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 line combinations and defensive pairings will be:

Marian Gaborik-Chris Drury-Alex Frolov
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Derek Stepan-Ruslan Fedotenko
Derek Boogard-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust

Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Matt Gilroy-Steve Eminger

Henrik Lundqvist (1-1-0 4.03 GAA) will be opposed by Toronto netminder J.S. Giguere (2-0-0 1.51 GAA).

Former Ranger Colton Orr will play tonight after suffering a head injury Wednesday night vs. Pittsburgh.

The Leafs (3-0-0) are experiencing their best start to a season since 1999-2000.

Repeat after me: The sky is NOT falling, the sky is NOT falling. It is way too early in the season to sound the alarms and begin worrying. This team is obviously better than last year’s squad. The power play looks good, the effort is there and the goals are coming in bunches but unfortunately, so are the mistakes.

In a game in which the Islanders were without two of their biggest offensive weapons and their top defenseman, The Rangers were unable to match the skating of the Isles and were burned by some undisciplined play in the third period, falling 6-4 at the Coliseum in the early afternoon contest. The offense showed up again as Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov had standout performances but the blue line (with the exception of Dan Girardi, who played second straight strong game) looked lost for most of the matchup. Steve Eminger was atrocious for the second straight game and Michael Del Zotto really struggled in his own end throughout. Henrik Lundqvist made some big saves early when the Isles were controlling the pace but wasn’t very sharp as the game went on and has now allowed 7 goals in 2 games.

The Rangers had problems all last year with undisciplined play and in the words of coach Tortorella “with being consistent, night in and night out” and today that inconsistency reared it’s ugly head again. In a game that the Rangers should have won, especially after fighting back and taking the lead midway through the third period, taking two bad penalties and allowing the hard working Isles to grab the momentum and the victory, is exactly the type of thing Blueshirt fans saw all last season and ultimately what would keep them from the postseason. The effort of this team can’t be questioned so far but the discipline and intelligence of this team is still something that needs to be improved upon even after another summer of “teaching” from the coaching staff.

I hate to jump on a guy after only two games but Steve Eminger is looking early on like this season’s Wade Redden, Tom Poti or Marek Malik. I don’t know what Tortorella was watching on Saturday to  say that Eminger “played well” and was “aggressive” and if Eminger is in the lineup instead of a deserving Matt Gilroy on Friday night at MSG, Tortorella should be forced to spend a weekend locked in a room with Larry Brooks.

The Rangers will look to put this disappointing loss behind them in front of what should be an electric crowd on Friday night at MSG and they might even welcome the return of their captain as Chris Drury will see a doctor tomorrow and may be cleared to return for the home opener.

In other news, Chris Drury, who is currently on injured reserve, skated with the team this morning. There is still no timetable for his return.

Probable Lineup:

Marian Gaborik-Erik Christensen-Alexander Frolov
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Derek Stepan-Ruslan Fedotenko
Derek Boogaard-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust

Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Mike Sauer-Steve Eminger

Henrik Lundqvist will get the start in goal and will be opposed by Ryan Miller (1-0-0, 1.00 GAA).

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.

In yet another contest where the Rangers could not find their offense, Henrik Lundqvist once again showed why he is this club’s “most valuable player” and in doing so, had arguably his best performance of the season but it still wasn’t enough to lift an anemic offense past a shorthanded Ottawa team playing without it’s two top scorers and starting goaltender. Ottawa’s Mike Brodeur, an afternoon call up from the AHL, shut down the Rangers in his second career NHL start to give his team the 2-0 victory. The Blueshirts have now been held scoreless for 144 minutes of play and are in desperate need of a spark on offense or they may be in danger of dropping right out of the playoff picture.

Thumbs Up- Chris Drury dominated in the faceoff circle and was the Blueshirts best forward tonight. Brian Boyle used his size to control play along the boards and had a strong game. Sean Avery showed some snarl taking on Jarkko Ruutu and was full of energy from the opening puck drop. Matt Gilroy skated well and played one of his best games since his return from Hartford.

Thumbs Down- Marian Gaborik was a non factor tonight as the Senators matched defensemen and were able to keep him mostly to the outside in the offensive zone. Gaborik also left the zone early, looking for a breakout, on the Senators late goal that broke the shutout. Michael Del Zotto looked lost at times tonight and wasn’t skating very well throughout. Wade Redden should be in Hartford tomorrow if anybody who makes decisions for this organization was actually paying attention to this game.I thought Vinny Prospal returned from injury…Did anybody notice him out there tonight?

Three Stars- 3-Sean Avery- Avery has suffered from Jekyll/Hyde disease this season and while he wasn’t the fireball he was against Dallas last week, he was a spark each time he took the ice and his willingness to mix it up was an example of what this team needs on a nightly basis.

2-Chris Drury- Drury was a monster in the faceoff circle and continued to show that he is ready to raise his game to a level that fans have been clamoring for since he came to Broadway. His strong skating and all out effort in the third period led to a power play opportunity and his back checking was key in keeping the Senators scoreless for almost 60 minutes.

1- Henrik Lundqvist- It’s a shame to see this kind of performance wasted for the second straight game. Lundqvist did everything he could to keep the Senators off the scoreboard and was only solved when Gaborik committed a defensive gaffe that led to a late tally that cost him a shutout. Henrik is playing his best hockey of the season and the Rangers need to give him some offensive support and take advantage of his mastery before the league shuts down for the Olympic break.

Gilroy headed to AHL.

Earlier today, the Rangers made a surprising move when they sent rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy to the AHL. It was expected that Ilkka Heikkinen would be the odd man out with the return of Wade Redden from injury but the Blueshirts decided to keep the recent call up with the big club and send the impressive first year blue liner down for some work on his overall game.

According to assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld, Gilroy was demoted because the team felt that Gilroy’s game had been ” chinking down, in small increments, not just one thing, his entire game, all season.” Schoenfeld also added “Probably the biggest area of concern was winning one on one battles and closing checks out with strength or speed or guile”. When asked about how the team views Gilroy, Schoenfeld offered “We still have high expectations but some things can’t be overlooked unless you’re putting up big numbers and six points is not…It’s part of the process that a lot of first year players go through, they come into camp in tremendous condition and get a head start and then the league kind of catches up with some people.”

I understand this move from a growth standpoint for Gilroy but to say his game was suffering and that the “league has caught up to him” is a joke. Michal Roszival has been a distaster this season and looks like he is all but washed up at this point in his career but still gets ice time over a promising youngster like Gilroy due to his contract. The league has obviously “caught up” to fellow rookie Michael Del Zotto as well as evidenced by his declining numbers and recent invisibility on the power play but I don’t see the team sending him down to “get his game back”. This is another head scratching move by Sather (who sent Schoenfeld to address the media instead of answering questions himself, of course) in a long line of head scratching personnel moves during his tenure. Just a week ago, the team paired Heikkinen with Gilroy because of his versatility and steadiness playing either side and now his game is “chinking down”?. Another suspect move by Sather and Co.

In other moves, Chad Johnson was returned to Hartford and G Matt Zaba was called up to backup Henrik Lundqvist.

The biggest issue for this team so far during these recent struggles is not it’s lack of scoring past it’s top line but the disappointing play of an underperforming unrecognizable Henrik Lundqvist in goal. It seems as if Henrik has not fixed his problems of last postseason and continues to go down way too early giving the opponents the top corner on a consistent basis. Tonight, he was beat again up high by Mike Rupp (an enforcer with very little offensive skill) on a shot Henrik would routinely stop in the past. Coach Benoit Allaire has to do something to help Henrik fix this flaw or it won’t matter how many goals the Blueshirts (Gaborik) score, this season will slip away faster than that series with the Caps in last year’s postseason.

Thumbs Up- Gaborik, Gaborik, Gaborik! Sean Avery joined the top line with Gaborik and Vinny Prospal and had another energetic performance. Matt Gilroy was buzzing throughout the first two periods. Donald Brashear (Who?) probably had his best game as a Ranger. P.A. Parenteau continues to be among the hardest workers on this team every night.

Thumbs Down- Michal Roszival followed an o.k. performance on Saturday with a downright horrible one tonight. He is just about done here in New York if he can’t find a way to fix his myriad of problems. He can’t join the offense, he no longer plays a physical game at all and his defensive zone coverage is just plain atrocious. Bobby Sanguinetti is not ready to play major minutes at this level. Has anyone seen Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan or Ales Kotalik lately?

Three Stars- 3- Dan Girardi- Strong game at both ends. Continues to be physical force in his own end even as his teammates continue to shy away from contact on a regular basis.

2- Artem Anisimov- While the goals haven’t come yet for the strong, talented youngster, everything else has. He controls the puck and uses his body to shield off defenders like a veteran. He plays a heads up style and is defensively responsible. He never seems to take a shift off (like fellow impressive youngster Parenteau) and is playing major minutes for this club.

1- Marian Gaborik- Who Else? Another typical night for Gabs. 2 Goals. Takes a beating in front and stands up to any and all comers. This guy is a complete player and right now might be the best player in the NHL this season.

The Rangers next game is Saturday against a very hot Sabres club in Buffalo. Let’s hope they can work on fixing these problems before they travel upstate or they will be in for more of the same butt kickings they have been experiencing as of late.

The Rangers finally showed their fans what could be, if the team uses it’s forecheck, plays for sixty minutes and most importantly stays out of the penalty box. Last night’s 7-4 dismantling of the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets was far from a perfect performance by the struggling Blueshirts but was definitely a big step towards righting the ship for a club which has been seemingly lost at sea over the past few weeks. Another virtuoso performance by Marian Gaborik was the catalyst but for the first time in a while, the Rangers got contributions on the score sheet from all over the lineup.

The first period saw the Rangers in all too familiar territory with a sluggish start leading to a quick 2 goal deficit and Coach Tortorella was not about to let this game slip away as he called a timeout in attempt to get his team back on track. Surprising just about everyone in the building and watching at home, Torts calmly told his team that they had “done some good things” and just needed to work harder instead of reading them the riot act and looking like he was about to stroke out as he had done before in these situations. the blueshirts responded almost immediately to their coach’s confidence in them as they got goals from Marian Gaborik (who else?), Artem Anisimov (tip-in off a nice shot-pass from Wade Redden) and Michael Del Zotto (on a play that reminded everyone who was watching of a young Brian Leetch, as Del Zotto gained the blue line with some nifty stickhandling then ripped a wrist shot through two defenders and past goalie Steve Mason) to give them a 3-2 lead going into the second period.

The Rangers came out in the second and just dominated the Blue Jackets defense in the offensive zone. Sean Avery was a monster on the boards and scored two goals less than a minute apart. Marian Gaborik followed Avery’s second goal with his own second tally less than :30 seconds later to give the Rangers a commanding 6-2 lead and when Matt Gilroy scored on a breakaway (off a beautiful feed from P.A. Parenteau) the rout was on as the Blueshirts had put up 7 unanswered goals. The Rangers did not give the Jackets an opportunity to get back in the contest as they played smart, aggressive hockey and stayed out of the penalty box throughout the contest. Kristian Huselius and Jacub Voracek made the final score look more respectable with late tallies but the Rangers really dominated for most of this one sided match up.

Thumbs Up- What else can you say about Marin Gaborik? He can take over the game when he wants to and last night was unstoppable when he had the puck on his stick registering another 4 points. Vinny Prospal had another strong performance all over the ice. P.A. Parenteau played a physical game and kept building his case for staying with the big club once the injured players return. Donald Brashear was noticeable and actually drew a power play with some strong work in the offensive zone. Matt Gilroy had one of his best games as a Ranger. Wade Redden was involved and had a nice game defensively. Ryan Callahan, in his first action at the center ice position, played well and looked very comfortable. Aaron Voros actually held his own in a fight. Artem Anisimov continues to gain confidence and was one of the best players on the ice last night.

Thumbs Down- Marc Staal had a strong game against superstar Rick Nash but when Nash ran Henrik Lundqvist late in the game, Staal gave him nothing more than a facewash with his glove. Staal is not a fighter but if he wants to be considered a physical defenseman and a team leader, he is going to have to start punishing anyone who makes contact with his goaltender. Chris Pronger, Dion Phaneuf or Zdeno Chara would have broken their sticks over Nash’s back had he run their goaltenders. This has been way too long coming. Lundqvist played a good game but once again went down way too early (exposing that suspect top corner) on the Huselius goal. Ales Kotalik is struggling and needs to get more shots to the net.

Three Stars- 3- Christopher Higgins- This spot could have easily gone to Anisimov but Higgins played a very energetic and impressive game with his new linemates. All over the ice fighting for every loose puck, Higgins proved he could definitely keep up with Gaborik and Prospal and win the battles in the corners for that line. He may have finally given Torts a solution to his problem of finding a physical force to balance his offensive juggernauts and if he can put a few pucks in the net (he hit two posts last night) this could become one of the most dangerous combinations in the league.

2- Sean Avery- Welcome Back. Avery has been his old self as of late with his edge and spirited play bringing a renewed sense of confidence to his game. Last night, Avery finally got back on the score sheet and gave the team a huge lift. Let’s hope this is only the beginning for the super pest, who is truly a factor for this club when he is playing his style of aggravating high energy hockey.

1-Marian Gaborik- Besides Jaromir Jagr, when have the Rangers ever had a player who was a threat to score EVERY time he touches the puck? Gaborik has been otherwordly so far this season and last night showed again why he is an early Hart Trophy candidate. He got the team believing they could turn things around with his first goal and pretty much crushed the Jackets confidence with his second tally. Gaborik has become the Rangers heart this season and last night he was stronger than anyone on the Garden ice. Another amazing performance.

The Rangers begin their road trip by trying to avenge Saturday’s loss when they visit the Florida Panthers Wednesday night at 7PM.