The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
Twenty bodies at the morning skate today, just enough to field a team against the Atlanta Thrashers tonight - and that team will have Henrik Lundqvist starting in its nets. Lundqvist was on the ice for only the third time in the last seven days but declared himself ready to go tonight at the Garden for his first start since last Tuesday in Vancouver, a 4-1 loss that opened the Rangers’ three-game...
Kukla's Korner (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
From Jim Cerny at NewYorkRangers.com: Last season, the Rangers had tremendous luck when it came to injuries, losing a remarkably low 31 manpower games to injury or illness. However, just six weeks into the 2009-10 campaign the Rangers have seen that last year’s good fortune regarding injuries has not carried over into a new season. Just one look at their last game in Calgary on Saturday night...
Melt Your Face-Off (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Scene: A hotel lobby in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Rangers are in town to play the Hurricanes, but have arrived a day early thanks to the NHL’s incomprehensible scheduling. In the lobby are Wade Redden, Chris Higgins, and Donald Brashear. Wade: Who’s up for a little Southern nightlife? The concierge gave me a couple of leads [...]
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
Glen Sather is up here in Toronto for Brian Leetch’s Hall of Fame induction tonight, and said his plan is to sit tight with his roster and let the current crop fill the holes at center. With Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky injured in Saturday night’s game in Calgary, and Vinny Prospal capable of playing center, Sather pointed to Christopher Higgins as a player who should be able to step...
From The Rink (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
More photos » by LM Otero - AP Browse more photos » If you haven't been stopping by stats man Gabe Desjardins's pad lately, you'd be well-served to do so. He's banging out some good stuff over there. The latest is a system of ranking fighters , one that comes up with Georges Laraque as the NHL's top heavyweight. Here's the list based on the past three seasons: Player Ft In Wt Fights W L...
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Dane Byers has been suspended and John Tortorella fined coming out of Byers' fight late in the Rangers' 4-1 loss to the Canucks on Tuesday. The penalties are automatic - per NHL rules, when a player receives an instigator penalty in the last five minutes of regulation or at any time in OT, it's a one-game ban for the player and $10,000 out of the coach's pocket. So with Byers out for tomorrow's game...
Puckhead's Thoughts (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
When the Capitals decided not to give another year to enforcer Donald Brashear, their reasoning was simple; We just don't need a tough guy in the line up anymore. While good in theory, over the past few games the Caps seemed to played in some of the chippiest games ever.In the past three games, the Caps leading scorer and franchise player has been victimized by cheap shots and after-the-play
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
The Rangers have gone from the Garden to the airport for this week's Western Canadian swing, and the 1-0 victory over Boston will make this flight is a whole lot more pleasant, even if plenty of icepacks will be making the rounds on the plane. One goal leaves some of the Rangers' issues unaddressed, although two points certainly help. Along those same lines, so does the return of Marian Gaborik, who...
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Scratch Marian Gaborik from the Ranger lineup for the first time this season, meaning the Rangers may have to tap some new sources for a little finish. P.A. Parenteau, the AHL’s leading scorer with eight goals in nine games, arrived from Hartford last night and will take the open spot on right wing, while Donald Brashear stayed on for extra skating this morning and will be the healthy scratch....
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
Forget about Marc Staal and Dan Girardi being split up, at least for the start of this game - John Tortorella had been contemplating the change and had them apart in practice yesterday, but he'll begin tonight's game here in Montreal status quo on the blue line, and that duo can expect to see time against the Canadiens' Mike Cammalleri-Scott Gomez-Brian Gionta line. Donald Brashear will be the scratch...
CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
To get you in the mood for this weekend’s big Canucks vs. Leafs tilt, here are some of my favorite moments in this rivalry: No. 5 on my list is the line brawl that broke out in the 1994 Stanley Cup semi-finals after Doug Gilmour sucker punched Cliff Ronning. At no. 4, Donald Brashear pounds the crap [...]
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
John Tortorella was trying to get a message out when he spoke up after the game that teams are being allowed some liberties with Henrik Lundqvist, and it strikes me that the man has a point. There are only so many times you can see your goaltender lying on his back inside his own net with a Leaf or a King on top of him before you wonder what the deal is - and what you have to do to put it to the curb....
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/16/2009
That's how Donald Brashear would like to be listed on the injury report, please - Brashear is "fantastic" for tomorrow night's game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, this news coming a couple days after the big guy's status was the much more boring "out" for Wednesday's game against L.A. Brashear stayed out of Tuesday's practice, didn't play Wednesday, got the day off with the...
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/09/2009
After a lighthearted practice for a team on a three-game winning streak, a lot of talk about what John Tortorella won't do: For starters, he wouldn't pile on Michal Rozsival or even delve into why he benched the struggling blueliner for all but two shifts of the second period and all of the third last night in the 4-3 win in Washington. "It's pretty self-explanatory," the coach said. "I...
The Blueshirts Blog (Free subscription) | 10/09/2009
Tough to make heads or tails from a game in which the Rangers displayed so many flaws and so much grit at the same time. But they have Marian Gaborik now, so apparently they can get away with some things. Including a goal Henrik Lundqvist let in that is still not to be believed but in the end didn't end up hurting the Rangers. Nicklas Backstrom simply dumped one in from the red line that Lundqvist...
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