OPPONENT: Flyers

RECORD: 36-27-4

LEADING SCORER: Jeff Carter, 32-26-58

GOALIE: Michael Leighton, 2.39 GAA and a .920 save percentage

RANGERS LINES:

Prospal-Jokinen-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Prust-Christensen-Drury
Shelley-Boyle-Avery

Hank in net

STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: Not bad. Really good win against Atlanta. The stars contributed. Hank played well. Gaborik, Prospal. Need to do it again. We’ll see how Avery does in his return. Will he be tentative? Or will he come out swinging? We’ll have to see. I think the key again is Lundqvist. Can he play like he’s capable? If he does, the Rangers will get another two points.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Avery gets a Gordie Howe hat trick

ON THE iPOD: Nothing. (Crazy, I know)

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Flyers 2

So, watch, discuss, have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!

His one year deal will be up at the end of the season, and he’ll be 36. Is he worth re-signing? Will he duplicate this performance next year?

I think the Rangers should re-sign him. He’s been a great mentor for the young players, and if he does half of what he did this year, it will be worth it. Sign him for one year.

What do you think? Should the Rangers re-sign Prospal?

Although they did not play a solid 60 minutes, last night’s win was as big of a confidence booster as it was two points. However, many in Rangers nation are not sold on last night’s victory. I am one of those many. They need to keep winning, starting with tomorrow afternoon against Philly.

Tomorrow is also the return of Dan Carcillo. If you don’t remember, or were banished to Antarctica for a few months, Carcillo is hated by many for “licking his chops” during his fight with Marian Gaborik. With Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley likely to be in the lineup tomorrow, you can expect some sort of retribution. It will be an interesting game to watch.

OPPONENT: Thrashers

RECORD: 28-28-10

LEADING SCORER: Nik Antropov, 17-38-55

GOALIE: Johan Hedberg, 2.64 GAA and a .910 save percentage

RANGERS LINES:

Prospal-Jokinen-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Prust-Christensen-Drury
Shelley-Boyle-Lisin

No Avery. Hank in net

STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: In need of a win. This is another must-win game for the Rangers. Especially because they are fighting with Atlanta for the 8th playoff spot. They need a win. Not in OT or a shootout. In regulation. They need Gaborik to be Gaborik. They need Hank to be Hank. They need their stars to come out and play their best. Atlanta is beatable. Of course, Johan Hedberg is a Ranger killer. But, they are beatable. I very curious to see how the Rangers respond to the Avery benching. I don’t think Torts ever gave him a fair shot. They seemed to have a prior beef, with Torts ripping Aves when Torts was on TV. Maybe they just don’t get along. But, Avery has done nothing since Torts took over. Will Lisin work? I don’t know. He shows flashes, but never consistently. The top line is stacked with their best players. Prospal, Jokinen, and Gaborik have to produce.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Lisin will score

ON THE iPOD: Astair, Matt Costs

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Thrashers 3

So, watch, discuss, have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!

“I know what’s been asked of me, so whenever I get my next opportunity that’s certainly the thing I’m going to have to do. I’m gonna keep that to myself.”

Ever since John Tortorella became head coach, Sean Avery hasn’t been himself. At his best, Avery is an agitator, who can chip in scoring. He can make plays, with his mouth and with his stick. For all his antics, he actually is a really good player.

But, we saw that good player under Tom Renney. Renney didn’t have a leash on Avery. He let him go. That’s part of the problem with Renney. Some said he was too soft. Not on Avery.

So, when Torts was brought in, we all thought he would bring accountability. And he has, to some degree. He benched Avery after his antics in Game 4 of the Washington series (I was at that game. It wasn’t that bad. And the Rangers won, so who cares? But I digress). He’s benching him after his recent bad play.

But, Avery hasn’t been himself. He’s not being as physical. He’s not chatting up the other players. And he’s not scoring. Watch this video:

While I still disagree with what Avery did, it serves a greater point. He was agitating the other team, and then he scored. That was a classic Avery shift (side note: I love when Drury sort of punches Avery, telling him to stop screen Brodeur like that. People say he’s an awful captain, but that’s what a captain does). When Avery was on that 5-on-3, he was in the front of the net, making things happen. He doesn’t do that anymore. And part of it is because of Torts.

I think Torts has been an okay coach for the Rangers. But, his odd way of reprimanding Avery for playing his game, has cost the Rangers points. Why do you think the Rangers have such a bad home record? When Avery is at his best, the crowd is fired up. The crowd hasn’t been fired up lately.

We’ll see what this Avery benching does, to the team and to Sean. If it’s just one game, how will Avery respond? Will he come back as his self? Or will he try to impress Torts, and play a conservative game? So much for Safe is Death.

So much for seeing him on the fourth line.

When Avery was playing under Tom Renney, he was getting solid minutes, and was able to play his game. His game involves getting into a rhythm offensively while disrupting the opposing stars. Under Tortorella, his time has slowly diminished, thus eliminating the “Avery Factor”. Under the new regime, Avery is just another $2 million fourth liner.

Really don’t know what to make of that one.

The Rangers have fifteen remaining games, of which seven are against playoff teams, five are against non-playoff teams, and three are against teams in the hunt. As per SportsClubStats (s/t to Jordan for that one), in order to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, they will need to finish 10-2-3. To at least have a 70% shot at making the playoffs, they will need to finish 10-4-1. The moral of the story here is that the Rangers need to win 10 games to even be in the playoff hunt come April. It’s doable, but unlikely, especially considering what we’ve seen from the Rangers the past few games.

When looking at the draft position, each of the #10 (Atlanta), #11 (Tampa Bay), #12 (Florida), and #13 (Carolina) seeds have games in hand on the Rangers. Of those teams, Atlanta, TB, and Florida can leap frog ahead of the Rangers if they win these games in hand. They also play these three teams once a piece before the season ends. Those three games will have a huge bearing on where the Rangers sit come draft season, or whether the Rangers make the playoffs. Looking at the Western Conference, the only team below the Rangers is Columbus (Edmonton doesn’t count). They sit four points back of the Rangers, with no games in hand. It’s possible that they leap frog the Rangers too, especially if our beloved Blueshirts fail to show up for the remaining fifteen games.

In the end, I can’t root against the Rangers, it’s not in my blood. So I will be cheering for them, and hoping they make the playoffs. But the possibility of someone like Tyler Seguin, or Cam Fowler, or Vladimir Tarasenko is very tempting (Side note: Columbus plays Atlanta tonight, and for those hoping for a lottery pick, pray for an OT game). Any one of those players would greatly improve the Rangers and fill a gigantic hole on the team. Plus, there’s a very good chance they are NHL ready and could make a solid impact next season. But still, I cannot root against the Rangers, even if I think their playoff hopes have been crushed.

OPPONENT: Devils

RECORD: 28-23-3

LEADING SCORER: Zach Parise, 30-35-65

GOALIE: Martin Brodeur, 2.37 GAA and a .910 save percentage

RANGERS LINES:

Prospal-Christensen-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Jokinen-Callahan
Avery-Anisimov-Drury
Prust-Boyle-Shelley

Hank in net.

STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: Not great. Bad loss against Buffalo. Loss three in a row–although two they got points in. Still, they need two points. I don’t care if you need to go to OT, or a shootout. Need to get two points. Hank needs to be huge. Gaborik playing well would be nice. Someone needs to step up. Someone. Anyone.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Hank gets a shutout

ON THE iPOD: Just Friends (Sunny), Musiq Soulchild

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Devils 0

So, watch, discuss, have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!!

The proposed rule change is as follows (from TSN):

“A lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

A violation of the above will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline.”

I support this as long as it targets the blatant offenders. There is a very fine line here though, much like the boarding calls we have seen. What happens if a player changes his body position last second, and a clean hit to the shoulder becomes a hit to the head? Sure, the player delivering the hit may not get suspended, but the powerplay that comes from it could alter the outcome of the game.

It is a very fine line to draw, but it is the same judgment call being used in the other big sports. Baseball umpires have to determine if a pitcher blatantly threw at an opposing batter. Football referees have to determine if a hit was late or dirty. Basketball referees have to determine if a foul was flagrant. These shoulder to the head hits have ended, or at least greatly affected, careers in the NHL (see: Lindros, Eric). It is good to see that the NHL wants to protect its players from dirty hits, but let’s hope the league recognizes what is dirty, and what is just a clean hit with unfortunate timing/results.