (hi glove) and Erik Christensen (ridiculous Jussi Jokinen backhand deke tuck assisted by laughing Martin Biron) split a pair early. Then Hall beat Lundqvist stick side. A Stepan miss forced Henrik to keep the Lightning from making it three-for-three, setting the stage for Zuccarello. MZA didn't disappoint coming in fast before deking forehand, backhand, forehand putting it home with little real estate. A tremendous move which had Tort showing a rare grin. The goalies then took over with too many players going for moves instead of shots. Especially our guys who maybe got caught up in what our more skilled shooters did. Even Michal Rozsival tried a backhand deke. Gilroy also did but was rejected. Marc Staal's try was worse. Finally, Malone went conventional taking advantage of Lundqvist hanging in his crease- firing a perfect laser off the crossbar and in, allowing excited teammates to pour off the bench and mob him.

It was a well played game with only two minors. The Rangers see the Lightning again on New Year's Day following the Winter Classic. They'll hope the third time's a charm against the more skilled team they're battling for playoff position.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Artem Anisimov, Rangers (assisted on Frolov goal and played most spirited game)
2nd Star-Derek Stepan, Rangers (tying goal-10th of season forcing extras)
1st Star-Dan Ellis, Bolts (34 saves, 9/11 in shootout)

Penguins doom Rangers

In what amounted to a tough night during their 3-1 loss to the Pens, Ranger forward Brandon Prust played with plenty of spark.

Simply put, it wasn't their night. Our heroes were outplayed by the Sidney Crosby Penguins who did most of their damage in a dominant second, posting a 3-1 win in Gotham. Perhaps we should have seen it coming. Henrik Lundqvist masked our recent struggles to complete a 2-1 road trip.

Did the schedule finally catch up? There's no question the Rangers have been very busy taking part in their 26th game over 48 days. Especially recently with the Thanksgiving trip and then playing the Pens tonight before facing a well rested Islander team for a classic home-and-home series starting Thursday. At least they'll have two days to prep. In between, John Tortorella's staff needs to work on getting back to basics. Our team turned over the puck too much and gave up a ton of scoring chances and odd-man rushes. Very un-Ranger like. They just weren't mentally sharp. It showed in how Pitt got their three goals.

1.Ruslan Fedotenko foolishly carries puck into no-man's land colliding with Marc Staal, allowing opportunistic Max Talbot to surprise from short range.

2.Unable to get off the ice during a dominant shift from Crosby, Staal misreads a play at the blueline taking himself out, allowing Sid's touch-pass to Pascal Dupuis back to The Kid for an awesome set up for a Kris Letang rocket.

3.Turnover leads to pesky Chris Conner getting to a Tyler Kennedy rebound off a skate and firing low through Mike Del Zotto, who again had a rough go. More on that later.

When you're running on fumes, lazy habits start to creep in. Tonight, our D was caught flatfooted a lot and our forwards were careless on the forecheck, leading to dangerous opportunities for Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. If not for Henrik, who stoned Geno on a two-on-one and denied other Pens, this one could've been ugly. None of the goals were his fault. He was a victim of uneven play. The middle stanza in particular where the Pens had the puck virtually the entire 20, tallying twice in a 75-second span while outshooting the Blueshirts 14-6. Puck possession was theirs. Even on a night in which faceoffs were close with our club actually winning 26-of-54, the road club from Pennsylvania was simply better, constantly using quick touch passes to get behind the defense.

Tortorella also changed lines a bunch, trying to find the right combos for Marian Gaborik, who ended a six-game drought with a quick wrister from the left circle courtesy of a great Michal Rozsival pass. Despite being tightly checked by four different Pen blueliners (Orpik-Letang, Martin-Michalek), Gabby was going. But credit Pittsburgh for not giving him much time and space. That along with Tort running out Erik Christensen, Fedotenko, Derek Stepan, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Alex "MIA" Frolov and even Brandon Prust resulted in little continuity. While I get the need to get the Big Ticket going, it was too much chaos, throwing our lines out of whack. Despite plenty of try, both Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan had rare off nights. Dubi was more noticeable while Cally only stood out for an absolute horrible call involving who else but the Chosen One. Kudos to the former for yet again calling out Sidney during a first intermission interview with MSG's Al Rotwig Trautwig. Thanks to cathybytes for providing the video.


Much has already been made of Crosby getting away with slew footing Callahan, who blind mice Brad Watson (what a shock) and Steve Kozari (who) amazingly called for interference. Yep. It was his fault that No.87 kicked the feet out making our future captain hold onto the gutless Pen captain while falling down. Clearly. Not to beat a broken record to death. Sidney Crosby is the best player in the game, extending his point streak to 13 (12-14-26). I can live with that. But the amount of cheap plays the league's leading scorer gets away with is mind boggling. He again slashed Dan Girardi following a whistle to no avail. How can someone so gifted be so dirty? Sure. They finally caught him for taking down Avery in the third but of course Prust also went to the box for elbowing. At that point, it didn't matter anyway. Our team simply wasn't good enough. That doesn't excuse the game's best from bending the law. Something teammate Matt Cooke often does right under Colin Campbell's nose.

The officiating wasn't bad. Even if they missed a few more infractions from the Pens, we only got that one phantom call on Cally. And you know there were probably others they just missed. Usually, the Rangers are effective at even-strength. Not tonight. The Pens were quicker and better in all three zones. Even if outside of that dreadful second, our guys fought tooth and nail with a hot club that's now won seven in a row. It just wasn't their night.

Outside of Gaborik and Rozsival, there wasn't enough oomph. When Prust and Boyle are more visible than Cally and Dubi, it's not a good sign. Prust again did all he could battling much bigger man Mike Rupp to a draw. Avery also dropped 'em with Tyler Kennedy getting a take down that briefly sparked the club. Afterwards, Rozy sprung Gabby and he notched his sixth with a lethal wrister past Marc-Andre Fleury, who wasn't tested. Sure. He stayed hot making 25 saves but never had to stand on his head. Kudos to the Pitt D.

Our powerless play struck again when during a stronger third, earning legit calls the first half, nothing got done. The Pens are ranked No.1 in penalty killing and eclipsed 30 straight after being perfect in three. Outside of the early PP spanning the first and second, it was dismal. The aforementioned Del Zotto stunk. I've said it numerous times but he's going through a sophomore slump. His decision making isn't fluid, allowing defenders to close. He logged more minutes than anyone (25:01) but didn't register one shot with a few getting blocked while others, including a nice Boyle set up with Lundqvist pulled, the kid flat out missed. DZ wasn't the only guilty party but five of 15 missed shots were from No.4. It's no secret he's shaky in his end but made one outstanding play, diving across to break up a two-on-one, blocking Crosby's pass to Malkin. If he's going to continue to be run out there, he must be better.

I'm at the point where I'd like to see Matt Gilroy given another look. Say what you want about him but Hobey was more active when Rozy was out, joining the play and taking shots. Gilroy has three assists in 18 games in a lot less time compared to Del Zotto's eight points (2-6-8). For whatever reason, Tort hates him. As Twitter PR spokesperson (sarcasm folks) Leahockey would say, "Give him a chance." At the moment, Rozsival is our best at getting involved. He was one of the few bright spots.

Now, it's time for them to get ready for the Islanders. A team that loves beating us. This back-to-back starting Thursday at The Coliseum and concluding at The Garden Friday are essential. No excuses.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brandon Prust, NYR (fight vs Rupp, four hits, 7 PIM, energy all 17 shifts-13:43)
2nd Star-Brooks Orpik, Pit (six hits, three blocked shots, plus-one in 23:07)
1st Star-Chris Kunitz, Pit (2 takeaways, hit plus-one, solid all around play in 18:13)

Gaborik hat trick steamrolls Renney Oilers

Marian Gaborik dekes Nikolai Khabibulin on a breakaway for his second goal. His 11th career hat trick led the Rangers past the Oilers 8-2 for their second straight win.

Marian Gaborik's back. If the previous game didn't produce any results, the Big Ticket made sure everyone got their money's worth, posting a hat trick in leading the Rangers past former coach Tom Renney's Oilers 8-2 on Kids' Day at MSG. His first three goals in Game No.5 gave him his second hat trick as a Ranger and 11th career.

“You want to go out there, work hard and be on top of your game. It is definitely good to go out there, score and get one under your belt,” Gabby said after his line with Alex Frolov and Erik Christensen dominated- combining for five goals, six assists with each forward finishing plus-five (+15).

Gaborik and his linemates went to work early with the trio working the puck behind the net until No.10 came out and jammed it past Nikolai Khabibulin at 1:35. While leading in shots 7-4, the Blueshirts killed off a pair of Oiler power plays, holding the 1-0 lead into the locker room. Before they could catch their breath, it was the rebuilding Oilers who grabbed the momentum, scoring twice in a 28-second span. Ryan Jones banged home a Jordan Eberle rebound past Martin Biron 2:45 into the second. On the next shift, Shawn Horcoff's wrister from beyond the right faceoff circle fooled Biron, suddenly steering Edmonton ahead 2-1.

“I felt like I was in the right place at the right time (on Horcoff’s goal), but I got handcuffed on the shot,” the veteran backup noted after settling down to make 19 saves in his second consecutive start and first ever win over Edmonton. “But, to me, the most important thing is how you respond to that. And fortunately I did not have to respond too much, the guys responded for me which gave me the chance to just settle in.”

That they did. Less than four minutes later, Christensen sprung Gaborik on a breakaway. The crafty Slovak beat Khabibulin with a forehand deke before banging into the left post. Teammates and fans breathed a sigh of relief as he was fine. With the game knotted, Brian Boyle again came through. Off an Edmonton turnover forced by Brandon Prust, he slid the puck to Ruslan Fedotenko who came in with Boyle two-on-one. Fedotenko dished across for Boyle who buried his career best eighth only 25 seconds later to give the Rangers the lead for good. Half of Boyle's output have come over the past five games.

Alex Frolov celebrates his first goal of two finally ending a 10-game drought.

It would only get worse for Renney's new club. Less than six minutes later, Artem Anisimov stayed hot when a Derek Stepan centering feed was redirected by his right skate, increasing to 4-2. Sean Avery and Stepan kept the play alive following a sloppy Edmonton turnover with D-Step outmaneuvering an Oiler before setting up Anisimov's sixth. After a nine-game drought, the improving sophomore has three goals over the last two. His Russian comrade Frolov also finally got into the act in the waning seconds, making it a three-goal lead. The former King's struggles have been well documented. He entered having not scored since my brother's birthday (Oct.23 @ Bos). This time, a strong forecheck forced Edmonton into a mistake. Gaborik worked the puck to Christensen, who then perfectly set up Frolov for his first goal in 11 games. His third came with less than five ticks left.

“It’s a great feeling to score, it takes some pressure off,” a pleased Frolov expressed after celebrating like a kid in a candy store. “It was a really good game for our line (Frolov, Christensen, and Gaborik) and now we have to build off this. It was a great two points for the team.”

Following a pair of heavyweight bouts between Derek Boogaard and Steve MacIntyre, it turned ugly when Edmonton took exception to a clean Avery hit on Colin Fraser against the boards. During the momentous shift, his clean check wasn't met with open arms. Instead, Ladislav Smid immediately challenged him. But with a three-goal lead, Avery didn't seem eager to oblige. When Smid dropped the gloves with his visor still on, Avery surprised the defenseman with a quick right taking him down. As MSG went to break, chaos ensued with at least three Oilers getting off the bench to start a brawl. At one point, with a linesman escorting our resident bad boy out, Theo Peckham snapped and tried to chase him before being cut off, only escalating matters. Even Ryan Whitney wanted Avery. Zach Stortini took on Prust for 90 seconds along and Boyle and Peckham squared off. The ugliest aspect was when Fraser tugged at Brandon Dubinsky, who John Tortorella made sure to keep on the bench. Somehow, he got a misconduct. Remarkably, it sounds like the league won't hand out any suspensions. We'll see.

“It’s a sucker punch, and I hope they look at it,” an irate Whitney said. “Smid asked him to fight. (Avery) was saying wait. Then Laddie turned around and all of a sudden he gets suckered. I don’t know what the league can do with that, but it’s pretty obvious.”

"I thought it was pretty gutless,” added MacIntyre of the melee that saw five misconducts, four ejections along with nearly half the 124 penalty minutes (67 PIM) coming during the fracas.. “It just shows you what kind of guy he is. He’ll get his. Somebody who is bigger and tougher … he’ll get what’s coming.”

The Rangers are greeted by lucky kids as they take the Garden ice on Kids' Day. They sent them home happy with an 8-2 win.

When the dust finally settled, Renney's former club responded by scoring three more goals- making it seven unanswered on a football Sunday. Another dreadful Edmonton giveaway led to Frolov scoring his second unassisted when he went high blocker on Khabibulin at 12:14. Forty-five seconds later, Stepan took advantage of another turnover quickly feeding an open Fedotenko for his third, increasing to 7-2. Matt Gilroy also notched an assist for his first point this season. The former Hobey Baker winner also was in on Anisimov's marker. He hasn't looked bad even getting a couple of shifts at forward.

By now, the question was would Gaborik or even Frolov get the hat trick? It didn't take long to answer when Frolov head-manned a flying Gabby who went to his bread and butter, firing low over the blocker as he had against Henrik Lundqvist for his fifth goal in St. Paul a couple of years ago.

"It wasn’t easy,” pointed out Biron of a wild game that saw him make one huge save denying Andrew Cogliano shorthanded in the second with it just a one-goal contest.

“We had a four-game homestand and lost the first two. This could have easily gone south really quickly, but we were able to salvage it with two big wins at the end. Now it’s for us to take that momentum and apply it to our road game which has been really good.”                                                                                                                                 

Arty wins it in overtime

Artem Anisimov's second goal won the game for the Rangers at 1:32 of overtime over the Sabres 3-2.

This time, the Rangers weren't going to allow another blown call to cost them on home ice. Instead, they stuck with it, prevailing over the Sabres 3-2 in overtime thanks to hero Artem Anisimov, who got to a loose puck and wired his second of the night past Jhonas Enroth at 1:32.

Arty's big night along with a strong game from ex-Sabre Martin Biron allowed the Blueshirts to prevail in Marian Gaborik's return. He may not have scored and who could playing with Alex Frolov and Erik Christensen but at least his guarantee was backed up. In his first game back since the third game of the season, Gabby looked decent missing on a couple of chances while showing the acceleration that makes him a threat. He nearly helped setup a goal but as usual, Frolov choked with a gaping net drawing boos. We'll try not to dwell too much on that or Christy's bad turnover that nearly led to Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy sealing it. Why Vanek didn't shoot we'll never know.

At the very least, it allowed the Rangers to come down and score with some good work done by Fedotenko to help keep the play alive following Dan Girardi's shot which was blocked by Buffalo defenseman Jordan Leopold. However, before he recovered the puck Anisimov snuck in and surprised Enroth top shelf for the game-winner. That both Fedotenko and Arty were in on it was well deserved for both as each played excellent games and got rewarded. Nice to see. Especially for Fedotenko who ended a 10-game drought when his hustle allowed him to poke home a loose puck for the lead in the first period. Unfortunately, another inadvertent whistle robbed him of a second which probably would've made things easier.

Instead, it was another one of those seesaw struggles for John Tortorella's club at home. They came out forechecking strong in the first, getting particularly effective play from newly formed checking unit Fedotenko, Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust. Their hard work led to one of two power plays, which both looked good with Gabby back in. The club kept pucks alive and generated chances but couldn't beat Enroth. It was the extra effort of the new grind line that resulted in Fedotenko's first in 11 games. A strong Boyle forecheck kept the play alive and then Prust and Mike Sauer combined to get the puck to the net where Enroth couldn't hold on before Fedotenko chipped it in at 14:04.

After dictating much of the play, the Rangers fell back a little in the second with Sauer pushing pest Patrick Kaleta from behind for a boarding minor, which saw Paul Gaustad come to the aid of his fallen teammate. They gave Gaustad and Fedotenko matching roughs while Sauer served his two. His teammates picked him up with outstanding work done by Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Mike Del Zotto and Steve Eminger. The forwards also helped with Boyle, Derek Stepan, Callahan and Dubinsky all making good reads, preventing Buffalo from getting a sniff. However, the Sabres gained momentum from it, forcing Biron to make a few tough stops. His rebound control was good. Especially considering that he was not told he was starting until Henrik Lundqvist arrived sick, basically putting it on Marty's shoulders.

Another failed five-on-three kept Buffalo afloat. On it, Tort used his timeout only to see Tyler Myers use his reach to clear the zone. At five-on-four, they didn't get much done, increasing the frustration level. The powerless play went 0-for-5, getting worse as the game progressed. When you blow a big chance like they did, it usually comes back to bite you. A fluky play allowed Buffalo to tie it when on a delayed penalty, rookie Tyler Ennis chipped a loose puck past a protesting Biron, who thought he had possession for a whistle. However, replays showed he never had control which is why Ennis was able to convert at the doorstep. His second in 24 hours. Roy and Vanek drew the helpers.

The second's conclusion was wild. First, following an icing in which Lindy Ruff burned his timeout, Brandon Dubinsky won the draw. The puck eventually came around to Callahan who chipped it back to Dubinsky, who quickly centered for Anisimov in front for a gimme. His third ended a nine-game drought, giving the Rangers back the lead with 48 seconds left. We're safe, right? Not so fast. On the very next shift, the Sabres came right back scoring another weird goal thanks to grunt work from their fourth line. Cody McCormick and Rob Niedermayer combined to get the puck to Mike Grier, who buried it with 2.8 seconds left stunning MSG and sending me into a Tweetfest. :P Here were a couple summing up my thoughts as to how such a play occurred:

Rant One


Rant Two

Rant Three

Yeah. I was not pleased. Staal didn't play poorly by any stretch. But I just can't comprehend what he and Danny G were doing on that play. Callahan was the only guy in front. One concept which has to change for this team is this business with opposing players cruising through our crease and running our goalies. Would it kill one of our D to actually get in front of them and push them out? Rant over.

Early in the third, more controversy happened when Fedotenko looked to have restored our lead. This time, he steered home another loose puck with the whistle coming some five seconds later. Three games in a row, this team loses out on a goal. One because Bill McCreary thought there was a hi-stick on the Blues. Fine. He made an honest mistake. They lost by a goal and had plenty of time to tie it. Then you had the atrocity the other night in which Fedotenko put us ahead only to be called for incidental contact. Perhaps but it seemed pretty shady. Tonight's took the cake. It definitely should've counted. When will this disorganized league change that rule. It's awful.

With the game still up for grabs, Gaustad took a minor with under nine left in regulation. Absolutely zilch got done. Del Zotto in particular stunk, fumbling the puck at the point. Sure. He got one or two shots through but his confidence isn't there. Anyone can see it. Still can't get over Matt Gilroy getting one PP shift. What in God's name does Tort have against Hobey, who actually was solid in his 13+? I just don't get it.

As if the refs weren't bad enough, they invented a call on Boyle for tripping when he did no such thing. I guess aggressiveness isn't allowed in this wussified league! Someone should send 100 copies of Slap Shot to Bettman making him cry in his panties. The game is regressing. Dial up The Beatles HELP! At least the Rangers killed it, forcing OT. The four-on-four was fun with each New York club going for it. First, a lousy turnover by Christy led to a two-on-one for Vanek and Roy. After Vanek faked out our D, he had the puck in the same position as his shootout winner past Johan Hedberg. But he opted not to shoot, instead passing for an open Roy at the side, who never got off a shot. If that epic fail doesn't sum up Vanek's career, my name's not Derek Felix.

The missed opportunity allowed the Rangers to come down and earn the decider off what else but hard work. Fedotenko and Anisimov combined to work the puck to Girardi, whose shot was blocked by a sliding Leopold. But Fedotenko didn't give up and when Leopold missed, Anisimov quickly fired past Enroth for an exciting finish that saw an emotional Tort pump his fist and probably say, "Hell yeah!" Or something to that effect. A much needed home win, ending a two-game skid and putting us back over .500 (8-7-1) with Tom Renney's struggling Oilers visiting Sunday afternoon. Let the ass kissing begin. :P

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Artem Anisimov, NYR (2 goals incl. OT winner at 1:32, 5 SOG, 3-2 draws, +1 in 14:49)
2nd Star-Martin Biron, NYR (29 saves incl. 10/10 in 3rd, 1st win as Ranger-2nd overall at MSG)
1st Star-Ruslan Fedotenko, NYR (2nd of season, assist, 4 SOG, hit, +2 in 15:52)

Biron: Team played a solid 60 minutes

For the first time this season, the Rangers came to play from start to finish. At least that's how new backup Martin Biron termed it after looking sharp while making 24 stops, including a few money ones down the stretch to help his new team snap a three-game skid. The former Islander and Sabre who completed the New York hat trick made Ruslan Fedotenko and Artem Anisimov's first period tallies stand up in a well earned 2-1 road win over the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre- avenging last week's home opener.

“As a team, I think this was the first time this year that we played a solid 60 minutes,” Biron said. “We have to play up to that standard the rest of the season.”

Minus Marian Gaborik a second game in a row, this time the Blueshirts competed in all aspects. They went to the dirty areas to score both goals and stifled the Leafs by blocking 30 shots. The trio of Dan Girardi, Mike Del Zotto and a strong Michal Rozsival combined for 18 of the 30 while Ryan Callahan played like a future captain- doing his part even though he wasn't rewarded with a goal in nearly 22 big minutes. The popular alternate did help setup the winner, which came 61 seconds after Fedotenko stuffed home his first of the season. He also disrupted the Toronto power play which took the collar in five chances, marking the first time the Rangers held an opponent without a power play goal. 

John Tortorella made one other lineup change, sitting vet Steve Eminger for Mike Sauer, who again did nothing wrong paired alongside Matt Gilroy. Both were on the ice for a goal for, finishing plus-one apiece. Even if neither saw any time late, it's now up to the coach to give them more games. He again leaned heavily on the front four of Marc Staal, Girardi, Rozsival and Del Zotto and got the kind of performance necessary for the club to compete. In particular, Del Zotto and Rozsival were outstanding. Only the '05-06 Czech mainstay is over 30. It was nice to see the frequent booing target make a sweet dish across for Anisimov's decider. With a mostly inexperienced group, that's the kind of game they need from him. When he's not in the box or fumbling the puck at the point, Rozy is a solid contributor. 

There was even a Derek Boogaard sighting with the new enforcing taking on former Ranger Colton Orr early on with Orr getting the knockdown on a right. Afterwards, the Blueshirts took control outshooting the Leafs 15-8 while scoring twice, cashing in on Leafs' neutral zone turnovers. The first goal was all Derek Stepan, who stole the puck at center and turned on the jets before centering a pass which both Sean Avery and Fedotenko took whacks at with the latter getting rewarded with his first as a Ranger. Good to see this cohesive trio back together. Before the Leafs could recover, a beautiful passing play started by Callahan saw a pinching Rozsival hit Anisimov perfectly for his second. 

Only some superb netminding from Leaf backup Jonas Gustavsson kept the Rangers from getting more. The Monster finished with 30 saves, giving his team a chance to comeback. The Rangers' 32 shots were the most Toronto had allowed with them becoming the first opponent to reach 30 against Ron Wilson's improved club who lost for the first time in regulation- falling to 4-1-1. It was their second consecutive home loss following an overtime defeat to the Islanders. 

Gustavsson's goaltending nearly swung the contest. Though they didn't permit a shot the first half of the third, the Blueshirts couldn't put it out of reach. Instead, Public Enemy No.1 Colby Armstrong tallied his first as a Leaf when he was neatly set up by former Sabre Clarke MacArthur who got inside position on a sliding Girardi and made a great play which cut it to 2-1 with 8:56 remaining. As they did last year, the Leafs came hard but Biron turned them away making a pair of strong denials from in tight. During the postgame interview with MSG's John Giannone, he spoke about just being ready when Kris Versteeg moved in on a power play breakaway. He knew he had to shoot and gave him glove before taking it away and then denying a point blank rebound. The two biggest saves came after Tomas Kaberle threaded the needle to the streaking ex-Hawk, who couldn't beat Biron.

Even more gratifying was how the Rangers played the final 46 ticks controlling the puck and not giving the Leafs a sniff. Both Callahan and Anisimov were out for that final shift and Rozsival made two good defensive plays while working well with Del Zotto. In a game I hardly saw due to 90 minutes in the gym, I could tell how badly our guys wanted it. That was something new which must continue when they visit a tough Boston team Saturday that won again last night. 

It's real simple. If they want to have a season, this is how they must perform. Thursday was a nice start.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (assist, 4 SOG, +1 in 24:42)

2nd Star-Michal Rozsival, NYR (primary assist on GW, +1 in 24:00)

1st Star-Martin Biron, NYR (24 saves incl.11/11 in 2nd for 1st win in 1st start as Ranger)

Stepan makes case to stay

They could be Derek and The Dominoes sooner than expected. Derek Stepan showed off the same skills that helped Team USA win the WJC and lead Wisconsin to the NCAA finals where they fell to Chris Kreider and Boston College. In the Rangers' fifth preseason game, the 20 year-old center from Hastings, Minnesota made a bid to stay on Broadway- posting his first preseason goal and an assist in a 5-1 win at MSG over the Red Wings.

Also having strong games were Ruslan Fedotenko (2 A), Sean Avery (G, +2), Erik Christensen (A, +2), Mike Sauer (G, +1) and Pavel Valentenko (A, +2). Along with Stepan, each bolstered their cases to make the big club. Marian Gaborik was dominant as well, recording a power play goal and a helper while linemate Alexander Frolov made a sweet dish to a cutting Mike Del Zotto, who finished a give-and-go for the night's final goal.

All in all, a good night for John Tortorella's club who continues to show offensive improvement thus far. A trend that must continue if they're to be taken seriously. Henrik Lundqvist was also sharp, allowing only a deflection to beat him while staying busy with 35 saves.

Earlier in camp, Tort tried Stepan with Gabby and Frolov to some success. Tonight, he played between Avery and Fedotenko with the trio having solid chemistry. They were effective on the forecheck and created all game. No wonder they combined for two goals and three assists, thrilling fans and probably the coaching staff as well. In fact, Avery had drawn praise from the fiery coach for his work in front. He's been real good the last three games, scoring in a second straight while driving Ilya Kovalchuk and David Clarkson cuckoo. If the instigator can sustain it, then he'll have a place in the lineup permanently.

Gotta also give due to Fedotenko, who's really done a solid job showing he still has hands. Granted. He's on a tryout and it's his former coach. But he has made the most of it. I see no reason why they can't start him on say a third line with Avery and Stepan. With Artem Anisimov also looking stronger than last year and Ryan Callahan playing like a beast, this team actually might be exciting. Especially if Vinny Prospal returns healthy.

As for Stepan, he came on late in a second Detroit dominated with ex-Devil Brian Rafalski getting the only goal while outshooting the hosts 14-9. However, a late shift by Stepan exemplified why many are encouraged by him. With over 10 seconds left, he outhustled a Wing to a loose puck and then got around Rafalski, forcing Jimmy Howard to make a tough save. That kinda yeoman effort is what separates Stepan from the pack. He rarely looks lost out there and is a solid all around player. Early in the third, he got rewarded when a Fedotenko kicked a Valentenko rebound right to Stepan, who deposited the loose change.

Even with a crowded position, it's hard not to see Stepan making the final cut. He obviously has tremendous vision and skill to go with it. If he struggles early, the organization can always send him down to Hartford for seasoning. After all, he's a first-year pro trying to make the quantum leap straight from college. If he's in, that leaves plenty of debate between Tim Kennedy and Brian Boyle for the fourth line. With Kennedy having another strong showing and Boyle showing better speed, it's anyone's guess who wins out.

The other bright note was the play of Sauer, who's being given one final long look to make good on that second round pick they took in the Brian Leetch deal. Injuries have been a bugaboo but he's come in healthy and had an effective game, finishing off a nifty Christensen backhand no-look feed while also playing stellar in his end.

It looks like he's got stiff competition versus both Ryan McDonagh and Valentenko. The Rangers have to like what they've seen. Spots actually could be earned before the October 9 road opener at Buffalo. Never a bad thing.

Rangers cut down to 27

Earlier today, the Rangers made their second round of cuts. Team President & GM Glen Sather announced that the club assigned Chad Johnson, Wade Redden, Evgeny Grachev, Dale Weise and Mats Zuccarello to Hartford. Dane Byers, Kris Newbury and Jeremy Williams will also continue camp with the AHL affiliate. While those eight remain in the organization, defensemen Garnet Exelby, Brandon Manning and Alexei Semenov were all released from tryouts, leaving nine players competing for seven spots on the blueline.

Incumbents Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Mike Del Zotto and Michael Rozsival comprise the top four. Steve Eminger, Matt Gilroy, Ryan McDonagh, Mike Sauer and Pavel Valentenko are all in competition for the final three slots. Out of the five, Gilroy, McDonagh and Valentenko have looked the best. But figure the club to start the season with at least vet Eminger as an extra, leaving Gilroy and McDonagh with the inside track. I'd like to see more from Valentenko and Brian Leetch trade holdover Sauer, who's getting one last shot.

As for what's up front, there are 16 players left. With both Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal banged up, it's given golden opportunities to rookie Derek Stepan along with vets Erik Christensen, Ruslan Fedotenko, Tim Kennedy and Todd White. Though Christensen should have a spot based on being re-signed after a solid stint last year, it remains unclear where he'll start. The club remains without a top playmaking pivot to center potential lethal Euro combo Marian Gaborik and Alexander Frolov. Does Stepan get a shot at the start in two weeks when the team visits Buffalo October 8 and the Islanders October 11? The 20 year-old former Badger certainly has the most upside. If he's not ready, they can always ship him to Hartford.

Brian Boyle is competing with Kennedy and White for the fourth line. Though White's capable of moving up due to his experience with Gabby in St. Paul. There's also Fedotenko, who's opened some eyes with a strong camp highlighted by a three-point effort in the Rangers' 5-4 overtime win over the Devils Saturday. John Tortorella knows him well from Tampa where Feds was a hero against both the Flyers and Flames en route to Lord Stanley. Still, the journeyman who also was part of the Pens' Cup in '08-09 would be used in a secondary role where he hopefully could supply offense on the third line with possibly some power play duty in store. Considering that he's here on a tryout, Fedetenko has done enough to warrant consideration. He's capable of contributing 15 goals and at least 30 points. You wonder if MZA could've done that. But he'll start with the Pack.

No surprise that the two goalies are Henrik Lundqvist and new vet backup Martin Biron, who's been steady thus far. Hopefully, King Henrik got the cobwebs out in Newark.

The Blueshirts have three exhibitions left, including the second of a home-and-home with the Red Wings, who dealt them their first defeat yesterday by a score of 5-3 (really 6 if not for ref incompetence). Biron played the first two periods permitting three while Johnson came in relief, letting in two. Sean Avery, Christensen and Artem Anisimov (SHG) were the goalscorers. Tomas Holmstrom netted the winner for Detroit while Brian Rafalski added a goal and three helpers with Jimmy Howard (18 saves) going all the way. They Original Sixes meet again at MSG Wednesday at 7 ET on MSG.


NY RANGERS REMAINING CAMP ROSTER


G (2)-Biron, Lundqvist


D (9)-Del Zotto, Eminger, Gilroy, Girardi, McDonagh, Rozsival, Sauer, Staal, Valentenko


F (16)-Anisimov, Avery, Boogaard, Boyle, Callahan, Christensen, Drury, Dubinsky, Fedotenko, Frolov, Gaborik, Kennedy, Prospal, Prust, Stepan, White