Del Zotto In, Eminger Scratched; Dubinsky with Gaborik, Anisimov; Full Lines

With all the new bodies in the lineup tonight there were going to be changes in the lines.  This afternoon it was confirmed by the demotion of Evgeny Grachev that Brandon Dubinsky would be in the lineup.  After that, what was left was waiting to see whom he would play with. 

The only other question based on yesterday was whether Michael Del Zotto would be in the lineup and Steve Eminger would be a healthy scratch.  I am not in love with Eminger and he really has no long-term future with the club, but I do not think Del Zotto has really earned his way back in the top six at this point.  This feels like a move geared strictly for the power play, which is not what sending him down to Connecticut was supposed to be about.  We will see how it shakes out.

Tonight’s Lines:

Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Marian Gaborik
Mats Zuccarello-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Wojtek Wolski-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust

Sean Avery-Kris Newbury-Chris Drury

Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh-Mike Sauer

Michael Del Zotto-Matt Gilroy

The lines are fine for me, though I will be curious to see how Wolski meshes with Boyle and Prust when Wolski enjoys playing a skill game and not a grinding type.  Playing with two bangers like Boyle and Prust should open up space for him though. Zuccarello, Stepan and Callahan has the potential to be a very good line when you combine the talent and willingness to do the dirty things necessary to score.

On defense the pairing of McDonagh and Sauer as two defensive defenders can be a tremendous shutdown pair, but to do that and then have Del Zotto play with Gilroy as two that have had their defensive abilities questioned seems strange.   

Grachev Sent Down To Connecticut; Dubinsky Will Play.

According to the AHL transactions page The New York Rangers have sent Evgeny Grachev back to the Connecticut Whale (AHL), which should mean the Brandon Dubinsky is going to play tonight since the team only has 11 other healthy forwards with Grachev out.

Ryan Callahan Return Gives Rangers Their Captain Back

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

When he makes his return tonight, after missing 19 games due to a broken hand, Ryan Callahan will bring the New York Rangers their true captain back to the lineup.  The Rangers did an admirable job in his absence, compiling a 10-7-2 in those 19 games.  This team found out in those 19 games that the values and identity that Callahan helped instill in the hockey club he has taken leadership of are still there and is the reason they could survive in his absence.  Record alone will never tell the story of what the Rangers have done without since December 15 when Callahan broke his hand blocking a shot against the same Penguins he will return to the lineup against tonight.

Asked what it meant to have him back, coach John Tortorella said, "He does everything for us. He's one of our leaders. He’s one of our leaders. I wasn’t sure, and I give our team a lot of credit...when we lost him, that’s when I worried about where the team was going to go. And I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and finding a way. Cally’s that important, so it will be good to have him back in the room first of all, and then on the ice."

Brandon Dubinsky Could Return Early; Is It Too Soon?

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The impending returns of Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi this evening were not surprising when they were announced yesterday, but the possibly return of Brandon Dubinsky to the Rangers lineup tonight certainly was somewhat shocking.  It was just two weeks ago when Dubinsky, the team’s leading scorer with 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists), was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his leg that was feared to keep him out of action for a month.  The answer as to whether he will actually suit up tonight will not be known until later this morning when they see how his leg responds to the hard skate and full practice he participated in yesterday.  The response yesterday from both Dubinsky and coach John Tortorella was to not rule anything out.  One has to wonder about the thought process of considering letting him return this soon.

Daily Recap: Callahan, Girardi Back, Others Close; Keys To Stay In Playoffs; Should Staal Keep “A”?

Lots of news coming out of the Rangers first practice back from the All-Star break and for a change it was all of the positive variety when it comes to the health of the roster.  Early in practice it was clear that both Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi were back and would be playing tomorrow.  With the return of Callahan it meant that there were going to be new lines, which are in the linked story along with my thoughts on those combinations.

Along with that there was the positive news that Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal and Erik Christensen were all taking part in practice.  Originally due to the orange jerseys they were wearing it was thought they were just there in a non-contact capacity to take the skate, and do drills, but obviously without contact.  Later in practice it was revealed that they were fully participating in practice which was somewhat surprising for all three.  In terms of Dubinsky it has only been two weeks since he was said to be out a month with a stress fracture.  For Prospal he had yet to take part in a contact practice this season.  With Christensen there was no set time on when he would be back practicing.

The good news only got better as following practice Dubinsky, Prospal, Christensen and Fedotenko were all given scheduled return dates or timetables on when to expect them back in the lineup.  All four are expected back in short order with one possibly against the Pens and one definitely against the Devils.

Other than all of that good news there were a couple stories on the site today.  The morning I took a look at eight keys to keep the Rangers in the playoffs these last 30 games.  Half of the list consisted of things that the team needed to sustain from the first “half” and the rest were things that needed to improve.  One of them is already looking much better and they have not even played a game yet.

The other story was about Marc Staal, Vinny Prospal and the “A” that Staal got when the Rangers realized Prospal was going to be out long term.  Based on certain things it appears that the “A” is going to go back to Prospal as soon as he is in the lineup, but should it?

Video: Linus Klasen 360 Goal During AHL Skills

During the NHL All-Star SuperSkills there was a lull in the action during the breakaway challenge when players attempted interesting moves, but few if any ended up in the net.  Maybe those guys should take some notes from Linus Klasen and his performance in the AHL Skills competition.  The Nashville Predators prospect, represented his AHL club the Milwaukee Admirals, and scored a beautiful 360 goal that was the prettiest of any scored on hockey’s All-Star weekend.

Positive Injury News: Dubinsky, Prospal, Christensen, Fedotenko Get Return Dates/Timetables

As I relayed earlier, Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi were both back at practice as expected and both will play tomorrow against the Penguins.

Following the good news of Brandon Dubinsky, Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal all taking part in a full practice there is even more positive news for the three of them in terms of return dates or at least timetables.

The only one certain at the moment is Vinny Prospal. Vinny is a definitely for Thursday and is apparently only being held until then so that he can get in two more full practices for conditioning purposes.  It is still completely unclear what, if anything, can be expected of Prospal considering his age, the injury and the fact he has not played a game in 10 months.  All of that said, I still expect Prospal to get a shot to play with Gaborik immediately, whether at center or on the wing.

Brandon Dubinsky was back on skates today for the first time since he was taken out of the lineup with a stress fracture in his leg.  Dubinsky took part in hard conditioning skate, rest, and then full practice and was said to be feeling good.  He would rule himself out for tomorrow’s game and that it would depend on how the leg responds in the morning.  Jesse Spector tweeted John Tortorella having similar thoughts on Dubinsky in not ruling him out and that if he is pain free he will likely play.

In terms of Christensen and Fedotenko, Darren Dreger tweeted that EC could be back by Saturday and that Fedotenko could be ready within 10 days.

Amazing how all of these guys could be getting healthy basically all at once.  This is great news for the team and the depth of the club, but also means that roster decisions will need to be made both in terms of lines and who plays/sits.

To remind everyone, here are the lines from earlier

Avery-Anisimov-Gaborik
Wolski-Stepan-Callahan
Zuccarello-Boyle-Prust
Grachev-Newbury-Drury

If Dubinsky plays these lines will likely change with Avery being the obvious candidate to move down to the fourth line and Grachev sits out.  There could be other shuffling going on with the top three lines depending on if coach Tortorella wants to put Callahan and Dubinsky back together or even reunite the full line of Dubinsky, Anisimov and Callahan.

The only other lineup spot that is not sure is on defense as coach Tortorella would not rule out playing Michael Del Zotto tomorrow despite the fact that Dan Girardi will play.  This would mean someone else would sit, but there will be more on that tomorrow.

Callahan, Girardi Back; Dubinsky, Prospal, Christensen Full Practice; New Lines

Over the past few months with all the injuries the New York Rangers have suffered there have been many negative injury stories.  On that front today is the best injury news day this team has had in a long time. 

In addition to Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi’s expected returns to practice Andrew Gross says that the team saw Brandon Dubinsky, Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal take part in a full practice.

To say this is great news would be an understatement considering how well the team has played thus far with a depleted roster.  It is likely that only Callahan and Girardi will play tomorrow, but having the other three participate in a full practice says they should be ready in reasonably short order.  Getting Callahan and Girardi back in the lineup adds two critical pieces back to the roster.

Timetables on Prospal, Dubinsky, Christensen, Fedotenko 

New lines with the return of Ryan Callahan...

Avery-Anisimov-Gaborik
Wolski-Stepan-Callahan
Zuccarello-Boyle-Prust
Grachev-Newbury-Drury

Maybe it is just me, but these lines confuse me.  The best line over the past few weeks has been that of Wolski, Stepan and Zuccarello.  Ryan Callahan is coming back and is of the same mold as Boyle and Prust and yet you split the best line of the past few weeks up to stick Callahan in that position while putting Zuccarello with two players who play a more grinding style.  Lines never stay the same, so likely not a huge deal, just does not seem to mesh with what has worked. 

Prospal To Get "A" Back From Staal Upon Return?

Last Night Adam Rotter of SNYRangersblog tweeted that while he was on the New York Rangers website he noticed that Vinny Prospal had an “A” next to his name, while Marc Staal did not.  Adam in his story this morning said he was unsure if the “A” was ever listed next to Staal on the website, but assumes that it likely was over the course of the last few months.

When Marc Staal was named as a temporary captain on October 18^th in Vinny Prospal’s place the belief behind it was that Prospal would be back in shorter order than it has turned out to be the case.  In the interim Marc Staal has turned into a leader of the young defensive core who has advanced his game beyond just a tremendous shutdown defender to be a legitimate Norris Trophy candidate this season.

Vinny Prospal is an excellent leader, an established veteran with lots of experience and brings tremendous enthusiasm to the club, but this team has been about the transformation from the ways of veterans to building around the young core.  While “just a letter,” this is the kind of thing that makes a huge statement to the club about having that youth remain in the leadership positions they have taken on all year.

Either way should be an interesting scenario.

Eight Keys For New York Rangers To Stay in East's Top Eight

The New York Rangers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NHL to this point in the season.  When the team starts again on Tuesday against Pittsburgh they will have 30 games left in the season to ensure they hold onto their playoff position.  They start the “second half” with a five-point edge on the ninth-place Carolina Hurricanes, who have two games in hand on New York, and a four-point lead over the Atlanta Thrashers, who have played the same number of games as the Rangers. 

Since there are eight spots in the playoffs, I made a list of eight things that must happen for the Rangers to stay in the top eight.  The list is divided into four things that must continue and four things that must improve for the team to hold onto a playoff spot, if not advance up the standings.

Room for Improvement:

Health

This one is the winner of the captain obvious award considering the Rangers have lost 193 man-games to injury already.  That number is going to rise with each passing game as Dubinsky, Christensen, Fedotenko, Prospal, Boogaard, Frolov will not be back at the start of play Tuesday, but Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi should be.  This team has played admirably though all the injuries and found different players to continue to step and step up, but if they are going to hold on they need some better luck on the injury front.