Reports: Rangers Acquire LW Ryane Clowe From San Jose Sharks

The Rangers have made their first trade as the trade deadline approaches tomorrow, and it's a pretty big one. According to reports, the Rangers have acquired left wing Ryane Clowe from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second and third round draft pick. The Sharks will also receive an additional second round pick in next year's draft if Clowe re-signs with the Rangers after the season. This doesn't seem to just be a a rental, though, because according to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, the "assumption is a new deal will eventually get done." Clowe reportedly had his choice between joining the Rangers or Canucks and he chose the Rangers.

Katie Strang of ESPN also Tweeted that Clowe is currently making travel arrangements to get to New York in time to suit up for tomorrow night's game against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

Additionally, Darren Dreger of TSN Tweeted that even with the addition of Clowe, the Rangers "may not be done as the possibility of adding a D-man exists."

Clowe, 29, has posted just 11 assists and no goals in 28 games this season to go along with 79 penalty minutes, but he's just one year removed from a season in which he put up 17 goals, 28 assists and 97 penalty minutes in 75 games. Think of this as more of a Sean Avery/Brandon Prust-type move, though. Clowe is not here to put up goals and get top six minutes. His job will be to skate on the third line, throw hits, drop the gloves to stick up for his teammates and chip in with a goal every now and then doing dirty work down low in front of the net.

I really, really like this move. I never thought it was realistic to expect the Rangers to add a top six forward at the deadline, nor did I think it was necessary. The only way adding another goal-scorer would work is by unloading Marian Gaborik's contract somewhere else, which isn't likely to happen, nor do I think it's smart. The Rangers have all the tools to score more goals and it's really up to Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik and Carl Hagelin to get their acts together. I don't think anybody that Glen Sather could trade for would be a real significant upgrade on either Gaby or Richie.

More to come later as more details unfold.

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.

News and Notes From Rangers Breakup Day; Dubi, Prust, Sauer Injury Updates

Some news and notes courtesy of various beat reporters on Twitter today from the Rangers' breakup day:

- Brandon Dubinsky said he suffered a high right ankle sprain in Game 7 of the Quarterfinals against the Ottawa Senators and that he'll need another 6 to 8 weeks for the injury to fully heal. Yikes. I think we all assumed Dubinsky was playing at less than 100-percent, and major props to him for going out there and trying to give the team anything he had with the season on the line the past two games. Hopefully, Dubi can just erase this entire season from his mind because there was really nothing positive that came from it.

- When asked if he was playing injured, Ryan Callahan only said, "Everything's fine." I'm sure Cally was banged up and hurting, but he's not going to point to an injury and make excuses. Callahan is a warrior and there was nothing that was going to keep him from playing in the postseason.

- Speaking of Callahan, he said his wife gave birth to a baby girl named Charlotte, and everybody is healthy and well. Congrats to Daddy Cally!

- Brandon Prust played through a torn tendon in his left ring finger that he suffered in a fight with Zenon Konopka during the regular season. Prust, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, is a huge part of that gritty, tough attitude that this Rangers team has become famous for and I fully expect him to be back next season.

- Marian Gaborik said he may need to have surgery in the offseason for an undisclosed injury. He wouldn't reveal any other details beyond that, so I guess we'll just need to stay tuned and hope it isn't serious. Gaborik said he might reveal more about the injury within the next few days.

- Brad Richards said that he felt a lot more comfortable as the season went along and said it was good to get his first season in New York under his belt. He said he expects to be much better next season. Many Rangers fans will disagree considering his poor series against the Devils, but I thought overall Richards had a very good first season as a Ranger. There's no doubt he's already a team leader and someone who wants nothing more than to win a Cup here.

- Derek Stepan admitted that he wasn't as sharp as he could've been in these playoffs. Going deep into the playoffs hopefully will give Step a real feel for what playoff hockey is like and how he'll need to play going forward. Stepan had a very up and down season, but he's still a big part of the Rangers' future and someone they'll need to, no pun intended, step his game up going forward. He's now been to the playoffs twice in his two seasons in the NHL and the learning curve is just about over.

- Ruslan Fedotenko said he'll take some time to evaluate his future going forward, but his desire is to still win a Stanley Cup. He said he's open to doing another one-year deal with the Rangers or another team should he decide to continue his NHL career. I wrote a few days ago that I thought Feds' postseason play may have bought him another season with the Rangers, and I still stand by that.

- Something that went under the radar yesterday and wasn't talked about much was what Andrew Gross reported on Michael Sauer. Gross wrote that the Rangers can't count on Sauer for next season and it's possible the concussion he suffered in December might be career-ending. Michael's older brother, Kurt, had his NHL career cut short because of concussions. It's definitely some scary stuff. Sauer had a long history of being injury prone in the minors, but I don't think he ever had a history of concussions before suffering this one. It would be an absolute shame if he never fully recovers considering how important of a defenseman he was developing into for the Rangers the last season and a half. It would also create a need for the Rangers to go out and acquire a right-handed defenseman to step into the second or third d-pairing. It should be worth noting, though, that a lot of this is completely speculation and there's nothing concrete from Sauer or anyone in the Rangers organization about Sauer's condition. The team has given no official update in months.

Rangers vs. Devils, Game 5 Tonight From MSG; Dubinsky and Prust Return To Lineup

As the Rangers and Devils get set to drop the puck for a pivotal Game 5 in about a half hour from now, the Rangers will get two added boosts to their lineup with the returns of Brandon Prust, who was suspended for Game 4, and Brandon Dubinsky, who hasn't played since suffering a right ankle injury in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. John Tortorella, of course, hasn't officially announced that Dubinsky will return tonight, but all indications from practice this morning were that Dubinsky will be in the lineup for John Mitchell. Stu Bickel, who was a healthy scratch in Game 3 and dressed as an extra forward in Game 4 to replace Prust in the lineup, is also expected back in the lineup tonight at defense while Steve Eminger takes a seat.

Here are the projected lines for tonight's game:

Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov-Brian Boyle-Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp-Brandon Dubinsky-Brandon Prust

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto-Stu Bickel

I would expect that John Tortorella will be mixing and matching his lines often and early tonight to try and create some different looks to throw the Devils off guard.

As for the gameplan itself, I really don't think it's any different than it's been for any game in this series. The Rangers have to use the home crowd to their advantage and get pucks to the net. Martin Brodeur, in my opinion, has been average in this series and some of the goals he's let in have been brutal. If the Rangers just get pucks to the net and feed off the energy in Madison Square Garden tonight then they have a chance to really rattle Brodeur early. The absolute worse case scenario would be a repeat of the Rangers' performance in Game 4, where they just looked unprepared and disorganized. They usually tend to follow up those games with much better performances and raise their intensity, though, so we'll see what happens.

Also of note is that Mats Zuccarello also fully-practiced this morning for the first time since fracturing his wrist, but it's not clear if he'll be in the lineup tonight. Truthfully, I don't see Torts putting him in for anybody in the lineup unless an injury occurs or someone has a truly abysmal performance tonight.

One player to watch is Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto, of course, had an awful game on Monday night and was benched for a majority of the second and third periods following a few awful giveaways. Torts said after the game that Del Zotto's grandmother died recently and Game 4 was his first time playing since it happened, so I think it's safe to say his mind was on other things, and rightfully so. But I expect Del Zotto to come out determined and with a renewed fire tonight. The Rangers will certainly need him to be back to himself or else they'll be forced to give more minutes to Stu Bickel and Anton Stralman late in the game, which Torts typically likes to stay away from.

We'll see what happens. Gametime is 8 p.m. so the time for talk and analyzing is just about over.

Rangers vs. Devils, Game 4 Tonight From Newark

As the Rangers look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Devils in Game 4 tonight from Newark, they'll be without Brandon Prust (one-game suspension) and Brandon Dubinsky (right ankle). Prust was suspended one game by the NHL yesterday for elbowing Anton Volchenkov in the back of the head in Game 3 that went unpenalized, while Dubinsky has been sidelined with a right ankle injury since Game 7 of the Quarterfinals against the Senators. Dubinsky practiced with the team today, but evidently isn't ready to give it a go yet.

That means swingman Stu Bickel will make his return to the lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch in Game 3 for Steve Eminger. Bickel will dress as a forward on the fourth line, where he appeared a few times earlier in the regular season when the Rangers were banged up. I thought Bickel handled himself pretty well in the limited time we saw him as a forward, but the truth is that he probably won't be playing more than three or four minutes anyway.

John Tortorella, of course, hasn't confirmed that Bickel will dress as a forward tonight, but here's what you can likely expect the lines to look like:

Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov-Brian Boyle-Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp-John Mitchell-Stu Bickel

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto-Steve Eminger

Henrik Lundqvist

Obviously, expect those lines and d-pairings to change numerously later on in the game based on where exactly the Rangers find themselves in the scoreboard come the third period.

In regards to Prust, just to give you an idea of how screwed up the NHL disciplinary system is, here are my quick thoughts on Prust's suspension: I don't think he should've been suspended at all, but I'm actually surprised he wasn't suspended more than one game. By now we all know there doesn't seem to be any consistency with suspensions Brendan Shanahan hands out, so I'm not quite sure how the elbow Prust threw was, according to the NHL, just as lethal as when Matt Carkner dropped his gloves and punched Brian Boyle square in the face several times or if it was any worse than Alex Ovechkin leaving his feet and clearly aiming for Dan Girardi's head in the Semifinals. But, as I said, there's really no rhyme or reason for the way suspensions are handed out, so we just have to continue living with this ridiculous system.

 The game starts at 8 p.m. It would certainly be great for the Rangers to go up by more than one game for the first time this postseason, but it's gotten to a point now where I really have no idea what to expect from the team. For whatever reason they just play differently when their backs aren't up against the wall. I just hope that isn't the same case tonight. Taking a 3-1 series lead back to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday would be huge, and I really believe it's imperative the Rangers show some killer instinct in these playoffs to put teams away and not let them hang around.

Rangers Can Clinch No. 1 Seed In Eastern Conference Tonight

With the Penguins' 6-4 loss this afternoon to the Flyers, the Rangers need just one more point to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, and they'll look to lock it up in tonight's game against the Boston Bruins. Even though the Rangers technically can clinch with an overtime or shootout loss tonight, it would still be a much more satisfying feeling to get the win and clinch over the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Even though it's now pretty much just a matter of when, not "if," the Rangers will lock up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, I don't think for one second that John Tortorella will let this team take the rest of the regular season off. You might see guys like Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust get a couple of games off to help heal some of their nagging injuries that have plagued them all season long, and I'm sure Henrik Lundqvist will get at least one more game off down the stretch, but that's about it. Torts is not going to let this team get lazy and stop playing hard the way they have all season long.

The Rangers will roll with the same lineup tonight, meaning Henrik Lundqvist will start his ninth straight game and John Scott, Jeff Woywitka and Steve Eminger will be the scratches.

Rangers Defeat Hurriances, 3-2

The Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes tonight by a final score of 3-2 thanks in large part to a strong defensive effort that was led by Marty Biron in goal, along with the penalty killing unit that was highlighted in particular by the efforts of Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust. Prust scored the game-winner after converting an excellent feed from Brian Boyle on a 2-on-1, while the Rangers also got goals from Artem Anisimov and Marian Gaborik in the game.

Rangers Sweep Weekend Series Versus Flyers, Caps

The Rangers capped off a successful weekend this afternoon with a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals, one day after a dominating 5-2 victory in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Ryan Callahan scored a goal and now has four goals in his last two games, while Ryan McDonagh and Brandon Prust scored the other two goals. Prust's goal was his first since October 20.

The Rangers looked very strong and came out with a ton of energy in today's game to the point that you wouldn't even have known they played in such a physical game against the Flyers yesterday afternoon. It certainly helped that the Rangers got an early goal in the first period from Ryan Callahan, who made an unbelievable play when he backhanded the puck in the net while falling over. Ryan McDonagh added a beautiful goal off a sick toe drag from the left circle, while Brandon Prust batted home a short-handed goal, and eventual game-winner, off a perfect feed from Brandon Dubinsky - who had two assists in today's game.

Rangers Fall To Devils 1-0 After Questionable Call In Final Seconds

You'll definitely be hearing about this one for a while. The Rangers lost to the Devils by a final score of 1-0 tonight, although it sure didn't look like it originally. With the seconds ticking down in the third period and the Rangers trailing with an extra skater on, Ryan Callahan fired a shot on goal that Martin Brodeur kicked out. Artem Anisimov found the rebound and put the puck in the back of the net, but the goal was waved off after the officials called a goaltender interference call on Marian Gaborik, who made contact with Brodeur after he was clearly pushed into him by Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov. Gaborik did everything he possibly could to hold up and avoid making contact, but it was to no avail. The Rangers were called for an absolutely bogus call and lost the game 1-0.

Click below to read more on what John Tortorella, Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist had to say about the disallowed goal.

Thoughts On First Episode of HBO's 24/7

The first episode of 24/7: The Road to the Winter Classic, which documents both the Rangers and the Flyers leading up to their Jan. 2 showdown in this season's Winter Classic, debuted on HBO tonight. I've been eagerly anticipating this documentary ever since the Rangers were first announced as a participant in the Winter Classic, and the show certainly did not disappoint.

Click below to read my thoughts on the first episode of 24/7 and what I liked/didn't like about it.

Artem Anisimov Joins Twitter, List of Rangers Players on Twitter

As we wait for tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers confirmed this morning that Artem Anisimov has joined Twitter. In case anyone wants to give him a follow, his username is @Anisimov42.  He's only Tweeted once so far and it was in Russian: Три Мушкетера это сила. According to Google Translator, that translates into: "The Three Musketeers is a force." Maybe he's referencing the fact that all members of the G.A.S. line are now on Twitter?

Also, I know I'm late on this, but Henrik Lundqvist also joined Twitter last week and he's actually been Tweeting quite frequently.

Anyway, here's a list of all the Rangers that are now on Twitter for those interested in following them:

Artem Anisimov - @Anisimov42
Sean Avery - @imseanavery
Marty Biron - @MartyBiron43
Brandon Dubinsky - @BDubi17
Marian Gaborik - @MGaborik10
Henrik Lundqvist - @HLundqvist30
Ryan McDonagh - @RMcDonagh27
Brandon Prust - @BrandonPrust8
Brad Richards - @BRichards_1991
Derek Stepan - @DerekStepan21
Wojtek Wolski - @WojtekWolski86

Rangers Defeat Flames 3-2 in Overtime

The Rangers won a thrilling game by the score of 3-2 in overtime tonight after Ryan McDonagh buried the game-winner top-shelf with just 0.5 seconds remaining in the game.

Much more reaction to come later, but I will say this - Ryan McDonagh continues to impress offensively, the first line continued to be strong, Brandon Dubinsky had his best game of the season and Henrik Lundqvist, as usual, was outstanding.

McDonagh had 26:25 TOI tonight for a total of 36 shifts and now has 2 goals and 1 assist in his last two games.

Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves on the night and now has a .973 save percentage in his last two games.

The Rangers other two goals came from Marian Gaborik (the team's first power play goal of the season) and Brandon Prust (the team's first short-handed goal of the season).

Henrik Lundqvist said the victory hat tonight goes to...Brandon Prust "for being the homeboy."

Marc Staal Visits Head Specialist, Richards Back On Ice

Some notes from practice today, courtesy of Andrew Gross: Brad Richards returned to practice today after sitting out the last two days with a pulled groin, and he is scheduled to play in tomorrow's preseason game against the Devils. Marc Staal, however, missed practice after skating yesterday because he had an appointment with a concussion specialist in New York City. The Rangers thought it was more important for Staal to go to his doctor's appointment, so he was excused from practice.

Click below to read more news and notes from practice today.