SB Nation - Brandon Dubinsky

Ranger Recap: Rangers 4 Panthers 1

Joe Fortunato — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:33:45 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

about 16 hours ago: New York Rangers' Vinny Prospal (20) and Marian Gaborik (10) celebrate a goal by Prospal in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

Browse more photos »

The Rangers—looking to win four games in a row for the first time since the beginning of the season—walked into Madison Square Garden having lost five in a row on home ice. They broke that streak tonight playing an overall great game and winning their 4^th game in a row.

The opening period was, in certain respects, a "regression and redemption" period for a few of the players. In the redemption portion we saw Enver Lisin play one of the best periods of his short Ranger career, hustling to negate an icing and then setting up a Chris Drury goal; he also drew a penalty and was flying all over the ice. Chris Drury also finds himself in the redemption category scoring yet another goal (he seems to be heating up no?) to tie things up for the Rangers.

Michael Rozsival, on the other hand, headlines our regression segment. Dominic Moore was driving hard to the net (covered by Michael Del Zotto) and threw a shot on the net which trickled into the slot, where Rozsival—who wasn’t even watching the play—skated by it (not before slowing it down) and allowed Victor Oreskovich to score his second goal of the year. Rozsival also turned the puck over a few times which lead to Panther scoring chances, overall it was a poor first period for him.

The Rangers came out flat in the second period, allowing the Panthers to cycle the puck at will in their defensive zone. For anyone who was listening to the Blueshirt Banter Radio Holiday Show, please remember what me and DBMaven (2 mentions in one day!) were saying about the need for defense instead of offense to stop those types of issues. Just call it Joe and DBmaven 1 Mandar 0, for those of you who are keeping score. Regardless the Rangers found their game in the middle of the period taking over the game and being rewarded when Vaclav Prospal scored his 7^th on the power play. It should also be noted that Henrik Lundqvist had to make some absolutely jaw-dropping saves in order to keep the Rangers in this one.

You really can’t start off a period better than the way the Rangers started the third, with Prospal scoring his second of the game just 23 second into the period. Brandon Dubinsky continued his great play adding an assist on the goal, giving him three points in the last two games. It’s pretty amazing how much Dubinsky solidifies this line-up.

Shortly after the midway mark of the third Chris Drury (who had one of the best games I can remember) made some brilliant plays shorthanded before leading Marian Gaborik who buried his 26^th goal of the year.

Empty Netters:

Although Rozsival had an awful first period he tightened up from the second period on. Nice to see him playing at least relatively well.
I don’t think you can say enough about Marian Gaborik, and to be honest nothing I say here will give what he does for this team any justice, so I will just say that he is a God and leave it at that.
Christopher Higgins is simply becoming frustrating to watch. He works himself into open space, he maneuvers himself into a shooting lane and he either fans on the shot or shoots it into the goalies chest. I’m getting sick of him.
Michael Del Zotto had a solid game offensively but my goodness does he lay the lumber. On two or three occasions he threw a Panther to the ice with some awesome hits.
Sean Avery had a brilliant game tonight. He has shaken off the rust since the start of the year and has turned into the Avery of old. He has been one of the few sparks on this team from the get-go.
Matt Gilroy has answered his five game stint in Hartford with two very solid games for the Rangers, he wants to be here and deserves to be here.
By the way what was the infatuation by Sam and Joe with Michael Del Zotto’s family holiday dinner? They talked about it every five minutes. What guys, you two don’t make enough money to scrape up some cash for a pasta dinner in New York?
Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov both had very solid games for the Rangers without hitting the score sheet.
Also how good has Henrik Lundqvist been these past 10 games? The Rangers might not have won all of them but Lundqvist has had a sub 2 GAA in the past 10 game and was once again brilliant tonight.

Okay boys another good one tonight, have at it!

Rangers Analysis: Links, quotes and fights!

Joe Fortunato — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:02:43 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

2 days ago: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) blocks a shot from the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. The Rangers won 3-1. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Browse more photos »

The Rangers look to go for four wins in a row tonight, when they host the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden. Here are some links for you all.

Andrew Gross over at Rangers Rants takes a quick look at the Brandon Dubinsky Brian Boyle heavyweight fight that occurred in practice last night. Here are some highlights from the full story:

One thing to remember: hockey players fighting is not like you fighting with somebody, even a friend. For the most part, it’s a very swift current taking the water under the bridge. So Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky lobbing a couple of punches at each other at today’s optional skate is not headline material. The two were quickly separated, even as Aaron Voros tried to get in on the action, and joked about it together soon after in the dressing room.

"We’re giving you stuff to write about," Dubinsky told the media as he passed by Boyle’s stall. "The stuff you write is so stale."

Not a big deal, this happens all the time. Literally nothing to look into or analyze, best to forget that it even happened.

Andrew Gross also has a nice quote from Tortorella about what he expects from his team:

"I think sometimes it’s a misconception on the team concept," Tortorella said. "We want to forecheck. But when we talk about it as far as getting up the ice and forechecking and pressuring, people say they just want to go. That certainly hasn’t been our philosophy from Day 1 because you have to play defense in this league. We have changed a little bit in the neutral zone where it’s kind of a hybrid right now. When we have chances to go, we’re going. When we’re not, we’re going to be a little bit smarter as far as filling the middle. That was probably a couple of weeks ago we changed into that. But I think we’ve gotten better defensively, too. When you’re having problems scoring goals, you fall into that trap of just scoring goals and you forget about the details of playing defense. We have always talked about playing defense first and when we say defense first, it doesn’t mean we’re falling back and playing in our end zone. Defense is when you don’t have the puck, just being on the right side of the puck. We’ve gotten better and better on the odd man rushes and that’s just being cognizant of being on the right side of the puck."

Again not sure I can add too much here. Join me after the jump.

Should be a fun one tonight where the Rangers take on the 8th place in the East Panthers. The Panthers are two points ahead of the Rangers with one less win--so a win tonight propels the Rangers to a playoff spot. The last time these two teams met the Rangers beat the Panters 2-1 in the skills competition in Florida.

On some personal notes I would expect the line-up to stay the same as it did against the Hurricanes. Expect Henrik Lundqvist in goal and both Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik in the line-up. The Rangers are going to have to play a very solid gae to be the Panthers, who are a very good team this year.

Prediction time here but I have a gut feeling that Michael Del Zotto has a huge game tonight. Just a thought. What are your thoughts on all of this?

Rangers Analysis: Tortorella's changes sparks Rangers

Joe Fortunato — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:00:41 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

2 days ago: New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik (10) celebrates his goal with teammates Vaclav Prospal (20) and Marc Staal (18) with Brandon Dubinsky (17) nearby during the second period of an NHL hockey against the Carolina Hurricanes game in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. Rangers won 3-1.(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Browse more photos »

The Rangers had just lost 2-1 against the Islanders, with their record falling to 14-16-3. John Tortorella tried to keep his calm with the press—which lasted about as long as Bobby Sanguinetti call-up—and Tortorella had his first meltdown in New York. He vowed that he was okay with hitting "bumps in the road with kids but not underachieving vets," and that "changes would be made." And it started the very next day.

Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik were benched and the message was crystal clear: "play my kind of hockey, or you won’t be playing hockey here at all." It was indicative of old school John Tortorella hockey, the kind of mentality that earned him that ring that he wears. And you know what? It worked.

Michael Rozsival has responded and is playing his best hockey of the year, plus he is hitting the score sheet with four assists in 7 games. All of a sudden Rozsival is starting to look like the Rozsival of old, shoot cannons from the point (that actually hit the net!) and playing solid defense. Don’t forget that last night Rozsival saved that game by putting the brakes on Eric Staal’s wrap around attempt.

Wade Redden also responded coming back from his benching last night to play his best game as a Ranger. Like DBMaven said in the recap, if he keeps playing like this then we won’t be hearing much complaining coming out of the Ranger faithful.

And all of a sudden the Rangers have won three in a row. They look good they look composed and as I said on my radio show last night this is the time to make some momoentum.

Join me after the jump for more.

But probably the most important difference is the play of the team. If you can, try to remember way back when to the 7-1 streak that the Rangers went on. They back checked as a team, played solid defense, they cycled well, they got pucks to the net and most importantly they had guys parked in front of the net. That was the New York Rangers that I have seen play since Tortorella’s meltdown.

A few players in particular have stood out to me during this "safe is death" three game winning streak. Artem Anisimov has played great, and he has been rewarded with more ice time which has allowed him to begin to blossom. He shields the puck well, takes great shots, has nice vision and just looks awesome out there.

Ryan Callahan continues to play like a man on fire—and although he didn’t get a goal last night—he is making his chances and now is actually burying a few of them. And speaking of home grown talent Brandon Dubinsky also seems to have shaken the rust off since his injury and looks really good. His presence along has allowed John Tortorella to leave the top line intact which has rewarded the Rangers with plenty of goals.

And probably the most important improvement has been the defense as a whole. Suddenly they are all coming back to protect Henrik Lundqvist, they are keeping the crease and the slot clean of opposing players and they are taking the body whenever they can. Add that to a suddenly back on form Henrik Lundqvist and all of a sudden the Rangers are back in business and are out there looking for blood; which is what we want from them.

Overall Tortorella has made some changes too. He has gone from the docile coach who seemed afraid to speak his mind to the volcano-like coach who seems poised to erupt at any second. This was the John Tortorella I signed up for and this is the Tortorella who can fix this team.

Rangers withstand storm beat Hurricanes 3-1

Joe Fortunato — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:16:09 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

2 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Brandon Sutter (16) dives for the puck between New York Rangers' Marc Staal (18) and and goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Browse more photos »

Coming off their first 2 game winning streak since forever, the New York Rangers walked into North Carolina to take on the last place Carolina Hurricanes. Matt Gilroy was back in the line-up along with Ales Kotalik and Wade Redden who were surprise picks to play tonight to say the least. The Rangers were looking for their first three game winning streak since the 7-1 glory days of the beginning of the season, and they found it.

The Rangers obviously packed the same fire and flare that they brought to Philadelphia and brought it with them to North Carolina. The Rangers came out flying, in a very open, first period which saw the two teams trade odd-man rushes more times then you could count. Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky both had various chances that were snuffed out by Cam Ward. Chris Higgins also had a notable first period but couldn’t find the net—what a surprise. Henrik Lundqvist continued his magnificent play making some great saves early and often.

The Rangers and Hurricanes traded goals in the second period with Gaborik netting his 25^th off a broken defensive play by the Hurricanes. By the way not is a great time to point out that Gaborik now has more goals in 34 games than any Ranger did all of last year. It’s in bold because it’s pretty important; the man is a God plain and simple. The Rangers got into penalty trouble—and incidentally got no help from the referees—but were able to kill them all off and walk into the third tied at 1.

In the third Brandon Dubinsky found the back of the net for his 4^thgoal of the season, a beautiful one from Gaborik and Vaclav Prospal. Again the Rangers saw themselves trading scoring chances with the Hurricanes but Lundqvist stood on his head and continued keeping the Rangers in the game. Marc Staal accentuated his great game by scoring the empty netter to give the Rangers a 3-1 victory.

Empty Netters:

Michael Rozsival is playing the best hockey of this season. He played a brilliant game and saved what would have been a tying goal for the Hurricanes late in the third.
Marian Gaborik continued his brilliant play with a goal and an assists. I love him.
Henrik Lundqvist has found his game again, and wow is he impressive.
Artem Ansisimov continued his impressive play and like I said on my radio show, he shields the puck and makes space just like Jaromir Jagr.
Like we have been talking about for the past few weeks if the Rangers want momentum now is the best time to get it. Let’s hope this continues.
I think that Wade Redden bounced back from his benching with a solid game. Let's hope to see more of this.
I also think that Matt Gilroy played a great game in his return to Ranger blue. It's nice to see since we all agree that he is a fan favorite.

Well let’s hear your praise in the comments boys!

By the way after Tuesday's radio show Jim won't be around much over the next few days so if you have any questions or concerns please e-mail me at Joe@blueshirtbanter.com. I will get back asap. Thanks guys!

Rangers vs. Islanders: "The Little Brother Syndrome", everything to lose, nothing to gain

Jim Schmiedeberg — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:37:59 -0000

Little brother comes to town tonight (photo courtesy of LIfe.com)

View full size photo »

New York Sports is replete with inner rivalries. The Yankees and Mets, the Giants and Jets, the Rangers and Islanders, and even the Knicks and Nets, although I can't say I've ever heard anyone ever get really excited for a Knicks-Nets game.

But each of these rivalries has a big brother-little brother complex to them. The Yankees have been around over 100 years, average a championship every 4 seasons, and have a worldwide fan base, while the Mets haven't had a team identity in over 20 years, and have just two measly banners to their credit, and years of futility and underachievement in their history.

The Giants and Jets follow a very similar path, with the Giants being one of the oldest teams in the league, numerous championships, and really only one prolonged bad stretch in their history (the 70's). The Jets have always lived in the shadow, and continue to live off a championship that happened forty years ago. (Yes Joe, we've heard the "Guarantee" story, at this point I can tell it better than you.)

That brings us to the Rangers-Islanders. The Rangers, with their 80-plus years of history, the flashy names, the bright lights of Broadway, and when newspapers pay attention to hockey: the headlines. The Islanders? Sure, they had their amazing dynasty in the early 80's, but they still suffer the same fate as the Mets, Jets, and I guess the Nets. I call it "The Little Brother Syndrome".

If you have younger siblings, remember when you used to play games with them? You'd beat them, usually by a wide margin, but you were supposed to. You were the big bad brother or sister: older, smarter, and presumably with more tools and resources for defeating your younger opponent. It felt good to win, it usually does, but there was also something missing because you felt like you were just doing what you were supposed to.

When the Yankees and Mets play, if the Yankees win, the Yankee fan mostly takes it in stride, its just another day at the office for them. Same goes for the Giants when playing the Jets, and Rangers when playing the Islanders. It's just big brother doing what big brother does.

But when little brother gets the best of you, your life becomes a living hell. Jet fans live to beat the Giants, and some Met fans would be ok with the Mets being 6-156 as long as those 6 wins came against the Yankees. Same rule applies for Islander fans; when the Isles beat the Rangers it makes their whole year. If you've ever been around an Islander fan after they've beaten the Rangers, you will know what I mean.

And in the case of the Islanders, baby bro is catching up to the Rangers. They are a hard working team that has played better than their record, and they have a flashy new toy in John Tavares. Meanwhile, big brother is struggling right now, his head isn't quite screwed on straight, like his girlfriend dumped him or something. But the Isles are still the little brother, and a couple of games against little brother may be just what the Rangers need to get their confidence going again.

Let's hope so, because nothing is worse than losing to your little brother.

Also, we are doing a Special "Blueshirt Banter Radio Rally" at 5:30 PM, leading up to the game. You can click the link below to listen to the show:

Blueshirt Banter Radio w/Mouth and Jim

Blueshirt Banter Radio tonight at 8 PM!

Jim Schmiedeberg — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:46:38 -0000

Tonight on Blueshirt Banter Radio, we will be joined first by Leslie Treff from Hockey's Future. Leslie is one of our go-to experts when it comes to Ranger prospects, and what is also going on with the parent club.

Then we will be joined by our friends Adam Raider and Russ Cohen, the authors of "100 Ranger Greats. If you;ve heard them on our show before, you know it's always entertaining radio. You can click the link below to listen to the show and join the chat, or use the player below the link. Hope to see you there!

Blueshirt Banter Radio With Jim and The Mouth on Blog Talk Radio

Rangers Recap: Blueshirts Fight Hard, Fall Short of Thrashers in SO, 3-2

NYRBlogger — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:47:46 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

9 days ago: New York Rangers' Ryan Callahan (24) shoots the puck past Atlanta Thrashers goalie Johan Hedeurg (1) for a goal in the second period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

Browse more photos »

Despite registering a season high 48 shots on goal against the Thrashers, the Rangers were once again unable to convert on prime scoring chances, including three or more breakaways, and ended up falling to Atlanta 3-2 in the shootout. At the same time, the effort was there and the Blueshirts poured everything they had into this game. In fact, if New York does not allow that shorthanded goal to Colby Armstrong in the third period, they win that game 2-1, but unfortunately that is not the way it went down.

In the first period, the Rangers came out and outshot the Thrashers 16-6, yet found themselves trailing due to a powerplay goal by Slava Kozlov when he launched a slapper off the far post and past Lundqvist to give the Thrashers a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until Michael Del Zotto made a remarkable pass from behind his own goal-line to lead Ryan Callahan on the breakaway 17 minutes into the second period. Callahan made his usual backhand-forehand deke to beat goaltender Jonas Hedberg low. This powerplay tally was Ryan’s seventh goal on the season and fourth goal in his last eight games. Good to see that he is finally awakening and emerging as a secondary goal scorer on this team.

In the third stanza, Colby Armstrong capitalized on a fortuitous bounce off of the boards which eluded Del Zotto and ended up on his tape. Armstrong roofed a wrister over the shoulder of Lundqvist to regain the lead for Atlanta. That did not last long, however, as almost exactly a minute later Del Zotto wowed us with his passing abilities, when he fed Marian Gaborik for the one-timer goal which was Marian’s 23^rd on the season (leads NHL in goals).

This was followed by a 5 on 3 powerplay opportunity for the Thrashers when both Girardi and Staal went to the box at a crucial time. Thankfully, Henrik Lundqvist lead the Blueshirts to a tremendous kill which saw Hank on his hands and knees throwing his body around to make saves. No goals in overtime, so we would go to the shootout where Kovalchuk and Kozlov scored, and Gaborik and Kotalik did not.

Brandon Dubinsky, returning from his broken hand injury suffered on November 7^th, was one of the better players for the Rangers out there tonight. I, personally, expected him to be slow and a little hesitant, but he sure proved me wrong. He skated like mad, he was fantastic on the forecheck, and even threw hits when he had the chance. Dubinsky finished the night with 24:06 of ice-time and did not get a shot on goal in that span.

Continue Reading after the Jump

Chris Higgins and Ryan Callahan are the two other players who I thought played a very similar game to Dubinsky’s. By that I mean the effort was there, they skated, and created scoring chances. No, Higgins was unable to bury any of those golden opportunities, but the fact that he is getting there and getting shots is a good sign, and the goals will eventually come. Callahan is back to old form in that he is everywhere on the ice and scoring goals, much like last season. I am extremely pleased with his game as of late.

Marian Gaborik was also a difference maker tonight, just as he is in almost every game he plays in. Gabs received a total of 28 minutes and 19 seconds of ice-time, which is unbelievable for any player on the team, let alone a forward. I do not think you can really question his health status when he is able to keep the motor running for extended periods of time in fast-pace contests like he did at MSG in this one.

Sean Avery and Vinny Prospal also had their chances in this game but obviously did not put them in the net. Prospal continues to amaze me with the way he can find passing lanes and the same goes for Avery when he is able to attract four players to him almost every time he even approaches the crease. Sean was in the middle of everything tonight.

The defense, I thought, played very well as a whole, but the two individual performances that I took notice of were that of Mike Del Zotto and Michal Rozsival. Not for their defensive effort, but rather for their passing percentage and execution. While Rozy’s passes may not have been converted for goals, they were certainly effective and there were a few of them. Same thing for Del Zotto, who created both Ranger goals in this one. Staal and Girardi were also very strong in their own zone shutting down the high-flying Thrashers.

Henrik Lundqvist was sharp, especially when he had to come up big during the third period penalty kill, but was out-waited by Kovalchuk, which was a marvelous goal, and simply beat by Kozlov in the shootout. It should not have gotten to that point, though, as the team needs to score more than two goals when you record a season high 48 shots on goal. As Callahan said in his postgame interview, nine out of ten times you will win the game with shot totals like that, and tonight was the odd minority.

I believe that there is no better time for a home and home with the Islanders to approach the Rangers at this point. The Isles will force them to do everything they did in tonight’s tilt and more, and if we can walk away victorious in both, you better believe the confidence level will pick up greatly. That home and home will begin on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

[Note by Jim Schmiedeberg, 12/15/09 7:53 AM EST Here are the notes and quotes from the Rangers. Guess what? Another sellout!]

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

December 14, 2009 - New York Rangers 2, Atlanta Thrashers 3 SO (Game #32, Home #16)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

The Rangers were defeated by the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-2, in a shootout in front of a sold-out crowd (18,200) at Madison Square Garden; the Blueshirts are now 14-15-3 (31 pts.) on the season, including a 7-8-1 mark at home.
New York have sold out 172 consecutive regular season games, dating back to Nov. 5, 2005 against New Jersey; the last regular season non-sellout was Oct. 31, 2005 vs. Montreal (17,697); including the playoffs, the Rangers sellout streak is now at 186 games.
The Rangers tallied two power play goals in five opportunities to improve to 30.0% (18-60) at MSG this season; each of the Rangers last four goals have come on the power play dating back to Saturday's contest against Buffalo.
Ryan Callahan tallied two points on the power play (one goal and one assist) and delivered a game-high six hits; he has notched a goal in each of the last two games, and has four points (three goals and one assist) in the last five.
Marian Gaborik notched one power play goal in a game-high 28:19 of icetime, and has recorded four points (two goals and two assists) in the last four games; he has tallied a power play goal in each of the last two games to increase his league-leading total to 11 with the man advantage.
Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto tallied two power play assists in 21:19 of icetime; he has now recorded three assists in the last two games.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 of 27 shots in the contest, including 13 saves in the second period.
Chris Drury led all skaters with 16 faceoff wins, and finished with a 62% (16-27) success rate in the faceoff circle; Sean Avery registered a game-high seven shots.
Brandon Dubinsky logged 24:06 of icetime in his return to the lineup after missing the previous 13 games due to injury.
The Rangers practice schedule for tomorrow, Dec. 15, is 12:00 p.m. at the MSG Training Center.
The Rangers return to action on Monday, Dec. 16, when they will face-off against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the first game of a home-and-home set; the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

- more -

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight's game...

"Other than six or seven minutes at the beginning of that second period, I thought we played a good hockey game. We just have to keep on trying to build on it. We have to get over the hump of that second goal. We had our chances to score our third one but we didn't get it done. We have a lot of good things to build off of."

Henrik Lundqvist on tonight's game...

"I don't think it matters who we are playing right now. We have to see every game as an opportunity for us to turn this around. We have to keep pushing each other to have the energy that you need to win a hockey game. You can't walk around and feel sorry for yourself. All of the guys have to work together."

Chris Drury on tonight's game...

"We've got to keep doing the right things, keep playing like we're playing. 48 shots and I think we got 38 last game - if we keep getting over 30 shots something's going to give here."

Rangers Analysis: When Dubinsky Returns.....

NYRBlogger — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:22 -0000

by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

View full size photo »

Who will get the boot out of the lineup? Well, considering that forward Aaron Voros has been a consistent scratch, I would assume that one of Enver Lisin, Brian Boyle or Erik Christensen will start to watch from the sky box. Do not get me wrong, each of these individuals have been playing fairly well, surprisingly, but when push comes to shove, Tortorella will most likely not scratch Brashear or Anisimov. I feel as if Christensen has not gotten the look he deserves, only receiving 6:01 of ice-time against the Sabres, leaving Boyle as the healthy scratch for the time being.

Having multiple healthy scratches a night would be a bit ridiculous, so I think it is about time GM Glen Sather rids himself of Aaron Voros--waivers would be the best way to go. There is no need for Voros and his $1 million salary to chew up cap space if he is not even contributing to the team in anyway other than staying out on the ice after everyone else has left for the showers in practice. Voros is useless at this point and that is final. It is time he is waived or in some way, removed.

After watching Drury have yet another tough game Saturday night, I would pick Dubinsky to center the second line and move Drury down to the third. Dubinsky centering Sean Avery and Ryan Callahan is an energy line and I think that it definitely could account for some goals. As we saw on his powerplay goal on Saturday, Callahan is a player that needs to be set-up for his goals, and by that I mean he is not really capable of creating his own chances, but rather an individual who can bury pucks when a linemate feeds him. Both Sean Avery and Brandon Dubinsky can pass, so I think Callahan would benefit from that as well.

All three of these players hit, all three of these players skate, and all three of these players have heart. I truly believe that they can be a combination that, if given the opportunity, that has the ability to become a key part of the secondary scoring, which is lacking from the Rangers' game right now. This would leave Drury on a line with Artem Anisimov and either Ales Kotalik or Enver Lisin. Kotalik has been horrid as of late, so my personal choice would be Lisin. John Tortorella seems to dismiss the fact that Anisimov and Lisin were gelling in the beginning of the season, with both of them being Russian. The two forwards have not played with eachother since the beginning of October.

Dubinsky has only played in eighteen games this season before breaking his hand in Calgary on November 7th. However, the Anchorage, Alaska native is somehow eighth on the team in scoring with just ten points. He started off hot, but leading up to the injury, cooled off. Thus far in his career, Brandon has been an inconsistent streaky player, which John Tortorella pretty much swore he would change. During his time in the linuep this season, I cannot really say that I have seen much of a difference besides the fact that he has been shooting a bit more.

Monday's tilt with the Atlanta Thrashers seems to be the game that Dubinsky will return, but there has been no confirmation just yet. If this is true, the below layout is how I think the Blueshirts' offensive lineup should look against the surging Thrashers.

Higgins - Prospal - Gaborik
Avery - Dubinsky - Callahan
Drury - Anisimov - Lisin
Brashear - Christensen - Kotalik

Rangers News: Brandon Dubinsky activated, Parenteau sent down

Joe Fortunato — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:59:29 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Browse more photos »

That's from Blue Notes the blog of Steve Zipay. Here are the highlights from the full story:

That was the lone bit of news from today's 40-minute practice. Dubinsky may still sit out tomorrow's game with the Thrashers to take a couple more days to prepare for his return from a broken hand, but John Tortorella decided to demote Parenteau, who had no points in his last eight games after doing well upon being recalled earlier in November.

Dubinsky will be among the top six forwards, obviously, but where is up in the air. Tortorella gave some indication today, saying that he may split up Vinny Prospal (0-3-3 in last 8) and Marian Gaborik and that Chris Drury (0-3-3 and minus-5 in last 8) is still an important player for the team.

Tortorella also indicated that Chad Johnson may get a game next week, possibly one of the back-to-back games with the Islanders.

Actually a pretty big surprise here, at least for me. I thought that P.A. Parenteau's game has been pretty good so far, but apparently he has not earned an extended stay with the big club. I was expecting Aaron Voros or Brian Boyle to be sent down (maybe even for cap reasons) but it's P.A that gets the axe. It's unfortunate, but at least he will keep Matt Gilroy company.

Regardless of who was sent down it's good to see that Brandon Dubinsky will be back. You will really be surprised how much better the Rangers play with him in the lineup, trust me. This might be the start to turning things around. Thoughts?

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ New York Rangers

Rafal Ladysz — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:01:38 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

12 days ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Patrick Lalime makes a save against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. The Sabres won 2-1. (AP Photo/ David Duprey)

Browse more photos »

I figured I'd salute Patrick Lalime by using his photograph for our game preview today. It wasn't pretty at times but the back-up netminder gave his best Ryan Miller impression Friday evening by stopping 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win over his former squad, the Chicago Blackhawks. Lalime earned his first 'W' and Miller got a well deserved night off.

Tim Kennedy and Patrick Kane, who grew up in the same area of the city, each had an assist. As rewarding as claiming top spot in the Northeast Division is, the win was more about Lalime and the level of confidence he brought easing Lindy Ruff's choice to select him. Buffalo was truly shaky to start the first and third period giving him a workload which helped get him into gear.

It's back to work though as the Buffalo Sabres see the New York Rangers today. Henrik Lundqvist stole the show last week when he out-dueled Miller in a low-scoring, tight checking 2-1 result. With a few days worth of rest, the American ~~should~~ will be prepared to even the series for his team.

To our five thoughts on each squad:

First, Buffalo has scored a powerplay goal in each of the last two games after getting shutout by New Jersey to start the week. This brings them up to 17th best in the league and both tallies were because of a player standing at the front or side of the net. If they're to beat Lunqvist, more of the same is needed.
New York's found it hard to put a string of wins together. Losers in five of six, Marian Gaborik's been the one Ranger who continues to do his part in production leading the league in goals, 21, second to Joe Thornton in points and 25 per cent of their markers are courtesy of the Slovakian. It's too bad none of the others are lending a helping hand to their superstar aside from Lundqvist.
If you read my preview for the Blackhawks contest, you'll notice that I kindly asked Thomas Vanek to end his scoring drought. I even said the word 'please' which I'm sure was what brought him on the score sheet. Vanek has had goals in back-to-back matches only once all year so I'll do my best to assist him again. Please get at least one by Lundqvist tonight Thomas.
Starting off the season with a 7-1 record, the Rangers were looking sharp. But they've gone 7-13-2 since largely because of offensive inefficiencies. Averaging 28.7 shots per game (23rd worst), New York needs more from everyone else especially Vaclav Prospal who was clicking very well with Gaborik.
The Sabres are 14-2-2 when they grab that first lead and 4-7 if the opposition does. As usual, getting on the board will calm the supporters as Buffalo's protection of leads is assuring. Why wouldn't it be? We've got Miller back there, undoubtedly the best goalie in the NHL this season.
With one point in ten games, Ales Kotalik is showing why he wasn't the most preferred forward for Lindy Ruff. A powerplay weapon, the Czech can't seem to make as much of an impact during even strength play. Whatever it is, he's not our problem anymore. Speaking of former Sabres, Chris Drury has nine points on the year.
Mike Grier (personal) likely won't join the team, Chris Butler has an ankle injury and of course Paul Gaustad is working his way back from a knee issue. For New York, Brandon Dubinsky remains out recovering from a broken hand. These teams have stayed rather healthy in an injury-riddled campaign and that includes Connolly and Gaborik.
Rookie sensations Michael Del Zotto and Tyler Myers will lead their blue lines into battle. Separated by one point in rookie scoring, it's a story worth viewing as one has been compared to Brian Leetch and the other to Zdeno Chara. Myers had a helper in the first match-up.
Interesting statistic: Patrick Kaleta has thrown at least 39 more hits than all of his teammates. Maybe he'll give Kotalik and Drury a taste of the shoulder (not elbow). We can only hope.
The Rangers own a hitting machine as well. Ryan Callahan has 109 to his credit which is 37 more than the closest teammate behind him. He's third among the entire league, trailing Stephane Robidas by four and Dustin Brown by three. Well respected for his work-ethic, Callahan will be all over the ice.

Elite goaltending, rookie stand-outs, hard hitters and two healthy stars; there's much to look forward to in this meeting of two clubs heading in different directions. And Madison Square Garden will ensure a terrific atmosphere for everyone involved.