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 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 Lose Game 6, Will Play Game 7 Saturday Night

Here we go again. The Rangers and Capitals will meet in Game 7 on Saturday night after the Caps fought off elimination and defeated the Rangers 2-1 tonight. I'd like to say that the Rangers played a hard fought game and just couldn't come out on top tonight, but if I did I'd be lying. The Capitals just looked like the better team from the start, and the Rangers looked like they were sleepwalking.

Click below to read more on my thoughts on Game 6, and what the Rangers need to fix and do differently heading into Game 7.

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 4-2, Lead Series 1-0

One down, 15 to go. The Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators by a score of 4-2 tonight to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, and were led in large part thanks to the efforts of Henrik Lundqvist, who made 30 saves, and Ryan Callahan, who had a goal and a game-high seven hits on the night.

Despite the Rangers heading into the first intermission up 1-0 after Ryan Callahan opened the scoring at 12:01 in the first period, they never really controlled the flow of the game until midway through the second period. The Rangers were out-shot 13-8 in the first period, and the game very well could've taken a turn for the worse if not for Henrik Lundqvist's brilliance in net yet again and a game that proved why Ryan Callahan is the captain of this hockey team.

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

Reports: Chris Kreider Agrees To 3-Year Entry Level Deal With Rangers

Multiple media outlets, including the always reliable Bob McKenzie of TSN, are reporting that the Rangers have signed their 2009 first round draft pick, Chris Kreider, to a three-year Entry Level contract. The Rangers have not officially confirmed the deal yet, but Larry Brooks of the New York Post says that Kreider will report to the Rangers tomorrow to sign his contract, which will then make the deal official.

Larry Brooks reports that Kreider's deal will be worth $1.3 million per season. According to Bob McKenzie, he'll get no signing bonus for this season or have a salary for the playoffs, but will get bonuses for the remainder of the playoffs for games that he plays in.

Click below to read more on the Rangers signing Kreider.

Del Zotto, Callahan Miss Practice; New Forward Lines

Coming off last night's thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the Islanders to snap a season-long four game losing streak, the Rangers were back on the ice at practice tonight with new line combinations. Michael Del Zotto (right hip) and Ryan Callahan (right foot) both missed practice, and I would assume both will be out for tomorrow night's game against Carolina.

Here were the lines from practice today:

Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Brandon Dubinsky
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp-John Mitchell-Mats Zuccarello/John Scott

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Stu Bickel
Steve Eminger-Anton Stralman

Fedotenko Back On Fourth Line At Practice, Bickel Back On Defense

Good news today from the Rangers on the injury front, as Ruslan Fedotenko returned to practice for the first time since suffering a blind-side hit from Dominic Moore last week against the Lightning. Fedotenko and Wojtek Wolski both practiced on the fourth line today with John Mitchell and Mike Rupp, while Stu Bickel returned to his natural position as a defenseman and practiced on a unit with Jeff Woywitka.

Judging from the lines in practice, I would assume that if Ruslan Fedotenko is healthy and feels fine tomorrow, he'll be in the lineup against Pittsburgh. That would make Wolski, Bickel and Woywitka the healthy scratches. If he wakes up tomorrow and his head doesn't feel right, I think Torts will stick with Bickel on the fourth line. Either way, I'd be surprised if we see Wolski in the lineup tomorrow.

The rest of the lines were the same:

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

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Stralman
Staal-Eminger

It's pretty clear that the Rangers really like what they've seen from Stu Bickel so far, which is why he's still with the club. Bickel would have to clear waivers in order to be returned to the Connecticut Whale, and I don't think the Rangers want to risk losing him. He's shown me a lot and has turned into a pretty nice swingman for the Rangers who can play both on the wing and defense. He's also quickly become a fan favorite of Rangers fans as evidenced by the "Stuuuuu" chants at the Garden. He adds a lot of toughness (obviously) to the lineup and is the type of player you can get away with hiding on the fourth line or as a sixth defenseman giving him limited minutes.

More tomorrow, when the Rangers will face-off against the Penguins in Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.

New Lines At Practice As Richards Tries To Find His Game

The Rangers unveiled new lines at practice today, although there's no guarantee these will be the lines that the Rangers use tomorrow night versus Tampa Bay (and hopefully they aren't). John Tortorella has used lines at practice before and then scrapped them come game time, so what the lines will look like tomorrow will remain to be seen.

Here are the lines from practice anyway:

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

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.

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.