Heading in the right direction: Marc Staal cleared for light physical activity

The Rangers won't confirm any of this - they never do - but we are reading that Ranger defenseman Marc Staal - who has missed the entire season with post concussion syndrome - has finally been cleared by concussion specialist Dr. Robert Cantu to resume "light physical activity".

The NHL in general - and the New York Rangers in particular - do not like to give a lot of information about player injuries - often keeping the public diagnosis as general as "upper body" or "lower body" injury.

It always seems kind of over-secretive and silly. But there is an unfortunate logic to this tactic. It's a league where players hit one another - slash each other with sticks - and get in lengthy fist fights with each other during games - it puts your players at a distinct disadvantage to tell their opponents where their injuries are located. (It's like placing a sign on the injury that reads "hit me here")

In the case of Marc Staal - there is not a whole lot of information flowing out of midtown. But if Marc is cleared for light activity this is very very good news,

Still - if you're thinking Marc is close to resuming his season - think again. Sidney Crosby is finally getting set to return 6 weeks after getting cleared for contact. Marc Stall is NOT cleared to get hit - only to skate around.

So we are looking at months and months before any possible return for our top defender.

Still - it's great news - not just for the Hockey player - but for the human being. (And yes - there is a difference)

Because we can guess that Marc's life has been a living hell. There's nowhere to hide from a brain injury - you can be in a distressing mental fog for months. If Marc can skate again it means his symptoms are starting to subside - at least when he's sitting still. And that's a very welcome turn of events - even if Staal never gets back on the ice this season - or - well, let's not go there just yet.

Anyway - good luck Marc - and continued improvement.

To Hab and Hab Not - Win Streak ends at 7 as Rangers fall 4-0

Well - it was fun while it lasted.

What had been a 7 game Ranger winning streak ended in with a 4-0 defeat in Montreal to the Scott Gomez Canadiens. We ran into a northern buzz saw tonight – a red hot Hab team that extended goaltender Carey Price's shut out streak to 132 minutes at our heroes' expense. Ex-Ranger Scotty Gomez, who has been on the hot seat in cold Canada recently for not producing enough for his top line status and Salary Cap hit, had a bounce back day with a pair of assists. The Rangers have traditionally had troulbe in the Canadiens home ice – and tonight was no different.

So - suddenly - our Rangers have gone from the hottest team in the NHL to a club that hasn't scored a goal since Tuesday.

Torts gave the net tonight to Marty Biron. A smart move actually, as this gives Hank more than a week off - a rare opportunity in the NHL where they play 10 months of meaningful hockey games - usually 3 time a week. Even in retrospect – if Hank had been there we might have lost 2-0 instead of 4-0, but a loss is a loss (of course of course).

Highlights:

Really? If you're looking for highlights in a 4-0 defeat, well, okay - I'll see what I can do:

- Your Ranger officially out hit the Habs 28-15. There. So at least we didn't go quietly.

Beyond that - uh, not so much.

Sean Avery had a shot on goal and had a plus minus of zero on the night - that's about as well as you can play in a shutout loss

Low Lights: If you're looking for the bad – there's plenty. For starters the Rangers had only 17 shots on goal. You won't win many games like that. Marty Biron had a save percentage under .900 (stopping 27 of 31 for .871). The Ranger PK let up 2 goals on 6 tries and our Powerplay was shut out in 3 attempts.

John Tortorella summed it up this way:

"Don't look at our goalie, I'll tell you that," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "Our whole crew in front of him never had the puck and we were chasing the game. We never caught up to it."

What John means is that the Rangers didn't have the puck much on offense – didn't defend as well as we needed to – and didn't do much offensively when we did have opportunity.

Worst of the worst: Gabby, Richards, and Del Zotto and minus 2. Deveaux with 9 penalty minutes.

So, we'll have to let the win streak go at 7.

Final analysis: Our 2 main strengths this year - Penalty Kill and Team Defense – both let us down tonight. It's hard to win when you...

1 – get out shot by your opponent

2 – only get off 17 shots

3 – Don't score

4 – Let up 4 goals

5 – Get shut out on the powerplay

6- Let up 2 goals on the penalty kill

Still, we're 10-4-3, and we'll take it.

Next Up: We play the Florida Panthers on Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday). Let see if we can get the road trip to 2-1.

Stralman: "A Ways Away"

The New York Rangers went to the trouble of locating, wooing, (editor - "wooing"?) (Dave Pucks - you know what I mean) and then signing a journeyman defensive player - Anton Stralman - to shore up a perceived weakness in their defensive top six.

Stralman played for the Toronto "Make-Believes" for about half of 2 seasons from 2007-2009, then played for Columbus the last 2 seasons. Unloved as a free agent, Stralman tried out for the (hated) Devils in camp this year but failed to make the team. So naturally Glen Sather pounced, and the former Blue Jacket is now a Blueshirt.

And then as soon as Sather signed Anton - on November 5th - he took this new weapon in the Ranger's arsenal and did....

…Nothing.

Absolutely Nothing. For close to 2 weeks now.

Anton certainly hasn't seen any ice time. Or bench time for that matter.

Anton has been working out with Ranger staff - but not with the actual hockey team.

And how have the Rangers done without him? Uh - perfectly. Seven straight victories. A goals-against average well under 2 goals a game. A defensive performance that is clearly superior to what we had last year (when we had a healthy Marc Staal).

So is Stralman close to joining the Rangers team? Let's see what John Tortorella has to say:

"He's still a ways away. I still think there's some work to do there. I don't know what the lineup will be in Montreal, but I still think we have a number of things to accomplish with him."

So there you have it – Stralman is signed, sealed, and delivered – but not exactly ours. At least not yet. But if the Rangers ever lose another hockey game – expect Torts and Sather to start pushing whatever buttons they have.

And right now – one of those buttons is named Anton.

Aaron Voros? Seriously?

Aaron Voros?

Dude, Seriously?

How is that for a blast from the ghost of Ranger past? (Editor - you're mixing metaphors) (Dave Pucks - you're ugly - leave me alone)

What Happened: The Rangers announced Tuesday that their minor league AHL affiliate - the Hartford Whale - has signed former Ranger Aaron Voros to a 21 day PTO. (Editor - a PTO is a professional try out).

During the 3 weeks, Aaron will have a chance to show he's still got enough talent to play in the NHL. And if the Rangers don't sign him, other NHL teams will have that chance as well.

For those of you who don't remember – Aaron Voros was a Ranger forward for 2 seasons: 2008-09 and 2009-10. He appeared in 95 games, amassing 211 penalty minutes (more than 2 minutes a game). He also managed 11 goals and 12 assists in that span. After that Glen Sather traded Voros for Defenseman Steve Eminger (who scored a goal for us in the Islander game - by the way).

What Does It Mean: it could mean one or more of the following things:

1 - that Rupp is a long way from returning to the Rangers and another tough guy is needed.

2 - that Tortorella is still unhappy with his 4th line and wants some more choices - even if it's just to manipulate some better play out of Christensen and Deveaux.

3 - it's just doing a solid for a former Ranger - to showcase him for a job elsewhere.

What Does It Mean For Sean Avery: that's the bigger question to Sean-atics like me. Well let's see:

The Voros signing could be bad for Sean - he's brings that same toughness the Rangers get from Aves. And any competition for forward spots is not good.

But let me stop myself right there - I'm probably worrying about nothing here:

Voros is one of Sean Avery's best friends. He and Sean and Lundqvist own a restaurant-bar together Tiny's and the Bar Upstairs that opened last year. The restaurant is located at 135 West Broadway in the Tribeca district of southern Manhattan. So it may have been Avery who asked the Rangers to give Aaron a showcase at the Whale – to give him a chance to catch on with an NHL club - maybe even the Rangers.

Voros replace Avery? I can't see it happening. But we will be watching and hoping for the best for an old friend who once pulled on the Blue Jersey, fulfilling his childhood dream, and skated for our New York Rangers.

Good Luck Aaron. The Blueshirt Brothers will be rooting for you.

Seriously.

Rangers stand tall as 'Slanders fall – that makes 7 in a row!

Here's Dave Puck's initial piece of analysis: Wow!

Seven. Wins. In a row.  (Are you sure this is the NY Rangers were talking about?)

Your New York Hockey Rangers are flying right now, defeating their long time rivals the 'Slanders by the score of 4-2 (Editor – no one knows what that means) (Pucks: everyone knows that I mean the New York Islanders) – and gaining some revenge for a defeat in Nassau on October 15^th.


The Gas Line: Gabs, Anisimov and Steps, played really well – again – generating 9 shots including some great chances - but could not find the net. Still – they occupied the Islanders top defensive duo setting things up for the other lines to roll

The Richards Line: Yours truly was massively disappointed when John Mad Scientist Tortorella quickly moved Richards off the Avery line and back between Callahan and Dubinsky – especially after letting Aves and Brad practice together for 2 days. But the move sure worked. Richards: +3 and the game winning goal – breaking a 2-2 tie late in the third period. This is exactly why we brought him here and the move is looking brilliant (Can you believe how good Sather looks on this? I can't believe I just typed that). Callahan had the empty netter and an assist. And Dubinsky added an assist (he waited 15 games to notch his first goal – and he'll have to wait at least one more game for his second).

The Avery Line: I would have loved to have seen Seanny have some real ice time with Richards – but it was not to be – as Torts put Boyle with him and Feds for most of the contest. But no matter – Avery took another huge step forward in rehabilitating his season (and let's face it – his Ranger future) with another huge goal – snapping the 0-0 tie for the 2^nd straight night with a 19 foot wrister – off his own rebound. Sean had a plus 1, 2 shots, 2 hits, a fight, and 7 penalty minutes in 11:57 minutes of ice time– the first of which was off an absurd call by the officials (the good news here is that John Tortorella sided with Aves on this one). Boyle had the assist on Avery's goal and 4 hits, and Fedotenko added a hit of his own.

4th line: one hit each for Prust and Christensen.

Man Up – Our powerplay is this season's most notable failure. The Rangers again failed to score on the Power-play – missing on some 5 on 3 time no less – and yielded a Power-play goal against while shorthanded. We're not complaining during a 7 game win streak – but if the Blueshirts ever start delivering when up a man – watch out!

Blue Line Blueshirts: make no mistake – this defense is winning these games for us. Another night of 2 goals or less. A big goal and a plus 2 night for Eminger. 27+ minutes for All Star Girardi. An assist for McDonagh and Sauer, and a plus 2 night for Woywitka. 4 blocked shots for Del Zotto

Crease Monkeys: The defense is helping him – but when called upon Lundqvist continues to make the very special save – keeping the Rangers afloat when they have lapses in the defensive zone. 31 saves, and a .939 save percentage – Hank could easily be the star of the game. Again.

Next Up: It's a too-long 3 days off and then a Saturday night contest in Montreal.

In conclusion: We're undefeated in November and undefeated with Sean Avery. And we beat a cross-town rival that always plays us tough.  I don't want to even peek at the standings this early on (but we're just 2 points behind the Penguins with 2 games at hand). There's still plenty to work on (and a few days to do just that) but you can't argue with results. John Tortorella has coached his club to 10-3-3. We'll take it.

"Mr. Avery - I have Brad Richards for you - on Line Three!"

I will say this about Ranger's Coach John Tortorella – he rewards hard work – in real time. When he sees a player hustling, fore checking, back checking, making things happen, John will give that player more ice time and move him up the ladder.

And so, when Sean Avery contributed a goal, 3 shots, an early fight, and a plus 2 night against the Hurricane on Friday – John took notice. And then he took action.

And so – when the Rangers skated in practice today – here's how the lines looked:

Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Boyle-Callahan
Avery-Richards-Fedotenko
Deveaux-Christensen-Prust

Yes – we all can see it. Sean has climbed off the fourth line and is now skating on the third. And what does it mean, exactly? Well, it means a whole bunch of things:

1 - It is sure to mean increased minutes for our favorite instigator. Sean will get a real chance to prove himself now

2 – It means Aves has climbed up over Deveaux, Christensen, and even Prust (our fireplug who has unfortunately been hurting this year). Which also means that as other forwards get healthly, Sean won't be the first to go.  He's top 9 now

3 – Sean will be skating with the best Center on the team. Brad Richards – our “top line” center is skating with Sean on the 3^rd line. And what exactly, does that mean? Is Richards being demoted? He has the 2^nd highest point total on the Rangers with 12 (trailing Marian Gaborik who has 15). His 5 goals trail only The Gifted One and Cally. So Brad's numbers look good – or do they? On a team that has 12 more goals than it's opposition, Brad is at minus 2.

So there is some question here: is this the 3^rd line – or the 2^nd? In a way it doesn't matter – Sean, Brad and Feds will be whatever their numbers say they are.

And by the way - seeing how well our naming the GAS line has gone (everyone has been using it) - we'll give Avery's new line a name too.  How about the StarLight Line - because Feds, Aves and Richards are all former Tampa Bay Lightning or Dallas Stars players (Brad is both).

However you look at it – this is a huge opportunity for Avery to claw his way back from the dead to a permanent position on this hockey team – the only team Avery has ever really wanted to play for.

As a 4^th liner – and the last man called up – Sean was in perpetual danger of having his dreams yanked from under his skates and ending up back at the Hartford minor league affiliate. But Friday night changed that. Sean has an all star Center to play along side of – the best center Avery has ever had the opportunity to skate with.

Step 1 was the recall from Hartford. 
Step 2 was being activated. 
Step 3 was getting in an actual game. 
Step 4 came last week with the goal and the promotion.

How many more steps does our 31 year old Seanny have left in him? Well start to find out Tuesday night against the (hated) Islanders. But Avery has a real shot now – it's up to him to make it count.

I know Pucks Junior and I will be watching and rooting for Seanny with everything we've got. And I'll bet you'll be doing the exact same thing.

Come on, Aves, one more time, for all the old times.

What the Deuce? The Rangers Defense allowing less than 2 goals per game!

It's not Rocket Science.  There are two ways to improve as a hockey team. One is to score more goals. And so far, despite the high priced addition of Brad Richards – and the bounce back year of Marian Gaborik – and the unexpected offense of Ryan McDonagh, the Rangers offense is not scoring more goals than last year. After 15 games, the Ranger attack is performing more or less the same as we did in 2010-2011. Our Goals Scored Per Game average is 2.74, just a few Dubinsky facial hairs above last season's 2.69.

So then, why have we won 6 in a row?

No one else seems to be talking about this - but the big difference this year – surprisingly – has been the Ranger defense. (And remember - you heard it here first). This defensive surge is occurring even though:

1 - The Rangers have been playing without their top defenseman Marc Staal (who has been suffering from post concussion syndrome ever since s nasty blow to the head by his evil brother Eric), and

2 – Henrik is a year older, and

3 - Top four defender Mike Sauer missed five of the current fifteen Ranger games games due to injury, and

4 – the Rangers have been outshot in the majority of their games.

In spite of all of this, somehow, the New York Rangers have let up, on average, LESS THAN 2 GOALS PER GAME.

It's true. The current average sits at an amazing 1.95 GAA. They've only allowed 30 goals in 30 games (plus some overtime periods). That 30 goals ties them with Edmonton for the league's fewest goals allowed this year.

This stellar defensive performance is, so far, the best GAA the Rangers have posted in at least 6 years. And you can't just attribute the whole thing to Lundqvist, because, incredibly – in three starts – back-up backstop Marty Biron's save percentage and GAA is BETTER THAN HANK's

Why is this happening? Here is what we're seeing:

1 – The Ranger defense is forcing their opponents to the outside – clearing the middle of the ice – and pushing shots to the edges where the angles are worse and the goalies have a better chance to see the shots and control them.

2 – The Rangers appear well coached – organized - and resilient in their own zone. They are rarely out of position and efficient at clearing the puck.  (I know, it's hard to believe, right?)

3 – Our shorthanded minutes are down while our Penalty Kill success rate is up at over 88%.

4 – Dan Girardi, finally out from under Marc Staal's shadow, is quietly turning in an (mostly unrecognized) All Star caliber season, routinely shutting down the opposition's best lines and logging an unreal 30 minutes of Ice Time a night.

5 – the whole team, including the forwards, are just plain hustling back and working hard on defending every shift.

Put this all together and you get the best defensive hockey I have ever seen our Rangers play. It's still early but the 2011-2012 Rangers have already put together an identity – and that identity is about keeping their opponents off the scoreboard.

It may not be Rocket Science - but Defense wins hockey games and if our Blueshirts can keep their blue-liners playing at this high level, there's no telling how high this team can fly.

Avery scores! Dubinsky scores! Rangers get 6 in a row!

It was just a few short weeks ago that we thought we'd never see Sean Avery pull on the blue jersey again.

But tonight - we got to see him score his first goal of the season - a breakaway roof shot that beat Cam Ward from the doorstep. The Garden rose as one to welcome their crazy gritty champion back into their Ranger hearts.

And with just one lapse by Henrik in the second period the score stood knotted at 1 midway through the 3rd when the Rangers rose up - took over the game - and extended their winning streak to 6.

It started with Girardi - who we suddenly - belatedly - finally - realize is a home grown all-star defenseman. The G-man first drew a high stick from the Eric (worst brother since Cain) Staal - and then capitalized on it soon after. As Sam Rosen surmised: It's a Power Play goal and the Rangers took a 2-1 lead with about 9 minutes to go. It was good.

But it got better.

9 seconds later - the puck found the stick of the goal-less Brandon Dubinsky (not "Pointless" like the Daily News says - if you're gonna borrow Dave Puck's terminology - please use it correctly). Dubi's eyes got real big as he saw nothing but net - fired the puck and then - as he finally got his first goal of the season - Brandon looked skyward and release a yell of simple joy and relief before getting mobbed by his teammates.

A wonderful moment.

But, it got better.

2 minutes later a rejuvenated Dubinsky won a long battle for the puck in the right corner - carried it behind the net - and got in position to shoot. A mad scramble ensured - capped off by Captain Callahan banging the puck in from point-blank to make it 4-1.

And yes - it got better still.

Minutes later an alert Brad Richards (with Sean Avery promoted to his line) stole the puck from the Carolina Goalie behind the net, wheeled around and stuffed it home.

Queue the goal song - it was 5-1 and the Rangers were rolling.

And who started it all but our own Seanny - back from the dead - back on Ranger home ice - notching his first goal of the year - and starting to look like the Avery we know and love.
And - for one night anyway - all's right in Ranger land.

The Staal Brothers – recast as Cain and Abel

And The Lord made Canada and the National Hockey League and saw that it was good. And on the Seventh day he rested, as it was Hockey Night in the Garden (of Eden)

And Adam, after a great many Molsons, knew his wife, Eve, and they had two sons: Eric and Marc (Staal).

Now Eric spent his days shooting pucks and throwing elbows, while Marc toiled at the blue line.

One day Eric brought an offering to the Lord of a used Zamboni, and the Lord was not pleased and gave Eric a Five Minute Major.

Marc brought an offering of an authentic Rangers Jersey and the Lord saw the beautiful Blue Shirt with classic Red lettering and saw that it was good. Wicked good, in fact.

This angered Eric, and when he emerged from the holy booth of penalties, he smote Marc in the head until he was concussed.

Then the Lord said ”Eric, were is thy brother Marc, eh?"

And Eric said, “I don't know, am I my brother's goal keeper?"

And the Lord said to Eric” What have you done, you hoser? He is your brother, and the Ranger's best defenseman. I had chosen Marc for my Fantasy Team and now, Al Trautwig, who has chosen Ovechkin, is going to win for sure.”

And Eric said, “I did not realize that his head was such an important part. After all, he's a hockey player”

And the Lord grew angry and said ”Eric, you are under a curse and must toil forever in a hot southern city where no natural ice ever forms – to be forever plagued by a demon I shall call Sean Avery”.

Anyway you get the point. It's going to be weird when Eric Staal and the Hurricane play Friday night at the Garden because:

-Normally - when a player returns to MSG for the first time after injuring one of your players - you think about a little revenge.

-Especially when the victim is your best defenseman.

-Especially when the injury is to the head

-Especially when the effects are still being felt half a year later - as Marc still can't practice without the headaches returning.

-And Especially when it was a cheap shot - a gratuitous hit to a vulnerable player with clear intent to injure.

But this time it's different. This time the villain is the injured player's own brother. So, obviously, Marc wouldn't want the Rangers to retaliate.

Would he?

And if you're not attacking Eric – what are you saying to him. Asking how his brother is doing? Relaying best wishes through the guy that hurt him?

The whole thing is too weird to contemplate. And as awkward as it will be Friday night – just imagine how it will feel around the Staal Thanksgiving table this year.

Anyway, get well soon Marc. And Let's Go Rangers!

Five For Fighting: Battling Blueshirts take 5th Straight in Ottawa

Victory abroad!  Our Rangers traveled to Ottawa Canada and came out with a well deserved 3-2 win. Unlike our last meeting where the blueshirts tossed away a third period lead - this time we (just barely) protected our lead and won.

The Gas Line - yes - you heard the name here first: Gaborik, Anisimov, and Stepan are the G-A-S line - not just for their initials, but for the way they keep the hockey pedal to the metal - shift after shift.  On a night  where all other Rangers forwards were even or minus one, the Gas Line was an outstandng plus three.

The first goal was a great Stepan feed to Gaborik on the right side that the Gifted One easy slammed home.

The second goal was an interesting one.  Anisimov, who appears reborn on the wing, took the puck to the side of the goal mouth and - accidentally or on purpose - left it there as he cut across the crease.  The Senator's goalie stayed with Artem, not noticing that when Anisimov seemed to shoot - he no longer had the puck.  Stepan followed and was able to tap the unattended puck into the net from a foot away.

The third goal, in the third period, came on an odd-man rush.  Gaborik thought about getting fancy-passy but in the end fired it at the net himself and scored the eventual game-winner.

All told, Gabs had 2 goals, Stepan 1 goal and 2 assists. and 2 assists for Anisimov.

Offensive Lines:  elsewhere, the Ranger lines struggled offensively - and so John The Mad Shuffler Tortorella moved his lines around.  He put Prust up with Dubi and Richards, and dropped Captain Cally to join Feds and Boyle.

CreaseMonkeys: Henrik, once again, made some outstanding saves, outplayed his counterpart, recorded a .935 save percentage, and was the difference in a night where the Rangers were again outshot - this time 31-19.

Man-Up: Only 3 penalties the whole night,  The Rangers were Pointless on their lone Ranger powerplay, but perfect in 2 shorthanded defenses.

The Great Defenders:  the Blueline crew continues their stellar play.  Girardi again the workhorse, McDonah the surprise rising star, and Del Zotto returning to form.

SeanShots:  Avery tried to ignite himself and his teammates with an early fight - getting himself a 5 minute trade off penalty.  Beyond that he didn't get a shot on goal - and was the last trailing Ranger defensively on the Senator's 2nd goal.  He doesn't look like our Seanny.  I'm worried about him and his future with this team.  He's got a little window here to make a statement and so far, he hasn't,.

In Conclusion:  Well what do you know!  Our Rangers, after a 3-3-3 start have won 5 straight, are perfect in November, have found their top line and are looking like a team on the rise.

Future Foe:  on Friday it's Marc Staal's concussion-causing brother Eric and the Carolina Hurricane at the Garden.

Let's Go Rangers!

MEH Awards!

Hey - It's early November and time for the BlueShirt-Brothers Monthly Excellence in Hockey awards! Otherwise know as MEH!

So without further delay - the October 2011- MEH awards:

Award 1: Pleasant Surprise of the Month:

Nominees:

A- The Ranger Defense without Marc Staal

B -Ryan McDonagh - the offensive defenseman

C - MSG construction finishing On Time!

And the Meh goes to:

The Ranger defense. Take away their all star defenseman Marc Staal - let the Rangers get out shot on a nightly basis - have the Blueshirts lose the puck possession battle every night - and what do you get? A goals-allowed per game average that is BETTER than last year! Nothing short of stunning. And how about that stellar workhorse Dan Girardi - I think he's toiled in the shadow of Staal long enough - Dan is the man on defense.

That being said - Ryan McDonagh has been playing first line defense and has played at a much higher level than any of us expected. And when is the last time any heavy construction project in the history of New York ever finished when it was supposed to? So honorable mentions to our runners up.

MEH award 2: best Goalie

A: Henrik Lundquist

B: Marty Biron

Well, come on - it's gotta be Hank, right? Let's take a quick look at the October stats to lock this down....

October Records:

Hank 2-3-3

Marty: 2-0

Uh, really?

But wait - save percentage, right? That's the pure measure of a goalie's work:

Hank: .929

Marty: .963

Wow. So - reluctantly, the October MEH for best performance by a Ranger Goalie goes to the only Marty B we don't despise: Mr. Biron!

And finally - MEH award 3: comeback "playa" of the Month:

Nominees:

1 - Marian "The Gifted One" Gaborik

2 - Michael "+7" Del Zotto

3 - Sean "back from the dead" Avery

And the winner is:

We'd pick Seanny "gloves down" but his miraculous return was really an November event - so he loses on a technicality. And Gabby looks like his old self this year - skating faster - getting free and finding the back of the net. But we're giving the award to Michael Del Zotto.

Last year MDZ played his way off the team with uneven effort and more than his share of bonehead plays. And this year - given a small sliver of daylight by the Marc Stahl injury - has made this one count. His home run passes are much better chosen this year - his turnovers are way down. He's playing with intensity and (for him) relative smarts. And to top it off - Michael Del Zotto leads the Rangers with a mighty Plus 7 in October!

So there you have it - all winners are eligible for a free slice of Pizza at the Pucks homestead.

Thanks for reading friends and - Let's Go Rangers!

Bad for Wolski - Good for Avery

Wojtek Wolski is no dummy. He saw his chance to play on a line with Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik and worked hard in the off-season to make the most of it. Wojtek worked all summer with a renowned skating instructor – trying to get his speed and strength up to keep up with Gabs and Brad.

So, Wolski gave it all he had. He stretched his limits. He pushed himself to the brink. He asked more of his athlete's body than he ever had before.

The result: A Sports Hernia – an operation – and Wojtek is out for about a month.

I like the term “Sports Hernia”. It's like an attempt to macho-up the common old man hernia so that athletes won't be ashamed to have it. When I was a kid no one got Sports Hernias – so I suppose they are a new invention of the modern medical world.

In any event – it's bad luck for Wolski – and bad luck for the Rangers. But – it sure looks like good luck for Sean Avery. With the Rangers down a forward, Sean has some time to get his game going, and hopefully, stick with the club.

In the meantime – we wish Wolski the best of luck and a speedy recovery. And as long as he's getting operated on – maybe they can remove the “W” from the start of his name and replace it with a “V” so that everyone will pronounce his name properly....

Jet's Shut Down and Out by Rangers 3-0

Once again – let's start with Sean. Unfortunately our favorite agitator had another uneventful 5 minutes. This time Avery had 8 shifts, 5:21 of ice time, and one hit. Nothing bad – but nothing Avery-esque (And I know that's not a word, okay?) (Editor: okay). And with the Rangers going so well, I don't see a reason for Tortorella to change up anything right now.

Okay – let's talk about the game itself. The Rangers rocketed through what looked like a classic trap game – the final contest of a homestand against a bad opponent after a modest win streak:

As a team: The Rangers outshot the J-E-T-S Jets 27 to 24, outhit them 24-23, and won the faceoff battle 37-27- once again reversing the bad trends we had seen earlier this year. And they only took 4 penalties to the Jets' 6.

Man-Up: On Special teams the Rangers were perfect on the Penalty Kill in 4 tries. And it was the power play that got the first Ranger goal, on a great feed from Del Zotto to Stepan in the 2^nd period. The 1-0 Ranger lead was all they would need.

Pipe-Cleaners: Marty Biron is the unheralded MVP of this team. He's now 3-0 on the 7-3-3 Rangers, registering his first shutout – and stopping all 23 shots he faced. Pavelec had a .923 save percentage, stopping 26 of 28. That's good enough to win most nights – but not against last night's Rangers.

Hot Pockets: A Plus minus of +2 for: Anisimov, Gaborik, Girardi, McDonagh, and Stepan. 2 goals and an assist for the Gifted One, as Gaborik is thriving despite being separated from Richards. You can't do much better than being a factor on all 3 Ranger tallies. Also, Stepan had a goal and an assist, Anisimov had a pair of assists, and a single assist was notched by a resurgent Michael Del Zotto.

The Lone Ranger: Above and beyond all the rest of last night's heroes – stands marty Biron. You cannot underestimate the value of a 3-0 backup goalie. Not just for the boost he gives when he plays (we're just 4-3-3 without him) but also for the rest he's given Hank – which will pay off down the stretch and in the playoffs.

In the End: A well deserved shut out – a another huge night for the defense (imagine what we'll be if Stahl ever returns) and a sniper in Gaborik looking as good as he's ever looked. Not a bad night right now – a great finish to the homestand – and we'll take it out on the road later this week. I would have loved to have seen more from Sean – but other than that, all”s right with the world.

Let's Go Rangers

Not Much Sean - But Rangers win 5-3

Let's start with the important stuff: Sean Avery played his first game of the season for the New York Rangers tonight - something that one week ago seemed like it would never happen again. No matter what happens next – at least Sean got to pull on that blue and red uniform one more time – got to jump on that Garden Ice – got to hear the faithful chant his name again.

Honestly, Avery seemed a bit rusty – a little tentative – and did not get mixed up in a big helping of the fights and penalties that featured prominently in this hockey game.

All in – Sean played 7 shifts, and had one shot on goal, one hit, and one take-away in 4:46 of ice time. On the other hand – no penalties and no give-aways. If all goes well, he'll get another chance tomorrow.

In other news – the Rangers won a hockey game tonight – 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens, snapping the Habs 4 game win streak and starting up a 3 game streak of their own.

The Key Stats: Montreal was penalized 40 minutes in a 60 minute game. They just didn't allow themselves enough 5 on 5 to get any kind of offensive flow going – especially early on. Just take a look at their penalties:

1^st period

1:24 - Max Pacioretty: 2 Minutes for Boarding 

4:18 - Michael Blunden: 5 Minute Major for Fighting 

4:18 - Petteri Nokelainen: 5 Minute Major for Fighting 

4:18 - 2 Minute Bench Penalty for Too Many Men on the Ice

4:18 - Michael Blunden: 2 Minutes for Interference of 

4:18 - Petteri Nokelainen: 10 Minute Game Misconduct

4:18 - Hal Gill: 2 Minutes for Roughing 

8:21 - David Desharnais: 2 Minutes for Hooking 

10:48 - David Desharnais: 2 Minutes for Tripping 

2^nd period:

0:45 - Tomas Plekanec: 2 Minutes for Hooking 

8:17 - Brian Gionta: 2 Minutes for High-sticking 

10:40 - Ryan McDonagh: 2 Minutes for Holding 

14:56 - Yannick Weber: 2 Minutes for High-sticking 

3^rd Period:

13:19 - P.K. Subban: 2 Minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

In some nice reversals of recent trends - the Rangers won 31 of 50 faceoffs and led in shots 29-28.

Hits and Errors: The Rangers was out hit by Montreal 25 to 18, and fumbled the pucks 8 time to the Canadiens 1. On the plus side – we led 14-10 in take-aways.

Big Moments:

Brandon Dubinsky had the puck and a free path into the Canadien's zone about 4 minutes into the first period. But when he looked behind him for Rangers trailing the play – Michael Blunden jumped off the Montreal bench and on the ice directly in Dubi's path – actually becoming the 6^th skater on the ice in a dangerous and illegal maneuver. Brandon caught sight of him at the last second – it was still a huge collision – but it could have been much much worse for the Ranger forward. The Rangers stuck up for Dubinsky and in a few moments there were three seperate fights on the Garden ice.

When the linesmen got it all pulled apart – ten separate penalties were handed out. The worst of it for the Rangers was the game misconduct to Michael Sauer – meaning that one of our top 4 defenseman was done for the night after only 1:33 of ice time – leaving an already-depleted blue line unit to have to fill 55+ minutes of defensive ice time with just 5 healthy blue-liners.

After the first period – when the MSG broadcasters interviewed the newly signed ranger defenseman Anton Stralman – I started yelling at the TV:

“Take that TV suit off – pull your Red Pants on - and get out there Strals!”

The melee ignited the Rangers who went on to outshoot their opponents 16 to 3 in the first frame and jump to that (dangerous) 3 goal lead.

Christensen broke the ice on a 5 on 3 that resulted from the Dubinsky blind-siding and subsequent fight. Girardi and Del Zotto added 2 more for the Rangers to lead 3-0 after 20 minutes. Delzi's goal was a pretty one – he made a huge deking move right in the crease to sneak the puck past Price in goal.

In the 2^nd period – predictably – when Henrik doesn't see a lot of shots – he gets off his game a bit. The games 4^th Canadien shot on goal was put aside by Lundqvist – but yielded a dangerous rebound to Max Pacioretty that was put right back past Henrik from 24 feet out on the left side.

Later on in the 2^nd – after an odd-looking penalty on the Ranger Goaltender after Lundqvist acted like a linebacker with a perfect football tackle of Brian Gionta. Less than a minute later Andrei Kostitsyn snapped one in the net from 13 feet out and the Ranger's had squandered 2/3 of a 3 goal lead.

But then, at 18:50 we got a chance to see exactly why Brad Richards is Brad Richards. The top line Center grabbed the puck – maneuvered into position and with one minute 10 left on the 2^nd period clock, buried a 17 footer to boost the Ranger lead back to 2.

Still, the 3^rd period yielded more chills and thrills as Brian Gionta scored on a twice-deflected slapshot from52 feet and with 1:50 left in the 3^rd – we once again had a one goal lead.

Finally – at 19:21 – with the Montreal Goalie pulled for the extra skater – Ryan Callahan tossed one that deflected in the empty net from 84 feet out – and the Blueshirts had a 5-3 win.

Heroes and Zeros:

Anisimov and Stepen each had 2 assists. Christensen – feeling the Avery pressure – had a goal and assist. Cally, Girardi, and Richards had goals, with lone assists for Deveaux, Dubinsky, Gabby, McDonagh, and Prust.

Pipe-Cleaners: Hank stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faces, just topping Price who stopped on 24 of his 28 shots. Hank's .893 save percentage was below his usual average – but the Rangers were down a defenseman.

So all in all – the Rangers got enough offense to overcome a less than perfect night for Hank – and the loss of a starting 6 defensemen for the night. I can't help but thinking that without Brad Richards and his 2^nd period goal – we lose this game.

The Red Pants queue it up again tomorrow night – for the last game of this first Ranger home stand – facing the Jets at 7pm.

Good win fellows. See you Sunday night.

From Outhouse to Penthouse: How about Avery on the top line?

Maybe I'm crazy.

But... It feels like the star's are aligning.

The Rangers had finally hit on a hot line combination for 2 straight games. And the top line was Gaborik, Stepan and Wolski - with Richards slipping down to center Dubi and Calli.

But Woskli had an "ouch my groin is really sore" experience and had to abandon a first period shift after just 19 seconds on the ice. The injury forced the Mad Shuffler Tortorella to change his lines yet again - and the result was: no goals by the forwards last night.

Okay - so the Rangers will face Montreal tomorrow.

And - we have activated a player who just cleared re-entry waivers - a guy you might remember who goes by the name of SEAN AVERY.

And - We have a hole on the Gaborik line with Wolski out.

And - The other lines were clicking when Wolski was matched with Stepan and Gab.

-So - Tortorella may just decide to PUT AVERY ON GABORIK's LINE.

Of course - Torts hates Sean - so it's unlikely. But, wow, does it ever make sense right now. Aves is the only guy on the club who can skate as fast as Gabs, and he can draw attention, muck in the corners, and deliver the puck.

Like I said - the stars are aligning. Avery - Gaborik, and Stepan. Sounds good, right?

Let's go Rangers - and - Let's go Sean!

Wow! Wowitka!

Nice win for our heros – good defense and goaltending making up for a lack of scoring. The first ever Ranger goal for veteran defenseman Jeff Wowitka (and only his 9th goal ever).  A wild but scoreless overtime gave way to a Shoot Out where Christensen (as we've come to expect) and Gaborik (of all people) scored to erase Hank's one goal in 3 attempts. Just enough offense and Hank to grab 2 points. Here's our first recap of the season:

Between the Pipes!: Hiller was good. Henrick was better. The King had a .964 save percentage, beating out his Duck counterpart by 4 tenths of a percentage point. And in the shootout – with the game on the line – Hiller stopped 1 shot, and the con-Quist-ador stopped two. In the thrid period especially, Hank was amazing – keeping the game tied despite 15 Duck shots on goal.

Man-Up! The Rangers returned to their non-scoring ways ways blanking on all 4 powerplay attempts. On the plus side – your New York Rangers killed off a pair of penalties.

The New Veteran Rangers. Wowitka tossed in his first goal as a New York Ranger on his only shot of the night – a nasty rocket from the left slot! Richards was pointless tonight with one shot on goal, a minus one on the night and losing 10 of 17 face offs. He did come very close to scoring on the Shoot Out but couldnt quite get the puck in the net. It is notable that Brad led all Rangers – including the defenseman – in ice time with 26+ minutes. As for Wolski – a washout. 4 minutes, 5 shifts and nothing. No shots, no hits, no blocks.

Your Returning Rangers: Gabby was the star of the game – with 7 shots. an assist on the Lone Ranger goal, and his first Shoot Out goal winning tally in recent memory. Cally got off 6 shots. Christensen has a blank sheet in regulation – but made up for it with a crazy super-deke goal on the shootout. Boyle threw his size around with 5 solid hits.

The Kid Rangers – Stepan had 6 hits and 3 shots and finished the night +1.

Defense on Offense? Just our entire offensive output in regulation was supplied by the Wow-man.

In conclusion: Out shot but not outscored once again. What's most impressive is the defense we have put together this year despite the missing Marc Stahl. Nice win and the ship is starting to right itself.

But What About Sean? Enough with the preliminaries – what we need to know is – what did this game mean in terms of Sean Avery? Well, the results were mixed:

The Good: Wolski was a 4 minute ghost out there tonight. And Deveaux was five minutes of pointless hockey and 5 minutes of penalty box. So if Tort's trigger finger gets itchy, he has 2 good candidates for a nice, healthy scratch

The Bad: 4^th liner – Christensen was huge in the Shootout.

So we can all watch and wait – and keep hope alive

Goodnight kids – see you all tomorrow.

Pre-Game Notes and Quotes

Just a few random thoughts as we countdown to tonight's game between the Rangers and the Ducks:

1 - It's looking like Sean Avery will be an official scratch tonight as predicted. Still, the press box is a whole lot closer to the MGS ice surface than Hartford is. We'll do this in stages.

2- By the way - we got some amazing quotes out of Sean Avery's meet and greet with the press yesterday:

"Listen, I've loved every game I've ever played for this team. I just want to help these guys win."

And

"I love this team. I want to play. I want to win. I want to play as hard as I possibly can"

You can't ask for much more than that from our favorite Ranger

3 – And finally - in case you missed it – our portly old nemesis Marty Brodeur returned to action, stopping a big 18 shots last night – while letting 5 other shots somehow get behind his tubby frame. A .783% save percentage seems about right…

So if you're rooting strictly about Sean Avery tonight – what you'd want is an injury or some bad play by the 3rd or 4th lines – not that it's okay to root for that type of thing. And furthermore, I'm not hoping for us to lose – but that would certainly help move Seanny to the active roster.

Okay – see you after the game

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sean - Here Today (but will he play?)

Wednesday felt a little like Christmas. Sean Avery reported to the New York Rangers and got on the ice to practice. Tortorella had him as an alternate on the 4^th line – just barely on the team - but we'll take what we can get.

So, boys and girls, we can see a few things that the Rangers are not telling us:

1 - Rupp is hurt bad.  (Editor - that's "badly", not "bad")  (Dave Pucks - you're not bad yourself Ed - welcome back.  I missed you)  Where was I?  Rupp is really hurt.  Maybe requiring surgery. Maybe ending his season. It's a shame, in a way because Michael looked like the real deal as an enforcer/protector. I remember one fight in particular where Rupp looked positively methodological as he removed his opponent's helmet and then started pummeling his now-available head. But now, there a knee injury – there's no timetable for return – and – the Rangers are not ruling out surgery. So the big guy may be gone for a while.

2 – Sather wanted Sean back. Above all - Glen likes to push buttons and pull levers. He likes to look busy. He likes to make it seem like he's the Great and Powerful Oz making things happen. So when the Rangers start 3-3-3, and Glen has a switch to throw – by God he will throw that switch. And it has already worked without Seanny getting one minute of ice time. Just the idea that Pest-a-rama was heading through wavers was enough to energize the 4^th line – now playing for their ice time – to raise their collective games and propel our Red-pants to a much-needed home win.

3 – Wow – does Tortorella hate Avery. He hates him more than Larry Brooks. This move has to be just killing the Tort-man. This whole Sean revolving door figures to be an ongoing argument between the coach and his boss. (Editor – Dave, you're speculating wildly) (Dave Pucks – yes, and you're interrupting).

We can just picture the following scene taking place in Sweden in the preseason:

John Tortorella: Glen, it's time. We have to shut down Aves.

Glen “Slats” Sather: John – I still like his energy. And he's the only guy on your squad that can skate as fast and Richards and Gabby

Torts: Glen, Richards knows Sean from his Dallas days. One of his conditions for signing was to quietly move the crazy man out if at all possible.

Slats: I negotiated that deal - you don't have to tell me. But I never promised him that. I said we'd see how it went.

Torts: Well, he'll never touch the top line as long as I'm in charge

Slats: You're not in charge, John, you work for me.

Torts: Yes I do Glen, and if you'll get out of my way I'll save your fading reputation.

(The men stare bullets at each other)

Slats: Okay John, send Sean down. But you've got 9 games. If this team isn't everything you say it is – I'm rolling the dice again. And I don't care what you – or Richards – or the LAPD have to say about it.

(Editor – Dave can we restart the post? You've knocked it off the moorings again)

(Dave Puck – sorry Ed. Here goes)

Anyway – my point is: Rupp goes down – the Rangers look lifeless – and suddenly the impossible return of my favorite hockey player suddenly becomes possible. But – as this never-ending struggle between Coach and GM plays out – expect Torts to give Sean a healthy scratch tonight. Sather did what he could – he got him in the building. But Torts will do all he can to keep him off the ice.

I would love to be wrong about this – but the 4^th line played well on Monday – and I don't see Sean playing tonight. They may not even dress him.

But Sean Avery is a New York Ranger again. Let's enjoy it while it lasts.

And thanks to all of you who wished us a welcome back. To answer some of the questions we've gotten – we've just been really busy these last 18 months – but in the end we just couldn't stay away. And I want to thank Kevin DeLury for his great blog that has kept us up to date on all things Ranger these last 2 years and always. 


And remember - we are now Blueshirt-Brothers.com (with that hyphen)   Let's go Rangers!

SEAN! (Again!)

You have got to be freakin' kidding me!

Sean Avery's New York Ranger Hockey career was (for the second time!) clearly, definitively, totally and completely over. Glen Sather had flushed him through wavers to Hartford. John Tortorella had made it clear – the Rangers thought their roster was “better” without him.

He was banished – exiled – and cut off from the only arena he had ever felt at home in. And all the Ranger faithful who loved Sean for every sneaky, fiery, crafty, gutsy, rule-changing move he ever made on the ice – well, we all felt like we'd lost a best friend.

But then – as the Rangers began losing – night after night getting outshot – dropping 6 of their first 9 games – the fan base began to voice their displeasure. As the Rangers lost on home ice on Saturday the fans rose up as one and began yelling:

“Avery – Avery – Avery – Avery”

On and on it went – growing in volume and power. Until Sam Rosen had to mention it on the air. Until we heard it at home. Until Sather could ignore it no longer.

Then the rumors started. At first we ignored them. It was impossible. Too good to be true.

But the rumors kept on. Then the tentative reports.

Could it be?

And suddenly – on Monday – the announcement. Sean Avery was being recalled back through wavers.

We sweated out the 24 hours. But really – who else on earth would have picked him? Dallas? The Islanders? No – there is only one NHL uniform that will ever fit on Seanny's back – the classic blue shirt.

And then at noon on Wednesday it became official. The Sean Avery New York Rangers story is not over. And the next chapter – well, it begins Thursday night.

And with it – boys and girls – well, your old pal Dave Pucks is back too. We lost our original domain: BlueshirtBrothers.com – so now you'll have to find us over here at Blueshirt-Brothers.com. But if Sean can come back from the dead – so can this website.

So – come on back for more of all that Ranger stuff you can't get anywhere but here. And Pucks Junior will be posting as well.

Strap in and enjoy the ride folks – Sean Avery's back – and so are we!

Goodnight Everybody

Okay - so - we're closing up shop here at Blueshirt Brothers after 2 years. We lost our lease to BlueshirtBrothers.com and in general it just got too hard to keep this going. Thanks everyone for stopping by to read us. Let's Go Rangers