That is a very steep asking price, especially when Ruutu is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, when he will be 29 years old. The Hurricanes are clearly looking to rebuild, and it is expected that they would ask for a lot for one of their better players. That said, Ruutu is going to be a depth addition for any acquiring team, and a short term depth addition at that.

To break down that price in Rangers terms, a “significant draft pick” likely means a first-round pick, and a “solid prospect” likely means someone like Ryan Bourque. A “top prospect” would be someone along the lines of Tim Erixon, Dylan McIlrath, Chris Kreider, or Christian Thomas. The price, as it stands now, is simply unreasonable.

Looking at where he fits in for the Rangers, his presence would definitely be an upgrade on the left side, where the forwards have been juggled more often than Lindsay Lohan’s court dates. He would also serve as an upgrade over John Mitchell, who would likely be bumped from the everyday lineup if the Rangers were to land a forward.

That said, Ruutu doesn’t look like the answer to the Rangers powerplay woes, as he has just four powerplay points this season. Ruutu will be a presence in front of the net, but he’s not of the Smyth variety who makes a living out of it. This rumor has some decent legs to it, as it came from McKenzie, and not some fledgling writer looking for hits.

Regardless, the Rangers are still 4-1-1 in their past six games, and still own first place in the Eastern Conference. Chris and I split the review, he had the first two periods, I covered the third.

First Period Notes (Chris):

• The game started as many anticipated (upon seeing the starting line-ups) as Cam Janssen and Mike Rupp as well as Brandon Prust and Eric Boulton dropped the gloves with just two seconds off the clock. Mike Rupp appeared to injure his hand in his fight although he did return to the ice.
• The Devils came out strong to begin the game, none more so than their hot, top line of Parise, Elias and Kovalchuk. The trio controlled play when they were on the ice and created numerous opportunities, one of which was only broken up by a desperate block by Girardi on the wide open man.
• The Devils may have enjoyed too much space because, at least initially, it seemed the gap between the Rangers forwards and defense was far too big allowing the Devils to break quickly and get easy entry to the Rangers zone.
• The Rangers didn’t help their own cause in the first period with their total inability to create pressure, in part because of their poor play on the puck. The team, uncharacteristically led by Ryan Callahan turned the puck over countless times to begin the game.
• One of the Rangers first period turnovers led to Stu Bickel taking a holding penalty which resulted in the Devils powerplay goal. Giving a team, on a 6 for 18 PP tear, an early powerplay is never a good idea and after the Devils won a few battles for the puck, slick work from Parise saw Clarkson beat Lundqvist from close-in.
• During the TV timeout a vocal and animated Tortorella could be seen reading the riot act to his team and in part it seemed to have the desired effect. The Rangers were much better in the latter stages of the first (without being great) as they got a hold of the puck and generate some pressure in front of Brodeur which lead to a few chances of their own.
• The Rangers had two powerplay chances in the first, oh how I wish they didn’t. Again, bar a brief spell on the first chance the powerplay created little and again, was guilty of a lack of movement off the puck. Prior to Stralman (nearly) being stripped by Parise, there was Brad Richards skating across the Devils blue line with the puck which lead to a turnover. He had nowhere to go and seemingly little options to distribute the puck. To say this powerplay is struggling is a huge understatement.

Second Period Notes (Chris):

• Like the first period, the Devils created plenty of pressure – through their forecheck – to start the second period, including their defensemen pinching in several times.
• Turnover, turnover, turnover: how to describe the Rangers play in three words.
• It took 6 minutes of the second for the Rangers to get some sustained pressure in the Devils zone. Good pressure by the Gaborik line led to a couple of attempts on Brodeur.
• Great example of how to play Kovalchuk came in the second period from McDonagh. As the Russian skated in with the puck, McDonagh was right up in Kovalchuk’s space and closed him off immediately. The winger had no space to make a move and was pushed off the puck.
• Clarkson had a huge chance ten minutes into the second but was thwarted by Lundqvist who was called upon far too often because of defensive zone breakdowns by the Rangers. Great save down low.
• Stralman had a particularly difficult first 30.
• Parise is a monster. If he makes it to free agency the Rangers should find the cap space.
• Gaborik had a semi breakaway late in the second and got a good shot on net but the angle was cut because of the covering defenseman. It was the first chance in nearly 30 minutes of play where Gaborik had to open stride and use his speed. Absolutely zero space until that point for Gaborik. After that Gaborik seemed to be a lot more in the midst of the play in the second, creating a solid chance for Del Zotto later in the period.
• 13 minutes in to the second and the Rangers finally got physically engaged for a sustained period of time. They won battles along the boards, closed down the Devils players, stopping several clearance attempts and generated chances.
• You’re trailing in the game after one period and you generate just 4 shots on net in 18 minutes of the second. That’s simply not good enough. The Rangers need to take more shots, need to work the opposing goalie much more. Generating a forecheck to create chances or look for the shot (rebounds) to generate pressure – chicken or egg, what comes first?
• Speed Kills. Approaching Brodeur at speed, Carl Hagelin had the Rangers best chance of the first two periods as he came in and forced Brodeur into a quality save. If anything it showed what a little space and plenty of speed can achieve. The chance was perhaps the first time in the entire game the Rangers got a quality look, close-in on Brodeur.
• The Rangers first two periods seemed to suggest they need an infusion of talent as they generated little and their puck possession was poor. Oh, Brad Richards was meant to supply that? I know, harsh… but man does that guy need to step up.

Third Period Notes (Dave):

• This is the period that the Rangers owned. In typical Devils fashion, they played their “five men in the picture” and trapped the Rangers. The Devils mustered just one shot on goal, and it was entirely due to lack of trying offensively. They were content to just play a trap game.
• Brodeur was giving up rebound after rebound all game, and the Rangers failed to crash the net on every single one of them. The last time they beat the Devils, they crashed the net and put home dirty goals. The Blueshirts have gotten away from that, and that’s the main reason why they didn’t get a goal tonight.
• The linesmen were quite atrocious tonight. There were a few icing calls that were either wrongly waved off, or called icing.
• Staying with the horrible officiating topic, what a terrible call on the Gaborik goaltender interference to end the game. It was painfully obvious that Gaborik was stopping well before Brodeur. Hockey is the only sport where there is actually evidence of this: the snow from the blade stopping on the ice. The snow started well in front of Brodeur, and Volchenkov pushed Gaborik into Fatso. That should have been a goal.
• The horrible call overshadows what was a pretty decent third period for the Rangers…except for that powerplay.
• Riddle me this. What is worse: The Rangers powerplay or the NHL officiating?

There were likely many reasons for such a move, and the most obvious one is that Bickel provides some much needed toughness on the blue line with Michael Sauer out of the lineup indefinitely. Eminger is a fine bottom pairing defenseman, but he does not have that snarl that Bickel has. That snarl was much needed yesterday, with the Flyers dressing their goon squad.

What Eminger lacks in toughness, he makes up for in footspeed and overall defensive play. It’s a bit of a give and take when it comes to dressing Eminger or Bickel. Eminger provides some nice overall defense, which is going to be useful against some of the quicker teams in the league. Bickel provides toughness, which is going to be userful against the tougher squads that like to deploy people like Tom Sestito and Zac Rinaldo.

Eminger’s return gives the Rangers tremendous flexibility that they didn’t have with Jeff Woywitka, and gives Torts some options in his matchups for any given game. It wouldn’t be considered a shocker to see Bickel continue to dress for games like the Flyers, while Eminger dresses for games against smaller and quicker teams. Both have minimal cap hits, so there is no long term damage to the cap in keeping both around.

Plus, keeping them both around creates competition. One will need to be moved when Sauer returns, so keeping them both around creates more incentive to play hard. This is one of those good problems to have.

With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring at the end of the season, the NHL could not secure dates for any NHL team to travel to Europe to open the season. Although no lockout is expected, the NHL couldn’t commit to any dates.

Instead, it looks like the Rangers will simply open the season on an extended road trip to the west coast, and slowly travel back east until the end of October when The Garden opens again.

This isn’t exactly unexpected, as the end of the current CBA has been one of those situations that has been forced to the back of our minds for a while. There are many hot topics to be discussed. And although another lockout is expected, there is no guarantee that the labor situation will be resolved in time to send teams to Europe in September.

Considering how the Rangers played in October, and their hectic travel schedule to open this season, this may be a blessing.

NYR Leading Scorer: Marian Gaborik (25-16-41)
NJD Leading Scorer: Claude Giroux (20-39-59)

NYR Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist (37 GS, 1.82 GAA, .940 SV%)
NJD Goaltender: Ilya Bryzgalov (36 GS, 2.83 GAA, .900 SV%)

Rangers Lines (probable):

Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Brandon Dubinsky-Mike Rupp-John Mitchell

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
Stu Bickel-Anton Stralman

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Mike Sauer (concussion), Steve Eminger (healthy)

Preview: Another day, another date with the Flyers. The last time these two teams met, it was at Citizens Bank Park for the Winter Classic, and ended in a 3-2 Rangers victory. In fact, the Rangers have done pretty well against the Flyers, winning all three matchups against their division rival, outscoring them 9-4 in the process.

This game is going to be like all the others. It will be physical, brutal, and a grinding game. The Rangers will deploy Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh against the Claude Giroux/Jaromir Jagr connection, which will be the biggest key to the game. Shut down that line, and the Rangers will win. Don’t, and the Rangers will hand the Flyers their first win against the Blueshirts of the year.

Getting a powerplay goal or two might help too.

Crazy Thought: It’s a powerplay goal!

Opponent’s Blog: Flyers Fan Central

Game time is 1:00pm on NBC Sports, AM1050, and XM214.

Original Post: In some good injury news, Steve Eminger has been activated off injured reserve and is likely to play today, according to Katie Strang. Eminger has been out since December 17 against Phoenix, when he separated his shoulder. Prior to the injury, Eminger had been playing top-four minutes while paired with Michael Del Zotto.

Eminger will likely play at the expense of rookie Stu Bickel, who was limited to just ten shifts and six minutes of ice time in the Rangers 1-0 win over the Sabres.

By Brian Ring

Hershey, PA, February 4, 2012 - The Connecticut Whale defeated the Hershey Bears, 4-1, Saturday night at the Giant Center to win their second straight game. Tommy Grant scored twice for the Whale and goaltender Chad Johnson made 39 saves in the victory.

The win, coupled with Bridgeport’s loss to Manchester, moved the Whale back into a share of first place in the Northeast Division with 51 points.

“Johnson had a good game in net, we got a power-play goal, we got some secondary scoring with Tommy Grant getting two, there were a lot of things in our favor tonight,” said Whale head coach Gernander.

The two teams played exactly 16 minutes of scoreless hockey before Grant gave the Whale a 1-0 lead in the opening period. Grant carried the puck down the left wing boards, snapping a shot that squeaked under the left arm of Bears’ goaltender Dany Sabourin (17 saves). Grant’s goal, his fourth of the season, was assisted by Scott Tanski and Jared Nightingale.

Hershey, however, would tie the game right back up just 1:19 later, as former Whale Tomas Kundratek’s shot from the point was tipped past Chad Johnson by Cody Eakin. Boyd Kane also registered an assist on the score, the eighth of the year for Eakin.

The Whale would retake the lead on the power-play 12:10 into the second period, as Kris Newbury shot a puck up and over Sabourin for his team-leading 17th goal, the eventual game-winner. Newbury was fed by Mats Zuccarello on the back-hand below the right faceoff circle, leaving the Whale veteran with an open chance. Tim Erixon also assisted on the play.

Andre Deveaux would extend the Whale advantage to 3-1 just 1:22 later, as he converted a nifty three-way passing play between himself, Casey Wellman and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault. Audy-Marchessault’s pass found a wide-open Deveaux as the trio crossed into the Hershey zone, with Deveaux promptly depositing the puck into the top right corner of the cage. It was the first Whale point for Wellman, who was making his Whale debut after being acquired from the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Grant would strike again to provide the game’s final tally, his second of the night, with 6:10 remaining in the third period. Kelsey Tessier won a draw to the right of Sabourin straight to Grant, who shot and scored for the first multi-goal game of his professional career and a 4-1 Whale lead.

“We got contributions from everyone and it was a good team win,” said Gernander.

The Whale will now return home on Tuesday, when they host the Syracuse Crunch in their only visit to the XL Center this season (7:00 PM).

Tickets to all 2011-12 Whale home games, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

The Whale and the CT Hockey Hall of Fame will partner to hold a CT Hockey Hall of Fame night at the Whale’s home game at the XL Center Saturday, March 10 vs. the Norfolk Admirals. That night will mark the enshrinement of a new class of 2012 inductees into the CT Hockey Hall of Fame, which has adopted eight members from the storied Hartford Whalers Hall of Fame. The new inductees are: Connecticut-bred Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch, ex-Hartford Whalers 56-goal scorer Blaine Stoughton, former Whalers goaltender Mike Liut, former Whalers captain Pat Verbeek, Connecticut Whale/Hartford Wolf Pack franchise icon, long-time captain and current head coach Ken Gernander, three-time Olympic medalist for Team USA and all-time NCAA women’s leading scorer Julie Chu, and one of the founders of the New England Whalers, William E. Barnes. There will be an induction ceremony before the game, which faces off at 7:00 PM on March 10, and the new inductees will also be recognized on the ice during the first intermission. Fans can take home a special souvenir of the March 10 night, as 5,000 Hall of Fame posters will be given away, courtesy of SuperCuts. There will also be a special meet-and-greet event on March 10, details of which will be announced soon. This will be the first class of inductees since 1990, and further details are available at cthockeyHOF.org.

College students can get discounted tickets to Whale weekday games with the Whale’s “Ditch the Dorms” deal. For Monday through Friday home games, students who show a valid student ID at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center can get $2 off Upper Level tickets and $5 off Lower Level seats.

Save on your tickets, and get the best seats, with a ticket plan for the Whale’s 2011-12 AHL campaign, which are on sale now. For information on season seats, mini plans and great group discounts, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 728-3366 to talk with an account executive today.

Connecticut Whale 4 at Hershey Bears 1
Saturday, February 4, 2012 – Giant Center

Connecticut 1 2 1 – 4
Hershey 1 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Grant 4 (Tanski, Nightingale), 16:00. 2, Hershey, Eakin 8 (Kundratek, Kane), 17:19. Penalties-Rechlicz Her (boarding), 3:03.

2nd Period-3, Connecticut, Newbury 17 (Zuccarello, Erixon), 12:10 (PP). 4, Connecticut, Deveaux 13 (Wellman, Audy-Marchessault), 13:32. Penalties-Miskovic Her (interference), 11:17; Parlett Ct (tripping), 15:49; Woywitka Ct (slashing), 19:18; Tessier Ct (roughing), 19:53; Bourque Her (roughing), 19:53.

3rd Period-5, Connecticut, Grant 5 (Tessier), 13:50. Penalties-Klassen Ct (hooking), 2:28; Bourque Ct (tripping), 8:58; Mitchell Her (elbowing), 11:20; Mink Her (tripping), 14:10; Bell Ct (interference), 17:14.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 10-7-4-21. Hershey 13-14-13-40.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 4; Hershey 0 / 5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Johnson 12-9-5 (40 shots-39 saves). Hershey, Sabourin 10-7-2 (21 shots-17 saves).
A-10,883
Referees-Chris Ciamaga (24).
Linesmen-Jud Ritter (34), Bob Goodman (90).

Most NHL teams carry a spare forward for two reasons. The first is the most obvious: a spare body in case of injury. The second is to stir competition and force players to come to play game in and game out. It is John Tortorella’s style to keep a spare player around.

That spare player right now is Wolski, whether we like it or not. Wolski’s $3.8 million cap hit is not that appealing to many teams, but team control for his next contract might be –Wolski is a RFA.

For the next two weeks, Wolski will be playing with the CT Whale in what is likely an audition for a trade or a future NHL job. But with Christensen gone, the Rangers are less likely to just dump Wolski like they did with Christensen. Wolski fits the “spare forward” role well, meaning that he is not a prospect that the Rangers need to groom and he is not someone who appears to be a key cog in the immediate future of the organization.

Maybe Wolski should be calling Christensen and thanking him, because with Christensen gone, Wolski has that roster spot as the spare forward.  For now.

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, February 3, 2012 - The Connecticut Whale defeated the Albany Devils, 3-2, Friday night at the XL Center in Hartford to snap an eleven-game winless streak. Kris Newbury, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Wojtek Wolski all scored for the Whale, while Mats Zuccarello and Brendan Bell added two assists apiece.

“It’s a good feeling in here right now, the guys are happy,” said Newbury. “The good news is we get to get right back at it and try to have a good weekend.”

Albany staked themselves to an early 1-0 lead, as Eric Gelinas’ shot from the right point was ripped past Whale goaltender Chad Johnson (20 saves) just 1:39 into the opening period. Stephane Veilleux and Darcy Zajac each assisted on the goal.

The Whale would strike back just over a minute later, as Newbury tied the game in his return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to injury. The puck hit off the end boards to the left of Albany goaltender Keith Kinkaid (21 saves) and out to a streaking Zuccarello, who hit Newbury with a quick one-time pass. Bell would also assist on the equalizer.

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault would give the Whale a 2-1 lead that they would carry into the first intermission with a power-play goal, his 16^th tally of the season, at 18:30. Audy-Marchessault managed to sneak a bad angle shot past Kinkaid, as the Whale All-Star had gathered the puck up and fired at the Devils’ goal line to the right of the cage. Bell recorded his second assist of the game on the score, with Andre Deveaux earning the secondary assist.

The Whale would extend their lead to 3-1 with 3:47 remaining in the second period, as Wolski tallied Connecticut’s second power-play score of the night for the eventual game-winner. Wolski fed Zuccarello for a quick give-and-go passing play, depositing the return pass in the top right corner of the Devils’ net. The goal came in Wolski’s first tilt with the Whale after he joined the team from the New York Rangers on a conditioning assignment, with fellow assignee Jeff Woywitka notching the secondary assist.

Joe Whitney would close the Albany deficit to 3-2 5:21 into the third period, as he stuffed a loose puck past Johnson. Zajac and Veilleux both collected their second assists of the night on the goal, Whitney’s team-leading 12^th.

The Whale, however, would hang on in the third period to preserve their first win since Dec. 31.

“We need to build off of this win and keep it rolling in here for tomorrow,” said Newbury.

Connecticut now heads to Hershey to face the Bears Saturday night at the Giant Center (7:00 PM).

The Whale will return home on Tuesday, when they host the Syracuse Crunch in their only visit to the XL Center this season (7:00 PM).

Tickets to all 2011-12 Whale home games, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

The Whale and the CT Hockey Hall of Fame will partner to hold a CT Hockey Hall of Fame night at the Whale’s home game at the XL Center Saturday, March 10 vs. the Norfolk Admirals.  That night will mark the enshrinement of a new class of 2012 inductees into the CT Hockey Hall of Fame, which has adopted eight members from the storied Hartford Whalers Hall of Fame.  The new inductees are: Connecticut-bred Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch, ex-Hartford Whalers 56-goal scorer Blaine Stoughton, former Whalers goaltender Mike Liut, former Whalers captain Pat Verbeek, Connecticut Whale/Hartford Wolf Pack franchise icon, long-time captain and current head coach Ken Gernander, three-time Olympic medalist for Team USA and all-time NCAA women’s leading scorer Julie Chu, and one of the founders of the New England Whalers, William E. Barnes.  There will be an induction ceremony before the game, which faces off at 7:00 PM on March 10, and the new inductees will also be recognized on the ice during the first intermission.  Fans can take home a special souvenir of the March 10 night, as 5,000 Hall of Fame posters will be given away, courtesy of SuperCuts.  There will also be a special meet-and-greet event on March 10, details of which will be announced soon.  This will be the first class of inductees since 1990, and further details are available at cthockeyHOF.org.

College students can get discounted tickets to Whale weekday games with the Whale’s “Ditch the Dorms” deal.  For Monday through Friday home games, students who show a valid student ID at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center can get $2 off Upper Level tickets and $5 off Lower Level seats.

Save on your tickets, and get the best seats, with a ticket plan for the Whale’s 2011-12 AHL campaign, which are on sale now. For information on season seats, mini plans and great group discounts, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 728-3366 to talk with an account executive today.

Albany Devils 2 at Connecticut Whale 3
Friday, February 3, 2012 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Albany 1 0 1 – 2
Connecticut 2 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Albany, Gelinas 8 (Veilleux, Zajac), 1:39. 2, Connecticut, Newbury 16 (Zuccarello, Bell), 2:57. 3, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 16 (Bell, Deveaux), 18:30 (PP). Penalties-Tedenby Alb (interference), 9:46; Erixon Ct (hooking), 15:03; Palmieri Alb (interference), 17:24.

2nd Period-4, Connecticut, Wolski 1 (Zuccarello, Woywitka), 16:13 (PP). Penalties-Bell Ct (holding), 1:24; Zalewski Alb (high-sticking), 14:29; Parlett Ct (cross-checking), 16:37.

3rd Period-5, Albany, Whitney 12 (Zajac, Veilleux), 5:21. Penalties-Bouchard Ct (high-sticking), 17:40.

Shots on Goal-Albany 5-6-11-22. Connecticut 9-11-4-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Albany 0 / 4; Connecticut 2 / 3.
Goalies-Albany, Kinkaid 11-12-1 (24 shots-21 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 11-9-5 (22 shots-20 saves).
A-4,028
Referees-Ryan Hersey (46).
Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Jim Briggs (83).