The Rangers Tribune

Fake ID

Identity is something the Rangers have lacked not only this year, but in years prior to this one. There is no indication of the Broadway Blueshirts being a great defensive team, an up-tempo offensive club, or a rough and tough squad that will out-muscle you night in and night out. There is nothing to identify this team with other than the fact that they are eliminated within the first two rounds of the playoffs each year. Unlike most team in the league, the Rangers do not have a set style of play that they are known for--an identity.

Take the New Jersey Devils for example. For as long as I can remember they have been a team in which concentrates their game on defense. Because of this, they have built up a reputation around the league for their efforts in their own zone, leading them to several Stanley Cup Championships over the years.

Then you have the Philadelphia Flyers who, as we are well aware, have always been the intimidators on the ice, or the team that uses strength and effort more than anything else to get the job done. For this, they have developed the nickname “Broadstreet Bullies”. Granted Philly has undergone some drastic changes and are now a more skilled team than they once were, but that grit and toughness remains in the lineup and will always be associated with that franchise.

So now you look at the Rangers. Well, what are they known for? What are they best at? Quite honestly, I do not have an answer to either of those questions. I do know, however, that head coach John Tortorella wants a team that plays an up-tempo, high pressure, offensive style. The problem is wanting and having are two totally different things, and right now Torts is only dreaming because the players he coaches are far from fitting the profile that he desires.

The offense is inconsistent in the way they play. Chances come in small bunches and in spurts. There is never sustained pressure from the Rangers which makes them an easy team to defend. The effort on the forecheck is minute compared to some of the other teams in this league and for the most part, they are only getting scoring from their top line. That does not make them an up-tempo offensive force by any means, and they look a lot like the club we saw coached by Tom Renney, one that cannot score goals.

Put an “X” in the offensive column.

The defense is simply lost. The positioning is horrible, they cannot clear the zone, and their fundamentals are off. There is no use in singling out specific players right now because I am viewing the defense as a whole and they are all a part of the disgusting product we see take the ice each and every night.

More often than not when I see a team that is constantly out of position and getting caught I blame the coaching staff. At this point, send the offense home, bring the defense into a room and go over video for an hour. Show them their mistakes over and over and over again until they are sick and tired of viewing themselves falling into the same trap five, ten, fifteen times. As a hockey player myself I can tell you this; when you are taken aside and shown your mistakes in a visual, and are then corrected and told what to do, almost every time you go to make that same mistake you hear the coach’s voice in your head and you remember the correct position and move you are supposed to make.

That being said, the coach also needs his players to meet him halfway by giving some effort. Some players just seem like they are out there to collect their paycheck and that is all. Make an effort to better position yourself, make an effort to use the body more often, make an effort to better execute the outlet pass. I mean, it really is not all that hard to turn yourself around. Sure you are going to make mistakes, but you can try. So far I haven’t seen that sort of mentality displayed from the Ranger Blueline and it has made them look like Swiss cheese.

Put an “X” in the defensive column.

Another problem with this roster that many of you continue to bring up in comments is the lack of grit or the “softness” of the Blueshirts. Donald Brashear was brought in here to make this club a bit tougher. Fighting every so often and losing those fights does not help this team, nor does taking stupid penalties at key times. Then there is Aaron Voros who has the will power to be a physical player but fails for lack of a better term. If I were Sather, I would bring up Dane Byers because he is more capable in all aspects of the game when comparing him to these two wastes of space.

Softness is not only an issue on offense, as the defense is pushed around a whole lot. My personal favorite moments is when the opposition plants a player in front of OUR net, and that player pushes and shoves OUR defenseman out of the way. Are you serious? Have the guts to protect our all-star goaltender and not get shoved around in your own crease. That is simply pathetic.

Put an “X” in the tough and gritty column.

So that brings us back to the question I presented earlier. What is this team good at? Offense? No. Defense? No. Physicality? No. A team that wants to find their game and improve needs an identity before they can take any progressive steps. It is like this team is trying to solve a puzzle that has no solution whatsoever, and it has haunted us fans for many years now. They have the goaltending in Lundqvist, but nothing much beyond that. They simply do not have an identity.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Pregame: Rangers Desperate for Win in Rematch with Pens

The tenth place Rangers, who have gathered just four wins in their last ten games, will be looking to change the mood among the team with a big win against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. The tilt will mark the second half of the home and home with the Pens, this one being played at the Garden, as Pittsburgh took the first game in a dominating 8-3 performance Saturday at Mellon Arena. Undoubtedly the worst defeat of the year for the Blueshirts so far, they are all hoping to forget it and are viewing tonight’s match-up as an opportunity not only as payback for the beating the other night, but for the hit by Matt Cooke on Artem Anisimov. Lucky for Cooke, he will not be playing in the contest because he will be serving the first of his two-game suspension.

In their last two games, the Rangers have allowed thirteen goals and have scored just four. This team is on a rapid decline on the path of failure and needs to get things turned around sooner rather than later. Tonight would be a tremendous confidence booster if they can come away with two points. New York really needs something to go their way right now because they have been playing some of their worst hockey since possibly the lockout.

John Tortorella, as expected, will be switching up the lineup for this game. First off, Brandon Dubinsky and Wade Redden will obviously be sidelined due to injuries, but sitting out as a healthy scratch will be Enver Lisin. Lisin, despite being dressed and on the bench, did not receive once second of ice time on Saturday. For whatever reason, I am not sure, but Torts is clearly not happy with what he has seen from the Russian winger.

Also, Sean Avery will finally be moved up to the first line with Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. If you recall, several weeks ago I stated how badly I wanted to see Avery on the first line and now I am getting my wish. Aves has been one of the few players that has played well and with energy during this horrid stretch and deserves to be rewarded for that. I believe that he will be a positive addition to the Prospal-Gaborik duo; however I could be wrong as no one has worked out on that wing just yet.

Rangers Projected Lineup:

Avery – Prospal – Gaborik
Higgins – Anisimov – Parenteau
Brashear – Drury – Callahan
Kotalik – Boyle – Voros

Gilroy – Sanguinetti
Staal – Rozsival
Del Zotto – Girardi

Lundqvist

Scratches: Dubinsky (broken hand), Redden (upper body), Enver Lisin

Much to our relief, Henrik Lundqvist will return to goal after watching back-up Steve Valiquette let eight past him in Pittsburgh. At the same time, Lundqvist has allowed four goals in two of his last three starts and has admitted that he must be better. Hopefully a night of rest did him well, because the Rangers will most likely need him to steal the game in this one if they plan on winning.

So Christopher Higgins will now move down to the second unit where he will take the place of Sean Avery. Ales Kotalik will swap with Donald Brashear, leaving him on the fourth line. Tortorella says that he hasn’t gotten what he wants from Kotalik lately, so that could be the reason for the switch. Whether or not that is the correct decision will remain unknown for now—it all depends on how Kotalik reacts.

It is about time. Tortorella, for the first time this year, will change up the defensive pairings heading into the game. In my opinion, they should have been switched a long time ago. I mean, he has made some changes during the course of a period, but the pairing of Staal and Girardi always starts but desperately needed to be broken up. The new pairing of Staal and Rozsival scares me a bit, being that both have not been playing well, but we will see how they do against the high-flying Pens.

Penguins Projected Lineup:

Talbot – Crosby – Guerin
Fedotenko – Malkin – Dupuis
Bourque – Staal – Kennedy
Adams – Rupp – Godard

Gonchar – Orpik
Eaton – Letang
Skoula – McKee

Fleury

It is said that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start once again tonight, even though he played Saturday against the Rangers. Also, Alex Goligoski will be out with Jay McKee making his return to the lineup on defense. Other than that, no changes of note from the other night for the Pens.

Live time updates available throughout the game at www.twitter.com/rangerstribune as always.
(Images courtesy of AP Photo and Reuters Pictures)

Postgame: Blueshirts Lose Three Straight, Deafeated by Pens 5-2

So not only did the Rangers lose their second straight game to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they were also outscored by a career fourth liner in Mike Rupp, who recorded a hat-trick on the night. Anyway, with this defeat the Blueshirts have now dropped three straight, continue to fall in the standings and still do not have secondary scoring to support Marian Gaborik. No, they did not play as horrible of a game as they did on Saturday or on Friday, but right now they need points and they came up with absolutely none tonight.

Marian Gaborik kicked off the scoring three minutes into the second period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead and pick up goal number 20 on the season, the first to do so in the National Hockey League. However, Sidney Crosby stormed down the ice and roofed a backhander over the shoulder of Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game just eleven seconds after Gaborik netted his. The Rangers just sort of sat back on this play and allowed Crosby to walk all the way in and set himself for the shot. That simply cannot happen and is common hockey sense. This team is not even executing the basics right now.

Mike Rupp then converted on his own rebound right off of the face-off to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. This was a combination of a centerman and defeneman mistake. Anisimov has to stay with Jordan Staal on that play, and the defender needs to get Rupp out of the crease. Neither did their job and what do you know? It ends up in your own net. Once again, it was Marian Gaborik picking up a loose puck when Chris Drury fired a one-timer from the point on the powerplay to tie it up at two late in the second stanza.

Now think about this for a minute. The Rangers possess the top goal scorer and point scorer in the National Hockey League, yet they are .500 with a 13-13-1 record. Gaborik played his best game of the year, in my opinion anyway. He fought hard, he battled for loose pucks, he put up with the nagging Brooks Orpik shadowing his every move, and buried two goals. His body was put to the test with the physicality level in this game, but he held up well and stood his ground (knock and wood) and did what he could to keep this team in the game. Unfortunately his teammates did not give him much help.

Back to the recap, the Blueshirts defense was guilty of allowing the opposition way too much time and space yet again, when Mike Rupp walked in and picked glove side on Henrik Lundqvist midway through the third. Hank should have had that one and he admitted it in the postgame meeting with the media, but again, the D needs to step up on that play. Another one Lundqvist should have had was the next goal that Sidney Crosby softly deflected for his second of the tilt. At that point it was 4-2 and Tortorella elected to pull Lundqvist, leaving Mike Rupp the empty cage to flutter a puck into from his own zone to complete the hat-trick.

I do, however, give the Rangers some credit for coming out and playing a solid first period. You cannot really say that the effort was not there tonight, because they worked hard throughout the game, but those little defensive errors and the lack of scoring continues to haunt this team and is costing them games. They did respond to Tortorella’s meetings this morning, but were not able to get the job done.

Now, I did like how Sean Avery fit into the first line with Prospal and Gaborik. I said a few weeks back that I wanted Aves to be added to that line because he would benefit it greatly with his passing abilities and relentless mindset. Well, he did exactly that tonight and is developing some chemistry with Gaborik. I notice these two talk with each other often during games and in warm-ups as well, so I think that they have a bit of a bond and friendship going on, which can also contribute to the chemistry somewhat.

As other notes, Ales Kotalik received just barely over three minutes of ice time in the contest. Tortorella did not use him at the point on the powerplay, he did not use him much at even strength, and he saw no time during the several instances in which the two clubs skated four on four. Okay, maybe he has not been great five on five, but he has been great on the powerplay and I do not understand why he wasn’t used there. Chris Drury played that position instead, and did pick up an assist in the process. Drury now has a point in each of the last three games since returning from the concussion.

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi did play much better than what we are used to. That is a good sign because these two need to get going if the defense was to get themselves out of this slump.

I know I am beating a dead horse with this, but the bottom line is that the Rangers are making costly defensive mistakes, are not scoring many goals, and are not getting much luck right now. That being said, they will have four days off until they travel to Buffalo where they will clash with the Sabres on Saturday night. I think that these four days will do them good because a lot of these mistakes that are being made are all mental. Tortorella said that the team will have the day off on Tuesday and then will resume work on Wednesday. Hopefully things will be straightened out over the break and we will see a different product on Saturday in Buffalo, but nothing is guaranteed with this squad right now.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

NHL Reviewing Cooke's Hit on Anisimov (UPDATE: Cooke Suspended 2 Games)

TSN.ca is reporting that the National Hockey League is currently investigating Matt Cooke's hit on Rangers forward Artem Anisimov in last night's 8-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Cooke came across the blueline and threw a blind side hit on Artem Anisimov, exactly the type of play the league wishes to eliminate from the game. Anyway, things went down differently this time around than when Glencross was guilty of a similar hit on Drury earlier in the month in Calgary.

First off, and most importantly, Anisimov was not injured on the play, just shaken up a bit. Secondly, the refs actually saw this one and handed out a minor for interference. This doesn't make much sense because if they want to get rid of hits like this all together, then why not increase the penalty? Oh well, at least they caught this one. Lastly, the Rangers actually responded to the hit by sending both Donald Brashear and Ryan Callahan after Cooke, as opposed to when they did nothing in Calgary.

There will most likely be a suspension to Cooke at least for tomorrow's rematch with the Rangers. Which is a good thing being that he would be targeted and would create all sorts of mayhem.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

UPDATE: The NHL has announced that Pittsburgh Penguins' forward Matt Cooke will be suspended for the next two games in addition to receiving a $29,268.30 fine for his hit on Artem Anisimov last night.

Lundqvist and Boyle Out, Valiquette and Voros In

Word from several sources (Gross, Zipay, etc.) is that Henrik Lundqvist and Brian Boyle were the only two players on the ice for the morning's skate. What that means is that both are likely out of the lineup for the Rangers in Pittsburgh tonight. Steve Valiquette and Aaron Voros will be the replacements.



In my opinion, Valiquette should have started last night in Tampa and Lundqvist in both games of the home and home. However, that will not be the case as Tortorella made yet another ignorant decision that cost this team. Valiquette in net against a club like Pittsburgh in Mellon Arena worries me for obvious reasons.



As for Boyle, I am assuming that he is out due to an injury or soreness suffered in one of the two fights he took part in last night against the Bolts. He was one of the few that had any emotion in that game, so I doubt that he would be scratched as a punishment or anything along those lines.



Rangers/Penguins Pregame coming in a bit.......

(Sent using my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry)

Pregame: Rangers Head into Pitt Wanting To Forget

Coming off of a devastating loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, the New York Rangers will head into Pittsburgh to open up a home and home series with the Championship Penguins. The Blueshirts may have played in their worst outing of the year last night and will look to quickly forget that with a win today. With that loss, the Rangers fell to tenth place in the East.

The Penguins also had a quite upsetting effort yesterday when the coughed up a lead to the Islanders in the third period of a Friday matinee. The Penguins are second in the East with 34 points.

So far we know of two lineup changes and that consists of Steve Valiquette in goal and Aaron Voros in for Brain Boyle. Having Valiquette in net against a top-notch club in the Pens is a scary thought considering he allowed five goals to a similar team in the San Jose Sharks earlier in the season. I am assuming that Boyle injured himself in one of the two fights he was a part of in Tampa which would be the logical reason as to why he will sit.

Rangers Projected Lineup (Subject to Change):

Higgins - Prospal - Gaborik
Callahan - Drury - Kotalik
Avery - Anisimov - Parenteau
Brashear - Boyle - Voros

Staal - Girardi
Sanguinetti - Gilroy
Del Zotto - Rozsival

Valiquette

Scratch(es): Redden (undisclosed), Dubinsky (broken hand), Voros

I note that the lines are subject to change solely due to the fact that Tortorella will more than likely be inputing different players into different combinations in an attempt to get more from his team. They showed close to nothing in Tampa, so I am expecting changes all throughout tonight's tilt.

The offense needs to be more passionate in their efforts, or lack off I should say. There is no emotion in their game and against a squad like Pittsburgh they will not create any prime scoring chances if they play a lack-luster game like they did last night. I blame some of this on coach Tortorella, whose job it is to motivate his boys and rile up the bench. The so called "fiery" Torts has not even been close to living up to that title lately.

However, there are the are the minority of players on this roster who take it upon themselves to try and gain energy and momentum. Thos being the Sean Averys, the Ryan Callahans, and usually the Brandon Dubinskys--who is out--and even yesterday it was Brain Boyle who stuck up for his team. I appreciate their effort but the rest of the team needs to pick their heads up and start playing hockey.

I am really unsure what to expect in Pittsburgh tonight. We could see the Rangers that we saw the first game of the season, or we could see the Rangers that have been descending in the standings for the past month. They are an inconsistent and unpredictable team with inconsistent and unpredictable management and coaching. It is as simple as that.

Penguins Projected Lineup:

Talbot - Crosby - Guerin
Dupuis -  Malkin - Fedotenko
Cooke - Staal - Bourque
Adama - Rupp - Godard

Gonchar - Orpik
Eaton - Engelland
Skoula - Lovejoy

Fleury

 I am expecting Fleury to start in this one as Johnson started on Long Island yesterday afternoon. I will not run through the Penguins lineup and tell you who is dangerous and who is not because it is pretty obvious with the Pens by now.

Any pregame lineup changes prior to puck drop will be available of Twitter.

(Images courtesy of AP Photo)

Postgame: Blueshirts Squashed By Pens in 8-3 Loss

If you thought last night's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was bad, how about an 8-3 debacle in Pittsburgh in which Sidney Crosby completes the hat-trick to top off the night? Well, like it or not that is the way it went down tonight at Mellon Arena, a crushing defeat that will sting at least until Monday. Although, the Blueshirts did display effort in the second period when they dominated the Penguins, several defensive mistakes and horrible goaltending sank this team at other times in the contest.

I guess I will start my rant with the horrific goaltending of Steve Valiquette. I was having flashbacks to last season when the Rangers lost 10-2 to the Dallas Stars, a game when, much like Saturday's, began with defensive collapses and which lead to the meltdown of Valiquette. Goals five through eight were all soft, no doubt about that, and one of them consisted the ignorant netminder coughing up the puck behind then net and instead of getting back into position, sliding aimlessly through the crease giving him no chance at saving the Crosby shot. I mean, that was basically the climax because New York had just come within one of the Pens right before that, and then Vally decides to hand them a free one on a silver platter.

For the first time in a while, I will say that a majority of the loss was on the goaltender. It was a one-goal game up until this point and all Hell seemed to break loose from there on out. That being said, I think it was wise of Tortorella not to pull Vally and put Lundqvist in the game being that he will be in net on Monday for the second of the home and home. Remember when everyone told me that Valiquette should stay when I made a post stating that he should be shipped off? Having second thoughts?

Moving along to the defense, they accounted for all three of the Ranger goals. Marc Staal, Matt Gilroy, and Michal Rozsival all found the back of the net against Marc-Andre Fleury. Staal's goal was set-up by a perfect feed from Chris Drury at the blueline, when he then made a great move around the defense and finished the pretty play with a backhanded tally. Gilroy flung a wrister that beat Fluery through an Avery screen and then Avery made his mark later in the game when he fed Rozsival for a one-timer 33 seconds into the third.

Aside from their offensive contributions, the defense was guilty on at least three of the first four goals allowed. Over and over again we see all of the players on D follow the puck in their own zone and get caught out of position. It happened on the first Crosby goal, it happened on the Talbot goal, and many others. That is something that needs to be corrected by the coaching staff because they cannot afford to go on like this for another five months.

When looking at the offense, I will give them credit for creating a great forecheck in the second stanza. They pressured the Pens into turnovers and mistakes, leaving them with many scoring chances that were not converted for goals on the scoreboard. Other than that, they were a bit streaky, but I would not say that they played terrible. Their second period efforts were one of the best we have seen in the past few weeks.

Sean Avery was the best player on the ice for the Rangers tonight, in my opinion anyway. Gilroy can thank Sean for his goal, as Avery did a magnificent job of screening Fleury in front. The Pittsburgh goaltender had no chance because he never saw it. Then Avery was moved up to the first line with Marian Gaborik and Artem Anisimov to begin the third, when Avery fed Rozsival with a perfect pass for the goal.

Marian Gaborik was kept quiet for most of the night, especially when Brooks Orpik was on the ice for the Penguins. When Gaborik is quiet, so is the rest of this team and we have now seen that in two straight games. We even saw Tortorella split up Gaborik and Prospal for the first time all season long, which is clearly not a good sign.

Higgins had another strong game, but once again could not bury his chances. I have actually liked what I have seen from Higgy over the past week, as he has been one of the better skaters for the Blueshirts. I have hope that the goals will begin to come if he can continue to play like this.

As for the messaging sending at the end of the third, I am all for it. Artem Anisimov was taken advantage of and Brashear was sent out to defend him--smart move. Ryan Callahan shows that he is not ready to give in and is looking forward to Monday by fighting Matt Cooke after the Crosby hat-trick--smart move. Sean Avery didn't take any garbage in front of the net and threw some punches--smart move. I do not care that he was thrown out and received a five minute major, it didn't matter at that point, the message needed to be sent.

Now the Rangers need to do their best to forget this one and release their built-up rage on Monday in the second of the home and home with Pittsburgh. A lot has been said of this club's lack of emotion but they showed it tonight even though they were blown out. It will be extremely interesting to see what happens on Monday at Madison Square Garden. Payback? We can only hope.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Parenteau Should Stay

When Brandon Dubinsky returns to the lineup, head coach John Tortorella will be presented with a very tough decision of who to send down to the Hartford Wolf Pack, or make a healthy scratch for that matter. In my opinion, forward P.A. Parenteau has done more than enough to earn a spot on this Ranger roster and is definitely ready for the NHL level. Whether it means scratching Voros or sending another useless player down to the Hartford Wolf Pack, then so be it. Parenteau deserves to be in this lineup.

In seven games played with the Blueshirts this season, Parenteau has collected a goal and 3 assists in addition to his two game-winning shootout tallies against Ottawa and Florida. The 26-year-old winger has pure offensive instincts and has a knack for the net. Before being recalled by the Rangers about a month ago, he was leading the entire American Hockey League in scoring while playing with the Wolf Pack. In a sense, you can say that Parenteau was the "Gaborik" of the AHL, but that may be pushing it.

Plus, Pierre Alexandre (yes, that is what the "P.A." stands for) has built chemistry with former Pack mate Artem Anisimov as well as Sean Avery on the same line. All three of these players have remarkable work ethics and are relentless on the forecheck leading to prime scoring opportunities. Maybe they haven't produced as often as we prefer, but if they continue to create such chances on the forecheck the goals will start to come and the Rangers will have a solid secondary scoring line.

I have also noticed that Parenteau is responsible on the defensive end for the most part. There have been several instances when lack of back-check has cost him, but majority of the time he is back on the play. In my eyes, that is the difference between a skilled player and an all-around skilled player, and Parenteau qualifies for the ladder.

And then the obvious area of his game where he seems to be very successful in is the shootout. Now two for two, Pareanteau has won both of the only two games that have went to the shootout for the Rangers this season. The first was on a great fake to beat Brian Elliot top right. Wednesday night's goals were quite creative as Parenteau showed patients with the puck and waited for Vokoun to make the first move. Well, Vokoun did and Pierre burned him.

“I just dragged the puck to see what he was going to do,” Parenteau said. “Low blocker side opened up. I just fired it there.”

When asked about his success in shootouts, Parenteau suggested that he may be lucky, but I do not think that is the case. Like I said above, he has pure offensive instincts and a knack for the net. He could potentially be a top six forward in the National Hockey League and I would like to see him begin that hopeful career sooner rather than later.

That being said, a difficult decision lies in the lap of John Tortorella; Who gets the boot? For me anyway, it is an easy decision as either Voros or Brashear should be gone. I have spoke so much about why Voros should not be in this lineup lately so I am not even going to waste time elaborating, but for Brashear I will. First off, the guy is now 37 and being paid to fight. Brash is nowhere near what he used to be "in the ring" and most of his fights turn out to be grappling matches. He is not protecting anyone if that is what the staff thinks, and they also have preached to us that Donald is an upgrade from Colton Orr. I just do not see it. Maybe five years ago, but not in the present. Brashear has one point in sixteen games as opposed to Parenteau's four in seven. Yea, you tell me who plays a larger role on this squad.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Pregame: Tortorella Leads Rangers into Familiar Tampa Bay

Tonight will mark the first time Rangers head coach John Tortorella will be entering St. Pete's Time Forum on the opposing bench since being fired by the Lightning two years ago. Tortorella spent six and a half years in the Lightning organization including bringing the franchise their first Stanley Cup Championship in 2004. While Torts has done his best to keep his focus on the Rangers and avoid constant questions about his return, he finally gave in yesterday and spoke about his years in Tampa:

"I loved my time here," said Tortorella, who was 239-222-36-38 overall with the Lightning. "The community treated my family and [me] well. We still live here in the off-season. I loved coaching some of these players over there. We all grew up together. But when we start playing and I’m coaching another team, it’s about trying to win a hockey game. I have no time to think about anything else." (Courtesy of Andrew Gross)

Tortorella is not the only individual who has history with the Lightning, as center Vinny Prospal also spent many years there. Prospal was bought-out by the team this past summer when the Rangers jumped on him and signed him to a 1 year, $1.1 million contract.

Anyway, now to focus on the game itself. New York is coming off of a hard-fought shootout victory against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday and currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 27 points. The Rangers are also on a two-game winning streak--if you can consider it one--for the first time since mid-October. The Tampa Bay Lightning have not been doing too bad for themselves this season either, as they find themselves only two points behind the Rangers but in tenth place.

As we know, Wade Redden will not be playing for the next seven to ten days due to an upper-body injury suffered in Florida on Wednesday. As a replacement, Hartford defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti was recalled yesterday and will be playing with Matt Gilroy on the blueline. Ales Kotalik will once again be a game-time decision, although he did skate in practice yesterday and this morning.

Rangers Projected Lineup:

Higgins - Prospal - Gaborik
Avery - Anisimov - Parenteau
Lisin - Drury - Callahan
Brashear - Boyle - Voros

Staal - Girardi
Sanguinetti - Gilroy
Del Zotto - Rozsival

Lundqvist

Scratch(es): Dubinsky (broken hand), Redden (upper body), Kotalik (upper body)

Henrik Lundqvist will make his seventh straight start tonight. I am quite surprised that Valiquette is not starting being that they will enter and a home and home with the Penguins starting tomorrow. I cannot complain, Hank has been stellar.

Higgins skated very well on the first line with Gaborik and Prospal the other night, so he will stay there. I am hoping that he could finally find the back of the net on his chances because he has had many as of late. It has become a constant that Higgy hits the post almost every game.

The second line continues to be very effetive led by Sean Avery. Aves has been spectacular over the past few weeks and he has taken Artem Anisimov and P.A. Parenteau under his wings. All three have been great, especially on the forecheck.

Sanguinetti will be playing in his first NHL game of the year and will be partnered up with fellow rookie Matt Gilroy. Sangs was fantastic in the preseason (excluding training camp) so I am looking forward to him playing in his first professional tilt.

Lightning Projected Lineup:

Malone - Stamkos - St. Louis

Halpern - Lecavalier - Tanguay
Wright - Szczechura - Downie
Fedoruk - Konopka - Veilleux

Hedman - Meszaros
Foster - Krajciek
Walker - Hale

Mike Smith
 
Mike Smith will be in net for the Bolts as Nittymaki has started the last two for the Lightning. Any pregame lineup updates will be posted on Twitter.
(Photos courtesy of AP Photo)

Postgame: Rangers Struck by Bolts in Tampa, 5-1

Where to begin? Well, I guess I will start with the goal allowed by the Rangers seven minutes into the first period of the tilt when Steven Stamkos found the back of the net behind Henrik Lundqvist to start the goal-scoring fest for the Bolts. The Blueshirts failed to clear the zone on the play, which were was essentially the story of the night for this club. Failure to get things done correctly, even little plays like moving the puck out to the neutral, ended up in their own net and buried the Rangers.

Later on in that same period Tampa Bay struck again with a goal from defenseman Kurtis Foster to put them up by two heading into the intermission. Once again, failure to clear the zone and like I said earlier in the season, that has a lot to do with this team's lack of physicality and grit. They almost make it easy for the opposition to control the puck on the forecheck uncontested.

Anyway, matters went from bad to worse for New York in the second when Martin St. Louis had all of the time in the world to set up on the side of the net, wait for Steve Downie to split the defense and enter the slot, and place a perfect saucer pass on the blade which Downie redirected past Lundqvist. Multiple mini breakdowns on this play by the Blueshirts. First of all, instead of pressuring St. Louis, the defenseman on the play, who I cannot remember at the moment (might have been Del Zotto) slid on one-knee to block the pass. St. Louis easily flipped it over his stick and into the slot. Secondly, Downie should not have just been given a free pass to enter the slot anticipating the pass. I mean, the entire arena knew it was coming, Downie knew it was coming, but somehow the Rangers managed to not pick up on it. I have no real answer why that is, but you know see how little mistakes always come around and bite this team in the behind.

Moving along, Paul Szczechura registered his first NHL goal on a flukey play to make it 4-0. The puck was in the slot, the Rangers mis-cleared it (again) and it ended up on the stick of Szczechura who's shot deflected off of defenseman Matt Gilroy's skate and past Lundqvist. This left head coach John Tortorella no choice but to pull Lundqvist to save him from enduring anymore of the disgusting play in front of him.

At that point the Blueshirts began to get some sort of forecheck going lead by P.A. Parenteau and Artem Anisimov. As a result, Parenteau and Anisimov received additional ice time from Torts and I applaud the move. They were a part of the very few who showed much of anything in this one and I believe that earns them the extra minutes.

About mid-way through the third it was Kurtis foster again beating Steve Valiquette with a shot off of the draw. It looked like Valiquette simply missed it with his glove--not surprising to me at all. Anyway, the Rangers started to pick things up after this goal and Anisimov's hard work eventually payed off when he made a spectacular play to feed Ryan Callahan the puck who turned and lifted a backhander over a sprawling Mike Smith. In addition to some pointless scraps and ridiculous penalties, that was the way it would end, a 5-1 blowout going into a home and home with the Pittsburgh Penguins starting tomorrow.

Do not get me wrong, I realize that Tampa Bay has been playing excellent hockey this year, but to lose to a team 5-1 that had the second overall pick in the draft this past July is pretty pathetic for lack of a better term. Although, it is not uncommon that we see the Rangers drop games to team such as the lightning as they have done it all season long and then some.

It goes without saying that this team lacked offense tonight, and that starts with the Bolts doing a great job of shutting down the league's top goal-scorer in Marian Gaborik. Higgins still can't find the net, Prospal did not do all that much, Kotalik did nothing, and these are all key players that are supposed to be a big part of the secondary scoring which was non-existent tonight.

The defense was disgusting and there is really nothing more to say other than that. Bobby Sanguinetti was quiet and wasn't anything special, but he played alright. He didn't make any real blatant mistakes which is pretty good being that his mates looked lost out there.

So now the things get worse from here as the Rangers will dive into a home and home with the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night at Mellon Arena and Monday at the Garden. I really don't quite know how they will respond to this loss, nor do I know who will start being that both Lundqvist and Valiquette got playing time tonight. The good thing is there will not be a lot of time for the club to think and morn about this loss. Oh well, so much for three in a row....
(Images courtesy of AP Photo)