Video: Vancouver Canucks Pay Tribute To Rick Rypien

The Vancouver Canucks paid tribute to Rick Rypien before tonight's game against the New York Rangers.  The tribute to the Canuck who lost his battle with depression during the off-season was a beautiful one and all involved should be honored.

Penguins' Kris Letang Suspended Two Games For Boarding Alex Burmistrov

Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's ruler on player discipline, has handed out his latest suspension, this time it was for two games to Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Letang was called for a two-minute minor penalty during the third period of Monday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets when he rode Alexander Burmistrov into the boards in the offensive zone.

Shanahan stressed in his explanation that Letang clearly acted as if he knew Burmistrov would get the puck first, making this not a race for the puck but a defensive play by Letang.  Also factoring into the decision were the "predictable" path that Burmistrov took to the puck making it Letang's responsibility to let up on the check and the fact that Letang was fined for a similar hit in April 2011.

The two game suspension is somewhat surprising given that there was no injury on the play and that Letang has never been previously suspended.  A fine or a one-game suspension likely would have been sufficient, but it appears the fact that Letang was recently fined had a large impact on both the decision to suspend and the length of punishment given.

Rangers Stressing Need For Quick Start Against Emotional Canucks

The New York Rangers head into Vancouver tonight in search of their first win on the season and facing a Canucks team that is getting reinforcements on the ice and emotion from the pre-game ceremonies.  The return of Kesler to the lineup adds a completely different dimension to the Canucks lineup as it is no longer a one line team, but adds to the team defensively and their edge as well.  The pre-game ceremonies to honor the late Rick Rypien will only add to the energy in the building.  According to Marian Gaborik and Jeff Woywitka via Blueshirts United the Rangers are well aware of how critical the start of the game will be tonight.

Gaborik:

The start is going to be huge, they always come out strong in this building. So we need to bang some bodies, be physical, and play a quick game. We need to try and play five-on-five and play in their end, shoot as much as we can, and hopefully play with a lead. We need to get our first win.

Before the Islanders game it was Christensen talking about the sense of urgency and how the rivalry must fire up every player on the team and now we have Gaborik talking about banging bodies.  Like Christensen the other day, Gaborik is exactly right that the Rangers need to do those things, but it is still weird having it come from his mouth.  The Rangers do need to get back to playing their style and establishing the game in Vancouver’s end early and often.

Woywitka:

We're going to make sure we are respectful and pay our respects to a guy who was a good teammate here in Vancouver and whose loss was a tough one in the hockey world, but once the whistle blows and it's time to get going, we know that crowd will be energized and we're going to have to make sure we match their intensity. The first ten minutes or so we know they will be charged up, so we will have to match that, weather the storm, and then get rolling.

Vancouver will certainly have energy, but I expect that the Rangers will have a tinge of desperation to get off to a fast start as they search for their first win.  The best way to “weather the storm” of emotion that will be in the building is to take the play to the Canucks, get an early lead and take the crowd out of it.

Torts Looks To Punishment To End Rangers Penalty Problems

The New York Rangers have been in the penalty box far too often in their first three games this season.  The team has been shorthanded 19 different times thus far and it has cost the Rangers two games as the Los Angeles Kings scored the game-winner in OT while on the power play and the Islanders had two goals with the man advantage on Saturday.

According to Pat Leaonard of the Daily News, coach John Tortorella has turned to punishment to attempt to curb the parade to the penalty box.

When Rangers defenseman Jeff Woywitka tripped up a forward in practice Monday, John Tortorella made all of his players drop and do 10 push-ups on the ice at Rogers Arena.

"No penalties here," Tortorella barked.

There is no way to tell if this will work at all, but Tortorella is certainly backing up his disgust over the penalty situation from Saturday night's post-game talk.  This does feel a little gimmicky as it is a sort of punishment that would be better served with guys losing ice time instead.  The only part that appeals is the team aspect of the punishment so you get peer accountability as well.

The Rangers will certainly need to show more discipline tonight as the Canucks offense thrives on the power play having converted five power play goals in their 21 chances this year.  That power play only gets more lethal with the return of Ryan Kesler tonight.  The Rangers should certainly hope the message got through and there are no need for pushups following tonight's game.

Sauer Not Playing Tomorrow, Wolski Unlikely

The good news on Michael Sauer is that he was back on the ice for practice for the first time since returning from Europe.  The bad news is that Sauer will not be able to play tomorrow against the Canucks. Sauer explained the approach that they are taking per Blueshirts United:

"We're taking it in steps, both on ice and off ice," Sauer explained. "They want me out there making passes and stuff, but not ripping it hard yet. Just being out there handling the puck and being with the boys is great in of itself. I just need to get (the shoulder) strong, get it healthy."

Forward Wojtek Wolski (groin) was also on the ice, but it doesn't appear that he will play tomorrow either as he is talking about how he has not had enough practice time.

Have Rangers Lost Their Toughness?

A large part of the New York Rangers identity last season was being a hard/tough team to play against.  The reason for that emphasis was because the Rangers knew that on many nights they would be the inferior team in terms of pure talent, but effort and hard work would carry them through in many situations.  Chris Botta at Slap Shot wonders what has happened to that identity of toughness early this year.

Down: Rangers’ Toughness – So maybe Sean Avery has lost enough of his edge for the pesky wing to no longer merit a job as one of the Rangers’ top 13 forwards. But something is amiss with the Blueshirts. It’s one thing to be winless in three games to start the season; it’s unacceptable to be an easy team to play against. The Rangers need to upgrade their toughness quotient or opponents will continue to skate into their end without a care in the world. Calling up Kris Newbury and demoting Mats Zuccarello to the minors, as Glen Sather did after the loss on Long Island, is not enough.

If Botta is referring directly to the need for more enforcer/goon types, then I am going to disagree with that as the issue here.  The Rangers do have been an easy team to play against to start the season and it is not because of a lack of enforcer type presence as Prust and Rupp can be that in terms of fighting.  The problem has been their inability to use their strength on the forecheck to punish teams and wear them down.  The only game they did this with any real consistency was against the Kings and you could see the impact as the game wore on.  Part of the problem in establishing the forecheck has been the constant penalties which disrupt any rhythm and momentum that could be built at even strength. 

The other part is that the Rangers seem trapped between wanted to exploit the abilities of skilled players like Gaborik and Richards while trying to remain as they were last season and they have failed to find that balance.  That part of the problem should be alleviated to some extent with Stepan showing early returns on the top line and allowing Dubinsky to go back to playing with Anisimov and Callahan while Fedotenko returns to Boyle and Prust.  Those two lines were the ones that were responsible for forming the Rangers toughness identity last season as they hit all that moved and used the forechecking style to create their offense.  Getting back to a dirty work type game is exactly what the Rangers need to do for their own offense and to be tougher to play against.

Taking A Step Back From The Ledge After Rangers Slow Start

At 0-1-2 with three subpar performances under their belt it is ok to be upset with the New York Rangers and how they have started the 2010-11 season.  However, the level at which some are sounding off and looking for a lifeboat is a little out there.  The bad news is that they have had three bad outings with way too many penalties, not enough offensive chances, have failed to establish a consistent forecheck in any game, the power play still doesn’t generate enough of a threat.  

All of those things are perfectly legitimate criticisms, but even with all of those things against two very good Western Conference teams they managed to get a point out of it and against an improving Islanders team they were in the game with a shot to win in the third period.   That for me is actually a positive because it is tough to imagine that they will continue to play this poorly for the next 79 games, thus the results should improve.  That brings me to the positive things out of the first three games that seem to get ignored because the final score is all that matters for some.

Henrik Lundqvist looks locked in as he has surrendered seven goals in three games while stopping 84 shots against.  His goals against is at 2.23 and save percentage is .923 which is almost exactly where his numbers ended last season (2.28 GAA, .923 SV%).  

Derek Stepan showed he can be the answer to the questions surrounding the top line left winger as he looked like he had been playing with Gaborik and Richards since training camp opened.  Gaborik and Richards have shown excellent early chemistry with one another as Gaborik is skating like he did during the 2009-10 season and Richards passes allow him to take advantage of that burst.  Obviously the line will have to be more impactful throughout games than they have been in the first three, but the seeds are there for a special line that can carry an offense.

The play of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh has been phenomenal and while there have been breakdowns from other defenders, the way the defense has played without Staal at all and no Sauer against the Islanders should be somewhat encouraging.  Losing two of the top four defenders is something that would cripple most teams, but the Rangers have battled through reasonably well in the early going.

It is easy to go nuts over the 0-1-2 record and the overall uninspiring performances of the team thus far, but just like 3-0-0 doesn’t mean you are going to be having a parade in June, 0-1-2 does not mean you will miss the playoffs and the world is over.  There are 79 games to go in the season, so let us all take a step back, look at what is and what is not working and realize there are 2 points to be had in the next game.

Video: Brian Boyle Sings ABBA's Dancing Queen

Roster News: Rangers Recall Brendan Bell

According to the AHL transactions page the New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Brendan Bell from the Connecticut Whale.  There was no corresponding move of a defender being sent down so the Rangers are currently carrying 8 defenders on the roster.  This move is likely because of Sauer's injury status and the fact the team is going to Western Canada where it is harder to get a call-up to join the team.  Hopefully it is just precautionary and Sauer will be back in the lineup very shortly as he was clearly missed last night, especially on the penalty kill.

Newbury For Zuccarello Swap About Money And Best Fit For Team Roles

Last night the New York Rangers made a roster swap by sending Mats Zuccarello down to the Connecticut Whale and recalling Kris Newbury to take his spot on the active roster.  There are a lot of facets to the move, but a couple of the main ones are money and development.  Andrew Gross at Rangers Rants astutely pointed out last night the significant difference in cap hit between Mats Zuccarello ($1.75 million) Kris Newbury ($512,500) as it will save the Rangers significantly.  Gross goes even further asking the following…

The question now, is it a prelude to a move to acquire a defenseman?

Gross could be onto something in the long-term plans, but the move of Zuccarello for Newbury right now is about more than just the money.  Mats Zuccarello is an offensive player who has to play in that sort of role or he is useless at the NHL level.  With Stepan playing on the top line and the Boyle line being used as the third line, Zuccarello is going to be relegated to a fourth line role he is completely unsuited for.  Sending him down to the Whale will allow him to play an upper line role in a more offensive position while continuing to work on his game in case the Rangers need him to fill in for a top 6-9 forward being hurt.

Newbury on the other hand is scorching to start the year with four goals and four assists for the Whale. Beyond his hot start Newbury is perfectly suited and used to playing a fourth line role in the NHL.  He is good on faceoffs, fits into the forechecking system and brings energy during his shifts.  The only issue with Newbury could be that he plays with so much energy out there that he can get himself into trouble taking an unnecessary penalty, which the Rangers certainly don’t need right now.

The move of Newbury for Zuccarello is not a sexy one for the fans, but it is the best use of both players talents within the organization while also saving the team money if they do want to make a move for a higher salary player down the line.