Sauer Game-Winner Seals Rangers Crucial 5-3 Comeback Win Over Bruins

The New York Rangers took a large step towards locking down a playoff spot with a massive 5-3 comeback victory over the Boston. The Rangers baked back from a 3-0 deficit midway through the second period finishing it off with three goals during the last four minutes of the game. Brandon Dubinsky started the rally with the tying goal, then Michael Sauer would net the eventual game winner before Derek Stepan added the empty net goal to seal it. The three goals came in 2:55 of action. The win moves the Rangers into seventh and lowered their magic number to just three. The four points the last two days were huge for the team and each game showed the grit and determination of the team and shows why this team is a legit threat to do damage in the playoffs.

The Rangers were completely outplayed in the first period and if not for some spectacular work by Henrik Lundqvist the deficit would have been a lot worse than 2-0. After multiple saves by Lundqvist the Bruins got on the board first with a goal by Dan Paille at 15:16. Just 1:37 later Nathan Horton made it 2-0 on a goal from a goal mouth scramble.

The Rangers played a much better second period as they played much better defensively holding only four shots. Boston made it 3-0 when Chris Kelly scored off the rush at 10:32.

The Rangers got some life from a Vinny Prospal at 11:34. The goal itself was a tap-in as a Wojtek Wolski shot got through Thomas' legs leaving the juicy rebound for Prospal.

Prospal brought the Rangers within one with his second of the night with just 1:34 left in the period giving the Rangers momentum heading into the final period.

• Lundqvist was excellent tonight in holding the fort until the team decided to kick it in gear.
• Michael Sauer continues to impress with his play this year. The goal and the assist tonight are icing on the cake for what he provides this team on a nightly basis.
• The line of Wolski, Prospal and Stepan was excellent once they were put together during the second.

Video: McNeil, Spencer Throw Simultaneous Haymakers in ECHL Scrap

There will be plenty of longer fights in hockey games this year, but there might not be one with the flurried exchange that this one might rank up there with the best of the year.  During Friday night's ECHL game between the South Carolina Stingrays and the Florida Everblades it was Stingrays Grant McNeil squaring off with the Everblades Tim Spencer in a heavyweight bout that was certainly full of heavy shots.

Video:


H/T to Puck Daddy

Drury Return Could Boost Rangers In Playoffs If Used In Olympic Style Role

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

It was only an optional for the New York Rangers this morning, but there was a surprising participant on the ice in the form of team captain Chris Drury.  Drury who has only played in 23 games this season and produced only four assists is trying to work his way back from his third injury to cost him significant time this year. After twice breaking his finger he is now rehabbing from knee surgery and while many Rangers fans will focus on the salary and the lack of points he produces for the money they should not discount the things he could add to the team in the playoffs as a depth forward. 

His role for us could be similar to the role he had with Team USA in the Olympics last year where he was a role player who can add faceoff skills, strong defensive play and penalty killing to his previous playoff experience would be a boost to the team.  Have to realize that in the playoffs the bench will get shortened to three lines so having a role player who can do what Drury can do likely makes him as or more valuable than any of Christensen, Wolski or Avery, especially depending on the matchup.  Drury is not going to add much of anything on offense, but when every goal is critical in the playoffs preventing them can be just as important to the team’s success.  While his high will certainly be lower than any of those other three he is more consistent in what he does well and you need that in the extra season.

Video: No Helmet, No Problem As Enroth Robs Jokinen

Rangers Recall Kris Newbury, Which Forward Is Ailing?

The New York Rangers have recalled Kris Newbury from the Connecticut Whale.  Newbury, 29, has 16 goals and 42 assists in 67 games in the AHL this year.  While with the Rangers he had one assist and 35 penalty minutes in 11 games.  Based on the rules the recall of Newbury likely means that one of the Rangers forwards is ailing and might not be able to play tonight since all recalls right now are only allowed due to injury concerns. 

The early assumption is that it is Ruslan Fedotenko who missed the end of the second period yesterday after taking a huge hit from Brayden Coburn.  Fedotenko did play 5:10 between the third period and overtime after taking the hit, but who knows if he has gotten worse the day after.

McCabe Delivers Slap (shot), Fire Rangers Needed to Wake Up In Critical Game (w/video)

Tom Mihalek/Associated Press

When the New York Rangers acquired Bryan McCabe just before the trade deadline they did so with the intent of using his experience and leadership to add another piece to a young defense core.  Even more important than that was the belief that his huge shot from the point could help to solidify their struggling power play.  It has been an up and down experience for McCabe since joining the Rangers as he played very well his first ten games with the club and the results were seen in the power play finding a rhythm.  After that though his level dropped on both ends of the ice and if not for being Bryan McCabe he would have been talked about more as possibly coming out of the lineup. 

His dip offensively coincided with the offensive drop of the whole team and the power play returned to the prior inept status it had before his arrival.  Yesterday during a huge game against the rival Flyers with the Rangers about to have a good road period turn into a 1-0 deficit McCabe made everyone remember why the team brought him in to begin with.  Yes, his bomb from the point that tied the game with just .7 seconds left in the period was critical to the Rangers in terms of the scoreboard, but more their psyche both for the game and the power play in general after going 0-7 against the Islanders.

Video of the shot:


What was more impressive to me, and maybe more important to the team, than the goal itself was the intensity of the reaction McCabe had after it.  For a team that had played pretty flat hockey for the prior two games to have that kind of intense reaction sends a charge through everyone on the bench and a different leadership than the Rangers normally have.  This team is built on a base of young leadership and all of those guys, sans Brandon Dubinsky, are lead by example types that don’t say much and don’t express the fiery side that this team will need some of these final few games and into the playoffs.  Maybe that goal will give McCabe another level of comfort in the room to step in and say something when something needs to be said.  He and Vinny Prospal are certainly two of the veterans that can aid the team and the young leadership in rounding out the group that pushes this team forward in terms of accountability and preparation as the stakes get higher.

The Rangers brought McCabe in for his experience, leadership and huge shot and yesterday in Philadelphia in arguably the most critical game of the season to this point he delivered all three when the team needed it most.

Rangers Rebound To Control Playoff Destiny With Shootout Win Against Flyers

Tom Mihalek/Associated Press

The New York Rangers took on the rival Philadelphia Flyers today in what had to be seen as a must win game given the ever tightening Eastern Conference playoff race.  You just had the feeling with how last year ended in Philadelphia that today’s game was going to come down to a shootout again and it did, but with a different result this time.  Coming off two subpar efforts in their last two the team responded with an excellent effort this afternoon and was rewarded for it with the 3-2 shootout win which moved them into seventh place in the East and gave them a three point cushion on ninth place Carolina.  The shootout saw Henrik Lundqvist erase the memories of last season’s finale in Philadelphia stoning Nikolai Zherdev and Claude Giroux while Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski both beat Bobrovsky with forehand shots. 

This win is the type of character performance that has come to be expected this season as they were able to put a bad game/games behind them, bounce back and put in an effort to get them the critical points they need.  This is a huge momentum type win heading down the final three games of the season and reduced their magic number to 6 with Carolina and Buffalo playing in an hour.  New York will certainly have to bring this level of effort and intensity out there tomorrow night and the rest of the season if they look to win.  When they play like this they are a legit threat to any and all teams in this league.

Overall the Rangers played a solid road first period, but it would be the Flyers got on the board first on a goal from James Van Riemsdyk when he converted the rebound Sean O’Donnell shot from the point at 12:25.  On the play Steve Eminger utterly failed to clear out JVR from in front of the net which allowed him to easily pick up the rebound and slide it under Henrik.

Late in the first the Rangers power play would get a chance to atone for the debacle that was their power play on Thursday when they went 0-7 against the Islanders.  The first penalty was to Matt Carle for hooking and then 1:06 later Brayden Coburn would go off for two minutes when he high sticked Marc Stall.  The Rangers looked like they were going to head into the first intermission down 1-0, but then Bryan McCabe fired a tremendous drive from the point that beat Bobrovsky with .7 seconds left in the period.  That drive is the reason that McCabe was brought in here to begin with and gives the Rangers momentum heading into the second.

The second period saw the Rangers play excellent hockey as they were able to play their game and dictate the tempo by exercising puck possession and establishing the forecheck. At 13:30 of the period the hard work would be rewarded as Ruslan Fedotenko took a feed from Vinny Prospal and roofed it from in front to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead.  The goal was Fedotenko’s first since January 19 and much of the credit has to be given to Marc Staal and his effort on the play.

New York headed into the third with the 2-1 lead looking to hold onto their perfect 27-0-0 record when leading after two and while they didn’t play a great third period they were able to hold on for the OT.  The Flyers got the tying goal during a 4-on-4 from Nikolai Zherdev who was left all alone in front.  Earlier in the play Ryan McDonagh blocked a shot off his leg and limped to the bench.  This created some confusion on the coverage and while a replacement defender was coming on, it was Brian Boyle who failed in the coverage on Zherdev that led to the goal.

• At this time of the year special teams is critical to wins and losses and that was certainly the case today.  The Rangers got the huge goal from McCabe late in the first and their penalty kill did a great job of neutralizing the Flyers on all four of their attempts. 
• Marian Gaborik did not score today but he was very noticeable on the ice in all zones, but especially in his defensive work early in the game
• You cannot say enough about how the minutes and effort from Staal and Girardi today.  Staal put in 34:01 of ice today while playing the last two periods with a broken nose.  Girardi had 32:36 and blocked seven shots in the game.

Video: Ovechkin Wins It For Caps, Does Victory Dance

Now Is Where Rangers Need Ryan Callahan To Rise As Their Leader

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Since coming into the NHL Ryan Callahan has been a heart and soul player for the New York Rangers who works tirelessly, takes hits in order to make a play gives hits to prevent them, and sacrifices his body constantly in order to aid his team each night.  If Callahan never became more than what he was entering this season he would be a valuable player for any of the 30 NHL teams because of what he brought to an organization both on and off the ice.  But that is not all Callahan is this year.  He has raised his game to an entirely new level and has been leading the charge to the playoffs for the Blueshirts both with his leadership and overall play from before, but also with a dramatically increased scoring output.  Now the Rangers need him to see an even greater level in the final four games of the regular season.

Callahan has been the definition of the Rangers identity and his self-sacrifice and lead by example mentality is why he will be the next captain of this proud original six franchise.  Right now is the moment where that leadership will be tested the most as the Blueshirts have lost two straight and the fears about their standing in the playoffs is in question with just four games to go.  In those last two games the team has struggled to find the energy and desire necessary for this time of the year one of the most surprising things has been how much that has applied to Callahan himself.  I expect him to come out leading the charge on Sunday as he and the team look to regroup from this bump in the road on their way to securing a playoff birth over the final stretch of the season.

The now 26-year-old Ryan Callahan is having a career year in all offensive categories despite missing 19 games earlier in the year with a broken hand that he, not surprisingly, sustained blocking a shot.  On the year he has 23 goals and 24 assists in just 58 games, but in this last five game stretch where the team has scored only five goals he has only accounted for one point.  He has transformed from a guy where the offense he provided was seen more as a bonus and secondary thing to one that the team relies on if they are going to produce, so they need him to score.  As true as that is, the team needs him to give that energy and effort he was famous for even before the year began.  If Callahan gets back to playing his game, tough, physical, grinding style, then the goals will come again and when the Rangers start to score they have a tendency to loosen up and watch the floodgates open up.

In the Rangers last meeting with Philadelphia it was Callahan who set the tone early and often with four goals and an assist in the 7-0 rout on March 6.  The Rangers do not need him to have that kind of career game against Philly on Sunday, but they do need him to combine his skill and leadership to bring this team to where it needs to be both on and off the ice.

Rangers Change Lines For Offensive Spark, "Need To Be Who We Are"

With the rival Philadelphia Flyers looming tomorrow afternoon the New York Rangers are talking a very confident game today despite the current two game skid.  The level of confidence in who they are and the way they play is something that is necessary at this point of the year.  However the key is not whether they say the right things, but that they truly believe what they are saying.

One of the key quotes put out from coach John Tortorella via Rangers official twitter feed was the following…

"We're going to respond the right way...we know who we are...now we need to be who we are"

There is no better way to phrase what the Rangers need right now than that.  This team has spent an entire season attempting to form an identity and when they play to that identity they can have success.  When they lose track of who they are and how they are successful, then they predictably struggle.  A Rangers squad that does not forecheck, does not cycle the puck and does not maintain puck possession is one that does not generate offense.  A Rangers team that does not cover in the defensive zone, does not sacrifice the body to block shots and does not clear the puck when they have the chance is one that struggles defensively.  Most importantly a Rangers squad that does not outwork its opponent on a nightly basis and show how badly they want to win that night will not win because they do not have the talent to get through it will less than their top effort against a team like Philadelphia.

In an attempt to spark the struggling offense Tortorella has changed the lines and moved Brandon Prust up with Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov.  The corresponding move was to take Ryan Callahan off that line and put him with Brian Boyle and Ruslan Fedotenko.  I don’t really like the move as it was done, but in trying to keep the Gaborik line together I presume this was the easiest of the changes to make in the lineup since the fourth line was pretty locked in as it will be.  If there is a struggle offensively early I would expect changes to those lines anyway so no need to get overly excited or upset about them.

Lines:

Dubinsky-Anisimov-Prust

Prospal-Stepan-Gaborik

Fedotenko-Boyle-Callahan

Avery-Christensen-Wolski