The Rangers Tribune

No Battle, No Urgency; Do They Care?

"It's a privilege to put this jersey on and play in this city, but I don't know if we know that as a team right now"

"I don't know what to do to try and find that, but that sense of pride has to be found. It's a privilege to play for the Rangers and for these fans, especially. The organization treats us too well for us not to give a @#$!, which is exactly the way it was in this game."

This quote coming from Rangers forward Sean Avery, clearly saying that he felt the squad did not care about Wednesday's game in which they were shutout 6-0 by the Philadelphia Flyers. The quote is courtesy of Larry Brooks at the New York Post.

While watching the Blueshirts get pounded at Madison Square Garden last night, and repeatedly give a half effort, the question of whether they care or not certainly pops into one's head. The battle level was not even close to matching that of the Flyers, only a small handful of players were willing to throw around the body, and most of the team skated around looking like lifeless zombies with high-paying occupations. For a pro athlete, not only is that unacceptable, but it should also be embarrassing. Was it for some of the players on this team? I highly doubt it because they are receiving the big paycheck in the bank account no matter how they play or what they achieve, or do not achieve for that matter.

When Brooks asked coach Tortorella if he thought his group cared, the coach initially responded "No", but then went on to say this; "[But] I believe they do," he added. "I think I have a good understanding of the people in that locker room, but the way we played. . . . I'm stumped how we played that game.

"That first period was a period I could not understand. The soft passes, the turnaways, the turnovers, the coverages, right on through. I'm being honest -- I don't know why we played the way we did.

"We just have to start over."

Obviously the coach doesn't even know the answer to that question because he answered it twice, contradicting answers in fact. He says they have to start over, which is frightening to hear as that was the same message from head coach Tom Renney last season right before he was fired. Reney constantly said "We have to go back to square one". Guess what? There is no starting over. This team has embarrassed the fans and the organization multiple times this season and there is no forgetting that. You pick your head up, realize why you were brought to one of the largest sports markets in the world, and you play like you actually care about winning games. You don't sulk around feeling bad for yourself. What happened happened, it cannot be erased.

It has been said many times, but I will say it again. These players are spoiled rotten. They are flown on fancy charter planes, they are served lunch and dinner, and barely have to lift a finger when not on the ice. The Rangers are one of the most well-treated teams in all of sports by their organization next to probably the Yankees of Baseball. What us common folk go to work every day of the week in order to get, these players get for simply showing up and skating on a rink. A player could have his worst game of the year, yet that three course meal is still waiting for him when he gets out of the shower. However, if you underachieve just a bit at your own personal job, you find yourself being fired and unable to feed yourself and your family.

I state this because this is what Sean Avery is saying when he mentions it is a privilege to play for this team. They have top-notch service, 18,200 dedicated fans cheering for them at every home game, yet they manage to play careless games multiple times in a three month span. There is no excuse and no exceptions, the effort and urgency in the contest with the Flyers last night was pathetic, and if we see many more occurrences such as that one down the road this season, changes will have to be made within the organization because nothing else is working.

At the same time, there are a few players that "get it". Those being the Brandon Dubinksys, Sean Averys, Henrik Lundqvists, and Ryan Callahans. All four of these players were man enough to admit to playing a horrible game, and Avery went as far as telling us why, with explicit language I might add. Dubinsky stated that he was atrocious, and you know what, as long as he realizes that and comes out and fixes it, I won't put much blame on him. The players that stay bottled up and do not admit to their mistakes, thoug, well, they are just cowards. We will see what the response is tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Pregame: Which Rangers Will Show Up Against 'Canes?

Obviously the talk around the locker room will be about redemption tonight as the New York Rangers are coming off of their worst loss of the season at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. In this game, it will be the 30th place Hurricanes, which the Blueshirts defeated 3-1 just over a week ago, in Raleigh, North Carolina. We have been in this position before. The team plays with an extremely poor effort, but then they get a chance to bounce back the very next day. However, New York should come away with a win in this one, which is expected of them, but a single win will not solve all of their problems.

What we saw yesterday was nothing but a disgrace, and until I see three, four, five straight wins from the Rangers, they have not redeemed themselves by any means. Thankfully tonight’s tilt is on away ice, because John Tortorella’s squad is just 2-8-2 in their last twelve games at Madison Square Garden. That is pathetic considering they are playing in the world’s most famous arena, in front of the some of the world’s most dedicated fans. That gives them not one ounce of jump or energy in their game, it is just another match-up that they must play in order to collect their salary.

Anyway, the lineup for tonight’s game, other than Henrik Lundqvist in goal, is uncertain at the moment and is up in the air. That being said, I just have up what we saw towards the end of yesterday’s contest, which led to Chris Higgins being removed from the first line just as expected. If something else surfaces between now and 8 p.m., I will have it up.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Avery – Dubinsky – Gaborik
Higgins – Drury – Callahan
Anisimov – Christensen – Lisin
Brashear – Boyle – Kotalik

Staal – Rozsival
Redden – Gilroy
Del Zotto – Girardi

Lundqvist

Scratches: Vinny Prospal (knee), Aaron Voros

Henrik Lundqvist had a rough outing, errr, period last night for the Rangers. Three out of eleven shots got past the Swedish netminder. Again, the defense was not there for him, but he should have made saves on at least one of the three.

The offense was not going hard to the net, but looked rather satisfied being held to the perimeter and taking outside shots. You are not going to score that way, and I am pretty sure we have been going over this quite often on the site. During the four-game winning stretch, all forwards were crashing the net and picking up rebounds. That is one of the major points in coach John Tortorella’s offensive system, yet it is so rare of an occurrence that we actually see it happen.

The Blueshirts’ Blueline was simply atrocious. The positioning was awful, they did not take the body, and players were constantly left wide open at the goalmouth. I mean, that is pee-wee hockey basics right there and they aren’t being executed correctly by professionals. That is more of a mental mistake than anything, so I believe if this defense can improve their mentality here, they will have the ability to play much better.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Jokinen - Cullen - Staal
Whitney - Brandon Sutter - Ruutu
Samsonov - Dwyer - Kostopoulus
Yelle - Brind'Amour - Walker

Pitkanen - Ward
Wallin - Gleason
Alberts - Carson

Ward

This game will be no walk in the park. Yes, they will likely bounce back with a solid effort, but I am not sure the win will come easily to them. The Hurricanes are coming off of a 6-3 toppling of the Washington Capitals, meaning they have an advantage in confidence over the crushed Rangers. We will see how this one turns out, but in case the team displays a lifeless performance yet again, I will say Happy New Year to all the readers now so I do not forget to in the midst of an angry postgame later tonight.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Postgame: Rangers Close Out 2009 with Bounce Back Win Over Hurricanes

So the Rangers bounce back with a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes after being blown out by the Philadelphia Flyers the night before. Sound familiar? Yes it does, as that was the same case when the Blueshirts where embarrassed by the Islanders, but came back and won big on the Island. Sure it is a satisfying comeback win, but again, it does not solve all of their problems. However, when comparing the overall performance, much better than what we saw last night.

The Rangers originally scored first to begin the game when Dan Girardi’s slapper hit the twine behind Ward, but the goal was waived off as the refs ruled that Erik Christensen, who was moved to the first line, interfered with the goalie. Shortly after, Joni Pitkanen put the Hurricanes on the board on a 5 on 3 powerplay when his slapshot that hit the post was put in by the swinging blocker of Henrik Lundqvist. The Blueshirts have now surrendered the first goal in five straight games.

The Rangers then got their opportunity with the man advantage, a 5 on 3 in fact, and capitalized. Marian Gaborik rifled a slapshot from the point which ricocheted off the pads of Ward and onto the tape of a wide open Christensen, who buried his first as a New York Ranger. That is the way it would stay through the second period as both goaltenders where great in the stanza. The Rangers were outshooting the ‘Canes 15-7 at that point.

With less than ten minutes to go in regulation, Marian Gaborik again sent a shot towards the net, but this time it was Brandon Dubinsky who picked up the loose change and what would be the game-winner. That tally would be Brandon’s third in the past three games. It was all defense and goaltending from there, as Carolina poured it on late. Henrik Lundqvist, with the help of the iron behind him, stood strong, as did the defensive squad in front of him.

I said in the pregame that the Blueshirts did not crash the net hard in last night’s loss to the Flyers. Well, they did just that tonight and both goals were scored on rebounds right outside of the crease. Let’s face it; the Rangers are not going to be scoring many pretty goals unless they are coming from Marian Gaborik, so if they want to score goals and win games, they have to be willing to get into the dirty areas of the ice and bang those loose pucks home.

That starts with their battle level, which was drastically better than it was against the Flyers, especially on defense. The defense, while they made some mistakes, clogged the middle and forced Carolina to take outside shots. Funny enough, I remember saying the exact same thing in last week’s win over the Hurricanes. Coincidence? Maybe, but nonetheless the D was not as porous as they were on Wednesday.

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi came out and played great. While the other four blue-liners were not standouts, Staal and Girardi carried the load in the back end for the Rangers. The way in which these two specific individuals are going to be effective is if they play a physical game. That is when we see the best of Staal and Dan, and that is what you saw tonight. Also, Marc always seems to step his game up a notch when he sees his brother Eric at the opposite end of the rink.

I must say that I was a bit surprised when I saw Christensen on the top line, but he played very well. In his 15:38 of ice time, by far the most he has seen since coming to New York, Christensen registered a goal and an assist, and was also strong on the puck. I really liked his game, but I highly doubt he will continue to play like this on a consistent basis.

I was a bit disappointed in Marian Gaborik. Yes, he had two assists but the amount of times he missed the net was quite unusual for him. Luckily, Dubinsky, Callahan, and Avery all had strong games so what Gabs lacked did not hurt the team. It is not like he played a bad game, but he didn’t meet expectations in a way. I guess we have just been spoiled with his talent this season.

So that will do it for 2009 and the decade. Hopefully the Rangers can build on this win, and they will get a chance to do that on Saturday when they host the Hurricanes back at Madison Square Garden. Until then, I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!
(Images courtesy of AP Photo and Reuters)

Rangers Prospects Dominant in World Juniors

In the United States 12-1 victory over Latvia on Tuesday evening, New York Rangers prospects Chris Kreider, 18, Derek Stepan, 19, and Ryan Bourque, 18, all displayed why they deserved to be there. First off, 2009 First Round Drat Pick Kreider registered a hat-trick with a goal in each period of the game. The third came on an awarded penalty shot with just over a minute remaining in regulation, when the speedy prospect came in and put a wrister past the Latvia goaltender blocker-side. Kreider is currently tied for tournament-lead in goals scored with four.

Derek Stepan, team USA Captain, notched two third period goals as well as two assists in the game. In fact, the two assists came off of Kreider goals; nice to see future Rangers showing chemistry before they even hit the NHL. Stepan leads the team in points with eight. As for Ryan Bourque, he recorded his second assist of the tourney, but was one of the better skaters out there for the United States. Ryan had his widely-known father, Ray, in attendance as well.

Watching this tournament has given myself, as well as many other Rangers fans, a fantastic opportunity to physically view what these players bring to the table. You can read all you want and listen to all of these "expert" opinions, but until you actually watch these individuals, it is impossible to asses their talent. Well let me tell you this, these youngsters that are Ranger property hold a boatload of talent and have been displaying it on a consistent basis throughout the tournament.

Ryan Bourque reminds me of current Blueshirt Ryan Callahan. This is because of his work ethic and hustle. It is suspected that Bourque has been playing with a minor injury, so he has not been one-hundred percent over the past week, but you can see the trust the coaching staff has in him in different situations, much like John Tortorella does with Callahan. The NHL Network broadcasters were talking often about how great Bourque is on the penalty-kill, and how he is out there for pretty much every one.

Derek Stepan just simply has it all. The kid can pass, he can score, and has an unbelievable set of hands. It says a lot when Stepan enters the team for the first time this year and is named Captain over players that are returning to the team from last year. Some of the moves Derek puts on the opposing defensemen are jaw-dropping, almost like Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. Obviously not of the same caliber, but that is who he looks like when entering the zone. Stepan buried his third period rebound tally through his legs, a nice way to finish off what they call a "garbage goal".

Chris Kreider's speed is clearly an advantage to him, and the best part about it is that he knows how to use it. There are players, even in the National Hockey League, who have an advantage over others, but they just do not have the correct mentality and do not use the talent as they should. That is not the case with Kreider, who looks like a lightning bolt out there. I noticed that he is almost always the first one in on the forecheck, always the first forward back on the backcheck, and gets to the open space on the ice rather quickly. Kreider, in an 8-1 game, was mad at himself for allowing his check to get a shot off the rush. These sort of actions prove how mature these young prospects are, and how well they are being taught where they are playing, in Kreider's case, College Hockey with Boston College.

The ultimate test will come on New Year's Eve when Team USA and Team Canada clash for a first place showdown. Both of these teams have completely destroyed everyone in their path, which is usually the case in these tournaments, but this specific game will not be played that way. Both clubs hold a lot of young talent and some determined players. We will really get to see what Bourque, Stepan, and Kredier have when they are put to the test against their biggest enemies on Thursday.

Also, Blueshirt Banter will be interviewing Chris Kreider today at 1:30 p.m. on their radio show; a must listen for Ranger fans. You can tune in and listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blueshirt-banter.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Team Canada Releases Olympic Roster

Announced by Steve Yzerman, team Canada has just announced their roster for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Unfortunately, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal did not make it, but with the pool of blue-liners the front office had to choose from, this does not come as a surprise.

Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur (Devils), Marc-Andre Fleury (Penguins), Roberto Luongo (Canucks)

Defensemen: Drew Doughty (Kings), Dan Boyle (Sharks), Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Scott Niedermayer (Ducks), Chris Pronger (Flyers), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks), Shea Weber (Predators)

Forwards: Sidney Crosby (Penguins), Joe Thornton (Sharks), Corey Perry (Ducks), Brendan Morrow (Stars), Patrick Marleau (Sharks), Rick Nash (Blue Jackets), Patrice Bergeron (Bruins), Ryan Getzlaf (Ducks), Dany Heatley (Sharks), Jarome Iginla (Flames), Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks), Mike Richards (Flyers), Eric Staal (Hurricanes)

Team USA, which Drury, Dubinsky, and Callahan are all candidates for, will be releasing their roster in the coming days as well.

Pregame: Rangers Host Rival Flyers in Last Home Game of 2009

The New York Rangers will be hosting the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Madison Square Garden, coming off of a disappointing overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Blueshirts, currently in ninth place, are 4-0-1 in their last five and have been playing relatively well for the past three weeks. As for the Flyers, they have dropped five of their last ten and are sitting in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The last time these two teams met, the Rangers edged Philadelphia 2-1 at the Wachovia Center on a fluky goal by Artem Anisimov.

New York will be without forward Vinny Prospal, who had knee surgery performed on Monday. With this, Christopher Higgins will move up to play on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik. Also, Captain Chris Drury is questionable heading into the game as he is “under the weather” and is also currently dealing with personal matters.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Higgins - Dubinsky - Gaborik
Avery - Anisimov - Callahan
Lisin - Christensen - Kotalik
Brashear - Boyle - Voros

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Redden -Gilroy

Lundqvist

Scratches: Chris Drury (illness), Prospal (knee)

Henrik Lundqvist….you finish the sentence. While Henrik gets the nod tonight, head coach John Tortorella did mention that back-up Chad Johnson will get a start soon. However, that will not come in either this game or tomorrow’s tilt with the Hurricanes.

The offense once again had trouble scoring goals on Saturday in their 3-2 loss to the Isles, but that is due in part to the fact that they were not going to the dirty areas of the ice. During the four-game winning streak, the Blueshirts were always around the net and finding ways to bury loose pucks. That was not the case against the Isles and it showed. When they did in fact decide to crash the net, they found themselves with two goals; thank you Brandon Dubinsky.

The defense, overall, was solid and has been solid, cutting down the total number of chances against, as well as goals. Sure, that has a lot to do with Lundqvist, but the blueline has clearly tightened up for the Rangers. They have been lead by the better play of both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. These two have stood out in almost every game this month, and are leading the way for the youngsters such as Del Zotto and Gilroy.

Again, I do not agree with Higgins being moved up to the first unit to play with Gaborik, but that is the way things will start. Erik Christensen will definitely be in the lineup, and if Drury is unable to play, so will Aaron Voros. Voros has not played in a game since November, surprisingly.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Gagne - Richards - Giroux
Hartnell - Carter - Briere
Van Riemsdyk - Powe - Asham
Carcillo - Betts - Laperriere

Pronger - Coburn
Carle - Timonen
Parent - Bartulis

Leighton

Live game updates, as always, courtesy of yours truly at www.twitter.com/rangerstribune.
(Photos courtesy of Getty Images)

Postgame: Rangers Demolished by Flyers, 6-0

Needless to say, tonight’s effort was the worst of the season. Worse than the 8-3 loss to the Penguins, worse than the 2-1 loss to the Islanders a few weeks back, and possibly even worse than last year’s 10-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. I mean, I really cannot pick out any one thing the Rangers did right in this game. The defense was porous, the offense had just nine shots halfway through the game, and both goaltenders allowed three goals. Nothing went right for this team at all tonight, and that is clearly shown on the scoreboard which reads 6-0.

The fun all began with a rebound goal by former Ranger Blair Betts 54 seconds into the tilt. It was Marian Gaborik who should have taken the stick of Betts out of the play, but for the third time this season (yes, I am counting) he was unable to do just that, leading to Blair’s fourth goal of the season. Danny Briere followed that up with a tally ten minutes later, as he was given all of the time and room he needed to freeze Lundqvist and beat him low to make it 2-0 Flyers. To cap-off the third period, Claude Giroux sent a low wrister past Lundqvist, igniting a John Tortorella timeout. Much like in the game against the Devils back in October, Torts went on a rant, yelling and screaming into his players’ faces. However, this time around it was to no avail as it did not change one thing about the way the game was being played.

Henrik Lundqvist was removed from the game, leaving rookie goaltender Chad Johnson to make his NHL debut on very short notice. 23 seconds into Johnson’s career, Simon Gagne sent a sharp angle shot into the back of the net, giving the Flyers a 4-0 lead right out of the gate. After about twelve minutes of defensive mistakes, missed opportunities, and powerless powerplays, the Blueshirts were burned yet again when Gagne netted his second of the game with a 5 on 3 man advantage goal. On this particular play, Johnson made at least three consecutive saves, but the defense in front of him gave him absolutely no help, and eventually Gagne was found for the tap-in.

The third period just had no action or no life to it, really from either team. It was just laid back defensive hockey by the Flyers with the Rangers constantly turning the puck over when entering the offensive zone. With just under eight minutes remaining in the tilt, Gagne recorded his first hat-trick since 2005 when Philadelphia was allowed to walk in and make a pretty play. The story of the night for the Rangers.

I will start my rant with discussing head coach John Tortorella. His team was flat to start the game, so he went with plan A; timeout. You could see the anger in his face which was beat red, but it had not one ounce of an impact on the players. They did not respond, so on to plan B; pull the goalie. Thinking the team would pick themselves up after seeing their starter put on the bench and a first-time rookie in net, Tortorella’s brilliant ideas failed him yet again. No response from the boys in blue, leaving the steaming head coach with nothing to do but jumble the lines. Torts had no clue as to where to go from there, so all he did was shake up the lineup and wait for the final buzzer. He even admitted to it in his postgame conference, “I have no answer”. He may not realize it, but that sure answers a lot of our questions.

This loss comes because of not only a lack of execution, but a lack of effort as well. When a team is missing both of those and does not have either or, the result is not a pretty one more often than not. Well, here you go, a perfect example with this debacle.

As I predicted on the blog yesterday, Chris Higgins did not last more than two periods on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky. Like I had suggested, Tortorella put Avery on that line and at least there was a bit of a spark. However, still no goals, still no conversion. Same story, different night. It is getting tiresome when watching this team not able to produce offense, and I do not know at what point GM Glen Sather will become the least bit alarmed.

When Marian Gaborik has a terrible game, you would have to assume as did the team. That was the case tonight. Sure, Gabs has been fantastic for this team this season, but he did not play well in the contest. He barely had the puck, he was turning it over at the blueline, and just was not himself. Do not get me wrong, it is not solely his fault, but I am just making it a point that when Gabs is off, so are the Rangers.

Rookie Chad Johnson had a nice welcoming into the league with the first shot against going in, but after that he settled in and made some key saves. I was pretty impressed with his effort, as Chad played well for a rookie entering a blowout such as this one.

New York will be back at it again tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina. Now I would like to say something of importance here. It seems like whenever this team is blown out, they always bounce back with a solid effort and everything is good and well yet again. No, that should not be the mentality here. We are at about the midway point here, and this team has already had several games in which they looked like they did not care. They need a hell of a lot more than just one single win if they want to redeem themselves.

(Pictures courtesy of Getty Images and AP Photo)

Tortorella Faces Tough Decisions with Lineup

With forward Vinny Prospal now out of the lineup anywhere between 10 days and three weeks after undergoing knee surgery yesterday, Coach John Tortorella will yet again be forced to make some challenging decisions when it comes to the current lineup. However, he will not have to make these decisions until Wednesday when the Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. First, I think he will consider his options when thinking about how, exactly, he will fill the vacant spot.

There are two ways to go about doing this. The first would be to enter one of Aaron Voros or Erik Christensen back into the lineup. Voros has been a healthy scratch for 21 straight games now, so I do not really see him be called upon by Torts, but Christensen, on the other hand, seems more likely. Since picking up Christensen on the waiver wire earlier in the month, the faceoff-specialist has not really been given a good enough look, not only because he has been scratched, but when he does play, he does not see more than six or seven minutes of ice time. Now I do not know about you, but I cannot asses what a player can bring to the lineup just by seeing him take the ice about three times a night. It seems more like Tortorella just doesn’t have the patients to contend with teaching him at the moment.

His other option is to recall a forward from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Almost everyone has been given a try except Corey Locke, and I think that would be my choice this time around. The 25-year-old center from Toronto, Ontario has been stellar with the Wolf Pack this season, registering 15 goals and 26 assists for a combined 41 points. Those stats see him leading the team in scoring by a large margin, and this is only through 38 games played. Corey is emerging as an excellent prospect for the Blueshirts, and I think he finally deserves to show what he can do at the National Hockey League level.

That being said, who do you plug into Prospal’s spot on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik? My personal choice would be Sean Avery. Avery has been the spark plug on this team whether they are winning or losing, and has been playing a smarter product of hockey this season. Really, your only other options are Higgins, Callahan, Lisin, and possibly Anisimov. Anisimov looks comfortable at center, so moving him from that position right now would be a mistake in my opinion. Callahan or Avery would be the best choice for Tortorella.

Both players have been playing well, but Avery has lacked production as of late, and placing him on the Gaborik line should surely fix that problem. Callahan has been just fine and should stay right where he is on the second offensive unit. If you recall, Avery played with Gaborik and Prospal in the game against Detroit, as well as when the Rangers clashed with the Hawks in Chicago. In both games, Gaborik and Prospal were completely shutdown, limiting scoring chances for that first line. Philadelphia is not going to be stopping Gabs like the Wings or Hawks did, so I think plugging Avery with the Slovakian Star would be wise and worth a try.

There have been decisions made this season that we have agreed with, but also ones that we have been disgusted over. When it has been left in the hands of John Tortorella like a situation like this usually is, we have been generally unsatisfied with the moves that were made and the players involved. At the same time, Torts has been preaching a “play the kids” type of mentality so maybe we will get the opportunity to see some of the young up and coming talent this organization possesses.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)

Schneider on Waivers, Rangers Interested?

Multiple sources on twitter are reporting that the Vancouver Canucks have placed veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider on waivers. Schneider, 40, has been filling the role of seventh defenseman on most of the teams he has played for over the past few years. In seventeen games played with the Canucks this season, the New York native has recorded two goals and three assists for 5 points.

Recently, Coach John Tortorella has hinted at the fact that he is looking to add a seventh defenseman to the club, but he has not shown much patients with youngsters. With that, GM Glen Sather's best bet would be to go with a veteran here. Mathieu Schneider definitely fits that description and can still play. However, there is a catch. Schneider has a cap hit of around $2.75 million, while the Rangers only have about $900,000 in cap room. The only way to make this work would be to dump forwards Aaron Voros and Erik Christensen, a move we have been waiting on for quite a while now.

Personally, I would like to see a veteran like Schneider brought to New York, not only for on-ice purposes, but for the teaching he could provide in the locker room to the younger players such as Matt Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto, and even Marc Staal. Schneider has 24 hours until he clears waivers, but until then, the Rangers could possibly have a shot at claiming him. We will see if Sather is willing to make room by parting ways with Voros and Christensen, two players that are becoming healthy scratches on a nightly basis.
(Image courtesy of Reuters)

Torts Not Using Call-Ups, Christensen In

Remember this morning when I said we are usually dissatisfied when decisions are left to be made by Rangers head coach John Tortorella? Well, here is a near perfect example why. Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants reports that John Tortorella refuses to recall any help from the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) with Prospal's absence due to knee surgery, and will go with what he has for the time being. This means forward Erik Christensen, who has been a healthy scratch for the past week, will be inserted into the lineup, and will possibly even see some powerplay time according to the coach.

Christopher Higgins will be moved up to play on the first line with Brandon Dubinsky at center and Marian Gaborik at the opposite wing. Ales Kotalik will also jump back into the top nine after doing fourth line duty ever since being sidelined for two straight games. Expect Drury to be centering Avery and Callahan with Anisimov centering Kotalik and Lisin, or vice versa.

First off, I said earlier today that I did not want to see Higgins playing with Gaborik and Dubinsky. The guy simply cannot put the puck in the net this season and will not contribute much to that line. If Tortorella cannot see this then he should not be a coach in the National Hockey League. Higgins will last there for maybe a game if they win, but once the Blueshirts lose a single game, Higgy will be off that line unless he magically begins scoring. It is now becoming a pattern; Tortorella tries the same thing over again, it doesn't work, so he punishes that player for lack of production. Maybe it is not the players that are the big problem here.

Anyway, I also think that if Christensen will be entered into the lineup, he should at least be given a good look, not just three or four shifts a game. We do not know what this guy brings to the table because we barely have seen him play since he was picked up by GM Glen Sather about a month ago. And then how ridiculous will it look if the guy gets eight minutes of ice time at even strength, but then is plugged into the powerplay unit like Torts said? That is absurd, plain and simple.

Gross also mentioned that Captain Chris Drury missed today's practice for personal reasons.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)