Rangers Rout Caps 5-0, Move On To Face Bruins In Eastern Conference Semifinals

The New York Rangers are moving on. After playing the last two days with their backs up against the wall and on the brink of elimination, the Rangers finished off the Capitals in a 5-0 drubbing tonight that was capped off by a 35-save performance from Henrik Lundqvist that gave him his second consecutive shutout.

The Rangers will play the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which begins in Boston on Thursday night at 7:30 ET.

After being shutout in two games in the series and losing all three road games while combining to score just two goals (!!) in those three road games, the Rangers exploded for five goals in Washington tonight, coming from Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello.

Just like we all predicted, right?

I didn't think the Rangers started out all that aggressively, which was to be expected, but late in the first period came the biggest sequence of the game, in my opinion, when Henrik Lundqvist stopped a tough shot from Mike Green after Chris Kreider failed to pick up his man while coming off the bench during a line change. Kreider picked the puck up and carried it down the ice before delivering a beautiful drop-pass to Arron Asham, who fired a perfect shot to beat Braden Holtby for the first (and eventual game-winning) goal of the game. The Rangers survived the first period with a lead despite being out-shot 13-9, and tacked on another two quick goals in the second period after Taylor Pyatt slammed home a loose puck in front of the net after Holtby stopped Derek Dorsett's shot. Exactly two minutes later, Michael Del Zotto's pass that was intended for Mats Zuccarello in front of the net from the left point deflected off a Capitals player's skate and beat Holtby five hole style. I think we all felt very comfortable with taking a three-goal lead into the third period...until the Bruins came back to beat the Maple Leafs and scored three unanswered goals to tie the game with just six minutes left in the third period and their season on the line. But that small seed of doubt was short-lived because Ryan Callahan put the nail in the Capitals' coffin with a fourth goal just 13 seconds into the third period on a breakaway that came off a Caps turnover in the neutral zone. Just for fun, Mats Zuccarello added another goal when he almost shook Braden Holtby out of his pads on a beautiful move alone in front of the net. From then on out the only question left was if the Rangers could help King Henrik record his second shutout in as many days, which they did.

I thought the biggest difference between this game and the others was that the Rangers never let up on offensive pressure, which I've been clamoring for since before the series even started. They had their foot on the gas tonight and never let up until the final buzzer sounded. They kept attacking and kept chipping away, and it ultimately resulted in the biggest margin of victory for either team in this series. It also makes it one heck of a lot less stressful on the fans when they're not clinging to a one-goal lead for the entire third period as an added bonus, too.

Derick Brassard, who was easily the Rangers' offensive MVP in this series, capped off his outstanding playoff performance with two assists tonight and finished the series with two goals and seven assists for nine points. Even more impressive? All of his points came in the last five games of the series. Brassard has been nothing short of spectacular since coming over from the Blue Jackets in the Marian Gaborik trade, and the kid is showing why he was a former first-round pick.

What can really be said about Henrik Lundqvist that hasn't already been said? His comments after Game 5 that this series wasn't over even though the Rangers found themselves trailing 3-2 certainly rang true, and Lundqvist once again put this team on his back and got them through this series. The King registered back-to-back shutouts in Games 6 and 7, which has only been done four times in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. From hearing Lundqvist talk and seeing his body language the past few days in net, you could just tell he was not going to be denied moving onto the next round. There was something about the way he played where I just felt like this guy wasn't going to be beaten. He had his game face on and rebounded with six straight outstanding performances after a shaky Game 1 to open this series that were capped off with a 27-save shutout in Game 6 and a 35-save shutout in Game 7. The Capitals admittedly threw anything and everything they could at Lundqvist these past two days and he stopped them all. It was just Henrik Lundqvist at his absolute best.

Some other thoughts and notes from the game:

- The Rangers came back to win this series after trailing 2-0 for the third time in franchise history, and the first since 1997.

- This marked the first Game 7 the Rangers have won on the road in franchise history.

- The Rangers got a ton of secondary scoring in this series after struggling in that area for a large part of the regular season up until the trade deadline. Unlikely heroes Taylor Pyatt, Carl Hagelin, Arron Asham and Brian Boyle all chipped in with big goals in this series (two a piece for Hagelin, Asham and Boyle) while the Rangers' top offensive players in Rick Nash, Brad Richards, Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan combined for just four goals in the series. The bottom six carried the Rangers through this series, but it's not fair (and extremely unlikely) to expect them to be able to do it again in the next round. That being said, it was great to see some of the secondary players step up big time for the Rangers in this series when all four struggled mightily at one point or another during the season to produce any sort of offense.

- Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi both deserve tons and tons of credit for the way they contained Alexander Ovechkin in this series. Ovechkin had just one goal in the series, which came in Game 1, and tonight he registered only one shot on goal. He was throwing his body around the entire game, though, and ended up with a game-high 13 hits (including one that I thought was a boarding call on Ryan McDonagh that required stitches and left McDonagh with a black eye), but I'll trade hits from Ovechkin over goals any day of the week. McDonagh and Girardi are back playing as good as they did towards the end of last year, if not better, and both guys are true warriors when you see the punishment they take and handout over the course of an entire game.

- In addition to McDonagh and Girardi, credit has to be given to both Anton Stralman and Steve Eminger for how good they were in this series. Stralman, to me, played his best hockey as a Ranger in this series and was a very underrated player in this series for the Rangers. I said before the series that the Rangers would need him to step up and help fill the void that Marc Staal left. Well, he did that and then some. Stralman has been a steady defenseman for the Rangers the past two years, and in this series he was an absolute anchor. Eminger, too, deserves credit for being able to step in on the third pairing and deliver a steady presence throughout this series, and he chipped in with two big assists in tonight's game.

- Rick Nash didn't score today, but he did register an assist and finished with a plus-two rating. Tonight was easily Nash's best game of the series. I still do believe there's some type of injury that he's hiding, but that doesn't really matter. The Rangers will need Rick Nash to be Rick Nash in the next round against the Bruins.

- I absolutely have loved what I've seen from Derek Dorsett so far. He brings a lot of physical play and has an edge to his game similar to Brandon Prust and Sean Avery, and tonight was easily his best game as a Ranger. He finished with an assist, a plus-1 rating and four shots in 15:32 TOI. He also hit the crossbar on the play that eventually led to Michael Del Zotto's goal. Dorsett was hitting everybody when he was out there on the ice tonight, and he's shown a lot more

- The Rangers finished the series 2-for-28 on the power play, which is obviously terrible. I really believe with the way Lundqvist played the Rangers could have won this series in five or six games if they had even an average power play. There's no doubt they'll have to dramatically improve things here heading into the next series against Boston.

- Anton Stralman and Michael Del Zotto both finished with a game-high plus-3 rating on the night.

- After playing just over nine minutes in last night's game, Brad Richards finished with just 11:12 TOI while centering the fourth line for the second straight day.

- Mats Zuccarello led the Rangers with a team-high five shots on goal and finished the series with one goal and four assists. His goal tonight was the first postseason goal of his career. I admittedly was never the biggest fan of Zucc, but it's ridiculous how much of a different dynamic he's added to this team since coming over from the KHL. Zuccarello's vision and playmaking skills are amongst the best on the team and, as we saw tonight and in just about all of his shootout attempts, he's got such quick hands. To me, he's played his way onto the roster next season already. I think he's been a fantastic addition and I'm willing to eat crow on this one.

That's it for tonight. More to come in the next few days as the Rangers get set to battle (and it will be a battle) the Bruins starting on Thursday. We all get a couple of days off to calm our nerves before doing it all over again. That, however, is a great problem to have versus having to wait until September to see the Rangers on the ice again.

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 Eliminate Devils From Playoff Race Thanks To Callahan, Lundqvist

The New York Rangers officially eliminated the New Jersey Devils from the playoff race today with a 4-1 victory this afternoon at the Garden. The Rangers were led by Ryan Callahan, who had two goals, and got the scoring started just 34 seconds into the game with a nifty backhand from behind the net after Devils goaltender Marty Brodeur lost track of the puck. Brad Richards also registered two assists, extending his point streak to three games, while Taylor Pyatt and Derek Stepan tallied the other two goals in the game. Henrik Lundqvist was back at his best, stopping 26 of 27 shots on goal.

With today's win, the Rangers moved three points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers, who have now won three straight games in which they've outscored their opposition by a score of 18-6, are now tied with the Ottawa Senators in points (52) and are one point behind the Islanders in the standings, as well.

Right from the beginning you could tell the Rangers were on their game. They showed intense pressure on the forecheck all night long and sure didn't look like a team who has played three games in the last four days. I thought the Rangers made Marty Brodeur look like the same average goaltender he's looked like for the majority of the past few years. Ryan Callahan's goal to open the scoring came when Brodeur lost track of where the puck was during a battle along the boards behind his net, and the goal he gave up to Taylor Pyatt was clearly one that Brodeur or any other NHL goaltender would tell you should've been stopped. The Rangers, to their credit, never let up on their offensive pressure all game long and seemed to rattle Brodeur every time they were around his net.

The only time this game really worried me and made me think the Devils could put up a decent fight was early in the second period. The Devils came out flying and had the Rangers pinned in their own zone for much of the first half of the second period, but Henrik Lundqvist stood tall and was fantastic when called upon to make a big stop. The Devils only out-shot the Rangers 12-10 in the period, but for the most part I thought they were the better team in the period. Once Pyatt scored his goal off an alert takeaway by Brad Richards in the Devils' zone, the game felt like it was over. Like the Sabres on Friday night, the Devils really did not show much fight in this game and certainly didn't play like a team who needed to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. They were uncharacteristically undisciplined and took eight penalties in the game, including an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Patrik Elias in the third period that essentially killed any chance the Devils had of getting back in the game, and two bench minors from head coach Peter DeBoer barking at the officials (the second of which got him ejected at 19:25 of the third period). Very odd at how quickly the team seemed to unravel.

Anyway, here are some notes from the game tonight:

- Derek Stepan continued his torrid pace this month with a goal and an assist today and now has a four-game point streak (two goals and four assists). He has been held scoreless in just one game this month (April 13 against the Islanders) and overall has posted six goals and nine assists for 15 points and a plus-11 rating in 11 games in April. The kid is quickly becoming this team's No. 1 center on the roster and has matured tremendously over the last year and a half.

- Brad Richards has a three-game point streak, tying his longest of the season, and has posted four goals and three assists for seven points in that span to go along with a plus-4 rating. In 11 games this month, Richards has tallied five goals and seven assists for 12 points. He's looked like a totally different player since the trade deadline.

- John Moore had a total of 3:15 of power play time tonight a few games after John Tortorella expressed a desire to get him more involved on the power play. I think Moore has looked more and more comfortable each game he's played and you can see him taking more and more chances on offense when he has the puck on his stick. Overall, he had 14:11 TOI today, which was his highest total since becoming a Ranger.

- Taylor Pyatt's goal was his first since February 26 against the Winnipeg Jets. I knew he hadn't scored in a long, long time, but I didn't know it was that long. Amazingly, Pyatt now has a three-game point streak since being moved up to play on Brad Richards' line after Brian Boyle's leg injury and has one goal and two assists in his last three games. Before that, the last time he had recorded a point was...you guessed it, February 26 against the Jets.

- Arron Asham actually got 22 seconds of power play time in today's game. Maybe Torts owed him a favor? In all seriousness, though, tonight seemed like a game in which Asham was noticeable on just about every shift and getting under the Devils' skin all day long. Tonight was probably one of Asham's best games as a Ranger. He was throwing hits and mixing it up with the Devils every chance he got, which is all you can ask for from a scrappy fourth line agitator. Asham received a 10-minute misconduct at the end of the game, but I didn't see or hear what the reasoning for it was.

- Ryan Callahan recorded his team-leading sixth power play goal of the season and the captain now has a four-game point streak of his own (three goals and three assists).

- Dan Girardi led all skaters with 27:00 TOI.

That's it for today. The Rangers are off tomorrow before taking on the Panthers Tuesday in Florida. After that it's a match up with the Hurricanes in Carolina on Thursday and then the regular season finale against the Devils from the Garden on Saturday.

Reports: Rangers Re-Sign LW Mats Zuccarello

In the Rangers' latest move as they continue to retool their roster, the Rangers have reportedly agreed to a contract with LW Mats Zuccarello, according to The Bergen Record's Andrew Gross. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but Zuccarello had previously said it would have to be a one-way, two-year deal for him to return to the Rangers since he still had an additional year on his KHL contract following this season.

The Rangers have yet to officially announce the deal, but Zuke's agent, Erik Ryman, sent out a Tweet earlier today in Norwegian that loosely translates to "Zuccarello is looking forward to getting the chance again to show what he can do in the NHL."

Unlike other international free agents, Mats Zuccarello does not have to pass through waivers since he is still technically Rangers property and was placed on the restricted list lat the end of last season.

The re-signing of Zuccarello is the third roster move the Rangers have made within the last three days, after they waived C Jeff Halpern (claimed by the Montreal Canadiens) and D/RW Stu Bickel (cleared waivers; assigned to the Connecticut Whale). Gross, who has been all over the Rangers being interested in reuniting with Zuccarello since his KHL season ended, seems to believe that Zuke's signing could be a precursor to a bigger move prior to the April 3 trade deadline, noting that "San Jose Sharks scout John Ferguson Jr. has been at the majority of Rangers’ games this season and surely Tortorella would love a reunion with his former Lightning power-play quarterback Dan Boyle." We shall see.

Zuccarello has posted eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 52 career NHL games with the Rangers, with 10 of those assists coming on the power play. He immediately adds playmaking ability to the lineup and should provide some secondary scoring that the Rangers are in dire need of. If nothing else, he provides an upgrade on what they previously had and doesn't cost and picks or players to acquire. Zuccarello hasn't played in a few weeks since his KHL season ended, so I'm not quite sure when we might see him suit up. With J.T. Miller nursing a wrist injury, it would probably make sense for Zuccarello to replace Taylor Pyatt in the lineup, who has just one goal and zero assists in his last 23 games, including 13 straight without a point. That would allow Kris Newbury to remain in the lineup centering the fourth line after a strong showing yesterday against the Capitals until Miller is able to return. The Rangers, of course, could always opt to send Miller back down to the Whale, too, given that he hasn't scored a goal in 20 games, although John Tortorella has been impressed with the youngster's two-way play lately.

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.

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.