The Rangers Tribune

Why Crosby Should be Penalized for Slew Foot on Callahan

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There has been a lot of commotion about Sidney Crosby's cheap slew foot play on Ryan Callahan during the first period of last night's game between the Rangers and Penguins at Madison Square Garden. Before I move on, allow me to explain what a slew foot actually is for those who do not know. A slew foot occurs when a player puts his foot behind another player's legs, and sort of kicks out the player's legs from under him with that foot. This is exactly what Crosby did to Callahan when skating through center ice last night, but somehow Callahan ended up with the penalty and Sid got off free.

First of all, slew foots are extremely dangerous because when it happens, the victim normally falls backwards, which means they could smack their head on the ice if they do not brace themselves. Secondly, the player could also hurt their lower back, where there is absolutely no padding whatsoever. To me, performing one of these should be considered intent to injure and should be penalized appropriately. But as I already mentioned, Crosby did not get called for it, which is why fans are so enraged.

In my opinion, Sidney not only should have received a minor penalty for slew footing Callahan, but also an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well. That would have given the Blueshirts a four-minute powerplay because kicking out a player's legs from under him is just as bad as cutting a player in the face by high-sticking him, which also gives a team a four-minute powerplay. But somehow Callahan gets called for interference? This goes back to the poor officiating that becomes a factor every time the Rangers face the Penguins, which is something head coach John Tortorella has called the league and complained about.

But beyond all of this; the penalty, non-penalty and anything that actually happened in that specific game, what does something like this say about Crosby as a player? He wonders why, despite being a top talent in the league, he receives so much hatred. Well, Sid, when you play a cheap style of hockey and take advantage of being the league's posterboy, no matter how many goals you can score in 82 games, opposing fans/players are simply not going to have you on top of their favorite players list.

The whining and faking that is tied to Crosby's name is no myth. It has been blown out of proportion over the years, I will not doubt that, but it is no lie. He is always talking with the refs, which is why the Rangers always have a player listening in on the conversation, and he is always poking at the goalie and doing whatever, and then when it comes to paying the price, looks to the refs for defense. He may be a good player, but his character is horrible in my opinion.

Whether the league takes action against Crosby for the play is out off my control, but I know that they certainly should. With the recent Colin Campbell e-mails coming out to the public, they want to disabuse their image. Fining Sid, or even suspending him, for this will help do that.

Thanks to our handy dandy friend better known as YouTube, here is a video of Crosby's slew foot on Callahan so you can see exactly what I am talking about.....

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKr2Et0THzM?fs=1]

Matt Gilroy's Time May Be Running Out

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With the Rangers being so deep on defense, 26-year-old Matt Gilroy's future on Broadway is in question. His name has been thrown around in countless trade rumors, which does not come as a surprise considering how head coach John Tortorella has not really given him the proper opportunity to crack the lineup on a consistent basis at the National Hockey League level. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun again brought up Gilroy's name in one of his articles recently, saying that if the Blueshirts were to make a move for a center before the trade deadline, the former Hobey Baker Award winner could possibly be a key trading piece.

If the Rangers decide to go get a centre, and they’re expected to make a move for Richards before the trade deadline, they may deal D Matt Gilroy as part of package. The 26-year-old has a cap hit of $1.75 million and will be an RFA next summer. He’s been passed on the depth chart by Steve Eminger and Michael Sauer. Gilroy is young enough that he could bring return. GM Glen Sather can’t afford to wait much longer...

Garrioch is exactly right that Gilroy has been beaten out by Michael Sauer and Steve Eminger, which makes me wonder if he will ever get a chance on the New York Rangers. Personally, I believe the kid has the potential to be a top four defenseman in the NHL, but New York may not be the ideal place for him to do so. If he could not edge Sauer or Eminger, why should I believe he will get a spot on defense over prospects such as Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko? I do not think he will.

Gilroy is an offensive defenseman, so there is not a whole lot of physicality to his game. That is where Tortorella has been disappointed with Matt and that is why Eminger and Sauer are playing over him. If you recall, Gilroy was sent down to the AHL last season because the coaching staff was not happy with his battle level. Battle level usually starts with using  the body in a gritty way, something Gilroy is not exactly accustomed to doing.

If Gilroy could somehow build in the physicality area of his game, there is no doubt in my mind that he would be in the lineup every night and his name would not be in all of these trade rumors. But that does not seem like it is happening anytime soon, so that means he will most likely never have a spot on Tortorella's defense. It is unfortunate for him, but you have to realize that hockey is a business as well as a sport.

GM Glen Sather has already stated his desire for a first line center for Marian Gaborik. Teams are obviously going to be looking for youth in return, but Slats would be making a mistake by trading players of this team's core away. Gilroy is young, but not necessarily a part of the core since he does not always play. Therefore, he is probably Sather's most valuable and reasonable trading piece. I would hate to see Gilroy go, but I must admit that trading him for a needed center might make sense. 

Pregame Notes: Penguins at Rangers, 11/29/10

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The New York Rangers will have their hands filled tonight when they host the fourth place Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden. The Pens are currently on a six game winning streak and have posted an 8-1-1 record in their last ten games. If that's not good enough for you, they also have only three regulation losses in twelve away games this season. The Rangers, who are the sixth place team in the Eastern Conference, will not get by playing mediocre hockey like they have done in their past two wins. This is going to take a strong effort from all areas of the lineup to overcome a dynamite Penguins team.

Two weeks ago the Blueshirts were able to defeat Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center when they made a late comeback in the third period and eventually won in overtime. Resiliency and hard work paid off that night and the Rangers should look back to that game to remind themselves of what it takes to come out on top of Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

Rangers Lineup:

Dubinsky - Stepan -Gaborik
Fedotenko - Boyle - Callahan
Frolov - Anisimov - Prust
Avery - Christensen - White

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Sauer - Eminger

Lundqvist
Biron

Scratches: Matt Gilroy, Derek Boogaard, Chris Drury (broken finger)

Aside from the Devils and Islanders, one of Henrik Lundqvist's favorite teams to play against is the Pittsburgh Penguins. He loves the challenge of having to go up against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and also appears to have a slight dislike of "Sid the Kid". Hank has been marvelous in his last  two wins versus the Panthers and Predators, so hopefully his hot streak will carry over to tonight's tilt. With the way the team defense has been playing in front of him, Lundqvist will need to be alert in net at all times. For example, I think Nashville's goal on Saturday caught him a bit off guard since it was a broken play.

Marian Gaborik should be back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game due to a bad case of the flu. Because of this, I left the lines the way they were against the Panthers. Not sure if Tortorella will keep the Dubinsky, Christensen, Callahan trio together, as they were grouped in the third period in Nashville to try and get the tying goal, which they did. Gaborik's return, if there is one, will most likely break them up.

Here's a thought: how about Gaborik plays second line while Dubinsky and company skate on the first line? After all, they have been more productive than Gabby all season long, so why should they have to take the back seat? Gaborik does not necessarily have to be on the first line, I do not know why head coach John Tortorella always feels like he does. I thought players had to earn their minutes on this team.....

Speaking of minutes, Michal Rozsival played quite a few in his first game back from injury against the Predators, and rightfully so. Whether you want to admit it or not, Rozy has been solid on the blue-line for the Blueshirts. They were hurting a bit without him in the lineup, and that is the truth. It is good to have him back in the defensive rotation.

Scouting the Penguins:

I watched the Penguins take on the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon, and guess which player stood out to me the most? You got it: Sidney Crosby. Sid found the back of the net three times in the game for the hat trick, and one of those goals was the 200th of his young career. Love him or hate him, the kid has the ability to completely take control of a game. I have seen it in the playoffs, I have seen it against the Rangers and I saw it on Saturday. In order to slow him down and make him less effective, there is only one strategy that will work and that is to take the body on him. He will burn you if you try to stick check him. He will burn you if you try to outwait him. They have to go at him and hit him every chance they get, and the same goes for Evgeni Malkin.

As we saw the last time these two teams met up, the Penguins' defense does not give its opponent much time or room to make plays. Most scoring chances are going to come on the fly and in order to beat Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, quick passing plays will be essential. Also, there should always be a body in his face. It is obvious the Rangers are not going to beat the Penguins with skill, so they must take the blue collar route and perform gritty tactics in order to get results.

Opponent Blog: Pensburgh

Postgame: Rangers Overpowered by Penguins, Lose 3-1

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The New York Rangers were not the better team tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, therefore they deserved the 3-1 loss in front of their hometown fans. Unlike in the two games prior to this one, the Blueshirts did not get away with playing mediocre hockey. I said in the pregame that the Pens were far too skilled of a team to get a win against them if you do not play your best, and the Rangers learned that the hard way on this night.

The first period was evenly played for the most part, but the Penguins did get on the board when Maxim Talbot took advantage of a loose puck in the slot by surprising Henrik Lundqvist with a quick shot. This was simply bad luck for the Rangers, because the puck sort of eluded both Ruslan Fedotenko and Dan Girardi, and just sat there for Talbot to fire home. This is the second straight game where they were burned because of a bouncing puck on a broken play right in front of the net.

Also in the first period was Sidney Crosby’s controversial slew foot on Ryan Callahan at center ice. It was a cheap play by Sidney that he should have been penalized for, but somehow Callahan ended up in the box instead, which had fans enraged. I’ll elaborate more on this incident in a post I have planned to post tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.

The second period was a disaster on all fronts for the Rangers. The biggest problem was that the Penguins were taking advantage of their aggressive forecheck by making long outlet passes. Here is where I will talk about the boring technical stuff about the game, but hopefully it will clear up for you what I am trying to say. The Rangers, on the forecheck, generally have two forwards supporting the puck and one forward stationed by the net (in front or behind depending on where the puck is). So now you have three forwards down low and only two defensemen back. When the Pens transitioned, they were making long outlet passes to spring 3-on-2 odd-man rushes, which occurred because none of the Ranger forwards could get back in time to help defend.

What John Tortorella had to do here was adjust his squad’s forecheck so that it was more conservative than aggressive. How does he do that, you ask? Simple. Instead of having three men down low, form more of a triangle in the offensive zone. One player on the puck, one player at the net, and most importantly, one player in the high slot. So now when the Pens transition, that third forward can easily join the defensemen in defending the rush.

Anyway, this led to Chris Conner’s goal at 13:16 of the second. He came in and rifled a wristshot past Lundqvist. It also led to Kris Letang’s goal, when he beat Hank with a one-timer that Crosby fed him for. Marian Gaborik gave the Rangers some life at the end of the second when he snapped a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut into the Penguins’ lead to 3-1. That is the way the two teams would head to intermission.

The Rangers had all of the chances they could have asked for in the third period to tie this game, but they let each and every one of them go to waste. They were given two powerplays, both in which they struggled to even get a shot on goal. Then they had a few odd-man breaks that they missed the net on and even a semi-breakaway for Brian Boyle that he somehow scooped up into the stands. Again, the Blueshirts did not deserve to win this game, and they didn’t. Not much more you can say than that at this point.

None of the goals were Henrik Lundqvist’s fault. The first was a turnover and the other two he was completely screened on. He made a total of 24 saves on the night, many of which were on Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He did not seem too upset after the game, so that was good. He’ll definitely be in net for at least one of the games against the Islanders coming up, possibly both.

I felt like the Rangers were not very persistent on offense. They needed to be in the faces of the Pens more, and that they were not. It was the usual dump followed up by an easy clear by Pittsburgh. Not enough pressure, not enough hitting. It all just was not there tonight and like I have said many times, you need everything going when you go up against a club like the Penguins.

The good news is that Marian Gaborik did play in this game despite battling a bad case of the flu. In addition to playing, he also scored a goal and registered three shots and 21:45 of ice time. Tortorella denied to comment about his game afterwards because he said the media goes nuts every time he says something about Gabby. I thought that was pretty funny, but also the truth.

So the Rangers finish up the month of November – the toughest of their entire schedule – with a record of 9-7-0. That is not bad at all considering some of the opponents they had to face. They will now kick off December with a home-and home with the rival New York Islanders on Thursday and Friday. Since they did not get any points tonight, they will want to steal at least three from the Isles in the next two games.

A Whale of a Night in Hartford

Last night's AHL game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers marked the debut of the Connecticut Whale. The Connecticut Whale, as you may know, are the replacement for the Hartford Wolf Pack, who were in professional hockey for 35 years and the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate. Nothing has changed besides the name and jerseys; all of the players and coaches remained the same and they are still an affiliate of the Blueshirts. But there is a whole new meaning to this club since they are the second coming of the Hartford Whalers franchise, but in AHL form.

There was a total attendance of 13,089 last night at the XL Center for the debut, which is more people than some NHL arenas get on a nightly basis. The fans on hand got their money's worth as the Whale defeated the rival Sound Tigers, 3-2, in a shootout thanks to stellar goaltending by Chad Johnson and a game-winning goal by Jeremy Williams. (Those should be some familiar names for Ranger fans) By the way, if you did not know, the Sound Tigers are the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, so this was a meaningful game for the Whale in more ways than just one.

Some people are criticizing the jerseys that the Whale debuted last night, but I actually happen to like them. They are certainly more "modern" than the old Whalers sweaters, but I like the color combination and the design. The logo is pretty sweet looking as well.

Below is a video containing game highlights from the shootout victory over the Tigers, but before we get to that, make sure to head over to the Connecticut Whale Official Website and also follow them on twitter. We will give you periodic updates of how the Connecticut Whale and its players are doing here on the Rangers Tribune. We are actually planning to extend our prospect coverage a bit here, but that is something that is in the works.

Anyway, here are last night's highlights in Hartford:



[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQRfCq7jwPk?fs=1]

Brian Boyle Among Top 10 Surprises in the NHL

Yesterday, Pierre LeBrun over at ESPN took a look at the top ten surprises in the National Hockey League this season so far. Appearing at number five on the list was the New York Rangers' very own Brian Boyle. Here is what LeBrun had to say about the transformed forward....

5. Brian Boyle, New York Rangers

The 25-year-old had 12 goals combined in three previous NHL seasons. He had 10 as of Friday morning. What the heck is going on? For starters, he worked on his skating with former world pairs figure skating champion Barb Underhill in the offseason, as recounted in a nice "Hockey Night in Canada" feature by my pal Elliotte Friedman in October.

Boyle deserves to be on this list for his complete turnaround this season. If you would have asked me before the start of the season if Boyle was cracking the lineup out of training camp, chances are I would have given you a big fat "NO". Has he ever proved me wrong with his much improved skating and consistent scoring. It has been an exciting story to follow.

It all begins with effort because that has been the keystone in Boyle's resurgence.  He is one of the harder working players out on the ice for the Blueshirts and has earned each and every one of his goals this season. He is always quick to defend teammates, lay his body down to block a shot, basically do anything it takes for the benefit of the team. For these reasons, Boyle has went from possibly not making the lineup to centering the second line. Good for him.

Pregame Notes: Rangers at Predators, 11/27/10

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The New York Rangers will look to build on their 3-0 win over the Panthers when they take on the Nashville Predators tonight at Bridgestone Arena. The Rangers are 13-10-1 on the season after last night, and sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. This will be the Blueshirts' second to last game of November, a month in which they have posted an 8-6-0 record so far. The Predators, meanwhile, have not been as fortunate, as they are only one game over .500 and have dropped six of their last ten. They are in thirteenth in the West.

Rangers Lineup: (Updated at 6:15)

Dubinsky - Stepan - ???
Fedotenko - Boyle - Callahan
Frolov - Anisimov - Prust
Avery - Christensen - White

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Sauer - Eminger
Gilroy

Lundqvist
Biron

Scratches: Marian Gaborik (flu), Derek Boogaard, Chris Drury (broken finger)

Henrik Lundqvist will be right back in net after posting his 27th career shutout last night in Sunrise, Florida. The decision to play Hank again was not a difficult one for head coach John Tortorella to make. It is an unspoken rule, a precedent in some ways, to always start a goaltender after he gets a shutout, whether it is 24 hours later or 48 hours later. There is no question that Henrik won the Rangers that game last night, so he deserves to play again in this one. Hopefully he will not be forced to make 40 saves this time, though.

Michal Rozsival returns to the lineup tonight after missing nine straight games due to a shoulder strain. Quite honestly, his return could not have come at a better time because the Blueshirts are beginning to struggle on defense and it is time to shake up the pairings. I am assuming that the blue-line will look like it did prior to Rozy's injury, which means he will be with Staal and Girardi will drop to the second pairing to play with Del Zotto. Torts has yet to confirm who will be tonight's healthy scratch on D, but it will most likely be Matt Gilroy. If it is not I will be surprised.

As far as the offensive lines go, what you see above is what the Rangers started the game with yesterday. There were switches made over the course of the tilt, but we don't really know if those were permanent or not. I liked the way Stepan has been playing with Gaborik, so personally I would keep those two together. Again, Boyle and Fedotenko seem to click, so they should stick. Any updates that are announced we will have them for you.


Scouting the Predators:

The Predators are one of those teams that are low in the standings, but also cannot be taken lightly. In other words, the Rangers cannot come into this game and think they will get a win by playing lackadaisical hockey. Nashville is dangerous and can come back to bite you if you don't show them the proper respect. Just ask the Chicago Blackhawks, who the Preds put up a hell of a fight against in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. They were probably the toughest series out of all the ones the Hawks played leading up to the Finals.

There is some talent up front that the Blueshirts should be aware of. First off, 24-year-old Cal O'Reilly leads the team in scoring with 13 points. Their leading goal scorer, who only has six goals, is Steve Sullivan. Marcel Goc and Partic Hornqvist among others are also dangerous players. They have struggled to generate a whole lot of offense all season long so far, though, which you could probably tell just by the stats I provided above.

Ryan Suter and Shea Weber are where it's at on defense for the Preds. That kid Cody Franson ain't too shabby either. Defense is Nashville's strength and the Rangers will have to work in order to generate scoring chances against it.

Opponent Blog(s): On the Forecheck, Preds on the Glass

Postgame: Rangers Fight for Shootout Win in Nashville

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I said in today’s pregame notes that the New York Rangers would have to fight for what they wanted to accomplish tonight against the Nashville Predators. Well, they sure fought in this game to come back and defeat the Preds, 2-1, in their first shootout of the season. This contest had a little bit of everything in it, and even though it took quite some time for the Blueshirts to come alive, it was entertaining to watch. The Rangers may have not played their best hockey the past two nights, but they will take the back-to-back wins anyway.

The first period started off extremely slow, which was sort of expected since both teams played last night and needed to get a feel for each other being that they only faceoff once or twice a year. Nashville got on the board first when Dan Girardi could not control a bouncing puck in the slot and turned it over to Colin Wilson, who ripped a shot over Henrik Lundqvist. Shortly after, Sean Avery and Jordan Tootoo mixed it up in the faceoff circle and both were sent off for roughing. But once their penalties expired, they met up and agreed to drop the gloves. Tootoo demolished Avery in the fight (what in the world was that little celebratory dance he did?), but I felt that it sparked the Rangers a bit, since they clearly did not have their legs early in the game.

That was not the end of the fisticuffs. Brandon Prust would later have a go with Shane O’Brien behind Pekka Rinne’s net in what was a scrap that was more evenly fought than the one between Avery and Tootoo. After the buzzer sounded, Brandon Dubinsky put Colin Wilson on his behind, which started a brief scrum before the teams departed to their respective locker rooms.

Missed opportunities were the story of the second stanza for the Rangers. They outshot their opponent, 7-5, in the period but could not get any of those seven shots past Rinne. This included a wide open net for Erik Christensen, which he managed to miss and shoot right into the goaltender despite having all the time in the world. Alexander Frolov shot wide on a one-timer set up by Derek Stepan that definitely would have been a goal if it was on net. And Michael Del Zotto also had a great opportunity in the slot, but fired into the shin pad of a defender instead of on net. It was getting really frustrating for the players and fans alike.

Thanks to the Good Lord for allowing Ryan Callahan to finally break the ice with just over six minutes remaining in the third, scoring to tie the game at one. I think head coach John Tortorella would have pulled the bench out of the ground and flipped it over if the Rangers did not somehow find a way to tie that game with all of the chances they had. But once again, Callahan and Dubinsky (picked up an assist on the goal) came to the rescue.

To over time we went, where there would not be a single stoppage of play. Each team only had one shot on goal in the extra period, but the Blueshirts seemed to control the puck for a majority of the five minutes. I thought the defense on both ends was rock solid, which was probably why this one had to ultimately be decided in a shootout.

Eric Christensen, the first shooter, scored for New York with a sweet series of dekes to beat Rinne. Henrik Lundqvist then stepped in and stopped all three shooters he faced, clinching the 2-1 win for the Rangers. A feeling of relief fell upon the entire bench when Hank made that last save, because they knew this was a game they needed to win.

Henrik Lundvist was once again a major part of tonight’s win. Coming off a shutout against the Panthers on Friday, we expected him to continue his dominance against the Preds. That he did, making a total of 30 saves (10 less than last night) and standing strong in the shootout. He has bounced back nicely after the rough patch of games that he ran into over the past few weeks, which is definitely a good sign for the Blueshirts.

We have seen it over and over again this season, and we saw it yet again on this night. With Marian Gaborik out of the lineup, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky took it upon themselves to step up and carry the offense on their shoulders. Callahan had the tying tally and was incredible on the penalty-kill, while Dubinsky’s not-stop effort was probably why the Rangers were even able to win this game. You cannot praise these two enough, because they are giving the impression that nothing can go wrong for them right now.

Derek Stepan’s six game point streak may have been snapped, but he was certainly noticeable against the Predators anyway. I wasn’t kidding when I bragged about his ability to distribute the puck on the rush and while set up in the offensive zone. The kid has bird vision. He will become a top playmaker in the league over time, just watch.

A lot of people hate on Erik Christensen for multiple reasons - including myself – but his arsenal of shootout moves is outstanding. I have never ever seen him do the same move twice. Ever. No matter who is in net, it is almost impossible to outwait all of those moves leading up to the actual shot. You really cannot blame Rinne on the winner, because he had no chance to save it.

The defense in front of Henrik Lundqvist was much better tonight than in recent games. For the most part, they kept the Predators to the outside, which was not an easy task considering how often they have defensemen join in on the rush.

The Rangers now enter a weirdly scheduled week in which they will host the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, have two days off, and then enter a home-and-home with the rival Islanders on Thursday and Friday. All in all, that’s a total of six points that they can steal from teams within their division. If they can capture at least four of them I will be satisfied.

Time for Gaborik to Step Up

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For the first time since becoming a New York Ranger in 2009, forward Marian Gaborik was called out by head coach John Tortorella for his unsatisfactory play. This occurred after Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is being called the ultimate low of the season so far for the Blueshirts. Courtesy of Jesse Spector's column in the Daily News, here is what Torts had to say about Gaborik the other night....

On whether Marian Gaborik is in the “haven’t” group: “Absolutely. Absolutely. (Shoot), he’s supposed to be our best player. I looked at their best player, they were pretty good tonight. I didn’t see our best player.”

Good for Tortorella calling out Gaborik - it needed to be done. Just because he has been great for the team in the past does not mean he should get a pass when his effort is sub-par. Marian needs to hear it because he has been pretty invisible since his hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers. I was not happy with Gaborik's all around game on Wednesday, but what bothered me most was that he was coasting and not really giving a full effort. As a leader on the team and a role model to younger players, that is unacceptable.

There is no question that Gaborik is not 100 percent as he probably returned to the lineup from injury a bit early, but even still, that is no excuse for coasting and looking careless. That is not going to role as long as Tortorella is coach, and it will not go over well with the fan base either. We all expect much better from our top offensive player.

I think something else, that fans may have not picked up on yet, needs to be pointed out here, though. Gaborik, while he is very dangerous with the puck, is not a player that can single-handedly take over a game such as Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin can. I posed this thought to beat writer Andrew Gross on Thursday, and he was spot on when responding to me....

"I agree that Gaborik tends to need more help from his linemates than Ovechkin or Crosby," said Gross. "By definition, then, he cannot dominate a game in the same way, even though Gaborik is such an incredible skater/stick-handler/shooter."

Unfortunately the Slovakian sharpshooter does not have those supportive linemates right now. Alexander Frolov cannot even support himself, let alone a linemate, and Derek Stepan can only do so much as a 20-year-old rookie. But Gaborik is supposed to make his linemates better, not the other way around. He is being paid the big bucks to be a difference maker - he hasn't really been that in the games he has played this season. We'll see if the public statements made by the coach will change that.
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Don't forget about tonight's Blueshirt Banter viewing party for the Rangers-Panthers game at 7:00 p.m. at Poitin Still Irish Restaurant and Pub in Hackensack, NJ. Myself, as well as many other Ranger bloggers, will be there and we hope to see some of you there as well. In addition to us, Blueshirts legends Nick Fotiu, Ron Greschner and Chris Kotsopoulos will be in attendance also. It is promising to be a great night. For more information, head over to Blueshirt Banter.

Pregame Notes: Rangers at Panthers, 11/26/10

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The New York Rangers are desperately wanting to have a bounce back effort against the Florida Panthers tonight after they were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. The Rangers are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 12-10-1 record. They have played very strong in the month of November despite a difficult schedule, and they do not want to ruin that with a string of stinkers down the stretch here. The Panthers are in thirteenth place in the Conference with a record of 9-11-0.

Rangers Lineup:

Dubinsky - Stepan - Gaborik
Fedotenko - Boyle - Callahan
Frolov - Anisimov - Prust
Avery - Christensen - White

Staal - Girardi
Del Zotto - Eminger
Sauer - Gilroy

Lundqvist
Biron

Scratches: Derek Boogaard (sore shoulder), Michal Rozsival (shoulder strain), Chris Drury (broken finger)

Henrik Lundqvist will presumably get another shot in goal tonight after he allowed five goals to the Bolts on Wednesday. Don't expect him to do much better if the defense if front of him decides to play the same careless style of hockey they did in Tampa. Four of those five goals were not Henrik's fault at all, which is why I think John Tortorella decided not to yank him in the second period of that tilt. Lundqvist will play through this, I am not too worried.

The offensive lines you see above are what Torts had on the ice in practice yesterday. I like the fact that Torts is keeping Derek Stepan on the first line. The kid has been playing great and has earned that spot. Gaborik, on the other hand, needs to step up his game here and show that he is a leader on this team. He has been invisible and you can read more on that in this morning's article.

Brian Boyle is second on the team in goals (10) and is being rewarded for that by centering the second line. I actually have liked the way Fedotenko and Boyle have played together and now adding Ryan Callahan to the trio will surely make them a bit more talented all together. Meanwhile, Anisimov and Frolov will drop to the third line with Brandon Prust. It was time to shake things up with those two since, as the coach said, they were becoming "stale".

Scouting the Panthers:

The Panthers are currently on a two game losing streak and have dropped five of their last ten. They haven't exactly been a good team so far this year, which is why they are sitting in the basement with the Devils and Islanders. They do have a winning record on home ice, however, so that could come into play this evening. Either way, this is a game that the Blueshirts have to come away with two points in. They should easily overpower this team and force them into mistakes.

Opponent Blog: Litter Box Cats

Projected Goaltender Match-Up: Scott Clemmensen (FLA) vs. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)

Hope to see some of you at tonight's Blueshirt Banter Viewing Party!