Blue Notes

Captain Clutch's biggest goal of the season nails the two points....Rangers have 93 with three to play.... Couldn't happen without Lundqvist, who excelled when Rangers looked gassed in the third.
Honorable Mention: Rozsival played a workhorse 27 minutes
Your thoughts?

Good start 6-0 in shots, (they'll need more than 35, I think, to create enough rebounds to shake Fleury), a little more physical, no penalties yet.

Avery may have gotten away lucky: Malone is just the type of bruising forward who teams---and I can only assume the Rangers included---wouldn't mind having...

Pens almost score on their one solid chance....and now a weak call on Malkin, at least without seeing a replay yet. How long has it been since the Rangers scored shorthanded?

With the Brampton Battalion out of the OHL playoffs, defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti
has been assigned to Hartford. Sanguinetti, the No. 21 overall draft pick in 2006, had three assists in five games with the Wolf Pack late last season.

No Atlantic Division title and sweaty palms all around.

Boston, Philly, Rangers at 91, Rangers with game in hand.

Essentially, that's tomorrow at MSG.

Unless they play hell-bent for leather tomorrow, the Rangers will need to sweep the Isles (never easy). Two points tomorrow and two Thursday in Nassau would ease the pressure. Then it's play for post-season position versus the Isles at the Garden and Devs in NJ. .

Can't count the number of times this season that coach Tom Renney and the players (and myself in this space) predicted that the season would come down to the final week. I just didn't imagine it would be this tight.

If Devs, with 93 points, can generate any scoring, they have the best shot to finish in fourth, playing the Isles, Boston. Philly and the Rangers. Two home, two road.

Philly has to play Jersey once and Pittsburgh twice; very tough, although if Pens have clinched first place by next Sunday when they close the season with the Flyers, guys might rest.....

Boston's banged up and faces Devs, Sens and then the Sabres, who likely will have been eliminated.

Washington has three at home against Carolina, Florida and Tampa. Looks like four points in there, maybe five.

More tomorrow...

10 shots for the Pens. Shanahan has six for the Rangers, who will have to manufacture a goal for a chance at a point.

The Rangers have to keep away from the Pittsburgh power play, but are getting called for penalties, several questionable, too often (6-4).

Marc-Andre Fleury had a good stretch midway through the period, when the Rangers had an 8-1 shot advantage.

Malkin was inadvertently cut in the face with 6:45 left...

This may be the quietest sold-out crowd of the second half of the season....

Colton Orr sustained a foot injury on a shot a few games ago and won't play this afternoon, coach Tom Renney said.

Jason Strudwick and Petr Prucha are taking warmups and one will play on the fourth line with Hollweg and Sjostrom.

Blair Betts, the center on that fourth line who underwent foot surgery, is going to skate tomorrow, but probably won't play for anoher few days at least, perhaps in the regular-season finale a week from today in New Jersey.

More coming in awhile...

Thanks to Staple for streetwalking over to practice for me today.
Slightly confused about all the fuss.
I'm sure the $500 was a consulting fee for ways to fix the power play.
Ah well, off to the airport.
More from Pittsburgh tonight...

Staple here, while Zip heads to sunny Pittsburgh...

And the hot topic this morning was Sean Avery's front-page appearance in one of those other papers, his name and cell-phone number having been listed in madam Kristin Davis' electronic black book.

Avery didn't deny the number was his, but chuckled about the possibility that he would be a regular client. "I certainly have a lot of enemies," he said, noting he's also had that cell-phone number for a while. "I do know that if I was to venture into one of those establishments, I wouldn't use my real name. I think that would be stating the obvious. We've been laughing hysterically over it all morning."

No one else asked about it had much to say, not even Jagr, who did joke that it must have been the first time hockey has been on the front page of a city paper ever (the '94 Cup run and a few of the Isles Cups were before his time).

Scott Gomez practiced fully and came through OK, so he seems to be a go for tomorrow's NBC game with the Pens. The lines: Straka-Dubinsky-Jagr, Avery-Gomez-Shanahan, Dawes-Drury-Callahan, Sjostrom-Hollweg-Prucha/Orr... Malik skated with Strudwick again, while Mara and Rozsival were paired up.

Back to you, Zip.

Pens GM Ray Shero was on a conference call earlier today and I asked him this, fully expecting him to invoke the "tampering" amendment, which he did, but what the heck. His complete answer is worth posting...

Yours truly: "You'll see Jaromir Jagr over the weekend twice; he had some terrific seasons with the Penguins and will be a free agent. There's a school of thought that he has a lot left in the tank and that maybe his numbers would improve with a more offensive-minded team than the Rangers. Do you agree with that, and would you consider pursuing him in the summer? Does that intrigue you at all?

Shero: "Obviously any guy that's under contract, you can't speculate on or talk about, but I'm not sure about his numbers and so forth. He's second in scoring on their team, and he's a huge part of their hockey club and they have a dynamic team and he's a big part of it. And every time we do play him, he has something to say in terms of how the game is played or dictated...

"He's difficult for any team to shut down and 63 points is still a good season. And they are a well-balanced team and he makes them a bit more dangerous team, and I think he's ---- you know, in terms of their style, he suits them just fine because they are having a terrific year."

*****
There was a Blair Betts sighting on Thursday, but he ducked into the trainer's room (off-limits) before I could grab him. He was wearing flip-flops, with a wrap around the right foot, and walking OK. I'll find out more tomorrow about his status for the last couple games of the year or the first round of the playoffs at the skate.

****
Leading goal scorers against the Pens this season? Gomez, Rozsival, Avery, three apiece; Straka two, Jagr and several others, one each....Marian Hossa was injured somehow against Isles, and Shero wasn't certain of his availability for practice tomorrow...

****
During last night's game, I co-wrote a story for the news section of the paper about the Garden's announcement to revive renovation plans for the arena that began in 2004, but were postponed to determine whether a new Garden would be built as part of a massive project involving Penn Station at the federal post office building across Eighth Avenue.

Well, that $14-billion project has been stalled and delayed so long that the exasperated Garden execs pulled the chute and this Garden, which opened in 1968, will be refurbished with new suites, sightlines, wide concourses, etc. and the Rangers and Knix and concerts will stay in the same location.

Some pols are saying they're bluffing. I don't believe it. Detailed renderings--- from the Toronto architects who designed Air Canada Center--- for the undertaking, which may cost Cablevision, MSG's parent, close to $500 million, will be unveiled next Tuesday or Thursday, I'm told.

****
Looking forward to a mellow Friday evening at home before tomorrow's flight to the Burgh.
Between writing a Sunday column and catching some of Flyers-Devs, I'll have an eye on Villanova (where my daughter is matriculatin') in the Sweet 16.
Don't have high hopes against Kansas, but when it comes to coaches, ya gotta admire Jay Wright.

The Devils don't usually blow third period leads. Just don't
.
They trap, they check, and Martin Brodeur stands on his head.

But the Rangers overcame all that last night.

Nigel Dawes ended up on his back in the net, along with Brodeur and the puck, after being pulled down by Travis Zajac with 3:07 left in the third period last night for an improbable game-winner that Dawes described as the "craziest goal" of his career.

None of it would have been possible without two assists from Scott Gomez, who played after resting his bruised ribs on Tuesday.

Or a season-high three assists from Chris Drury.

Or two power play goals from the beleaguered 1-for-30 unit---including a redeemer from D Christian Backman, whose turnover to Zach Parise while backskating in his own zone in the second period handed the Devils a 2-1 lead.

Brendan Shanahan's PP goal in the first period gave him 23 goals for the season, tied with Drury for the team lead in goals and PP goals (11).

The Rangers are in sixth place, three points ahead of Boston and Philly, tied in points with 91, but behind in wins to the fifth-place Devils, and one point behind fourth-place Ottawa with a game in hand. They cannot clinch a playoff spot on Sunday in Pittsburgh, because ninth-place Washington won.

"We want to win in New York," said Gomez. "That's why me and Dru wanted to come here and feel a part of it."

Some assorted stats:

Lundqvist has an 0.98 GAA against Jersye this season....Dawes had seven hits, Ryan Callahan seven.

Rangers are off tomorrow, but I'll have more on this and the playoff hunt. Stop by....

No. 19 skated in the warmups, seems unhindered.

I'd guess he's in....

No word yet on who'll take a seat

If Scott Gomez plays against his former team tonight, how would the lineup shake out?

One plan:

Avery-Dubinsky-Jagr
Dawes-Gomez-Shanahan
Straka-Drury-Callahan
Sjostrom-Hollweg-Prucha

In this scenario, Colton Orr would be a healthy scratch.
If his value is as a deterrent to say, Clarkson and Brookbank, well, that's a risk, but the Rangers could survive that. Fourth line hasn't received much ice time recently, and I'm not really sure that in a game of this magnitude, the Devs will be all that chippy.

For the Rangers, the real need is goals against Martin Brodeur and anybody else in the next few games. Three lines would be re-united and the fourth has a shot at scoring.

Thoughts?

There's a short-term element today, and a more developments on a long-term issue...

Scott Gomez (ribs) practiced with the team in the optional skate, and the center reported that he felt better than yesterday and will skate in the warmups before the Devils' game tonight. Coach Tom Renney said he will have two lineups prepared, one with Gomez and one without.

Michal Rozsival skated hard and is ready to play; Marek Malik will sit.

The longer-term issue, as it's been for several months, is where Jaromir Jagr will play next season. Russian news reports say that Omsk general manager Anatoly Bardin is coming to New York to discuss a possible arrangement with the free-agent right wing to return to play there next season.

“I said a long time ago I have to finish the season. Whatever happens after that, I don’t know,” Jagr said after practice. “We’ve got a long ways to go. I know you don’t see me in some games, but I’m still here.”

Jagr said with a laugh that he and Bardin were "going to go to dinner and all that stuff….I’m just kidding. I don’t have any plans." But Jagr admitted that he had heard "something" about the visit.

GM Glen Sather has said he'd like to sign Jagr to another deal, so this could be leverage on Jagr's side.

Of course, Jagr might not want to continue to play here, where there are three new players at the power core of the franchise---Lundqvist, Gomez and Drury, and with the probability that two and possibly three of his countrymen (Straka, Malik and Rozsival) won't be around. He almost assuredly would have more points this season in a more offensive-minded system, so the appeal of say, Detroit or Pittsburgh, might be there.

Jagr's not discussing anything right now, although he has said that he's already made a decision, but doesn't want to disrupt team chemistry.

Things could change of course, but if Jagr feels he would be happier and more productive elsewhere next season---including in Europe---he just might go. Right now, I think that's the way he's leaning.

According to Newsday's Arthur Staple, who monitored practice this AM, Scott Gomez skated with assistant coach Perry Pearn for about 25 minutes after the team. Mostly end-to-end sprints, very little shooting.

Gomez, whose riibs are sore, said it was a "good start." Coach Tom Renney came out to watch briefly. He called Gomez "doubtful" earlier. Without contact, Gomez couldn't be sure if he's ready for tomorrow. Seems unlikely.

D Michal Roszival (groin). who rested last night, skated and said he was ready to return, which will help against the Devs tomorrah. Without Gomez and Rozsival, 103 points are missing from the lineup.

Arthur asked Renney what he thought of Paul Mara's play and he said he looked good, with a bit of rust. Likes the idea of having Mara to shoot on the PP, which obviously needs help.
Mara practiced with Dan Girardi on one PP unit; Rozsival was with Christian Backman on the points on the other. So, it appears Marek Malik will grab a seat.

Your thoughts?

For all the pluses Sean Avery has brought to the Rangers, he was a minus tonight.

And to his credit, he stood up in the dressing room and took the blame.

Avery was out of position on Dan Briere's tying goal and made a knucklehead pass to the stick of Jason Smith after circling the Flyers net, an unforced turnover that ended with Mike Richards' winner at 2:16 of the extra session.

Maybe Avery, playing center in the absence of Gomez and Betts, shouldn't be out there on 4-on-4s.

You can also blame the loss of this point to suprise!---the power-less play---0-for-4.
Time to try Prucha and Callahan there?

The Devs of course, have scored just three goals in four games,

Anybody think Thursday's game at MSG against New Jersey---in which the Rangers, with a win in regulation, could tie the Devs for fifth---will be a barnburner?

D Michal Rozsival has a leg issue, did not skate and will be replaced by Paul Mara alongside Marek Malik tonight. It will be Mara's first game since a check by Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta broke a facial bone on Feb. 23.

The injury to Rozsival, who has played in all but one game this season, doesn't appear to be too serious; although he left practice early on Monday, coach Tom Renney, describing the tweak as an upper leg strain, termed him day-to-day, choosing to rest him now rather than later.

As expected, Petr Prucha, who scored against Philadelphia on Nov. 15, also will be in the lineup; Scott Gomez, who reported he is feeling better and is hoping to play Thursday against the Devils, is out. Henrik Lundqvist will be in the net.

Prucha, a healthy scratch for the last 10 games, doesn't appear to figure into Renney's power play plans. The units this monring were Martin Straka, Jaromir Jagr, and Brandon Dubinsky, along with Mara and Christian Backman. Brendan Shanahan, Chris Drury, Sean Avery, Dan Girardi and Fedor Tyutin were the other combo.

Strange. Maybe that'll change during the game.

More from the Garden later...

Don't know what jarred the well of memory about an uncle's response to a summer read in my often mis-spent youth---maybe I heard something about Venus and Aphrodite on some rocker on the radio today---but I flashed back and oh, well....

Here's the weekly Rangers Insider, which looks at some, but not all, potential playoff matchups. Ya think I got all day?

I'll file a dispatch from the morning skate tomorrow, but I don't imagine it will be too far afield from what Newsday's Arthur Staple covered today. You can read that here as well...Have a lovely evening as we march toward spring...

By the way, if you missed my Sunday NHL Insider, here it is.

Scott Gomez, whose ribs are still sore, didn't skate, won't play tomorrow and probably should rest Thursday against Devils. Smart. Wait until he's closer to 100 percent. Doesn't appear as if D Paul Mara will return either...

That means RW Petr Prucha, as we reported on Saturday, will be in for the first time in 16 games, skating with Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan, the same line as on that day. Marty Straka moves up to left wing with Jaromir Jagr and C Brandon Dubinsky; Sean Avery centers Nigel Dawes and Brendan Shanahan and Ryan Hollweg centers Colton Orr and Fred Sjostrom.

Minus Blair Betts (foot), I'm not crazy about Hollweg or Avery as centers; believe they are more effective on the wing.

Why not C Greg Moore, who had a goal and three assists in two games for Hartford over the weekend, you may ask? The coach wants to reward players who have hung in all season, and in critical games, it does probably make sense to lean on NHL experience.

Rangers-Devs game to close regular season on April 6 won't be on NBC that afternoon; they've used up allotment of Rangers games (four)....

A relieved Scott Gomez and the Rangers received some welcome news this morning: The Rangers' leading scorer feels much better.

Gomez hit a rut on the ice in the first period and crashed into the boards in Philadelphia, a play that sidelined him for the 4-3 overtime loss.

"If I can play, I'm gonna play," said Gomez, who said his upper body (ribs) is bruised, but not severely damaged. Asked how it looks, Gomez said playfully: "It's like a bluish, brownish color with a little mixture of purple....It's day to day, I got some good news so we'll see how I feel tomorrow."

After team dcctors examined him this morning, Gomez said, "maybe the description (Friday) was a little off...no broken bones"

More from the skate later...

For the second game in a row, the Rangers staged a third-period comeback.

This time, against a desperate Flyers team, they whipped in three goals, by Marek Malik, Nigel Dawes and then Jaromir Jagr's first in five games to come back from 2-0 and 3-2 with less than two minutes in regulation, but fell short in the shootout as Steve Valiquette, who made 27 saves in regulation, couldn't stop backhands by Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

Still, they gained a tough point and are four ahead of the Flyers, five ahead of the eighth-place Bruins and six ahead of ninth-place Washington with seven games to play.

But for a team that had had four durable centers all season, they are down two. Blair Betts is gone for two to three weeks after foot surgery and it's unclear how long Scott Gomez (apparent left shoulder, ribs or neck injury) will be out.

Gomez did speak to reporters after the game, albeit under the influence of pain killers, and wouldn't detail his upper-body injury and declined to estimate when he could return. He will be examined by team doctors today in New York.

"We weren't a particularly tidy team tonight," said coach Tom Renney. "It's a valuable point, every point is. We had to overcome some personnel issues."

....for Petr Prucha, Ryan Callahan and maybe Fredrik Sjostrom.

Rangers coach Tom Renney says that he might experiment with Callahan, who has played center in the past, and move Petr Prucha into Callahan's right wing slot. He also mentioned moving Sjostrom around, especially because he has been cutting back on ice time for the fourth line and believes the winger could be moved higher. And he did not rule out calling up someone from Hartford, but did not offer specific names.

Renney, who said he hoped Betts' recovery would be closer to two weeks than three, also mentioned his desire to maintain some chemistry and esprit de corps among the players who had been on the roster all season.

Since I haven't seen as much of Hartford as I'd have liked, I'm not sure about them throwing Moore or Lauri Korpikoski right into the playoff race. The word around is that Anisimov isn't ready, and Renney did say if they were to bring someone up, the coaches would want to work him through practices before inserting him into the lineup.

More during the game...

The defensive center, who hadn't missed a game all season, underwent surgery in New York today for a infection of a bunion on his foot, which apparently worsened in the Devils game.
Ryan Hollweg will play in his spot tonight, (and likely Sean Avery on the PK) but don't be surprised if Greg Moore is summoned from Hartford.

More soon...

The first indication was that Steve Valiquette was guarding the goal to the right at the morning skate here, which is generally the starter's territory. The confirmation came when he skated off into the dressing room before Henrik Lundqvist.

Must admit I was a little surprised...

Valiquette, whose last start was 15 games ago on Feb. 10 in Washington, made 17 saves and stopped two shootout attempts against the Flyers on March 2, when he relieved Lundqvist. His shutout streak of 157:45 against the Flyers ended in the third period that day.

"It would have been easy to come back to Henrik," said Renney. "But I like what Steve's got going, certainly he's practiced extremely well, he's on top of his game. He's had success here and it's a good opportunity to assimilate himself back into our team needs.... I can't suggest that he's got the Philadelphia Flyers' number. He plays well against
them, so do we. But Steve Valiquette can start against any number of teams in this league and do real well."

Asked to explain Valiquette's---or any goaltender's success against a specific club---Lundqvist said later, "It's hard...he's played in almost three games (against Philadelphia) now. Sometimes it just works for you. You go in and don't think, just go out and play. Hopefully, he's in their heads, but it can change fast... You can have a good streak and
you think you're playing your best hockey and then bam, five goals, so you never know how the game's gonna go. Yeah, he's been playing really well against the Flyers and I've been playing a lot lately, I can sit back tonight and relax a little bit."

Lundqvist, by the way, remains congested. "Yeah, I didn't get rid of it. It's been two weeks, at least there's no fever anymore. Hopefully, I can keep practicing over the next few days."

****
C Blair Betts is sidelined, apparently with an infection of a bunion between the toes on his right foot. "We'll have a better idea of what the concerns are tomorrow morning," Renney said without being specific, and will rotate players into Betts' valuable slot on penalty kills. "He's a real conscientious player...We'll look at a couple guys, it's the type of game where a couple guys are gonna have to step up and help us."

Betts, who played just under nine minutes in New Jersey, about three minutes fewer than his game average, had skated in all 74 games this season.

Asked what he told Hollweg, who has been a healthy scratch for eight games in favor of Fredrik Sjostrom, Renney said: "Keep his shifts short and be an efficient player and recognize that he can't get the games back in the first five minutes he plays. He's a smart kid and we like him in our lineup."

Hollweg, 24, who has played left wing in 63 games this season and has one goal and two assists, said conditioning drills have kept him in shape and was ready for the pivot. "I feel good, I've played center all my life," he said, noting that one difference in the position is that, "sometimes, but not necessarily, I'll be the first man in. I just have to make sure I come back up high."

****

The Rangers are 7-0 in this building the last two seasons... D Paul Mara skated with the cage mask, and inched closer to playing. "He'll have another good one tomorrow morning," said Renney, acknowledging that it was possible that Mara could play Tuesday at the Garden against the Flyers...Haven't gotten the entire story on the team's NCAA pool, but Ryan Callahan said he was 14-2 after Thursday's games. "Who knows about today, though?"...Brandon Dubinsky had George Mason over Notre Dame.

Having shut out the Flyers twice this season and relieved Henrik Lundqvist in another win, Stephen Valiquette will be in the net tonight here at Wachovia Center.

And in another lineup change, this one forced by injury, Ryan Hollweg---after being scratched for eight games---will center the fourth line because Blair Betts was left back in New York for treatment of what coach Tom Renney described as a "foot issue", but is believed to be a problem with a toe bunion.

Hollweg played some games at center last season, and in the minors. "After a few shifts, it'lll be fine," he said after practicing faceoffs and speaking with Renney at the morning skate.

Everything else stays the same, will have more quotes in a few...

.

If I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, the Flyers won't be taking any prisoners tomorrow night on Broad Street.
How can you not expect an emotionally-charged effort as they sweat out eighth place? Heads up and sticks high will be the watchword. Can't imagine the runs that the Flyboys will be taking in the first period.
And that's exactly why the tepid power play (and I know we've been hammering this issue here for weeks) has to connect: To respond to the bruisers and prevent them from running around like heat-seeking missles.
After the Devils game, the Rangers and the coach were praising patience and perseverance. That won't work quite as well against the Flyers, who will seek to goad the Rangers off their game early. Let's hope the goons don't intentionally injure any one with a cheap shot.
What's the over-under on Colton Orr versus Riley Cote?
Five minutes?
Should Jason Strudwick play instead of Christian Backman?
If you can tear yourselves away (kidding) from the NCAA tourney---haven't watched much but judging by the scores, a lot of blowouts---feel free to weigh in on the Friday festivities in Philly.
Will swing back later between monitoring the NHL games ....

"Neither team gave up a lot. In 55 minutes, it was 1-0...we came one mistake short."
That was Devils coach Brent Sutter reflecting on the lead-in to Chris Drury's game-tying, shutout-busting goal with 4:46 in regulation.
"You win a draw like that in your own zone, in the last five minutes of the hockey game, you've got to make a better play. That was the difference."
Instead, Martin Straka hunted down the puck in the corner, found Ryan Callahan behind the net. Callahan swooped around the net to Martin Brodeur's right and his pass to an unguarded Drury was deadly.
And Drury, who played a rugged 20:41, didn't miss with his fourth shot of the night, opening the door a crack for Nigel Dawes to score his second game-winning shootout goal of the season and for Henrik Lundqvist, who made 17 saves in regulation and overtime, to shine for the 2-1 win..
The Rangers are now 7-6-1 in back-to-backs and this one was a huge confidence builder, because the Devils were squeezing them all night here at Prudential Center.
"We lost the draw, hunted it down and got it back," said Drury. Asked about the Rangers' run against the Devils---Lundqvist has been in the next for all six wins---he said, "We know how prepared they are and how good Marty is."
With eight games left, the Rangers are 39-26-9 for 87 points, four ahead of seventh place Boston, and five over Philadelphia; neither team played tonight. Ottawa also has 87 points, but one more win and a game in hand.
Buffalo crept into ninth place with 81 points, a point behind Philadelphia, thanks to a 7-4 comeback against Tampa. Washington, with 80 points, lost to Chicago and Carolina won, pushing the Hurricanes five points ahead of the Caps in the Southeast Division lead.

Note: Friday's game in Philly has been moved to MSG, the Knicks will be on MSG Plus.

Rangers coach Tom Renney will send out the same lineup tonight as he did last night against the Penguins. Changes will be considered on a game-by-game basis. "It doesn't have to be a back-to-back," he said. Renney is sticking with veterans Brendan Shanahan and Martin Straka based on conversations with them about their health...As for Paul Mara, who will miss his 11th game tonight since sustaining a facial injury on Feb. 23 in Buffalo, just needs to get his fitness level to game shape. When he does, Renney said he will be in the lineup....Jagr needs two points to tie Phil Esposito for ninth place on the all-time points list at 1,590

Patrik Elias will be scratched in Newark tonight; defenseman Colin White will return as the Rangers try to win to win their seventh game in the latter half of back-to-backs. They are currently 6-6-2 and have won three of the last four second games in back-to-backs.

Getting ready for the drive to Newark; expect the same lineup as last night, but will advise of any changes when I arrive at The Rock.

With 85 points, the Rangers are alone in sixth place in the East. A win would tie them in points with idle Ottawa, but the Senators have one more win. Buffalo (79) and Washington (80), could creep closer.

The Rangers also could close the gap on the Devils and Montreal, each with 90 points, and Pittsburgh, with 89.

In other news, Rangers will head straight to Philly after the game and have an off-ice day there tomorrow... Rangers-Pens at the Igloo next Sunday, the 30th, has been selected to air by NBC and moved to 12:30 p.m...If you hadn't heard, Rick DiPietro is done for the season after hip surgery today

Will be back here in a few hours...

Like the Dow Jones (up 420). the Rangers engineered a mighty rebound from the Florida flops.
A serious effort in the third period sealed the 5-2 deal, with everyone just getting the puck to the net whenever possible.
Again, check my last post on the big plays in the second period
Four goals from left wings, two from the contract-driven Sean Avery, a clampdown on Malkin, the 100th win for Lundqvist, in short, playing with the juice that they'll need in the next nine.
Next up: the Devs in Newark tomorrow.
Tune in; I'll be there much of the day...

The estimable Mr. Staple will fill you in after the game, but some views from the couch in the meantime:

Remember these second-period plays if the Rangers win by a goal or two or walk away with a point:

The Freddie Sjostrom deke and goal...

At 3-2 Ryan Malone strips Avery, and Lundqvist stabs out his glove to
deflect Malone's backhander

On power play No.2 for Pitt...what a huge block by Chris Drury on another
bad change...

Dubinsky's solid hit on Letang at the blue line with seconds left...

In the third, the Rangers need to finish checks. like Dubinsly just did, and be
more physical to slow the Pens' lethal transition game---and of course, avoid penalties
in the offensive zone.

The million-dollar question: Can the Rangers tighten up and hold a lead without losing too much of their attack?

Back in a bit...

Whoa. I walk into the house and the Rangers are up 2-0.
By the time I unpack, it's a mistake-filled second period 2-1, 2-2, 3-2 and thisclose to 4-2 on the power play.
MSG is showing the Pens' dads, who are on the trip.
This one may be decided on a giveaway.
More between the second and third...

Nothing newsworthy, really -- Renney said a few minutes ago that he may not use the Betts-Orr-Sjostrom line to match against Evgeni Malkin's line, as Renney has done against Crosby in the past. Malkin is still dangerous, obviously, but the Rangers may roll their lines and see if that works to start.

Also sounds as if Renney will use the two PP units listed below, at least to start.

We'll see what's what after the puck drops...

Staple here, filling in for Zip while he suns himself poolside. Nice life.

Marek Malik (shoulder) returns to the lineup tonight against the Penguins, with Jason Strudwick sitting out. Malik and Michael Roszival should re-team on D as well.

Most of the skate was devoted to the ailing power play. The first unit was Shanahan-Dubinsky-Jagr, with Backman and Roszival; the second, Straka up front with Gomez and Drury, and Tyutin and Girardi at the back. The goal: More pucks on net. Sounds simple, right?

More tonight from MSG against Pitt, which will still be dangerous without Crosby.

From the zeros to the ones
In between those complicated sums
In a system so advanced
That it runs on blood and it works by chance
But the sky's only blue
If you think it is and you think that's true
And the sea's only green
In a certain light that you think you've seen
And you don't
Get to choose
Between love or delusion...

----Graham Parker

So I snuck in a couple extra beach days here in South Florida, where my wife is attending a conference, and