The Blueshirts had one of their best performances of the season tonight but couldn’t overcome the loss of their top two centers and incredible goaltending by Mikka Kiprusoff during a hard fought and physical contest won by the Flames 3-1.
Chris Drury left the game only 49 seconds in when Calgary’s Curtis Glencross blindsided him with a cheapshot that is sure to lead to a suspension for the winger. Drury was helped from the ice and was later reported to have suffered a concussion as a result of the dirty hit. The Flames jumped out early on a deflected shot by Daymond Langkow that beat Stephen Valiquette. The Rangers would even the score with under three minutes to go in the first period when Dan Girardi’s wrist shot from the point slipped past a screened Kiprusoff.
The second period was back and forth and physical with both teams finishing their checks and aggressively forechecking on both ends. The Rangers, already without Drury, would lose Brandon Dubinsky when he blocked a slapshot with his right arm. There is no official word on his injury as of yet but it looked like he hurt his wrist/forearm. The Flames would take the lead on a Jarome Iginla power play goal that came off a great pass from former Ranger Nigel Dawes at 16:47 of the second. The Rangers had some great scoring chances in the second but Kiprusoff was impenetrable robbing Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan on back to back shots during a power play.
It was more of the same during the third as Kiprusoff repeatedly stoned the Rangers and kept his team in the lead. Rene Bourque would put the finishing touches on the win for the Flames when he beat Valiquette with a shot deflected off Girardi’s stick late in the third.
Thumbs Up- Vinny Prospal, Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins all continued their string of solid performances as of late and accounted for many of the Rangers’ quality offensive chances. Marc Staal had a wonderful game and held Iginla in check at even strength throughout the contest. Marian Gaborik didn’t score but had at least 4 quality chances in the second period and was a victim of great goaltending by Kiprusoff.
Thumbs Down- Michal Roszival has become the worst player on the team. He has not made an impact offensively at all this season and his defense has been spotty at best. There is no way that he can be allowed to remain with this club at the NHL level if he continues to play the kind of uninspired, terrible hockey he has played so far this season.
Three Stars- 3- Marc Staal- Another solid performance defensively against one of the league’s most dangerous players.
2- Ales Kotalik- Kotalik’s bombs from the point on the power play are a thing of beauty and he was a crossbar away from adding to his impressive body of work so far this season.
1- Vinny Prospal- Prospal is continuously the Rangers most active player and has made an impact offensively in almost every game this season. He collected another assist on the Blueshirts’ lone goal and even showed some physical edge in his battles along the boards tonight. Another good performance from the season’s biggest surprise.
The Rangers return home to face the Atlanta Thrashers at MSG on Thursday.
Tags: Ales Kotalik, Brandon Dubinsky, Calgary Flames, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, concussion, Curtis Glencross, Dan Girardi, Daymond Langkow, hockey, injuries, Jarome Iginla, John Tortorella, Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, Michal Roszival, Mikka Kiprusoff, New York Rangers, NHL, Nigel Dawes, Ryan Callahan, Stephen Valiquette, Vinny Prospal
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Not much hard news today but some interesting quotes from Nkolai Zherdev to magazine Sport-Express. Zherdev talks about the Rangers, his interest in the KHL and about where he’d like to play should he not return to New York next season. To me the most telling quote from the enigmatic winger comes when he is asked about why his numbers went down after John Tortorella replaced Tom Renney as head coach.
Q: After the new head coach of the Rangers, John Tortorella, has come in, your statistics became worse than they had been over the course of the season with Tom Renney. Did Tortorella trust you less?
A: That was probably one of the reasons. I admit, that I had slump — it’s impossible to play the entire season completely evenly. During that time, at times my game was off completely.
This answer concerns me if I’m the Rangers and I’m looking to bring Zherdev back and expect him to contribute. I don’t like the fact that he believes “it’s impossible to play the entire season completely evenly”. Would we ever hear this kind of quote from Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin or Iginla? Would you want to commit 4.5 million or more dollars of your cap to a player you had doubts about whether they would bring their “A+” effort every game. This is the reason the Blue Jackets were willing to part with Zherdev last season despite his obvious talent. I think the only way to go with Zherdev is to say goodbye to him now and give his spot to a kid who will fight every shift to make an impression at the NHL level.
To read the entire translated interview courtesy of Beyond The Blueshirts click here.
In Free Agency news, Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov, who has been linked to the Rangers in various reports told ESPN.com earlier today that he will not be returning to the Stars next season. According to his agent, Zubov wants to continue his career “in a winning environment no matter where that might be”.
My take on the Zubov story is the same as it has been from the beginning. If he is willing to take a one year deal or a two year deal with incentives to come to New York and quarterback a power play that sorely needs his presence on the blueline, then I am all for it but if Zubov is looking for any more than 2 years or for big coin, the Rangers should pass. The team has built a stable of young defensive prospects all clamoring to show what they can do at the NHL level and blocking their path with Zubov (even if he is a future Hall of Famer) would be a huge mistake for the future of this organization. The better option as I stated last week would be to package one of our many D prospects with a pick to Carolina to acquire the younger Anton Babchuk to help our power play.
In the only roster move of the day, The Blueshirts have come to terms with D Corey Potter. Terms of the deal are not immediately known. Potter had one goal and one assist in five games with the Rangers last season. Rick Carpiniello of Rangers Report has the official release here.
Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Anton Babchuk, Columbus Blue Jackets, Contracts, Corey Potter, Dallas Stars, Evgeni Malkin, hockey, Jarome Iginla, John Tortorella, KHL, New York Rangers, NHL, Nikolai Zherdev, Sergei Zubov, Sidney Crosby, Sport-Express, Tom Renney, Torts, trades
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