Gilroy back...

The Rangers have a 2-game winning streak and that's due mostly to the play of Henrik Lundqvist. Chris Drury and Artem Anisimov both scored again on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-1 win. Drury has handled his demotion to the fourth line with class, shutting his mouth and scoring in consecutive games. But the King continues to be the story as he was simply incredible stopping 36 shots.

Coach John Tortorella had some harsh words before the game. "There's going to be no entitlement around here and I think that's what kind of stinks of that around here." He added, "We'll go through some bumps in the road with kids, but not with underachieving veterans." It's about time.

Michal Rozsival must be listening as he had the best effort he's had in a while... no one better than him at being an 'underachieving veteran'. Marc Staal played over half the game (30:45) basically because Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen barely played. They were both sent down after the game while Matt Gilroy was called back up. That obviously means Wade Redden will be back in the lineup tomrrow night in Raleigh against the Hurricanes. It'll be interesting to see how Redden, who's been a baby so far, will respond.

Money Talks...

GM Glen Sather has done it again. Instead of sending down Michal Rozsival, who has been utterly useless, he has sent Matt Gilroy to Hartford. The move clears some cap room to get a better look at Ilkka Heikkinen. The bottom line is when you make $5 million a year it doesn't matter how bad you are... Sather will just knock one of the kids down.

Gilroy has not been great as of late. He opened the preseason flying, opened the season cautious, and lately has been unnoticeable. He is a 25-year-old rookie that has been only been playing defense for 4 years though. There must be no time for him to grow with powerhouses like Rozsival and Wade Redden dominating like they do. A mop laying in the defensive zone all game might be better than ol' Rosy. Moving Gilroy comes on the heels of him getting beaten and outworked on both Chicago goals the other night.

Accountability was supposed to be the staple of this team with John Tortorella in town. Is he not able to see what a disaster Rozsival is every night? He made more mistakes than Gilroy the other night that very easily could have led to goals. You know where Rozsival would be if they did? Right on the ice against the Sabres on Saturday night. Even Wade Redden, who has been better this year, still sucks. His deal goes down as one of the worst signings in the history of the league. The team will go nowhere with these two clowns making $11.5 million and that's 4 more years in Redden's case... awesome!

If I was Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival or even Chris Drury I'd be embarrassed that the team can't be good BECAUSE OF ME. Drury is supposed to be a captain and leader. He must know that he is making about $4 million too much right? Imagine if Rozsival was making $2 million (I wouldn't have given him anything), Redden $2 million and Drury $3 max. That's $11.5 million that could be used to get someone good on this team besides Gaborik. But this is pro sports... you take the big money from the Rangers like every other over-the-hill free agent has in the past and accept the boos. Who cares? The people booing don't get to live like you do.

For one night the offense was there... thank goodness there was no one in net for Columbus as the Rangers blew out the Blue Jackets 7-4. It was much of the same with the Blueshirts playing a couple of good stretches of hockey through the game.

The game started with two defensive breakdowns leading to two goals from Columbus' fourth line. Coach Tortorella called a timeout after the second one and the Rangers woke up led by... all together now... Marian Gaborik. He did have help from Steve Mason who was awful for the Jackets. Mason had no chance on Artem Anisimov's 5th on a deflection. Michael Del Zotto made a nice rush right after and a simple wrist shot eluded the net minder letting the Rangers walk out of the first with a 3-2 lead.

The Rangers scored 7 straight including 3 in 1:11 (2 by Sean Avery and another by Gaborik). Gaborik finished with 2 goals and 2 assists and is now tied for the league lead in goals with Dany Heatley. Of course Gaborik doesn't have Joe Thornton passing him the puck but he still has scored a point in 19 of 21 games as a Ranger. Christopher Higgins was the new winger with Gaborik and Vinny Prospal on the first line and had one of his best games of the year. He had 2 assists and hit the post, of course.

Matt Gilroy capped off the scoring off a beautiful no look cross ice feed from P.A. Parenteau. Gilroy abused backup goalie Mathieu Garon going forehand-backhand-forehand. Parenteau has played very well and when the time comes he should be playing over Enver Lisin. The scoring was there... at least for one night.

Notes:
Artem Anisimov was great getting a goal and 2 assists and the third star of the game... Aaron Voros did well for a second fight in a row with Jared Boll who ealier went hard at Marc Staal... Rangers with a concerted effort to get in the face of anyone who went near Henrik Lundqvist but he eneded up getting run over by Rick Nash anyway. Someone should have punched him in the face but instead the Rangers were happy to take a power play... which is ridiculous.

The Hab Nots...

The Rangers just have a thing for Montreal... They like to just go there and figure out ways to lose. My favorite was obviously 2 seasons ago when they had a 5-0 lead and lost 6-5. They outdid themselves tonight and it was one of their stars that is to blame.

The Canadiens came out flying and took the lead on a Michael Cammalleri goal, the first of his 3, 4:16 in. Of course Scott Gomez (2A) picked up an assist on it. The Rangers didn't even show up until a hard working shift from the fourth line produced an impossible angle rebound goal from Artem Anisimov, his 2nd of the year. The Blueshirts then dominated the rest of the first with goals from Ales Kotalik and Matt Gilroy.

Midway through the second and the Rangers in full control, Brandon Dubinsky turned the puck over in the neutral zone leading to Matt D'Agostini's goal. That made it 3-2 and left Henrik Lundqvist laid out on the collison. He appeared to have seriously injured his right ankle but somehow was able to skate it off and remain in the game. Brandon Dubinsky did not receive another shift from that point forward.

It was time for some brilliance. Michael Del Zotto fed Enver Lisin who quickly head-manned to Marian Gaborik. The Slovak tipped the puck from behind his back to himself (somehow staying onside), calmly went in and embarrassed Jaroslav Halak going forehand-backhand-forehand through the legs. It was 4-2 Rangers... but they figured out a way to let it all slip away... with penalties swinging the momentum... again.

Vinny Prospal took a silly elbowing penalty but while killing it Guillaume Latendresse literally skated into Chris Higgins' stick... from behind him... and they called Higgins. This was by far one of the funniest calls I've seen in years. A 5-on-3 for 1:35 yielded a Marc-Andre Bergeron goal and a brand new game. Cammalleri then tied it with 1:02 left in the second. Chris Higgins forgot to backcheck on this one... and he was not seen in the third either... some homecoming.

In overtime, Cammalleri scored the easiest goal of his life. With Gaborik back-checking lightly, and I mean lightly, he calmly skated from his own end. He entered the Ranger's zone with Matt Gilroy in front of him and Marian Gaborik gliding behind him. They both softly stick-checked Cammalleri as he cut in and roofed the winner on Lundqvist. You can blame either Gilroy or Gaborik but if this battle takes place in the offensive zone, Gaborik wins it and that's unacceptable. The Rangers got a point but blew two 2 goal leads in the loss.

Then a special treat as "Hockey Night Live" came on. I figured to get a chance to hear some reaction from Gaborik and Coach Tortorella... but no. We spent the first ten minutes of the show watching and talking about Ron Duguay and Ken Daneyko in "Battle of the Blades". Guys... there's a reason the show isn't on in this country... NO ONE CARES. They have been wasting time showing this for weeks now and when the Rangers lose... fans don't want to watch old men who used to play hockey figure skating. This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Rangers or the 3 games played by local teams. "Hockey Night Live" with NO hockey... WHAT A JOKE.

The One That Got Away...

At the end of last season, the Devils went after Hobey Baker Award winning defenseman Matt Gilroy with essentially the same package the Rangers offered. The 25-year-old was enthralled with John Tortorella's attacking style of play and that the coach would challenge him every day. He opted for Broadway and stuck it to the Devils last night (again) scoring his first NHL goal, the game winner, with 2:10 left in the second period.

The turning point in this game happened 1:24 in though. The Devils came out flying with Jay Pandolfo outworking Marc Staal in the corner. He fed Rob Niedermeyer who went top shelf on Henrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead 1:10 in. The Blueshirts were sloppy on the next shift that ended with Dainius Zubrus losing an edge and crashing into Lundqvist. That was all for John Tortorella. He called a timeout and laced into his team with some choice words... they listened.

The Rangers got their first power play goal of the season shortly thereafter from Michael Del Zotto, who scored in his second straight game. He later added an assist on Ales Kotalik's (first as a Ranger) one time slap shot power play bullet to tie it at 2 after Travis Zajac had given the Devils a 2-1 lead. David Clarkson made a pretty no look pass to Zajac giving Lundqvist no chance. It was 2-2 after the first.

The Rangers settled into their game from then on in this penalty filled game. Due to the 36 minutes in minors in a 60 minute game, there wasn't much flow in this one. 36 minutes is a joke with not one fighting major. Speaking of fighting though, Donald Brasheer and his fourth line of Brian Boyle and Aaron Voros were fantastic again with Boyle also getting important penalty kill minutes.

Late in second, Gilroy skated into the Devils zone and the Rangers went to work. Vinny ProspalGilroy but before it got there Marian Gaborik made a terrific play lifting Nicklas Bergfors' stick allowing the puck through. Gilroy creeped in, took his time and let go a low slap shot that went under Martin Brodeur's left pad.

The Rangers played a solid third period led by Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival who continueRenaissances this year. Gilroy played regularly in the third though Tortorealla curbed Michael Del Zotto a little. Del Zotto ended up with the least amount of ice among defenseman with 11:42 but has 2 goals and an assist in his last 2 games. got the puck on the left hash and attempted a cross ice pass to Matt their

How's That For Openers?

The faithful got a glimpse of what John Tortorella's Blueshirts can be tonight at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 in their home opener. Up and down the lineup, almost every player did their job and did it well.

Michal Rozsival played his best game in over a year. Wade Redden looked good for a second straight game (forget what he makes... we're taking baby steps here). 19-year-old Michael Del Zotto scored his first NHL goal. Matt Gilroy has not been as agressive as he was in preseason. Gilroy (3:09) and Del Zotto (1:33) didn't see much ice in the third. Dan Girardi continued his strong start after facing questions in the preseason.

The first line combination of Brandon Dubinsky centering Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal was electric creating chances almost every time on the ice. Prospal and Dubinsky opening the scoring in the second with two top-shelf rockets. Prospal's goal was his 600th career NHL point. A bad Ranger change left Matt Gilroy on his own against Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson with the former feeding the latter alone in front cutting the Ranger lead to 2-1.

Enter Ryan Callahan whose relentless work ethic is on display every night. In the last minute of the second period, he dumped the puck in and took two Senators out of the play allowing Christopher Higgins to feed Michael Del Zotto. His wrist shot through a screen with under a minute in the second was a huge goal for the team, as well as himself. His parents and brother were there to watch the moment, with his Mom moved to tears. And oh by the way, it was Ryan Callahan who after setting up the play from the corner battled his way in front to screen Pascal Leclaire.

A neutral zone turnover in the third allowed Enver Lisin to spring Dubinsky on a breakaway. He rang a laser off the crossbar but Marian Gaborik followed the play and pounded in the rebound. Gaborik has 2 goals and an assist in 2 games while Dubinsky has 2 gols and 2 assists. He added a short-handed empty netter outworking Alexei Kovalev.

Though he didn't score, Chris Drury played much better tonight then he did last, as did linemate Ales Kotalik. Promising effort from the fourth line particularly from Brian Boyle, who was fantastic on the penalty kill. Donald Brasheer and Aaron Voros both had fights though Voros

A good bet that last years weakness will not be this years. The power play did everything but score... and they will. They're generating chances, clanging posts and it's just a matter of time.

The Rangers were outshot 20-13 in the second period but outscored Ottawa 3-1. They tightened up defensively allowing only 5 in the third. Peter Regin scored for Ottawa with :06 left. Mike Fisher bodied Del Zotto off the puck feeding Regin in one of the only instances a Ranger was outworked tonight.

With all the new faces on this team it's easy to take Henrik Lundqvist for granted. Whenever there was an odd man rush "The King" was there. He was fantastic again particularly in the second period when he stopped 19 opf 20 shots. He closed the door on a breakaway by Milan Michalek :15 in and Ryan Shannon on one later. Lundqvist was named the game's second star.

Tonight, the Rangers took chances but the balance not to take reckless ones. Tonight, they did not get outworked, they supported each other. Tonight... this team gave you some hope.

Un-Glooed...

Opening night for the Rangers started with waiting for one of the most corny banner raising ceremony in the history of the sport. They were not on the bench for the pregame ceremonies as Coach John Tortorella had said they would be. "I didn't realize it was going to be so long and I don't think Pittsburgh wanted us out there anyway," Tortorella said. The Blueshirts came out flat in the first period of the game they eventually lost 3-2.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring with a power play goal from Evgeny Malkin, a beautiful deflection that Henrik Lundqvist had no chance on. The call, against Chris Drury, was a joke but surprisingly the officiating was pretty good and didn't become the central focus of the game.

Drury tied the game at 1 toward the end of the period off a good feed from Christopher Higgins. Drury was largely invisible for most of the game as he has been through the preseason.

The turning point happened in the second when Vinny Prospal was robbed on a two on one by Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens responded shortly thereafter with goals 1:08 apart from Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy (deflection). The Rangers battled harder in the third but gave up way too many odd man rushes in the game. Tortorella admitted it will take some time for his system to become instinct for these players and it looked that way.

Marian Gaborik was as advertised... explosive. He could have easily had 3 goals but settled for one (as first predicted on this blog). This man can change the game at any time. As more Rangers understand his speed he will have more and more chances. Michael Del Zotto already seems to get him springing him several times during the preseason and on a first period breakaway last night. Gaborik went through the legs but Fleury got enough to force it just wide.

Michal Rozsival continued his dreadful play since hip surgery and signing his $5 million-a-year salary but Wade Redden was ok. Matt Gilroy was solid while Del Zotto was a little shaky. They are going to make mistakes but Ranger fans can deal with them from kids... not Redden and Rozsival.

The Rangers hung in there with a championship team with several new faces in their lineup and a new system they're still trying to learn. It'll be interesting to see how they respond in the home opener against the Ottawa Senators at MSG tonight. Henrik Lundqvist, who had no chance on any of Pittsburgh's goals, is expected to start.

Hooks and Gabs...

Marion Gaborik made his much anticipated debut at MSG last night in a 4-2 Ranger win against Detroit. He came as advertised showing flashes explosiveness the Blueshirts haven't had in their line-up in a long, long time. On a first period power play, Gaborik took Brad Stuart on a tour all the way around the net and halfway up to the left point before feeding Enver Lisin in the slot to put the Rangers up 2-0 on the power play. He also got drilled by Johan Franzen :24 in which he said "woke me up a little bit". Gaborik admitted it'll take time to shake the rust off but the sore groin didn't appear to hinder him. Later Michael Del Zotto fed Gaborik beautifully through center and he would've been gone if not for losing the puck in his skates.

Lisin's first period PP goal added to his strong start. He and Artem Anisimov each have 3 goals in the preseason as Anisimov sealed the game with an empty netter. After a dismal opener Anisimov has all but locked up a roster spot since. Evgeny Grachev continues making himself tough to cut. He took Jakub Lindl into the boards, stealing the puck and setting up Ryan Callahan for a sick little backhand-forehand goal. Can't help but be excited about the Rangers youth on the back line as Del Zotto, Matt Gilroy and Bobby Sanguinetti all played well. Alexei Semenov is also looking more and more like he'll stick.

Sean Avery ran into Ryan Callahan in practice and is out indefinitely with a sprained knee. Aaron Voros subbed for him and was noticeable though I don't know where he'll fit in. He started last year strong before dropping off to near invisible level. With $3 million being wasted on him, Tyler Arnason, and Patrick Rissmiller,not sure how Glen Sather would justify having all of them in Hartford.