Kotalik a Game Time Decision

It seems the Rangers just can’t get completely healthy. With Chris Drury returning tonight, it appears that Ales Kotalik may not play. Kotalik took a hard hit against Columbus and was clearly shaken up. He finished the game, but he is clearly still hurting, as he missed yesterday’s practice.

With Kotalik possibly out, the Rangers are going to need someone else to generate shots from the point on the powerplay. I wonder who’s up for the task.

For those watching the game in the city tonight, I’ll be at Local West (33rd and 8th) to watch. Feel free to drop by and say hi.

Subscribe to the BSB RSS Feed

I have had an email in my inbox for about five months now, asking me about the BSB RSS feed. While it’s always been the standard address (blueseatblogs.com/feed/), I decided to give it a little makeover. There is a little counter over to the right, which will help you subscribe to the new BSB RSS feed. Yes, the counter says zero subscribers, but I mean, I just changed the link, so yea, of course it’s at zero.

What is an RSS feed? Mike Axisa explained it best:

but in short, you can subscribe to the feed of your favorite sites, and instead of manually visiting each one multiple times a day, the information will be brought right to you as it’s posted, all in one convenient spot.

Google reader is your best bet (it’s what I use). I highly recommend this.

Poll: Top Line?

There seems to be a lot of discussion about who should get the chance on the top line with Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. Chris Higgins played well in his one game with them against Columbus, Brandon Dubinsky has played well there, as has Enver Lisin. It has been made abundantly clear that it does not have to be position-specific, as Prospal can play both wing and center.

So, let’s leave it to the masses. Who do you think should be on the line with Prospal and Gaborik? Personally, I think it should go to Artem Anisimov. The poll is over on the right.

Anisimov: First Line Center?

Before Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky went down with injuries in the same game, a combination of Dubinsky and Vinny Prospal (with Enver Lisin on the wing) was used to center the top line. It generally produced the same results: Gaborik and Prospal score, other player gets an assist or two. The best chemistry came when Prospal was playing the wing, as Dubinsky was producing at a 50-60 point pace. Of course, with the aforementioned centers out, the Rangers have been forced to scramble, and Prospal is required to play center.

That all changes with the news that Drury will be back from his concussion tomorrow night against Florida. Aside from the discussion of who will sit, another question is who gets moved from center. Gut reactions are going to say Ryan Callahan, because he’s a natural winger playing center. But I say, let’s try a different route.

Move Prospal back to LW on the top line, and put Artem Anisimov up front to play pivot between him and Gaborik. Believe it or not, Anisimov is fifth in points and fourth in goals on the Rangers. He does all this while averaging barely 11 minutes a game, of which 23 seconds is on the powerplay. That’s a pretty good point/TOI ratio right there.

The skill is obviously there for Anisimov, as he has put up his points (5 goals, 6 assists) while playing with the likes of Aaron Voros, Brian Boyle, Dane Byers, and Donald Brashear. Suffice it to say, that’s impressive. He has also outscored all of those four combined, but that’s less impressive as pretty much everyone on the team has outscored those four.

At the least, Anisimov has earned more playing time than his 11 minutes a game. Those currently playing more time than Anisimov: everyone not on the fourth line. That’s right, everyone. But yet, here is Anisimov in fifth on the team in points. I think it’s about time he gets rewarded for his hard work and results. At least he doesn’t give up the puck every time he touches it (see: Lisin, Enver; averaging 14 minutes a game).

What does John Tortorella have to lose by putting Anisimov on the top line for a game? He can definitely mesh with Prospal and Gaborik. Let’s see how it goes.

Drury to Play Tomorrow

This just in, courtesy of Andrew Gross, injured center Chris Drury will make his return to the lineup tomorrow in Florida. Who he replaces, though, is still up in the air.

Del Zotto’s Leetch-Like Goal

It all started with an innocent clearing of the zone by Columbus. The puck was barely out of the zone by the Columbus bench, and Michael Del Zotto, just 19 years old, picked up the loose puck. Columbus then made a mistake, half the team went for a line change as Del Zotto back skated with the puck, and Del Zotto countered and made them pay.

He carried the puck in the zone, deked out one defender, and used the other as a screen, ripping a shot from the high slot passed the outstretched blocker of goaltender Steve Mason, and the Rangers had a 3-2 lead. Brian Leetch was in the house, and it seems like Del Zotto put on that show just for him.

Ranger fans haven’t seen a defenseman do something like that since, well, Leetch. Del Zotto, in his first 23 games, has shown a poise that most veterans don’t show. As Stas (where art thou?) has seen, I have been raving about this kid since he was drafted (pre-BSB). But even I and my completely biased hyping up of prospects couldn’t have imagined him being this good this early. And how about that ridiculous pass to Ryan Callahan in the first? It was so good that even Cally was stunned.

The Del Zotto effect is seen on the powerplay as well. While Ales Kotalik and his booming shot is getting most of the credit, it’s Del Zotto’s poise with the puck and crisp passing that is making everything click. The last effective powerplay quarterback the Rangers had was, of course, Leetch.

Perhaps the most underrated portion of his game is his defensive abilities. This was something he was doubted on during his days in the OHL. But Del Zotto, while making rookie mistakes, has been a steady defender in his own zone. This was highlighed by those two beautiful plays in the third period to keep the 7-3 (at the time) lead.

We are watching a very special hockey player, who hopefully will become a top-five defenseman in the league as he matures. While it is premature to call him the next Leetch, the comparisons are going to be made for years to come.

Voros or Brashear?

Lost in the excitement of yesterday’s game was the fact that Chris Drury is on his way back. That’s great news. But who do the Rangers bench? You can’t bench P.A. Parenteau. He’s been terrific. It comes down to Aaron Voros or Donald Brashear.

Dave and I kinda hashed it out yesterday, with Dave preferring Voros stay, and me wanting Voros but expecting him to go. I expect him to go because Brashear makes $1.4 million. It’s hard to bench that kind of money. But, if money were not an issue, Brashear would be first to go. He doesn’t do much, and his fighting ability seems to have dwindled. Voros hustles, digs in the corner, and can throw a mean right hook.

I’m going to leave it up to you guys. When Drury comes back, who sits: Voros, or Brashear?

It All Started With A Timeout

The Rangers came out flat tonight. Two goals in the first ten minutes by Columbus. So what does John Tortorella do? He calls a timeout. How do the Rangers respond? 7 straight goals.

It’s not often that a timeout will work this well. It will probably never work this well. But for this game, in this very important game, it worked. Rangers savior Marian Gaborik had two goals. Michael Del Zotto looked like Brian Leetch. Sean Avery had two. This team was grinding. Higgins played his best game as a Ranger. They were physical. They stood up for teammates. This was the Rangers team we saw early in the year. This was the team that got us all excited. Will they keep it up? I don’t know. If they do, we’ll know it all started with a timeout.

And kudos to all the folks commenting today, we had a BSB record with 108 comments! Great job guys. Keep it up.

Game 23: Rangers vs Blue Jackets

Welcome to the first edition of “Rangers Need A Win”. Feel like we’ll be seeing a lot of these. (Note: I’m changing the style of the game thread. If you hate it, just tell me).

OPPONENT: Blue Jackets.

RECORD: 12-6-3

LEADING SCORER: Rick Nash, who has 25 points. 14 of those are goals.

GOALIE: Steve Mason, he of the 3.44 GAA and the .890 save percentage.

RANGERS LINES:

Chris Higgins-Vinny Prospal-Marian Gaborik
Sean Avery-Artem Anisimov-P.A. Parenteau
Enver Lisin-Ryan Callahan-Ales Kotalik
Donald Brashear-Brian Boyle-Aaron Voros

D-pairs are the same. Lundqvist should be in goal.

STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: Not good. We can talk all we want about injuries, but the truth is, this team doesn’t have the secondary scoring. Higgins needs to produce. Avery needs to produce. So does Ryan Callahan. This team reminds me a lot of the Jagr years. Yeah, Gaborik can probably carry this team to the playoffs, just like Jagr. But, it’s not enough to be a contender.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Donald Brashear gets a point. Or two.

ON THE iPOD: Five More Hours, The Gabe Dixon Band

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Blue Jackets 1. Just going on a feeling.

Use this as your open thread for the game. Watch, discuss, have fun. Most of all, LET’S GO RANGERS!!!!

Open Letter for Bettman to Resign

Jim Boone, co-founder of the NHL Fan Association, has written an open letter to Gary Bettman, via The Hockey News, asking him to retire resign.

I ask that you resign before January 1, 2010. If you are still in office in the new year, I will organize the 30,000 members of NHL Fans’ Association to encourage the NHL governors to replace you as commissioner. We feel that a new commissioner would be the best thing for the NHL.

It’s an amusing read, and a tad sarcastic. It’s not meant to be taken seriously, but I get the feeling it won’t be the last time we hear about this.