Rangers Sign Dylan McIlrath, Ryan Bourque To Entry-Level Contracts

The New York Rangers via their official twitter account have confirmed the signings of 2010 first round selection defenseman Dylan McIlrath and forward 2009 third round pick Ryan Bourque to three year entry level contracts. 

There are no details at the current moment on the McIlrath contract, but I will post them when they are out.  In 59 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season McIlrath has recorded five goals and 18 assists for 23 points, along with 141 penalty minutes. 

As far as Ryan Bourque goes Capgeek has the details on his deal as a two-way contract worth a maximum of 1.97 million over three years.  The deal calls for Bourque to earn $67, 500 each year in the AHL with differing salaries in the NHL.  On the season Bourque has 26 goals, 31 assists and 57 points in 47 games for the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL.

This is a very good day to be a Rangers fan as they are singing more young prospects to NHL contracts.  The caveat however to the excitement getting out of control is the realization that many of these deals are done to make players able to play in the AHL playoffs.  This does not mean that either will play professionally next season.  Bourque is likely to be in Hartford, but McIlrath is not eligible for the AHL, much the way Del Zotto was not last season because he will be under 20 and was in the CHL at the time of his being drafted.

Rumor: Rangers To Sign Carl Hagelin Soon

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According to Larry Brooks at the New York Post the Rangers are expected to sign 2007 6th round pick Carl Hagelin at the conclusion of his senior season at Michigan.  If Michigan reaches the championship game this season, then his college season could extend all the way to April 9.  The Connecticut Whale end their regular season on April 10.  That means that if Hagelin’s season ends early he could join them for their final playoff push or if it doesn’t and the Whale manage to get into the playoffs he could join them at that point.

Hagelin has had a brilliant career for the Wolverines and a tremendous senior season.  On the year he has 17 goals and 30 assists in just 38 games, which earned him a position as one of three finalists for the CCHA player-of-the-year.  Along with that he was nominated for CCHA defensive player of the year, which shows the kind of two-way hockey player he is.  Hagelin is a sleeper prospect who many have lost track of over the years while other guys got all the attention, but do not sleep on the level of skill he has.  He possesses excellent speed, toughness to his game, can play in all situations and has excellent hands.  Hagelin will be a force on the penalty kill as he is a constant threat to go the other way for a shorthanded goal.

Depending on what happens with the Rangers during the offseason in terms of signings Hagelin definitely has a chance to make the roster out of camp next year, but is more likely to start the season in the AHL and have a similar development timetable to Mats Zuccarello this year. 

Erik Christensen Is Becoming A Consistent Factor For the Rangers

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There are few if any players as frustrating and infuriating than the New York Rangers Erik Christensen, but as much as he has been criticized for his inconsistency both in effort and production he now deserves equal praise.  On the season Christensen’s numbers are very poor with 11 goals and 12 assists in 52 games.  Those numbers only look worse when you consider the number of opportunities he has had to play with Marian Gaborik on the top line and on the power play.  However, over his last seven games Christensen has put things together much more consistently with five goals and four assists while only going scoreless in two of those contests.  This is the kind of production that everyone has been hoping to see from him for some time and while he is not well liked by many fans because of his inconsistent history he must stay in the lineup when he is going like this.

When he is at his best he can make plays with the puck that few others on the team can make.  He has tremendous passing skill and a very good, quick wrist shot and hands all of which he displays prominently in the shootout.  The problem had been his inability to do anything of value in the first 60-65 minutes, but over this last stretch of games the good is showing up with frequency and the invisible Christensen seems to have disappeared from reality.

Video: Henrik Lundqvist Shows How A King Protects His Castle Robbing Okposo Twice

When the final score ends up 6-3 it is easy to assume the game was easy and under control the whole way, and for the most part it was, but that is thanks to some huge saves that Henrik Lundqvist made in the first period when Rangers defensive breakdowns gave the Islanders some prime chances.  Once again Lundqvist showed everyone how the king protects his castle.

Gaborik Gets Two In Rangers 6-3 Rout of Rival Islanders

The Rangers took the Islanders seriously as an opponent and then they handled their business on their way to a convincing 6-3 win. New York had its stars show up tonight with Henrik Lundqvist making done tremendous saves, especially early on, Gaborik getting two goals and the power play cashing in on its chances. If those three things continue the last 11 games then they playoff spot will take care of itself.

The Rangers came out with excellent energy and maintained it throughout the first period. Marian Gaborik had an early breakaway, but could not covert. Moments later Sean Avery took a boarding penalty. While shorthanded Brandon Prust gave the Rangers the 1-0 lead.  The Prust goal was created by Ryan McDonagh who collapsed the defense with his move to the net and his shot created the rebound for Prust. Late in the first Erik Christensen extended the lead to 2-0 with a beautiful shot on the power play. That is how the first ended.

The team came out sluggish to start the second with goals by Matt Moulson and P.A. Parenteau to tie the game.

New York would respond with three goals of their own before the period would end. The first was from Ryan Callahan off a beautiful behind the back pass from Artem Anisimov. Marian Gaborik made it 4-2 on a gorgeous wrist shot far post. Bryan McCabe would close the period with his first as a Ranger to bring the lead to 3 at 5-2.

The third period was academic, but Gaborik would get his second of the evening before John Tavares scored to make the final 6-3.

• Lundqvist was excellent, especially in the first and he seems to be in a much better groove these last few games.
• Don’t know what has gotten into Erik Christensen, but I like it.  He is producing points on a consistent basis and even more than that he is showing up at other points of the game.
• I expect Avery to be right back in the press box watching on Friday as he was awful tonight.  He took three penalties and none of them of the “good” variety.  The boarding call in the first he got lucky, at least from where we were, to not get more than two minutes and the one in the third cost them what in this game was a meaningless goal, but you cannot expect to be up four to be ok with giving up a goal down the stretch.

Big thank you to Robyn (@njrobynf) for letting me come tonight. Lots of fun had by all.

Is Benching Wolski The Right Move?

The New York Rangers are making some lineup changes for tonight’s gameagainst the New York Islanders with Sean Avery and Steve Eminger returning tothe lineup while Wojtek Wolski and Matt Gilroy will be sitting in the pressbox. The decision to sit Gilroy forEminger is not one that surprises me and is once I have been looking for sometime, but the move to sit Wolski for Avery is a bit surprising.

On the plus side I see the appeal to Avery in what could be a very physicalgame against a rival who has been playing tough hockey of late. There is also the fact thatbased on being benched the last game you will have a very motivated Sean Averywhich can be a powerful weapon as he showed last season when he scored sixpoints in 7 games after being benched for. The issue is not with the reinsertion of Avery per say, but the choiceto remove Wolski from the lineup.

Wolski is a player that with coach John Tortorella is either ridden for topline time or in the doghouse from one game to the next.He can be inconsistent in his results, but ona team that lacks skilled forwards to remove him not only from the lineupduring regulation play, but a potential shootout situation when in the lastgame he kept the team alive to eventually get the second point on BrandonDubinsky’s winner. For a team worriedabout every point that seems like a big risk to take especially if you end upwith another game of Avery playing less than 10 minutes.

The other piece that I worry about with Wolski is that being a healthyscratch was not an effective tool to prod more out of him in Phoenix, so ifthat is the goal of the move I fear it will fail and the Rangers will lose himto it, but hopefully that wont happen.
From what Andrew Gross is reporting at RangerRants he seems to understand the issue and is determined to work on it.

“I guess you’re always surprised. You don’t want to be out of the lineup.You want to be in the lineup. But I don’t think that (the shootout goal) is agood enough reason to keep me in the lineup. I’ve got to play better. He (coachJohn Tortorella) is holding me accountable. The only one to blame is myself. Ihave to play better and have more of an impact on the game. Obviously, Irealize I have a lot of upside and potential. I’m happy they realize it too.The team is battling for a playoff spot and I’m not playing as well as I couldbe. They’re going to hold me accountable. It was a quick conversation (withTortorella). It wasn’t anything too big. We’ve got to win and I’ve got to be apart of it. If I’m not contributing, I’m not going to play.”

Hopefully this is one of those times where using the prod works becausesitting can be a great motivational tool, but I don’t want a scenario whereeach game a different guy gets benches just to light a fire under him because itis too late in the year for those kind of mind games.

Playoff Odds Certainly In Rangers Favor

The New York Rangers picked up two huge points in what could be described as a momentum building win.  The performance was one of those wins that could define a season and catapult the team on a hot streak.  Nod if you have heard that before this season.  The Rangers have had a series of those kinds of games this year and instead of building on them they have had a tendency to fall flat on their face the next time out.  They cannot afford for that to happen now.  Instead the momentum from that game has to be transferred into that hot stretch as the number of games dwindles and the number of teams sniffing around the playoffs is rising.  That must begin tonight against the Islanders who have been playing very hard and have not been an easy team to beat lately, so the same effort must be there tonight.

The odds for New York are significantly better this week as Sports Club Stats shows their probability of making the playoffs at 85.1% today as opposed to 77.27% last Monday.  According to the probability break down the key mark for the Rangers is as I have said for some time 90 points.  If they get to 90 points the probability they make the playoffs this year is 94.8%.

Assuming 90 is the magic number here is a look at what each team would have to do in order to reach 90 points.

Team	Current Points	Games Remaining	Record Necessary to Reach 90 pts
Buffalo	76	13	7-6
New York	76	12	7-5
Carolina	72	13	9-4
Atlanta	70	13	10-3
Toronto	70	12	10-2
New Jersey	68	14	11-3

The time for scoreboard watching and hoping for help is over as they control their destiny right now and they have to do it on the ice.  Tonight is the start of that as they can either increase their odds of a playoff spot to as high as 91.3% or as low as 72.9% depending on how the action plays out.  The biggest determinant of that is the Rangers own game as a win raises their chances by 4% while a loss drops it by a whopping 8.7%.  Handle your business Rangers because the numbers are on your side if you play each game to your capabilities.

Video: Cal Clutterbuck Fans On Hit, Flips Into Canucks Bench

When you hit players as often as Cal Clutterbuck sometimes you are going to miss.  Clutterbuck who came into the game as the league leader in hits with 298 was looking for another in front of the Vancouver bench on Alex Burrows and he missed in a huge way.  

After missing Clutterbuck ended up flipping into the Vancouver bench and while he was down there Burrows decided that some trash talking was in order.

Rangers In Need of A Blueline Shakeup?

The idea of mixing up players is nothing new for the New York Rangers as with every struggling period of offense coach John Tortorella gives the line lottery wheel another spin to see what combination of players it kicks out.  On the flip side of that, there is little to no consideration of changing things up when it comes to the defensive pairings, at least not when it comes to the top pair of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.  Maybe it is time for that to change.  I have thought about and even suggested this for some time and now I think the time has come to put real consideration into splitting up Staal and Girardi.  I know it is crazy to think about doing this down the home stretch of a playoff chase, but hear me out first and see if it sounds a little less insane by the time I am done.