Russian Line Shines, Rangers Fall to Wings

The Rangers may have blown a two goal lead in the third period, but the pre-season is not about winning or losing, but more about evaluating players and whether or not they will fit into this year's lineup. Well, the Russian line (Grachev-Anisimov-Lisin) was the best for the Blueshirts tonight, and have made a good case as to why they should be a part of this season's Ranger team.

It all began when 21-year old center Artem Anisimov came flying into the offensive zone, where he put a magnificent move on the Red Wing defense, pulled back and launched a laser over the shoulder of goaltender Chris Osgood. Right at that moment, if you were not aware of the talent that Anisimov holds, you were made fully aware of that talent, and why he is talked about so highly within the organization. Anisimov played well in his first pre-season game a few nights back against Boston, but he was a standout in this contest, being strong on the puck, using his vision to make passes, and putting 100% effort into his game every time he took a shift. AA, as he is commonly referred to as, had both a goal and an assist against the Wings tonight in Detroit.

Another player that has been the talk of Ranger fans for the past year has been 19-year old winger Evgeny Grachev, who I would rank as number one among all current Blueshirt prospects. Grachev has the size, the strength, and most of all, the skill to take over a game, and become a dynamic hockey player in the NHL. We have seen improvement in Evgeny's game as each pre-season game goes by, and in each game, he has made his presence obvious, and has been a difference maker as far as the offense goes. The former OHL rookie of the year recorded an assist on Lisin's goal, when he used his strength to drive to the net with the puck, made the back-hand deke which was denied by Osgod, but Enver Lisin followed up on the rebound.

Speaking of Lisin, the newly acquired winger is also getting a long look by the Ranger coaching staff, and is definitely a consideration for a spot on this year's roster. Lisin was criticized in Phoenix for being a "one-way" player, not performing well on the defensive side of the puck, but I must say that I have not noticed that too much in his past three games, but have noticed him more when he has the puck and gets his legs moving. Lisin is one of the faster players I have ever seen while carrying the puck, and is a great fit with fellow Russian mates, Anisimov and Grachev. The line showed great chemistry tonight, and I would not be surprised if we see this line together again on Monday, maybe even tomorrow in Boston.

Another offensive factor in this game, believe it or not, was the line of Brashear-Boye-Voros. This line applied constant pressure on the forecheck, and probably spent the most time on the attack for the Rangers, and in return, saw a lot of ice time in the contest.

Now to shift to the defense, which was solid through two, but had a rough time in the third stanza. I felt like the new additions to the lineup, Sanguinetti and Heikkinen both had strong games, Sangs more than Heikkinen, but each were impressive.

Sanguinetti was very responsible in his own zone, and was efficient when making the outlet pass on the rush. One individual play that stands out is when Detroit was sent out on the breakaway, and Sangs came out of nowhere, getting a peice of the shot with his stick and forcing it wide. We could possible see Sanguinetti get another look tomorrow in Boston, if not on Monday.

Ilkka Heikkinen, like Sanguinetti, played well in his own zone, blocking shots, and showing the effort, but Joe Micheletti of MSG summarized Ilkka best, saying that he is good at what he does, but not great. With that said, if he can take his average skills, and combine them into one combined player, he will become a decent defenseman in the NHL one day. There were a few times in this game where Heikkinen passed up the shot to make a pass, but that could just be a confidence thing, being that it was his first game of North American hockey.

Michal Rozsival, after being indirectly criticized by head coach John Tortorella in the media yesterday, seemed lost on the ice for the second straight night. He is nowhere in position, terrible on the powerplay, and not clutch when passing by any means. It is pre-season, so I will gove Rozy a bit of a break for now, but this must change by the regular season, because he will find himself getting shipped out of New York, just as Gomez was, if he doesn't turn things around in 2009-10.

Rozsival's defensive partner tonight, Wade Redden, I felt, has been playing well in the pre-season so far. Wade is being more aggressive in his own zone and best of all, is taking shots when the situation calls for one. Redden would always be hesitant about letting one go from the point in past years, but it seems like Tortorella has changed that. I also noticed Redden joining the rush more often, and making good passes through the neutral zone. There is still some work to be done in the defensive zone, but he is at least beginning to come along.

Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular in net for the Rangers tonight, playing a little over thirty minutes, and not allowing a goal in that span. Lundqvist robbed Red Wing forward Dan Cleary at least three times in the first period, and played like it was game number forty of the regular season. Unlike last season, Lundqvist has been red hot in these exhibition games, and I am looking forward to seing this continue into the regular season which is only two weeks away.

Unfortunately Lundqvist's shutout was ruined when replacement Matt Zaba allowed four goals in the fourth period to give the Wings the lead that they never looked back on after gaining.

The Blueshirts will now head out to Boston, where they will go head to head with the Bruins at 4pm tomorrow afternoon. More on that and Marian Gaborik tomorrow.....
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)