Rangers Host Islanders Tonight at 7 p.m.; Wolski, Staal Close to Returning

The Rangers and Islanders will get it on at the Garden tonight, as the Atlantic Division-leading Rangers look to push their current winning streak to five games. Including tonight, the Rangers have three more games before their showdown with the Flyers in next Monday's Winter Classic on Jan. 2.

Rangers vs. Coyotes Tonight at 8 p.m.

The Rangers are back in action tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes as their road trip continues, and Mike Rupp is expected to be back in the lineup tonight for the first time since he was sidelined with a torn meniscus in his left knee on Oct. 24. The Rangers haven't officially confirmed that Rupp will dress tonight, but it's fully expected that he will be in the lineup following yesterday's news that the Rangers reassigned defenseman Tim Erixon to the Connecticut Whale, presumably to clear cap space for Rupp's impending activation of injured reserve.

John Tortorella didn't say whether or not there would be any other lineup changes for tonight's game. You would think the logical choice is to put Sean Avery back in the lineup considering how flat the team has looked the last two games and to hopefully provide a spark of energy, but we all know that Torts doesn't always make the most logical choices when they're concerning No. 16. Chances are that Avery will be a healthy scratch once again, and either John Mitchell or Erik Christensen will be joining him in the press box to make room for Rupp's return.

If I had to guess on the lines tonight, I would assume they'll be:

Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Richards-Callahan
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust
Rupp-Mitchell-Hagelin

Henrik Lundqvist is also expected to start in goal barring anything unforeseen, as the Rangers will look to snap a two-game losing streak.

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.

Notes From Rangers Practice: Stralman and Richards Work Points On First Power Play Unit

The Rangers were back at it on the ice at practice today, as Brandon Dubinsky (flu) and Brad Richards (maintenance) both returned after missing practice yesterday.

It seems as if we may get our first look at Anton Stralman in a Rangers uniform as soon as tomorrow night against the Panthers. Stralman was working with Brad Richards on the points of the first power play unit with Brandon Dubinsky, Erik Christensen and Ryan Callahan playing up front. Yes, you read that right. Erik Christensen was working on the first power play unit, not Marian Gaborik. Why? I have absolutely no idea.

Anyway, I don't think John Tortorella would use Stralman on the first power play unit at practice unless he was going to be in the lineup. I mean, what exactly would the point be to work on an already struggling power play if the coaching staff didn't plan on using the same personnel in games that they used in practice?

Here are the forward lines from practice that you'll likely see tomorrow night in Florida (hat tip to Andrew Gross):

Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Richards-Callahan
Fedotenko-Christensen-Prust
Avery-Boyle-Deveaux

If Stralman suits up tomorrow the general assumption is that it'll come at the expense of Steve Eminger or Jeff Woywitka. But I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of Michael Del Zotto being a healthy scratch. He's coming off a terrible game in Montreal and was bumped from the top power play unit in favor of Stralman. John Tortorella, of course, won't confirm any lineup changes until game-time tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

Also, in case you missed it earlier, there was some big news that Marc Staal has accompanied the team on the trip to Florida, along with Mike Rupp and Wojtek Wolski. Here's to hoping Staal is closer to returning than we all thought.

Rangers vs. Ducks Tonight at 7:00; No Avery, Lundqvist Back in Goal

 With the exception of Henrik Lundqvist being back in goal over Marty Biron, the Rangers will roll with the same lines tonight against the Anaheim Ducks they used in Monday's win against San Jose. Those would be:

Dubinsky-Richards-Callahan
Wolski-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust
Christensen-Anisimov-Deveaux

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Sauer
Woywitka-Eminger

This means that Rangers fans will have to wait a little while longer to see Sean Avery make his 2011 season debut in a Rangers uniform. I can't really blame John Tortorella for sticking with the same lines that worked in what was easily the Rangers' most impressive win of the season on Monday, but I'm sure that won't matter to fans at MSG who were hoping to see Avery tonight. If the Rangers have a bad showing tonight don't be surprised to hear "We want Avery!" chants ringing in the Garden yet again. Nevertheless, Avery said himself after practice yesterday that he fully understood the coaching staff's decision to stay with the same lines from Monday since Avery only just started practicing yesterday and also hadn't skated in the last few days while he was waiting to see how the re-entry waivers scenario played out.

More to come later, as the Rangers look to make it two in a row at the Garden.

The Return of Page Six Sean?

Larry Brooks of the New York Post is one of several people today who is reporting that The Grate One himself, Sean Avery, will be placed on re-entry waivers tomorrow with the intention of him rejoining the Rangers in time for Thursday's game against Anaheim at MSG. Avery was cut after the preseason in favor of the Rangers keeping Mats Zuccarello, Wojtek Wolski and Erik Christensen on the roster - all of whom have a grand total of 2 assists and no shootout goals combined this season - but it looks as if Rangers management has decided to reinsert the spark plug back into the heart of the team yet again.

And who gets credit for breaking this news in the first place? Well, longtime hockey journalist Boomer Esiason of course (huh?). Earlier in the day, the longtime Rangers fan/ex-NFL quarterback/WFAN talk show host/NFL on CBS analyst, Tweeted, "Little birdie telling me Sean Avery is back! Thank God! Finally some energy! For the NYR." I, like many others I talked with, pretty much dismissed this as wishful thinking on Boomer's part since he's always been a huge Rangers fan, but it appears he was onto something because several other reporters began confirming Boomer's Tweet within the next several hours today. Who would've thought?

Sean Avery will have to clear waivers if he is recalled, which means every other team in the league has a chance to claim him for half of his salary. Most don't seem to think another team will claim him, though, and expect him to clear waivers and be a Broadway Blueshirt once again.

Avery skated in two games for the Connecticut Whale, recording 1 goal and scoring in the shootout last night to propel the Whale to victory.

My feelings on Sean Avery have been well-documented already, so I won't really delve too much deeper into this. Just to recap: I have always been a fan of Sean Avery and feel like John Tortorella never gave him a fair chance. Even on the occasions when Avery did play well for the Rangers Torts would waste little time demoting him in the lineup the first time things went wrong. Furthermore, I think Avery is absolutely an improvement over the other forwards the Rangers have tried on the fourth line this year (Kris Newbury, Erik Christensen, Mats Zuccarello, etc.) and he gives the team an identity and personality that they need. The players clearly love him, as evidenced by Henrik Lundqvist's remarks in the New York Post earlier this week that seemed like a subtle shot at management's decision to cut Avery in the first place, and I'm assuming that the decision to bring Avery back is being led by Glen Sather. Slats has gone on record on more than one occasion about how much he likes Sean and what he brings to the table and he must feel like Avery's energy is what this team needs to get going. I just can't see John Tortorella going to Glen Sather and asking him to bring Avery back so quickly, but maybe I'm wrong.

Either way, this whole situation comes as a huge surprise. I never thought Avery would skate in the NHL this year after he was waived, and I definitely didn't think that if he did it would come with the Rangers. Nearly everybody reported that Sean's career with the Rangers was over and done with after he was waived, but maybe it isn't quite yet.

More on this situation as it develops. There should be more news come tomorrow.

Biron, Wolski, Woywitka in Lineup for Rangers Tonight

News today from the Rangers is that Wojtek Wolski will make his return to the lineup for the first time since Opening Day in Sweden and Marty Biron will make his season debut in Winnipeg tonight against the Jets. Jeff Woywitka will also suit up for tonight after being a healthy scratch Saturday in Edmonton in favor of Brendan Bell.

Wolski's return to the lineup means that Erik Christensen (thankfully) will take a seat in the press box. As much of a disappointment as Wolski has been since being traded to the Rangers last season, there's really no way he can provide any less than Erik Christensen has so far this season. I expect Wolski will open the game on the fourth line, but he'll probably move around and get some power play time as the game goes on. Wolski, you'll recall, was called out by John Tortorella last week when Torts took a subtle shot at Wolski by insinuating he was taking his sweet time recovering from a groin injury that has lingered ever since the preseason.

Evidently, the Rangers weren't all that impressed by Brendan Bell on Saturday because Jeff Woywitka is back in after a one game absence. Ideally, neither of these guys should be suiting up regularly for the Rangers (or any other NHL team for that matter), but the Rangers really don't have any choice with Marc Staal still suffering from concussion symptoms and Michael Sauer's right shoulder still an issue.

Tonight's game will break a string of 37 consecutive games that Henrik Lundqvist has started for the Rangers (including the postseason) dating back to last season. The decision to start Biron, apparently, has nothing to do with Henrik Lundqvist leaving Saturday's game against Edmonton with cramps in his foot from the new skates he's been wearing this year. Lundqvist has insisted he's fine and he practiced fully, so I have no reason to believe this is a lingering thing. Fact is, Biron was likely to start at some point on this road trip since John Tortorella likely wants to get him into a game early in the season so he can get some work in.

More later from Winnipeg as game time draws near...

Rangers Lose Dale Weise On Waivers To Canucks, Waive Brendan Bell and Stu Bickel

The Vancouver Canucks claimed now ex-Rangers forward Dale Weise on waivers today, and the Rangers also announced that they have placed Brendan Bell and Stu Bickel on waivers in addition to Sean Avery today at noon.

I really have no idea why the Rangers would waive Bell and Bickel when Marc Staal is already out for at least the first two games in Europe and possibly longer, and Michael Sauer's shoulder is banged up. Even though there's little to no chance either guy will be claimed off waivers, why would they possibly take the chance of losing them when the team is all the way in Sweden right now? It just doesn't make sense to me. I thought that maybe they would have made these roster moves if they were set to acquire another defenseman before the season opens on Friday, but John Tortorella said today that it's unlikely the team will add anyone by then.

The team has 30 days to assign Bickel and Bell to Connecticut, assuming they clear waivers, and they would both still be eligible to play for the NHL club until the 30 days are up. As of right now the Rangers technically have only five defensemen on their active roster - Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh,

Meanwhile, Dale Weise is no longer a Ranger after putting together what I thought was a pretty impressive training camp and two very good seasons in the AHL. This is another head scratcher to me. Weise is a big body who proved he could score at the AHL level and showed a lot of toughness during his few stints with the Rangers. At the very least he was a nice depth player for the organization. But it doesn't really make sense to me why the Rangers would waive both Dale Weise and Sean Avery and get rid of a lot of that toughness and grit that the Rangers quite frankly don't have enough of right now. The Rangers are short enough on forward prospects as it is, so losing Weise hurts. One could even say that he deserved the 13th forward spot over Erik Christensen and it'd be hard to argue against that.

A weird day for the Rangers and their fans. They cut a fan favorite, have their head coach bury him when being interviewed by the media, waive two depth defensemen and lose a tough forward who I thought showed a lot of potential.

Breaking News: Sean Avery Waived By Rangers, Europe Next?

Farewell, Sean.

Larry Brooks has just broke news that the Rangers have waived Sean Avery, meaning that Erik Christensen will make the team and be the 13th and final forward that the Rangers carry this season. Brooks said it's unknown if Avery would be assigned to the Connecticut Whale if he clears waivers as expected, but that Avery has been told there's no chance he'll play again for the Rangers.

Avery's agent has confirmed the news to ESPN.com target="_blank" that the Rangers have informed him Avery will be waived today, and says that playing in Europe is the most likely destination for Sean to continue his hockey career.

More to come later on what I think is a big mistake by the Rangers and specifically John Tortorella...