Rangers Roster vs HC Sparta; Prust Will Play

Dan Rosen at NHL.com has today's lineup for the New York Rangers as they take on HC Sparta.

Wolski-Richards-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Fedotenko-Stepan-Zuccarello
Rupp-Christensen-Prust

Defenders in the lineup: Ryan McDonagh, Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, Tim Erixon, Stu Bickel and Brendan Bell.

Having Prust back in action is a big boost for the Rangers and signals he is back from offseason shoulder surgery.   Up front the team is playing virtually their entire starting lineup other than Boyle being out because of the flu.  I am in favor of the idea of putting Fedotenko with Stepan and Zuccarello and having Rupp play with what will be Boyle and Prust.  Feds will bring more offensively to the third line and Rupp with Boyle and Prust could just beat the other team into submission.

Very curious to see reports on which defenders are paired up this afternoon.  The one that makes the most sense from the past would be Del Zotto with Eminger and the other up for grabs.

Has Roster Come Down To Avery vs John Mitchell For Final Forward Spot?

The New York Rangers came into camp with 11 forward positions on the roster already decided and a at least a half dozen others competing for only 1 or 2 spots.  Erik Christensen and Sean Avery were the incumbents, but both had enough flaws in their play and standing with the team to have them immediately on the bubble.  Mats Zuccarello seems as if he is well on his way to securing his spot, which would only leave one spot for the rest of the group to battle for. 

The extra forward spot is not the kind of spot that you want a young player to be in because it can stunt their development and would rather have them play down in the minors than sitting in the press box.  That seemingly would eliminate contenders like Carl Hagelin and Ryan Bourque for sure, and possibly Dale Weise, from the roster on opening night as their development is better served playing huge minutes with the Whale.  Erik Christensen has played his own way off the roster this preseason, while Sean Avery has played well in spots and showed Monday he has flashes of the old Avery still in there. 

Avery showed his toughness and skill early in the game when his battle in early in the first period led to Andreas Thuresson’s goal.  He continued to channel the good parts of Avery when his pestering got under the skin of Wayne Simmonds and had Simmonds take a foolish penalty against him.  However, Avery showed his negative side later in the game when he took his own foolish penalty getting a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.  The Flyers converted on the power play and you can bet that coach John Tortorella took note of that.

The two other main contenders for a 13th forward role would be Kris Newbury and John Mitchell.  Newbury was ok with the Rangers last season and is good in the faceoff circle, but he also takes foolish penalties from trying too hard.  Mitchell on the other hand is in the perfect spot in his career for this kind of chance.  At 26 Mitchell is not going to significantly develop further playing with the Whale while he has shown in camp that he can play a solid game on both ends with a little potential offense as a fill in player.  Mitchell is mainly a center, but is able to play some wing and that kind of flexibility along with his very good work in the faceoff circle makes him a big threat for that final spot on the roster. In the end this is still Avery's spot to win or lose, but Mitchell is likely his biggest competition.

McIlrath Should Be An Early Season Roster Option If Staal And/Or Sauer Aren't Ready

The New York Rangers came into training camp with questions to be answered about their defense corps, but all of those questions revolved around who exactly would comprise the third pairing.  Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer were to be the top four and give the Rangers the luxury of having two shutdown pairings to give the opposition nightmares. 

However things have not gone according to plan during training camp with Michael Sauer first having knee tendinitis issues and Monday night injuring his shoulder.  The hope is that the shoulder will only cost Sauer a week and that he can return to preseason action in advance of the regular season opener.  For Marc Staal the issues have revolved around linger headaches caused from a concussion he suffered on February 22 against Carolina.  Staal is said to be improving and the team is hopeful he will fly to Sweden at the end of this week to continue his preparation to be in the lineup Oct. 7. 

The best case scenario is that both Staal and Sauer will be there against the Los Angeles Kings, but what if one or both aren’t ready to play?  Having at minimum Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh as top defenders is still tremendous, but that issues come from others that have to be elevated in the lineup to fill the holes.  Steve Eminger and Michael Del Zotto right now appear to be the third pair if all are healthy, but one or both would have to slide into the a top four spot to make up for whomever is missing. 

As I wrote yesterday, Tim Erixon does not appear ready for the NHL just yet, which leaves Brendan Bell, Stu Bickel, Blake Parlett and Dylan McIlrath as options to open the year.  Bell has been solid in his two appearances, while Bickel would bring some toughness.  Parlett has not played in any preseason games as he continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered in Traverse City, so it is tough to gauge how effective he could be.  That brings me to Dylan McIlrath.

Coach John Tortorella said the other day that McIlrath is not ready for the NHL, but bringing him to Europe gives them a chance to keep teaching him.  Tortorella is right that the experience is great for McIlrath is being around not only the coaching staff, but learning how to be a professional from the other defenders on the team.  Where I will differ with the impression from Tortorella that this is basically a take the trip before heading back to Juniors trip is that Dylan showed more, at least in his preseason game, than the other candidates did in their outings.

Let me be clear that I am not arguing McIlrath is ready or that he should make the team full time this season.  What I am saying is that if Staal and/or Sauer are unable to go when the Rangers open the season on Oct 7 the organization should not close the door on the idea of letting Dylan play some of his allotted games before sending him back to the WHL.  McIlrath taking a spot that would otherwise be held by Bell or Bickel is certainly not in any way detrimental to the team.  McIlrath has shown tremendous improvement in his skating, gap control and shooting over last year and other than possibly Tim Erixon has the most upside of any of the defensive options. 

Obviously if McIlrath falters, Erixon rises up to claim the spot or Sauer and Staal are both healthy we are having a different conversation in a week.  There is no doubt that McIlrath has more to learn to be NHL ready full-time, but if he gets more opportunities during the European preseason games and shows similar to how he did against New Jersey there is no reason to deny him outright as an option. Let the 19-year-old get a taste of what the NHL is like and make him even hungrier to continue his course of significant improvement from where he was a year ago.

NHL Fails To Punish Wayne Simmonds For Homophobic Slur

While the National Hockey League has put Brendan Shanahan in charge of discipline for incidents that take place on-ice, Colin Campbell is still the man in charge of judging discipline for things like Wayne Simmonds homophobic slur directed at Sean Avery Monday night.  Following the game Simmonds did not deny saying what Avery alleged, but today when meeting with the league he did deny it.  Today the league decided that there was no conclusive evidence that to support the allegations, despite video to the contrary, thus the league doled out no punishment.

Here via Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants is the statement from Campbell…

 “All Players, Coaches and Officials in the National Hockey League deserve the respect of their peers, and have the absolute right to function in a work environment that is free from racially or sexually-based innuendo or derision. This is the National Hockey League’s policy and it will remain so going forward."

“It also is important to emphasize that the National Hockey League holds, and will continue to hold, our Players to higher standards with respect to their conduct both on and off the ice. While we recognize that the emotion involved in certain on-ice confrontations may lead to the use of highly charged and sometimes offensive language and commentary, certain lines cannot be crossed. Specifically, we have for many years emphasized to our Clubs and Players that commentary directed at the race or ethnicity of other participants in the game (or even non-participants), or that is otherwise socially or morally inappropriate or potentially hurtful—including as it may relate to sexual orientation—is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“With that as background, we have looked into the allegations relating to the possible use of a homophobic slur by a Flyers player in the Rangers/Flyers preseason game last night in Philadelphia. Since there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice, we have been unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom. Specifically, Flyers Player Wayne Simmonds has expressly denied using the homophobic slur he is alleged to have said. Additionally, none of the on-ice officials close to the altercation in question heard any inappropriate slurs uttered by either of the primary antagonists. In light of this, we are unable at this time to take any disciplinary action with respect to last night’s events. To the extent we become aware of additional information conclusively establishing that an inappropriate slur was invoked, we are reserving the option to revisit the matter.”

Tortorella Scolds Rangers In Practice As Team Seems To Be Lacking Focus

Deciding how much stock to put in preseason games is difficult because as everyone knows they have no meaning in the standings, and they are as much for evaluating talent as preparing for the season, but the way the New York Rangers have performed in their three outings thus far is a little concerning.  In all fairness, the Rangers have played mainly minor leaguers/prospects in two of the games, though the more veteran squad was not overwhelming in their outing at New Jersey last Friday.

The biggest concern from the games thus far has to be the number of lazy stick penalties they have been taking.  Instead of doing the work necessary to get in proper position to make sound plays they have been relying on their sticks to bail them out of trouble and getting caught committing hooking or tripping penalties.  Apparently the frustration with this kind of work from the team spread to coach John Tortorella today in practice based on reports from Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Torts is in the process of scolding his team, telling them to start concentrating on everything they do. He's not a happy guy right now.

Tortorella's message sending continued at end of practice. He gave a long, impassioned speech about needing to be better and it starts here.

It is certainly true that the results of preseason games are not important because of the lack of points in the standings, but the way a team plays and prepares absolutely has importance when getting ready for the regular season.  The Rangers have been sloppy in all three games thus far and while the lack of their regular roster accounts for some of that it cannot be seen as a given that they will just turn it on when the games count.  The work must be put in every day whether it counts for something in the standing or not and hopefully today’s message from Tortorella got them heading in that direction.

Tim Erixon Showing He Is Not Quite Ready For NHL Level

When the New York Rangers acquired defenseman Tim Erixon this summer the talked revolved around how NHL ready he was right now.  With that talk the expectation level for his performance was to make the team out of camp.  During Traverse City earlier this month, Erixon not only lived up to, but exceeded the hype.  Erixon was clearly the Rangers best player and Mike Morreale at NHL.com thought he might have been the best player in the whole tournament.  That performance only increased the hype and expectations for the 20-year old defender coming into training camp/preseason play.

While the hype continues for Erixon outside the organization with numerous publications touting him as a potential Calder Trophy nominee, Erixon’s play on the ice during preseason likely has him on the outside looking in when the Rangers open the season Oct. 7.  The poised, confident player that dominated portions of games in Traverse City is gone, while what is left is a young player who is tentative and leaves the impression that game is just too fast at this stage.  The differential in the performances is staggering and thus far in three games Erixon has shown nothing close to what would be necessary to consider him making the team.

Offensively Erixon is rushing himself when he has the puck and his decision making on things like when to carry the puck, where to pass are not nearly crisp enough.  He has seemingly fallen into the trap of trying to make the perfect play instead of playing the simple style he was at Traverse.  Playing a smart, simple game does not mean diluted the natural talent.  In fact, playing that way has the ability to have the opposite effect because it allows the game to slow down a little bit and use the tremendous vision and skill Erixon possesses to carve up defenses.

Defensively is where Erixon is struggling most during the preseason as the speed and strength of some of the opposition is leaving him overmatched.  On numerous occasions in the three games Erixon has been caught leaning to far forward on his skates and had opposing players go around him like he was not even there.  His footwork has not been good and it has led to him taking four minor penalties in the last two games.

This is not to bash on Tim Erixon or say that the hype was not warranted because you can see he is an elite talent and has the makings of an excellent NHL defender.  However, based on his performances thus far in preseason it does not appear Erixon is ready for that step right now.  Erixon appears destined for Hartford, which is not a bad thing as Ryan McDonagh showed last season.  Time in Hartford would allow Erixon to play major minutes in all situations while working on his game with J.J. Daigneault and Wade Redden so that he can be better prepared when he is called upon.  Letting him develop at his own pace is better than throwing him in there to sink or swim and messing with his confidence if he ends up showing he isn’t ready.

Rangers Flyers Fallout: Sauer Out A Week; Thuresson, Deveaux Cut; Mitchell Amongst Standouts

The New York Rangers finished the North American portion of their preseason with a 5-3 loss in Philadelphia.  The game was sloppy and contentious game with few highlights for the Rangers, so let us just get to the news and reviews.

Michael Sauer, who left the game after slamming his right shoulder into the boards, has a sprained shoulder, which is expected to sideline him for a week.

The two cuts were Andreas Thuresson and Andre Deveaux as expected.  Thuresson was solid in the game and scored a goal for the Rangers while Deveaux did not do a whole lot other than get into another altercation.

In case you missed it, Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds appears to use a homophobic slur directed at Sean Avery.

Speaking of Avery, he had a very strong start to the game with his work leading to the first goal and baiting Simmonds into a penalty, but then Avery spoiled some of that taking a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct that led to a Flyers power play goal.

John Mitchell, Brian Boyle and Mats Zuccarello were the best Rangers tonight.  Mitchell scored a goal and rang another shot off the post.  Boyle deflected a Dan Girardi point shot in for a power play goal and was back to last year’s form after a subpar performance on Friday.  Zuccarello continued his strong camp with a solid effort and made himself noticeable out there.

Hagelin and Bourque had a few moments, but Mitchell right now appears to be the biggest threat to make the team of those not in the top 12. 

Tim Erixon didn’t impress again tonight and is slowly having his chance slip away other than the injury status of Staal and Sauer. 

Del Zotto had another up and down game as he started very strong, but then struggled when he was put against better competition later in the game.  Pairing him with Erixon was an awful move as the pair struggled together and exposed both of their weaknesses.  With Erixon failing to raise his level it might come down to Del Zotto fighting with Brendan Bell.

Video: Wayne Simmonds Uses Homophobic Slur At Sean Avery

Just a few days ago Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds was the victim of racial taunting when a fan threw a banana at the African American forward as he took his shootout attempt.  One would think having just gone through that he would know better, but tonight during the first period against the New York Rangers Simmonds clearly appears to use a homophobic slur towards Sean Avery.

Video via @TwoLinePass

Video: Glen Sather Guarantees Rangers Victory In Winter Classic, Stanley Cup

The National Hockey League finally officially announced this afternoon, that the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers will face off in the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizen's Bank Park on January 2 at 1:00 p.m.  The announcement of the game or the continuing of the relationship with HBO’s 24/7 were not surprises. 

The cordial nature of the festivities was too much to be believable given the rivalry between the two cities and their sports franchises.  To spice things up Rangers GM Glen Sather threw some fuel on the fire to get under the skin of the Philadelphia Flyers' fans who were in attendance.  He certainly managed to do that and get a rise out of Flyers owner Ed Snider along the way when he guaranteed  not only a Rangers win in the game, but that the Rangers would have the Stanley Cup and Yankees the World Series title. 

“"We are going to come to Philadelphia and we are going to win."

"At the end of the year, we are going to be carrying the Cup. Just like the Yankees are going to win the World Series."

That Glen Sather could have that kind of personality is not unknown, but he has hidden it during his time in New York.  Maybe Sather is going to bring some of it back this year because he finally has confidence that the product on the ice can back up the talk he is putting out there.  Sather has laid out the expectations for the hockey club and now it is up to the Rangers team to have his back.

Staal Flying To Europe This Week; Wolski Out With Groin Issue, Hagelin In

Per Andrew Gross, Rangers GM Glen Sather said this afternoon that Marc Staal is scheduled to fly to Europe to meet the team on Thursday or Friday of this week.  That is great news for those who were worried about him not taking the flight with the team today.  Sather added that Staal is in excellent shape and that he is confident he will be ready when the season starts. 

Even more interesting than that is Sather saying that the problem with Staal might not be a concussion at all and could be something more along the lines of migraines or a slipped disc.  While migraines or a slipped disc are certainly not good issues to have, the treatment for them is more understood.   That will something interesting to follow over the next few days and see what the organization has to say on that.

In other injury news, Wojtek Wolski is out tonight with a slight groin pull and Carl Hagelin will take his place. This is yet another chance for Hagelin to make an impression in hopes of making the lineup.  Hagelin has not been very impactful in the first two games, but he has shown some of the work down low, and plays away from the puck along with his noted speed.  Tonight he will be in the lineup with Zuccarello, Avery, Christensen, Weise and Ryan Bourque who have to be considered the competition for the final couple forward spots so it is time to step it up.