Video: Kyle Turris Toe-Tapping Shootout Winner

Last week it was Linus Omark making a splash in the shootout and tonight it was Kyle Turris of the Phoenix Coyotes top tapping his way to a shootout victory against the hapless New York Islanders. The play off the skate was pivotal to the move if you watch the goaltender react, move slightly towards to opposite post and drop the glove which is where Turris would put the shot. Turris took the puck from the circle skated in bounced the puck off his skate and then fired it in against a helpless Nathan Lawson to seal the victory. Guess everyone wants to kick the Islanders while they are down.

No one should forget that Paul Bissonette aka @BizNasty2point0 taught Turris this move as he told Todd Walsh here.

Video: Vancouver Green Men Taunt Maple Leafs By Tossing Waffles

The Vancouver Canucks always have something at home no other home team in the NHL possesses, The Green Men of Vancouver.  The Green men are guys who in green body suits taunt the opposition players while they are in the penalty box.  Well tonight it was the Toronto Maple Leafs turn to go to Vancouver and the Green Men obviously keep up with current events as they saw what went on in Toronto when a fan threw waffles on the ice following the Leafs losing to the Flyers.  Tonight the Green Men brought that back in hilarious fashion when Leafs forward Tim Brent was in the box serving a goalie interference penalty early in the first.

Video: Hilarious Don Cherry HNIC Remix (Rap)

This video is a remix of Cherry's years on HNIC which shows many of the great outfits he has worn over the year and turns his commentary into a rap song. Great work.

Video: Dale Weise Fights Dan Carcillo

Video: Dale Weise Gatorade Bottle Explodes All Over Him

Following his goal not being allowed to count Dale Weise went to drink some Gatorade on the bench and instead he ended up wearing it as the top flew into his mouth instead of the Gatorade.

No Third Period Magic Today As Zherdev Burns Rangers Twice In 4-1 Loss To Flyers

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

There is no team that most New York Rangers fans hate more than the Philadelphia Flyers and losing to them is always an awful feeling but it is made worse today by the fact that it was Nik Zherdev who was the decisive player in the game with his two goals on the afternoon.  Zherdev who always has had skill was seen as a flop in big games in his season in New York and someone who did not work on the other side of the ice so to have him stick the knife in the Rangers today only makes the game itself that much worse.

The Rangers put their three game winning streak on the line against the Flyers today and for two periods it seemed like they were not all that concerned with getting the fourth straight, but they would once again play a better third period and battle before finally succumbing 4-1.  Even in a 4-1 loss there were some positives to take away from the fight and battle they showed in third period because they could have laid down especially when the Flyers went up 2-0 early in the final period.  If a couple of calls go differently in that third period it would have been a totally different game, but this team will have to start playing better games early on because you cannot rely on coming back in the third every night.

Dale Weise Sent Back To Connecticut Whale

With the Rangers off until next Thursday the Rangers have optioned RW Dale Weise back to the Whale to play tomorrow and Tuesday according to Andrew Gross.  He will likely be back for Thursday's game as he showed today that he deserves another game in the NHL, but this was the likely outcome based on the schedule.

Note: Boucher Getting The Start For Flyers

In a somewhat surprising move it will be Brian Boucher in net for the Flyers and not rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in what will not be a rematch of the goalie matchup from the regular season finale a year ago. Boucher's numbers have been very good this season as well going 6-3-2 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.  Boucher has won his last three starts including beating Pittsburgh to end their then 12 game winning streak.

Rangers Change Lines Again Heading Into Flyers Tilt

Apparently winning three in a row or even the lines that helped the comeback in the third period Thursday was not enough to stop John Tortorella from making wholesale changes to the line combinations.

Stepan-Christensen-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Frolov
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust
Avery-Drury-Weise

Certainly have no problem with putting Fedotenko, Boyle and Prust back together but Christensen is being stuck back with Gaborik for yet another chance while once again having done nothing during actual play. The combination of Step, EC and Gabby also does not strike me as a great one against he physical Flyers game as there is no one on the line to protect any of them.  Thought the third period combinations of Dubinsky, Anisimov, Gaborik on one line and Frolov, Drury, Stepan worked well the other night and would have gone with them.  Also after playing two very good games in his first two back I do not see the purpose of putting Drury on the fourth line.

Which New York Rangers Make Up The Core?

The New York Rangers seem to have different buzz words every year and one for this year appears to be “core.”  I hear the term core so much watching and listening to Rangers games that I feel like the 2009 playoffs and I am waiting for Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, and Posada to come out.  For the most part the use of the core terminology has been used to refer to the Ranger home grown and specifically younger players.  I am not going to stick to those guidelines, but I am going to pick the guys I believe will make up the core of the Rangers not just this year, but going forward.  There are players I will leave off the list who will likely be here for a while, but to me these are the guys that right now have to be a part of this team and I am going to cap it at eight guys though there are three others I think right on the verge of being there.  To be crystal clear I am going to put them in my order of selection starting with the first guy I take.

Daily Recap: Prust Part of Rangers Core; Weise Called Up; Flyers Preview; Del Zotto Twitter; Whale Win Again

The biggest news story of the day in Rangers land was the recall of Dale Weise from the Connecticut Whale for tomorrow’s game against the Flyers.  The game will be the NHL debut for the 22 year old right winger from Winnipeg.  I believe that calling someone up is the right move for the team and that this was the right selection to make from the Hartford roster despite how well Mats Zuccarello is currently playing.  Weise is not the most skilled player but he has good size, plays physical, excellent on the forecheck and plays hard which fits well in the mold of this team.  To find out why the Rangers made the move even after saying there would be none, where Weise will play and what to expect from him just check out the full post on the move.

This morning in my top story for the day I wrote about Brandon Prust and how he has come to epitomize the totality of this new identity the Rangers have and has been such a key to the change in their results.  Prust has become the guts at the core of this team and is likely the only guy that did not come up with the Rangers who really should be considered a core player, but that is a discussion for another day.  The article discusses all the facets of Prust’s game and how vital each one of them has become to the Rangers along with how the way he plays is helping to change the mentality of the hockey club.  Inside I also addressed what impact the Callahan injury will have on Prust on the ice as well as with the fans and the questions concerning whether Prust or Avery should be here long term if one had to pick only one of them.

Tonight I previewed the big matchup with the Flyers tomorrow afternoon as another test for this group and probably the toughest one yet because of how good the Flyers have been all season and how they beat the Rangers the last time. For my money the Flyers are the deepest team in the NHL right now and Claude Giroux is developing into a superstar caliber player so the Rangers defense, specifically Staal and Girardi will have big challenges again.  The rest of the preview looks at who needs to step up for the Rangers, what the Pronger injury might mean for the Flyers, my key for the game and the prediction on the outcome.

Finally I took a look at Wednesday’s Whale game in which they won their fifth straight and I this one it was Tim Kennedy, Kris Newbury and Dale Weise leading the way.  The game itself was not the prettiest as it ended up 6-4, but some of the prospects played well and the Whale are finding ways to win games they would have lost just a few weeks ago.  Inside is full details of the game and the backstories on some of the players in terms of how they have turned it around over the last month.

In a social networking note the Rangers announced today that Michael Del Zotto has joined twitter, so you can follow him @MichaelDelZotto.

Video: Dale Weise 2009-10 Highlight Package

For those who do not know a lot about New York Rangers call-up Dale Weise this highlight package from last season's home games will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from his as he makes his debut later today against the Flyers.

Video: P.K. Subban Runs Over Brad Marchand W/ Hip Check

I am sure you have seen it by now, but in case you haven't here is Thursday night's classic hit by Montreal Canadiens rookie defender P.K. Subban on a streaking Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins. Marchand took the puck from behind his own net, was flying up the ice going around multiple Canadien players before being squashed by Subban just inside the Montreal zone. The hit was a beautiful open ice, old school, hit that makes opponents rethink getting cute with the puck. The hip check is not dead.