Rangers Training Camp 2013 - Clean Slate...Grab It

"Clean Slate...Grab It." That was the slogan on t-shirts that new Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault handed out to his players when they arrived for training camp yesterday. It makes sense - everybody is being given a clean slate with the team under new leadership, and it's up to them to take the opportunity and run (skate?) with it. That slogan seems like a perfect summary for Brad Richards' situation, who will be heading into the most crucial career of his Rangers career thus far. Richards spoke today about how he's looking to put last year behind him and he still believes he can return to the form he displayed two years ago. Here's to hoping that he's right.

Some notes from the first two days of training camp:

- Here is the full training camp roster thus far, courtesy of Andrew Gross:

Goalies - Marty Biron, Johan Hedberg, Henrik Lundqvist, Jeff Malcolm, Jason Missiaen, Mackenzie Skapski, Scott Stajcer, Cam Talbot

Defensemen - Conor Allen, Stu Bickel, Michael Del Zotto, Charlie Dodero, Troy Donnay, Justin Falk, Ben Fanelli, Dan Girardi, Ryan Graves, Tommy Hughes, Aaron Johnson, Ryan McDonagh, Dylan McIlrath, John Moore, Brendon Nash, Samuel Noreau, Jimmy Oligny, Marc Staal, Anton Stralman, Danny Syvret.

Forwards - Aaron Asham, J.T. Barnett, Ryan Bourque, Brian Boyle, Derick Brassard, Taylor Burke, Ryan Callahan, Derek Dorsett, Anthony Duclair, Jesper Fast, Josh Graves, Carl Hagelin, Micheal Haley, Marek Hrivik, Kyle Jean, Michael Kantor, Chris Kreider, Danny Kristo, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Mashinter, J.T. Miller, Dominic Moore, Rick Nash, Josh Nicholls, Benoit Pouilot, Shawn O’Donnell, Darroll Powe, Taylor Pyatt, Brad Richards, Thomas Spelling, Michael St. Croix, Derek Stepan, Dyson Stevenson, Peter Trainor, Jason Wilson, Klarc Wilson, Andrew Yogan, Mats Zuccarello

- Derek Stepan has missed the first two days of camp so far. Stepan is still not under contract as he and Glen Sather continue to try and hammer out a new deal for the restricted free agent. Sather said today that there's nothing new to report on the negotiations, and Sather reportedly has no intentions of budging on whatever the current offer is that he has extended to Stepan's camp. Rumors are that Sather only wants to do a two-year deal while Stepan is looking for a long-term deal similar to the six-year extension Ryan McDonagh got earlier this offseason. Stepan and his agent really have no leverage here, but I understand why Stepan is trying to hold out for a long-term deal given that he's coming off the best season of his career. He'll be in camp soon enough, and he definitely needs to be in order to learn the ins and outs of playing in a new system under Alain Vigneault.

- Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin, who are both recovering from shoulder surgery, will obviously be limited in camp considering the fact that they may not be ready for the start of the regular season.

- Marty Biron has also missed the first two days of camp for personal/family reasons, which have not specifically been identified. Vigneault did say that he spoke to Biron on the phone today and the plan is for Biron to be in camp tomorrow, which is great news.

- Veteran goaltender Johan Hedberg is in camp with the Rangers under a professional tryout (PTO). Hedberg, 40 years old, was bought out by the Devils over the offseason after they acquired Cory Schneider from the Canucks. Hedberg stated that he was promised nothing from the Rangers as far as a roster spot is concerned and he's basically here just to keep working out and getting reps at the moment. For Hedberg, this is basically an audition in hopes that another team will see something they like in his game and give him a contract. Tons of teams will hand out PTOs during training camp over the next few weeks. I wouldn't mind having Hedberg playing in Hartford as an insurance policy to start the season, but I have a hard time believing that he has any interest in continuing his career playing in the minors. It seems like it's boom or bust for him right now.

- There is no update on Henrik Lundqvist's contract situation with the Rangers. The offseason has been pretty quiet concerning any talks that have been going on between the Rangers and Lundqvist, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following this season. I have full confidence that they'll get a deal done, obviously, but it might take some time and not happen until the middle of the season. Lundqvist will not reach free agency.

- Alain Vigneault said he purposely didn't watch any footage of the Rangers' games last year. He had assistant coaches Scott Arniel watch footage of the Rangers' power play and Ulf Samuelsson the penalty kill, but beyond that Vigneault said he truly believes in forgetting about everything that happened last year and moving on. Whatever problems players had is in the past, and it seems like AV truly believes in this whole "clean slate" slogan. I actually really like it. There's no sense in looking over ways for the team to improve on last year when you consider the fact that they're going to be running a system that's the complete opposite of John Tortorella's.

More to come over the next few days as more news breaks from camp.

Recap: Rangers Lose 3-1 To Panthers

One step forward, two steps backwards. That's really the best way to describe the Rangers' season so far this year, and that trend continued on Thursday night when they inexcusably lost 3-1 to a Florida Panthers team that seemingly has half their team on IR. Despite outshooting the Panthers 45-24 in the game, the Rangers could muster only a single goal that came from Marian Gaborik late in the third period to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1. Despite getting a power play in the final minute of the game, though, the Rangers quickly gave up an empty net goal with Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra skater, and that was all she wrote.

There's really not much else to say beyond the fact that the Rangers have underachieved to this point in the season. I must admit that even when the team won back to back games against the Hurricanes and Devils earlier this week I was still feeling uneasy about the way the team looked. In the Devils game they basically sat back to try and defend a 3-2 lead for the entire third period and half of the second, while the game against the Hurricanes was a lot like tonight in that the Rangers fired shots from anywhere and everywhere on goal and only one puck found the back of the net. The difference, of course, was the Rangers were able to steal two points in the game against Carolina, unlike tonight.

I'm not going to put the individual struggles of players like Marian Gaborik (who, even before his goal tonight, has been much better in the past few games and just hasn't had any good luck go his way) and Brad Richards on John Tortorella. Both men have been around long enough that they need to, and I believe ultimately will, figure things out on their own. They're just simply way too talented not to. I will say, however, that the Rangers' gameplans have been way too tentative lately, and that falls on the coaching staff. The Rangers seem to come out flat seemingly every game, and play the game almost as if they're afraid to take chances in the offensive zone. Maybe the players are afraid of taking chances because they think they'll get benched if they screw up or maybe the gameplan just simply is to wait out the other team until they make a mistake from the beginning. Either way, things are clearly not working and the coaching staff needs to do something to right the ship here. Coming up with a new gameplan for this team to follow is ultimately up to John Tortorella.

Some notes from tonight's game (I'll make this quick because I really don't feel like talking about how frustrating this game was anymore):

- I thought tonight was easily Rick Nash's worst game as a Ranger. He seemed very tentative with the puck like everyone else on the team and constantly looking to pass first before shooting. He also had a few awful turnovers and wasn't particularly strong on the puck at all. He only had two shots on goal and was a minus-1 tonight, although he did pick up an assist on Marian Gaborik's goal.

- Taylor Pyatt had a game-low 2:51 time on ice tonight, all coming on even strength. After recording three goals and two assists in his first eight games this year, Pyatt has just one goal and no assists in his last 22 games, including 12 straight games without a point.  Pyatt has been a non-factor for several few weeks now, and if the Rangers had any other better alternatives to insert into the lineup I have to believe he would've been a healthy scratch at some point by now.

- Marian Gaborik had a game-high eight shots on goal. As I said above, I really think Gaborik has been playing a lot better lately but he just hasn't gotten any results until his third period goal tonight. Unfortunately for the Rangers, it seems like neither Gaborik or Nash are particularly comfortable playing the left wing after playing right wing for relatively their entire careers, but one of them will have to learn to adjust to it for at least the remainder of this season.

- Making his return to the Rangers, Chris Kreider was held off the stat sheet in 12:03 TOI.

- Brian Boyle lost all 10 faceoffs he took in the game. Boyle sure as heck isn't in the lineup for his scoring, so that's just not going to cut it.

- The 45 shots on goal tonight marked a season-high for the Rangers.

- The Rangers went 0-for-3 on the power play tonight while only mustering four shots on goal.

- Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced, and came up with a couple of huge stops in the second and third periods to keep the Rangers in the game. I thought the first goal was one he should've had, but the second one wasn't on him at all (scramble in front of the net and no Ranger could get to the puck or clear the front of the net). I originally thought if the Rangers got a win tonight that we might see Marty Biron in goal on Sunday, but I would now say the chances of that happening are slim to none. The Rangers may be forced to ride Lundqvist for just about every remaining game because of the hole they've dug themselves into.

Kreider Rejoins Rangers, Lundqvist Back In Goal Tonight

Chris Kreider officially rejoined the Rangers today at practice after being recalled from the Connecticut Whale (AHL) yesterday. Kreider practiced on the third line tonight against the Florida Panthers and will take Michael Haley's spot in the lineup after he was optioned back down to the Whale.

Here were the lines from practice today:

Rick Nash-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Chris Kreider-Brian Boyle-J.T. Miller
Taylor Pyatt-Jeff Halpern-Darroll Powe

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto-Steve Eminger
Roman Hamrlik-Anton Stralman

An interesting quote from Kreider today came courtesy of Andrew Gross, which I believe is very telling:

“I was able to play big minutes and play in all situations. Any time you can do that, it helps your development, I guess.”

 “[Being recalled] was not something I was really thinking about. Obviously it’s something you want but you focus on the day to day stuff.”

Kreider hit the nail on the head in that it's imperative for his growth as a player that he gets big minutes, otherwise there's really no point for the Rangers to bring him back up. Kreider needs to be getting 15 minutes a night, in my opinion, with some power play time. There's no reason guys like Darroll Powe, Jeff Halpern and Taylor Pyatt should be finishing regularly with more ice time than Kreider.

Meanwhile, in a bit of a surprise, Henrik Lundqvist will be back in goal tonight against the Panthers after most people assumed Marty Biron would get the call. Tonight seemed like a perfect game to rest Lundqvist and give Biron a start considering the Panthers really aren't a very good team and the fact that Lundqvist was banged up with a sore neck after inadvertently being elbowed in the head by Dan Girardi against the Devils on Tuesday night. John Tortorella clearly doesn't want to take any chances, though, and wants Lundqvist in there so that the Rangers can continue to build on their back-to-back wins earlier this week. I suspect there's a good chance we'll see Biron in net come Sunday against the Capitals considering how well he played against them a few weeks ago, but if the Rangers are still riding a win streak by then it wouldn't shock me if Torts just relies on Lundqvist the rest of the way here.

And finally, some terrible news to pass along. Rangers General Manager Glen Sather, it was reported yesterday by Newsday, will undergo surgery sometime today for prostate cancer. Sather was not in attendance for the general managers meetings that took place in Toronto on Wednesday, and instead was represented by Rangers Assistant GM Jeff Gorton. Obviously, I speak for all Rangers fans when I say my thoughts and prayer are with Sather during this time. Hopefully, he can beat this terrible disease and we never have to hear anything about it again.

Rangers Send Chris Kreider To AHL, Plus Recap Of Last Night's Loss To Islanders

It seemed like for the past few weeks it was only a matter of when, not if, the Rangers would decide to send rookie left wing Chris Kreider down to the AHL. Today, we got our answer when the Rangers officially sent down the struggling forward to the Connecticut Whale and have instead opted to keep rookie center J.T. Miller on the roster, at least for the interim.

 Kreider, who was a healthy scratch last night and also missed time earlier this season with a broken bone in his ankle, has recorded just one goal and one assist in seven games for the Rangers this season while recording three shots on goal. I personally don't have a problem with the move. Kreider has struggled mightily this season, and has followed an eerily similar career path that Michael Del Zotto did early in his Rangers career - a ton of success as a 19-year-old that was followed up by an inconsistent, injury-plagued season that resulted in being sent down to the AHL. Judging by how well Del Zotto wound up rebounding following his demotion, I certainly hope the same thing happens to Kreider. Whether or not we see him in the NHL again this season will largely depend on how he plays in the AHL and how J.T. Miller continues to play in the NHL.

Speaking of J.T. Miller, the timing of this move seems to be John Tortorella's way of giving Miller a vote of confidence . The 19-year-old center has played in five NHL games so far this season and if he plays in a sixth this season would automatically count towards the first year of Miller's Entry Level contract that he signed last year. I have to believe if the team had many reservations about Miller's ability that they wouldn't waste a full year of his Entry Level deal by letting him continue to play in the NHL. Miller was a minus-1 in 9:41 in last night's game against the Islanders with one shot, including being benched for nearly all of the third period and overtime, but the Rangers have continually praised Miller's ability on the forecheck and his physical play. Miller had seven hits against a tough, big Bruins team in Tuesday night's shootout victory.

Moving onto last night's loss against the Islanders in which the Rangers blew a first period 2-0 lead - to put it mildly, it was incredibly frustrating. After getting off to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Dan Girardi and Marian Gaborik, the Rangers proceeded to come out completely flat in the second period and quickly found themselves trailing 3-2 after several defensive breakdowns to go along with some awful goals let in by Marty Biron. I said after the game last night on Twitter that, despite the Rangers being back on their heels in the second period, I thought Biron was the No. 1 reason the Rangers lost last night. The Islanders' first goal came off a quick pass from the corner boards that completely caught Biron off guard, as you could tell he wasn't set properly in goal when the shot was fired past him by Colin McDonald. I'm not going to possibly fault Biron on John Tavares' two-on-one goal, but Biron did get a piece of the shot and could've had it, which just made that goal all the more frustrating. The third Islanders goal by Brad Boyes, though, was absolutely brutal and a save that any NHL-caliber goaltender should make. Biron also failed to stop either of the Islanders' two shootout attempts - Tavares' goal was almost impossible to stop, but Frans Nielsen's goal was dreadful. Biron certainly looked like a backup goaltender last night against a sub-par Islanders team, but those games are to be expected. Still, I can't help but think that if Henrik Lundqvist was in net last night the end result might have been different, though.

The second biggest problem last night was without a doubt the power play, and I have to question first and foremost why assistant coach Mike Sullivan continues to have a job with the Rangers. The power play has been dreadful (1-for-4 last night, including a dreadful two-man advantage that the team failed to generate any sort of productivity on) and the team has had several God-awful defensive breakdowns this season - an area which is supposed to be Sullivan's expertise. The Rangers in all likelihood won't fire him during the season, but in no way shape or form should he be back next season. I fully understand John Tortorella wanting to stand by his coaching staff, but it's clear that a change has to be made and the Rangers desperately need to bring in a coach or an adviser who can work with the team exclusively on the power play. Who that is, I have no idea, but I have to imagine they'll at least look into it following this season. The biggest problem with the power play isn't just that the Rangers are failing at seemingly all of their opportunities, it's that they're complete momentum-killers. The team and the crowd looked and sounded completely dead last night after the Rangers failed to convert even a single quality shot on a two-man advantage in the second period last night. These guys are only human, and I have to imagine every single one of them is lacking confidence when they go on the power play right now. I'll have more on one way I think the Rangers could fix the power play this weekend.

The third biggest problem last night was in fact John Tortorella. Torts was clearly frustrated by Brad Richards' play last night, and benched him for nearly all of the third period except for a brief 47-second shift, although Richards did see two shifts in overtime. I didn't see anything glaring in Richards' game that warranted him being benched for almost all of the third period other than the fact that he was awful on the power play. But if Tortorella were to start benching everyone who has strugglesd on the power play, then the entire team will find themselves glued to the bench. I understand Brian Boyle and Jeff Halpern were playing well last night, but I'm of the belief that you eventually need to let talent take over. Boyle being out there for crucial shifts in the third period as Torts exclusively rolled three lines of Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Rick Nash, Marian Gaborik-Brian Boyle-Ryan Callahan and Darroll Powe-Jeff Halpern-Taylor Pyatt while Brad Richards and J.T. Miller saw nearly zero action was a huge mistake in my opinion. Richards is a huge part of this team and has been an incredibly clutch player for the Rangers over his one-and-a-half seasons on Broadway. I don't mind it when John Tortorella sends a message by benching star players for a few shifts when their play is noticeably dipping, but when he does it for extended periods of time like he did last night I'm firmly of the belief that he's hurting the team by his insistence of sending a message to one or two specific individuals. I understand Torts wants to show his team that he's not playing favorites and will reward those who play hard and punish those who make critical mistakes, but still. It's just a pet peeve of mine that I have with John Tortorella.

Anyway, the Rangers are off today and will resume practicing tomorrow before playing the Washington Capitals Saturday at 6 p.m. at Madison Square Garden on NBC for the NHL-appointed "Hockey Day In America." I'll have more tomorrow.

Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Flyers Tonight at 7 p.m.

After last night's thrilling overtime win thanks to Marian Gaborik's hat trick, the Rangers are right back at it tonight in Philly against the Flyers. The Rangers, who have won eight straight against Philadelphia dating back to last season, will look to move to 2-3-0 on the season. Henrik Lundqvist will be back in goal tonight coming off of his best performance of the young season last night against Boston.

Some quick notes:

- Chris Kreider, who played just 7:21 in last night's overtime win against the Bruins and has only one shot through the first three games of the season, will be a healthy scratch tonight in Philly. John Tortorella has clearly been frustrated with Kreider's play through training camp and the early part of the season, and he said after last night's game that the Rangers brass will have to meet to discuss whether the best course of action is to have Kreider remain with the team or to send him down to the Connecticut Whale. I would think they're leaning towards sending him down, but time will tell. Kreider committed a penalty last night and never really saw the ice again after that.

- The Rangers recalled forward Kris Newbury from the Connecticut Whale after last night's game, and he will dress tonight in Kreider's spot in the lineup.

-  Arron Asham skated at practice today, but will miss his second consecutive game with a strained groin. That means Stu Bickel, who played just 3:00 last night, will once again dress as a forward on the fourth line while Steve Eminger will remain in the lineup and be paired on the third d-pairing with Anton Stralman.

- The third and fourth lines are up in the air, but we definitely know what the top two lines will look like tonight. Rick Nash-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik will be the first line, while Taylor Pyatt-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan will be the second. Beyond that, I would have to guess the third line will be Hagelin-Boyle-Newbury and the fourth line of Rupp-Halpern-Bickel will remain the same as last night.

- As mentioned above, Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal once again this evening. I originally thought we might see Marty Biron in goal tonight with four games in the first six games of the season, but that's not the case. Lundqvist still looked a little shaky in goal in last night's win, so I'm sure he wants to continue to work through his struggles until he finds his game and get his rhythm back.

- The Rangers made a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins today, swapping minor league right wing Chad Kolarik for center Ben Ferriero. Ferriero, 25, has skated in 92 career NHL games (all with the San Jose Sharks) and has posted 14 goals and eight assists for 22 points. Playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL this year, he has racked up four goals and 14 assists for 18 points and 14 penalty minutes in 34 games. Kolarik, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, has 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points in 41 games with the Connecticut Whale this season, and was named to the AHL All-Star team as the Whale's lone representative. Seems a little bit of a strange that the Rangers would trade Kolarik, who I always liked and felt could be a decent 13th forward option for the Rangers, for a guy who's essentially an AHL grinder, but who knows. I guess it's possible Kolarik asked for a trade. I did think it was odd that the Rangers didn't even invite him to camp this year before the season started considering the year he's having in the AHL, but either way - a minor trade like this is nothing to get up in arms about.

Asham Misses Practice As Rangers Unveil New Lines At Practice

Arron Asham's missed practice today what what is being called a "minor groin strain." John Tortorella doesn't believe it's serious, but Rangers' beat writer Andrew Gross speculates that it might be enough to keep him out of tomorrow's game against the Bruins at the Garden.

So, with that in mind, here were the new lines during today's practice:

Marian Gaborik-Brad Richards-Rick Nash
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin-Brian Boyle-Taylor Pyatt
Mike Rupp-Jeff Halpern-Stu Bickel

If Asham is out tomorrow Stu Bickel would likely move up to play forward on the fourth line with either Steve Eminger or Matt Gilroy making their season debut on the third d-pairing. Brandon Segal, who dressed in Saturday's season opener in Boston while Asham served his suspension, was sent back down to the Connecticut Whale so the Rangers have no extra forwards on their active roster as of right now.

As for the team itself, John Tortorella is understandably upset with the Rangers' lethargic play over the first two games of the season and thinks their "mindset needs to toughen quickly." I fully understand the urgency of Torts wanting this team to turn things around, but I'm not too concerned just yet. The Rangers played two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference at a time when they're still developing chemistry with each other. Teams like the Penguins and Bruins did not overhaul their roster the way the Rangers did when they traded for Rick Nash over the offseason, so it's only natural the Rangers will need some time to get things straightened out. Problem is, they really can't afford to go much longer without figuring things out because of the abbreviated season.

Speaking of Rick Nash, I don't think there's any question he's been the Rangers' best player over the first two games of the season. Nash has a goal and an assist but could have even more than that. The way he uses his size is simply awesome, and that's something the Rangers have needed for a while. It's only a matter of time before he really goes on a tear in my opinion. We've seen that he has the ability to dominate a game and Rangers fans have to be happy with what they've seen so far.

Torts also went on to praise the performance of Taylor Pyatt, calling him one of the Rangers' better players through the first two games of the season, which he admits isn't exactly good news. Pyatt's role is supposed to be that of a third line checking forward who will chip in with a goal every now and then. We've seen him get some power play time, too, which surprised me a bit, but his play has certainly warranted it. He's been strong on the forecheck and with the puck - something the rest of the team needs to begin to pick up on.

Finally, there hasn't been any official word on whether or not Henrik Lundqvist will start in goal tomorrow night against the Bruins after he was pulled in the second period on Sunday night against the Penguins. Steve Zipay of Newsday Tweeted that he doesn't expect Lundqvist to get a full game off "until he gets a win or two." My personal opinion? I see Marty Biron getting the start in goal on Thursday night in Philly. Biron has played well against the Flyers in the past and it seems like a good time to give him his first start of the season since it'll be the Rangers' fourth game in six nights. I don't think Lundqvist has been terrible, but it's clear he is very rusty from all the time off since his last meaningful game last April. I think he'll be fine, but like the rest of the team, he doesn't have the benefit of having an 82-game schedule to figure things out.

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. Flyers Tonight At 7 p.m.

The Rangers are back at it tonight against the Flyers, and will once again look to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division. The Rangers need just one point or a Penguins loss to do so. The Rangers will look to sweep the season series against the Flyers tonight and move to 6-0-0 against them on the season.

Same lineups for the Rangers tonight as Sunday against the Bruins, meaning Henrik Lundqvist will start his tenth straight game. As I said on Sunday, I think the only way the Rangers will play Marty Biron again this season is if the Rangers clinch everything before the last game of the season against Washington.

There has been a ton of fighting in the Rangers-Flyers series this season, so I wouldn't be surprised to see players on both teams drop the gloves early to try and set a tone for the game. It's interesting to note that Jody Shelley is in the lineup for the Flyers and will play against the Rangers for the first time since December. If you don't remember, Shelley and Brandon Dubinsky took several verbal jabs at each other on 24/7 leading up to the Winter Classic.

For the Flyers, Ilya Bryzgalov will start in goal after missing the last three games with an injured foot. Bryzgalov went 10-2-1 with a 1.43 GAA in the month of March, but he's 0-2 with a 4.11 GAA against the Rangers this season. Danny Briere, who was injured in the Flyers' Sunday afternoon game against the Penguins, will miss the game and is out indefinitely with a back injury.

Also, a reminder that the game is on MSG2 tonight. The Knicks are on MSG and the Devils are on MSG+.

Lundqvist Back In Goal For Rangers vs. Jets Tonight

As the Rangers and Jets get set to faceoff in just a matter of minutes, Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal for the Rangers as they look to move five points ahead of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. This marks the second consecutive back-to-back series of games in which Lundqvist has started both games, and it's hard to envision a scenario in which Marty Biron will play again this year. I thought this may be the last game of the season where John Tortorella would try and get Biron some work, but it's clear the Rangers are planning to ride King Henrik the rest of the way heading into the playoffs. Personally, I think it's a smart move. Lundqvist is the type of goalie who thrives on competition and playing as much as possible, and with the recent funk he's been in I think this is the only way for him to snap out of it and get back to playing at the top of his game.

Same lineups for the Rangers tonight as last night in Minnesota. The Rangers are 3-0 so far against the Winnipeg Jets this season and will look to sweep the season series tonight.

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 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.

Biron Starts In Goal Tonight Versus Devils, Staal Coming Along Slowly

In what would qualify to me as very surprising news, John Tortorella announced today that Martin Biron will start in goal tonight against the Devils in Newark. According to the Daily News, this will break a string of 32 consecutive starts for Henrik Lundqvist against the Devils. The last time Lundqvist wasn't in goal when the Rangers faced the Devils was Dec. 17, 2006 at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Weeekes started in goal that night and the Rangers lost to the Devils 6-1. Hopefully, tonight will have a much better outcome for the Blueshirts.

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.

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 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.

Rangers Defeat Sharks 5-2

It took a while, but the Rangers finally got that complete game, 60 minute effort from start to finish tonight that they've been lacking so far this season. Powered by Ryan Callahan's 2 G, 1 A effort, the Rangers beat the Sharks by a final score of 5-2. They also outshot the Sharks 31-26 - the first time the Rangers have outshot an opponent this season.

As you can see from the picture above, Ryan Callahan was awarded the Broadway Hat, and was also the game's first star tonight.

The Rangers really got plenty of contributions from everybody tonight. Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov scored their first goals of the season and Erik Christensen added two assists, including a beautiful feed on a Callahan power play goal. Ryan McDonagh also scored his third goal of the season after scoring two goals combined with the Rangers and Connecticut Whale last season. Wojtek Wolski didn't record a point in the game, but today was easily his best game of the season. He registered a game-high seven shots on goal while playing primarily with Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik tonight and was very involved in the offensive zone from start to finish. Although Brandon Dubinsky registered no shots on goal, he picked up two assists and shot just wide on two or three occasions. He seemed just a hair off and if he continues with games like these, the goals will come soon enough.

Marty Biron was solid in the net tonight, making 24 saves. It wasn't an easy night in goal for Biron by any stretch of the imagination, as he was often times barraged with shots in the second period when the Sharks tied the game 2-2, but Biron held his ground and played as well as you could want your backup to play.

You can view the boxscore to the game here.

Tomorrow at noon we will learn if Sean Avery has cleared waivers and if No. 16 will rejoin the Rangers for his third tour of duty with the Blueshirts. More news to come then.

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 Re-Sign Goalie Chad Johnson

Some minor news to mention: the Rangers have agreed to terms with RFA goalie Chad Johnson on a one-year, two-way deal worth $525,000. Johnson has spent the majority of the past two seasons playing for the Rangers' AHL affiliate, but he's seen some time with the big club after the Rangers waived Steve Valiquette two seasons ago, and again last season after Marty Biron broke his collarbone and missed the last several weeks of the season. Overall, the 25-year-old has put up a 2.59 GAA and .911 save percentage in six games with the Rangers.

Johnson struggled mightily last season with the Connecticut Whale, posting a 2.72 GAA and .901 save percentage while compiling a 16-19-3 record in 40 games. Johnson, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2009, will provide goaltending depth for the Rangers in the minors this season as insurance for Marty Biron and Henrik Lundqvist.