The Rangers played their best game since the season opening win in Buffalo and blocked an incredible 30 shots tonight as Martin Biron backstopped them to a 2-1 victory over the Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Without Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury, who were both injured the last time these two teams met, the Blueshirts used a total team effort and a flawless defensive game plan to neutralize the speedy Leafs and hand them their first regulation loss of the season.

The Rangers used a strong forecheck to set the pace early and jumped ahead when Ruslan Fedotenko scored his first goal as a Ranger, poking home a loose puck from behind Toronto net minder Jonas Gustavsson to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead. Artem Anisimov, who was the Rangers’ best skater tonight, deflected a perfect pass from Ryan Callahan past Gustavsson with under 3 minutes to go in the first period to stretch the lead to 2-0. Martin Biron took over from there. Biron, making his first regular season start as a Ranger, was solid if not spectacular for most of the evening, making 24 saves en route to his first win. Derek Stepan, Erik Christensen and Sean Avery also had strong performances and always seemed to be in on the action.

The biggest story of the night was the Rangers team defense. The Blueshirts, led by Dan Girardi, who has been the team’s best blueliner thus far,and Ryan Callahan were all over the defensive zone blocking 30 Leafs shots in a very impressive performance. The penalty kill which was also led by Girardi and Callahan shut out Toronto on 5 chances and Biron’s stop of Kris Versteeg late in the third period sealed the victory for the Rangers.

I don’t want to put all the blame on Steve Eminger but the defense looked much better tonight without him, as he was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Matt Gilroy and Mike Sauer looked like a pretty good combination and hopefully the coaches gained some confidence in the young pair following tonight’s outing.

The Rangers will attempt to start a winning streak when they visit the Bruins in Beantown on Saturday afternoon. It wouldn’t be surprising if John Tortorella gives Biron another start after tonight’s win.

The Core: (Will be back next season)- Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Marc Staal (RFA), Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, Michael Del Zotto and Michal Roszival.

Should I Stay or Should I Go: (Players who may or may not be back, with my best guess)-UFA’s: Vinny Prospal (will be back if he accepts one year deal with small raise), Olli Jokinen (Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya!!!!), Alex Auld (probably gone), P.A. Parenteau (will get a better offer somewhere else), Anders Eriksson (gone), Jody Shelley (I think the Rangers will bring him back based on his play down the stretch), Corey Potter (I would let him walk). RFA’s: Staal (long term deal), Dan Girardi (might be priced out by Staal but my guess is he returns), Erik Christensen (50-50 I think he goes), Brandon Prust (could be a choice between him and Dane Byers, he gets my vote), Byers (probably edged out by Prust), Enver Lisin and Ilkka Heikkenen (nice to know ya!).

Fire Sale: (players who should be in Hartford or will be offered around for a bag of pucks)- Wade Redden, Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle and Matt Gilroy.

I have read many articles over the last few days (from some great writers like Larry Brooks of the NY Post and Steve Zipay at Newsday) about what the Rangers need NOT to do this offseason. I agree with most of what they say about free agency and trades. The Rangers do NOT need Vinny Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau, Illya Kovalchuck, Joe Thornton, Pavol Demitra or any of the other big name, huge contract suspects that will most likely be available at season’s end. The one thing I haven’t read in any of these articles is a plan for what the Rangers SHOULD do once the final buzzer sounds on another NHL campaign. Most likely the Blueshirts will have anywhere from $10-14 million dollars in cap room this offseason to re-sign Marc Staal and a few others but Glen Sather should not go on a boldface buying spree in hopes of filling his team’s needs. He should show restraint, sit down behind his desk, light up a cigar and make three phone calls. That’s it, 3 simple calls.

Call 1: Dean Lombardi, GM, Los Angeles Kings- Jack Johnson is the type of physical, edgy, stand up defenseman the Rangers have not had put on their sweater since the days of Jeff Beukeboom. A 23 year old physical specimen who plays with a chip on his shoulder and goes right up to the whistle. The Kings would love to retain Johnson to a long term deal but Lombardi has been unable to come to an agreement with him (and may not want to, looking at the huge payday that Drew Doughty will no doubt seek in a few seasons) and he is currently one year away from hitting the open market with a cap number for 2010-11 of 1.425 million. Sather should call Lombardi and ask what it would take to get the hulking defenseman to Broadway and continue to listen even after the discussion begins with the name Evgeny Grachev (whom the Kings might have interest in if they lose Alexander Frolov via free agency). If Sather could get Johnson to MSG and lock him up long term, the Rangers could have their No.1 pair (along with Staal) under contract for the foreseeable future.

Call 2: Bobby Ryan‘s Agent- The Rangers have a number of promising youngsters in the pipeline (Stepan, Kreider, Grachev, McDonagh, Bourque, Hagelin) and nobody is suggesting that Sather mortgage the future by sending these youngsters away in a deal for a quick fix but signing a 23 year old forward who is on the verge of being a top 5 power forward in the league to an offer sheet and surrendering draft picks in return if the offer is not matched is not the kind of move that could hurt this franchise. The Rangers have built up depth through the draft as of late but no one knows if any of these youngsters or anyone that the Rangers draft during the next year or two will ever be stars at the NHL level. Here is a chance to get a young player who has already proven himself on the biggest stage and will only get better. John Tortorella wants younger players who come to work every night. If the Rangers got Ryan they could have three forwards under the age of 25 who could conceivably put up 30-goal campaigns with Dubinsky, Callahan and Ryan.

Call 3: Alexander Radulov- We already had the Nik Zherdev saga, with the young talented winger who left the NHL for Russia and now here is another young, supremely talented sniper who might just be ready to give the NHL another chance. Nashville GM David Poile has had enough of Radulov and his agents and would probably be more than happy to move this headache for a mid round pick and a prospect. Reports have said that Radulov is interested in returning to the league and the idea of playing on the brightest stage in NYC might just be the dangling carrot that gets the deal done. Wouldn’t Radulov fit perfectly playing across from Gaborik on the top line next season?

I know these three moves aren’t all the GM needs to do to make sure this team takes the next step. I know it’s easy to throw out names and scenarios and think that you know better than a guy who has multiple Stanley Cup rings. I know nothing is easy in the NHL especially winning. I’m not saying I have all the answers and that the powers that be (who get paid much more than I do) haven’t already pondered these moves but what I am saying is no one gets better by standing still or staying pat. Nobody gets better by hoping that players with potential will someday mature into leaders and superstars. The Rangers have a superstar backstop entering his prime, a game changing sniper ready to rise to another level, a shutdown defenseman about to become known on a league wide basis and a group of hard working youngsters on the verge of being valuable NHL performers. Now is the time for creative thinking, creative moves and creative building. Now is the time for Glen Sather to stop filling holes and start building a winner.

Marian Gaborik had a goal and 2 assists but it wasn't enough as the Rangers fell 4-3 to St. Louis

The Rangers missed another golden opportunity to gain ground on the eighth place Boston Bruins as they lost a heartbreaker to the visiting St. Louis Blues 4-3 at the Garden. St. Louis’ Paul Kariya scored his 400th career goal to give the Blues the victory in a contest where the Rangers just couldn’t find a way to take control of the game failing on a 5-on-3 advantage early in the third period. The Blueshirts are not out of the playoff picture yet, as the injury ravaged Bruins lost again, but now with the loss to St. Louis, Sunday’s game with Boston has become the most important game of the season for the Rangers.

Thumbs Up- Brandon Prust continues to take on all comers and gave his team a spark after an early goal could have deflated the momentum. Erik Christensen had another solid performance and is making a strong push for a return next season. Wade Redden scored his second goal of the season ($3 million per goal..that sounds about right?) and Brandon Dubinsky was once again in the center of the action throughout.

Thumbs Down- Henrik Lundqvist, who has carried this team for the last two months, had a terrible night. Ryan Callahan, who played a physical game, lost the backcheck on the winning goal, allowing Kariya to tap the puck past Henrik. Jody Shelley, in a very physical contest with numerous post whistle scrums, was once again a non factor. I really hope Glen Sather is watching closely as Olii Jokinen is a shell of himself and should not be brought back over the summer. Dan Girardi was average at best and Marc Staal had a non descript performance.

Three Stars-3- Brian Boyle- The thing about Boyle, much like his predecessor Blair Betts, is that he’s not going to end up on the scoresheet most nights but he finds a way to make his presence felt on the ice on a nightly basis. He played a very strong game at both ends tonight and even had a few scoring chances, including one in the third that was thisclose to tying up the game. Sather gets a lot of (much deserved) grief for his offseason moves, but taking a chance on Boyle is one move that has definitely worked out.

2-Sean Avery- Avery once again was “engaged” tonight as he played his third straight very strong game since his benching by Torts. Avery was a ball of energy early, drawing penalties and taking the body, and was the team’s most consistent forward throughout the game. If only the Rangers could find a way to capitalize on more of the power plays he has drawn, maybe Sunday wouldn’t be such a must win game.

1- Marian Gaborik- Welcome Back Marian Gaborik, We Missed Ya!. After gliding through the slate of post-Olympic games following his return from injury, Gaborik finally showed up tonight ready to skate and it showed with a 3 point performance. Gabs has had trouble finding space on the ice over the last few games but tonight (after being reunited with Erik Christensen and Brandon Dubinsky), he was able to use his speed to find some open ice and get some very good scoring chances. The Rangers are still going to need more out of the man who carried this team in the first half of the season (especially on the power play) but tonight was a good sign that finally he may be healthy enough to take over some games like he did so many times early on.

Erik Christensen provided a highlight goal on an otherwise disappointing night.

On a night when the Rangers found their offense, they completely forgot how to play defense. Leaving their franchise netminder Henrik Lundqvist on an island for most of the first two periods, the Rangers fell to the Devils 6-3 and moved closer to missing the postseason in the process.

Thumbs Up- Michael Del Zotto was the Rangers’ best defenseman tonight (not a tough task considering how horrible the defense played). Welcome to the Rangers, Jody Shelley! It took a while for him to get involved but his fight with Pierre Luc Letourneau LeBlond was one of the few highlights tonight for the Blueshirts. The goals by Vinny Prospal and Erik Christensen were some of the prettiest plays of the season.

Thumbs Down- The Rangers defense was non existent. Wade Redden was absolutely atrocious and Marc Staal was just plain average tonight. Henrik Lundqvist was the victim of some terrible defense and bad deflections but he also deserves some blame for a subpar performance. Marian Gaborik was once again a non factor. Sean Avery was talking early but he has to try harder to get involved in the game, especially on a night like tonight when the Devils could have easily been shaken after the Rangers responded to each of their first three tallies.

Three Stars- 3- Alex Auld- Replacing Lundqvist after the Devils’ fifth goal, Auld looked sharp and made some strong saves to keep the deficit at two goals going into the third period. Unfortunately, the Blueshirts couldn’t muster another comeback and Auld finally faltered on a late goal by Travis Zajac that he should’ve stopped.
2- Jody Shelley- The enforcer finally decided to join the party and scored a victory in his battle with Devs tough guy Pierre Luc Letourneau LeBlond (MOUTHFUL!!!). Shelley was also a physical force at even strength and continued his smart play not reacting to a crushing hit leveled on him during the second period by Colin White.

1- Brandon Prust- The other pugilist brought in by Glen Sather at deadline time, Prust brought the offense tonight, scoring his first goal as a Blueshirt. Like his teammate, Jody Shelley, Prust also played a physical contest and was diligent in his defensive game using a strong backchecking performance to help his inexplicably beleaguered defense tonight. Prust is a UFA following the season but his play of late might be enough to get an invite back for a longer look next season.

The Rangers will try to get back on the winning track when they face the Thrashers on Friday night at 7 PM.

On one of the most anti-climactic deadline days in recent memory, Rangers GM Glen Sather decided, surprisingly, not to jump into the fray and only pulled off two minor transactions before today’s league imposed 3 PM cutoff. Sather added the veteran depth defenseman they had lacked since the start of the season when they acquired journeyman Anders Eriksson from Phoenix for AHL goalie Miika Wiikman and a 2011 7th round draft pick.

Eriksson, 35, is a veteran of 14 NHL seasons. The 6-3, 224 lb. defenseman played 12 games for the Coyotes this season registering 3 assists. In 564 career games, Eriksson has compiled 22 goals and 152 assists. It is unclear whether he will be assigned to Hartford or will stay with the club at the NHL level should recently waived Enver Lisin or Aaron Voros be sent down.

The Rangers also swapped minor leaguers, trading LW Jordan Owens, who had 6 goals and 13 assists in 50 games for Hartford this season, to Detroit for C Kris Newbury. Newbury, 28, had 11 goals and 22 assists for Grand Rapids of the AHL this season. The 5-10, 205 lb. pivot has played in 48 career NHL contests registering 4 goals, 3 assists and 64 penalty minutes in those games.

While Sather’s decision to stand pat was met with mixed reaction from media and fans, I believe that it was the wrong move by the embattled GM. The Rangers, most everyone would agree, are not Stanley Cup contenders as currently constituted. The team has a shot at making the playoffs if they can pull off a late season surge but to expect anything more than a first round exit from this club (if they get in at all) is purely wishful thinking. While I applaud Glen Sather for realizing that this team is more than one or two players away from a long postseason run and not sacrificing any of his valuable young assets or draft picks to bring in a rental player or two today, there were still some moves that were begging to be made prior to the deadline. With teams like Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, Vancouver and Phoenix all looking to gain an advantage as the playoffs near, Sather owed it to his organization to shop impending UFA’s Vinny Prospal, Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to see if he could gain any valuable assets in return. With Carolina sniper Ray Whitney off the market, Prospal might have been a very attractive option (especially considering his low cap number) for many teams and might have garnered a first round pick in return based on other deals we’ve witnessed as of late. Sather knowing his team isn’t built for a deep run should have been looking to collect assets for next season and beyond instead of sitting on his hands and hoping for a miracle run come the postseason.

Sather has made some good moves as of late, getting rid of the ridiculous contract of Ales Kotalik and waiving Enver Lisin and Aaron Voros to gain some much needed cap space are two examples, but the moves that he needed to make the most for the future of this franchise seemed to never be a part of his deadline day plans. Sather may surprise everyone and use his cap room this summer in free agency to land a big fish up front like Illya Kovalchuk or Alexander Frolov, both players the Rangers desperately need to take some of the scoring burden off Marian Gaborik. He may even be able to pull off a trade for a bruising defenseman and in the process unload a few more of his albatross contracts. Sather has hung around for a long time by making those kind of moves and buying himself another year in the corner office but today, by holding on to hope and being blind to the reality of his team’s situation, he may have finally given the ownership of the Blueshirts an irrefutable reason as to why he shouldn’t be running this team next season. Unfortunately for the fans, the owners seem to be just as blind as their appointed emperor.

Ryan Callahan scored twice to lead the Rangers to a 4-1 win.

The Rangers began their post Olympic push for the playoffs, minus injured stars Marian Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto, by disposing of the Ottawa Senators 4-1 at Scotia Bank Place tonight. After falling behind 1-0, the Blueshirts roared back with a 4 goal second period keyed by Ryan Callahan, who scored twice. Henrik Lundqvist was nearly flawless in goal making 24 saves to record his 25th win of the season.

Thumbs Up- Enver Lisin, who was put on waivers earlier in the day, had his best game in over a month and obviously used the situation as a motivational tool. Erik Christensen continued his strong play assisting on 2 goals and playing an impressive two way game. Brandon Dubinsky was a factor all over the ice, playing a physical contest and also scoring the go ahead goal during the second period offensive outburst. Chris Drury kept his recent string of inspiring play alive with another huge performance on the penalty kill. Corey Potter impressed with his steady play.

Thumbs Down- Jody Shelley was about as effective as Donald Brashear has been so far this season as he looked lost during a matchup that didn’t call for much physical play. Olli Jokinen had a pedestrian effort coming off a very strong showing in Vancouver. Dan Girardi, who has been the subject of numerous trade rumors, did nothing to make Glen Sather think twice about including him should the right deal come along before 3 PM tomorrow.

Three Stars

3- Sean Avery- “The Grate One” looked rested and ready following the break and was able to find his edge without going overboard. His hard work on the forecheck and his willingness to crash the net paid off early in the second period when he scored off a beautiful feed from Enver Lisin to give the Blueshirts a 3 goal cushion. A late scrum with Matt Cullen, which followed Cullen’s mistimed attempt at a body check and possible elbow to Avery’s head, finished Avery’s night a few minutes early but served notice that he is ready for what promises to be a rough and tumble run for the postseason.

2- Henrik Lundqvist- Lundvist led all Olympic netminders in Goals Against Average (1.34) and shutouts (2) and looked very solid between the pipes in his return to the Blueshirts. While the Senators did not mount the kind of offensive attack you would expect from a squad featuring Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Alex Kovalev, Lundqvist made the few tough chances he had look effortless and was the biggest reason that the Rangers picked up two important points on the road.

1- Ryan Callahan- Callahan was all over the ice tonight and took over the game during a raucous second period in which he not only got the Rangers even with a beautiful rush and top shelf goal to start the onslaught at :22  of the frame but also giving the team a 2 goal lead by slipping a backhanded rebound past sprawling Senators backstop Brian Elliot at the 17 minute mark. Without Gaborik in the lineup, the Rangers needed someone to step up and lead the offensive and tonight Ryan Callahan made himself that person, showing once again why he wears the “A” and why he is one of the few “untouchables” on the squad as the trade deadline nears.

The Rangers made a move today before the league’s mandated Olympic trade feeze and acquired veteran tough guy Jody Shelley from the San Jose Sharks for a conditional draft pick.

Shelley, 34, is in the last year of his contract which pays him $725,000. In 517 career games, Shelley has 14 goals and 29 assists with 1310 penalty minutes. The 6-3, 225 lb. bruiser is expected to fill the role that the club had hoped Donald Brashear would fill when he was signed over the summer.

The pick that was sent to San Jose is a sixth rounder in 2011, if Shelley re-signs with the Rangers it will become a fifth round pick.

With the acquisitions of Brandon Prust from Calgary two weeks ago and Shelley today, it looks like the Rangers careers’ of Donald Brashear and Aaron Voros both may be coming to an end in the very near future.

The official release can be found here.

Jokinen licking his lips at the prospect of centering Gaborik?

TSN Canada is reporting that the Rangers are close to announcing a deal that would send forwards Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins to the Calgary Flames for C Olli Jokinen and F Brandon Prust.

Jokinen, 31, has 11 goals and 24 assists in 55 games with the Flames this season. He is in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent following the season.

Prust, 25, is a rugged forward who has 1 goal and 4 assists in 24 games this season. He will also be a UFA at season’s end.

Higgins was acquired by the Blueshirts this past offseason in the Scott Gomez trade with Montreal and the Long Island native has never really looked comfortable playing with his hometown club. Kotalik, who was another offseason acquisition of GM Glen Sather, never found his place on the ice and after a hot start has spent most of his time in the rafters over the last month instead of on the ice during games. Higgins is a UFA at season’s end and Kotalik still has two years remaining on the 3 year, 9 million dollar pact he signed over the summer.

Analysis: While it’s easy to call for Glen Sather’s head based on this team’s uneven and uninspired play this season and an obviously mismatched roster he put together, Rangers fans must admit that the man knows how to pull off a trade. If this deal goes through, The Rangers will acquire a proven scorer in Jokinen and a physical presence (who can fill the void that Donald Brashear hasn’t been able to) in Brandon Prust while subtracting a player in Higgins, who obviously had trouble with playing on this stage and also removing six million dollars off the books over the next two seasons by shedding the enigmatic Kotalik. This is a great move for the Rangers from every angle and if Jokinen prospers while he’s on Broadway, the Blueshirts will have the first crack at him in free agency once the season ends. I have to think, while the fans won’t be happy until the “W”‘s come more frequently for this club, that this move will make more than a few of them smile and that the attendance at the upcoming “Fire Sather” rally may have just been thinned out a little by the wily old general manager.

A delusional John Tortorella thinks all his team needs is a good road trip to get back on track. The problems are much deeper than that coach and if you can’t see that then you have worse eyesight than “Blind Man” Sather.

In other news, Chad Johnson was back at practice today for the Rangers after starting two games and making three appearances for Hartford (AHL) this weekend. Tortorella said he was unsure when Johnson would get another chance to start.

Erik Christensen and Donald Brashear are expected to be healthy scratches tomorrow night.