News, Notes, Thoughts Following Breakup Day For Rangers

The Rangers' coaching staff and players met with the media yesterday for the final time before cleaning out their lockers and packing up for the offseason. It's never a fun scene, and certainly isn't something I enjoy having to read and write about this early in the year because it means the Rangers have fallen short of winning the Stanley Cup, but unfortunately that's the way it goes.

No surprise here, but Rangers GM Glen Sather was not made available to the media. He never meets with the media on breakup day anyway, so I don't think this has anything to do with his ongoing treatment he's been undergoing for prostate cancer.

There will be plenty of time to dissect the Rangers' needs and moves they have to make this offseason, but for now I'll just sum up my basic thoughts on what I think the team needs to do, and what will actually happen. Below you can find those thoughts, along with injury updates and comments from the players following their season-ending loss on Saturday:

- The No. 1 priority for the Rangers should, and will likely be, coming to terms on a new contract extension for Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist has one more year left on his current deal. I don't expect negotiations to take long considering the Rangers are probably a bottom-five team in the league without The King holding down the fort. They know how much they need him, and I expect Glen Sather to work dilegently on reaching a new contract agreement with Lundqvist this summer. Lundqvist will likely become the highest paid goaltender in the league, as he rightfully should, and I think there's basically zero chance he will ever leave New York. I know a lot of people are freaking out for some reason just because Lundqvist sort of brushed off contract extension talks when he met with the media on Monday, but it's really not a big deal to me at all. Lundqvist wants to win here, he owns a restaurant in Tribeca with Sean Avery and he's raising his family in the City. Henrik loves New York and knows how marketable he is playing here. He's going nowhere.

- The No. 2 priority (priorities?) will be the Rangers re-signing their restricted free agents this offseason, Carl Hagelin, Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan. I don't think negotiations will be too hectic for any of the three. My guess is that Glen Sather will likely look to lockup McDonagh and Stepan long-term while handing Hagelin maybe a two or three-year deal.

- John Tortorella will be back as head coach next season, but I still have a ton of questions over whether or not he's truly the right guy for this job. The power play has been abysmal during his tenure here as head coach, and this team has way too much talent to be scratching and clawing to win one goal-games all the time. Glen Sather has gone out and gotten guys that John Tortorella has wanted, but the results have still mostly been the same. The Rangers will not win a Stanley Cup with this current system they have in place. John Tortorella simply has to realize that there needs to be a much more offensively-charged game plan to fit the styles of Rick Nash, Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard. The Rangers' biggest problem, and I've said this all season long, is that they tried to play like last year's team when the personnel was drastically different. If Torts can't realize that shot blocking and trying to win every game 2-1 when you have a superstar goal-scorer in Rick Nash on your team, then I fully expect the Rangers will once again be an inconsistent team next season and John Tortorella will be fired by December. I'm willing to give John Tortorella the benefit of the doubt and hope that he's smart enough to realize he needs to change his system during a normal full offseason since the lockout screwed everything up last year, but only time will tell.

- I firmly believe Brad Richards has played his last game as a Ranger, which is a shame. Richards had a great first season on Broadway, but struggled in his second season and was relegated to skating on the fourth line until John Tortorella made him a healthy scratch in Games 4 and 5 against the Bruins. When your head coach no longer has your back, you're done. Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported yesterday that sources close to Richards said he was furious over being a healthy scratch for the final two games in the series. I still think Richards has a ton of good hockey left in the tank and believe it's absurd to cast him aside after one poor, lockout-shortened season. This isn't a case of Chris Drury or Scott Gomez, in my opinion. The talent is still there, and I don't see anything glaring in Richards' game to make me believe he's dropped off the way Drury did. I'd like to believe the Rangers will have second thoughts and realize that keeping Richie makes sense, but we'll see. The Rangers have one more amnesty clause that they can use (the first was used on Wade Redden's contract), and Richards is the prime target should they choose to pull the trigger this offseason. John Tortorella wouldn't comment on Richards, only saying he thinks he'll rebound and that the decision will ultimately be up to Glen Sather on whether to bring Richie back. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the guy who wanted Richards here the most out of anyone in the organization two years ago.

- Needless to say, Roman Hamrlik has played his last game as a New York Ranger, and he predictably showed everybody why he never should've been in the lineup with his terrible play and two gaffs last night. I also don't expect Taylor Pyatt, Darroll Powe and Arron Asham to all be back next season. There's just too much dead weight there, and the Rangers need to get deeper in their bottom six group of forwards. Derek Dorsett will be back, and I think could turn into a real nice addition for the fourth line. His game reminds me a lot of Brandon Prust, and I think the coaching staff feels the same way. Matt Gilroy will be gone. I wouldn't mind keeping Steve Eminger around as the proverbial seventh d-man, but I think the Rangers will try and find an upgrade for that role if they can.

- Chris Kreider absolutely needs to be on this team next season, and he needs to be getting a ton of minutes on one of the top two lines. He has too much talent, as we saw in the playoffs, to be getting seven minutes a night on the fourth line.

- J.T. Miller will likely only make the team if the Rangers decide to cut ties with Brad Richards. I still think his game is very raw and he could use some more tooling down in Hartford, though. It wouldn't make sense for him to make the team playing on the fourth line if Richards is still here next season.

- I think the Rangers would be interested in bringing Ryane Clowe back if he has any interest in doing a one or two-year deal. Even two might be a stretch. They played like a different team when he was in the lineup, and he clearly provided a ton of toughness and leadership that this team has lacked throughout this season. Clowe said he wants to come back, and also wouldn't confirm whether or not he did in fact suffer a concussion in the first round series against the Capitals.

- Speaking of concussions, Darroll Powe confirmed that he did suffer his second concussion of the season in the first round against the Capitals.

- Anton Stralman confirmed that he suffered a separated shoulder and multiple facial fractures on the hit from Milan Lucic that forced him to miss the final two games of the series against the Bruins. Stralman said that he could've played through the facial fractures, but the shoulder was what kept him out of the lineup.

- Rick Nash said he thought he was "good" in the playoffs this year when asked to rate his overall performance. I can't say I agree with him considering he only scored one goal in 12 games. I thought the effort was there, though, and I'm still convinced he was playing hurt. There were rumors he was battling through a back issue, but Nash didn't confirm that he was suffering from any injuries.

- Marc Staal admitted that the vision in his right eye may never fully return to being 100 percent, but he said he doesn't think it'll be an issue after going through a regular offseason and getting used to playing with it. Staal did say, though, that his vision has continued to improve day by day, which is obviously good. I think he'll be fine next season, and it's clear this is just something he has to adjust to and get comfortable playing with. It's a shame that he might never fully regain the vision in his right eye, but it's clear that this isn't something that is potentially career-ending, which is obviously good.

- Brian Boyle, to his credit, said he "sucked" this year and admitted he came into this season out of shape from not playing at all during the lockout. He said he let himself and his teammates down, and it's hard for me to disagree with him. He was awful for a large part of this season, but it's clear not playing during the lockout hurt a lot of players this season, Brad Richards included.

- Mats Zuccarello should be brought back next season. He's proven to me that he can play in the NHL, and his playmaking ability is maybe the best on the Rangers. I wasn't always the biggest Zucc fan, but he looked like a totally different player this year and just seemed much more decisive and confident with the puck. There's no doubt in my mind that the Rangers should work on bringing him back. Zucc said he would prefer to re-sign with the Rangers rather than going back to play in the KHL.

- The Rangers have to give serious thought about trading Michael Del Zotto. The mistakes he is still making are just scary when you consider this was already his third year in the league. I know the talent is there, but for a team that relies so much on defense, he's a liability out there on the ice. The giveaways and constantly being caught up the ice when an odd man rush breaks out the other way is insanely aggravating to watch. I'm really beginning to wonder whether Del Zotto will ever put it all together, and if he does whether or not it will be in New York.

For more direct quotes from John Tortorella and the players, you can check them out courtesy of Andrew Gross, here.

That's it for now. I'll stick around all offseason, as usual, but expect things to be dead surrounding the Rangers for a few weeks. They don't have their organizational meetings until towards the end of June, so things will most likely be uneventful until the draft next month at the earliest. I'll definitely be sticking around to report on any news that breaks, though, and like I said above, I'll probably post my full thoughts on the season sometime within the next week or so.

Thanks again to everybody for reading the blog again this season!

Rangers and Caps Faceoff Tonight In Do-Or-Die Game 7

It all comes down to this. The Rangers and Capitals will play Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tonight in Washington to decide who will move on and who will officially begin their offseason come tomorrow. After winning a thrilling Game 6 by a final score of 1-0 last night at the Garden thanks to a phenomenal 27-save shutout from Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers will have to be the first team in this series to win a road game if they want their season to live on. Tonight's Game 7 will be the Rangers' third Game 7 in their last four playoff series' dating back to last year.

Come on - you didn't actually think this team would make any of this easy, did you?

If there's one thing we've learned from this series it's that the Rangers cannot get away with playing the same type of game they have played at home as the one they'll play on the road tonight. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't try. The conservative approach has barely worked in their three victories at home in this series and it has fallen short in all three road losses. Sitting on a one goal lead in your own building with the crowd behind you is one thing, and trying to do it on the road is another. I said before this series started that the Rangers would need to attack and be more aggressive and they simply haven't. If they lose tonight, that will be the story of the series and ultimately what did the Rangers in. I think it's a mistake to go into a conservative dump-the-puck-deep-and-go-for-a-line-change style of play every time they take a lead, and I'm a firm believer that this team needs to be much more aggressive in trying to score that critical put away goal instead of expecting Henrik Lundqvist to be perfect in every game.

Some notes and things to look for in tonight's game:

- With their backs against the wall yesterday, the Rangers came out flying and fired anything and everything at net. I don't expect that same approach tonight. I think the Rangers will once again try and survive the first period and try to chip in an early goal without being overly aggressive. They'll try to weather the storm and let the emotions and intensity level of the Caps and their home crowd die down before they get going, in my opinion.

- The Rangers have managed to score a total of two goals in all three road games in Washington this series.

- Rangers announcer Joe Micheletti said after last night's game that he thinks Rick Nash (no goals, one assist in six games this series) is playing hurt because he isn't showing the same burst to get around defenders that he was earlier this year. It's a fair point, and Micheletti certainly has a lot more insight on what's going on with the Rangers since he sees the team everyday. Nash did suffer a groin injury while playing overseas during the lockout, and also appeared to jam his knee while going hard into the boards in Game 3. The more this series goes along and the more I see Nash struggle the more I tend to agree that he has to be playing hurt. He has way too much talent to be struggling this badly.

- Derick Brassard has obviously been the Rangers' best forward in this series, recording two goals and five assists for seven points in six games. Other forwards of noteworthy performances in this series: Mats Zuccarello (no goals, four assists, plus-2 in six games), Brian Boyle (two goals, one assist, minus-2 in five games), Carl Hagelin (two goals, two assists, plus-3 in six games), Derek Stepan (two goals, zero assists, plus-1 in six games) and Ryan Callahan (zero goals, two assists, plus-1 in six games). The captain has played a good physical series so far, but tonight is where the Rangers need Cally to step up with a clutch offensive performance to move onto the next round.

- It'll be interesting to see if any of the emotion at the end of last night's game will carry over into Game 7. I don't think it will, personally, since this game is too critical for guys to lose their cool and wind up taking mindless penalties, but you never know. The Capitals have definitely shown the most frustration in this series and have taken some dumb penalties, but the Rangers' power play has done nothing to make them pay for it.

- Neither Ryane Clowe or Darroll Powe traveled with the team to Washington, meaning both are obviously out tonight. The speculation is that both players are suffering from concussions.

- No update was given on Marc Staal's status (obviously), but I'd be shocked if he played tonight.

- Both Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi played under 25 minutes last night. That means you can expect to see them a lot as the game winds down in the third period. I wouldn't be surprised if both guys finish with over 30 minutes of ice time tonight.

- Brad Richards played just 9:34 in last night's game, including just 5:35 on even strength, which is just stunning. John Tortorella hasn't been afraid to bench Richards, and if he doesn't get things going early tonight I would expect more of the same. Richards skated on the fourth line last night with Arron Asham and Chris Kreider, who both had a little over 4:00 of ice time. Richie has certainly fallen out of favor with Torts recently and it's fair to wonder what the future holds for him after this season.

Not much more needs to be said. Puck drops tonight at 8 p.m. ET. The time for talk is over, and it's time for the Rangers to go out there and show what they've got.

Powe, Nash Absent From Rangers Practice Today

Some quick updates from practice today, courtesy of Andrew Gross on Twitter:

- Rick Nash missed practice today with a "maintenance day." Nash banged up his knee pretty good while attempting a check late in the second period last night and limped off to the dressing room, but he never missed any time. It's likely that he was receiving treatment toady.

- Darroll Powe also missed practice today, but the Rangers offered no update on his condition after he left the game early in the first period of last night's game. The general belief is that he most likely suffered a concussion. Powe, as you recall, missed time earlier this season with a concussion, as well, so they'll likely be extra careful with him no matter what type of head injury he suffered.

- Ryane Clowe (head injury, believed to be concussion), who was rumored to be close to playing yesterday in Game 3 but ultimately sat out and didn't even skate in warmups, skated once again at practice today. Gotta believe it's just a wait-and-see approach with Clowe from here on out to see how he feels after every time he skates.

- A day after skating in his first game since March 5, Marc Staal skated once again today in practice without any limitations. Not a surprise, but still nice to see that he came out of yesterday's game in good shape.

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.

Captain Cally's OT Heroics Leads Rangers To Playoffs

The Rangers' race to the Stanley Cup playoffs finally culminated in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win last night against the Carolina Hurricanes, thanks to the overtime heroics of, who else, but captain Ryan Callahan. After watching Carolina dominate most of the play in the Rangers' zone in overtime, Captain Cally roofed a wrist shot just under the cross bar streaking down the left wing to beat Dan Ellis. The Captain delivered a clutch performance when his team needed him the most, and his overtime celebration was absolutely priceless.

With the Rangers winning last night and the Islanders losing, the Rangers moved into seventh place in the conference. Depending on what happens the rest of the way with other teams, the Rangers could finish the regular season as high as sixth in the standings or as low as eighth. Their first round opponent will either be the Penguins, Bruins, Capitals or Canadiens, and the Rangers will obviously be opening the playoffs on the road no matter who they play. The Winnipeg Jets have officially been eliminated from the playoffs, and as it turns out they would have been eliminated even if the Rangers lost because the Jets wound up losing to the Canadiens later on in the night.

The game, like the Rangers' entire season, was far from easy and felt like it would be an incredibly frustrating loss until Brad Richards' power play goal that bounced off the boards and went in the net after Hurricanes goalie Dan Ellis accidentally kicked it into his own net. I have to admit, after seeing the way the Rangers lost to the Panthers just two days earlier, this game had an eerily similar feeling and I was convinced that the Rangers were going to find themselves in a position where they had to beat the Devils on Saturday to be able to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed (the Jets' loss to the Canadiens wasn't final at the time the Rangers won). Thankfully, it didn't come to that. That doesn't change the fact, however, that for a majority of this game it seemed like this was going to be a frustrating loss where the Rangers outperformed their opponent in nearly every category in the boxscore, but still couldn't win. The team got off to a great start with two goals in the first period, but their play noticeably slipped in the second period and they let the Hurricanes back into the game with two goals in the second period and another quick one to start the third. I also thought the Rangers were out-chanced and outplayed for pretty much the entire overtime period until Ryan Callahan's goal.

But what does that matter? Nothing because the bottom line is the Rangers got the win and they're going to the playoffs. When they needed a big play and a big goal, their team leaders Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan stepped up and delivered in a big way.

Some notes and observations from the game:

- D-Step continued his torrid pace in April (seven goals, 10 assists for 17 points in 13 games) with a goal and an assist and overtook Rick Nash for the team lead in points (42 points in 47 games). To say that Derek Stepan has blossomed this season would be an understatement. The kid has become one of the most dynamic players on the Rangers and has left no debate that he is the team's No. 1 center. Something that I didn't realize when looking at Stepan's stats today is that he has a plus-minus rating of 23, which is sixth best in the entire league. That's a pretty telling stat when you consider that Stepan has been a top-six player all year long while getting top minutes on the team's power play and penalty killing units.

- Derick Brassard potted a goal last night and now has 11 points in 12 games with the Rangers since coming over in the Marian Gaborik trade. I wasn't originally sure of what to expect from the kid when the Rangers first got him, but he's been an awesome addition and I keep forgetting that he's only 25 years old, too.

- Brad Richards extended his point-streak to five games and has put up five goals and four assists for nine points in that span. Overall, in April he has posted 16 points in 13 games and has raised his points total on the season to a respectable 32 in 45 games. Richie's game has absolutely elevated since the trade deadline and the team made some major shakeups that included dealing Marian Gaborik to Columbus. Is it a coincidence? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. All I know is Richards has returned to form and looked like the player he was one year ago. I never wrote him off as being done the way others have at times this year, so it's nice to see my faith in him is finally paying off.

- Ryan Callahan extended his point-streak to six games with a goal and an assist last night, registering four goals and five assists during that span. Captain Cally led all forwards in the game with 26:17 TOI and led all skaters with 6 shots on goal.

- Taylor Pyatt extended his point-streak to five games (!!) with an assist last night and now has two goals and three assists for five points during that span. Pyatt has stepped up in a big way playing on the third line since Brian Boyle's knee injury, and if the Rangers can continue to get some secondary scoring out of him that would be just grand going into the playoffs.

- Matt Gilroy appeared in his first game since March 12th, and dressed as an emergency fourth forward because Arron Asham missed the game to be with his wife, who was going into labor. Gilroy took two awful tripping penalties in the game - the second of which led to a Hurricanes power play goal - and I don't think he saw the ice at all after his second penalty. He registered just 3:15 TOI, which was a game-low for anybody on either team. It's really a tough spot for Gilroy to be in, so I kind of feel for him a little bit. He was playing his first game in over a month and was it wasn't even at his natural position.

- Ryane Clowe left last night's game in the second period after taking an elbow to his head while battling for the puck along the boards on a Rangers power play and did not return to the game. He looked noticeably dazed after it happened and needed to be helped off the ice to the locker room during the next TV timeout following the hit. Clowe did not participate in practice today and the Rangers recalled forward Kris Newbury from the Connecticut Whale (AHL), which I don't take as a good sign at all. I hate to speculate, but at this point all signs point to it being a concussion, which would be a big blow to the team. Clowe isn't the flashiest player, but he's emerged as a locker room leader and brings an element of toughness and character that the Rangers previously lacked all year long until they acquired him. Either way, I don't expect John Tortorella to give any updates on his condition moving forward since the Rangers are even more tight-lipped than usual when it comes to their players' health during the playoffs.

- Despite Ryane Clowe exiting the game in the second period and not returning, Chris Kreider registered just 7:05 TOI with no power play time despite being moved up to the third line in the third period. I really don't understand what the point is of having Kreider in the lineup getting under 10 minutes a game, but I've said all I can about it at this point. All we can hope is that he takes this season as a learning experience and gives John Tortorella a reason to trust him with a bigger role next season.

- Speaking of John Tortorella, with the Rangers clinching a playoff birth I have to believe that eliminated any possibility of Torts getting fired after the season. I never thought there was much of a chance that Glen Sather would fire him anyway, but still. I'd say it's almost a 100-percent certainty Tortorella will return next season, and I'd be absolutely stunned if he doesn't considering how loyal Slats is to his coaches. Mike Sullivan, on the other hand, is another case that I hope the Rangers will review following the season.

- Rick Nash was pretty much a surprising non-factor last night, registering only two shots on goal and finishing with a minus-1 rating, and is in a small slump. In his last three games Nash has failed to record a point, registering a minus-2 rating with eight shots on goal. All I can say is get it all out of your system now, Nasher, so you can be at your best come Game 1 of the playoffs.

- The Rangers out-shot the Hurricanes 38-21. The Rangers out-shot them in the second and third periods by a combined total of 28-6.

- Despite the Rangers clinching the playoffs last night, Henrik Lundqvist said following the game that he would like to play in Saturday's regular season finale against the Devils. The game isn't completely meaningless since the Rangers could still move up in the standings, so I think there's a real shot that Lundqvist will start tomorrow at the Garden. Might as well give The King the start if he really wants it when you consider the fact that the Rangers won't be in action after tomorrow until Tuesday or Wednesday. He'll get a nice break either way.

That's it for today. The Rangers will be back at it tomorrow night against the Devils from the Garden. We should learn much more about the playoff seeding and all that by tomorrow night.

Rangers Pound Sabres For 8 Goals In Wild Friday Night Win

The Rangers strengthened their hold on the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with an eventful 8-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres last night, giving the Rangers four big points in two days after they beat the Panthers 6-1 on Thursday at the Garden. The Rangers, who were led by Brad Richards' first career hat trick, have now scored 14 goals in two nights and will take on the Devils tomorrow afternoon.

The Rangers, now 23-17-4 sit at 50 points for the season while the Jets have 49 after this afternoon's 5-4 shootout win against the Islanders, though the Jets (49 points) and Islanders (53 points) have both played one game more than the Rangers so far this year. The Senators have 57 points and are seventh in the conference.

Last night's game was very bizarre to say the least. The game got off to a slow start with neither team generating much of anything on offense until Carl Hagelin beat Ryan Miller on a wraparound  at 18:42 of the first period. Brad Richards added his first goal of the night off a deflected slap shot less than a minute later at 19:39 and Ryane Clowe got a gift goal 17 seconds later after Ryan Miller misplayed a clearing attempt with just four seconds left in the period, and within a blink of an eye the Rangers had a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.

The second period opened with more of the same. Anton Stralman scored a goal off a wrist shot from the right circle 1:13 into the second period that chased Ryan Miller from the game, and Richards potted his second of the night 27 seconds later. Rick Nash added another goal at 7:05 and before you knew it the Rangers had a 6-0 lead. All good, right? Sort of. The Sabres answered with a power play goal at 13:50 from Cody Hodgson and scored another quick goal six seconds later after Nathan Gerbe intercepted a terrible Michael Del Zotto pass. Suddenly, it was 6-2 and I think every Ranger fan was instantly reminded of the Montreal Meltdown when they blew a 5-0 lead a few years back. But fear not, because Ryan Callahan answered the call 32 seconds later with a goal on a breakaway, and that was pretty much that. The Sabres added another goal to make it 7-3 going into the second intermission, but that was pretty much that. Richards got his hat trick goal 12:32 into the third period and the Sabres got one more goal in garbage time to give you a final score of 8-4. Just like how you drew it up, right?

Whew.

It certainly wasn't pretty, and was truly scary how many defensive breakdowns the Rangers had after jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Plus, Henrik Lundqvist was far from his sharpest. But two points is two points and the Rangers will gladly take it. The Rangers were benefited by a few cheap goals and weird plays that they normally never get, but anytime you score eight goals in a game it's not without some crazy luck and weird bounces. It was one of those games that was probably a coach's nightmare and I wouldn't be surprised if John Tortorella totally throws all footage of last night's game out the window since it really wasn't pretty.

Anyway, Brad Richards finally showed up in a big way. As mentioned, his hat trick was the first of his career and last night's breakout game came after he registered a goal and an assist in the third period against the Panthers the night before. If the Rangers can get Brad Richards going now, it would obviously be a gigantic boost for the team's offense going forward. Richie has struggled this year but he can definitely right the ship if he has a strong finish to the regular season and an even stronger performance in the postseason (assuming the Rangers make it).

Some other notes:

- With last night's win in regulation, the Rangers officially eliminated the Flyers and Sabres from the playoffs.

- Brad Richards now has five points (four goals, one assist) in his last two games after having one point (an assist) in the six games prior.

- Rick Nash also has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last two games and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 10 games in April.

- Derick Brassard was held without a point for the first time since April 8, but finished the game with a plus-2 rating.

- Henrik Lundqvist registered an assist on Carl Hagelin's goal, giving him his first point of the season.

- Ryane Clowe has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last two games, giving him two goals and five assists for seven points in 9 games as a Ranger, along with 14 penalty minutes.

- John Moore registered an assist in 12:51 TOI (with 16 seconds of power play time) and now has one goal and three assists for four points in 9 games as a Ranger.

- Ryan Callahan scored his first goal since April 6 against the Hurricanes.

Rangers Get Set For Rematch Against Pittsburgh Tonight

The Rangers are back in action tonight in Pittsburgh as the team concludes a home-and-home matchup against the Penguins. The lineups will remain the same (as they obviously should) and Henrik Lundqvist will once again be back in net. That means the lines tonight will be as follows:

Rick Nash-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Ryane Clowe-Brad Richards-Mats Zuccarello
Carl Hagelin-Derick Brassard-Brian Boyle
Taylor Pyatt-Darroll Powe-Arron Asham

Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh-Anton Stralman
John Moore-Steve Eminger

Marc Staal is with the team accompanying them on their road trip, but don't get too excited. Rangers beat writer Andrew Gross says it's only to see his brothers when the Rangers travel to Carolina for their game tomorrow night. Staal will reportedly not travel with the team from there once they head off to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Monday.

Also, J.T. Miller is still with the team and technically on the Rangers' active roster, although you likely won't see him back in the lineup anytime soon. Miller is once again battling through a wrist injury that he first suffered a few weeks ago. He was on the ice for optional practice today, but did not do any passing or shooting drills and considers himself "day to day." I didn't think Miller was playing particularly well anyway, so it's probably best for him to sit back and observe the team from the press box for a few games. When asked about possibly needing wrist surgery, Miller only said that it's not an option "right now."

More to come after the game tonight. I'll be very interested to see how the team overall plays tonight when you consider the fact that the Penguins are likely going to come out way more determined than they were in their 6-1 drubbing on Wednesday at the Garden. John Tortorella will need to have his team well-prepared for a different Pens team showing up tonight.

New Look Rangers Shine In 6-1 Thrashing Of Penguins

I tweeted this last night during the game: if the Rangers team I was watching last night was a dream, then I hope I never wake up.

Everything that could've possibly gone right for the Rangers last night did, and they were led to the win thanks in large part to their three newest acquisitions. Ryane Clowe, who had been previously held without a goal in 28 games with the Sharks this season, recorded his first two goals of the season and also chipped in with an assist. His stat-sheet, though, really doesn't even begin to tell the full story of the impact he had last night. Clowe was an absolute monster, hitting everybody on the ice and getting in on the forecheck during every one of his shifts. Not to be outdone, Derick Brassard added a goal and three assists of his own, while John Moore capped off the scoring with his first goal of the year and finished with 14:09 TOI.

Brassard and Moore arrived at Madison Square Garden about 15 minutes before warmups, so they barely just had enough time to meet their new coach and teammates before getting dressed and being thrown into the fray. They admitted after the game that the fact they were really running on adrenaline and had no time to sit down and let everything sink in likely played a large role in the way they played last night. John Tortorella's quote best summed things up:

“Sometimes you do too much coaching,” Tortorella said.

I believe that quote is spot on, and I don't think it's a coincidence that this team played the best it has in weeks mainly because the newest Rangers simply just went out there and played hockey without having strategies and a new system beat repeatedly into their heads. The team just looked completely re-energized right from the start. Brian Boyle played easily his best game of the season (likely because he was relieved he wasn't traded at the deadline), finishing with a goal and three assists in 16:12 TOI, including 2:14 on the power play. His goal came after he deflected a Brad Richards shot from the point on the power play to put the Rangers up 1-0 in the first period, and they never looked back. Richards also had an outstanding game, recording three assists on the night. He seemed to be skating noticeably better and looked like the elite playmaker the Rangers had last season. Ryan McDonagh also added his third goal of the season.

Interesting to note from last night is that the distribution of ice time amongst all players was spread out relatively evenly. Granted, a large part of that was likely due to the fact that the Rangers had such a large lead that they were able to give their bottom six forwards more ice time once the game was out of reach, but still. It'll be interesting to see how Torts continues to divide ice time now that Marian Gaborik is no longer here and he has a quality defenseman over John Moore, who is obviously a huge upgrade over Matt Gilroy and Roman Hamrlik on the third D-pairing.

Finally, some telling quotes from Marian Gaborik after he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday afternoon:

"I had a lot of fun in New York but the way this kind of played out that actually one team wants me and indicate they are going in the right direction and wanted to trade for me,” Gaborik added. “When I was in New York we didn’t really perform the way we should, myself included. It wasn’t the way anybody expected.”

“You can see this team is going in the right direction. I believe this change will help myself and help (New York) and help Columbus.”

“I didn’t have fun this year. I don’t think the whole team has at all, too, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

As for reports of a bad relationship with Tortorella, Gaborik, like Tortorella, downplayed any rift.

“The media makes a whole lot more than it actually is. There was nothing there for me. It was nothing personal. Sometimes we didn’t see eye-to-eye but that’s it. That’s hockey. Everybody goes through stuff like that with their coaches.”

Rangers Rants

Also, in a tremendously classy move, Gaborik took to Twitter (his first tweet in nearly two months) to thank the Rangers' organization and fans for their support during his tenure here.

I'm not fully buying all the nice-nice talk that Gaborik and John Tortorella have spoken about each other through the media within the last day, but there's no doubt both men respected each other. I firmly believe that Torts was asking Gaborik to play a style of hockey that just wasn't in his nature and Gaby had a hard time adjusting. I have no doubt Gaborik will rebound playing in Columbus, and I certainly wish him the best. Gaborik got a lot of flack from Rangers fans during his tenure here, most of which I never really understood. Gaborik had two extremely productive seasons on Broadway and gave the team one of their most thrilling wins in recent history with his game-winner in triple overtime last year against the Capitals in the playoffs.

I also thought Gaborik's comments about the team not having fun this year is pretty telling. It's never fun losing, but the team was playing noticeably looser last night for the first time all season and I don't think it's any coincidence they had their most convincing win all year.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are practicing today before heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins again tomorrow night. I don't think there's any doubt the Penguins team that shows up tomorrow night will be a hundred times better than the one that showed up last night, so the Rangers will have to be ready and well-prepared.

Reports: Rangers Acquire LW Ryane Clowe From San Jose Sharks

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

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

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

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

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

More to come later as more details unfold.