New York Rangers vs Atlanta Thrashers Pregame

Rangers (4-2-1) vs Atlanta (3-4-1)

Key Opposing Player: Andrew Ladd (2-6-8)

Lineup:

Dubinsky - Anisimov - Callahan
Avery - Stepan – Fedotenko

Frolov - Christensen - Prust
Boogaard - White - Boyle

Staal - Rozsival
Del Zotto - Girardi
Gilroy/Sauer/Eminger (2 of 3)

Lundqvist

Biron

(No announcement yet on the 3^rd pair, would assume Sauer plays if over soreness)

Ethan Werek Radio Interview 10/14/2010

Just found this radio interview from New York Rangers prospect Ethan Werek from about two weeks ago (10/14).  Ethan is always great to listen to because of his intelligence, poise and drive being obvious in his answers. Ranger fans should be very proud not just of the quality of hockey players that the organization is drafting but also the quality of people they are.  When you draft winning type players, leaders the organization and the team will be all the better for it.

Give it a listen. Excellent questions and answers from Offsides on CFRC 101.9

Interview inside

Looking At The Prospects After Month One

Now that we have just crossed the month mark at least in the CHL leagues figured we could take a look at a variety of Ranger prospects in terms of their production to this point in the season.  Disclaimers up front include that points do not reveal all there is about level of play a prospect or any hockey player for that matter is playing at.  Also, the variance in the leagues in terms of quality of competition can alter what statistically would qualify as quality production. 

With those out of the way I am going to break down the prospect into a few categories as there are prospects who are just on fire to start the year, those who are simmer with solid play and production, some who are smoldering and others that are building the fire as they adjust to new leagues.  For the purposes of this I will leave Stepan’s start out because of being in the NHL.

New York Rangers Week Ahead: Any Danger Ahead?

The New York Rangers have three games on their schedule this week: Wednesday vs Atl; Friday vs Carolina and Saturday at Toronto.  Coming off a week in which they went 3-1 and have won 3 in a row the team and fans are brimming with confidence.  The question becomes how real the threat each of these opponents bring to the Rangers is.  The answer for me is very real and the Ranger players better not become satisfied or complacent based on their recent success.

Rangers Practice News 10/26/2010. Lines + Injury Updates (Gaborik, Sauer)

Not a whole lot of news out of Rangers practice itself today as the lines went back to how they were before the Williams call-up. There was some on the injury front regarding Marian Gaborik.  First the lines:

Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan

Avery-Stepan-Fedetenko

Frolov-Christensen-Prust

Boogaard-White-Boyle

Injury update:

Marian Gaborik was said to be riding the bike without a sling today which is a good sign that the shoulder is feeling a little better and progressing towards a return.  That he is not skating yet means we are still probably at least a week or two away from a return.  With the way the team is playing right now there is no reason to rush him back too soon, so let him heal fully and go from there.

Update: Steve Zipay says that Gaborik intends to try and skate early next week which would be about on my timeline if not a little delayed:

stevezipay Gaborik has no timetable bu hopes to try first skate early next week

According to Jesse Spector Mike Sauer skated fully in practice:

NYDNRangers  Practiced fully, looked fine. I didn't talk to him, though. RT @mleetch352: any news on sauer and his soreness for tomorrow's game?

Hopefully he will be available for tomorrow’s game against Atlanta as I and many other Ranger fan feel more comfortable on defense when he is out there than either Eminger or Gilroy.

Brandon Prust still wearing the visor after the facial injury from the stick of Bruin Gregory Campbell.  Apparently Campbell called Prust to apologize for the incident.  Wonder if Dubinsky is calling Boychuk to apologize for the slash that broke his forearm.

Prospect of the Weekend 10/22-10-24

I decided when I started this that I wouldn’t write too much on the prospects because I feel there are those out there more qualified to do so, but I would find ways to chime my opinions in through various forms and so now I have decided while I wont do daily prospect recaps I am going to do a weekly prospect of the weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

Keep reading to find out who this weekend’s winner was.

Spezza Speculation And Ridiculous Trade Suggestions

The other issue that is making me laugh, cry and scream all at the same time right now in regards to the fans are the ridiculous trade proposals that make wouldn’t even get through in a video game let alone the NHL.  Putting aside that we don’t even need Jason Spezza right now, the idea that Ottawa would trade their 27 year old star for some of the combinations I have seen is beyond absurd.  Just about every proposal I have seen involves a mish mash of all the guys Ranger fans want gone or not to play already.  

Rangers Week In Review 10/18-10/24 : An Ominous Start, But a Promising End

Each week depending on how the schedule looks in terms of Sunday and Monday games I will take a look at the week in review as well as the week ahead.  I am going to look at them as two separate topics because while how the team played the previous week may inform how they will play the upcoming slate of games it does not tell much about the opponents we will be facing.

Record starting week 1-1-1

Record ending week 4-2-1

This past week the Blueshirts went 3-1 and turned what seemed to be a down and somber fan base based on the start of the season and the just collected injury news on Gaborik, Drury and Prospal at its start and ended the week with hope of very good things. 

Jeremy Williams Sent Back to Hartford

After a one day/one game callup Jeremy Williams was sent back to the AHL to rejoin his teammates.  Cannot say this is a surprise and Williams did not do much last night, though in his defense he was given almost zero chance to do so playing on the 4th line Boogaard and Boyle and only playing 3:43 in the game.  He will go back to the Pack/Whale and be a key contributor for them again with the hopes of getting another shot at being this years de-facto P.A. Parenteau.

This likely means a return to the lineup for Todd White after his most recent 1 game absence

Memo To Ranger Fans: Judge The Play Not The Name and Number

As a Ranger fan myself I take great pride in the passion and pride Ranger fans take in supporting their team even in years where it seems they care more than the guys getting paid to put on the jersey’s and lace up the skates.  That said there are few things going on with Ranger fans of late that are really irking me and so since I have a blog I guess I should use it to voice those opinions.  I was going to do a couple of them today, but instead I am going to stick with one here and maybe do the other later.  The topic now is about carrying over past opinions and blindly applying them to players today/ just seeing what you want to see out there.