News, Notes, Thoughts Following Breakup Day For Rangers

The Rangers' coaching staff and players met with the media yesterday for the final time before cleaning out their lockers and packing up for the offseason. It's never a fun scene, and certainly isn't something I enjoy having to read and write about this early in the year because it means the Rangers have fallen short of winning the Stanley Cup, but unfortunately that's the way it goes.

No surprise here, but Rangers GM Glen Sather was not made available to the media. He never meets with the media on breakup day anyway, so I don't think this has anything to do with his ongoing treatment he's been undergoing for prostate cancer.

There will be plenty of time to dissect the Rangers' needs and moves they have to make this offseason, but for now I'll just sum up my basic thoughts on what I think the team needs to do, and what will actually happen. Below you can find those thoughts, along with injury updates and comments from the players following their season-ending loss on Saturday:

- The No. 1 priority for the Rangers should, and will likely be, coming to terms on a new contract extension for Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist has one more year left on his current deal. I don't expect negotiations to take long considering the Rangers are probably a bottom-five team in the league without The King holding down the fort. They know how much they need him, and I expect Glen Sather to work dilegently on reaching a new contract agreement with Lundqvist this summer. Lundqvist will likely become the highest paid goaltender in the league, as he rightfully should, and I think there's basically zero chance he will ever leave New York. I know a lot of people are freaking out for some reason just because Lundqvist sort of brushed off contract extension talks when he met with the media on Monday, but it's really not a big deal to me at all. Lundqvist wants to win here, he owns a restaurant in Tribeca with Sean Avery and he's raising his family in the City. Henrik loves New York and knows how marketable he is playing here. He's going nowhere.

- The No. 2 priority (priorities?) will be the Rangers re-signing their restricted free agents this offseason, Carl Hagelin, Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan. I don't think negotiations will be too hectic for any of the three. My guess is that Glen Sather will likely look to lockup McDonagh and Stepan long-term while handing Hagelin maybe a two or three-year deal.

- John Tortorella will be back as head coach next season, but I still have a ton of questions over whether or not he's truly the right guy for this job. The power play has been abysmal during his tenure here as head coach, and this team has way too much talent to be scratching and clawing to win one goal-games all the time. Glen Sather has gone out and gotten guys that John Tortorella has wanted, but the results have still mostly been the same. The Rangers will not win a Stanley Cup with this current system they have in place. John Tortorella simply has to realize that there needs to be a much more offensively-charged game plan to fit the styles of Rick Nash, Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard. The Rangers' biggest problem, and I've said this all season long, is that they tried to play like last year's team when the personnel was drastically different. If Torts can't realize that shot blocking and trying to win every game 2-1 when you have a superstar goal-scorer in Rick Nash on your team, then I fully expect the Rangers will once again be an inconsistent team next season and John Tortorella will be fired by December. I'm willing to give John Tortorella the benefit of the doubt and hope that he's smart enough to realize he needs to change his system during a normal full offseason since the lockout screwed everything up last year, but only time will tell.

- I firmly believe Brad Richards has played his last game as a Ranger, which is a shame. Richards had a great first season on Broadway, but struggled in his second season and was relegated to skating on the fourth line until John Tortorella made him a healthy scratch in Games 4 and 5 against the Bruins. When your head coach no longer has your back, you're done. Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported yesterday that sources close to Richards said he was furious over being a healthy scratch for the final two games in the series. I still think Richards has a ton of good hockey left in the tank and believe it's absurd to cast him aside after one poor, lockout-shortened season. This isn't a case of Chris Drury or Scott Gomez, in my opinion. The talent is still there, and I don't see anything glaring in Richards' game to make me believe he's dropped off the way Drury did. I'd like to believe the Rangers will have second thoughts and realize that keeping Richie makes sense, but we'll see. The Rangers have one more amnesty clause that they can use (the first was used on Wade Redden's contract), and Richards is the prime target should they choose to pull the trigger this offseason. John Tortorella wouldn't comment on Richards, only saying he thinks he'll rebound and that the decision will ultimately be up to Glen Sather on whether to bring Richie back. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the guy who wanted Richards here the most out of anyone in the organization two years ago.

- Needless to say, Roman Hamrlik has played his last game as a New York Ranger, and he predictably showed everybody why he never should've been in the lineup with his terrible play and two gaffs last night. I also don't expect Taylor Pyatt, Darroll Powe and Arron Asham to all be back next season. There's just too much dead weight there, and the Rangers need to get deeper in their bottom six group of forwards. Derek Dorsett will be back, and I think could turn into a real nice addition for the fourth line. His game reminds me a lot of Brandon Prust, and I think the coaching staff feels the same way. Matt Gilroy will be gone. I wouldn't mind keeping Steve Eminger around as the proverbial seventh d-man, but I think the Rangers will try and find an upgrade for that role if they can.

- Chris Kreider absolutely needs to be on this team next season, and he needs to be getting a ton of minutes on one of the top two lines. He has too much talent, as we saw in the playoffs, to be getting seven minutes a night on the fourth line.

- J.T. Miller will likely only make the team if the Rangers decide to cut ties with Brad Richards. I still think his game is very raw and he could use some more tooling down in Hartford, though. It wouldn't make sense for him to make the team playing on the fourth line if Richards is still here next season.

- I think the Rangers would be interested in bringing Ryane Clowe back if he has any interest in doing a one or two-year deal. Even two might be a stretch. They played like a different team when he was in the lineup, and he clearly provided a ton of toughness and leadership that this team has lacked throughout this season. Clowe said he wants to come back, and also wouldn't confirm whether or not he did in fact suffer a concussion in the first round series against the Capitals.

- Speaking of concussions, Darroll Powe confirmed that he did suffer his second concussion of the season in the first round against the Capitals.

- Anton Stralman confirmed that he suffered a separated shoulder and multiple facial fractures on the hit from Milan Lucic that forced him to miss the final two games of the series against the Bruins. Stralman said that he could've played through the facial fractures, but the shoulder was what kept him out of the lineup.

- Rick Nash said he thought he was "good" in the playoffs this year when asked to rate his overall performance. I can't say I agree with him considering he only scored one goal in 12 games. I thought the effort was there, though, and I'm still convinced he was playing hurt. There were rumors he was battling through a back issue, but Nash didn't confirm that he was suffering from any injuries.

- Marc Staal admitted that the vision in his right eye may never fully return to being 100 percent, but he said he doesn't think it'll be an issue after going through a regular offseason and getting used to playing with it. Staal did say, though, that his vision has continued to improve day by day, which is obviously good. I think he'll be fine next season, and it's clear this is just something he has to adjust to and get comfortable playing with. It's a shame that he might never fully regain the vision in his right eye, but it's clear that this isn't something that is potentially career-ending, which is obviously good.

- Brian Boyle, to his credit, said he "sucked" this year and admitted he came into this season out of shape from not playing at all during the lockout. He said he let himself and his teammates down, and it's hard for me to disagree with him. He was awful for a large part of this season, but it's clear not playing during the lockout hurt a lot of players this season, Brad Richards included.

- Mats Zuccarello should be brought back next season. He's proven to me that he can play in the NHL, and his playmaking ability is maybe the best on the Rangers. I wasn't always the biggest Zucc fan, but he looked like a totally different player this year and just seemed much more decisive and confident with the puck. There's no doubt in my mind that the Rangers should work on bringing him back. Zucc said he would prefer to re-sign with the Rangers rather than going back to play in the KHL.

- The Rangers have to give serious thought about trading Michael Del Zotto. The mistakes he is still making are just scary when you consider this was already his third year in the league. I know the talent is there, but for a team that relies so much on defense, he's a liability out there on the ice. The giveaways and constantly being caught up the ice when an odd man rush breaks out the other way is insanely aggravating to watch. I'm really beginning to wonder whether Del Zotto will ever put it all together, and if he does whether or not it will be in New York.

For more direct quotes from John Tortorella and the players, you can check them out courtesy of Andrew Gross, here.

That's it for now. I'll stick around all offseason, as usual, but expect things to be dead surrounding the Rangers for a few weeks. They don't have their organizational meetings until towards the end of June, so things will most likely be uneventful until the draft next month at the earliest. I'll definitely be sticking around to report on any news that breaks, though, and like I said above, I'll probably post my full thoughts on the season sometime within the next week or so.

Thanks again to everybody for reading the blog again this season!

Rangers Rout Caps 5-0, Move On To Face Bruins In Eastern Conference Semifinals

The New York Rangers are moving on. After playing the last two days with their backs up against the wall and on the brink of elimination, the Rangers finished off the Capitals in a 5-0 drubbing tonight that was capped off by a 35-save performance from Henrik Lundqvist that gave him his second consecutive shutout.

The Rangers will play the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which begins in Boston on Thursday night at 7:30 ET.

After being shutout in two games in the series and losing all three road games while combining to score just two goals (!!) in those three road games, the Rangers exploded for five goals in Washington tonight, coming from Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello.

Just like we all predicted, right?

I didn't think the Rangers started out all that aggressively, which was to be expected, but late in the first period came the biggest sequence of the game, in my opinion, when Henrik Lundqvist stopped a tough shot from Mike Green after Chris Kreider failed to pick up his man while coming off the bench during a line change. Kreider picked the puck up and carried it down the ice before delivering a beautiful drop-pass to Arron Asham, who fired a perfect shot to beat Braden Holtby for the first (and eventual game-winning) goal of the game. The Rangers survived the first period with a lead despite being out-shot 13-9, and tacked on another two quick goals in the second period after Taylor Pyatt slammed home a loose puck in front of the net after Holtby stopped Derek Dorsett's shot. Exactly two minutes later, Michael Del Zotto's pass that was intended for Mats Zuccarello in front of the net from the left point deflected off a Capitals player's skate and beat Holtby five hole style. I think we all felt very comfortable with taking a three-goal lead into the third period...until the Bruins came back to beat the Maple Leafs and scored three unanswered goals to tie the game with just six minutes left in the third period and their season on the line. But that small seed of doubt was short-lived because Ryan Callahan put the nail in the Capitals' coffin with a fourth goal just 13 seconds into the third period on a breakaway that came off a Caps turnover in the neutral zone. Just for fun, Mats Zuccarello added another goal when he almost shook Braden Holtby out of his pads on a beautiful move alone in front of the net. From then on out the only question left was if the Rangers could help King Henrik record his second shutout in as many days, which they did.

I thought the biggest difference between this game and the others was that the Rangers never let up on offensive pressure, which I've been clamoring for since before the series even started. They had their foot on the gas tonight and never let up until the final buzzer sounded. They kept attacking and kept chipping away, and it ultimately resulted in the biggest margin of victory for either team in this series. It also makes it one heck of a lot less stressful on the fans when they're not clinging to a one-goal lead for the entire third period as an added bonus, too.

Derick Brassard, who was easily the Rangers' offensive MVP in this series, capped off his outstanding playoff performance with two assists tonight and finished the series with two goals and seven assists for nine points. Even more impressive? All of his points came in the last five games of the series. Brassard has been nothing short of spectacular since coming over from the Blue Jackets in the Marian Gaborik trade, and the kid is showing why he was a former first-round pick.

What can really be said about Henrik Lundqvist that hasn't already been said? His comments after Game 5 that this series wasn't over even though the Rangers found themselves trailing 3-2 certainly rang true, and Lundqvist once again put this team on his back and got them through this series. The King registered back-to-back shutouts in Games 6 and 7, which has only been done four times in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. From hearing Lundqvist talk and seeing his body language the past few days in net, you could just tell he was not going to be denied moving onto the next round. There was something about the way he played where I just felt like this guy wasn't going to be beaten. He had his game face on and rebounded with six straight outstanding performances after a shaky Game 1 to open this series that were capped off with a 27-save shutout in Game 6 and a 35-save shutout in Game 7. The Capitals admittedly threw anything and everything they could at Lundqvist these past two days and he stopped them all. It was just Henrik Lundqvist at his absolute best.

Some other thoughts and notes from the game:

- The Rangers came back to win this series after trailing 2-0 for the third time in franchise history, and the first since 1997.

- This marked the first Game 7 the Rangers have won on the road in franchise history.

- The Rangers got a ton of secondary scoring in this series after struggling in that area for a large part of the regular season up until the trade deadline. Unlikely heroes Taylor Pyatt, Carl Hagelin, Arron Asham and Brian Boyle all chipped in with big goals in this series (two a piece for Hagelin, Asham and Boyle) while the Rangers' top offensive players in Rick Nash, Brad Richards, Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan combined for just four goals in the series. The bottom six carried the Rangers through this series, but it's not fair (and extremely unlikely) to expect them to be able to do it again in the next round. That being said, it was great to see some of the secondary players step up big time for the Rangers in this series when all four struggled mightily at one point or another during the season to produce any sort of offense.

- Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi both deserve tons and tons of credit for the way they contained Alexander Ovechkin in this series. Ovechkin had just one goal in the series, which came in Game 1, and tonight he registered only one shot on goal. He was throwing his body around the entire game, though, and ended up with a game-high 13 hits (including one that I thought was a boarding call on Ryan McDonagh that required stitches and left McDonagh with a black eye), but I'll trade hits from Ovechkin over goals any day of the week. McDonagh and Girardi are back playing as good as they did towards the end of last year, if not better, and both guys are true warriors when you see the punishment they take and handout over the course of an entire game.

- In addition to McDonagh and Girardi, credit has to be given to both Anton Stralman and Steve Eminger for how good they were in this series. Stralman, to me, played his best hockey as a Ranger in this series and was a very underrated player in this series for the Rangers. I said before the series that the Rangers would need him to step up and help fill the void that Marc Staal left. Well, he did that and then some. Stralman has been a steady defenseman for the Rangers the past two years, and in this series he was an absolute anchor. Eminger, too, deserves credit for being able to step in on the third pairing and deliver a steady presence throughout this series, and he chipped in with two big assists in tonight's game.

- Rick Nash didn't score today, but he did register an assist and finished with a plus-two rating. Tonight was easily Nash's best game of the series. I still do believe there's some type of injury that he's hiding, but that doesn't really matter. The Rangers will need Rick Nash to be Rick Nash in the next round against the Bruins.

- I absolutely have loved what I've seen from Derek Dorsett so far. He brings a lot of physical play and has an edge to his game similar to Brandon Prust and Sean Avery, and tonight was easily his best game as a Ranger. He finished with an assist, a plus-1 rating and four shots in 15:32 TOI. He also hit the crossbar on the play that eventually led to Michael Del Zotto's goal. Dorsett was hitting everybody when he was out there on the ice tonight, and he's shown a lot more

- The Rangers finished the series 2-for-28 on the power play, which is obviously terrible. I really believe with the way Lundqvist played the Rangers could have won this series in five or six games if they had even an average power play. There's no doubt they'll have to dramatically improve things here heading into the next series against Boston.

- Anton Stralman and Michael Del Zotto both finished with a game-high plus-3 rating on the night.

- After playing just over nine minutes in last night's game, Brad Richards finished with just 11:12 TOI while centering the fourth line for the second straight day.

- Mats Zuccarello led the Rangers with a team-high five shots on goal and finished the series with one goal and four assists. His goal tonight was the first postseason goal of his career. I admittedly was never the biggest fan of Zucc, but it's ridiculous how much of a different dynamic he's added to this team since coming over from the KHL. Zuccarello's vision and playmaking skills are amongst the best on the team and, as we saw tonight and in just about all of his shootout attempts, he's got such quick hands. To me, he's played his way onto the roster next season already. I think he's been a fantastic addition and I'm willing to eat crow on this one.

That's it for tonight. More to come in the next few days as the Rangers get set to battle (and it will be a battle) the Bruins starting on Thursday. We all get a couple of days off to calm our nerves before doing it all over again. That, however, is a great problem to have versus having to wait until September to see the Rangers on the ice again.

Rangers Outlast Capitals 4-3 To Take Game 3

How was that for a nail-biting finish? With a one-goal lead and a 6-on-4 advantage for the Capitals on a power play with their goalie pulled in the final two minutes of the game, the Rangers just barely held on and won a critical Game 3 by a score of 4-3. The Capitals now lead the best-of-seven series two games to one, and now Game 4 on Wednesday night becomes just as important for the Rangers as tonight was.

The Rangers got goals from Brian Boyle, Derick Brassard, Arron Asham and Derek Stepan.

I'll give the Rangers credit because they never gave up. Every time they scratched and clawed to get back in the game it seemed like the Capitals were able to immediately answer with a goal of their own. The Rangers took the lead three times in the game and eventually it seemed like this was going to be a game they were destined to lose. But then Derek Stepan came through with the biggest postseason moment of his young career, and the Rangers are suddenly back in this series. Those final two minutes were ridiculously nerve-wrecking and I think I gnawed off just about all my fingernails. It was ironically a throwback to last year's Rangers team, where it came down to blocking shots, winning faceoffs and excelling on the penalty kill to win a game.

Of course, as great as this win feels right now, it means nothing if the Rangers don't go out and take Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Every game left is a must-win, and the Rangers can't afford to look at it any differently than that. If they can tie this series up before it heads back to Washington, it's a whole different ballgame and this series is anyone's to take. Right now, the Caps are still in the driver's seat.

For the most part, I really thought the Capitals were the better team. They were far and away the better team on even strength, often possessing the puck for ridiculously long stretches in the Rangers' zone and Henrik Lundqvist had stand his ground to try and get a break in play just to stop the momentum. The Capitals, though, took some really boneheaded penalties that was really the difference in this game. The Rangers really had chance after chance to put this game away earlier, but they were only able to convert once on their six power play opportunities. So, instead, the Caps hung around and hung around. The fact that they spent so much time in the Rangers' zone was especially troubling and made me have a continuously bad feeling about the game. But nevertheless, The King held his court and the Rangers got some timely scoring, ultimately outlasting the Caps tonight.

Some notes/thoughts from tonight's game:

- Before getting to the game itself, it was truly incredible seeing Marc Staal return to the ice for the Rangers tonight. It wasn't too long ago when some thought his career could potentially be over after taking a puck to his right eye in a game against the Flyers, and I think we can all remember how disturbing of a sight it was to see Staal writhing in pain and falling to the Garden ice holding his face when it happened. Well, in a must-win game, Staal returned and truly had to provide an emotional lift to his team just from being in the lineup. Staal finished with 17:17 TOI, which is more than I thought he would get in his first game back, and looked close to his old self. His eyesight in his right eye still hasn't fully returned, and it never might, but it's clear that Staal can still be a dominant defenseman for this team.

- Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby boasted that the Rangers didn't challenge him enough in Game 2 (which I think we all can agree with). Well, tonight they challenged him a whole hell of a lot. The Rangers stormed out of the gate and peppered Holtby with 14 shots on goal in the first period, and ended up with 30 total shots on goal in the game. The Rangers clearly did their homework because they were throwing everything at the net, and it's no coincidence that every one of the Rangers' goals tonight came on high shots.I think we all knew through the first two games it was a case of the Rangers making Holtby look a lot better than he really is considering the quality of their shots really weren't half as good as the ones the Caps were getting. Holtby is a butterfly goalie, and he has trouble with high shots. Hopefully, they remember that come Game 4.

- Alex Ovechkin finished the game with two shots on goal and a minus-1 rating with two penalty minutes tonight. I said before the game how important it would be for the Rangers to have another shutdown defenseman in Staal to help shutdown Ovie, and that was what happened tonight. Ovechkin couldn't get away from the Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi or Marc Staal-Anton Stralman pairings.

- Speaking of Stralman, wow did he have a great game. He delivered a perfectly executed hip check on Ovechkin in the first period and played probably one of his strongest games this year. He was solid, and there's no doubt playing with Marc Staal tonight helped him tremendously.

- By a show of hands, who had it marked down before the game that the Rangers would score four goals tonight and that two of them would come from Brian Boyle and Arron Asham, who had four goals combined in the regular season? I sure didn't. You've gotta give credit to both guys for grinding and being in the right place at the right time. Asham beat Holtby on a perfect shot just underneath the crossbar off of a beautiful feed from Derick Brassard from the corner. Boyle's goal came just at the expiration of a power play when he made a really nice move and fired a shot that just beat Holtby. As much as you need your goal scorers to step up, it always helps when your third and fourth liners chip in, as well.

- Speaking of Arron Asham, it's funny the way things work out. This morning it looked like Asham would be a healthy scratch to make room for Ryane Clowe (head injury) in the lineup, but Clowe missed tonight's game and didn't even take part in warmups, so Asham remained in the lineup. The next thing you know, he has a huge goal for the Rangers in the third period.

- Darroll Powe left the game early in the first period after delivering a hard hit to Joel Ward along the boards. It was hard to see where exactly Powe got hurt, but he was slow getting up and when he finally did make it back to his feet he fell before making it over to the bench. Powe already suffered a concussion earlier this season, and it certainly seems like a real possibility that he suffered another one tonight.

- Rick Nash registered the primary assist on Derek Stepan's goal (a perfect pass, by the way), which was his first point in the playoffs as a Ranger and his first since the 2008-2009 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Overall, Nash now has one goal and three assists in seven career playoff contests. Nash looked to hurt his leg while attempting to deliver a hit late in the second period and limped off to the locker room, but he was fine in the third period and didn't miss any time. I guess it's safe to say he's fine.

- Mats Zuccarello also registered his first career point in the playoffs - an assist on Brassard's goal.

- The Rangers officially went 1-for-6 on the power play, but Brian Boyle's goal came exactly at the two minute mark as one of those power plays expired. So, I guess you could say it was really 2-for-6. Either way, the power play definitely looked a lot more fluid. John Moore, in particular, was shooting every chance he got, which was a nice change from the usual pace.

- Henrik Lundqvist gave up three goals tonight, but man, oh man it could've been a lot worse than that. Lundqvist made several huge stops that could've changed the course of the game, and finished the game with 28 saves overall. Two of the goals he gave up were on deflections that changed direction on him, and the other came off a perfect shot from Mike Green that Lundqvist never saw because he was screened by Taylor Pyatt on the shot.


More to come tomorrow from practice, where hopefully we'll get an update on the statuses of Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe.

Nash, McDonagh, Del Zotto All Return Tonight; Zuccarello On Radar?

With game-time about fifteen minutes away, the Rangers will get three huge boosts back to their team as they look to snap a five-game losing streak against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at the Garden. Rick Nash (undisclosed), Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed) and Michael Del Zotto (hip) will all make their return to the lineup tonight  after all three missed Tuesday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets. Nash has missed the last four games (all Rangers losses), while Del Zotto has missed the last two and McDonagh one.

If anything can get the Rangers out of this terrible slump it surely will be the return of two of their top four defensemen and their (easily) No. 1 scoring threat. The Rangers have looked absolutely abysmal on offense while Nash has been out, and the defense looked equally as bad on Tuesday night without McDonagh and Del Zotto that left the Rangers with, essentially, three defensemen they could count on for the entire game (Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman).

The Rangers, however, will be without Arron Asham (back) and Matt Gilroy (flu) for tonight's game. Steve Eminger, who played over 20 minutes in Tuesday's game, will remain in the lineup while Stu Bickel will move back up to see limited minutes at forward on the fourth line tonight.

Speaking of lines, there's been no word on what line Rick Nash will skate on tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised to see John Tortorella stick him on a line with Brad Richards. Richards has struggled mightily, and the return of Nash might be just what he needs to regain his confidence. Marian Gaborik has also struggled to score recently, and playing on a line with Nash can only help both guys in my opinion.

Meanwhile, it looks like we can finally put an end to those Ryan O'Reilly to the Rangers rumors. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Colorado Avalanche restricted free agent center has signed an offer sheet with the Calgary flames worth $10 million over two years. The Avalanche have seven days to match the Flames' offer or else O'Reilly will head to Calgary and the Avalanche will receive the Flames' first and third round draft picks as compensation in this year's draft. I never thought there was any chance the Rangers would trade for O'Reilly anyway, nor did I want them to, so this definitively ends all speculation that he could head to the Rangers.

And finally, it looks like Mats Zuccarello could be a Ranger once again before long. Glen Sather told Larry Brooks of The New York Post yesterday that he "is definitely interested in talking to Zuke" about a reunion with the Rangers once his first season with the Mettalurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL is over. Zuccarello's team is currently in the playoffs playing against Salavat Yulaev and are tied 2-2 in the first round of a best-of-seven series. Game 5 will be played Friday with Game 6 scheduled for Sunday.

Zuccarello signed a two-year deal to play in the KHL last offseason, but his contract contains an opt-out clause after the first year should he return to the NHL. Zuke's only option, should he want to return to the NHL this year, would be the Rangers since they own his rights. The Rangers would likely need to offer him a two-year deal to keep him under contract for the 2013-2014 season, though, otherwise I can't see Zuccarello coming over.

Rangers Re-Sign Steve Eminger; Updates On Sauer, Del Zotto

The Rangers announced today that they have agreed to a new contract with unrestricted free agent defenseman Steve Eminger. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is reportedly a one-year, $750,000 deal, which would be a pay cut since Eminger earned $800,000 last season. Eminger skated in 42 games with the Rangers this past season, registering two goals and three assists for five points to go along with 28 penalty minutes. Eminger was a mainstay in the lineup early on in the season, but pretty much lost his spot in the lineup when he separated his shoulder in December and Anton Stralman stepped in and played well in his absence.

You can read the Rangers' official press release here.

Click below to read more from John Tortorella and Glen Sather on Michael Sauer's recovery from a concussion he suffered last December, as well as Michael Del Zotto's contract negotiations.

Rangers Re-Sign Stralman To Two-Year, $3.4 Million Deal

The Rangers and restricted free agent defenseman Anton Stralman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a new contract that is reportedly worth two years, $3.4 million, the team confirmed on Thursday. Stralman previously had an arbitration hearing with the Rangers scheduled for July 31, but it seemed like it was a given that both sides would reach a deal before then, which they did today.

You can read the Rangers' official press release here.

The initial thought amongst the media after the season ended was that Anton Stralman was leaning towards returning to Sweden to continue his playing career, but he ultimately decided he wanted to return to the Rangers when he filed for arbitration earlier this month.

Glad to see Stralman get rewarded with a fair deal for both sides after he put together a solid second half this past season once he became more familiar with the Rangers' system under John Tortorella. Stralman also seemed to get his offensive game going in the as the regular season went on and carried it into the postseason. Stralman's shot from the point proved to be a nice weapon last season, and I expect he'll see some more time on the power play once again this season.

Anton Stralman Files For Arbitration

Some good news to pass along (at least to me it is): Anton Stralman officially filed for arbitration today, meaning that the 25-year-old defenseman who the Rangers signed last November likely plans on playing in the NHL next season. The Rangers submitted a qualifying offer of 105-percent of Stralman's salary from last season, which was $900,000, and the arbitration hearing will take place somewhere between July 20 and August 4, according to Andrew Gross. Gross speculates that Stralman and the Rangers will likely hash out a long-term deal before going to arbitration, perhaps settling on a two-year, $2.6 million deal or a three-year, $3.9 million deal. Not sure I would commit to Stralman for three years, but I've got no problem giving him a two-year contract at that price. Sign me up.

Stralman became a regular in the Rangers' lineup back in December after injuries to Michael Sauer (concussion) and Steve Eminger (separated shoulder) gave the Rangers a pressing need for a right-handed defenseman. After starting out slowly, Stralman really put together a very good season and became a very dependable defenseman down the stretch for the Rangers. It seemed like once he got in better shape and familiar with the Rangers' system he really excelled from that point forward and was able to play a steady game while also chipping in with some offense (2 G, 16 A in 53 regular season games and 3 G, 3 A in 20 playoff games). John Tortorella also showed a lot of trust in Stralman as the season went along, often times playing him between 15 to 25 minutes a game. On breakup day, Stralman indicated to the media that he would talk things over with his family on what he would do next season and seemed to be leaning towards going back home to play in Sweden at the time, but I guess he had a change of heart and wants back in.

I like Stralman and think bringing him back fills a big hole for the Rangers. Stralman is a solid and reliable right-handed defenseman who can do a nice job on the second pairing. The Rangers could look to add one more veteran defenseman at some point this offseason, but that really all depends on how comfortable they are with Stu Bickel and possibly Tim Erixon holding down the fort at that sixth d-man spot. John Tortorella, if you recall, said back on breakup day that the Rangers cannot count on Michael Sauer to return to the lineup this season, which is just another reason why bringing back Stralman was important, in my opinion.

Recapping Free Agency For The Rangers So Far

Apologies for being away the past few weeks, but I was away on vacation and really didn't have time to sit down and post news on the blog. Anyway, I'm back now and will be on top of things going forward.

To recap, here are all the Rangers' moves so far in free agency:

- Re-signed goalie Marty Biron to a two-year deal.
- Re-signed defenseman Stu Bickel to a two-year deal.
- Re-signed forward Kris Newbury to a one-year deal.
- Retained the rights to forward Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Anton Stralman, meaning they will be Rangers property if either decides to play in the NHL this upcoming season.
- Signed forward Aaron Asham to a two-year deal.
- Signed forward Micheal Bailey to a one-year deal.
- Signed forward Taylor Pyatt to a two-year deal.
- Signed forward Kyle Jean, who participated in the Rangers' prospect camp last week after spending the last two seasons playing for Lake Superior State. The terms are undisclosed, but he's a kid just coming out of college who's just 22 years old, so it's a good depth move for Harford.
- Lost forwards John Mitchell to Colorado Avalanche, Brandon Prust to Montreal Canadiens, and Ruslan Fedotenko to Philadelphia Flyers.
- Lost defensemen Jeff Woywitka to St. Louis Blues and John Scott to Buffalo Sabres.
- Lost the following players, who were on the Connecticut Whale last season: goalie Chad Johnson to Phoenix Coyotes and forward Jonathan Audy-Marchessault to Columbus Blue Jackets.

Rangers Season Ends With 3-2 Loss To Devils In Game 6

It was over before it felt like it even started. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Rangers rallied to tie the game in the second period before playing a scoreless third period and then heading to overtime. As has been the case all postseason long, every Rangers fan's stomach was in knots knowing that the next goal would decide the game, and more importantly, perhaps even the Rangers' season. I still hadn't even settled in when I saw a mad scramble in front of the net and before I knew it, the game was over. The series was over. The season was over. It seems like most times you have that type of chaos in the crease the ref will blow the play dead because he'll lose sight of the puck, but of course the Rangers couldn't catch that break. After all, if things came easy for the Rangers we all wouldn't have grown to love this team as much as we have this season.

I wanted to write about the game last night, but honestly, after the way it ended I just couldn't bring myself to it. It was just like the Marian Hossa overtime goal against the Penguins that eliminated the Rangers in the playoffs a few years ago, only this time it was much worse. I haven't looked at a replay of the goal to break it down, and probably won't. I'd like to go as long as possible without seeing that goal if I can. I needed some time to reflect on the game, the playoffs, and the Rangers' season as a whole and I knew anything I wrote wouldn't come across the way I wanted it to because of the sour mood I was in after the game.

Click below to read more on my thoughts on the game, the series, and the Rangers going forward.

Rangers Set For Game 2 Wednesday Night Versus Devils

After taking a 1-0 series lead in last night's 3-0 victory over the Devils at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers will look to do something they haven't done all postseason long on Wednesday night, and that's go up by two games in a series. So far in the playoffs the Rangers are 3-0 in Game 1 and 0-2 in Game 2. A win tomorrow night obviously wouldn't guarantee a series victory, but it sure would make things a lot easier for the Rangers to take the first two games of the series at home.

Click below to read more on my thoughts of last night's game, and what the Rangers will have to do to pull out a victory in Game 2.

Rangers Stun Capitals 3-2 In OT, Lead Series 3-2

I'll admit it - I was in the middle of writing a new blog post about the Rangers being down in the series 3-2 and having to face back-to-back do or die games for the second consecutive series in this year's playoffs. But with 6.6 seconds left Brad Richards made me, and I'm sure many other writers and bloggers, make good use of the backspace key and start over from scratch. Because with their backs against the wall and seemingly on the verge of losing a game in which the Rangers vastly outplayed the Washington Capitals, the Rangers reminded everybody why, to steal a phrase from the MSG Network ad campaigns, it really is different here.

Joel Ward, who was the cult hero of the Capitals for scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 in the Eastern Quarterfinals to eliminate the Boston Bruins, took a double-minor with 22 seconds left in the game when his stick came up and caught Carl Hagelin in the face. The Rangers had a two man advantage with Henrik Lundqvist pulled, and the series completely changed after Brad Richards somehow got the puck past Braden Holtby and just inside the far post to tie the game at two during a mad scramble at the side of the net. Then, 1:35 into overtime, Marc Staal capped off an improbable comeback with a rocket from the point for another power play goal after a big faceoff win by John Mitchell that nearly tore the roof off of the newly renovated Madison Square Garden to give the Rangers a 3-2 series lead and leaves them one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tonight was another game in which the Rangers took us all on another roller coaster of emotions. There was excitement, anger, disappointment, sadness, then back to excitement, and then, finally, relief. Basically, it was just another typical New York Rangers playoff game.

Click below to read more on tonight's game, including why Chris Drury's name was being tossed around on Twitter in regards to tonight's game.

Rangers Defeat Senators 1-0, Take 2-1 Series Lead

In what might have been the finest moment of his postseason career thus far, Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 39 shots he faced tonight as the Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators in a 1-0 thriller. The only goal of the game came at 7:35 of the third period when the red-hot Brian Boyle backhanded the puck right past Craig Anderson after a lively bounce off the boards that came right back in front of Ottawa's net.

Henrik Lundqvist was in absolute beast mode tonight. His 39 saves earned Lundqvist his 17 career postseason win, which moves him past John Davidson for the franchise record in playoff victories. His fourth career playoff shutout also tied him with Mike Richter and Dave Kerr for the franchise lead in playoff shutouts. I bet those stats make you feel old, huh? He made a series of phenomenal saves with the game on the line, including two unreal saves in the final minute, the second of which I still have no idea how he stopped. This might've been Lundqvist's best game of his postseason career. at least in my opinion, and it was one of those nights you could tell Lundqvist was just locked in from the very beginning.

Click below to read more on the game, including Brian Boyle's huge game and Chris Kreider's NHL debut.

Rangers Acquire D John Scott While Rick Nash Stays Put

As many expected, the NHL trade deadline came and went today without any gigantic moves being made. Shane Doan didn't go anywhere. Ray Whitney didn't go anywhere. Bobby Ryan didn't go anywhere. And above all else, Rick Nash didn't go anywhere.

The Rangers made only one trade on the day, acquiring 6-foot-8, 270-pound defenseman John Scott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a fifth round draft pick in this year's draft. Scott is basically a 6th/7th defenseman. He's suited up in only 29 games this year with the Hawks and has one assist with 48 penalty minutes. He's also spent some time playing forward this season with Chicago on the fourth line.

Final Score: Penguins 2, Rangers 0

After a thrilling OT win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night, the Rangers couldn't start another winning streak tonight as they were shutout by a score of 2-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves and did all he could to keep the Rangers in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Rangers simply did nothing on offense and were unable to score.

As always, there were a number of questionable penalty calls that went against the Rangers while the referees somehow conveniently missed several calls that should've gone against Pittsburgh. I'm sure that's just a coincidence that that happens every time the Rangers play in this building, though, right? I'm not really going to delve too much into the officiating considering the team did nothing offensively, but this was one of those games where it was obvious early on that the Rangers would have to overcome the Penguins and the refs in order to win.

Click below to read more on the game.

Rangers Fall To Devils 4-3 In Shootout Thanks To Unlucky Bounce

The Rangers lost to the Devils 4-3 in a shootout tonight after David Clarkson tied the game with under a minute left in the third period off of a fortuitous bounce of the puck off the end boards that gave him the puck alone in front of Marty Biron. For whatever reason, the boards were lively all night long and pucks were taking bizarre bounces left and right, but it's this one that will gain the most attention.

The Devils shot the puck in the Rangers zone from the neutral zone while going for a line change and instead of the puck going around the boards like it does 99.9999% of the time, it somehow hit part of the door where the zamboni comes out of and went straight across to the front of the Rangers net where David Clarkson was waiting alone. Give Clarkson credit for going hard to the net and being ready for anything - it's just a tough way to lose since the Rangers had the lead on three different occasions in this game.

Rangers Defeat Jets 3-0, Head Into All-Star Break First In Eastern Conference

The Rangers scored a goal in each period en-route to a 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets tonight, and ensured that they will head into the All-Star Break in first place of the Eastern Conference.

Henrik Lundqvist picked up his 22nd win and fifth shutout of the season and now trails only Jonathan Quick of the Kings for the league lead, who has six. Tonight, Lundqvist also tied Ed Kerr for second in New York Rangers history with 40 career shutouts. He now trails only Eddie Giacomin for the most in franchise history (49). Lundqvist wasn't tested much in the first two periods when the Jets had just 12 combined shots on goal, but he made several huge saves when he was called upon. If not for Lundqvist's efforts in goal, the outcome of this game definitely could've been different.

Concussions Still An Issue For Michael Sauer, Biron Out With The Flu

Some quick tidbits before the Rangers and Winnipeg Jets get underway in about a half hour at Madison Square Garden.

- Ryan McDonagh is OK after taking an ugly hit in Saturday's game against the Boston Bruins from Andrew Ferrence, who has since been suspended three games for the dirty hit on McDonagh. McDonagh will be in the lineup tonight, and the Rangers are very fortunate that he didn't suffer any serious injuries. The hit could've easily caused a concussion if McDonagh hit his head on the ice or damage to his shoulder that went head first into the boards, but it appears he's alright.

- Marty Biron was supposed to get the start in goal tonight, but he's sick with the flu and instead will be scratched from the lineup. The Rangers recalled Chad Johnson from the Connecticut Whale to dress as Henrik Lundqvist's backup tonight in the event of an emergency. I expect Johnson will be sent down within the next few days once Marty feels better.

- After skating Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week it appeared that Michael Sauer was on the right track recovering from his concussion, but those plans have to come a halt. The Rangers have shut Sauer down from all physical activity after experiencing concussion symptoms again after practicing three days straight. Certainly not good news, but with concussions it's impossible to predict how long it'll take to recover from it. I certainly hope we'll see Michael Sauer again this season, whenever that may be. Sauer's setback may prompt Glen Sather to be more active in trade discussions over the next month in looking to acquire another right-handed defenseman. Michael Del Zotto, if you recall, has spent the last few games playing on the right side with Marc Staal late in games when John Tortorella has cut down on Anton Stralman and Stu Bickel's ice time.

Also, a reminder that with the Knicks in action tonight the Rangers are on MSG2 (not MSG Plus). I'm not sure what channel that is for every cable/satellite provider, but I know for me it's channel 414 on Cablevision.

Rangers Fall To Blues 4-1

The Rangers lost to the St. Louis Blues tonight by a score of 4-1, and were really outplayed from start to finish.

If you missed the game today - well, then lucky you. Right from the beginning the Rangers just looked completely mismatched and were lacking energy. It really wasn't until the third period when the Rangers really had sustained offensive pressure in the Blues' zone, and the game actually could've looked much worse if the Rangers had any other goalie besides Henrik Lundqvist in goal for them. John Tortorella juggled his lines a lot as the game went on in hopes of finding something to spark the team (including reuniting Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards on the same line), but nothing worked.

Click below to read my notes on tonight's game.

Michael Sauer Day-to-Day with Concussion

Well, it's what we feared, Rangers fans. John Tortorella confirmed at practice today that Michael Sauer has been diagnosed with a concussion and is officially listed as day-to-day. Sauer is at the very least out for tomorrow's game, although the Rangers aren't expected to recall another defenseman from the Connecticut Whale. That means Anton Stralman will be in the lineup for just the second time this season and will be paired on the 3rd defense pairing with Jeff Woywitka, while Steve Eminger will move up to the second pairing with Michael Del Zotto (who, by the way, practiced today and is fine after briefly leaving the game in the third period on Monday after going head first into the boards while trying to touch up for an icing).

Injury Updates on Sauer, Del Zotto

The Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 last night, but the bigger concern was the possibility of them losing both Michael Sauer and Michael Del Zotto long-term due to injuries. Sauer was rocked on a huge hit along the boards from Dion Phaneuf (it was a clean hit, by the way) and looked to hit his head on the boards as he was going down to the ice, losing his helmet in the process. Just a few minutes later, Del Zotto got tangled up with David Steckel going after the puck to touch up for an icing and he took an ugly spill head-first into the boards. Del Zotto looked banged up and seemed to have jarred his shoulder, but he returned a few minutes later. Sauer, however, did not.

The Rangers had no official update on either player today since the team was off, but Larry Brooks wrote in the New York Post this morning that "it's likely that [Michael Sauer] sustained a concussion" on the hit from Phaneuf. Needless to say, hopefully that's not the case. Sauer has been a gigantic part of the Rangers' defense ever since he made the team last year out of training camp, and his role has only grown even more with Marc Staal out. If it is indeed a concussion, there's no telling when we'll see Michael Sauer again since, as we've seen with Staal, the recovery process is completely unpredictable. John Tortorella didn't have an update on Sauer after the game last night, but I expect we'll hear more on him tomorrow at practice.

As for Del Zotto, he spoke to the media following the game last night and, courtesy of Andrew Gross, confirmed that he was just banged up from the collision, so it doesn't look like he'll miss any time. Del Zotto said that the play was a good example of why he believes the NHL should change to the no-touch icing call that they have in Europe. The play Del Zotto got hurt on was simply a bang-bang play with him and Steckel both racing for the puck, and most times when they happens the ending isn't pretty. But the good news here is that Del Zotto seems to be fine.

If Sauer is out for an extended period of time, I expect that means we'll be seeing a lot more of Anton Stralman, who has appeared in just one game with the Rangers this season (a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers back on Nov. 23) since signing a one-year deal with the team in early November. The Rangers simply don't have any other better alternatives right now. The only kid who the Rangers may have even considered would have been Tim Erixon, but he's been out with an undisclosed injury since last Wednesday for the Connecticut Whale. And let's face it - if the Rangers thought they had anyone else better than Stralman, they wouldn't have signed him in the first place.

We'll see what happens from practice tomorrow. At the very least I would expect Sauer to be out of the lineup Thursday, but maybe the Rangers can have some luck go their way and his head injury won't turn out to be serious.