Rangers Team Report

Yahoo! Sports 10 hours, 18 minutes ago

INSIDE SHOTS

At least Chris Drury(notes) was able to hone his penchant for self-deprecation while sitting out the last two weeks with a concussion.

The Rangers’ captain returned to the lineup Wednesday in Florida after missing five games following a blindside hit on Nov. 7 by Calgary’s Curtis Glencross(notes), who was suspended by the NHL for three games for the infraction.

And Drury immediately turned his attention to boosting his production to aid the offensively challenged Rangers, which included one point in the eight games before he was injured until Drury notched an assist in the Rangers’ 2-1 shootout win over the Panthers.

“Maybe (the concussion) jogged something loose,” Drury joked earlier this week. “I’d like to get back and get things going.”

Drury, one of the Rangers’ top faceoff pivots, wasn’t eased into the lineup. He played more than 22 minutes in his return, mostly between wingers Enver Lisin(notes) and Ryan Callahan(notes).

“He’s going to play,” coach John Tortorella said before the game. “If I don’t think he’s able to play at a certain point in the game, I’ll rest him, but he’s going full-bore against Florida. … Having him solidifies some things there.

Rangers 2, Panthers 1  (SO): One game removed from a dynamic seven-goal breakout win over Columbus, the Rangers reverted to their lunchpail ways Wednesday night in Florida. Henrik Lundqvist(notes) backed a sturdy defensive effort with 25 saves, leading scorer Marian Gaborik(notes) netted the Rangers’ lone goal and rookie P.A. Parenteau(notes) buried a decisive goal in the shootout for the second time this month to lead the Blueshirts to their second straight win following a 4-9-1 stretch.

“Give the guys a lot of credit,” coach John Tortorella said. “They catch a lot of (grief) along the way when they lose games. But that’s a good win for them, and I thought everybody contributed in all facets of the game.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• D Marc Staal(notes) recently was removed from the Rangers’ power-play unit to concentrate more on the defensive aspect of his game, but the emerging stay-at-home defenseman logged more than 30 minutes following an undisclosed injury to veteran Wade Redden(notes) in a 2-1 shootout win Wednesday in Florida.

“There’s just been some inconsistency there,” coach John Tortorella said of Staal. “He’s too important a player for us and we’re just trying to get him consistent on the most important side of the puck right now, that’s the defensive side. We’re just going to slow down the process. We’re not taking anything away from him—we’re going to keep him off the power play for a little bit. We just want to focus on one part of his game to get it to a more consistent level.

“It’s all part of the process for a young defenseman. … It’s not a criticism. It’s just been an inconsistent year for him. We want to take responsibility as a coaching staff to do a little more teach to get him on more solid ground.”

• RW Ryan Callahan returned to the wing Wednesday after playing one game at center during captain Chris Drury’s concussion absence.

“It wasn’t bad,” Callahan told the Bergen Record. “I didn’t do too bad. I survived.”

Quote To Note:   “I feel like that guy was running everyone. He ran Vinny (Prospal) and I was there and had to do something about it. That’s not my role, but I did what I had to do.”—Rookie defenseman Matt Gilroy(notes), who earned his first career fighting major, an instigator penalty and a 10-minute misconduct in a scrap with Florida’s Victor Oreskovich(notes) during the Rangers’ 2-1 win Wednesday over the Panthers.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Henrik Lundqvist, Steve Valiquette.

Defensemen:   Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Wade Redden, Matt Gilroy, Michal Rozsival(notes), Michael Del Zotto(notes).

First Line:   Christopher Higgins(notes), Vinny Prospal, Marian Gaborik.

Second Line:   Sean Avery(notes), Artem Anisimov(notes), P.A. Parenteau.

Third Line:   Enver Lisin, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan.

Fourth Line:   Donald Brashear(notes), Brian Boyle(notes), Aaron Voros(notes).

Player Notes:  

• RW Marian Gaborik netted the lone goal for the Rangers in regulation of a 2-1 shootout win over Florida, his league-leading 19th goal in just 22 games.

• C Chris Drury registered an assist in his first game since suffering a concussion Nov. 7 in Calgary.

• G Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves in regulation and overtime and then three more in the shootout to improve to 2-0 in tiebreaker situations this season.

Medical Watch:  

• C Brandon Dubinksy sustained a broken right hand blocking a shot Nov. 7 against Calgary and is expected to be out until mid-December.

• Ales Kotalik(notes) missed his first game of the season with an undisclosed injury suffered Nov. 23 against Columbus and is day-to-day.

Updated 10 hours, 18 minutes ago
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47 Comments

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  1. Shawn P
    47. Posted by Shawn P Sun Nov 22 9:19pm EST

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    The Rangers should have kept Renney as coach. Torts just ain't cuttin' it. I'm sure Renney would have gone further in the post season last year with the acquisitions they made right after they fired him. All I can say is Edmonton has got one heckuva assitant coach now and we're a lot worse off for it. The Rangers had a much stronger start last year with much less firepower. If Renney had these guys we'd be leading the Division right now, hands down.
  2. "BigBen"
    46. Posted by "BigBen" Sun Nov 22 9:26am EST

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    Unfortunately for us Rangers Fans, it's gonna be a looooong season...
  3. Marc
    45. Posted by Marc Mon Nov 9 3:33pm EST

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    wait, drury has been playing all year? i never noticed
  4. Stanley
    44. Posted by Stanley Thu Nov 5 12:38pm EST

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    Kachoulas,you are right,Rosy and Redden would not be missed.What is missing on Def.is a body that can and will clear the net area wth impulse.. Offensively we need a BODY to crowd the netto obstruct or get to the rebounds.Come on Dubi,stick your nose in there,get to the front of net and stay awhile.The same goes for Callahan etal.
  5. emanuel r
    43. Posted by emanuel r Wed Oct 28 9:52pm EDT

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    Can someone please explain to me why Drury and even Dubinsky are considered number 1 and number 2 centers, respectively?
    I think its a joke!
    They' find players.
    But We'd be lucky to see Drury brake 20 goals and 50 points (at almost 35 years of age) this season. Dubinksy has never and likely will never even come close to those numbers!
  6. justink
    42. Posted by justink Wed Oct 28 9:00am EDT

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    hahaha thanks for the laugh generaljesus. before you think about passing the rangers in the standings, you might want to ponder on how you will pass the islanders. gaborik is back by Friday guaranteed, and his injury has nothing to do with his groin.
  7. Marc
    41. Posted by Marc Wed Oct 21 4:48pm EDT

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    toronto stinks buddy
  8. generaljesus
    40. Posted by generaljesus Tue Oct 20 3:09am EDT

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    gaborik hurts his groin. kessel returns to toronto, the D steps up and gustavsson returns as the monster. next thing you know the leafs make the playoffs and the rangers can't score goals without gaborik all the way to 10th place. watch it happen.
  9. USMarineVet
    39. Posted by USMarineVet Mon Oct 19 12:24am EDT

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    Last time I checked we were 7-1 and in 1st place.
  10. hammerhead
    38. Posted by hammerhead Sat Oct 10 9:35pm EDT

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    @ jeff, please please please do not compare Dubinsky to Adam Graves, Callahan maybe. There is no comparison. Graves broke 50 goals in a season, and stuck up for his team, can we see Dubinsky break 50 points first! I pull for the kid, but he is at best a second line center, probably third. I think Sather may have made his best move not giving him a big contract. When you look at where all the money is going on this team it makes me cringe. Redden, Rosival and even Brashear making some ridiculous money killing our salary cap. Hopefully Sather is not teaching Messier to just throw money at players.
  11. Craig D
    37. Posted by Craig D Sat Sep 26 10:11am EDT

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    I'm not a Sather fan, but he has had a good offseason. Gaborik was a risky move but netter than Gomez, Drury, Redden(who will havea good year this year.) I would have liked to have kepy Tyutin as well. And listen......Dubinsky is a nice homegrown kid......but lets be realistic, just because he is playing on the first line on the Rangers does not mean he is a tier one player, he simply isn't. He'd be a third liner on most other teams.
  12. Yev
    36. Posted by Yev Wed Sep 16 7:07pm EDT

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    Rangers can do better then Sather.
  13. jeff
    35. Posted by jeff Fri Sep 11 11:49am EDT

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    Can't believe how he's handling Dubes. So young and tough. Like a young Graves. I cringed when I saw how we spent the Gomez money on Gaborik. Thats a lot of cash for an injured player. We'll miss Betts, who's going to pick up that slack? Actually, can't say I'll miss him because he'll make the Flyers roster. Mara was another mistake. He's an animal back there and we don't have any real physical defensemen that play that role. As much as I don't like Heatley, I'd rather have him than Gaborik.
  14. dolupi63
    34. Posted by dolupi63 Mon Sep 7 12:32pm EDT

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    I'm no Sather fan, but hey we didn't make the playoffs for a long time and then he became GM. The guy is his own worst enemy. He get's good players but let's em go. He overpays for garbage to replace guys who might not be great but are solid, i.e. the Russian D-man from 07' and brings in Redden, ughh!

    Now he want's to low ball Dubininsky, that kid showed a lot in the playoffs. I'm finally sold and we're gonna' lose him? And what's worse, losing Betts or losing him to the goon that ended his season. The King is great, but that whole PK unit played great and Betts was the leader.

    I love Mess, but GM is a big step. He knows talent, but learning the buisness end is something different. Let him watch and learn for a year, and if we don't make it due to personal issues than can Sather and let Mess take over.

    What I hate about Sather the most is the way he did Leetch. Yeah, Leetch was near the end... and still better than most. Look at his minutes, he had a few good years left. He wanted to stay and woulda' done so cheap. He would have helped groom the defense corps for the future. Instead I had to watch Leetch end his career in Toronto. Hieracey!!
    Just like Dan Reeves letting Phil Simms go from the G-Men after an All Pro year... and for Dave Brown?! WTF?!

    What we don't know is what it's like for Sather dealing with Dolan, the richest horse's sphincter since Donald Trump. Maybe if it wasn't for Sather the Rangers would be as bad as the Knicks. Ya' just don't know what goes on behind close doors. But I'm a faithful idiot and will pull for anyone we put on the ice (except for Bradshuer, and I hated Lindros too, no more Flyers!)
  15. Supernaut
    33. Posted by Supernaut Tue Sep 1 12:04pm EDT

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    Sather gives redden a boatload of money for doing nothing, yet he is lowballin dubinsky at 700k, our best center.........sather must go chants will be louder than ever this year
  16. Francis
    32. Posted by Francis Sun Aug 23 10:32am EDT

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    why doesn't sather dump redden on waivers and if he clears then put him through again like dallas did with avery??? I guarantee that someone will pick him up. Torts feels that he will play better this year but I along with many disagree. Pay half his salary and get him out of here. If not buy out his contract at the end of the year. we have too many young kids coming up any. Rosy is not the problem. at least he can get you 40 points and he doesn't cough up the puck or play like a pus. Game 7 ring a belll. If that were me I would have laid him out before he even got the shot off.
  17. SCIENCE
    31. Posted by SCIENCE Fri Aug 21 2:10pm EDT

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    james v -gaboriak 8 years younger than pronger. I'ii take my chances with the injury prone goal scorer instead of an aging defensemen entering his 16th season.go rangers #$@% the flyers.
  18. james v
    30. Posted by james v Sun Aug 16 8:23am EDT

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    signing gaborik was a huge mistake, he's injury prone and will not last in the nhl much longer. he reminds me of ulf nilsson from the late 70's, loads of offensive skill but fragile as hell. the first time the rangers play the flyers chris pronger will end this dude's career with one crusing blow in the corner. then that character of a fan that sits way the f%#&k up in the rafters will have to change his whistling from potvin to pronger. I would trade gaborik for heatley tomorrow if I were gm.
  19. <i>wichgobe</i>
    29. Posted by wichgobe Thu Aug 13 5:50pm EDT

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    Hey. Sather's just a hired hand. The problem is the Dolan's. They've ruined the Knicks and don't really seem to give a sh-t about the Rangers. They are just happy to have someone else do the work and colelct the cash flow. Nothing will change until Cablevisions goes bankrupt or the Dolan's are forced to relinquish control of the Garden. [The spin-off won't change the control of the Garden.]
  20. Miguel
    28. Posted by Miguel Wed Aug 12 12:50pm EDT

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    Glen Sather's departure is long overdue. What is wrong with the Ranger management. It makes me sick. They shafted Messier once before and they shafted Wayne Gretzky as well. These two guys could have been managing this organization years ago and (current management) pi**ed away a great opportunity. I feel like I have had the Flu for 10 years and it's not going away.
  21. <i>mototim19</i>
    27. Posted by mototim19 Wed Aug 12 8:43am EDT

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    Hope Torts can overcome sath obvious shortcomings. Mess is the best for any success
  22. K H
    26. Posted by K H Sun Aug 2 8:16pm EDT

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    #25 is dead on. Messier come on in and kick this douche to the curb.PLEASE!!! I swear a 5 yr. old playing franchise on NHL09 can produce better results than Glen SHAT!
  23. <i>kachoulas@...</i>
    25. Posted by kachoulas@... Sun Aug 2 10:51am EDT

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    If the Rangers are to get better, Sather must be let go. I say give the GM job to Messier. He wants it and I believe he will bring some of that leadership back to this organization that is sorely missing. When was the last time anyone gave these overpaid primadonnas a wake up call. i'm sick and tired of watching a team go through the motions. The only reason they won as many games as they did last year was because HENRIK had to stand on his head most of the time. ENOUGH. Sather should just go golfing in Banff full time.
  24. <i>kachoulas@...</i>
    24. Posted by kachoulas@... Sun Aug 2 10:44am EDT

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    If i see Roszival in a Ranger jersey any more, I dont think I can take it. People say Redden and Roszival and I cringe. Two stiffs... I would rather see the young kids come up and send both stiffs down to Hartford like we did with Kaspariitis. I don't care how much they make. Its not my money..Its getting to the point where you cant afford to go to games anyways....If you can trade both these stiffs even for a bag of pucks..DO IT.
  25. Frank Buster Barns
    23. Posted by Frank Buster Barns Fri Jul 31 2:35pm EDT

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    Same crap same year new- same team. whats new? they will still have a @#$%y PP and have a wall in net who will win 90% of the games by himself.
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