Captain Callahan Returns Tonight For Rangers vs. Kings

The Rangers continue their west coast trip to start the season against the Los Angeles Kings later tonight at 10:30 p.m. E.T.  Alain Vigneault confirmed over the weekend that Ryan Callahan will make his season debut tonight in place of J.T. Miller, who was optioned down to Hartford over the weekend (and went on to record two goals and an assist in his first game after being sent down, by the way).

Vigneault also confirmed that Arron Asham will make his season debut after being a healthy scratch in the first game of the season last Thursday. Asham will skate on the fourth line with Derek Dorsett and Dominic Moore tonight, making Jesper Fast a healthy scratch.

Here are the projected lines for tonight's game:

Brad Richards-Derek Stepan-Rick Nash
Benoit Pouliot-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Taylor Pyatt-Brian Boyle-Ryan Callahan
Derek Dorsett-Dominic Moore-Arron Asham

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
John Moore-Anton Stralman

Henrik Lundqvist
Marty Biron

Healthy Scratches: Justin Falk, Jesper Fast

Even though Callahan is projected to open the game on the third line, you can bet that he'll be moved into the top six group of forwards as the game progresses as long as he's feeling OK and his conditioning level isn't an issue. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Brad Richards wind up skating back at his original position at center at some point in this game, as he didn't look very comfortable playing the left wing last week.

After a lackluster performance in their season opener against the Phoenix Coyotes, getting their team captain back can only provide a spark for the Rangers tonight. It almost sounds silly to say that after only one game so far this season, but we've seen in the past that this team just seems to play better and have a better sense of its identity when they follow the lead of Ryan Callahan's play. He'll also undoubtedly provide a lift to both the penalty killing unit (which looked dreadful against Phoenix) and the power play.

Aside from that, there isn't much more to report. Henrik Lundqvist will, of course, be back in goal tonight and may even start tomorrow night in Anaheim, as well, depending on the outcome of tonight's game. 

Rangers Announce Opening Day Roster; Kreider Sent To Hartford

The Rangers announced their final roster cuts today and now have set their roster for Opening Day on Thursday evening in Phoenix. Darroll Powe, Stu Bickel, Marek Hrivik, Conor Allen, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Mashinter and Chris Kreider were all sent to Hartford.

Forwards: Arron Asham, Brian Boyle, Derick Brassard, Ryan Callahan, Derek Dorsett, Jesper Fast, Carl Hagelin, J.T. Miller, Dominic Moore, Rick Nash, Taylor Pyatt, Brad Richards, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello

Defensemen: Michael Del Zotto, Justin Falk, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, John Moore, Marc Staal, Anton Stralman

Goalies: Marty Biron, Henrik Lundqvist

The Rangers have not placed Ryan Callahan or Carl Hagelin on long-term IR.

Brandon Mashinter, Darroll Powe and Stu Bickel all have to clear waivers before the Rangers can officially assign them to Hartford. I'd say there's a good chance that both Mashinter and Bickel will clear, but there might be some team out there willing to take a flier on Powe. He's a nice fourth line player and could be a fit on a deeper team as a penalty killing specialist.

Alain Vigneault said that rookie defenseman Conor Allen was very close to making the team as the seventh defenseman over Justin Falk, but the team ultimately decided they would be better served with Allen getting big minutes down in Hartford. Vigneault indicated that Allen would be the first guy called up if the Rangers need another defenseman at any point during the season.

The inclusions of J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast on the roster really aren't all that surprising to me. With Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin scheduled to miss the start of the season as they continue to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, the Rangers needed to carry players who can provide something on offense. Fast is one of the best forward prospects the Rangers have, and Miller got a taste of playing in the NHL for the first time last year. As valuable as Darroll Powe is on the penalty killing unit, the Rangers already have a gluttony of those scrappy fourth line players who won't provide much offensively in Brian Boyle, Taylor Pyatt, Arron Asham and Dominic Moore. It'll be interesting to see who the Rangers decide to send down once Callahan and Hagelin are ready to come back. I think they'd prefer giving Miller and Fast 20 minutes a night down in Hartford rather than 10 minutes a night on Broadway, but I do believe they have a real chance to stick around if they impress the coaching staff enough over the next few weeks. Taylor Pyatt and Arron Asham would be the top two candidates to be waived under that scenario. Vigneault said he wanted to keep Asham around because of his toughness and veteran instinct, which is totally understandable considering Derek Dorsett is the only other fighter the Rangers have on the roster right now.

Chris Kreider not making the team, however, is a huge surprise to me. I thought he was having a relatively good training camp and he was getting time on the top line with Brad Richards and Rick Nash early in camp. The coaching staff obviously feels like there are some things he needs to continue to work on down in Hartford. Nobody will come out and say it, but it has to be a huge disappointment within the Rangers organization that Kreider didn't show enough to make the team out of camp. He's struggled to find consistency in the NHL up to this point in his career, and it sure would've been nice to pencil his name into the lineup as a top six forward this year. Kreider has had a flair for the dramatics in the postseason, but John Tortorella talked a lot last year about how Kreider simply has to improve in the neutral and defensive zones to be a regular NHL player, and Alain Vigneault obviously feels the same way.

It looks as if Brad Richards will open the season playing the left wing since the Rangers currently have a logjam at center right now. Richards said he hasn't played the wing since back in Tampa Bay with the Lightning, but he's willing to give it a shot if it works.

So with that, I give you the projected Opening Day lines bsed on practice yesterday:

Brad Richards-Derek Stepan-Rick Nash
Benoit Pouliot-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Taylor Pyatt-Brian Boyle-Jesper Fast
J.T. Miller-Dominic Moore-Derek Dorsett

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
John Moore-Anton Stralman

Henrik Lundqvist
Marty Biron

Healthy Scratches: Justin Falk, Arron Asham

Alain Vigneault and Ryan Callahan both confirmed he will not play on Thursday night, with Callahan going as far as to say that he would rule himself out for the opener on Thursday "as of right now." So, basically unless there's some sort of an overnight miracle, the Rangers will open the season on Thursday without their captain in the lineup.

Finally, Henrik Lundqvist was asked by the media for an update on his contract negotiations, to which he said, “I don’t have anything for you,” Lundqvist said. “We still have a few days. You can get back to me. We’ll have discussions before we leave for Phoenix.” Apparently, Lundqvist may not want to negotiate a new contract during the season as he feels it might be a distraction. I personally have never once understood that theory, but then again I'm not a multimillion dollar athlete.

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 Set For Critical Game 3; Clowe, Staal Possibilities For Tonight?

Make no mistake about it. Game 3 of tonight's Eastern Quarterfinals matchup against the Washington Capitals is Game 7 for the Rangers - as is every game for the remainder of this series. After losing the first two games of the series in Washington, the Rangers find themselves in a must-win situation and need to win tonight in order to keep their hopes for this season alive. A loss would put them in an insurmountable 3-0 hole. If the Rangers want their season to extend beyond this week, it is vital that they win both of these two games at Madison Square Garden.

Ryane Clowe, who missed the first two games of this series due to what is believed to be a concussion, seems likely to be reinserted into the lineup tonight. Clowe didn't confirm anything to the beat reporters this morning, only saying he's "not sure" if he'll play tonight, but Arron Asham stayed on the ice with the other healthy scratches during this morning's optional practice after Clowe left the ice. That probably wouldn't be the case if Asham was going to play tonight. Marc Staal (eye) also took part in practice this morning, but did not speak to reporters, so his status is unclear. Needless to say, it would be a huge boost to get Clowe and Staal back for tonight, but we'll have to wait and see. If Staal does play, Steve Eminger would likely be scratched to make room for him.

Of course, it doesn't matter who plays tonight if the Rangers can't put the puck in the back of the net. The Rangers are 0-for-7 on the power play in this series and have scored one goal in six periods, including zero in the last five. It no longer matters if the Rangers come out tonight fired up and throwing hard hits - they need to score goals, and score them early. Braden Holtby has not been challenged at all in this series and through the first two games of this series it's been a case of the Rangers making another average goaltender look better than he really is. They need to throw anything and everything at the net and hope they can get bounces to go their way. Passing the puck around a hundred times on the power play isn't going to get it done.

Some of my other thoughts before tonight's game:

- Henrik Lundqvist suffered a stinger when he made a save in yesterday's practice, but he's believed to be fine. There's no way he would sit out tonight's game, obviously. For the Rangers to win, they need a repeat of Henrik Lundqvist's Game 2 performance and not a repeat of Game 1. Unless the Rangers shock everybody and have an offensive explosion tonight where they breakout with a ton of goals, this will likely be another close game in which King Henrik will need to be at his very best in order to keep the Rangers in it.
- I wouldn't be surprised to see Derek Dorsett get some increased ice time tonight, and perhaps even start the game off. I thought he played with a lot of edge to his game and was real physical in his Rangers debut in Game 2. The Rangers could use a spark plug like him to help set the tone early in this game. I also wouldn't be opposed to seeing him get some time on the power play. I don't see how it could hurt to park him in front of the net to screen Holtby.

- If the Rangers are going to win tonight, they will need a big performance out of Rick Nash, who is still looking for his first career victory in the playoffs. Nash hasn't been terrible in these first two games, but he simply needs to score. Getting eight shots on goal is all good and well, but the Rangers need him to start scoring. This team will not survive this series if Nash can't start finding the back of the net.

- As hot of a month as Derek Stepan had in April, he has been ice cold in the first two games of this series. Much like Rick Nash, the Rangers need Stepan to be the elite player he proved to be in April when he was named the third star of the month. The Rangers need their goal-scorers tonight, so this is the time when Stepan needs to prove that he can be relied on as a key part of this team's offense when they need him the most.

- Speaking of offensive players stepping up, I can't help but think that if tonight's game is close that this might be a game where Brad Richards breaks out. We all remember his heroics in the playoffs last year, specifically against the Caps, and he has a knack for this kind of thing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Richards come up with a big goal or a big play tonight for the Rangers.

- I think the Rangers have desperately missed Marc Staal in this series. They've basically had two defensemen in Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh who John Tortorella feels comfortable relying on to shutdown the Capitals, and that simply isn't enough with the offensive firepower that they have. Outside of McDonagh and Girardi, who both haven't exactly had stellar series' so far, the Rangers have been forced to role with four defensemen who ideally would be fifth and sixth defensemen if the Rangers had it their way. Anton Stralman and John Moore haven't been terrible in this series, but they have been asked to play over their heads. Getting Staal back would be a huge boost to help shutdown the Capitals' offense.

Rangers Drop Game 1 To Capitals 3-1; Clowe, Staal and Doresett Practice

The Rangers dropped last night's Game 1 contest to the Washington Capitals 3-1 and now find themselves in an 0-1 hole heading into Game 2 tomorrow of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Capitals scored three unanswered goals and the Rangers were never really able to find their game. Their top offensive guns, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan, failed to generate much of anything, and the team fell apart in the second period when the Capitals scored two goals in a span of 46 seconds.

To be honest, I really don't think the Rangers played well at all at any point in last night's game. They were obviously ridiculously lucky to get out of the first period with a lead, and it pretty much all went downhill after that. They got off to a terrible start, which I said in my three keys to getting a win last night was a major no-no, and played like a team that was totally unprepared for the Capitals' offense. The Capitals were firing anything and everything on Henrik Lundqvist last night, and it ultimately paid off when their third goal came off a ridiculously bad angle shot that Lundqvist simply has to stop. The Rangers, on the other hand, never played with any offensive game plan until the score became 3-1, and at that point the game seemed like it was totally out of reach with the way the Rangers looked last night.

The first period last night wasn't necessarily good, but it was what I expected. I thought it was vitally important for the Rangers to survive the first period and just get into the first intermission scoreless. Turns out, they did one better and somehow came out of the first with a 1-0 lead despite the Capitals dictating play and out-shooting the Rangers 14-8 in the period. That being said, I never felt comfortable with the way the Rangers looked. It's one thing to play a conservative first period on the road to wait for the energy of the home crowd to die down, and it's another to play a conservative first period because you're taking boneheaded penalties and look lost on the ice. The Rangers just could not generate any momentum last night and seemed to spend way too much time in their own zone.

- Before I get to the action of the game itself, I have to bring up the fact that the officiating was absolutely abysmal last night. The always-incompetent NHL refs called an uneven game that the Rangers came out on the wrong end of, as always seems the case. The charging call on Arron Asham that resulted in the Capitals' first goal was a total joke, as was the roughing call on Ryan Callahan at 10:44 of the second period. Callahan was cross-checked four or five times directly in front of the referee's eyesight in front of the net by John Erskine and the only call that was made on that sequence was somehow on Callahan. I guess getting cross-checked constitutes as a roughing minor in the NHL's world. On the Capitals' third goal, Anton Stralman was hooked to the point that he was spun around and lost the puck. And, of course, the referees failed to overturn what should have been the Rangers' second goal late in the third period on a shot from John Moore that would've been physically impossible for Holtby to keep out of the net considering how deep he was playing and reached behind him over the goal line to try and grab the puck. Not much more needs to be said. I fully expect the Rangers to get the short end of the stick every time out, but it's still frustrating to see a playoff game called so poorly time and time again with nothing being done to try and make sure it doesn't happen again.

- The biggest culprit for the Rangers' Game 1 loss was, without a doubt, the power play. The Rangers had a 5-on-3 man advantage for 56 seconds in the second period after the Capitals took a two-goal lead and went 0-for-5 on the power play overall with eight shots on goal. Even on goal would've completely changed the flow of the game. It was basically everything we've come to expect from a Rangers power play - too many guys standing around, too much passing and not enough shots. It seemed like most shots the Rangers did take were either wide or blocked. You simply cannot afford to let those types of opportunities come and go without taking advantage of them, and that's exactly what the Rangers did. A power play goal on the 5-on-3, in my opinion, would have changed the outcome of the game. The Rangers were playing like a team with no confidence, and a big goal would've definitely helped them with that.

- Carl Hagelin was, obviously, the only Ranger who did pretty much anything last night. His goal came with a bit of luck, as it deflected off John Erskine's skate during a wrap-around attempt, but it was a perfect example of what Hagelin brings to the table with his speed. He was making things happen all night, which is more than can be said for any other Ranger. It probably would've made sense to give him some power play time given how well he was playing, but for some reason John Tortorella thought otherwise. Unfortunately, I think the turning point of the game came when Hagelin failed to convert on a short-handed breakaway. A goal there would've put the Rangers up 2-0 and in the driver's seat, but Holtby just got a piece of Hagelin's shot to steer it wide and off the glass. Would've liked to have seen a different move from Hags there, but it is what it is.

- Rick Nash attempted 16 shots last night, with eight of them being registered on goal. For the most part he really didn't have a good game and wasn't noticeable, but I blame that more on the fact that the Rangers didn't consistently generate any offense until the game was out of reach. The Rangers will need Nash to carry the offense this series if they want to advance and they'll need to come up with a better game plan to put more pressure on the Capitals in their zone come Game 2.

- With Marc Staal out, the Rangers need Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh to pretty much play a flawless series as the anchor on their defense. That wasn't the case last night. The Caps' second goal came when McDonagh and Girardi both got caught sleeping in the neutral zone and left Marcus Johansson alone in the middle of the ice to get free for a breakaway. McDonagh also took a holding penalty (still don't know how that was a hold) late in the first period because the puck got by him while he was trying to chip the puck deep in the neutral zone.

- Chris Kreider finished with 8:23 TOI with no power play time despite technically playing on the Rangers' third line. I truly don't understand why he isn't getting a better opportunity, but I'm resigned to the fact that Torts just does not trust this kid this year under any circumstances for whatever reason. If and when Ryane Clowe and Derek Dorsett are ready to return to the lineup both Kreider and Kris Newbury have to be the odd men out. If Torts isn't going to try and give the kid more ice time when this team is starved for offense, why even play him?

- Speaking of Clowe and Dorsett, I really hope they are ready to join the lineup for Game 2. The Rangers noticeably lacked an edge to their game last night and I think having a guy who could bang bodies and deliver some hits might have changed the momentum in the game a bit. At the worst, at least it would've put a hurting on some players on the Caps, who had no problem roughing up the Rangers any chance they got.

- Dan Girardi led all skaters with 29:00 TOI. The Rangers desperately need Marc Staal to come back to help pick up the heavy load of minutes Giradi and McDonagh have had to carry in his absence.

- Derek Stepan failed to record a point last night and now has one goal and nine assists in 26 career playoff games.

- Some good news from practice today: Ryane Clowe (undisclosed, but presumably a head injury) and Derek Dorsett (fractured clavicle) both participated in practice today. Clowe, wearing a non-contact jersey, didn't rule himself out of Game 2 tomorrow, but he also didn't give a definitive answer as to whether or not he thinks he'll be cleared by the Rangers' medical staff for contact in time for tomorrow's game. Dorsett practiced fully and was cleared for contact for the first time since being acquired by the Rangers on April 3. Brian Boyle (right knee) also skated on his own after taking part in yesterday's optional practice, and Marc Staal (right eye) skated in a red jersey just like all the other defensemen. It would certainly be a gigantic boost to the team to get any of those guys back any time soon. If I had to guess, it seems like Dorsett is the closest to returning (I guess I should say debuting?) out of the four.

Breaking News: Marian Gaborik Traded To Columbus Blue Jackets

Well, I'm officially stunned. According to reports, the Rangers have agreed to trade Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman John Moore, forwards Derek Dorsett and Derick Brassard and a sixth round draft pick. Gaborik still needs to officially approve the deal by waiving his no-trade clause.

More to come soon. I gotta believe Gaborik and John Tortorella just both needed a change of scenery.