Tonight at 8 PM, join me and Eddie for the First Annual Blueshirt Banter Holiday Spectacular. We'll be taking your calls, talking Ranger hockey, mixing it up and having some fun. The number to call is 646-478-4692

It will be a star studded holiday event you won't want to miss!

As always, you can click the link for our show and join us in the live chat, or listen in the player below, hope to see you guys there!

Blueshirt Banter Radio w/Mouth and Jim

Rangers vs Hurricanes coverage

Rangers vs Hurricanes preview

Fraternize with the Enemy: Canes Country

Between the Pipes:

Henrik Lundqvist

#30 / Goalie / New York Rangers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Mar 02, 1982

Cam Ward

#30 / Goalie / Carolina Hurricanes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Feb 29, 1984

Probable Lines:

Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Chris Drury-Enver Lisin
Donald Brashear-Erik Christensen-Ales Kotalik
Staal-Rozsival
Del Zotto-Girardi
Redden-Gilroy

Looking for a third win in a row, Let's Go Rangers!

Blueshirt Banter hit a very special milestone today. Earlier this morning we registered our 500,000 visit. That is truly
remarkable for a site that started literally from scratch. The early days of this site were literally Ryan McFadden and I putting stories up, and then commenting on them, trying desperately to get people involved in the conversation.

We've come a long way in just 9 months, and we have all of you to thank. Your support of this site and of the radio shows is absolutely amazing, further proof that Ranger fans are the best hockey fans in the world.

So from me, Joe, Rob, Ryan, Eddie, Nick and Laurie, thank you all very very much for the continued success and growth of this site, because without you it wouldn't be possible.

Just an FYI, tomorrow night is our First Annual "Blueshirt Banter Radio Holiday Spectacular", it's just going to be more of a bull session, no guests scheduled, so we'd love to just have you guys join us and call in. Should be a fun show, we'll have some laughs and talk Ranger hockey.

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

I'm back!

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I hope those of you that go to Ranger games are buying programs, can't tell the players without a scorecard:

New York, December 20, 2009 -

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Matt Gilroy has been recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Gilroy, 25, has recorded four assists in five games with Hartford this season.  He made his AHL debut on December 11 against Portland.  Gilroy returns to the Rangers where he has skated in 30 games this season, tallying four goals and six points, along with 19 penalty minutes.  He ranked second in the NHL among rookie defensemen in goals and was tied for seventh in points at the time of his assignment to Hartford on December 10.  He made his NHL debut on October 2 at Pittsburgh, and tallied his first career point with the game-winning goal on October 5 at New Jersey.

The North Bellmore, New York native was originally signed by the Rangers as a free agent on April 17, 2009.

The Blueshirts return to action tomorrow, December 21, when they will face off against the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center (7:00 p.m.), to close out their three game road trip.  Prior to the game, the team's morning skate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at RBC Center.  This is the first of four meetings with Carolina this season.  The Rangers have tallied seven power play goals in their last five games for a 33.3% (7-21) success rate.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

Matt Gilroy

#97 / Defenseman / New York Rangers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 195

Born: Jul 20, 1984

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

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Press Release from USA Hockey:

U.S. Junior Squad Defeats University of North Dakota, 4-2, in Exhibition

Win Marks Conclusion of Pre-IIHF World Junior Championship Camp

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Chris Kreider (Boxford, Mass./Boston College) scored a pair of goals and Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) logged two assists as a U.S. squad of candidates for the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team defeated the University of North Dakota's men's ice hockey team, 4-2, tonight at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Tonight's game marked the culmination of a three-day camp in Grand Forks, N.D., designed to prepare the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team for the upcoming 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Of the 30 players invited to the pre-tournament camp, 22 will be selected to the final U.S. roster.

"I was really impressed with what I saw tonight," said Dean Blais, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. "We played with a lot of energy, which is what you want to see from guys trying to make a team."

A scoreless first period saw Team USA generate a pair of quality scoring chances. Midway through the frame, Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota) darted around a North Dakota defenseman for a shorthanded breakaway, but his backhand shot was turned aside by goalie Brad Eidsness. Five minutes later, Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./U.S. National Under-18 Team) launched a snap shot that rang off the near post.

Kreider scored the game's first goal seven minutes into the second period when he redirected a Fowler shot over Eidsness' glove for power-play goal. But North Dakota's Evan Trupp tied the game at 1-1 heading into the third with a power-play goal of his own.

Less than four minutes into the third, Kreider struck again, this time just seconds after another Team USA power play had expired. A hard pass from defenseman Matt Donovan (Edmond, Okla./Univ. of Denver) hit Kreider in the crease, and he slammed the puck under goalie Aaron Dell for his second of the night.

More after the jump, including the boxscore.....

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So much for playing the kids.....

New York, December 19, 2009 - New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen have been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Sanguinetti, 21, has skated in five games with the Rangers this season.  He made his NHL debut on November 27 at Tampa Bay.  Sanguinetti returns to Hartford where he has registered six goals and 17 assists for 23 points, along with 10 penalty minutes in 27 games this season.  He was tied for the AHL lead among defensemen in scoring and ranked second overall on Hartford with 23 points at the time of his recall on Wednesday.  He has registered six multi-point efforts on the season, including an AHL career-high four-point performance on October 31 against Providence (two goals and two assists).  Last season, Sanguinetti led Wolf Pack defensemen in points (42) and assists (36), and set a Hartford single-season rookie record for assists by a blueliner.  He also led all Wolf Pack skaters with five points (one goal and four assists) in six AHL playoff contests.

The Trenton, New Jersey native was originally the Rangers first round selection, 21st overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

            Heikkinen, 25, has appeared in seven games with the Rangers this season.  He made his NHL debut on December 5 at Buffalo.  Heikkinen returns to Hartford where he has recorded five goals and 11 assists for 16 points, along with eight penalty minutes in 24 games this season.  He was tied for fifth among AHL defensemen in goals, sixth in points and ninth in assists at the time of his recall on December 3.  He also ranked second on Hartford overall in shots (54), fifth in points, and was tied for second on the team in shorthanded goals (one), third in assists and seventh in goals.  Heikkinen has recorded four multi-point performances on the season, including two multi-assist efforts.  He tallied a point (assist) in his AHL debut on October 3 at Binghamton, and notched his first career AHL goal on October 11 at Providence.  

The Rauma, Finland native signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 20, 2009.

Philaldephia Freedom: Broad Street Hockey

Rangers vs Flyers coverage

Between the Pipes:

Henrik Lundqvist (Who Else?)

#30 / Goalie / New York Rangers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Mar 02, 1982

Brian Boucher

#33 / Goalie / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 02, 1977

Simon Gagne back for the Flyers today.

Probable Lines for today

Vinny Prospal -Brandon Dubinsky- Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Erik Christensen-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Artem Anisimov-Enver Lisin
Donald Brashear-Chris Drury-Brian Boyle
Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Ilkka Heikkinen-Bobby Sanguinetti

Let's see if the Blueshirts can build on Thursday night's spanking of the Fish Sticks.

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

6 days ago: New York Rangers center Chris Drury, right, checks New York Islanders defenseman Jack Hillen against the boards in the first period of their NHL hockey game in Uniondale, N.Y., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Player's only meetings, tirades from the coach, lineup changes, and fan discord. It was a full day in the world of the New York Rangers.

Oh yeah, they played a game too, and it was Henrik Lundqvist putting the Rangers on his back early, and then the offense did the rest.

Only the end result of tonight's first period looked different than last nights. The Rangers were still outworked and outshot for most of the frame, but managed to score twice off of Islanders goalkeeper Dwayne Roloson and took a 2-0 lead in to the intermission despite being outshot 14-4. The Rangers got goals from Ryan Callahan, who continued his recent hot streak, and Chris Drury (not a misprint) also found the back of the net. Drury's goal was his first since October 19^th.

Callahan didn't waste any time adding to his totals, scoring his second of the game and ninth of the season just 27 seconds into the second period. The goal came on just the fifth shot on goal for the Rangers.  Tonight was the first time in 8 games the Rangers found their way to the three goal mark, and they weren't done.

Marian Gaborik added the Rangers third power play goal of the night, scoring his 24^th goal of the season with the Rangers on a two man advantage early in the third period.  Artem Anisimov broke out of his drought as well, picking up his sixth goal of the season a few minutes later. Callahan assisted on Double A's goal, giving him the first four point night of his career.

Lundqvist was incredible for the Rangers tonight, making 35 saves. He kept the Islanders off the scoreboard early, when the Islanders were buzzing hard to the net, the Rangers were able to feed off their goalkeeper, and turn it into a big victory.

So after all the turmoil of the last 24 hours, the Rangers and their fans can take a deep breath and enjoy a well deserved victory.  It feels like it has been a month since the last one.

Final Thoughts:

Can't say enough about the Rangers special teams tonight. 3 for 6 on the power play, and killed off all 7 minor penalties they took.

Michal Rozsival has deservedly taken a lot of heat from all of us, but he probably played one of his best games of the year tonight. Same goes for Chris Drury. Maybe Torts knew what he was doing by not benching them along with Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik. He dropped Drury to the fourth line early in the game, and at least for a night, it paid off.  

Now can Artem Anisimov get more playing time?

How long has it been since my last apology for agreeing with the Brashear signing? Probably too long, so again, I am sorry. I was so wrong. Like "New Coke" wrong. Like the Wilpons giving all their money to Bernie Madoff wrong. Like Garth Brooks trying pop music wrong.

Ilkka Heikkinen looks to be getting more and more comfortable every game. If he keeps playing like this, he could make it very tough for the Rangers to keep him out of the lineup.

Banter Star of the Game:

Ryan Callahan

#24 / Right Wing / New York Rangers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 188

Born: Mar 21, 1985

Latest on the Outhouse Project: Lighthouse Hockey

Between the Pipes:

Henrik Lundqvist

#30 / Goalie / New York Rangers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Mar 02, 1982

View full size photo »

Good Morning Giants fans, here are some of the stories making the rounds in the world of the indefensible (or is it un-defensible?) New York Giants:

• The Giants are hanging their hats on one thing right now: No matter how bad things seem, it's worse for the Cowboys. I would not be so fast to agree, not until the Giants defense stops someone, anyone.
• Shaun O'Hara and Trent Cole were both fined $15K for their fight in Sunday night's game.
• The Redskins say they are worried about themselves, not playing spoiler for the Giants. If you believe this, then I would like to advocate C.C. Brown for starting safety in the Pro Bowl. I'm sure the Redskins would just love to help the Giants screw up their season.
• Sort of Giants-related, Matt Simms, son of Phil, has signed a letter of intent to play at Tennessee.
• Former Giant TE Howard Cross was voted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Nice to see Howard getting recognized, he is one of the most underrated players to ever put on a Giants uniform.

In a conference call with the Washington media yesterday, Justin Tuck was asked if this is a must-win for the Giants: (click link for full transcript)

I think so. You never want to put that pressure on yourself especially when they say we can still make the playoffs even if we don't win all three of these. For me personally, I think that we are because of the fact that we haven't played great ball. Even if we do make the playoffs, you don't want to go into the playoffs limping. You want to go in with the confidence, knowing that you kind of righted the ship and are playing your best ball at that point in time. I think for us it's important to win these next three.

Tom Coughlin talked about his team's emotional state: (click link for full transcript)

Well, we have been excited about playing our divisional games. It has been one game after another. We had a nice win against Dallas. We came up short the other night in a high-scoring affair. I think our guys will be right back on the mark. You come together on Monday and it is a sad day. Everybody is disappointed. Everybody wants to win. Everybody does everything they think they can. It doesn't mean that you always play as well as you are capable of playing. We try to get their dabbers back up and get them refocused and knowing full well that the season gets shorter and shorter and more meaningful and more meaningful. I think our leadership will be strong. I think our guys will come back and we will have a nice week of practice. We will be excited to go down to Washington.