Henrik Lundqvist stops Daniel Briere on a penalty shot.

In a thrilling game yesterday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the New York Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for the third time in as many meetings this season by a final score of 3-2 in the fifth annual Winter Classic. The Rangers went down 2-0, before two goals by Mike Rupp tied it up. Then late in the third period, off-season free agent signee Brad Brad Richards scored what turned out to be the game winning goal to secure the Rangers victory.

What made the game so exciting was the controversial ending. A controversy that despite a Rangers win, led Rangers head coach John Tortorella to yap after the game.

“I’m not sure if NBC got together with the refs and wanted to turn this into an overtime game,” Tortorella said after the game.

Here are my thoughts on the wild ending to the game:

• The Delay of Game penalty on McDonaugh was one of the worst I’ve seen in the history of the NHL. I don’t know how the referee could have possibly missed that.
• Even though with 4 seconds left on that powerplay, the referee blew the whistle when play CLEARLY should have continued; in a sense it evened things out because the Flyers didn’t deserve to be on that power play in the first place.
• Shortly after that Rangers forward Marian Gaborik broke in on Philadelphia net-minder Sergei Bobrovsky. Flyers’ defeseman Kimmo Timonen should have been called for hooking. Granted, I’m not a big fan of the hooking rule now-a-days, and I wish what Timonen did was ALWAYS legal, but based on what I’ve seen watching hockey (and I watch a lot), the referees should have absolutely called that a hooking. It was a textbook hook. I’ve seen much less called before.

When New York forward Ryan Callahan was taken down, the fact that they called a diving on Callahan as well was absurd for two reasons:

• Callahan had a hockey stick wrapped around his neck. I don’t care who you are as a human being (Chuck Norris, Jesus Christ, etc.), when someone wraps a stick around your neck and you are skating at full speed, it is going to bring you down to the ice every time.
• On the play earlier on the Flyers power play, when the ref blew the play dead, I don’t know if anyone noticed, but the ref actually stumbled on the ice which at that point was becoming horrific to play on. If the referee is falling down and he is untouched, then how can you blame Callahan for embellishing when he had a stick wrapped around his throat?

It was hard to tell if McDonagh put the hand over the puck in the crease. It wasn’t conclusive from any camera angles. I would be surprised if the ref was able to see clearly that the puck was covered.

Although it could be argued that Tortorella shouldn’t complain after a win, if he complained after a loss it would be looked at as “just another excuse.” Coaches should express complaints (especially if they are valid) win or lose.

Overall it was a very exciting game, and surely the bulk of fans are looking forward to the final installment of 24/7- which should be most enjoyable for the Rangers as well.

Photo by Robert Kowal

The New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night, clearly placing themselves in a division battle with the 2 teams from Pennsylvania after 20+ games. They followed up back to back losses on the road with wins against Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Limiting the output of 3 teams more gifted in the offense department is a strong statement from this defensive minded team.

Coach John Tortorella has his troops-in-blue playing to their strength, which is goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist is playing extremely well in net and continues to add to his regular season career totals. He added his 37th shutout as a Ranger with a 2-0 win over the Flyers last Saturday. That leaves him just 12 behind Eddie Giacomin’s team record of 49. Martin Biron has provided excellent relief as Hank’s backup posting a 3-1 record with a 1.68 GAA and a shutout of his own.

The defensive unit has made the biggest impact on this Ranger squad. Dan Girardi is continuing with the strong play he provided on the backline last year. He is attracting all-star consideration because of it, as evidenced by the amount of write-in votes he has received. Mike Sauer has got opponents taking notice of his stay-at-home, defense-first approach. Meanwhile, Michael Del Zotto’s defense and skating have improved as he has gotten back to playing the type of defense that made him an NHL all-rookie selection in 2010. D-Z, more importantly, has provided some key setups on the power play. The power play for the Rangers is a unit which, despite scoring goals in the last 3 games, has been a constant weak spot for the Blueshirts since the lockout of 2004-05. The X factor here, is the play of Ryan McDonagh. He has been more than anyone could have expected, making clutch plays every game. Ryan has been especially valuable in providing offense at even strength, with 8 of his 10 pts coming with equal manpower on the ice for both teams. This is also one of the reasons he leads the team in plus/minus at +11.

The Rangers are getting decent offensive production from Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards, each with 19 pts. They are getting the usual hard-working, lead-by-example play from their captain, Ryan Callahan. He has 16pts and 63 hits. The GAS line of Gaborik, Artem Anisimov and Derek Stepan might just stick together, as the trio has performed well with each member having 12+ pts at the 21 game mark.

The focus, however, has to be on the team defensive accomplishments as there are no individual scorers amongst the top 30 in the NHL. The Rangers are 13-5-3 heading into tonights road matchup with Carolina, because they have yielded an NHL low 44 goals in 21 games and are in the top 3 in goals allowed per game, with a 2.06 GAA.

After starting the season with 21 games during the first 2 months, they play 15 games in December, starting tonight with the Hurricanes. The goal should be to get through it with a 10-5 record. I wrote before the season that the Rangers needed to be dominant at home, that top level teams win on home ice. You have read in other spots how the Rangers are 7-1-1 at home for the first time since the 1992-93 season. That is a great way to start. What others have not told you and I will, is that 92-93 squad lost its last 7 home games and last 7 games overall and finshed in last place in the division. Its a long season and every game counts. They started strong, which is important for a young team. Now lets see how they work through the next 3 months before we focus on finishing strong.

They are not a fast team and get muscled off the puck too much at times, but they block shots, take the body and play good defense. Even more important, they play as a team.
That is a great start.

Hosted by Frank Maniscalco along with special in-studio co-host Anthony Graz from WGBB’s Limo Talk. Guests on the show included New York Wizards head coach Greg Cerillo, followed by Adam Bernachio of the The Ghost of Midnight Graham.

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Photo by Anna Enriquez

Coming into the series against the Capitals, emphasis was put on there being a clean slate for Marian Gaborik. After two games, the slate is still clean.

Gaborik’s combined stats for games 1 and 2? Eight shots. That’s it. He has no goals, no assists. Sure he has 5 hits (4 in game 1) and 1 blocked shot but the Rangers can get those stats out of someone else.

This is Gaborik’s time and he is not doing well. Neither is the rest of his team however. What hurt the Rangers towards the end of the season was their lack of scoring. That has carried over thus far into the post-season.

The Rangers had a good third period in game 2 in Washington but that energy and pressure needs to be consistent throughout the entire game. They’re going to need some magic at MSG.

But without energy and without pressure, the slate will remain clean for the Rangers, and they will have the opportunity to watch the NHL playoffs from the couch, like the rest of us.

At the beginning of training camp this season, the names Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh were not atop the list of defenseman making the Rangers opening night roster in Buffalo and for good reason; they are rookies.

However, on Feb 24^th, both Sauer and McDonagh are not only playing for the big club but also logging important minutes as a reliable defense pair and contributing to the overall success of the team. Although, both players have traveled different roads this season to arrive on Broadway.

Michael Sauer, a 2^nd round draft pick in 2005, has been in the Rangers organization for 6 years, constantly working at his game to get his chance at playing in the NHL. Although, he’d be the first to tell you it hasn’t been easy. Sauer has dealt with a multitude of injuries that, from the outset, interfered with his young career from getting started.

Sauer has also been pushed down the depth chart from the emergence of other prospects as well as free agent signings. Players like Michael Del Zotto, drafted in 2009, exploded on to the scene. Hobey Baker award winner Matt Gilroy was signed to a 2-year contract in the same year with the hopes of adding offense and speed to the back line. We won’t mention what the Wade Redden signing has meant to the Rangers; it hurts too much.

All the obstacles in Sauer’s path didn’t stop him from developing his game down in Hartford and waiting patiently for his chance. A chance that came about in training camp this season.

With coach Tortorella steadfast in assimilating more youth into the Rangers, he was keen on seeing what Sauer’s game could bring to the team. After seeing his poise and penchant for making simple plays on defense, he felt Sauer was primed to make the team ahead of other players like Alexei Semenov, Pavel Valentenko, and Ryan McDonagh.

Since opening night, Sauer has progressed in each game he’s played in. He’s earned the trust of his head coach, meaning Sauer has played more minutes and in key situations. Plus, within the past 3-4 weeks, Sauer has arguably been one of the best Rangers defensemen – a bold assessment considering Marc Staal and Dan Girardi playing 26 minutes a night.

As for Ryan McDonagh, the St Paul, Minn. native has experienced a much different journey. McDonagh, originally drafted 12^th overall in 2007, was part of the trade that sent Scott Gomez to Montreal and brought back Chris Higgins, defenseman Pavel Valentenko along with McDonagh. Rangers’ fans rejoiced, seeing a disappointing player and his bloated contract sent out for younger players. On the other hand, Montreal fans writhed in anger, watching a potential stud on defense leave for New York.

He signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers on July 6^th, 2010, deciding to leave the University of Wisconsin to play professional hockey. His teammate at Wisconsin, Derek Stepan, did the same as well.

In training camp, Rangers management was happy with their observations of McDonagh. He possessed speed, a good first pass out of his zone and quick decision-making. However, they felt some time in Hartford would be good for his development in an effort to ease his way in to playing at the NHL level. He took the news in stride and went about his business.

On Jan. 7^th, McDonagh’s chance came, he was recalled by the New York Rangers and played in his first NHL game against the Dallas Stars. The games to follow were a showcase to Rangers management to what McDonagh could handle at the NHL level. Seeing the team needed some scoring punch and feeling comfortable in McDonagh’s play, the team traded veteran Michal Rosival, the longest tenured Rangers defenseman, to Phoenix for Wojtek Wolski. The trade indicated that, despite having one of the youngest defense corps in the NHL, the Rangers were confident they could win with McDonagh playing every game. And so far, McDonagh has not disappointed.

Both Sauer and McDonagh were paired up and have formed a consistent, reliable pairing behind the shutdown Staal-Girardi tandem, helping Tortorella find defenseman who can play confidently while Del Zotto and Gilroy, in their 2^nd seasons, try to find their games.

The successes of the Rangers for the rest of this season and for season’s beyond will be associated with their youth. They have committed to playing their young players and developing them in order to achieve long-term success and building a contender. With Sauer and McDonagh, the Rangers have found a young, dependable defense pairing that can play for the Rangers for the next decade.

Photo by Bari D

When the Rangers drafted Michael Del Zotto in the summer of 2008, they envisioned the first round pick quarterbacking their power play for the next decade, giving them an offensive talent similar to Brian Leetch. What they didn’t expect was for the defenseman’s young career to be in danger before it even gets truly started.

Del Zotto’s rookie campaign gave Rangers’ fans something to hope for. As the youngest defenseman ever (19) to start for the Rangers on Opening Night, Del Zotto scored 12 points in his first 14 games, coming out of nowhere to impress all onlookers. His poise and confidence on the power play gave coach Tortorella a dangerous weapon from the backline.

However, the brash rookie played in 80 of 82 games in his first season. That’s not the ideal situation for a young defenseman, which typically take longer to develop than forwards.

Ideally, Tortorella wanted Del Zotto in juniors to develop his game last season, but due to the lack of options and how well he played in the preseason, Del Zotto played his way on to the team.

In his second year on Broadway, Del Zotto hasn’t been able to match his production or his confidence from a season ago. He’s making the same mistakes consistently – a classic mistake for inexperienced players.

His signature “home run” pass out of his own end is not clicking like it was last season. His shot routinely misses the net. His lack of physical play is hampering his defensive positioning. His giveaways have cost the Rangers points, some in late-game situations.

The mismanagement, however, has come from the coaching staff. Despite turning his team into a hard-working, tenacious fore-checking unit this season, Tortorella has sent mixed messages to what Del Zotto’s role is on the team and what he needs to do to continue to develop.

When the Rangers initially sent down Del Zotto to Connecticut Jan. 3rd, it was to work on those exact things. He was only recalled due to an injury to Dan Girardi and not because Tortorella liked where his game had progressed. When Girardi returned from injury, Del Zotto surprisingly wasn’t sent back down and the problems began to escalate.

Del Zotto’s 2nd stint on the team has shown his confidence regress even further to the point where the coaching staff is hesitant to play him in all situations.

After a turnover that led to a penalty down in Atlanta last Friday, Del Zotto was seen on the bench being scolded by Tortorella and the look on Del Zotto’s face said it all; crippling fear of making a mistake and the consequences of them.

With other defenseman like Steve Eminger and Matt Gilroy not playing any better and the team without any veteran options, the Rangers have hamstrung themselves; they have no alternative but to play Del Zotto.

The best course of action for the Rangers is to find a veteran defenseman between now and the trade deadline (Feb 28th). Players like Bryan McCabe Chris Phillips and Tomas Kaberle will command too much in a trade. Cheap, low-key defensemen like Jim Vandermeer (EDM), Hal Gill (MTL), or Steve Staois (CGY) should be brought in so Del Zotto can be sent down to Connecticut. There, he’ll be able to play 25-26 minutes a night and play in all situations to hopefully restore the confidence back in his game.

Whatever the decision the Rangers make on Del Zotto needs to be made quickly and must be carried out – it’s only for his benefit. If Del Zotto isn’t straightened out soon, he could very well turn into another Rangers 1st-round bust.

Steve Rogan and Paul Revelant bring you a bonus hour of the show. Guests in this hour included SNY’s Brian Monzo, who spoke about the Rangers playoff run this season, as well as the 1-game suspension of head coach John Tortorella.