Video: ESPN Bleeps Crosby Goal Celebration

After missing the past 10 months recovering from a concussion, Sidney Crosby was rightfully excited when he scored 5:24 into the first period.  During his goal celebration Crosby screamed "F-ck yeah," but apparently that was too controversial for the folks over at ESPN as they blurred out Crosby's mouth when showing the highlights on SportsCenter this morning. 



H/T to ThePensBlog

Kris Newbury Suspended Four Games

According to Jesse Spector of the Sporting News, Connecticut Whale center Kris Newbury has been suspended for four games.  The suspension stems from an illegal hit to the head he delivered last Friday night during the second period against Bridgeport left winger Justin DiBenedetto.  Newbury was given a two minute minor for the hit.

Video: Fan Brawl In Montreal Late In Bruins/Habs

When longtime rivals like the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins get together the rivalry creates an added level of energy in the building.  Last night the fans took that one too far as there was a brawl in the stands late in the third period between fans of the two teams.

Via Puck Daddy:

Crosby Return Shows Rangers Right To Take Cautious Approach With Staal

The return of Sidney Crosby last night is a reason for the New York Rangers to be both hopeful and cautious in the recovery of Marc Staal from his concussion.  Crosby was forced to miss 320 days of action, but it was the time that he needed to full heal from his injury and return at his previous level.  New York has been taking the cautious approach with Staal this season, though it is still unclear if that happened late last season after the initial injury on February 22.

Staal has just begun light workouts after being shut down for a month, which leaves any return to action likely months away.  The lesson from Crosby, at least for one game, is that the willingness to wait on one of your star players until they are fully right is worth it.  The absence of Staal puts a deeper strain on the rest of the defense corps, but the Rangers are handling that as well as can be expected thus far, just as the Penguins had to find ways to score without their captain and league’s best player.  The added responsibility for the others on defense will only make them better for when Staal is fully ready to return and play at the level that Marc Staal expects of himself.

Obviously with concussions there is no blueprint and there is no guarantee of what path is the best one because they are one hit away from suffering another one, but the cautious approach is the one the Rangers should remain on with Staal.  Hope should be taken from just how well Crosby played in his return as he did not miss a beat from where he was before, even if it took longer than all involved would have hoped.  There is no reason to give up hope that Marc Staal will return at some point this season, but the long-term health and ability of Staal should be first and foremost in the decision making process because rushing him back only makes him more susceptible to another injury.

Bringing Up Zuccarello To Fix Power Play?

The New York Rangers struggles to generate on the power play are nothing new, but with a 12.9 percent efficiency and 27th place ranking in the league all ideas should be considered for fixing things.  This morning Larry Brooks at the New York Post offers up the idea of recalling Mats Zuccarello as part of the solution to the power play struggles.

Brooks broke down the amount of time the main players have had on the power play thus far this season and the number of goals they have been on the ice for.  The numbers are quite ugly, especially for those on the top unit.

Richards has been on the ice for six PPGs in 79:49 of man-advantage time. Michael Del Zotto has been on for seven in 76:06. Gaborik has been on for five in 67:24. Ryan Callahan has been on for seven in 67:14. Derek Stepan has been on for four in 53:42.

Brandon Dubinsky has been on for four in 43:35. Dan Girardi has been on for four in 41:16. Ruslan Fedotenko has been on for three in 16:40. Ryan McDonagh has been on for one in 13:42. Brian Boyle has been on for one in 14:21. Erik Christensen has been on for one (a five-on-three) in 21:02

The numbers are intended to establish the base for Brooks call on Zuccarello being the man to fix the dysfunction as because…

And a year ago, Mats Zuccarello was on the ice for 12 power play goals in 106:42, one per 8:53, a better rate than any player on the Rangers’ roster.

There is no question that the Rangers power play lacks a sense of creativity and Zuccarello has that kind of flash to his game, but he is not the solution to their power play woes.  The problem with the power play is the same as it has always been when they struggle; lack of movement. The team stands around on the outside and makes it easy for the defense to guard them.  Moving bodies causes puck movement which causes the defense to make decisions on whom to mark leading to mistakes and open men.  If the Rangers get better movement and maybe even a net front presence the power play will at least be more threatening.

Canadiens Dominate Listless Rangers To Snap Seven Game Winning Streak

The New York Rangers certainly didn’t resemble a team that entered Saturday night riding a seven game winning streak by playing a listless game in a 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.  The Rangers were a step behind from the opening drop of the puck as they failed to threaten Montreal much at all.  Only generating 17 shots against the injury depleted Canadiens blue line is inexcusable. 

Anyone looking to put this loss on Martin Biron is missing the point of tonight’s game.  Biron gave up a soft goal to Gionta in the second period, but with the lack of effort by the rest of the guys who dressed it wouldn’t have mattered.

Only player that seemed to have jump tonight was Brandon Prust.

It was an awful effort, but they were due for a bad game after winning seven in a row, so do not lose sight of the good that his been done lately just because of this one.  Sometimes an awful performance like this is the reality check that a team needs as it will get their attention again and give Tortorella something to get back to working on.  Worst part about this one is that the Rangers have three more days off before they get back at it down in Florida against the Panthers.

Martin Biron Starting Against Canadiens

The Rangers will have Martin Biron between the pipes as they seek their eighth straight win tonight in Montreal.  While some might take this as a sign of not putting their best team out there but given Biron's 3-0 record and .95 goals against average there is no reason to doubt him.  Biron does need the work and given Lundqvist's struggles in Montreal there is nothing wrong with this move.

Rangers Prospect System Ranked 13th By Hockey's Future

The New York Rangers are still out spending money on free agents like Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards to carry the offensive burden, but the integration of young prospect talent into the lineup over the past 4-5 years has been the key to the team rising back up the standings.  Luckily for the Rangers there is more talent in the pipeline for the coming seasons though the people at Hockey's Future do not seem to think all that highly of them in their latest organizational rankings.  The Rangers came it at #13 with this said about their system..

13. New York Rangers

Strengths: The Rangers have excellent strength on the blue line, with Ryan McDonagh currently playing top pairing NHL minutes, and both Tim Erixon and Dylan McIlrath developing well within the Rangers system. New York also has excellent depth on the wings, with many third and fourth line prospects in addition to potential first liner Chris Kreider.

Weaknesses: The majority of the prospects in the Rangers' system are older and already playing professional hockey. Additionally, many of the Rangers' top prospects have graduated and are currently on the Rangers roster. Finally, there is no future number one netminder within the system.

 Top 5 prospects: 1. Chris Kreider; 2. Christian Thomas; 3. Tim Erixon; 4. Ryan McDonagh; 5. J.T. Miller.

Lost to Trade: Roman Horak, Tomas Kundratek, Brodie Dupont, Evgeny Grachev, Ethan Werek.

The criticism of the system lacking any potential starting goaltenders is likely warranted though Stajcer has potential to get there eventually.  However, the rest of the criticism seems to lack a full understanding of where the system is.

Up front Kreider is the standout and the only one that likely has a complete top line skill set, but to say that the rest are mainly third and fourth line wingers is harsh.  Christian Thomas and Jesper Fasth have second line upside while Hagelin and J.T. Miller are showing all-around games and versatility only increases their value in seeing just how high they can develop. 

Seeing Erixon, as much upside as he has, ranked above Ryan McDonagh is ridiculous to me at this stage.  McDonagh is a 22-year-old defender playing on the top defensive pair against the best offensive players in the league right now.  Not only is he playing there, but he is excelling on both ends of the ice while doing so.  If you are still going to list him as a prospect, then he should likely be the top prospect on the list even with how Kreider is blowing up early this season at Boston College.

Rangers Record A Product of Subpar Competition?

The New York Rangers will be looking to make it eight straight wins tonight when they take on the Montreal Canadiens.  Winning eight straight is an impressive feat no matter who you play, but is the Rangers recent run and overall record based more on the competition they have faced instead of how good the team itself is.  On ThursdayLarry Brooks at the New York Post pointed out that the Rangers have been pounding the poorest performing teams thus far…

"The 10-3-3 Rangers are 9-1-2 against the league's bottom 13 clubs. They have yet to face a team in the top seven in the overall standings."

In some ways this kind of stat is a reality check that they have yet to face the best competition, or at least team’s playing their best thus far this season.  In other ways this is a positive because of how the Rangers tend to struggle to beat the teams they are supposed to, so gaining 20 points in 12 games against inferior teams is good sign for them.  While Montreal is another team that sits inside the bottom 13 clubs thus far, Saturday night games there have consistently been a nightmare for the Rangers. 

Following tonight the Rangers will play four consecutive games against teams currently in the top half of the league standings.  More importantly Florida, Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are all currently within the Eastern Conference playoffs so points are at a premium.  There is no denying that the Rangers have been impressive in finding ways to get points early in the season.  Now we will find out a little more in depth how good they are doing so against some of the better clubs in the league.

Video: Craig Smith Shoots Over Empty-Net From Crease

Craig Smith has had an excellent start to his rookie season for the Nashville Predators, but Thursday night was one of those moments he wishes he could erase and will never live down.  With Nashville up 3-1 Smith had an empty net breakaway, but instead of sliding the puck in he roofed it up and over.