We spoke to Matt Cullen, Brendan Shanahan, and Coach Renney after last night's game and got some of their observations, particularly on other players.
"We made a few good things happen," Cullen said of linemates Greg Moore and Prucha. "We controlled the play for the most part. Petr has already established himself as a top goal scorer. The thing that surprises me and impresses me about him is his effort, on the puck especially -- he's so hard to get off the puck. Mooresy is a big strong horse. I was really impressed with his game. He seems like a power forward, he skates really well. He's a big kid, really thick. Strength on the puck with him too -- he won a lot battles tonight that he had no business winning, and he got the puck to the net and made some nice plays."
About his own goal, in which he beat David Hale with an outside-inside move and then beat Scott Clemmensen with a backhand-to-forehand move, he said, "It's always nice to get off on the right foot, get the ball rolling, get that feeling back. Scoring goals is so much of a feeling -- you get that feeling, that hunger, and it seems to go in in a flash. The last year I've worked on driving wide and using the speed I have and getting by guys -- at worst the puck ends up in the corner and we establish possession."
"The word on him throughout the league," Shanahan said of Cullen, "was that [during] the lockout, he went over to Italy and played on a team where he was "The Man" and he brought that confidence [back] over with him to the NHL. Sometimes you have the talent but you don't thrust yourself in that position where you have the confidence. Since he's been back, he's been a different player."
Shanahan has been helping Hugh Jessiman out during pre-season. "I told him it's the toughest position at forward, that style of player," Shanahan related. "Before me, Cam Neely struggled his first few years. I struggled my first year. I watched Joe Thornton go through the same thing. You're like a big Marmaduke -- you're trying to find your game, learn how to use your size to your advantage. He's obviously still working on his game, trying to find out how to use all his assets. I just offered him my help if he needed it, get him a little confidence."
Shanahan is still getting to know his new teammates and is not yet ready to pass the quiz on names. "Our last two shifts were actually with Bruce, uh, Gardner..." He needed some help getting to Graham. "Bruce. I had one game with him at camp as well. So it's getting to know these guys -- first name and last name." He took the humor further when talking about Jessiman, who said he never had to ask Shanahan for help, that the veteran approached him first. "Well, he was the only guy on the ice," Shanahan quipped. "I had to talk to somebody. I knew he was going to be at Ranger camp. I wanted to be able to know someone's first name. Plus, he's so big, I wanted to make friends with him."
Renney was asked about Colton Orr fighting Cam Janssen in the second period. "Anybody that fills that role, if they can manage the ice properly and contribute to other parts of the game other than being a tough player, that's an advantage for you," Renney said. "Colton's a smart guy -- he understands the timing of situations like that. Even though it put us down five on three, it's an exhibtion game -- you have to make a statement to your teammates and to the opponent. It certainly doesn't hurt him, what he did tonight. We understand his ability to think his way through the game, so what he did was fine by me."
Nigel Dawes needed 32 stitches to repair the damage done when he was hit in the face by a puck Tuesday night -- 16 to the outside of his face, 16 more inside his mouth. Jessiman also took a few stitches around the eye when he was hit into the boards by Jamie Langenbrunner. Jessiman told a reporter that Langenbrunner tried to help him avoid hitting the boards after hitting him, a move that impressed him.
The Rangers' other injuries dominate the news today, with reports in the Daily News, Newsday, and Star-Ledger on Jagr, Rozsival, and Weekes (with the Ledger devoting a separate article to Jagr alone). The most interesting tidbit comes from John Dellapina, who writes that Jagr "has been doubling back to the MSG Training Center many evenings to get in a second, punishing skate after morning practices and weight sessions." The Journal News has an article on Cullen, one of the stars of last night's game -- Ranger fans, I think you'r going to like this guy. Straightforward game reports from the Devils beat writers in the Post and Record. And a lengthy recap at NYR.com, which also has a feature on Shanahan and a prospect report from Europe, where Jan Marek remains whatever the Russian phrase is for "en fuego" and Artem Anisimov is not playing. From his hometown Darien Times, an article on Hugh Jessiman.
Also, don't forget Sam Weinman's Ranger Report -- he's keeping things as up to date as any fan can want, with the Puerto Rico roster up right now, based on what he saw at practice today. Over at NY Sports Day, Joe McDonald spotlights on Greg Moore.
The twenty-two Rangers who went to San Juan were bolstered by ten additions from Wolf Pack camp in preparation for tonight's home exhibition vs. the Islanders. Henrik Lundqvist and the injrued Kevin Weekes were two of those, of course. The remainder include two surprises (Lee Falardeau and Dan Girardi) among a group of top prospects (Hugh Jessiman not among them as of now). The rehabbing Jaromir Jagr, Michal Rozsival, Jed Ortmeyer, and Sandis Ozolinsh leave the Rangers with 36 players in camp, though the latter two are not expected back until later in the season. See the Hartford Courant for the full list of call-ups.
