Blueshirt Boggle

Digital Edition of Blueshirt Bulletin is Now Available

SATURDAY UPDATE: Newly acquited Erik Reitz will not play today in Boston, joing Petr Prucha on the sidelines -- click here to see our preview of the Rangers-Bruins at Blueshirt Bulletin+ and access today's links and reader comments.

PM UPDATE: The Rangers acquired rugged depth defenseman Erik Reitz from Minnesota in a trade for Dan Fritsche -- click here to read more at Blueshirt Bulletin+.

THURSDAY UPDATE: The Rangers had a chance to melt the Igloo, instead they themselves melted down when the puck didn't bounce their way -- click here to read our musings about good luck, bad luck, and no luck at all at Blueshirt Bulletin+ along with links and reader comments.

Blueshirt Bulletin is now available in digital format via Zinio. You can read a single issue or take out an online subscription. Our January issue is up and ready right now -- you can read it within your browser, or you can download it and read it offline if you first download Zinio's reader. In either case, payment is made through Zinio -- click here to subscribe (there is a link on that page if you're interested in a single copy). Click here to read a sampling of the print edition (our monthly Ranger News & Notes section) and to see how the browser version works. Inside the reader, click on the image or on the magnifying glass to enlarge each page to readable size, and click on the arrows to flip through pages.

Blueshirt Bulletin+ access comes with all purchases -- single issue buyers will get access through the end of February, full year subscribers will get access for the duration of your subscription term. While Zinio handles all the logistics for taking out a subscription and delivering each copy, you must contact us directly about BB+ -- E-mail us at blueshirt@mindspring.com to get access or if you have any questions.

Today at BB+ we have a lengthy article about last night's game. Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund, Steve Valiquette, and Tom Renney talk about the first line's contribution to the 3-2 win over Carolina, while Lauri Korpikoski and Brandon Dubinsky talk about their goals, with Korpikoski describing how he deals with going in an out of the line-up and Dubinsky talking about how all of these tight games are preparing the Rangers for playoff battles.

Click here if you already subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read the game story as well as today's links, and reader comments. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. And as of right now, you can get access to both BB+ and the digital edition of the magazine via Zinio.

Closer to Home

As the Rangers resume practice today to prepare for their stretch run, they find themselves in pretty much the same situation as the last couple of seasons -- in need of some kind of spark to get their underachieving leaders going and to secure their playoff position. But there is a difference this year -- this time, they start the home stretch much closer to where they have ended up since the lockout. At 28-16-4, they really need to be not much more than a .500 team to finish 42-27-13 as they did last season or 42-30-10 the year before. They won't need the desperate 18-6-7 or 19-9-6 finishes that got them into the playoffs the past two springs. Well, maybe they don't need those kind of finishes to make the playoffs, but they will to position themselves for more than the second round exits that ended the prior two seasons...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read our stretch run preview as well as today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

Par For the Corsi

SUNDAY UPDATE: Henrik Lundqvist got little attention despite being the best goalie in the shootout challenge last night -- click here to read today's mini-rant at Blueshirt Bulletin+ along with links and reader comments.

SATURDAY UPDATE: Our All-Star Game preview, with comments by Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, and Scott Gomez, is now available at Blueshirt Bulletin+ -- click here to read today's posting along with links and reader comments.

You know the conventional wisdom -- if not for Henrik Lundqvist, where would the Rangers be? See our posting yesterday at BB+ and you'll see the Rangers themselves saying how happy they are with their record but how they have to be better and how much Lundqvist has bailed them out. But there's more to it than that -- go back and check other things that have been said repeatedly, and you will find numerous references to how well the team does when they stick to their game plan and how much that system is built around minimizing the number of scoring chances Lundqvist has to face. In fact, the Rangers do a pretty good job at it -- they may not score much, but they are good at keeping the puck down the other end of the rink. There is a way to measure this...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read our analysis of the Rangers' ability to control the puck as well as today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

Dinner Special: Rangers Roast Ducks

THURSDAY UPDATE: Dubinsky, Gomez, Drury, and Renney talk about where the Rangers are at the break and where they think they need to go -- click here to read today's posting at BB+ along with links and reader comments.

Winning in today's NHL does not require painting a masterpiece. It mostly requires scoring some power play goals and keeping the other team from scoring power play goals. And if you can get a couple of shorthanded goals, it makes it that much easier, as the Rangers proved last night in roasting the Ducks 4-2 at the Garden. Coming in off a poor effort in Pittsburgh and heading into the weeklong All-Star break, the Rangers overcame a sluggish start thanks to a power play goal, short-circuited the Ducks' potent power play with a shorthander, got the eventual game winner on a late third period power play, and then shut down a last-ditch two-man advantage in the closing minutes with a second shortie...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read our recap of the Rangers' special teams win over the Ducks, with Brandon Dubinsky, Scott Gomez, Henrik Lundqvist, and Tom Renney weighing in on how it was done. You will also find today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

Yadda-Bing Yadda-Boo

TUESDAY UPDATE: Is Tom Renney benching the wrong players tonight? We think so. Click here to read why at BB+ as well as access today's media links.

Sometimes there's just nothing you can say about a mid-season let-down at the end of a long road trip less than 48 hours after a big emotionally-charged win. The Rangers' 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh yesterday was one of those games. The analysis begins and ends with the fact that the team -- other than Henrik Lundqvist -- just flat out didn't show up. So we decided to have some fun with it instead with a satirical report built around the notion that NBC's promotional campaign for the game and their in-game analysis ("Crosby yadda-yadda-yadda Crosby yadda-yadda-yadda Crosby," etc.) didn't include the Rangers showing up anyway, other than Lundqvist. Sometimes you just gotta laugh to keep from crying...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read today's BB+ mock recap. You will also find today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

Going For Broken

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: More on the official misconduct in Chicago and a preview of today's game in Pittsburgh, along with links, at Blueshirt Bulletin+ -- click here to read.

UPDATE: The Callahan-Orr appearance at Last Licks on Monday has been postponed by the Rangers -- it will be re-scheduled down the road.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And so the referees made two correct calls last night, both leading to Chris Drury power play goals, including the overtime winner, in a gutty 3-2 win in Chicago. They tagged Chicago for an instigator penalty in the second period that gave the Rangers their only five-on-three, which Drury converted after a penalty killer lost his stick, and they reluctantly called an obvious overtime slash that led to Drury's deflection of a Wade Redden shot/pass that closed out an emotional win -- the Rangers were literally playing three-on-five five times but were figuratively playing two men down all game when you add in the officials....

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read today's BB+ recap of last night's big win in the most poorly officiated game you will ever see. You will also find today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

How to Start Salvaging the Power Play

FRIDAY UPDATE: Our preview of the Hawks and tonight's game is available at BB+ along with today's links -- click here to read it. The Callahan-Orr appearance at Last Licks has been postponed by the Rangers -- it will be re-scheduled down the road.

Whether you believe the Rangers' glass is half full or half empty, there is little debate about what constitutes a huge chunk of the glass that is empty or in need of filling: the power play. Going 8-for-75 (10.7%) over the past twenty games is bad enough. Net out shorthanders and the power play has contributed just one goal in twenty games! Perhaps the problem is not that they don't have anyone capable of filling the role of go-to guy but that they haven't sufficiently utilized the one guy who can do it...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read today's BB+ posting on why the Rangers should give two key young players more ice time, especially on the power play. You will also find today's links and reader comments there. Subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation.

Don't forget -- Ryan Callahan and Colton Orr will be at Last Licks in Armonk on Monday greeting fans and signing autographs. If you mention Blueshirt Bulletin when making advance reservations, you'll get a 10% discount and a free gift. And you may get to meet Mitch Beck of Howlings if he decides to make the trek to Last Licks with his boys. Click here for more information on these signings, as well as others both within the NHL (Alex Ovechkin will visit next month) and other area teams from other sports.

Small Adjustment Leads to Big Change for Hank

One of the big keys for the Rangers this season was the need to get a complete season out of their three-time Vezina nominated franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist. This year, Lundqvist took another holiday season dip, but for no discernible reason other than the team's shortcomings on defense and their inability to get him goals, especially on the power play. His January resurgence likewise seems to be tied to the Rangers' newfound dedication to playing a defensively sound game. But he revealed last night that he had strayed a bit from what he does best, aside from what was going on around him, and needed some help from goalie coach Benoit Allaire...

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read today's lengthy recap of last night's 2-1 win, which includes a discussion about Lundqvist. You will find a healthy dose of quotes there from Lundqvist, Tom Renney, and Benoit Allaire on the goaltender (which none of the major papers or their blogs covered), as well as more (a lot more) from Lundqvist and Renney, from Wade Redden and Chris Drury, and from two of the game's young stars, Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan, as well as today's links and reader discussion. Current subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card.

If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation. Sadly, we could no longer continue to provide the content without reader support. The only alternative to BB+ was shutting the site down altogether. If you found our coverage to be of value to you, it's all still there at BB+ (and then some), but your nominal support -- less than $3.00 per month -- is needed to help keep it going. And you get the magazine to boot. Obviously, if it's not worth that little to you, then it's not worth it for you. Then again, understand that it's not worth our while either to provide a service of such little value. We don't want to gouge anyone or inundate you with promotional messages, we're just trying to stay afloat.

Dubi & Cally, Orrsy & Voros, and Ice Cream Too

Brandon Dubinsky will be at Last Licks in Armonk tomorrow along with his buddy Aaron Voros greeting fans and signing autographs. Ryan Callahan and Colton Orr will be there next Monday doing the same. For fans who enjoy meeting players and collecting their autographs, this is a great opportunity to see a couple of core Rangers, young players who have grown up in the Ranger organization and bleed Ranger blue.

And you can get some ice cream too while you're there, like Mike Richter's Ricky Road. If you mention Blueshirt Bulletin when making advance reservations, you'll get a 10% discount and a free gift. Click here for more information on these signings, as well as others both within the NHL (Alex Ovechkin will visit next month) and other area teams from other sports.

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for Blueshirt Bulletin+ access to read today's BB+ posting at on Tom Renney making lemonade out of the lemons he's been given to work with. You will also find today's links and reader discussion there. Current subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com.

E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. If you're wondering why our content has migrated to BB+, click here for an explanation of why. Sadly, we could no longer continue to provide the content without reader support. The only alternative to BB+ was shutting the site down completely. If the content is of value to you, then the nominal support we request -- less than $3.00 per month -- is needed to help keep it going. And you get the magazine to boot.

New Features in a New Issue For a New Year

The January issue of Blueshirt Bulletin went into the mail on Friday with some new features and changes this month both in the content of the magazine and how it can be accessed. Content-wise, we asked our featured writers from the Ranger beat to think more analytically than reportorially, since they usually report all of the news as it happens in their papers and on their blogs. So this month, Sam Weinman of The Journal News analyzes Tom Renney's style of coaching and how he handles his players, Andrew Gross of The Record analyzes the need for more offense from the Rangers' top young forwards, and Steve Zipay of Newsday has the Rangers' mid-term report card, with a look at each player.

We also introduce two new features we hope will be entertaining -- a Ranger quote book, featuring the most interesting things said by and about the team since the last issue, and what we have dubbed "Stars and Sticks", which includes the three stars of the month, the three players most in need of a stick rather than a carrot, the three plays of the month, and the prospect of the month. These are in addition to our ongoing features -- Scoop Malinowski's Biofiles (Bobby Sanguinetti and Andy Bathgate this month), John Halligan's All Around the Rink With the Rangers, Ron Boesgaard's View From the Blues, Rangers Timeline, and Ranger News & Notes.

Some things will not change -- foremost among that is our prospect coverage, which has proven to be so popular among our readers. This month, Jess Rubenstein has an article on Tomas Kundratek based on an interview with the young defenseman, Mitch Beck hands out awards for the first half to the Hartford Wolf Pack, bolstered by coach Ken Gernander's analysis and player reaction, and Bruce Berlet has two full pages of items about the Wolf Pack, including the story of what happened when Artem Anisimov faced off against a lifelong friend and teammate from Russia for the first time ever.

The big change in accessing the magazine is the introduction with this issue of a digital version that can be read online, hosted by Zinio, the leading provider of digital magazines. Through Zinio, you will be able to subscribe or you can purchase an individual issue. The current issue will go up on Zinio late next week -- we will post information on how to access it at that time. If you have any advance questions about it, feel free to contact us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. Zinio subscribers will get full access to Blueshirt Bulletin+ as a bonus, just like print subscribers. Single-copy buyers will get one month's access to BB+ as a bonus.

Click here if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access to read today's Blueshirt Bulletin+ posting, which has a sneak peak at four of the above mentioned articles (Zipya's report card, the Biofiles, Jess's article on Kundratek, and "Stars & Sticks") as well as today's links and reader commentary. Current subscribers who need instructions on how to access BB+ should write us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com.

E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+ -- you can be up and running in the time it takes to write an E-mail message if you subscribe via PayPal or credit card. Click here for an explanation of why our content has migrated to BB+ -- the bottom line is that if you find value in our coverage, a nominal fee of less than $3.00 a month (less than ten cents a day) is required to help keep it going, as we can no longer afford to provide free coverage.