Blueshirt Boggle

Lemieux Shocker: Pot Calls Kettle Black

Stop the presses! Mario Lemieux is worried about the integrity of the game. So much so, he is even suggesting that he cannot be part of it any more. Especially after having to endure it for the two decades since he called the NHL a "garage league" (although I don't recall seeing him put a garage league asterisk next to the two Stanley Cups he won since making that remark).

Mario, I have three words for: Pot, meet Kettle.

Lemieux of course is angry about his precious Penguins getting roughed up by the big bad Islanders Friday night in a game his team lost 9-3, trailing 6-0 barely more than one period in even before all the nonsense broke out. Now far be it for me, a Ranger fan who despises the Islanders even when they do good things, to rush to their defense when they do (admittedly) bad things, like Max Talbot sucker-punched and some other guy I never heard of blindsided in the head.

But Lemieux's two-faced whine is equally as galling.

Mario, where was your outrage when Talbot blindsided Comeau? Where was your outrage not only at your player's headhunting, but at his getting away without even being penalized, let alone suspended? That was one of the reasons the Islanders were so hepped up at getting at Talbot.

And if you're all hot and bothered about the sucker punch Talbot turtled on, why did we not hear a peep from you when your guy Jordan Staal suckered Brandon Prust? Where was your indignation at the NHL rescinding Staal's automatic one-game suspension, blaming the victim for diving, despite the indisputable fact that the dangerous sucker punch was in fact delivered?

And where was your outrage when your resident dirtbag Matt Cooke ran the Isles' goalie and your goalie skated the length of the ice to fight said goalie and break his face with one punch? Where was your concern about the integrity of the game safety of the players when your players were the one committing the sins, and getting away with them?

There's a word for that. To paraphrase a TV pundit, it's a word that rhymes with schmipocrisy. Or as many others say, you can dish it out, but you sure can't take it.

That was your Matt Cooke who was not even in the line-up against the Isles because he was suspended for plastering Fedor Tyutin into the glass from behind with a charge -- he took ten strides from the red line to the end boards to deliver that hit on the former Ranger defenseman. Where was your outrage that the monstrous "Cookie" only got four games for that, the same length given Daniel Paille for his first offense, after getting nothing for his latest kneeing, this one on Alex Ovechkin.

I guess it was in the same place where you left your outrage when Cooke blindsided Marc Savard right off the ice on a stretcher and right out of his career. The same Matt Cooke who was suspended two games for blindsiding the Rangers' Artem Anisimov last year. The same Matt Cooke who has a highlight reel more than four minutes long filled with head shots, knee shots, and in one case a kick to the head of a goalie (view the video here).

Sure, some of those "highlights" were from his years before coming to Pittsburgh. But you, Mario, signed this sociopath as a free agent, giving more than a million a year to a guy who has never scored more than 15 goals in a season, only once more than 30 points in a season, a guy you re-signed at the start of this season and are paying more than two million in cold hard greenback dollars. The kind of marginal player who targets skill players that you used to rail against -- this one targeting them not with hooks and holds but with elbows and knees meant to injure.

And while we're at it, let's go back in time. I expressly remember Mario the Magnificent striding to the podium to express his disappointment that the NHL did nothing about Malkin repeatedly slewfooting the Rangers' Paul Mara during a playoff game. I remember the outcry from his office when Malkin got a penalty shot in that same game after a clean hit, for a reason that to this day has never been explained by the NHL.

And I remember Mario running down to the ice to exhort the officials to call his player for a high stick when Chris Drury was bleeding profusely from the high stick Ryan Malone inflicted upon him that not one of the four zebras saw even though 20,000 viewers did. And I remember him running down a second time in that game to exhort them to give Drury the same leeway when he high-sticked Malone.

No, I'm kidding. Mario gladly accepted both the non-call on Malone and call on Drury that went his team's way without issuing a statement about the integrity of the league and the safety of the players.

Mario Lemieux worried about integrity. What a laugh. This from the guy who went to Pittsburgh after they tanked the regular season in order to be in position to draft him -- an act so unsportsmanlike that the league had to create a new rule to keep it from happening again. And this from the guy whose team is so obviously favored by the league and refs that sympathizers have to write exhaustive statistical studies proving that that is not the case.

And how about that Sidney Crosby tirade that HBO caught on tape after he was hit with a penalty, aimed at an NHL referee and laced with more F-bombs than allowed by the laws of physics? Or Crosby whining to the ref about not getting a penalty shot after drawing a penalty with an obvious dive? Or Cooke's ceaseless assault on the refs about how much he was being victimized while continuing his relentless assault on his fellow players?

Where was all your indignation, Marion, when it was your players threatening the integrity of the game and the safety of opposing players?

Take your puck and go home, Mario. Never mind that your pooh widdow Penguins lead the league in fights, in major penalties, in minor penalties -- by a wide, wide margin. You have no problem with integrity and safety when your players are throwing the headshots and punches. But god forbid anyone should touch your precious Penguins!

Patience Still a Virtue (Mostly)

The big surprise this season is not that the Rangers have lost five games in a row, it's that they have gone this deep into the season before sustaining their first such streak. You'd be wealthy if Vegas had extended odds on that happening and you took that bet back at the start of the year.

This season has been about developing a team. Developing teams go through such growing pains. The Rangers have remarkably been immune to it until now. And still, every one of these losses has been a one-goal loss, with real chances to pull a rabbit out a hat every step of the way.

And that's with a pair of rookie defensemen (Sauer and McDonagh) hunkered down on the second unit, making smart steady plays most of the way. And with a pair of rookie forwards (Stepan and Zucarrello) forming the nucleus of the most consistent forward line, the one that has been most effective on the forecheck.

And that's with a pair of former fourth line forwards early in the second hundred games of their careers (Prust and Boyle) stepping up to energize the team in all three zones. And with a pair of sophomore offensive defensemen going through the ups and downs of becoming major league blueliners.

This losing streak is no reason to press the panic button. This is not the time for the faithful to test their patience. We wouldn't have wanted the youth movement unplugged had these losses come in October or November, so let's not allow that to happen now just because the playoffs have unexpectedly come into sight.

On the other hand, there is the coaching. John Tortorella pushed all the right buttons all season long. He insisted the young guys get the chance. He insisted a Six Million Dollar Man on defense be banished to the minors and went with the untested Sauer right from the get-go. He demoted his $7 million captain to the fourth line to keep the upstart youngsters up front on the ice.

And he got them through a serious rash of injuries. By sticking to his work ethic and his system, they came back from one deficit after another, and kept doing it through one devastating injury after another. Dubinsky and Callahan carried the team through Gaborik's early season absence, and everyone else carried their load when they went down.

But now Tortorella has to step up to the plate. Marty Biron played well enough in Detroit to gloss over the foolhardiness of keeping Lundqvist on the bench two and a half straight games after one bad outing. The impact on Lundqvist's confidence remains to be seen -- as much of a competitor as he is, he may yet make Tortorella look like a genius while I eat my words.

The power play is different story, though. If there is one area where a coach has the ability to make an impact, it's on the power play. Numerous chances to complete the comebacks in all of the recent losses were squandered with the man advantage. The latest example was last night -- three minors, two of them overlapping, in the closing minutes of the one-goal loss to Detroit.

When you get one shot on goal every 65 seconds at even strength but only one shot on goal every 115 seconds with a one- or two-man advantage, it's no wonder the coach eventually sends out his third line on the power play to play their usual five-on-five game. But that just underscores the continuing failure to make a difference on the power play in more traditional ways via coaching.

You also have to wonder what game Tortorella watched last night after he called out Prust and Dubinsky for errors leading to goals, errors that just weren't there. On the first Detroit goal, he said Prust made a blind pass into the middle -- in fact, Boyle was stripped by Datsyuk behind the Ranger net and then he failed to stick with the ultimate goal scorer as the play went to the net.

On the second Detroit goal, Tortorella said Dubinsky blew his coverage, forcing Prospal to have to race over to pick up his man. In fact, Dubinsky was covering down low for Prospal, who was out by the blue line. The blown coverage was Prospal's, not Dubinsky's -- and then, after the turnover, Dubinsky stuck with his man, who had no part in the scoring, while Prospal let his man go, and that's who scored the goal.

Then there is the ongoing Gaborik situation. Kudos to Tortorella for getting significant ice time to the guys who are actually making things happen -- Step and Zuke, Cally and Dubi, Wolski and Avery, Prust and Boyle. And for the most part sticking with the line combinations that work best, though he juggles them eventually when there is no need to do so.

Meanwhile, the utterly useless Christensen centers Gaborik. And just what is up with Gaborik? As time wound down on the Rangers' last power play, there was a moment where he had a chance to get to a puck at the left point, but he never hustled and allowed Zetterberg to get there first and clear.

Tortorella has to get Gaborik more ice time and a better center -- two birds that can easily be killed with one stone by benching Christensen and moving Dubinsky to the middle, where he has a history of working well with goal-scoring right wingers like Jagr and Zherdev.

Tortorella was working on a bona fide case for the Adams Trophy for his work with this young, injury-decimated corps of players. Now he has to compelte the case by a) getting a viable power play on the ice, b) getting Gaborik a viable center, c) ceasing to call out key contributors when they didn't even do anything wrong, and d) ceasing to put Lundqvist's long-term confidence at risk with short-term thinking (though the jury is out on that one).

Random Boggles

Don't Touch That Dial: There is just no turning off a Ranger game. Regardless of the score, the Rangers continue to rule the third period of games. They have the best point percentage in the NHL when leading after two (19-0-0) and the best winning percentage when trailing after two (7-14-3 for .292, although Boston edges them out for best point percentage, .368 to .354).

Last night, down by three, they came within a last second goalpost of taking the Devils into overtime. Before the All-Star break, they came within Artem Anisimov's back of coming back to take Florida into OT. And that was after coming back in the third period of each of their two previous games to win.

But despite the continued comebacks, slippage is seeping in. Last night was the fifth time in the last nine games the Rangers found themselves behind by two or three goals at some point. Four of five times, they came back in the third period to within a goal or to tie. But they ended up losing all five.

In their game against Pittsburgh, the Rangers blew a two-goal lead for only the fourth time this season (the other three times were all against the Islanders in two separate games, including their only blown third period lead of any kind back in the second game of the season). They did come back to tie and take the game to a shootout, where they lost.

The overall picture: the Rangers remain competitive until the final buzzer, but they are falling behind more frequently and as a result coming up short more often than they did previously. In their first 34 games, they trailed entering the third period on 12 occassions and went 4-7-1 in those games (a .375 point percentage). They have been behind entering the third period an equal number of times in the 20 games since, going 3-7-2 (a .333 point percentage).

No Gift of Gab: Waiting for Marian Gaborik to score that last goal that completes those comebacks has become a losing proposition. He did it once against Washington when a shot caromed in off his arm, but that's it. His 33 points in 40 games is only the third worst pace of his career, though it's the first time he's below a point per game since the lockout.

But aside from 10 goals and 13 points in three games, he has just 6 goals and 20 points in his other 37. He has just two goals in 14 games since New Year's Day other than his four-goal outing against Toronto. I am on semi-forced hiatus from my blogging gig at MSG.com for worrying about Gaborik having slowed down, perhaps due to injuries. Whatever the reason, he is just not the explosive skater and shooter he was last season.

As in past seasons, almost all wins and losses can be pinned to the success or failure of the power play to score the key goal. They got the equalizer against Pittsburgh, but that was the only goal in nine minutes on the power play from the moment Jordan Staal took his match penalty, including a short two-man advantage. They came within one of the Devils after converting a five-on-three but could not tie in three subsequent advantages.

One may be tempted to wonder what the coaches are doing about the flagging power play. But without increased production from Gaborik, it's too much to ask for very much more from the rest of the crew, who are already overachieving. Gaborik has just one power play goal since late December, and it came with the Rangers already comfortably routing Toronto (though to be fair he does have four power play assists in that time).

Face-Off Mess: Hard to believe the Rangers aren't the worst team in the league on face-offs, but they are third-worst. And that's despite the coaching from Mark Messier. They would in fact be worst without Chris Drury's 56.2% record. Other than Drury and Brandon Dubinsky (who otherwise plays on the wing) at just over the 50-50 mark, all other Rangers who have taken over a hundred draws are well below the breakeven point.

Interestingly, face-offs are not hurting the power play. They are slightly better than 50% when up a man, led by Dubinsky's remarkable 64% win rate -- and Dubinsky has taken 35% of the power play draws. Dubinsky is also nearly 60% at home overall and close to 40% on the road, suggesting that he needs to just concentrate harder in all situations.

Serving Youth: With his relegation to face-off specialist, penalty killer, and fourth liner, there has been more attention paid to Drury's decline than ever. John Tortorella has been the first Ranger coach in memory to make decisions based on performance rather than reputation, name, or salary. He will have to make the tough decision on Drury the next time a forward comes off the injured list -- or, at least, the next forward not named Erik Christensen.

Actually, that's my opinion, not the coach's, who said today that Christensen will replace Drury in the next game in Montreal. Drury apparently has a wonky knee -- with his no movement clause precluding assignment to the minors and a trade not possible at his salary (even if he approved it), I have long said the best move is to find a way to get Drury on IR to take advantage of the long-term injury exception to free up his cap hit.

Despite my longstanding preference to go with youth over veterans and my early-season criticism of Steve Eminger, I am quite surprised and a little unhappy at his benching since the All-Star break in favor of the increasingly erratic Mike Del Zotto. I get that Tortorella wants Del Zotto to help jump-start the power play, and I'm thrilled that Ryan McDonagh (who should have made the team out of training camp) was not the defenseman scratched.

But at this moment, Eminger helps the Rangers more than Del Zotto, and down the road, Del Zotto will help the Rangers more with more seasoning in the AHL. Especially when you see what they've done with McDonagh and Mike Sauer down there.

Salary Crap: The struggles of Gaborik and Drury underscore the astonishing disparity between salary and scoring on this Ranger team. The six highest-paid forwards, who earn a combined 28 million cap dollars this season (though not all of it hits the salary cap because of injury and waiver exceptions), have combined for 29 goals and 82 points (more than half the goals and 40% of the points from Gaborik).

The Rangers' top six scorers among forwards who earn less than the top six earners have combined for 80 goals and 170 points, more than double in both categories despite earning a combined $8 million.  That's $100,000 per goal and less than $90,000 per assist, versus nearly a million dollars per goal and over half a mil per assist for the guys getting the big bucks.

On a personal note: Condolensces to John Giannone on the passing of his nephew. John is one of the great personalities in the Rangers' press room and post-game locker room scrum, and he is an underrated play-by-play man backing up the impeccable Sam Rosen. I extend my sympathies to him and his family in this moment of tragedy.

Can Rangers Get Help for Gaborik?

Ranger fans are optimists at their core. And with a team made up predominantly of hardworking overachievers, there is no reason for us to be anything but optimistic -- even when the Rangers lose, as they did twice over the weekend, they continue to show their resilience, thanks to the development of good young players that is sure to carry over into the future.

But the pair of one-goal losses to Montreal and Philadelphia, coming as it did on the heels of the rousing 1-0 win over Vancouver, the NHL's top team, is testing our optimism. You can wonder where the Rangers were in the first half of those contests, falling behind 3-1 and 3-0 respectively. But they were, as usual, right in there in the third period, fighting back but coming up one goal short.

And you knew exactly what they needed to close the deal. A goal -- a goal by Marian Gaborik, more specifically. And you pretty much knew it wasn't going to happen. Last night [vs. Philly], in fact, there was almost no chance of it happening because coach John Tortorella kept Gaborik on the bench, giving prime ice time to the guys who were actually generating scoring chances.

The conventional wisdom is that Gaborik hasn’t had a complementary center since playmaker Vinny Prospal went down to a knee injury last season. But I don't buy that theory -- what I saw last season was Gaborik making his linemates, including Prospal, better players, rather than him feeding off of them.

My observation is that Gaborik is just not the same player he was before sustaining a pair of injuries that seem to have slowed him down. The laceration that resulted from a collision with Henrik Lundqvist during practice last season, and the exacerbation of his chronic groin problems that resulted when he compensated for that injury, has slowed his foot speed. We just don't see those bursts of speed that left us in awe early last season.

Worse perhaps is his loss of hand speed. When the Great Gabbo was piling up goals by the bushel during his first 58 games as a Ranger, what really grabbed my eye was his lightning-quick shot. Never in four decades as a Ranger fan had I seen anyone get such velocity out of such a quick release when shooting a puck that was so far in front of him.

In other words, Gaborik didn't need to draw his stick back to get a lot of mustard on his shot. Some players caught goalies off-guard with a quick release, while others powered the puck through them or past them with a hard shot. But Gaborik was able to do both at the same time, a deadly combination.

Not any more. That shot just doesn't have the zip it used to have. He no longer has the hand speed to pull it off, and he doesn't have the foot speed to get himself the time and space to make it that much more lethal. What’s missing is just a half-step, maybe even less than that, but at the NHL level it’s just enough to cost him that split-second that froze opposing netminders.

Is it a lingering result of his early season shoulder injury? When Jaromir Jagr lost his scoring touch in his second season as a Ranger (and the power play tanked as a result just as it’s doing right now), there was a lot of talk about his loss of confidence. But he ultimately admitted that his shooting ability had diminished after the devastating shoulder injury he suffered during the 2006 playoffs.

Gaborik's injury was nowhere near as bad as Jagr's. But again, in the NHL, an infinitesimal difference can be magnified by the world-class caliber of the competition. So Gaborik has gone from scoring once in every two games before the Olympics to once in every three games for the remainder of last season after the Olympics to once in every five games so far this season.

And so, while the optimistic fan waits for Gaborik to bust out and bolster the unexpected offense we have gotten from other precincts, we witness instead an inevitable drop-off from those unlikely sources, with Gaborik unable to ride in for the rescue. We have gone from last season's one-man team to a team that is missing just that one man.

There is nothing that can be done about any physical problems that may be hampering Gaborik – and Tortorella flatly denied physical problems were the issue last night after benching his superstar scorer. But even if those problems are the issue, a bona fide playmaking center can help create time and space Gaborik needs and perhaps can no longer create for himself. And for once, the Rangers have the cap space to make it happen.

When the Rangers traded Michal Rozsival for Wojtek Wolski, the simple cap calculation was a reduction from Rozsival's $5 million to Wolski's $3.8 million, a savings of $1.2 million. But Wolski replaced Alex Frolov, out for the season with a knee injury that broke up the Rangers' $10 million fourth line. And Ryan McDonagh took Rozsival's spot. The cumulative cap reduction was $2.9 million -- or as much as $3.325 million if McDonagh's bonuses aren’t realized or are deferred to next year.

Had the Rangers immediately turned around and traded for another player, they could have taken on one with an annual cap hit of $3.325 million to offset the savings. But they didn't. Instead, they are banking those cap dollars. With every day that passes, with 90 days left in the season since the trade, the salary the Rangers are capable of taking on increases by 1.1% given the way the NHL prorates salaries for cap purposes.

So one week after the Wolski trade, the Rangers are now capable of acquiring a player with a salary of approximately $3.6 million. By the time the trade deadline rolls around, the value of that cap space will be equal to a player earning more than $5 million. Add in long-term injury exceptions that will amount to around $7.5 million and the Rangers will be able to take just about anyone who is available at the dealine, if not sooner.

As fans who value the Rangers’ rebuilding process more than anything else at this moment, we would be loath to see another hired gun come in and displace a promising young player. But with the Rangers unexpectedly vying for decent playoff position, a truly premier playmaking center who can get Gaborik going would be worth it.

Del Zotto makes the cut, NYR Nation on the Radio

Defenseman Michael Del Zotto will be the youngest Rangers defenseman to take the ice since Brian Leetch. The 19-year old was the Rangers first round draft pick in 2008. He can still be returned to his OHL London Knights.

Head Coach John Tortorella told Steve Zipay of Newsday this morning, "Right now, he has made the club. Based on his play, he has made the club." Del Zotto will likely play in the third pairing. Could the defensive pairs be split to place the rookies with a veteran? I would like to see:

Marc Staal - Dan Girardi

Wade Redden - Matt Gilroy

Michal Rozsival - Michael Del Zotto

I think Gilroy is fast enough where Redden wouldn't be the focus on the ice. This would give him a little more freedom with the puck and the comfort that his partner could backcheck if he takes a risk.

Staal and Girardi seem like they are going to stick. Rozsival would be able to focus more on his own zone if paired with the offensive Del Zotto.

No news on Alexei Semenov though there are some rumblings that he could continue to start the season on a tryout. Not sure if that's possible or not.

In other news, our friends at Ranger Nation will be on the radio tomorrow night doing their season preview. Hosted by Jonathan Ragus and Randy Sobel, the call in show will start at 9 pm. at http://radio.nyrnation.com . The call in is (347) 884 - 8692.

Grachev Assigned to Hartford following 4-3 loss

Following a tough 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, forward Evgeny Grachev was assigned to Hartford.

Grachev showed strong signs of being a top-six forward in the league. However, his skating and timing could use some refining in Hartford.

Here is the release:

RANGERS ASSIGN EVGENY GRACHEV TO HARTFORD
22 Active Players Remain With The Club

New York, September 27, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced
today that the club has assigned forward Evgeny Grachev to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey  League
(AHL).  The Rangers now have 22 players remaining in training camp, including two goaltenders, seven defensemen
and 13 forwards.  The Blueshirts’ next practice is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at 11:00 a.m. at the MSG
Training Center.

Final Preseason Game Underway

The Rangers will look to answer some final roster questions this afternoon in their final preseason contest against the Washington Capitals.

(Rangers trailing 1 - 0 midway through the first period.)

Amongst the players in question are defensemen Alexei Semenov (will he be offered a contract?) and Mike Del Zotto (will he be returned to juniors?). It's fair to assume that Semenov will remain with the club on a one year contract. The Del Zotto debate should be answered after seeing the 19 year-old play top minutes this afternoon against Washington's top line.

The forward positions aren't set either. With Sean Avery injured, it may present a temporary opportunity for someone, but in reality there are only a couple spots for four players to take.

Aaron Voros, Evgeny Grachev, Brian Boyle, and Artem Anisimov are all looking to fill the third and fourth line roles. Two of these players will likely be sent down, but much depends on how Vinny Prospal succeeds on the wing. If Head Coach John Tortorella determines that Prospal is better at center, then either Anisimov or Boyle will center the fourth line. If Prospal is a winger, then either Voros or Grachev will be sent down.

Keep up with updates on Twitter...

Rangers pull out last minute victory at MSG finale

"It's a big play at the end by Dubi," said Head Coach John Tortorella following a last minute victory by the New York Rangers in their final preseason home game.

With just over one minute remaining, Brandon Dubinsky took a cross ice pass from Marian Gaborik and worked the puck along the boards, warding off the Washington defense as he entered the offensive zone.

Dubinsky fought the puck to the net just enough to catch Jose Theodore off-guard and give Chris Higgins a shot at the goal.

Higgins capitalized and the Rangers held on to win 3 - 2, in the two teams' first meeting since Washington ousted the Rangers from the playoffs in seven games last season.

Dubinsky, in his first game of the preseason following his week-long holdout, didn't look out of place and had a little extra jump in his step, working hard to be the first player to the puck nearly every shift.

"I felt good all week, but you never know since it's preseason and there is still another level to jump to," said Dubinsky.

He must have felt particularly good with new linemate Marian Gaborik who tallied two goals of his own and added an assist on the game-winner.

"He was great tonight and that shot of his is pretty scary," said Dubinsky. "If I play with him it's just an indicator that I'm trying to get him the puck as much as I can in scoring areas..."

Higgins was equally impressed with his Slovakian linemate's first two games.

"He's such a phenomenal talent, it's pretty much a guaranteed goal," said Higgins who added an assist on Gaborik's second goal.

Originally, Vinny Prospal had centered Higgins and Gaborik, but Dubinsky was phased into that spot later in the game. Tortorella, however, has not committed to either combination and vows to continue and "try different things there and see where it goes."

The game went back and forth and featured a lot of time on specialty teams. Both teams took seven penalties apiece , but neither could rally any momentum from the power play.

Gaborik broke the game open early in the second period with a breakaway shorthanded goal that went five-hole on Theodore, nearly knocking him over.

Later in the period, following a strong defensive play by Matt Gilroy on Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin corralled the puck from the corner and out to the faceoff circle before roofing a shot over Henrik Lundqvist's pads.

The teams traded goals again as Gaborik got the lead back at 12:37. However, the Rangers missed a coverage on the backcheck and Alexei Semenov was left all alone to face a 2-on-1 with Ovechkin and Keith Aucoin. Ovechkin slipped a pass beyond Semenov's reach and Aucoin buried it with three minutes left in the period.

During the third, neither team had a tremendous number of opportunities, but the physical play did pick up with big hits on both sides. There were a couple fights to speak of as well, as Donald Brashear and Brandon Sudgen had a quick spat in the second period followed by a near minute-long re-match in the third.

Brashear won by decision.

Throughout the game, Brashear sat for four penalties, much to the dismay of the Garden faithful. But the smattering of boos, cheers, and jeers were heard by more than just the fans.

"Donald Brashear is gonna be a big part of this hockey club, I don't think he needs to be disrespected," said Tortorella. "[The media] disrespected him when we brought him in here...He's gonna serve to be a pretty important guy for this hockey club."

Tortorella also intends to use Brashear in a variety of roles, including the power play which he saw some time on tonight, setting himself atop the crease.

The Rangers now look to Sunday as they travel to Washington to close out the preseason. Both teams used predominantly veteran lineups in preparation for next week's start to the regular season. There may be at least one more cut prior to Sunday's game.

GAME NOTES AND STATS:

• Henrik Lundqvist played the full game, recording 23 saves for the victory
• Wade Redden was a +2 and led the team in time on ice with 23:50. He was named Third Star of the Game. Dubinsky received the Second Star and Gaborik the First Star
• Gilroy and Semenov were both -2

Sanguinetti Assigned To Hartford (Update 2:50 with Analysis and Game Notes)

Just announced. As expected, defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti was assigned to Hartford. While he has improved since his draft year, he still appeared a half-step behind much of the preseason games.

Here is the official release:

RANGERS ASSIGN BOBBY SANGUINETTI TO HARTFORD

23 Active Players Remain With The Club

 

            New York, September 24, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has assigned defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey  League (AHL).  The Rangers now have 23 players remaining in training camp, including two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 14 forwards.  The Blueshirts’ return to action tonight when they will host the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the final home game of their 2009-10 pre-season schedule.

****************

UPDATE: As per Steve Zipay of Newsday, the line combinations at practice this morning were the following:

Grachev-Drury-Kotalik

Lisin-Dubinsky-Callahan

Higgins-Prospal-Gaborik

Voros-Anisimov-Brashear

Boyle

Redden-Rozsival

Del Zotto-Girardi

Gilroy-Semenov

Staal-Sanguinetti

A few curious points with these lines. Obviously with Sanguinetti being sent down the Rangers know their top 7 defensemen. It appears, at face value, that Del Zotto will be given an opportunity for at least a few NHL games before being sent back to the OHL. Still not sure if he will stick, but it's worth a look.

The defensive pairings also may need some tweaking. If Semenov is your seventh defenseman, then it would make sense to have an experienced defender with an inexperienced one. Personally, I would like to see Gilroy with Staal.

If Semenov plays in the sixth spot, then Del Zotto sits and the Rangers stick with their top four pairings like last season.

Could Brian Boyle be sent to Hartford? Looking into his contract implications, but with all of the praise that Vinny Prospal has received as center, perhaps the Rangers are toying with the idea of sticking with today's lines for a while.

A Higgins - Prospal - Gaborik line looks good on paper. The line of Lisin - Dubinsky - Callahan could produce a lot of speed and punch. And Grachev - Drury - Kotalik has a little bit of size, a little bit of goal production, and a little bit of defensive play. The fourth line of Voros - Anisimov - Brashear isn't overly appealing only because it may be wasting Anisimov's talents.

Should be interesting!

We will be Twittering live from the Garden tonight so take a look in. We will also have some post-game analysis here including quotes from the locker room and in-game photos on our Facebook page.

Stick around!

Another Update: It appears that the practice lines will stick for tonight's game. Also, a point to debate during the game: With these current lines, the Rangers have a lot of firepower in scoring. One player missing? Sean Avery.

When Avery is ready to jump back in, where would he fit amongst this hodge-podge? Likely in Grachev's place alongside Drury and Kotalik, but is a large scoring winger in Grachev a better fit than Avery?

The Rangers need Avery's grit, but with the abilities that players like Grachev and Anisimov have shown, where does he fit in the top three lines? I don't believe he would be enough of a presence in the game by being placed on the fourth line.

On a side note, amidst all of the Phoenix Coyotes circus, Wayne Gretzky has stepped down as Head Coach. Dave Tippet looks to be named shortly as his successor.

I could see "The Great One" returning to the Rangers in a management capacity, especially since buddy Mark Messier is now in the fold.

Thinking Defensively

At this point in the preseason, it's likely that the Rangers know six of their seven defensemen.

Returning from last season on the blueline are Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Wade Redden, and Michal Rozsival. Add to that mix newcomers Matt Gilroy and most likely Alexei Semenov who has been strong during his tryout with the club.

The only defensemen left in camp? Mike Del Zotto and Bobby Sanguinetti.

Both have gotten long hard looks from the organization and when asked about the two, Head Coach John Tortorella simply said, "He just doesn't know."

One factor that will play heavily into this decision is that Del Zotto is age-eligible for Juniors or the NHL, he cannot play in the AHL. It is the same situation that Jordan Staal of Pittsburgh faced a couple seasons ago. He can play up to 10 (I believe) games in the NHL and then he either must be returned to his Juniors team or stay with the NHL club the rest of the season.

Sanguinetti, can go to Hartford and be called between the two teams without any reservations.

The problem is that while both have shown some strong skills, neither has really stood out to the point of forcing the team to keep them.

During camp, Tortorella has been fairly mum on Sanguinetti, saying he hasn't seen him much.

On Del Zotto, he has said a bit more, but most recently, "he has made a case for himself to stay here."

Not exactly convincing.

Size is an issue with both players and while Sanguinetti seems to have filled out a bit from his draft year, he still lacks some of the width that many NHL defenseman have. Del Zotto is a wider player, but is not as physically mature yet as Sanguinetti.

Skating has been a strong point of both, they can keep up with the pace of the NHL game. However, the ability to see the ice and process plays at that speed is a different story. Neither have looked comfortable nor have they shown the kind of decision making with (and without) the puck required to play night in and night out.

Both would probably benefit with some time in the minors, the problem is that Del Zotto is a man amongst boys in the OHL, but a boy amongst men in the NHL.

My best guess is that Sanguinetti starts the season in Hartford and Del Zotto is returned to Juniors. The Rangers will probably bring in a defensemen via free agency or trade, such as Marc-Andre Bergeron to try and fill that final pairing role.

If not, they could start the season with six defensemen and use Sanguinetti as a callup after he gains a little confidence in Hartford.

Regardless, Del Zotto and Sanguinetti have shown the potential to be prominent NHL-caliber defensemen and that is something that all fans can smile about.