New York Rangers
New York Rangers: Doing it the hard way
The New York Rangers had a tremendous regular season where they amassed 109 points which was good enough to capture the number one seed in the East.
In theory playing out of the number one seed should allow a team an easier road through the playoffs, bit what the New York Rangers have experienced so far has been anything but.
So far in the playoffs the Rangers have played two knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out seven game series, and have competed in a total of 12 one goals games. They have compiled a record of 7-5 in those games with four of those games stretching into overtime where they are 2-2.
At times it appears the New York Rangers are getting lucky, but I assure you that is certainly not the case.
A huge part of their winning formula has been the super human goaltending of Hart and Vezina trophy nominee, Henrik Lundqvist.
King Henrik has been rock solid for the New York Rangers thus far posting a 9-7-2 record with a ridiculous 1.66 goals against average, and a .937 save…
Callahan Says Hand Not Injured
Pat Leonard at the Daily News reports that, despite posted just 1g, 2a in the last 12 games, Ryan Callahan’s hand is not injured…”No, nothing,” Callahan told the Daily News when asked if his hand were injured. “Nothing. I’m good.”Speculation has been that Callahan broke his hand after blocking a shot by Chris Phillips in Game 6 of the Rangers first round series with Ottawa….Callahan can deny the hand injury all he wants, but I’m not buying it. He’s been a shell of his former self since blocking that shot, to the point he’s not even attempting shots. …having said that, although his struggles are affecting the Rangers on the scoreboard, the Rangers are still a better team with an injured Callahan than one without their captain playing at all. …guy’s a warrior and you have to give him credit for gutting it out.Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at …
Dubinsky skates; Rupp skates on third line
The big news out of practice today was that Brandon Dubinsky was on the ice in a non-contact jersey. This is great news for the Rangers, who have been missing Dubinsky since he went down with his lower body injury. Dubinsky has been sorely missed on the penalty kill, as evidenced last game when Brian Boyle took a penalty, and Derek Stepan was forced to kill the penalty. Of course, the end result was a Devil’s goal.
There is still no timetable for Dubinsky’s return, but the fact that he is skating is great news. Considering it was his leg that was an issue, him being able to be on the ice and moving around can only be seen as a good thing. He likely won’t play tomorrow, but if all goes well I’d assume he will be back sooner rather than later.
As for the lines from practice, there was one minor change, as Mike Rupp moved up to skate with Brian Boyle and Artem Anisimov. Ruslan Fedotenko, John Mitchell, and Brandon Prust were the fourth line.
Brandon Dubinsky Back On the Ice
As the New York Rangers prepare for tomorrow’s Game 3 match-up against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center, they received good news this morning as winger Brandon Dubinsky skated for the very first time since injuring his right foot in Game 7 of the quarterfinals against the Ottawa Senators last month. Previously, Dubinsky was seen walking around the training facility in a protective boot in addition to being stabilized by crutches. He’s now apparently past the point of needing either.
Still, though, Brandon’s return seems a ways away considering he not only had a non-contact jersey on, but only stayed out on the ice for a short period of time before leaving when head coach John Tortorella came out to begin the formal practice, as per the team.
Compared to where he once was, however, he’s made significant progress.
The more likely candidate to get into the lineup sooner would be Mats Zuccarello, who has been skating along with the pack of AHL call…
Practice Notes: Dubinsky Practices; Zucc Doesn’t; New Lines
Andrew Gross at Bergen Record reports that Brandon Dubinsky skated with the team in an orange non-contact jersey for the first time since Game 7 vs. Senators. He did leave the ice once formal practice starts….got to start somewhere. Assuming he won’t be available at any point in this series.Gross also notes that Mats Zuccarello did not practice….guess Zucc isn’t going to be available either.Meanwhile, these are the lines that were reported from practice today…Hagelin-Richards-GaborikKreider-Stepan-CallahanAnisimov-Boyle-RuppFedotenko-Mitchell-Prust…assuming this is more of a demotion for Fedotenko than a promotion for Rupp as Feds had a tough Game 2. Knowing Torts, Feds will be back on the 3rd line at game time tomorrow.Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at …
Clark Reason Rangers Changed Philosophy
Dave Lozo at NHL.com explains that during the 2004-05 work stoppage Gordie Clark, who had been promoted to head amateur scout of the Rangers, sat down with Glen Sather and vice president of personnel Don Maloney to chart a plan for the team’s future…”I sat down and talked to Don and talked to Glen, and that was the time they changed their philosophy, and that’s the way they wanted to go. A lot of people thought in New York you had to just get all the big-money players, but in the end, they wanted a really hard-working team, and that’s what we decided to work toward. It was going to be younger.”…In Gordie We Trust….i know Rangers fans are looking for Messier to take over for Sather if/when he steps down, but I’d much rather see Clark get the post as his fingerprints are all over the Rangers transformation.Here’s Clark on the Rangers draft strategy…”There’s ability in there, but the one common denominator is the character. The culture of …
Lundqvist NHL13 Cover Voting Starts Today
Voting for Henrik Lundqvist’s match-up against Pikka Renne in the Elite Eight of the EA Sports NHL13 cover contest began this morning, so make sure you’re voting early and often.Voting will run until Wednesday, May 23rd.To vote, click here.Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.
Offense An Issue For Rangers
from Larry Brooks of the NY Post, ohn Tortorella wasn’t making an example of Marian Gaborik on Wednesday night any more than the Rangers’ coach was making an example of Brian Boyle when he kept the big center on the bench for all but 2:30 (and 1:53 of even-strength) of the third period in the 3-2, Game 2 defeat to the Devils at the Garden.
The conference finals are neither the time nor the place for scapegoating or sending messages. The Rangers are the last team on earth that would need prompts delivered in that fashion, regardless. The guy behind their bench isn’t into mind games, in case you haven’t noticed.
This is not Game 26 of the regular season.
Tortorella is, rather, about giving ice time to players he believes, a) have earned it; and, equally as important as it applied to Game 2, b) are best equipped to help the team win with it.
Neither Gaborik, who was deficient on and away from the puck more than once, nor Boyle, who has not been a force since…
St. Croix, Oil Kings win WHL title, headed to Memorial Cup
When we last checked in on Rangers prospect Michael St. Croix, he was on his way to the WHL Finals. He and his Edmonton Oil Kings were to face the offensive juggernaut Portland Winterhawks in the Finals, and what an epic series it was. Seven games later, St. Croix and the Oil Kings were crowned the WHL champions, following a 4-1 victory over Portland in the final game. St. Croix had a goal and an assist in the game.
St. Croix had one amazing postseason for the Oil Kings, finishing tied for the team lead in scoring with a line of 7-12-19 in 20 playoff contests. In the WHL Finals, St. Croix played at a point-per-game pace, finishing with two goals and five assists.
Edmonton advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament, along with the host city Shawinigan Cataractes (QHJHL), the OHL champion London Knights, and the QMJHL champion St. John Sea Dogs. Action begins tonight when Edmonton takes on Shawinigan. Edmonton will also face St. John on Monday, and London on Tuesday.
Tortorella vs. Media Feud Getting Old, Yet Still Effective
Why head coach John Tortorella’s condescending attitude towards the media has come as such a shock to the hockey world in these playoffs is beyond me. Not only has the coach acted in the same manner throughout the entire 2011-12 season, but this has been his widely-known personality for his entire National Hockey League career behind the bench.
As each playoff round has progressed here, the veteran coach has been less and less revealing in regard to information he is willing to share publicly with the media. He keeps mum on his lineup, he won’t single out a player very often whether it’s for good or for bad, and he certainly doesn’t take kindly to the media trying to portray his team in a way he does not agree with.
Repeatedly being asked if his squad is fatigued or worried about eventual fatigue can get irritating real fast. Being asked why the team’s effort was not where it needed to be after a loss – the same loss that same beat writer just spent over tw…
Valentenko signs with KHL
It looks like Pavel Valentenko is headed back to Russia. Per Evgeny Belousov, Valentenko has signed with Avangard Omsk of the KHL. This confirms the relatively cryptic tweet that Valentenko himself tweeted after the Connecticut Whale season ended last week:
It was two great seasons for me here, in Hartford! I was proud to be one of the part of Wolfpack/Whale team! Thanks everyone for support!
It was a bit curious to see him tweet that, considering he was still a part of the Ranger organization, but now it is clear as to why.
What is also clear is that Valentenko really had no future with the Rangers. He is blocked by a number of current roster players and a few other prospects like Dylan McIlrath and Tim Erixon. In fact, the acquisition of Erixon and the emergence of Stu Bickel might have sealed his fate.
Update: Per Laurie Carr, the deal with Avangard is a two year deal.
These John Tortorella press conferences are getting out of control
For a while, John Tortorella’s press conferences were cute. He would come out and offer only a few words, or go off about somebody’s cell phone, or generally act like a colossal jerk. It was a novelty act, it was something different, it was rather amusing. Torts even got the DJ Steve Porter remix treatment! However, in these playoffs, with day after day after day of Tortorella’s antics in these press conferences, he now looks like nothing more than a ginormous d-bag. In total, last night’s presser after the Rangers 3-2 Game 2 loss to the Devils lasted about a minute while Torts wanted to keep everything in the room…
The biting reaction to Torts taking his ball and going home is increasing around the country. Here’s some of the best tweets on the latest Tortorella masterpiece…
@sportswatch John Tortorella’s playoff non-interviews were amusing shtick for a while. Now they have become annoying and unprofessional.
@theroyalhalf I feel bad for John …
Rangers coach curt in brief press conference
New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella has become known for his post-game press conferences. He often says far more than he should and is the definition of outspoken. Honestly, the guy is gold with a microphone in his face.
But after his team’s 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tortorella was not feeling particularly talkative. He gave a series of one-word answers and opted to “keep it in the room.” Whatever that means.
The above video is the press conference in its entirety. All one minute and 24 seconds of it.
Given Tortorella’s nature that was crazy. Absolutely crazy. I mean he might as well have not even shown up.
Rangers lose, Gaborik in doghouse
New York Rangers coach John Tortorella has little patience for mistakes and a big one by leading scorer Marian Gaborik on the tying goal got him an extended stay on the bench in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Gaborik was benched roughly 13 minutes in the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night after making a couple of bad plays on Ryan Carter’s goal late in the second period that tied it at 2.
Until that point, the Rangers seemed in control, but the tally by the Devils’ fourth-line center changed the momentum and a deflected goal early in the third period by David Clarkson proved to be the winner as New Jersey evened the series.
Rangers shot-blocking mentality, the next media gripe
____ is killing hockey. That seems to be the only headline that moves the dial in Canada these days.
Every couple of weeks it’s something else that is supposedly destroying the game. First it was keeping a hockey team in Nashville, a market that was never supposed to succeed. Whoops.
Then it was the Lightning’s 1-3-1 trap, which was supposed to lift them from mediocrity while simultaneously sink the NHL and its ratings. Shhh…don’t tell anyone they missed the playoffs and the ratings are breaking all kinds of records.
Finally, in the most recent piece of garbage written by Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, the Rangers strategy of blocking shots will kill the league because as Kenny said, everyone “found it frustrating to watch and devoid of excitement.” Interesting stuff.
I swear a zombie apocalypse could be destroying mankind and Ken Campbell would still be finding some irrelevant hockey nugget and acting like it’ll cause hockey and humanity’…
