Blueshirt Boggle

Cherepanov Tragedy

Ranger draftee Alexei Cherepanov tragically died during his club's game in Russia tonight, according to various sources confirmed by an announcement by the Rangers. Initial unconfirmed reports that the collision took place during a shift change with former Ranger Jaromir Jagr have been discredited. Jagr was said to be distraught as his young protege collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the bench three minutes before the end of the game.

Omsk coach Reg Fleming told TSN.ca that Cherepanov collapsed on the bench and that he could not connect it to any specific event that happened during the game. Problems getting an ambulance and working defibrillator appear to have contributed to the problem. Our deepest sympathies to the young man's family, friends, and teammates.

More as details emerge from the Record, Newsday, Slap Shot, Rangers Report, Ranger Rants, Blueshirts Blog, NHL.com. The only detailed report from Russia that we could find is here. Beyond the Blueshirts has a translation of the one and only posting Cherepanov put up on his blog just a few days ago.

UPDATE: Just spoke to a Russian TV journalist here at the Garden and was told that from back home, as far he has heard, Cherepanov did in fact collide with a teammate, but that it wasn't Jagr -- Jagr was however sitting next to Cherepanov on the bench when he collapsed.

UPDATE [8:00]: Jagr spoke to the Rangers by phone and said that there was no collision on which Cherepanov was hurt. He said he and Cherepanov had just come off the ice after an unsuccessful two on one and were on the bench talking when he just collapsed. He was at one point revived and was aware of his surroundings, but when the defibrillator was brought in, its batter was dead, according a Russian reporter.

The Devils and Daniel Fritsche

If there was one common theme for the Rangers as they compiled their 4-0 start, it was their opponents' lack of depth, especially on defense (Tampa is so desperate, they're bringing in Marek Malik for a try-out). Tonight, the Rangers face a stiffer test in the always tough Devils, well coached and well managed as a team. The Rangers will make one line-up change tonight, according to Blue Notes -- Dan Fritsche will make his Ranger debut as third line left winger in place of Pat Rissmiller, whose ankle is hurting after a spill the other day (Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes are the other scratches again).

For previews of tonight's game, see the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Record here, here, and here, Post here and here, Star-Ledger here, here, and here, NYR.com, MSG.com, Stats, and Fire & Ice. NHL.com has a feature on Henrik Lundqvist and Brandon Dubinsky, THN.com has a Biofile on Lundqvist courtesy of our own Scoop Malinowski, and Inside Shots has an update on their Rangers team report. Beyond the Blueshirts reports that Alexei Cherepanov has been selected for the Russian national team and where the Hartford defectors have landed. The Wolf Pack won its first of the season last night -- see Howlings, WP.com, and the CT Post.

At Blueshirt Bulletin+ today, we have an excerpt from our October cover story on the new leadership duo of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez -- click here to read it if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to take out a subscription to get the magazine as well as BB+ access.

Valiquette Shoots Down Flyers Again

The evening started with the #2 on the Republican ticket dropping the puck, and it ended with the #2 in the Rangers' net stopping a bunch of pucks that would have completed a Flyer comeback from an early 4-0 deficit. Steve Valiquette continued his astonishing domination of the Flyers with a series of game saving stops on point blank shots, three in the final minutes after the Rangers killed off a huge five on three. It helped that the Flyers missed the net a few times, including one goal post, but it was his goaltending and the team defense and penalty killing in front of him that kept the Rangers from another meltdown reminiscent of those in Montreal and Pittsburgh last season.

Even in the first period, when the Rangers were pouring on the offense, one of the more remarkable things was how well they came back on defense, providing strong backchecking and puck support in their own zone. That back pressure was as much a springboard for their attack as anything else. The Rangers clearly began to wilt with the fatigue of playing two games in two nights so soon after overcoming the jet lag of their return from Europe -- traveling east to west affects one in the evening. Still, it took a bang-bang shot off a face-off, a goal that should never have been allowed because of blatant goalie interference, and a great passing play to put the Rangers that close to blowing a four-goal lead.

The Flyers were allowed to get away with tons of interference all game long. In one case, when Blair Betts got up after being slammed to the ice and scored a goal, the non-call helped. But when Mike Richards skated through the crease and took out Valiquette, the result should have been two minutes on the penalty clock, not a second goal for the Flyers. Of course, if Dmitri Kalinin hadn't turned the puck over so badly, it wouldn't have been an issue. Kalinin has not been the disaster he was in the season opener in the three games since, but he does continue to have his turnpike moments, opponents going through his toll gate as if they have EZ-Pass.

In the aftermath, head coach Tom Renney was not as vocally critical of the officiating as he was of his team. In fact, according to Rangers Report and Ranger Rants, a day off today was canceled so that the team could work out in anticipation of tomorrow night's match against the Devils. Still, the Rangers are a perfect 4-0 to start the season, with much of the credit for their quick coalescence going to the bonding they underwent during their European road trip. Give credit too to the special teams -- the penalty killing has been perfect so far this season and the power play generated the winning goal and was one second late in generating another goal (though they did allow a shorthander).

Game reports: Newsday, Record, Times, Post, Daily News, NY Sports Day, NYR.com, MSG.com, NHL.com, AP, and Philly area here, here, and here. From the reporters' blogs: Rangers Report, Ranger Rants, Blue Notes, and Blueshirts Blog. Ranger notes at Inside Shots, interview with Scott Gomez at the Post, and Larry Brooks's Sunday column at the Post. On the ceremonial opening face-off, see Newsday, Record, Daily News, Slap Shot, SI.com, Toronto Star, Hockey News, and Philly-area papers here, here, and here -- nothing on it from the capital of Alaska, just this item. On the former Rangers inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame, see NHL.com and the Denver Post. The Wolf Pack lost their season opener -- see Bruce Berlet's report at WP.com, Howlings, and the Hartford Courant. Prospect Park has the lowdown on other action.

Chemical Reaction

The lingering after-effects of the Rangers' European trip was trumped by the chemistry developed there in last night's 4-2 victory over the Blackhawks at the Garden opener. With the second line scoring three times, each member chipping in a goal and at least one assist, and Henrik Lundqvist outdueling his counterpart in net, the Rangers overcame an uneven performance to prevail. The young Hawks helped matters immensely by missing the net 13 times, often on golden opportunities. As encouraging as it was for the Rangers to score more than two goals against an NHL opponent, that's how encouraging it was for them to respond quickly with the clinching goal shortly after the Hawks closed to within 3-2.

For more on Dubinsky, Voros, and the second line, see our posting at Blueshirt Bulletin+ today, with those two players discussing themselves and their line, along with quotes from Chris Drury, Henrik Lundqvist, and Tom Renney -- click here to read it if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to take out a subscription to get the magazine as well as BB+ access.

Game reports: Journal News, Newsday, Record, Post, Times, Daily News, Advance, NY Sports Day, NYR.com, AP, and Hawkcentric reports here, here, and here. More from Newsday here and here, Journal News, Record, Inside Shots, and the reporters' blogs -- Ranger Rants, Rangers Report, Blue Notes, and Blue Seats. The Daily News weighs in on tonight's puck dropping ceremony. Howlings has more on the Pack signing Brandon Sugden. MSG's lawsuit against the NHL has been pared down is going to trial. The Rangers are back in action right away, going to Philadelphia tonight for the Flyers' season opener.

Rejuvenation at the Garden

UPDATE: From the morning skate, courtesy of Blue Notes, Ranger Rants, and Rangers Report Fred Sjostrom is in, Petr Prucha is out. And while the Flyers will laud hockey moms tomorrow night, the Rangers will honor hockey greats, with Adam Graves, Harry Howell, and Andy Bathgate set to drop the ceremonial opening puck tonight.

Several key Rangers -- Wade Redden and Markus Naslund foremost among them -- look to continue to rejuvenate their careers after a successful start in Europe. In their Garden opener tonight, they face a Chicago Blackhawk franchise that is attempting to rejuvenate itself in its entirety after decades in the doldrums. They are young, with fifteen players age 25 or less, except in net, where they have two capable starters. They have two exciting young forwards in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, that latter team captain at age 20. And they have Martin Havlat up front and newly signed Brian Campbell on the blue line.

But the Rangers jelled in Europe while facing another team undergoing a top to bottom makeover. They should be able to take advantage of a Hawk team that has a decent but not very deep corps of blueliners and is paper thin up front. They will without doubt unleash another barrage of shots -- but they will have to start putting more than two goals per game in the net. For more, see the Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Record, Times, Post, Star-Ledger, NYR.com, and Inside Shots, as well as the reporters' blogs -- Blue Notes, Ranger Rants, and Rangers Report.

In other reading, Larry Brooks of the Post blasts Flyer owner Ed Snider for pulling a political stunt with Sarah Palin -- and he writes for a Fox-owned paper! Philadelphia Inquirer readers think it's a bad idea too. NHL.com has an item on Brian Leetch and Mike Richter entering the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. In Hartford, the Wolf Pack have taken steps to address their team toughness -- 6'5, 226-pound Tyson Dowzak signed a Ranger entry-level contract after a successful try-out over the summer at prospect camps (read an interview with him here) and once-banned Brandon Sugden (6'4-233) signed a professional try-out contract with the Pack (link). Hockey's Future has a Wolf Pack preview. Prospect Park has other prospect news.

At Blueshirt Bulletin+ today, read a preview of Bruce Berlet's story on Dale Weise from our upcoming October issue of Blueshirt Bulletin -- click here to read it if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to take out a subscription to get the magazine as well as BB+ access.

Juggling Wingers, Swinging Sticks, and Dropping Pucks

While the Rangers were shuffling around their wingers, another famous winger continued to wait for an offer to join their swollen ranks. Aaron Voros moved up to second line left wing, Nigel Dawes was bumped down to the third line, and Petr Prucha sank to the morass of extras who will fill the one vacated slot on the fourth line. With another day of practice today, there is still time for coach Tom Renney to continue to move his pawns around the chess board.

Brendan Shanahan is still not one of those many wingers as he continues to wait for an offer from Glen Sather, who still has no room to sign him under the salary cap. Reports on the Shanahan situation abound -- see the Journal News, Record, Rangers Report, Ranger Rants, Blue Notes, and Blueshirts Blog. In other reading, see Newsday on Gomez, the Daily News on Redden, NHL.com on Brian Leetch, SI.com on the Original Six teams' prospects this season, and Beyond the Blueshirts translating an article betraying some sour grapes about the games in Prague.

As for the upcoming weekend games, two developments -- Ben Eager, who always relished running Rangers in his seasons with the Flyers, is now with Chicago, but will not play in the Garden opener tomorrow night after being suspended for trying to injure Sean Avery in a pre-season game by swinging his stick at the former Ranger superpest from the bench. And when the Rangers visit Philly for their season opener, Republican VP candidate and self-professed hockey mom Sarah Palin will drop the ceremonial first puck. With the Flyers bringing politics to hockey, we'd love to bring hockey to politics, but we'll refrain (as does Ranger Rants), other than wondering how Palin feels about being more of a soon-to-be hockey mom-in-law than a hockey mom these days.

And down on the farm, two players, one under contract to Hartford and one trying out for an NHL job, have left the team to return to Russia -- Sergei Demagin, the Belarussian forward who has had a good pre-season, and Maxim Kondratiev, the one-time Ranger who failed in his training camp bid to return to the NHL and who has never been keen on playing in the AHL when he could play back home. For more, see Howlings. See the Hartford Courant, Wolf Pack Weekly, and Howlings for additional Wolf Pack news. In other prospect reading, see the Daily News for a feature on Carl Hagelin and Prospect Park for an update on last night's action.

Briefly Looking Back and Looking Ahead

On their first day back at the MSG Training Center, the Rangers took the time to look back at their bonding experience in Europe and to look ahead at how to best tweak their roster in the coming days, with a stretch of six games in nine days looming -- games that include the rival Flyers and Devils plus a trip to Detroit to meet the defending Cup champs, and which are followed two days later with a visit from Sean Avery and the Stars.

To read about it, see the Journal News, Daily News, Times, Record, NYR.com, MSG.com, AP, Rangers Report, Ranger Rants, and Blue Notes. In other reading, the Daily News talks to the GAG line, ESPN.com has an Eastern Conference preview that rates the Rangers pretty high, Prospect Park names this season's first prospect of the week, Beyond the Blueshirts translates a short interview with the red-hot Alexei Cherepanov, who has scored goals in six straight games, and Badger Beat has an item on freshman forward and Ranger draftee Derek Stepan.

Back in the U.S.A.

And just like that, the Rangers' European adventure goes into the history books and everyone's attention turns to the remainder of the regular season, which resumes Friday evening with the MSG opener (technically not the home opener). The Rangers returned to New York immediately after Sunday night's game, had the day off yesterday, and return to the training center today solely for off-ice workouts, the staff trying to find ways to minimize their jet lag and mitigate the hangover other teams have experienced after such trips.

Catching up on Ranger links that I was unable to post yesterday while I made my own way back to New York, the last few reports on the Prague games can be found in Newsday here, here, and here, Daily News, Times, NYR.com, NHL.com here, here, here, and here, ESPN, Rangers Report, Slap Shot, Blue Seats, and the CP. The Post takes a look at the Rangers' salary cap situation. Rangers Report has updates on Brendan Shanahan here and here. Reports on prospects in Hartford and elsewhere can be found at Prospect Park here and here and at Howlings here and here. Finally, here is Michal Rozsival's final interview before leaving his home country (thanks to DaTeL for this and for everything he arranged in Prague):

Q: How would you sum up the Prague games?
A: Overall, I see it positively. [Sunday's] game was a lot better, both in effort and atmosphere -- people were enjoying it more, and we performed better. The important thing is we have two W's.

Q: It seems like you’re successful even without Jagr. Do you still talk about him in the locker room?
A: No, no -- that’s just history. We need to look ahead and not think about the past. We still have much that we need to improve. Of course Jagr was a great player, but we have some new guys here -- the team has to adjust.

Q: Is the team and its play different from before?
A: Every player is unique, so we certainly do play differently, maybe more north-south. We’re happy about the fact that it seems to be somehow working.

Q: Did the atmosphere change in the locker room?
A: For me as a Czech it's noticeable. Last year, there were five of us, now we’re just two, so Czech can’t be heard as often.

Q: You have to travel back to the states. Do you think it could affect you negatively?
A: It's possible that we’ll be fatigued. But we had to deal with that already when we came over here.

Q: Did you notice only positive comments about this Euro-trip or did anyone complain about the busy schedule?
A: As the case may be [smiling]. We’re all different, so some liked it, some didn’t. But we’re all professional so we respected it.

Q: Do you have some time off after the return?
A: I don’t think so. Maybe we’ll get one day off after landing to rest a bit. The NHL is difficult -- we have to prepare for upcoming games.

Q: Are you looking forward to being back in the MSG?
A: Sure. The fans in New York are great. As much as we are looking forward it, so are they.

Q: Is it going to be a lot different from Prague?
A: I think it will. Things were somewhat rushed here. There’s no place like home. Everyone knows where their stuff is, their favorite places are there, where to stretch, and so on. We had to improvise here.

Q: You and Prucha were under the microscope here. Will the pressure now fade?
A: The attention from the media should really drop. Maybe the first few days people will still be asking [about Prague], but it will calm down for sure and go back to normal.

Rangers Complete Perfect European Road Trip

Well, the Czech fans got a big part of what they wanted right off the bat tonight when Aaron Voros and Ryan Malone dropped the gloves for an early fight (of sorts -- they quickly wrestled each other down to the ice without throwing many punches). This followed an eariler scrum behind the Rangers net when Brandon Dubinsky retaliated for an unpenalized run on Lundqvist (a hard hit on him by a third man in also went unpenalized, with Dubinsky getting the only minor).

But the Rangers did not get what they wanted -- a goal. Despite another period of territorial domination that resulted in an overwhelming 15-3 shot advantage, the Rangers could not get one past Ollie Kolzig despite getting some good chances and coming close a couple of times. Then the inevitable occurred -- a point shot that was deflected at least once on the way in trickled through Lundqvist, the Rangers gift-wrapping an ill-deserved lead to the Lightning on just their third shot more than 18 minutes into the game.

The second period was a different story, though. The Rangers unleashed an incredible barrage of shots over the first fifteen minutes of the period, outshooting Tampa 18-3. In a 30-minute span of time since the first five minutes, the Rangers outshot the Lightning by an incredible 33-4. Of those four shots allowed, one was 88 feet from the neutral zone, another was 169 feet from deep inside the Tampa zone (a third was of course their goal). At one point, Scott Gomez had as many shots on goal as the entire Tampa team (8). The Rangers had another 23 shot attempts blocked or sent wide in those 30 minutes -- 56 shot attempts in 30 minutes!

But the score was still only 2-1 after Scott Gomez and Wade Redden traded goals that they helped set up for each other, Redden in deep on the power play, Gomez finally hitting an open net off a rebound after failing to hit a couple earlier. Meanwhile, in the last five minutes, the Lightning started to pick things up a bit, holding the Rangers shotless for a change and nearly scoring a couple of times themselves -- one shot by rookie Steve Stamkos hit the crossbar, another was chipped over the top of an open top half of the net.

The Rangers dropped into a defensive shell in the third period, sitting on their slim 2-1 lead (not by design, Renney insisted). They clogged up the shooting lanes and gave the Lightning very little as the clock inexorably wound down. The did give up three power plays, but the penalty killing was disciplined and effective. They got their own power play in the waning minutes of the stanza, a chance to show the killer instinct that Lundqvist wanted to see the night before. Instead, they did little with it except give it away with a penalty of their own for another albeit brief Lightning advantage.

That was killed off, but then the Rangers got caught in their own zone, unable to clear the puck on numerous occasions. They got a break when they got a power play in the final minute, but they again had trouble clearing. They faced one last weak Vinnie Lecavalier shot, the less-than-100% Lightning star again a non-factor. And so they escaped with another 2-1 win that was in fact more entertaining than last night's 2-1 contest, although not in the third period, which was truly dull -- which turned out to be just what the Rangers needed. With only six shots in the period, they finished the two-game series with a margin of exactly 80-40.

When it was all over, the PA system played the Ranger victory song and the players gathered to salute the fans -- they didn't do it last night because last night was a road game, and they only do the salute when they win a home game. Afterwards, Tom Renney was pleased to go home with four straight wins in Europe, four points in the standings, and a roster that is so deep that he has, as he said, five extra players who are capable of stepping in. The ever colorful Barry Melrose, on the other hand, tore into his team for not competing, tore into his stars for not performing, and hoped that they were as embarrased as the coaching staff was, especially for that second period.

Redden, second star of the game, is the subject at Blueshirt Bulletin+ this evening, along with the two coaches' analysis of the game -- click here to read it if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to take out a subscription to get the magazine as well as BB+ access. Now it's off to bed for one last night of sleep in Europe and then a flight back home to New York to work on the October issue of Blueshirt Bulletin and prepare for the Garden opener on Friday evening.

Goaltenders' Duel Deemed Dull in Prague

The Czech reporter who Scott Gomez upbraided for saying last night's game was dull was not the only observer who thought so -- some local fans also found the 2-1 affair a bit of a bore. They wanted to see a free-flowing game like they're used to getting here in the Czech Extraliga along with NHL-style hitting and a fight or two. But when they were treated to a pitcher's duel -- a chess match, as Gomez said -- they were left underwhelmed.

In truth, the game story followed the same arc as the exciting Victoria Cup match -- Ranger turnovers early, Ranger domination in the second period along with a growing number of power plays, but not resulting in enough goals, and the Rangers scoring late to win the game. The difference this time was simple -- Henrik Lundqvist didn't give up two bad goals that necessitated a furious comeback. Both goalies kept this game within one goal or less the entire time. The finish may not been quite as electrifying as the four-goal comeback in Bern, yet it was still a nail biter all the way through with lots of good action. But that wasn't good enough. Apparently.

Lots of game-related stories today -- on the scene here in Prague are Newsday here and here, NYR.com, ESPN.com, New York Times, St. Pete Times here and here, and NHL.com here, here, here, here, and here. Back in New York, with help from a Tom Renney conference call -- the Record, Daily News, Post, MSG.com, Ranger Rants, Blueshirts Blog, and Blue Seats. Newsday has a huge season preview here, here, here, and here. Prospect Park has prospect action, Howlings has a Wolf Pack game recap.