New York Rangers
Video: Torts, Rangers Get Ready for Winter Classic Rematch
John Tortorella chatted with the media following Saturday morning practice in preparation for today’s home matinee against the Flyers…
For the players thoughts, click the “Read More” tab below.
Players share their thoughts on the Flyers following practice on yesterday…
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Same Line-up vs. Flyers Means No Eminger
Despite Steve Eminger officially coming off the IR this morning, John Tortorella will stick with the same line-up against the Flyers this afternoon.Meaning Henrik Lundqvist will obviously be back in net….assuming the thinking behind leaving Bickel in the the line-up is to have some extra toughness against the always physical Flyers….smart move IMHO.Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.
Eminger Activated Off IR, Likely To Play Today
In some good injury news, Steve Eminger has been activated off injured reserve and is likely to play today, according to Katie Strang. Eminger has been out since December 17 against Phoenix, when he separated his shoulder. Prior to the injury, Eminger had been playing top-four minutes while paired with Michael Del Zotto.
Eminger will likely play at the expense of rookie Stu Bickel, who was limited to just ten shifts and six minutes of ice time in the Rangers 1-0 win over the Sabres.
Dan Girardi For The Norris Trophy
from Larry Brooks of the NY Post, Submitted for your approval in this season during which there has been no offensively dominant defenseman: Dan Girardi for the Norris Trophy.
It certainly would be a twilight zone of a choice, given the throwback nature of the bedrock Ranger’s game, but hockey people have argued for years that if the worth of strict defensive play has not quite been ignored in the voting for the prestigious trophy, it certainly has been overshadowed by the value of dynamic offense from the blue line.
Girardi, who has gotten more ice time per game at 27:34 than any player in the NHL in five years — since Zdeno Chara averaged 27:57 in 2006-07 in his first year in Boston — is the personification of the defensive defenseman who does all of the grunt work all of the time matched against every opponent’s top line while also possessing the ability to make the outlet pass and get up on the play in joining the rush.
No one will be blinded by Girard…
Pregame: Rangers Go for Four Straight Against Flyers
The New York Rangers have not been playing their best hockey since last weekend’s All-Star break, as they fell to the New Jersey Devils in a heartbreaking shootout on Tuesday, and then managed to defeat the Buffalo Sabres a night later, 1-0, despite a very poor showing from the team in that game. As we all know, these games that follow All-Star Weekend are the most crucial to the club’s short-term future since they will decide the team’s fate as far as playoffs go. Through two games here, the Blueshirts have not looked like a playoff team in my opinion, but that will need to change when they host their most hated rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, in a Winter Classic rematch this afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
In three prior meetings with Philadelphia this season, New York has gathered six points in the standings by winning each game in regulation time. The first came on November 26, when the Rangers shut the Flyers out, 2-0, at MSG. Then, just a few weeks prior to…
Bill Meltzer: Flyers Gameday: 2/5/12 @ Rangers
PREVIEW 7:00 AM EST
If the Flyers (30-15-6) are to defeat the Atlantic Division leading New York Rangers (32-12-5) for the first time this season, they are going to have dig deep and manage their energy properly. Philadelphia is playing on back-to-back days and for the third time in less than four days while the Rangers are a rested team that has not played since Wednesday.
Today’s matinee a…
Video: John Tortorella Discusses Team Issues Moving Forward
The New York Rangers obviously have a very important game ahead of them this afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers, and after yesterday’s practice in which the team prepared for their most hated rivals, head coach John Tortorella discussed many imporant issues concerning the team as we head into the final few months of the regular season. Here’s the video…
Back in a bit with Rangers-Flyers pregame….
Rangers Need to Set The Pace Against the Flyers
From Brian Monzo at CBSNewYork.com/WFAN.com:
-Start the game by taking the body. This really goes for any game, but the Rangers need to expect the Flyers to come out angry since they’ve been handled by New York so far this season. Whether it be Brandon Prust or Ryan Callahan, someone needs to set the tone early. If it’s the Flyers doing it, the Rangers could be in for a long afternoon.
-Get the defense involved in the offense. Since the Rangers’ offense is pretty spread around, success has come in games when their defensemen have scored goals. Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman both can get involved when need be, but Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal should both be joining the rush as much as possible. Fortunately for the Rangers, their goaltending has been extraordinary enough that if this backfires, Henrik Lundqvist should be able to handle any odd man rushes.
Click here for more great stuff from Monzo.
Practice Notes: Anisimov Bumped Up; Reuniting G.A.S. Line?; No Word on Eminger
Pat Leonard at the Daily News reports that Artem Anisimov was bumped up to the Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan line while Brandon Dubinsky skated with John Mitchel and Mike Rupp….Anisimov played one of his stronger games in a month against Buffalo, so why not. Dubinsky better pick it up or he might find himself traded at the deadline. Not that I’m condoning that move.Leonard adds that John Tortorella would like to see the Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik line can reunite at some point this season….G.A.S. line!!!!!The Rangers report that Tortorella says he’s still “not sure” if Steve Eminger will return to the lineup tomorrow vs. Flyers….my gut says he’ll be in there. Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.
Did Christensen’s Trade Save Wolski?
When the Rangers traded Erik Christensen yesterday, they dumped a spare forward for some much needed AHL help in Casey Wellman. The Rangers had 14 forwards on the roster, including Wojtek Wolski, who had just been shipped to Connecticut on a two week conditioning stint due to lack of playing time. When Wolski returns, he returns as the 13th forward, not the 14th forward.
Most NHL teams carry a spare forward for two reasons. The first is the most obvious: a spare body in case of injury. The second is to stir competition and force players to come to play game in and game out. It is John Tortorella’s style to keep a spare player around.
That spare player right now is Wolski, whether we like it or not. Wolski’s $3.8 million cap hit is not that appealing to many teams, but team control for his next contract might be –Wolski is a RFA.
For the next two weeks, Wolski will be playing with the CT Whale in what is likely an audition for a trade or a future NHL job. But with C…
Video: Torts Talks EC, Eminger, PP & More
John Tortorella discusses the trade acquisition of Casey Wellman, dealing Erik Christensen to Minnesota, the health status of Steve Eminger, the state of the team’s power play, and more…For video of Steve Eminger discussing his possible return to the line-up, click the “Read More” tab below.
Eminger talks about his shoulder injury…Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.
The New York Rangers, Are They A Special Team?
The New York Rangers are the best team in the Eastern Conference. They lead the conference with 69 points and are two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for best overall in the NHL. The Rangers have a three point lead on the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers and Flyers will meet on Sunday afternoon. The question though is are the Rangers legit, can they make a deep run in the playoffs??
I think the answer to this question is yes. The Rangers have a top notch goalie in Henrik Lundqvist and a good defense. The defense is getting even better as they get healthier. The difference this year is that they also have guys that can score. Brad Richards, Marion Gaborik are just two examples. The Rangers are much more balanced then they have been in recent years.
The Rangers have also been good at bouncing back. They have a good chemistry going. The Rangers started the season in Europe which helped to foster the chemistry I would believe. They also played in the Wi…
Wild hope Christensen will bring scoring
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild are expected to be an active team before the Feb. 27 trade deadline, and they made their first move Friday.Minnesota acquired forward Erik Christensen and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2013 draft from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Casey Wellman. Christensen, 28, has a goal and four assists in 20 games for New York this season. The Wild also announced Chad Rau was reassigned to the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League to make room for Christensen on the roster.With Thursday nights 1-0 win in Colorado, Minnesota (25-19-7) has won three of its past four games and is in eighth place in the Western Conference with 57 points.
After shuttling players back and forth from their minor-league affiliate in Houston the past few weeks due to injuries, the Wild are looking for some stability and consistent scoring on their forward lines.Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo know what they are getting with Christensen. His best season in the NHL came in 2006-07 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Fletcher was an assistant general manager and Yeo was an assistant coach for Pittsburgh.Christensen, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, scored 18 goals and had 15 assists in 61 games that season, but is well-traveled. He has played with six NHL teams and has been traded midseason in fourth of the past five years.Christensen, who will join the Wild in Dallas on Friday, scored 11 goals and had 16 assists last season, his second in New York, but has struggled this season. He recently finished a five-game conditioning assignment with the Rangers minor-league team in Connecticut.Wellman, 24, never was able to keep his spot on the Wild, shuttling between Minnesota and Houston the past three seasons after signing as a college free agent on March 16, 2010, out of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Wellman had seemed to be a building block for the future after making his way into the Wilds lineup shortly after signing.He played 41 games for Minnesota, scoring four goals and passing out five assists but was a minus-7. This season he had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 14 games.
Rangers Trade Erik Christensen To Minnesota Wild
The New York Rangers have traded center Erik Christensen and a conditional 2013 7th round draft pick to the Minnesota Wild for center Casey Wellman. Christensen had one goal and four assists in 20 games for the Rangers this season, but he has not seen an NHL game since Dec. 17. During a two week conditioning assignment last month Christensen had two goals and one assist for the Connecticut Whale.
Wellman, 25, has been up and down with the Wild for parts of the last three seasons recording four goals and nine assists at the NHL level. However, Wellman has been very effective at the AHL level scoring 14 goals and 12 assists in 26 games this season. The Whale have been in desperate need of help after a winless January and this will provide them some while removing Christensen from the NHL roster.
Rangers Need to Apologize for Being an Arrogant Organization
Adam Proteau over at The Hockey News lists something each NHL franchise needs to apologize about and here’s what he says about the Rangers…”The New York Rangers apologize for being unbelievably arrogant as an organization despite only winning one Stanley Cup in the past 70-plus years.”…ar·ro·gant: Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. When and how have the Rangers been an arrogant organization? You mean when they threw a ridiculously overboard Centennial celebration basically forcing the NHL to bow to them? Oh wait sorry, that was the Canadiens….seriously, even if this is a poor attempt at humor, what in the world is Proteau talking about? I’d love to respond to his assertation, but as usual he gives absolutely no evidence or reasoning behind his claim….and talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I called Proteau out on Twitter the other day for ripping Tim Thomas on his White House snub, despite practically…
