Jamie Benn Shows Cam Baker School's In On Sunday (Video)

If you thought school was closed on Sunday's you would not be alone, but someone forgot to tell Jamie Benn that as he taught Cam Barker a lesson by dragging the puck through his legs on the rush and then finished the play with a beautiful wrist shot past Jose Theodore for the goal. 

Frolov Out For Year; Kris Newbury Gets the Call, But Is He The Right Choice?

Once again the New York Rangers are dealing with an injury, this time to Alex Frolov who hurt his knee in the third period of last night’s game.  There has been no official diagnosis or timetable released on the injury, but per Larry Brooks, the injury is likely out for a while with the knee and that another recall will be necessary.  Frolov looked to be severely injured on the play and was helped off the ice, but then miraculously came back out for another shift in which he was true to the Rangers team identity in attempting to block shots even while injured.  The focus today though is not on Frolov but which Connecticut Whale players are on the list as the next call.  For me it does depend on the role they expect out of the newest callup as they could go with someone who is more physical or those who are more offensively skilled.

Update: The Rangers have decided to go with veteran Kris Newbury. Newbury, 28, has 5 goals and 30 assists in his 41 games this season and can mix some skill with a more grinding game so he is a very good choice for a fourth line type role.   Newbury's offensive totals in Hartford are somewhat inflated by a tremendous December in which he had a line of 3-13-16 in just 12 games while in January he has cooled to register just one point in five games.

Newbury also has some NHL experience which saw him play 48 games which saw him score four goals and have three assists.  I was under the impression he was subject to waivers, which might be incorrect, or it might be that the Rangers see no issue in his getting through by making this move.

Update 2 (7:08 PM): Andrew Gross is reporting that Frolov is done for the season with a Torn ACL, sprained MCL and medial meniscus tear.  Having that report only furthers my praise for Frolov's attempt to come back and play on the knee during the game last night.  More on the fallout tomorrow.

With Frolov being out for the year it makes me like the move to bring up Newbury over a Dupont even more because as Smurf said in the comments there is very little upside to Newbury and now you have a potential roster spot open for the rest of the season.  Also you are putting a burden on Sean Avery to be a consistent source of good play, which is a gamble all on its own.

Below is the way I would have gone about choosing a replacement if you are still interested.

I understand the immediate fan fascination is with whether it will Evgeny Grachev as he is the most recognizable name for many in the fan base that is still down with the Whale.  Grachev has certainly played better of late and is producing more with two goals and two assists in the five games this month.  On the season his numbers are still paltry with a line of 6-5-11 in 35 games and he did not really show anything in his previous appearance in New York that makes me clamor for him to come back right now.  With Zuccarello and Weise up here Grachev is getting a chance to rise up the depth chart in Hartford and that should remain for the rest of the season to let him be more consistent and build a higher production level before seriously thinking about bringing him back.

Jeremy Williams has been excellent for the Whale this season and is currently tied for first in the AHL with 20 goals scored.  His overall line is 20-12-32 in 41 games.  Williams has not had the same impact this month, but he did score the game winner last night after being held scoreless the prior three games.  Williams also has some NHL experience in another huge hockey market of Toronto so the stage should not intimidate him.  He would be among the finalists for me, but not the choice.

Brodie Dupont is a guy who a month ago I would not have even considered for this move, and if you go by his full season numbers you would think it is crazy as his line is only 7-12-19 in 37 games.  If you scale those numbers back following being held scoreless in his first 12 games of the season he has 19 points in the following 25, 19 in his last 17 games.  Another thing that works in Dupont’s favor is he is a natural left wing, has a bigger body than some of the others and could play the fourth line role while chipping offensively if necessary.  It would also be nice to see Dupont get his first taste of the NHL

The final guy I would throw in the mix is Chad Kolarik who the organization picked up in mid-November in a deal for then captain Dane Byers.  In his time with the Whale Kolarik has shown tremendous offensive skill both as a scorer and passer.  Kolarik possesses more speed than any of the other candidates and is not afraid to stick his nose in there, but is not the best defensively. 

Other options that would be considered but wont be because of waiver issues include bringing back Tim Kennedy, Kris Newbury, Jason Williams.

As I said this really boils down to the role they want the call up to play for the big club.  If it is to fill in on the second line then you have to go with a skill guy like Kolarik, but if you want him to slot in as the fourth liner who could have some offensive upside then Dupont should be the choice.  I know Grachev is the known name and intriguing choice, but leave him down and go with one of the other two instead.

Lock In The Core: Time For Dubinsky, Callahan Extensions to Be Done

Photo by avigerver

There have been numerous discussions around the web about the New York Rangers summer plans and who they should keep, go get and get rid of and at the top of everyone’s priority list from the current squad is locking up Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan.  What we are seeing around the league is a concerted effort by teams to lock in their players long before they hit either the RFA or UFA markets as was seen again just last night with LA locking up Johnson.  The Rangers need to follow this trend and get the Dubinsky and Callahan deals done now to lock in two of the most important pieces to the core of this franchise.  I know the urgency for some is not dire, but what the Rangers should be looking to do is make a statement on the importance of these guys to the team’s future and also ensuring that we do not end up with any more protracted summers with contract discussions.

With the season that Brandon Dubinsky is having the price is certainly going to be more than one would have anticipated coming into the year, but then again if he continues at the pace he is on right now it is only going to continue to increase as he has been the clear cut MVP of the Rangers in their surprising team performance through 43 games.  On the year Dubinsky now has a line of 16-20-36 which ranks him tied for 22^nd in goals and tied for 26^th in points across the league.  Combine the improvements in his offensive production, consistency, and increased leadership within with his ever present work on the boards, and killing penalties and what you have is an indispensible part of the fabric of your organization.  If I had to take a guess at some numbers I would look for 5-6 years with somewhere between 3.7-4.3 mil per season.

In Ryan Callahan you have a guy who for years has been a fan favorite for his relentless play on the ice and his willingness to hit literally anything that moves.  It is that kind of attitude with Callahan that had him rewarded with the assistant captain position.  The point of contention between Rangers fans was about what the offensive upside of Callahan would end up being and if based on what his previous production had been how much the defense, penalty killing, hitting and leadership were worth financially.  Over the course of the past few seasons Callahan had shown himself to be a consistent 20 goal 40 point type player who skill wise was probably best suited for a third line role but was forced higher in the Rangers lineup due to a lack of overall skill.  Before breaking his hand blocking a shot against the Pens Cally was showing those beliefs about his upside offensively were in need of a change.  Before breaking his hand on December 15, 2010 the 25-year-old winger had a line of 10-13-23 in 32 games this season.  If you project that over an 82 game season that is a very respectable 59 point season which combined with everything else he does makes him invaluable to a hockey club.  In terms of numbers for Callahan since the top end skill is still less than Dubinsky I expect the contract to be as well with numbers around 5/16 feeling right.

What the Rangers have here are two young forwards who are the fabric of their young core offensively who are proving to be tremendous leaders and two way hockey players and need to be locked up as a part of this organization accordingly.  The organization talks about the young core and here you have two huge pieces of it who are set to have contracts expire this summer, make the statement you believe in what they have shown in the team’s remarkable first half and lock them down now so you can sit back and reap the rewards later.  

I doubt anyone will disagree with bringing them back so tell me if you think it can wait until the summer and/or what money you think they will/should get.

Daily Recap: Biron Leads Win; Zuccarello-Aasen Adds Magic; Torts-Boyle; Prucha KHL?

The New York Rangers continued their hot play this evening when behind Martin Biron they scored a 2-1 win that took them out of St. Louis with the home team feeling blue.  The game marked the team’s third straight victory and saw the Rangers grind out another win in come from behind fashion.  The full game recap goes through the game as always in terms of scoring plays, key moments and how different players fared in the course of the action.  Tonight there are also a series of very interesting stats on the Rangers season that speak volumes to why after just 43 games the Rangers have collected a very impressive 53 points.  Could not have asked for a better weekend for the team, though certainly still some players the Rangers would love to kick into gear.

Before the game the decision to start Biron was announced along with a little bit of further clarification on the Boyle, Tortorella incident from Dallas.  If you are unaware the incident was late in the third period and the camera caught coach Tortorella berating Brian Boyle multiple times in a short sequence while Boyle took the lashing in a very professional manner.  Today Andrew Gross was able to give a little bit more background on what exactly went on, so check inside to see what he had to say along with why I believe Torts turned to Biron tonight instead of riding a red-hot Henrik Lundqvist

Video: Adam McQuaid Fights Travis Moen

Jimmy Howard's Glove Shows No Love For Henrik or Daniel Sedin; Save of Year? (Video)

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard is a goaltender that does not get enough credit around the league because of the team that he plays on. Tonight Jimmy and his glove hand sought to steal some of that respect he deserves against not only the hottest team in the NHL, but their two best players as he would stone not just one Sedin twin, but both in the game.

Early in the first period Daniel Sedin would break in all alone off a set play where Henrik Sedin fired the puck all the way down the ice and had it come back out for Daniel as he drove the net and after Howard went down early Sedin pulled the puck to the backhand and appeared to have the goaltender dead to rights, but Howard dove back and snatched the puck with his glove as it was about to cross the goal line for potentially the save of the year.


 
If one brilliant save nor only stealing a goal from one Sedin twin was not enough for Howard he would make sure to get the other as in the third period it was Henrik Sedin's turn to have the Red Wing goaltender's glove rip away what should have been a sure goal.  In a 1-1 hockey game early in the third Daniel and Henrik Sedin would work a beautiful give and go where Daniel would be below the left faceoff dot and fire a pass across to an awaiting Henrik at the right faceoff dot for a one-timer.  Unbelievably Jimmy Howard found a way to go from playing shot at one post on Daniel to get across in time to flash the leather on the other Sedin twin.  What a night for the Red Wings netminder.

Behind Biron Rangers Leave St. Louis Feeling The Blues

AP Photo/Tom Gannam

If the goal of this two game trip was to prove the one last weekend was just a blip on the screen the Rangers certainly did that with their effort the last two nights against two very good Western Conference foes.  Another game, another comeback, another second game of a back-to-back win, and another road win to bring their league leading total to 15 wins road victories.  With the victory the Rangers have now won three straight Tonight the story was Martin Biron who got the start in place of Henrik Lundqvist and he was brilliant with 24 stops, especially in the second period where he stopped 14 of 15 shots, including multiple point blank chances.

Video: Alex Ovechkin Flying Game Winner

It has been a relatively down year for Alex Ovechkin, but this flying goal might just let his game take flight for the Washington Capitals. He stormed down the left side and after getting Bryan McCabe's stick in the skates he goes airborn and still finishes the play for the eventual game-winner

Biron To Start vs. Blues; Update on Torts Boyle Argument; Rozsival Might Play

Per Steve Zipay, In a somewhat surprising move John Tortorella is going away from the hot hand of Henrik Lundqvist to start backup Martin Biron in St. Louis against the Blues this evening.  The only reason I can find for Tortorella to go with Biron instead of Henrik tonight is because of the upcoming schedule featuring Mon, Van, @Mon, Phi the next four games so the next logical place to play Biron would not be until the 19th against Tor.

Jesse Spector threw out this stat on twitter concerning Biron and the Blues:

But also know this: he has never beaten the Blues (0-7-2, 2.52 GAA, .913 SV%)

Certainly for the sake of Biron and the club let us hope he gets that first win though from the numbers it appears he has played well enough to win a few of the others.  This year's game is a prime example where he stopped 20 of 22 but lost 2-0 at the Garden.

Also according to Steve Zipay Michal Rozsival and his ribs are a game-time decision as he will test them in warmups to see if he can go tonight.

To continue the beat writer merry-go-round Andrew Gross was the first up with Torts story on the Boyle incident last night that was caught on camera.  All in all Torts tried to downplay the controversy and praised Boyle's game, but said it was not about Boyle's failure to connect on that pass late in the game.  I have seen speculation in other places that it might have been concerning Boyle leaving an open trailer on a backcheck late in the game, but guess we will never fully know.  Either way it does not really matter because Boyle showed even in the middle of it a great strength of character to sit there and take it without backing down or slouching in the least and if anything it will only further reinforce the belief Torts has in him.

Sidney Crosby Talks Concussion Timeline, Lack of League Response, Steckel, Return

The Sidney Crosby concussion continues to evolve and the focus of the story seems to be less about how long the Pittsburgh Penguins star and NHL’s best player is going to be out of the lineup and more about everything else that went into the injury itself.  Concussions and trying to prevent them have been a point of conversation for the NHL over the past few seasons including the creation and implementation of Rule 48 to deal with headshots in game action.  It is strange to see that Crosby, whom many deem the most protected player in the game, take two blows to the head with only two minutes of penalties called, no retaliation by his teammates and no suspensions from the league. 

That series of facts was obvious on Crosby’s mind today when he spoke to reporters today about the injury.  He criticizes the NHL for not following through on all their talk about headshots (1:41-2:40 of the video) when he said:

I didn't like them. You talk about headshots and dealing with them, and that's been something that's been a pretty big point of interest from everybody -- GMs and players. When I look at those two hits and when we talk about blindside, that's a big word, unsuspecting player, there's no puck there on both of them and direct hit to the head on both of them. If you go through the criteria, I think they fit all those.

I know it's a fast game. If anybody understands it's a fast game ... I've been hit a thousand times. When you get hit like that, there's nothing you can do. There's no way to protect yourself. Those are things that hopefully they pay more attention to. It's easy saying that, being in this situation; but those are two hits, looking back, that I can't say I should have done something different or had my head down. I wouldn't change anything. [emphasis mine]

In general Crosby is 100% right in those comments that the league has been wildly inconsistent in how they have sought to implement Rule 48 this season where some actions get let go and others of the same exact ilk are hit with varying degrees of punishment. 

In discussing the David Steckel hit/collision from the Winter Classic (video of hit) Crosby reiterates his belief that Steckel could have avoided him if he wanted when he said:

On the Steckel one, it's tough. It's really tough to decide if he meant to or didn't mean to. I feel like he could have gotten out of the way and avoided me. Whether he tried to hurt me, only he knows. I guess we'll never know that, but you still have to be responsible out there. I can carry my stick up around my head and say that I'm protecting myself, but I still have to be responsible for whatever I do with my stick if I end up high-sticking someone.

It's the same thing. In that situation, I don't see anything [and] he sees me there. He sees the whole ice and he doesn't avoid me. I don't think that's responsible on his part. Whether or not he tried to hurt me, only he knows that. But he's got to be the one to try to avoid me in that situation.

This series of comments is likely going to get Crosby criticism especially from those who have an aversion to him already because of the exaggerated example he gives to try and create a metaphorical scenario on the ice and the fact that he did not give Steckel the benefit of the doubt on his intent.  You can say that he did not out and out accuse Steckel but the majority of the time when you lay out a scenario as he did where you say “only he knows” you are going to find many that presume it to be you accusing that person of a dirty play, especially when you then call him irresponsible saying he saw you and did not try to avoid you. 

From listening to Sidney it seems like the concussion was more likely from the collision with Steckel seeing as how he was not feeling “right” even before Hedman boarded him into the glass and probably exacerbated whatever symptoms he was already having.  Why it matters when he originally sustained the concussion is not about whether the Steckel hit was clean or dirty but the fact that the Penguins let him finish the Winter Classic game and play in a gave four days later while possibly having a concussion. Maybe Sidney should be complaining about that as well as the league for not protecting the players because as we have seen in other sport’s many times the league does a better job protecting the players from each other and themselves than the team’s do.

Instead Crosby defending the organization from just that kind of critcism when he said: "No, I mean, looking back, I wouldn't have changed anything we did. It may be easy to say that now, but I didn't have any head and it didn't feel like a concussion."

No offense to Crosby's medical training but that is why team's have professional doctors and trainers on staff to determine those things and maybe the NHL has to go the route of the NFL that any time a player hits his head he has to be concussion tested in order to prevent guys from playing with them until they get severe.  Personally from listening to Sidney today the one week timetable that was laid out seems awfully optimistic and at least on that count Crosby certainly seems to understand the need to wait until he is actually ready to be back to avoid getting another one.

Also I know the media has a job to do and without it I would not have this video to share with you of his comments, but which person thought it was a bright idea to take a guy with a concussion and stick numerous TV cameras and lights in his eyes?

Full Video via Penguins.com