Chris Drury celebrates his goal with :17 secs left to force OT.
In another must-win situation for the Blueshirts (let’s face it, every game is must-win from here on out), Henrik Lundqvist had one of his best performances of the season and “Captain Clutch” Chris Drury scored what might have been his biggest goal as a member of the Rangers, leading the team to a huge come from behind shootout victory over the Devils tonight in Newark. A botched line change by the Rangers late in the third period led to a turnover and a Jamie Langenbrunner tally that gave the Devils a 3-2 lead with under 8 minutes left in the contest but the Rangers never quit and Chris Drury beat Martin Brodeur with the equalizer off a brilliant feed from Erik Christensen with 0:17 on the clock to force OT. After an overtime period which saw both Brandon Dubinsky and Illya Kovalchuk have golden opportunities turned away on spectacular saves by both netminders, Erik Christensen once again came up huge and scored the only goal of the shootout, beating Brodeur with a nifty deke and shot off the post and in, giving the Rangers the victory and two huge points in the standings.
Thumbs Up- Dan Girardi, who has been a target of many fans this season, had one of his best games of the year and should quiet any of the critics who think the Rangers shouldn’t try to lock him up long term over the summer when he is an RFA. Marc Staal, like Girardi, was tremendous tonight and helped keep Zach Parise in check all game. Brandon Prust continues to impress and was all over the ice tonight. If Prust could find a way to finish, he could really do some damage considering the opportunities he has been able to create so far. Erik Christensen had another solid performance. I know he will never live up to the hype that was heaped upon him entering the league but this kid has shown tons of heart and while I don’t think he’ll ever be great, he is a very GOOD player and should be a priority for Glen Sather come season’s end. Who’s tougher than Ryan Callahan? Anybody?
Thumbs Down- Wade Redden was responsible for the first NJ goal when he missed the backcheck on Kovalchuk and once again was just plain tough to watch on the ice tonight. Olli Jokinen, who got less than ten minutes ice time, is in no uncertain terms, simply terrible, and looks like a shell of the player he once was. Did anybody notice Vinny Prospal tonight? Or Matt Gilroy…other than when he took that delay of game penalty?
Three Stars- 3- Artem Anisimov- I scratched my head earlier today when I heard that the kid admitted he was “more comfortable playing in the bottom six than the top six forwards” but I guess if being comfortable is gonna bring more performances like tonight than so be it. The fourth line centered by Anisimov, along with linemates Prust and Jody Shelley, was the Blueshirts best line tonight and were a huge component in the comeback win. Anisimov’s patience on his goal to make it 2-2 showed that the young man is not only gaining confidence in his offensive game but may be ready to start next season in a more important role (comfort not withstanding).
2- Chris Drury- The much maligned captain was once again a penalty killing standout and source of energy tonight for a team that truly needed to build off the momentum of last night’s shutout over the Islanders. Drury’s HUGE goal in the final seconds was possibly his finest moment on Broadway and could turn out to an all time highlight should the Rangers somehow slip into the playoffs.
1- Henrik Lundqvist- Let’s face it, The Rangers don’t win this game without Henrik standing on his head over and over again and turning back Illya Kovalchuk, from point blank range off a wicked carom off the end boards, in overtime. The “King” then stoned Parise, Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac in the shootout to secure the victory. On a night where Lundqvist had to be the best player on the ice for New York to escape with two points, he was just that.
The Rangers try to keep the playoff push alive when they travel to Toronto the face the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Tags: Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Brandon Prust, Chris Drury, Dan Girardi, Erik Christensen, Glen Sather, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, Illya Kovalchuk, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jody Shelley, Marc Staal, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Newark, NHL, Olli Jokinen, playoffs, Ryan Callahan, shootout, Toronto Maple Leafs, Travis Zajac, Wade Redden, Zach Parise
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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.
Tags: Alex Auld, Atlanta Thrashers, Brandon Prust, Erik Christensen, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, Jody Shelley, Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, Michael Del Zotto, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Pierre Luc Letourneau LeBlond, playoffs, Sean Avery, Travis Zajac, Vinny Prospal
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Highlights of the Rangers 3-1 win over the Devils.
Tags: New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL
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Highlights of the Rangers 1-0 shootout loss to the Devils.
John Tortorella speaks to reporters following his team’s hard fought 1-0 defeat.
Tags: hockey, John Tortorella, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL
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The Rangers lost their second straight home game earlier tonight vs. the Devils.
Here are the highlights from the loss:
Here is the video of Coach Tortorella’s post game news conference:
Henrik Lundqvist had this to say about tonight’s loss:
“It hurts to lose the game. We came back after the first couple of periods. They came out pretty strong. When you lose the puck at the wrong time of the game, it is going to really hurt you. We came back and played really well in the second half of the game. It is a tough way to lose a game.”
I really don’t think the Rangers played as well as they seem to think they did tonight. They came out in the first with no push and almost no forecheck and were down 2-0 after one. The second period was the only highlight for the Blueshirts as Torts must have read them the riot act between periods but even with the goals by Marian Gaborik and Ales Kotalik they couldn’t grab the momentum and control of the game. After the Dainis Zubrus goal in the third, they were unable to solve Brodeur and tie it up. Another lackluster performance from a team that seems light years from the high energy attacking squad that reeled off seven straight wins. Torts better find some line combinations during tomorrow’s practice and stick with them because tonight he juggled just like Tom Renney used to and got a similar result to that of his predecessor.
The Rangers next game is Saturday night in Montreal.
Tags: Ales Kotalik, Dainis Zubrus, Henrik Lundqvist, John, Marian Gaborik, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Tom Renney
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Enver Lisin Takes Flight vs. Bruins
At practice today, John Tortorella expressed a desire to get forward Enver Lisin more minutes. Lisin is expected to play wing on the third line with Artem Anisimov and Christopher Higgins in an attempt to get him more ice time as the coach has been very impressed with his play as of late. ““He’s still not as consistent as the coaches want it to be but we always want it to be right, right away. We just see a lot of skill in him. He’s scored a couple of goals now. Sometimes I have to take a chance to put him in more offensive situations if Higgins isn’t going well or Cally isn’t going.” added Tortorella.
Tortorella also gave his thoughts on the struggles of Christopher Higgins saying “I just want to make sure he goes down the right road on how he gets through this. Early on, I said he was playing really well but not scoring. That’s changed a little bit here and you come to these forks as to how you handle these situations with an offensive guy. I want him to work on the other side of the puck and continue to play hard and not vary to another way to where, maybe, you cheat a little offensively and give a little bit mentally. That’s where we’re at between the coaching staff and Higgy. It’s a big game for him tonight as far as trying to get back on the road . I think he will, he’s a smart enough player to know how we want to try to help him handle it and get him through this. But he needs to help himself by playing the right way.”
Another player that Torts seemed to put on notice is Ryan Callahan. “I think Cally’s had his ups and downs offensively. I think Cally has to be a big part of our club here and we have to allow him to work through some stuff here. He’s not playing terribly, we’d like to see more production.” Callahan is expected to play tonight after missing yesterday’s practice with an illness. He should be on his usual second line unit with Chris Drury and Sean Avery. Marian Gaborik, who was also out, returned to practice as well and will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Devils.
Tags: Artem Anisimov, Chris Drury, Christopher Higgins, Enver Lisin, hockey, John Tortorella, Marian Gaborik, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Ryan Callahan
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After taking the day off yesterday, the Rangers returned to practice today but were minus two of their key players when forwards Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik were sent home due to illness. Coach Tortorella had this to say about his two missing players “they were sick, colds or something, and we wanted to get them out of here and keep them away from the other guys.” It won’t be known until tomorrow whether either player will be unable to dress for the game against the Devils.
After the departure of Callahan and Gaborik, the team practiced using the following line combinations:
Prospal-Dubinsky-Lisin
Avery-Drury-Kotalik
Higgins-Anisimov-Voros
Brashear and Boyle were spares.
Let’s hope Cally and Gaborik are feeling better tomorrow and this was just precautionary as the Rangers need both of them in the lineup tomorrow night as the team hopes to rebound from the beating it took against San Jose.
In other news:
-After his two periods of rest on Monday, Henrik Lundqvist is expected to start tomorrow night.
-There are no current plans to call up a player from Hartford in case Callahan or Gaborik are out but that could change sometime tomorrow and it would be expected that Evgeny Grachev would get the call.
- Former Rangers superstars Mark Messier and Mike Richter (along with Red Wings Senior VP Jim Devellano) recieved the Lester Patrick Award, which is given for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, earlier this evening . The award was presented to the National Hockey League by the Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport’s development. Congratulations to all 3 of these very deserving honorees. For more on the award and the ceremony click here
Finally, here is an interesting video of Michael Del Zotto talking about the success of the power play this season and John Tortorella shares his thoughts on the play of Del Zotto and fellow rookie Matt Gilroy.
Tags: Evgeny Grachev, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, Jim Devellano, John Tortorella, Lester Patrick, Marian Gaborik, Mark Messier, Matt Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto, Mike Richter, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Ryan Callahan
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Anyone who thought the new faces on both sides would lead to a kinder, gentler rivalry between the Rangers and Devils was in for a rude awakening last night as the two teams treated fans to a battle full of physical play, post whistle animosity and as expected, exciting moments on both ends.
In a game that began with the Blueshirts looking like they were still on cloud nine from their impressive spanking of Ottawa saturday night at home, The Devils controlled play early, running the Rangers all over the Prudential Center ice and quickly grabbing a 1-0 lead on a goal by Rob Neidermayer. Coach Torts looked like his head was about to explode when he called a timeout less than a minute later and let his team know that this kind of effort was unacceptable on this or any night. The Rangers and rookie Michael Del Zotto heard Torts loud and clear and tied the score shortly thereafter on the power play (no that’s not a typo…the power play actually scored a goal). The Rangers would get another power play tally from Ales Kotalik late in the first that evened the score at 2-2 following an earlier goal by Devils’ emerging star Travis Zajac.
The second period was pretty even in terms of carrying the play and scoring chances for both teams until the other rookie on the Rangers’ blueline Matt Gilroy scored his first career goal off a pass from Marian Gaborik and gave the Rangers a lead they would not relinquish, thanks to the stellar play of Henrik Lundqvist in the third period.
Both Del Zotto and Gilroy acquitted themselves well in this contest and while both have some things to work on defensively, they have shown that the offensive skills they bring to the team will make an impact often throughout this season. It’s still too early to know whether Del Zotto will remain with the team past his 9 game deadline but with each performance like last night’s his chances of sticking around improve.
Once again, the line of Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal and Gaborik was the best on the ice for both teams and Prospal stepped up with two assists including one on Gilroy’s game winner. The biggest question is which of the other lines will be affected once Sean Avery returns. The most likely to see a change is the third line as Enver Lisin might be the odd man out due to his defensive shortcomings. We will have to wait and see how that situation shakes out.
The Rangers got the victory in what was an uneven performance and hopefully learned a lesson about how this team can not afford to be overconfident at all during this season. The Eastern Conference and especially the Atlantic Division (Pittsburgh and the Flyers have been very impressive so far) look very strong early on and no team can afford to give away points by laying an egg in a division game. Let’s hope coach Torts’ message during his early timeout last night is something the Rangers’ players, from top to bottom, do not forget anytime soon.
Tags: Brandon Dubinsky, Enver Lisin, Henrik Lundqvist, hockey, John Tortorella, Marian Gaborik, Matt Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rob Niedermayer, Sean Avery, Travis Zajac, Vinny Prospal
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