Pic of Day: It's A Rozsival PPG

Yesterday's big 3-1 home win over the Flyers was one of the best games this version of the Rangers has played. Their shortcomings have been well documented. For once at least, the guys wearing the Blueshirt logo wore the jersey with pride, outplaying a bitter rival by a country mile. While much of the focus centered around the kinda game Sean Avery had following a seat in the press box, John Tortorella's club stood up to the Broad Street Bullies highlighted by Brandon Dubinsky KO-ing Philly captain Mike Richards. That in itself was something to behold as Richards certainly is honorable. Thanks to the tutelage from former enforcer Colton Orr, Dubi has come a long way.

Even if we didn't go having sold the game a while back, it was nice to see our guys winning every battle while limiting the Flyers to just 18 shots. Yes, they actually made Henrik Lundqvist's day easier with him only required to come up with a couple of large stops including a stone job on Jersey kid James Van Riemsdyk after a minor miracle took place.

Michal Rozsival scored a power play goal. No. Jaromir Jagr didn't return from Russia. Not long ago, it wasn't uncommon to see Rozy contribute offensively using his big one-timer. For as miserable as he was the first three months, the elder statesman has steadied since. He's been more involved in all facets with the familiar nice outlets springing teammates and even more engaged defensively. Granted. He's still prone to mistakes like Atlanta's second goal the other night. However, if you're not judging with bias, the Czech's played with more purpose. On one shift Sunday, he shoved Flyer clown Scott Hartnell down repeatedly. Something that's been happening more frequently. It was nice to see him get rewarded offensively, ripping an Erik Christensen feed off the bar and in. So, without even more discussion since I never got around to a recap, here's the rare sight that saw Rozy congratulated by teammates:

While you let that sink in, a couple of strong quotes from the soft spoken '05-06 mainstay:

"It’s a great feeling to contribute offensively. It’s not something I’ve done so much this year, but I felt that I was open and I got a great pass from Christensen and I just shot it. The main thing is that there was a great screen in front of the net.”

Say what you will about his contract which is our GM's fault but the guy logs important minutes on our blueline without fanfare while being a good teammate. Maybe I'm more forgiving than most but I seem to recall the Rangers taking a waiver on the former Pen post-lockout and he evolved into one of our more valuable players. When push comes to shove, he and former whipping boy Marek Malik weren't that bad. I'd much rather have Big Bird than main culprit Wade Redden. None of this justifies Rozsival's salary ($5 M) which the club is still on the books another two years. The main issue aside from cost is that he's asked to be a top 2-3. If our D was stronger, Rozy as a 4-5 would be much better, speaking to the real problem. Marc Staal is by far the team's best with Dan Girardi and Rozsival taking turns as the second. For a change, all three had strong games with DG chipping in a helper and a few blocked shots. Until rookie Mike Del Zotto matures, it's a work in progress. Whether Girardi's a part of it all depends on what the club chooses to do with upcoming RFA.

One can't illustrate how much Tortorella leans on the top four due to Redden and Matt Gilroy's struggles. Never has a bottom pair more negatively impacted a team's defense. Both are soft. We can no longer give Hobey a free pass. He's a few years older than Del Zotto. If he doesn't show improvement next year, then the $1.659 M they're paying him is a colossal failure that's kept Corey Potter and Bobby Sanguinetti buried in Hartford. Both are cheaper and deserve a chance. Especially Potter, who's done nothing wrong whenever recalled the past year-plus. Furthermore, what was the point of signing Ilkka Heikkinen if he's not going to play? Simply amazing.

I didn't plan to turn this into a rant about our entire D but it just manifested itself. Kudos to Rozy for sticking with it!

Big second rallies Rangers past Bolts

No Gaborik. No Del Zotto. No problem. In what amounted to a pivotal game before the Olympic Break, the Rangers made their Valentine's Day extra sweet by rallying back to defeat the Bolts 5-2 at The Garden this afternoon. A big second period proved to be the difference in their second consecutive win that moved them into 10th with 63 points, tying Tampa Bay who by virtue of one less game played, is ninth a point behind Montreal.

Following up a great character win in which they lost both Gaborik and Del Zotto with a rare victory on home ice was exactly the recipe. With their next game not till March 2 at Ottawa, the Rangers showed more fight in rebounding from a tough first by exploding for four goals in the second en route to their 28th win of the season. Erik Christensen scored twice and set up another to break out of a slump that saw him enter with only three points (all assists) over the past 14 contests.  The three points matched a career best that came against Boston on Mar.29, 2007, which coincidentally was his last multi-goal game. Nice to see the versatile waiver bargain get rewarded.

"I think it's been a steady climb since I got here," he said after also just missing his first career hat trick when a shot rang off the right post. "I was unsure of myself when I first got here, trying to keep my head down. I didn't know what to expect. Management had been working with me to become a more confident person, and a more confident player."

Christensen atoned for an undisciplined minor that negated a power play midway through the opening 20, stemming the tide. Both clubs came out playing tight defensive hockey with few shots. Following a Zenon Konopka-Aaron Voros scrap, the Rangers blew consecutive man-advantages with Christensen negating the second with a trip. Eventually, the Lightning capitalized on an abbreviated five-on-four when dangerous finisher Steven Stamkos sent a left point shot that changed direction off a sliding Ryan Callahan, fooling Henrik Lundqvist for the game's first goal. After a brief encounter between Matt Walker and Brandon Prust, Tampa kept it going with sustained pressure that led to Steve Downie deflecting home another Stamkos shot for a 2-0 margin 1:40 apart. Alex Tanguay added a secondary assist.

In a two-goal hole minus two top players, the Blueshirts came out flying during a huge middle stanza that saw them connect four times on 10 shots. It started early thanks to an unlikely player doing an unlikely thing. Sean Avery converted a penalty shot just 100 seconds in injecting life on the bench and the building. The oddity took place when off a Downie turnover inside his blueline, Artem Anisimov slipped a pass for Avery, who was hauled down from behind. Thinking penalty shot, he pointed to center ice and then was properly awarded the opportunity. What came next was more shocking with Avery coming in with the puck and going way wide to the left before snapping one past Smith from a tough angle for his seventh of the season. For a guy who hasn't scored much, it was a revelation. The goal was sweet, eerily reminding us of a No.11 that hangs from the rafters. Ser---iou---sly.

"Avery's shot was a great move and a big goal for us," Lundqvist expressed. "I challenged him a couple of times in practice and told him he would never do that move in a game. It was awesome."

Many instances this season, the Rangers have gotten scored on before a goal was announced, sucking the air out of MSG. It nearly reared its ugly head again. Out of all people, Nate Thompson who scored yesterday in a loss to his former team the Islanders, had a glorious chance to make it 3-1. Instead, a sliding Lundqvist stretched over to rob Thompson's point blank backhand, getting the glove out in the nick of time. Before they drew even, the rating Swedish gold medalist who'll hop on a plane with Team USA duo Callahan and Chris Drury stoned Martin St. Louis during a four-on-four. A Dan Girardi turnover led to a two-on-one with Victor Hedman backhanding one across for St. Louis, who was denied by Lundqvist. He kicked it out. With the crowd serenading the popular netminder with familiar "Hen---rik, Hen---rik," chants, the Blueshirts came the other way three-on-two with Christensen and Marc Staal setting up Vinny Prospal in the slot for the equalizer. It was his fifth goal in five games. With an assist later, he went into the break with eight points over that stretch.

Carrying momentum, the Rangers didn't let up. Using a relentless forecheck, they tilted the ice spending extended time in the Bolts' end. One sequence eventually led to Christensen's first of the day. Off some strong defensive work, they worked the puck to an open Michal Rozsival, whose point blast went just wide. But they recovered it and cycled back to Rozsival, who dished to Prospal. Feeling like a power play, he quickly moved it to an isolated Christensen who came out of the right corner and fired thru Smith's five-hole for the lead at 12:06. He wasn't done. On the next shift, an excellent read led to a breakaway. After stealing the puck from Martin St. Louis, he broke away and netted his fourth as a Ranger 1:46 later. Evolving into a three-on-one, the quick skating Christensen felt backcheck pressure and fired upstairs from the right circle for an unassisted tally, suddenly making it 4-2.

Despite being outshot 13-10, the Rangers had superior skill and goaltending. They also played sound two-way hockey, paying attention to every little detail transitioning for offense. As Dave Malonely noted, a page out of the Tom Renney book. Not a bad thing against an offensive-minded Tampa team that was victimized in its end.

A couple of days after standing up to the whiny Crosby Pens, the Rangers didn't back off at any point against a Lightning club that also has quite a few grinders. We already referenced the two fights with Konopka and Walker dropping the gloves against Voros and Prust. Their roster also features Colton Orr victim Todd Fedoruk, who exchanged pleasantries with Avery between benches. Thompson is no stranger to fighting and even slumping Ryan Malone (assist) can scrap. With our lineup more bulked up featuring newest Ranger Jody Shelley (8 shifts-2:51), who debuted donning his trademark No.45, the rough stuff shouldn't be an issue anymore. Not surprisingly, Shelley and Konopka had words following a shift but nothing materialized. A frustrated Downie tried to stir it up at the end of the second with he and Avery each getting matching roughs.

Perhaps that rubbed off on our D with Rozsival finishing every check and pushing guys away from the net while partner Staal had a strong game finishing plus-three. Even Wade Redden played with more edge. Emergency recall Corey Potter (21 shifts-15:37, 2 hits) was fine and Matt Gilroy sufficient.

Echoing Prospal's words about the well earned triumph Thursday, the Rangers finished the job with a workman like third. Out of Tampa's nine offerings, only a couple were dangerous with Lundqvist making a couple of tricky saves off redirects, including one from Downie. Other than two weird goals, he was superb turning aside the last 22 to shut the door. Exactly what they needed and must continue when the season resumes with 20 games left. The guys in blue, red and white also were disciplined, handing the Bolts only three power plays. In the win over Pitt, they permitted two.

Avery came close to scoring his second with Smith just getting a piece of a right circle shot against the grain. It didn't matter. When Drury sealed it with an empty netter for his 10th, it was the vet's 250th goal and 600th career point, getting congrats from an excited bench. Fitting for a guy who's played better with more important games coming for our country in Vancouver. Hopefully, he can help Team USA surprise many and continue the upswing down the stretch.

Notes: Enver Lisin was a healthy scratch again. ... Prospal-Christensen-Callahan were a combined plus-nine. ... Smith permitted four goals on 22 shots. ... Vincent Lecavalier was held off the scoresheet with just one shot and a minus-two rating. ...Only five Rangers didn't register hits (Callahan-5). Callahan also had four takeaways. ... Rangers blocked 15 shots to Tampa's eight with five players all getting in the path of two, including Anisimov, who made a key block during Bolts' power play in third.

... Having played 62 games, the Rangers are 28-27-7 with 63 points sitting in 10th a point behind the Habs. They visit Ottawa 3/2 and return home to host Pittsburgh 3/4 during a tough four in six day stretch that includes a visit to Washington and a second of back-to-back versus Buffalo at MSG.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sean Avery, NYR (PS goal-7th of season, 4 SOG, 3 hits in 17 shifts-13:38)
2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (27 saves incl. final 22 for 25th win of season-3rd in 4)
1st Star-Erik Christensen, NYR (2 goals incl. GW, assist, 2 takeaways, hit, +3 in 20:42)

No early returns

Forget waiting until the end of the game. It's like watching the Flameout last night. Olli Jokinen and Marian Gaborik have no chemistry and the Rangers sure can't compete with the much bigger, faster Kings. A lot can be said about John Tortorella's boneheaded move putting five forwards out on a 5-on-4 power play, which predictably resulted in the Kings' best player Anze Kopitar scoring on a shorthanded breakaway. That Gaborik and Jokinen miscommunicated at the point leading to it spoke volumes. Just how many different pointmen can Tort try? You never stick five F's out unless it's 5-on-3.

There also was the bizarre line combo that had Chris Drury with Brian Boyle and Aaron Voros. Did the coach forget his med? Holy smokes. Look. Dru has been brutal this season but sticking him with two slugs is a total waste. Let our new bruiser Brandon Prust play with them on an energy line. He sure made his presence felt taking an undisciplined boarding minor and instigating a fight with Brandon Segal, earning a misconduct. Only 19 penalty minutes and fight No.19 for the kid with the fresh mohawk buzz cut donning Marek Malik's former No.(8). At least the guy wearing it will finish checks and keep fans awake.

Thanks to Marian Gaborik's fifth in three games- a nice tip-in of an Erik Christensen backhand pass- they're only down a goal with under a minute left trying to tie it. They probably won't tie it and don't deserve to. Ryan Callahan came close on a tip with 11.4 ticks left. What's with all the "Rangers Suck" chants? These Hollywood fakes are louder than Satan's worshippers. That faceoff was a joke as four seconds ran off before somehow the puck came to Drury, who was robbed by Jon Quick at the buzzer for LA's seventh consecutive win. Had they forced overtime, it would've felt wrong because that's how outplayed they were. Save me the whole MSG bs that they didn't give up. You could easily say the same for that Phoenix stinker where in typical Ranger fashion, they teased us. No wonder our own fans hate them.

Look. Nobody's saying Joke-inen is going to save this team because at the end of the day, there's not enough net presence and we're still stuck with Tinman and Woh-zsival. Until Glen Savior can find a sucker like Darryl Sutter for our two albatrosses, this team shall remain severely flawed. Yesterday, we had the half glass view praising the GM for ridding of Ally, saving three million. I too liked Higgs but he just couldn't finish. He can always be brought back over the summer. Highly unlikely. Jokinen's salary comes off setting us up to take a run at someone on July 1. Preferably a crease clearer. I'd like to see Slats try packaging Dan Girardi and a young forward to fill that void. But who's available? Of course, I'd kill for a high character guy like Robyn Regehr but he ain't going anywhere following the Phaneuf deal. He got off to a good start tonight against the suddenly reeling Devils, who just aren't the same minus Patrik Elias.

The Pluses from tonight and there weren't many:

A.Henrik Lundqvist was very sharp following the six day layoff. Don't be fooled by the 19 saves as many were high quality.

B.Gaborik continued to finish. You know what they say about goalscorers. Get one and they usually break out. That's five for the Great Gabby on the road trip giving him 34 on the season. Whatever happened to all those punch lines about his durability? Whether he can mesh with Jokinen remains to be seen.

C.The PK went for 3-for-3 against a potent LA power play that burned the Devils. No small task.

D.Brandon Prust. He needs to be a little smarter but boy can he be a breath of fresh air for the Garden Faithful.

The Negatives:

A.The coach stunk. Weird lines. Way too many combos. Idiotic coaching on the PP cost them the game's first goal. For a guy who won a Cup, some of his decisions are quite baffling. Granted. He had a lot more to work with in Tampa. But come on!

B.Jokinen was caught out for both goals against finishing with zero points, 4 SOG and a minus-two in 20:34. Also found no chemistry with Gaborik whose goal came with waiver steal Christy out there.

C.Does this team practice the power play? Isn't Tort supposed to be an offensive mind? They've gone completely backwards. Just do us a favor and decline it!

D.Shoot The Puck! Seri---ous---ly, they were stuck on 12 shots after 40 minutes. Last night, Calgary had 10 en route to 18 in a listless performance. At least this wasn't on home ice because they would've gotten booed out of the building. How many times can our guys overpass. It's like they still have Jagr Syndrome. I expect it from Woh-zsival. But the rest of ya should know better.

E.Lack of crease presence. It's something that's plagued this vanilla cream custard soft serve club for years. I get that the LA blueline is very good, making Quick's life easy with All-Star Drew Doughty, Rob Scuderi and Jack Johnson leading the charge. But is it too much trouble to ask one of our players to get the uniform a little dirty? Saw Slats' interview and he better not be done!

F.No Pushback. Let's face it. Our D is soft as molasses and should be sponsored by Hostess. I wonder why they haven't gotten them yet on one of those cheesy glass advertisements. Marc Staal's the only one who really competes but even he's not that strong in front of his own net. He's really turned around his year and also did some nice things keeping plays alive in the offensive end, leading to an early Jokinen opportunity with the game scoreless. But outside of him, there's nothing. Both Tinman and Woh-zsy are incapable. Though Michal at least can break up plays. Girardi is inconsistent. At times, he makes solid reads and even uses the body and then there are instances where he passes the puck up the middle like tonight which lead to glorious chances. Matt Gilroy's not that kind of player and DZ's still a pup who at least throws the body consistently. But it takes time to develop. Honestly, they should give Heineken, Sangs and Sauer another look. I know it's not happening. But that's what I'd do.

Don't forget Thursday, our heroes return to host Ovechkin and the sizzling Caps, who are only winners of 11 straight following tonight's 4-1 win over the inept B's. As my Dad said:

"That should be cute."

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (19 saves incl.10/11 in 2nd in return)
2nd Star-Jack Johnson, LA (3 missed shots, 2 blocked shots, +2 in 19:22)
1st Star-Anze Kopitar, LA (1st SHG of season, 3 SOG, 7 attempted, 2 hits in 24:49)

Great Gabby's first Ranger hat trick ends misery

For one night at least, the misery ended. The Rangers can thank the Great Gabby as he recorded his first hat trick as a Blueshirt, getting the first three in a stunning 3-1 win over the surprising Avs in Denver.

That they even won against a very good young club challenging for the Northwest while The Sutter Boys blow up Calgary to epic proportions (more on that later) is a revelation. Or perhaps the Earth wasn't rotating properly. Whatever the explanation, unlike the disgrace in The Desert sans the last ditch effort/classic tease, the Rangers actually showed and backed by some Gabby magic, got Chad Johnson his first NHL win. Kudos to Ocho Cinco on bouncing back after that three-goal first period barrage last night, finishing with 34 saves, including more than half the final stanza.

"It’s a boost of energy for this club and myself as well to finally get a win and feel good about ourselves,” the club's leading goals (33), assists (32) and points (65) leader said.

Before last night's third period, the Rangers hadn't scored on the road in over 202 minutes before Gaborik ended a five-game drought reaching 30 in his first season in the Big Apple. Sean Avery also tallied Saturday but their rally fell short with Ryan Callahan hitting a post while skating five-on-five minus Johnson thanks to Petr Prucha drawing his third penalty in a game that saw the Coyotes honor Teppo Numminen with a victory.

Maybe the rust finally came off because they were a different team 24 hours later, taking the middle game of a three-game trip. We'll give credit even if I didn't catch the whole thing due to fixing steak nachos. To my shock when I checked the score early on, they were leading for a change thanks to Marian Gaborik beating Craig Anderson with a wrist shot from the right circle, scoring for a second consecutive night. The first time he's connected in two straight since 12/21-23 in wins over Carolina and Florida. A welcome sight for our anemic offense. Avery and Artem Anisimov notched assists on the lone goal of the first.

During intermission, leading rookie scorer Matt Duchene chatted with John Giannone about how exciting Year One's been. Still can't believe he asked Duchene who his favorite player is. Everyone knows it's Joe Sakic, which must be a thrill getting to see his idol daily. This kid has all the tools. He just might be better than John Tavares. Nothing against JT91 who should be great but there's something about Duchene that we like. He's a little more polished. Granted. He has more to work with at the moment. Tracking both along with Victor Hedman should be fun for years.

Back to the game. As I was chowing down, there was Gaborik making a bee line for the net to slam home Vinny Prospal's perfect feed that caught Anderson leaning the other way for 2-0 at 4:57 into the second. Marc Staal- who was a beast logging over 27 minutes- added the first of two helpers, foreshadowing a lucky combo that went to work once more to salt it away in the third. Whatever the reason, the Avs just couldn't mount an attack getting outshot 12-5 in the second. Coming off two straight losses and an off day, they should've been the more rested club. However, rare attention to detail from the guys in red, white and blue was making Johnson's night easier than expected.

Not surprisingly, the hosts ramped it up in the third, firing 18 shots from all cylinders in an attempt to get back in. But Johnson held up while getting help from the Big Ticket, who put the cherry on top with his 10th career hat trick and first since that epic five-goal masterpiece versus our team on Dec.20, 2007. He got it in fine style. After Prospal served a bogus delay of game minor when he accidentally knocked over Johnson and lost control knocking the net off (seri---ously), the Ranger PK which did the job (6-for-6) led to No.33.With Prosp out of the box, Staal found him and then a quick seam pass sprung a flying Gaborik for a breakaway which he didn't miss, firing a low rocket by Anderson.

"You could tell right from the start that he had that jump, he had that swagger,” explained Ocho Cinco. “He was beating guys wide, having control of the puck. The other guys look up to a guy like him to lead the way and when he’s playing his best hockey, I think other guys pick it up and follow his lead.

“All it takes sometimes is one guy to kind of lead the team, pick’em up and put them on his shoulders, and Gabby was unbelivable tonight. He did that.”

His fourth in two games which also included a milestone back in the first, recording his 500th point gave the Rangers some breathing room. Good thing because Colorado came hard with almost nothing working, speaking to how good Johnson was. Eventually, they broke through when tough guy Cody McLeod, who earlier earned a decision over Aaron Voros, rebounded home a Kyle Quincey shot cutting it to 3-1 with 7:21 left. Rookie Justin Mercier added a secondary assist, registering his first NHL point. Of course on the play, Michal Rozsival stood around and let McLeod get position.

Even in a 3-1 win where Gabby records his first hat trick as a Ranger and Ocho Cinco wins his first game, you can always count on Woh-zy to give the other team life. At least the Avs didn't get any closer with another made up penalty this time on Paul Stastny for "tripping Rozsival" dashing any comeback hopes. For the Ranger fans who made their presence known even tossing a few hats on the ice for Gaborik's trick, they actually got to celebrate. I just don't see what there is to be happy about. Even if Ally Kota-leak could be bye bye with Higgs later today in an agreed to deal with the Flames for Olli Joke-inen and real enforcer Brandon Prust, it's not going to change much. 


On second thought, maybe they were thankful for what they witnessed.


Notes: Kotalik, who still must approve the trade due to a no-trade (only Savior) and per Post's Larry Brooks left the team probably to cry her eyes out- was scratched for the eighth game in nine. Other waste Donald Brashear was the other scratch for the seventh time in eight. ... By reaching 30 the other day in Phoenix, Gaborik's scored at least 30+ in six seasons. ... The Avalanche have dropped three in a row, getting outscored 7-3. Currently sixth in the West with 66 points, they trail Vancouver by four and are three up on seventh Nashville and four better than both Calgary and Detroit. ... Duchene was held without a point but still leads all rookies with 36 points (17-19-36). Three better than Tavares (17-16-33) with Philly's James Van Riemsdyk (12-19-31) and Buffalo's Tyler Myers (7-24-31) tied for third. 

... With seventh Florida posting a 2-0 shutout of the Islanders (5 straight losses), Rangers (25-24-7, 57 Pts) vault over idle Atlanta and Montreal back into eighth, a point up with Boston and Tampa two out while the Isles remain stuck on 54. John Tortorella's club concludes three in four on the road tomorrow night against Kings, who pulled a Canes on the Devils Sunday to win their sixth straight.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd Star-Cody McLeod, Col (6th goal, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 5 PIM, +1 in 16 shifts-10:07)
2nd Star-Chad Johnson, NYR (34 saves incl.17/18 in 3rd for 1st career NHL victory)
1st Star-Marian Gaborik, NYR (1st Ranger hat trick-goals 31, 32, 33, 6 SOG, 3 hits, +3 in 21:06)

Fourteen goals in two games

Say it with me slow-----lll-------yyy. The Rangers scored:

FOU-----------RT----------EEN 

over two games!!!!!

Please keep repeating until it sinks in. In two consecutive games, our gang that couldn't shoot straight has finished, finished and finished. Granted. It came at the expense of a pair of suspect defensive clubs in this topsy turvy conference that changes daily. First, they lit the lamp for six unanswered in a 6-2 victory over Les Canadiens. Another game we sold. Given our luck evidenced by the fact that nobody could recall the last time we saw a Ranger win, what transpired tonight was miraculous. They scored 88888888!!!!!!!!

Okay. So the Bolts were running on fumes, still hungover from their win over the Candy Canes the night before. But c'mon! C'mpuckin on! This was bananas. The eight goals were the highest they'd scored since January 2001 during the Dark Ages. That Justin even knew Jeff Toms recorded a hat trick playing with Lindros and Fleury speaks to his insanity. The most I could remember were seven in a St. Patty's Day Massacre of the Bruins during Cally's rookie year. A great memory as our team swept the Kovalchuk/Hossa Thrashers with Marcel outperforming big bro. Hey. We had Buffalo on the ropes before Renney erred. Ah. Didn't they also roast Hotlanta for 7 in Game Three? Good times.

Getting back to this eight goal eruption, meaning the Rangers have scored a month's worth in two consecutive wins, this was about as perfect a dismantling as humanly possible. It was Devil-esque. Hell. Hasan is probably a little envious considering how tough Tampa played them. That's about the only edge we have along with team doctors. Sorry. Couldn't resist. :-P In all seriousness, it's nice to see Tort Reform pay off. Even if it was far from a sellout. Are you listening Jazzy Jim? It was just great to get back on the winning track. Honestly had doubts that we'd ever witness another home win. Haha. Here were the highlights:

-Aaron Voros (yes) stood in there against PIM leader Zenon Konopka and did well 10 seconds in really setting the tone. He had a memorable night later drawing an instigator on Konopka and then scoring on it. A just reward for a great team guy who's not played a whole lot. When he has, he's contributed much more than Huggy Bear. Voros also battled Ryan Malone even having his name chanted. Seri---ous---ly! You deserved it. If anyone wants to follow him, please do so on Twitter. He got plenty of love including from us.


-Sixteen different Rangers recorded a point. Even the rejuvenated Tinman, who notched a helper two days removed from his second fight in Ranger Blue.

-For a second straight game since being reunited, Dubi, Prosp and Great Gabby dominated combining for eight points (2-6-8), plus-nine along with Dubi hammering Jeff Halpern. Gaborik matched a career high with four assists, eclipsing 60 points. He's now up to 61 (29-32-61) or three better than the leading Ranger scorer(s) [Gomez/Zherdev] all last year. So explosive. Before Sunday, Gaborik had just three points this month but in the last two, he has seven (1-6-7). Hope that trend continues Thursday at Philly. In the duh moment of the night, MSG radio announcer Kenny Albert actually asked Prospal what the reason for their line's success was. Hell-o! They played together with similar results earlier this season. Holy cow!

-Prospal had a sweet finish versus his ex-team off a nifty Gabby set up, going backhand deke. He nearly pulled it off again later when he had Antero Niittymaki dead to rights but hit the right post. Just how lethal was our transition? Had they not hit posts and Niitty not prevented a couple of others before getting the hook, they easily could've reached a cool dozen. Also speaking to how inept the Lightning were.

-After an otherwise invisible Vinny Lecavalier banked one in off Henrik to cut it to 2-1, a quick response by the captain Dru, who rebounded home a Cally shot to score for a second straight game only 73 seconds later. Sticking the Team USA PK tandem together with Christy was smart. So was shifting Avery to the fourth line turning it into a crash line with Boyle and Voros, who both were strong. Seems Tort has finally come to his senses, balancing out things with Artie working with a revitalized Enver Lisin and Higgs. Since being reinserted, all Lisin's done is work, work and work, finally getting rewarded with his sixth from Higgins and Matt Gilroy, who jumped up contributing two helpers. Even Higgins finished for just the second time at MSG, putting the cherry on top late.

-Marc Staal had another stellar performance, contributing defensively and offensively, finishing his career best fifth while adding his career best 13th assist for you guessed it. Eighteen points. Also a career high in Year Three with still 32 games left. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention how well he works with Rozy, who looks much more comfortable. He's played better for a while, blocking shots while moving the puck effectively and getting involved offensively. All cause there's less pressure on him.

-Up two in the second, Dan Girardi's right point shot eluded Niitty to match his jersey No.5, ending a long 31-game drought. That it came unscreened from way out should tell you how under siege the poor Tampa netminder was, permitting five on 20 shots before 2008 fifth rounder Dustin Tokarski replaced him faring no better (3 GA on 11 shots). It's awfully hard to win when you don't compete.

-Our club's not known to be tough but the past two games (both convincing wins), they've fought five times. Even when the gloves haven't been dropped, our guys are finally standing up for each other as evidenced by Lisin getting in Maxim Lapierre's face Sunday. A refreshing change for the better!

-Not to sound like a broken record but between all this good stuff, Henrik again was solid, needing just 21 saves after coming off light work (19) the other day. He still made some timely stops before we put it out of reach. That's now nine in a row of two goals-or-less dating back to a New Year's Eve 2-1 triumph at Raleigh. In eight starts this month, The King's 5-1-2 with a miniscule 1.48 GAA, 947 save percentage plus the memorable 0-0 shutout duel with MB30 in a shootout defeat. Not too shabby. How dominant has he been? Lundqvist's now up to 22 wins with a 2.26 GAA and on pace for a career best save percentage (.925). If he continues this upswing, it's going to be hard not to include him in the Vezina talk. Once impossible. Still, with Miller Time, Bryzgalov, Marty, Kipper and fantastic frosh Jimmy Howard, it's going to be awfully tough.

-He had only one assist following a career high four points (2-2-4) but Cally was everywhere. He and Dubi couldn't be stopped, generating shorthanded chance after shorthanded chance. This American duo is quickly becoming one to watch.

-Hey Ally. Keep trying to figure out why you're out of the lineup. Stay in the press box!

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brandon Dubinsky, NYR (G, A, fight = Gordie Howe Hat Trick, +3 in 25 shifts-18:36)
2nd Star-Enver Lisin, NYR (6th goal of season, 3 hits, 2 takeaways, +1 in 18 shifts-12:58)
1st Star-Aaron Voros, NYR (1st goal of season, 2 fights, major penalty drawn in 13 shifts-8:08)

Rangers Prosp Into Christmas

Last week's humiliation feels like a long time ago. Perhaps the Rangers took it to heart. Since, they're a perfect four-for-four including tonight's big 4-1 home win over the Panthers, tying them for eighth in the East with 39 points. It allowed them to Prosp into Christmas feeling a lot better about themselves than seven days prior. Vinny Prospal snapped a 14-game goal drought, tallying twice and Chris Drury scored for the third time in four while also assisting on Marian Gaborik's highlight reel shorthanded goal as the Blueshirts got the last four- improving to 18-16-3 with smiles all around.

"These games before the break, you don’t want them to think it’s Christmas too early,” said an almost smiling John Tortorella. “I thought we played well. Everyone contributed. It was more of a complete game than we’ve had in a while.”

Amazing what a few wins can do for a team's psyche. It was also vital to do it again on home ice. Amazingly, they'd gone a month having entered with the league's second worst home record (7-9-1). Predictably, the bitter 2-1 defeat to the Islanders was fresh in their memory banks and something many players admittedly emphasized. The No.1 Star of the game Henrik Lundqvist certainly didn't flinch when answering John Giannone's question after another stellar night, finishing with 33 saves. That's six consecutive games he's permitted two-or-less. Most notably, the emotional leader of the team has been unbelievable during the win streak, stopping 136 of 141 (.965 save percentage). Quite a statement from the affable Swede we critiqued earlier. The difference. Now, he's making momentum turning saves like a trio when the game was hanging in the balance with each club deadlocked at one.

“He’s the most important player on our team,” praised The Big Ticket. “If he comes up with the big saves, it gives us confidence and gives us a boost. He gives us the chance to win every night.”

The Panthers came out quickly getting nine of the first 13 shots, including Victor Oreskovic putting in the game's first goal just 4:09 in. Dominic Moore went wide on Mike Del Zotto and backhanded a low shot off Lundqvist which caromed out. But Michal Rozsival fanned on clearing, allowing Oreskovic to rebound it home. But the Rangers bounced back thanks to some superb work from Enver Lisin, whose hustle negated an icing. Eventually, he and Sean Avery helped setup an open Drury for a one-time blast past Tomas Vokoun to tie 2:13 later. A great response. By the end of the period, shots wound up Florida 10, Rangers 9.

With the game knotted, Lundqvist did his best work in the second turning aside all 15 Panther shots, including two sizzlers on Rotislav Olesz and a great kicksave on a dangerous Greg Campbell chance. While he was taking care of business in front of his own net, Prospal finally scored for the first time in 15 games. On a power play, he worked a give-and-go with Del Zotto getting the puck to Gaborik who was stopped point blank by Vokoun. However, the rebound was still there and a sneaky Ryan Callahan kicked the puck to Prospal for the putback, leading to him raising his arms and thanking the heavens in relief. Certainly a good sign because they need him to get going again. He'd been too quiet during the malaise. It would get even better for Vaclav later.

“It was great to see Vinny score a couple of goals,” the Great Gabby added of his linemate.
 

“It’s just special every time you score two goals,” a pleased Prospal explained while looking forward to a snowy Christmas rather than Florida sunshine. “I’m not a guy who scores 40 every year. It feels great to finally come out of it, and not just score one, but two in a game like this.”

Once again, the middle stanza was similar to the first with both clubs attacking and getting chances as they combined for 29 total shots (Fla-15, NYR-14). While the shot totals were high, encouraging for the Rangers was that they didn't make many glaring mistakes and gave Lundqvist a chance to see every one, including a sliding stop to rob a Panther on the doorstep. The D held up with John Tortorella opting to re-team Marc Staal with Dan Girardi, helping silence Florida's top line of Michael Frolik, Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton. The strategy paid off with the trio going a combined minus-six despite 14 of their club's 34 shots.

The Rangers came close to scoring near the second's conclusion before I headed out to a classic ice cream parlor for some mint chip and cookie dough. As I drove back, it was nice to discover that Prospal had increased the lead to two only 23 seconds into the third off some nice work behind the net by Brandon Dubinsky, who played another assertive game. That must continue post-Christmas when they host the Islanders at The Garden Saturday and beyond. Staal also got another reward with a secondary helper. He really has played much better and is starting to look like the shutdown guy who was so confidence in his second year.

As I got in with it still 3-1 thanks to some splendid PK work that held a lethal Florida man-advantage in check (0-4), I had some ice cream and then watched a great sequence started by Callahan and Drury. Their effort was exceptional. Forcing turnovers, a persistent Drury finally stripped the puck and looked ready to get a breakaway drawing a delayed penalty. With Callahan changing quickly, Gaborik flew off the bench and retrieved the puck, going wide before somehow finding a hole via a backhand for his league-leading 26th. A back breaking shorty that put it out of reach. How he scored from such an angle still baffles. If there's a video, we'll put it up. Here it is:

Great PK Effort Leads To A Great Gabby SHG


To their credit, Florida didn't quit but none of the nine they took bothered Lundqvist, who heard the more familiar, "Hen---rik, Hen---rik, Hen---rik" chants from the Garden Faithful. His 158th career victory allowed him to pass Dave Kerr for fifth winningest all-time on the franchise list.

“The last four games we have been more physical, more aggressive. The puck is starting to bounce our way a little bit,” Lundqvist noted after giving fans a brief scare when Florida D Keith Ballard accidentally kneed him in the head. “I think I am playing really well, but the guys playing in front are playing really, really well. They are making really good decisions.”

With the Isles coming in along with the Flyers before a New Year's Eve tilt in Raleigh, the coach knows how big it is to reestablish a home ice advantage.

"We are not going to get where we want to be if we don’t establish our game at home,” Tort accurately expressed. “And I thought we did it the right way tonight in our home building. We have quite a few home games coming up here, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”

Hopefully, that trend will continue.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Vinny Prospal, NYR (snapped 14-gm drought w/2 goals incl.PP GW, 4 SOG, 3-3 draws, +1 in 16:53)
2nd Star-Chris Drury, NYR (tying goal, assist, 3 SOG, 2 takeaways, 2 blocked shots, 11-12 draws, +2 in 19:15)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (33 saves incl.15/15 in 2nd, 136/141 stopped during win streak)

Three In A Row

Last night, amidst MB30 breaking the shutout record in Pitt, Henrik Lundqvist had a pretty stellar performance along with his team in Raleigh, posting a 3-1 win. Since Mount Tort erupted, the Rangers have won three in a row. Matt Gilroy and Mr. Kleenex returned. Both acquitted themselves well even if Wade Redden was a little too giddy in that postgame interview with Dave Maloney. At least he played more physical using every ounce of tin.

Most notably, the club won to push back over new NHL .500 (17-16-3), remaining two behind eighth Florida, who became the latest team to beat up on the Flyers in a fight marred game. Apparently, the Broad Street Bullies tried their best to thug it up. Too bad we missed it. Heck. We missed a good chunk of the second period that saw Sergei Samsonov and Marian Gaborik exchange goals 27 seconds apart. Both Lundqvist and Cam Ward were good keeping it a predictable lowscoring contest into the final stanza. In it, there was a Brandon Dubinsky sighting. True. He assisted on Gabby's league-leading 25th along but it was refreshing to see the enigmatic third-year Alaskan put a puck in the net thanks to some nifty passing from resurgent Michal Rozsival, Vinny Prospal and the Great Gabby. Dubi went backhand for what proved to be the winner.

Though he stopped all 13 his way en route to 32 altogether, none of them were very tough due to a solid defensive effort from our guys, who all came back. It was great to see the D and forwards in sync. Even Huggy Bear had a few decent shifts. The best aspect was our team continued attacking, getting 14 shots of their own on Ward, who kept his team afloat with a few sparklers. However, the Candy Canes couldn't find the equalizer. With Cam off for an extra attacker, Marc Staal dominated his shift, taking the puck away and then throwing it three quarters of the way down into the open net for a deserved goal that sealed it.

All in all, a well earned 'W' to make it a perfect 3-for-3 on the road. Now, the Blueshirts return home to host the Panthers tomorrow and the slumping Islanders the day after Christmas. Tomorrow will give a better indication of where they are as Florida is playing well. It's one of those swing games. Of course, Saturday will be magnified cause of the opponent. Think of it this way. Last week, the team looked dead. They've at least temporarily revived themselves.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brandon Dubinsky/Marian Gaborik, NYR (2-2-4, +5, 9 SOG)
2nd Star-Michal Rozsival, NYR (assist, 4 hits, 4 blocked shots, +2 in 24:31)
1st Star-Marc Staal, NYR (ENG, 2 SOG, takeaway, blocked shot, +3 in 24:47)

Lundqvist strong again in second straight win

Henrik Lundqvist stood up to the challenge again. For a second straight game, the Rangers' emotional leader was strong stopping 36 of 37 shots in backstopping the Rangers to a hard earned 2-1 road win over old Patrick rival Philadelphia at a quiet Wachovia Center on Blizzard Day. Well, at least for Philly and parts of New Jersey, that holds true. But not so much here at the moment.

When you're trying to get out of a slump, they usually don't come easy. In the 5-2 win over the Isles, anyone who caught it knows. Today, it was again the case with it even tougher as Lundqvist made rookie Artie Anisimov's second period goal stand up, giving the Rangers a second win in a row for the first time since Nov.23-25 (CBJ, Fla). That he did so on a day he fought the puck along with a feisty Flyer squad says plenty. In fact, Henrik must've repelled the last 30-something offerings following a Chris Pronger power play tally that tied it. He saved his best work for a busy third in which the Flyers threw the kitchen sink at him, taking 16 shots to just five from the Blueshirts. It didn't matter because our goalie simply refused to allow his team to lose.

Despite being on their heels since late in the second which also saw Lundqvist deny all 12 his way (meaning he made 28 of 36 the final 40 minutes), the Rangers got what they came for ruining the Flyers' day as a foot of snow gets dumped there. Yeah. Our club ain't leaving for Raleigh until later tomorrow when it finally clears. At least they can be happy and should treat Henrik to a steak dinner for his performance. Was it pretty? Absolutely not. Especially with some of the rebounds he allowed off long Flyer shots. However, he still was plenty good getting a piece of a few dangerous Philly chances, including a tricky James Van Riemsdyk attempt thru traffic which he just got a stick on keeping his club ahead with over two minutes left. Though they got a last ditch power play, it was the last quality chance as the hosts dropped a third straight (0-2-1).

Playing with the same lineup as Thursday with Mr. Kleenex and Kota-leak out while an effective Erik Christensen and Bobby Sanguinetti remained in, the Rangers started quickly with four of the first five shots. Chris Drury, who remained on the fourth line at the start- made John Tortorella look smart again when for the second consecutive time he scored off a quick turnaround shot, doubling his goal total to four. It came unassisted but some excellent work was done by Michal Rozsival who started it and Sean Avery, who forced a turnover that allowed Drury to surprise Brian Boucher for the opening tally 5:16 in. Displeased with the fact four of his players simply watched, Peter Laviolette quickly burned a timeout ripping into them.

Continuing to dictate, the Blueshirts were hard on the puck sustaining a forecheck. However, Enver Lisin got nabbed for a late hit on Pronger a half second after they iced the puck. While Joe Micheletti had a point that the team was standing up to the Flyers, it was an undisciplined penalty. Off some nice work down low by returning Simon Gagne, Pronger took a pass at the right point and wristed one past Lundqvist for his fifth, tying it less than three minutes later. Claude Giroux added a helper. With some momentum, the hosts picked it up, coming close to going ahead but ultimately couldn't beat the goalie. It would only foreshadow the rest of a frustrating afternoon for the guys in bright orange.

After splitting 18 shots in a seesaw first, the Blueshirts reestablished themselves thanks to some nice work from Anisimov, Ryan Callahan and Avery. On a good cycle kept alive by Dan Girardi, Anisimov retrieved a puck from Callahan and then came out from the side and flipped a backhand in the vicinity for his teammate which caromed off Flyer defenseman Ryan Parent and in. It was the second straight Anisimov scored, putting him into sole possession of third in the goal department. Despite limited ice-time, the 21 year-old Russian's seven trail only Marian Gaborik (NHL best 24) and Callahan (9), who nearly had hit double digits on the play. Just being in front created the goal. Might explain why the constant has eight points (4-4-8) in his last five. Most notably, the trio of Avery, Anisimov and Cally were our best line on a day the Big Ticket was kept at bay by Pronger. Tort rewarded Artie with more shifts (22).

The Rangers had a chance to increase the margin but the Flyer PK did the job. However, they couldn't find a way to force overtime because of our real captain who stood in there taking every Flyer punch like Ali against Frazier, including a tough stop on the Flyers best forward Jeff Carter (8 SOG). His D also bent but never broke getting good contributions from everyone including Heineken and Sangs. Marc Staal had a standout game and Girardi was terrific. So too was Rozsival, who suddenly looks more confident. He's competing better and also getting more involved offensively. That's the guy who was a bargain on the Czech-Euro squads after the lockout. His partner Mike Del Zotto was brilliant logging big minutes. The Ranger top four all flourished with Tort picking his spots with the other two first-year players getting worked in well.

Even Donald Brashear competed after a few ugly shifts. Perhaps he was inspired facing a former team. In his third game, Brandon Dubinsky was better too, looking a lot more noticeable. Gaborik might not have had a point and just one shot but he played hard, pushing back when Daniel Carcillo tried to start stuff. It all resulted in another win with Lundqvist shining.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Marc Staal, NYR (SOG, 2 takeaways, blocked shot, +1 in 38 shifts-30:45)
2nd Star-Artem Anisimov, NYR (GW-7th goal, 2 SOG, 5-2 draws, +1 in 13:22)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (36 saves incl.16/16 in 3rd and final 28 last 40)