According to Andrew Gross, the Rangers are re-assigning P.A. Parenteau back to Hartford, as Gaborik, Avery and Higgins are on the mend. Gross said that 2 out of those 3 will play, which means Dane Byers will get at least another game in the NHL. Not sure I feel about this move, as I was impressed with Parenteau. But Byers is more of a physical presence, and was one of the better Rangers against Minnestoa.
Our beloved Rangers travel to Minnesota to take on Marty Havlat and the Wild. No Gaborik. No Avery or Higgins. As Dave wrote, Dane Byers was called up. Brashear is back as well.
The Rangers are looking to rebound after the awful loss against the Islanders. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll respond.
Use this as your game thread. Watch, discuss, have fun. We’ve had a ton of comments the past couple games. Let’s get more tonight.
The Rangers have recalled Dane Byers this afternoon, but there was no word on P.A. Parenteau being sent to Hartford. As per Steve Zipay’s twitter, Marian Gaborik, Sean Avery, and Chris Higgins are all out tonight. Gaborik is out because of his injury, and it’s safe to assume Higgins is out because he forgot how to play hockey, but the Avery benching is a bit of a surprise. It’s clearly because of either an injury or a benching, but as of now, no word on what the reason is.
From the Puck Daddy live chat:
1:31 [Comment From Dr. Nick RivieraDr. Nick Riviera: ]
Hi everybody!
1:31 Spector: Hi, Dr Nick!
1:31Wyshynski: Hi Dr. Nick!
Combining my favorite sport with my all time favorite TV show is just awesome. Well done folks.
Much like the Yankees swinging and missing last night, the Rangers lost the game to the Islanders on a similar swing and miss play, and it came in the second period. After a beautiful save by Henrik Lundqvist on the Islander powerplay, a rebound came to the front of the net. Dan Girardi, again playing terribly, swung at the puck in the air, missed, and Kyle Okposo buried the rebound. The proper play there Dan, is to get your body in front of the play and tie up Okposo.
This is not to say that Girardi should be singled out, as Wade Redden and Matt Gilroy fell asleep and let Matt Moulson behind them for the game’s first tally. There’s also the powerplay that looked lost without Marian Gaborik, and the offense in general, that struggled to find consistency without Gaborik.
Not all of it was negative though, rookie (sort of) P.A. Parenteau, called up to replace Gaborik in the lineup, netted his first goal of his NHL career, and was generally the best Ranger on the ice for the game. He has a nose for the net, and was essentially the only Ranger that was consistently charging the net and looking for loose pucks.
The need for a seventh defenseman is really intensifying. The six defensemen either look gassed or just comfortable. Neither is a good thing.
Tonight, our beloved Blueshirt are on Long Island to take on the Kansas City New York Islanders. This is essentially another home game for the Rangers, as they have been outdrawing the Islanders at the Coliseum for years now. As discussed below, Marian Gaborik is out for the Rangers tonight, and P.A. Parenteau is skating in his place. There will be line shuffling a-plenty again tonight (probably) because of Gaborik sitting.
As for the Islanders, well, they are the Islanders. Shoot early and often.
Game time is 7pm. Use this as your open thread for the night. We’ve had a few games in a row with some great discussions going, so let’s keep it up.
As per Andrew Gross, RW Marian Gaborik is out tonight against the Islanders with what is being called a lower body injury, most likely a knee injury. Gaborik says this has nothing to do with any of his previous injuries.
The injury occurred in the third period against the Coyotes, when Gaborik skated into a Coyotes player, and didn’t play again after.
The recently called up P.A. Parenteau will be playing in Gaborik’s place tonight.
In last night’s game thread, I mentioned that P.A. Parenteau should get a call up if some of the current Rangers keep struggling. Some mentioned Evgeny Grachev, but with Parenteau’s point-per-game pace, I argued he should be the one getting the call.
Apparently Glen Sather liked my idea, and called up Parenteau this afternoon. Parenteau, as mentioned, is having a monster start to the season in Hartford. It is still up for debate if he will play, and if he does, who he will replace. Chris Higgins had a better game last night, but if I were a betting man, I would bet on Higgins joining Aaron Voros in the press box should Parenteau play.
The Rangers snapped their three game losing streak last night with a convincing win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Rangers came out strong, with a quick goal from Artem Anisimov to get the crowd into the game. The fourth line has been jump starting the Rangers lately, as Artem Anisimov is providing the scoring touch, regardless of which wingers play on his line. After that, it was the Marian Gaborik show.
Following a Matt Lombardi hooking call, the Rangers powerplay went to work. Brandon Dubinsky took the puck from Ales Kotalik, circled through the Phoenix zone, drawing a few defenders to him, and fed the puck to a wide open Gaborik, who buried the opportunity to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead through the first.
The Rangers broke it open in the beginning of the second, with Vinny Prospal burying a weak goal on Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, and Gaborik adding his second powerplay goal on an absolute howitzer to the top shelf, chasing Bryzgalov from the game.
The goalie change seemed to spark the Coyotes a bit, as they started an aggressive forecheck and gained control over the neutral zone. This led to two goals for the ‘Yotes, including a shorthanded goal, cutting the lead back to two goals at 4-2. The Rangers would not relinquish this two goal lead, as Enver Lisin ripped a shot past ex-Ranger Jason LaBarbera, securing the 5-2 victory.
This game was probably the most solidly played game for the Rangers in the past two weeks. It wasn’t perfect, as they slacked off a bit in the second period and allowed the ‘Yotes back into the game. But in the end, they were able to put an end to any comeback hopes and walk away with a well earned win.
Tonight, our beloved Blueshirts take on the surprisingly good Hamilton Phoenix Coyotes. The ‘Yotes are led by Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski, their leading point scorers this season. The biggest surprise is Radim Vrbata, who got his money in Tampa, only to crash and burn, only to be resurrected in Phoenix (really?) and lead the team in goals with four. The 6-3-0 ‘Yotes will be a tough challenge, and if the Rangers look to right this ship, they will need to play smart.
There are many Ranger stories to discuss for this game, so let’s break it down a bit:
- The Rangers are playing some pretty terrible hockey lately, and have lost three straight, albeit one in overtime. The Rangers’ problems stem from some pretty bad habits that have developed during the seven game win streak, specifically taking way too many lazy penalties, and no longer challenging the puck carrier to disrupt the opponents’ offensive flow. The Rangers are not a good enough team to win while taking seven penalties a game and playing passive defense. Mike Cammalleri’s OT winner on Saturday night really illustrated the second point, as he walked in essentially untouched, save for a Marian Gaborik poke check (sort of), and ripped a shot that Henrik Lundqvist had no shot against. The defense needs to step up, preferably before hitting the crease.
- Chris Higgins and Brandon Dubinsky were benched for the entire third period against Montreal, each committing an egregious error that led to a goal. Dubinsky acknowledged he was upset, and will probably look to maintain control of the puck a little better.
- Higgins, on the otherhand, has been downright awful so far this year, and, as Jeremy stated, his play is generating a lot of concern. He needs to play better, case closed.
- Tonight marks the return of my old-favorite Ranger, Petr Prucha. Lauri Korpikoski is also making his return, but he didn’t have as much of an impact on the Rangers as Prucha did. Prucha was the first homegrown player since Mike York to score 30 goals in a rookie season, and we were all excited. Prucha’s numbers slipped with the addition of Brendan Shannahan, as Shanny took all of Pru’s PP time, but he still managed to net 22 goals that year. After that, he must have beaten Tom Renney’s dog to death or something, because he never saw the ice again. Pru should get a very warm welcome, and I sitting in Section 323 Row C, sporting my Prucha jersey (come say hi), to contribute to the welcome.
As for the lines, the Rangers are putting the Benched Brothers together with Ryan Callahan. Donald Brashear is no longer sore, and will be playing in place of Aaron Voros tonight. Expect a Tom Renney amount of line shakeups tonight, as our struggling Blueshirts look to find some sort of answer to the funk.
Game time is 7pm on MSG. If you’re going to the game, come say hi. Otherwise, use this thread to discuss the game. We had a lot of comments during the Canadiens game, and we definitely want to keep the chatter going. Enjoy the game.
Call Ups/Send Downs | Jeremy, 31 Oct 09 | 
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