Voros/Lisin Waived

Still posting from my phone. Enver Lisin and Aaron Voros have been waived.

Lisin/Brashear Scratched

Oh wait, there’s a game tonight. Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust will be making their Ranger debuts tonight, wearing numbers 12 and 8, respectively. To make room for them in the lineup, Donald Brashear will be scratched again, as will Enver Lisin. Lisin didn’t play poorly in his “return to the lineup” over the past few games. But, dare I say that Aaron Voros has earned his playing time? I do dare. He has, and deserves to be in the lineup.

Kotalik, Brashear Scratched

As per Andrew Gross, Ales Kotalik will be scratched tonight for the third time this season. Kotalik has been even less than I thought he would be, which is tough because I didn’t expect much. Donald Brashear will be a scratch tonight also, and Chad Johnson will make his second start of his career.

Enver Lisin and Aaron Voros, who have been the most common Prucha victims, are getting some playing time at the expense of Brashear and Kotalik. What a fantastic way to spend $4.4 million.

Johnson Back Up; Lisin And Voros Scratched

The Great Goalie Shuffle of 2009 continues: Rangers sent down Matt Zaba and recalled Chad Johnson, according to Andrew Gross. Johnson started last night against Portland, and gave up 4 goals on 29 shots in a 5-2 loss. Gross is also reporting that Enver Lisin and Aaron Voros will be healthy scratches for tonight’s game against Buffalo. We shall see what happens.

Anisimov In, Lisin Out

It looks like Artem Anisimov isn’t feeling any lingering effects from the Matt Cooke cheapshot, as he will be playing tonight in the back-end of the home-and-home.

Enver Lisin, on the other hand, will be a healthy scratch tonight. He played a total of 0:0 in Saturday night’s abomination of a game, and you have to assume that broken foot is really bothering him.

Rangers Won The Korpikoski-Lisin Trade

When the Rangers traded Lauri “Korpdeo” Korpikoski for Enver Lisin, I think a bunch of fans were shocked. First, who’s Enver Lisin? And second of all, Korpikoski was turning in to a solid player.  Here was Dave’s reaction when the deal went down. I was not writing for BSB at the time, but if I was, I would not have liked the deal. I was beginning to love the Korpedo. Great penalty killer, responsible defensively. He has offensive skills, even if they weren’t showing yet. I thought he would be a Ranger for a long time. Instead, he was traded to the Southwest Rangers Coyotes.

Well, fast forward a couple of months. Enver Lisin is getting consistent top-line duty, and his 3 goals and 5 assists have come even while playing a significant amount of the year on the 3rd or 4th line. He’s -1, which is not great, but I tend not to place too much importance on plus/minus. How is the Korpedo doing? Well, not so good. Through 13 games, Korpikoski has zero points. Zero. In 13 games, he’s had 7 shots on goal. 7.  While the ‘Yotes have cooled off after a hot start, it’s a talented team. Korpedo is having trouble getting on the ice.

Lisin is a work in progress defensively–he’ll never be a penalty killer–but right now, that’s okay. He has plenty of speed, and uses it to create offensive chances. While he’s benefited from playing with Prospal and Gaborik, it’s clear that Lisin is a much better player than Korpikoski. And so, the Rangers won another trade. And we say Sather is inept.

Drury Out, Lundqvist “Maybe”

The injury news for the Rangers is not good. Already out is Brandon Dubinsky, who will be gone at least three weeks with his broken hand. Andrew Gross is reporting that also out is Chris Drury, as the Rangers are taking the safe route with his concussion, as they should. Henrik Lundqvist is a maybe, as his wonky groin (looks like us fans were worried about the wrong groin) may keep him out of action for tomorrow’s game. Enver Lisin is going to play, even though he broke his left foot. Having trouble keeping up?

This is just terrible news for the Rangers. Losing one of Dubinsky or Drury is tough, because the Rangers aren’t that deep of a team, but losing both is going to take its toll on the team. Lisin’s foot is troublesome, but not overly concerning, as he will be playing through it. The worst news here is Lundqvist, as the Rangers can ill afford to have him out for a while. As much as the Rangers will depend on Marian Gaborik to carry the team, if Lundqvist goes down long term, we are looking at a lottery pick.

The lines, as per Gross, for tomorrow:

Speaking of lines, here’s what the Rangers showed today:
Lisin-Vinny Prospal-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Artem Anisimov-Ales Kotalik
Sean Avery-Brian Boyle-Ryan Callahan
Donald Brashear, Aaron Voros, Dane Byers.

There are commas instead of hyphens with the fourth-liners because none of them are likely to play center. Instead, if Tortorella decides to use his fourth line for the occasional shift, he’ll most likely double shift one of his three centers.

The defense pairings, as usual, remain the same:
Matt Gilroy-Wade Redden
Michael Del Zotto-Michal Rozsival
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi.

It makes sense to just substitute the fourth line in. If the centers need a rest, both Higgins and Avery can play a shift or two a game at center to compensate.

I guess the silver lining is that Ilya Kovalchuk will not be playing tomorrow night, so it’s going to have to be Rich Peverley and Nik Antropov that do the damage against either Lundqvist or Steve Valliquette.

Vally / Lisin In; O’Brien Suspended

Some notes:

• As per Steve Zipay, Steve Valliquette will be in net tonight, and Enver Lisin will be returning to the lineup as well.
• As per Andrew Gross, Canucks defenseman Shane O’Brien has been suspended for jabbing his stick at Ranger winger Sean Avery during that melee in Vancouver.
• It is presumed that there will be no lineup changes, in terms of who is dressing, for tonight’s game. As noted above, Lisin is back; and as discussed yesterday, Dane Byers has been suspended for this game.

Lisin Doubtful, Higgins on Top Line

As per SNY Rangers blog, citing Steve Zipay, whom I can’t access anymore thanks to Newsday charging for online content (really?), winger Enver Lisin is doubtful for tonight’s game against Vancouver after taking a shot off the foot against Boston on Sunday. Replacing him on the top line alongside Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik is the struggling Chris Higgins.

This is probably a move that has two meanings: 1) although he didn’t score, Higgins played a solid game against Boston. This is could be some sort of recognition of that, in an attempt to 2) get him on the scoreboard. It is no surprise that fans’ patience has been a little thin with Higgins. We all penciled him in for 20 goals, and 15 games into the season, he is one of four goalless Rangers. When the other three are Aaron Voros, Donald Brashear, and Michal Rozsival, it’s a little bit disturbing to put Higgins in that company. But, there’s a solid chance that this will work, as he’s playing with the two Rangers that average more than a point per game.

Also making the trip out west was Dane Byers, who will likely be filling in for the injured Donald Brashear. The rumor is that he injured his hand fighting Colton Orr way back when. If he produces, both on offense and in overall toughness, something the Rangers have lacked, we may be seeing a lot more than initially anticipated.

Finding Kotalik Ice Time

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Ales Kotalik will be an important member of the 2009-10 New York Rangers. Not only does he have a booming shot on the power play, he’s shown strong defensive responsibilities, and a nose for the net. So far, he has 3 goals and 2 assists,  and he’s done that while spending two games on the fourth line. Which brings me to my next question: How do the Rangers find ice time for Kotalik?

The first two lines are set in stone: Prospal-Dubinsky-Gaborik, and Higgins-Drury-Callahan. Both have created plenty of scoring chances, and have been the top two lines on the ice in most games. The third and fourth line is where things start to get tricky. When Sean Avery returned, he was placed on the third line, with Artem Anisimov and Enver Lisin. Kotalik was moved to the fourth line, and Aaron Voros was moved to the bench. The problem is, Kotalik is not a fourth liner. Hell, for 3 million a year, he’s probably not a 3rd liner either. The Rangers, I believe, have to find Kotalik more time. But, how do they do it?

The easiest scenario is moving Enver Lisin to the fourth line. His speed would be a welcome addition. And although Dave thinks otherwise, I think Lisin has been very impressive in the offensive zone thus far. Defensively, he’s a work in progress, which is why I think a fourth line assignment wouldn’t be good for him. Lisin needs to be with other offensively talented guys to succeed. Playing with Boyle and Brashear is probably not the answer.

You could also bench Lisin, and bring back Aaron Voros. A line of Brashear-Boyle-Voros is intriguing, and they played well the first couple of games together. But by benching Lisin, you risk stunting his development. If you send him down to Hartford to play regularly, you risk the chance of him bolting for the KHL. It’s a no-win situation.

The final scenario is putting Avery on the fourth line. His goal scoring would be a nice addition to the hard working fourth line, and something about Brashear and Avery on the ice at the same time gets me excited. But, Avery is not a fourth line player. He’s a legitimate top 6 forward.

This is a good problem to have. I can’t remember the last time the Rangers had too many guys who could provide offense. I’m not sure what the coaching staff will do. There are a lot of variables, but I can’t see Kotalik staying on the fourth line all year. You could switch Lisin and Kotalik depending on matchups. That might be the way to go, but then you risk chemistry. It’s a tough call, but one I’m glad the Rangers have. So what do you think? How can the Rangers best find Kotalik ice time?