Ranger Rants

Live Blog: Rangers vs. Avalanche, 2/28

It's pointless to point out this is a must-win game for the Rangers. It's been that way for a while now. The Panthers got walloped by the Devils, 7-2, so the Rangers can break the sixth-place tie at 70 points. The fifth-place Canadiens are hosting San Jose, which rarely loses and the eighth-place Sabres are at the Islanders, who rarely win.

John Tortorella's lines for tonight as he coaches his third game for the Rangers:
Markus Naslund-Scott Gomez-Nikolai Zherdev
Brandon Dubinsky-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Nigel Dawes-Lauri Korpikoski-Petr Prucha
Fredrik Sjostrom-Blair Betts-Colton Orr

Henrik Lundqvist will make his 11th straight start, extending his season-high, and Mark Bell, Aaron Voros and Erik Reitz will be the healthy scratches.

The Rangers have not beaten Colorado at MSG since Nov. 20, 2001. I remember covering Glen Sather's first game as Rangers coach, an OT loss to the Avalanche (goal by future Ranger Greg de Vries), one of the crazier day in Rangers history. Sather pops onto the ice to conduct practice to widespread gasps, Mark Messier says in the locker room Slats had discussed the job with him prior to giving it to Bryan Trottier and then MSG boss Jim Dolan challenges the media to say what they really think of the Rangers. At the time, I had been on the beat all of three weeks.

Good pre-game chat with Brandon Dubinsky earlier this afternoon. Dubi had adjusted well to playing the wing and Torts seems inclined to keep him there for the time being in order to get Dubinsky playing among the top six forwards, rather than centering a third line.

"I haven't talked to him too much about where I'm playing," Dubinsky said. "Things are gong pretty well. I don't mnind wing at all. I miss taking faceoffs, otherwise I don't mind."

Obviously, the main thing to Dubinsky is being counted among the team's better players, which equates to more ice time under Tortorella.

"It's as important as anything. I like the role he's put me in. I've got to score, I've got to help create scoring opportunities."

Dubinsky has gone 14 games without a goal. Captain Chris Drury has gone a career-high 17.

Updates once the puck drops.

Tortorella Era: Game 3

The Rangers host the Avalanche tonight, still looking for their first win under John Tortorella. Of course, if they beat Colorado tonight, that would make their two wins in their last nine against the worst team in the East (Islanders) and West ('Lanche). And they face the Islanders next on Thursday.

The plan is for the Rangers to have Sunday off and then what I would expect to be three days of a mini-training camp under Tortorella and Jim Schoenfeld Monday-Wednesday. Sean Avery's target return date is Tuesday.

Based on morning skate, looks like Aaron Voros and Mark Bell are the healthy scratches with Fredrik Sjostrom back on the fourth line with center Blair Betts and Colton Orr. D Erik Reitz did not skate and is also out tonight as Paul Mara plays his second game since returning from a dislocated right shoulder.

Also, Nikolai Zherdev and Ryan Callahan flip-flop again, with Zherdev going to the top line with center Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund and Callahan playing on Chris Drury's line with Brandon Dubinsky.

Heading off to the city but first a stop to pick up a birthday present for my wife (tomorrow) and her twin sister (also, surprisingly, tomorrow). And while we're on the subject of birthdays, a happy and healthy one to my dad (he's actually a Feb. 29 guy), a longtime reporter/editor himself.

About Avery

Lots of Sean Avery chatter today. I've got separate confirmation from a league source that Monday is looking like the day the Stars will place Avery on re-entry waivers and that it is doubtful the Stars will be able to deal Avery beforehand.

If the pieces fall that way and no team jumps up to grab Avery before the Rangers, he should be on the ice for Tuesday's practice.

Check out www.northjersey.com/sports and The Record/Herald News (yes, newspapers still exist) tomorrow for more.

Interesting practice/A moment with Mark Bell

Different day here at the MSG Training Center. Assistant GM/interim assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld led a split squad with the on-ice session with coach John Tortorella guided the off-ice meetings. Many of Schoenfeld's drills, as he described later, were about breaking down the shooting process to make incremental improvements.

For instance, goalies Steve Valiquette and the local guy from Manhattanville they bring in when Henrik Lundqvist is not on the ice literally lay on their sides along the goal line, pads stacked, gloves extended up, forcing the players to shoot high. Another problem, Schoenfeld said, is it is one thing to say the players have to crash the net. Problem is, too many of the Rangers are actually getting too close to the net, leaving no openings to shoot. So Schoenfeld had them look at the situation from a different perspective. Literally. Lying down to visualize what the puck sees as it travels toward the net.

Live Blog: Rangers vs. Panthers, 2/26

Looks like D Paul Mara is back in the lineup. More below.

It's the John Tortorella debut tour, Day 2. This time, the new Rangers coach debuts at Madison Square Garden.

And there are new rules here in the building, none of which matter to anybody but those they affect. There's a memo on the way to the corridor that leads to the Rangers dressing room that nobody - NOBODY - who is not a game-day player/coach/official with official business is allowed in the hallway going to the Rangers' room. NHL rules give the media an hour's worth of pre-game access and typically that's where the media hangs out, chatting with players and coaches. Now, the media is behind closed doors, giving their player interview requests to a PR representative. Again, not a big deal, not really even to us, to it's just a sign of the times. And even though Glen Sather's name was on the internal warning memo, there's no doubt it comes directly from Tortorella's pen. (Just remember, I covered two seasons of the Eric Mangini reign of terror with the Jets. By comparison, this is child's play).

Some pre-game Tortorella:

- He liked what he saw from the tapes after watching Wednesday's 2-1 shootout loss at Toronto.
"I feel pretty good about the club, especially after watching the tape. I thought we did some really good things. I thought the support was there, I thought we were pinching at the right time. I thought the effort was there, the D were up the ice. We just can't score a god-damned goal. There were so many chances where it was open nets, two on ones, where we make an early pass where maybe it should be held on to. We're just missing."

- He pointedly said his criticism of the team's conditioning should not be taken as a criticism of Tom Renney and his staff. Tortorella said he's been on the other end - he was criticized on the way out in Tampa Bay - and that angered him. "That's the last thing I want to do with Tom Renney."

Tortorella added it was just four or five players, then snapped at the Post's Larry Brooks when Larry asked for the names. "None of your business," Tortorella said sharply, before realizing where he was and relaxing, saying he wasn't trying to act "smart." "That's between me and the players as we go in the locker room. I don't think that needs to be broadcast."

However, it's very, very obvious one of the players is D Erik Reitz, who was not out for the pre-game skate. Looks like Paul Mara will be returning after missing just five games with a dislocated right shoulder. If that's true, it would be a huge shock. Mara said he was on a three-to-six week recovery and he hasn't even gotten to two weeks yet, not to mention he hasn't been through real contact drills yet. But Tortorella is anything but conservative. Usually, the Rangers are very conservative about bringing guys back from injuries slowly.

Lines:
Markus Naslund-Scott Gomez-Ryan Callahan
Brandon Dubinsky-Chris Drury-Nikolai Zherdev
Nigel Dawes-Lauri Korpikoski-Petr Prucha
Aaron Voros-Blair Betts-Colton Orr

Craig Anderson, who shut out the Rangers 4-0 the last time the Panthers were at the Garden, appears to be the Florida starter. Doesn't make a difference, Tomas Vokoun was good in the Panthers' 2-1 shootout win at Florida on Feb. 13.

Check below for updates once the game begins.

Live Blog: Rangers at Toronto, 2/25

Welcome to the John Tortorella era, which begins here tonight in Toronto. Aaron Voros is the healthy scratch but Tortorella said not to read too much into that because he's still trying to figure out who everybody is. He joked that the game will be easier than yesterday's practice (no numbers on either jersey or helmet) or this morning's skate (numbers on helmet) because there are names on the back of the jerseys. Don't let Tortorella fool you, though, he's a smart cookie and knows more than he's letting on.

Tortorella was asked about Brandon Dubinsky playing left wing on Chris Drury's line and Tortorella said he wanted to get his top six forwards on the top two lines. However, Torts then said he could see Dubinsky playing center tomorrow night. I then asked Torts the same thing about Lauri Korpikoski, playing center tonight on the third line though he's played wing aplenty this season. Torts replied, "I don't even know who the hell he is."

A couple of notes that didn't make my early notebook for the paper because of space considerations:

- Henrik Lundqvist started his season-high ninth straight game Wednesday but said new coach John Tortorella has not discussed any kind of schedule with him.

“The last couple of weeks we haven’t had any kind of schedule,” Lundqvist said. “Every game is important so you can’t focus on what’s going to happen in a couple of days. I want to play. I want to help the team. So far, I feel pretty good.”

- Tortorella stated he wasn’t a “four-line guy” on his first day on the job. Naturally, fourth-line center Blair Betts, also a key component on the NHL’s second-ranked penalty-kill unit, wonders what that means for him.

“We’re changing some things up on the penalty kill so I hope I get an opportunity to continue to do that,” said Betts, who came into Wednesday with five goals, three assists and averaging 11:21 per game. “How much ice time I get five-on-five, we’ll see.”

Check previous post for the lines. I probably won't be checking in as often tonight as I usually do because I'm going to try my darndest to chart the combinations Torts uses even strength and PP and PK. Unfortunately, I find sometimes when I blog constantly, I'm not paying as much attention to the game as I should. So forgive me for this evening. I will be checking in though, so please keep those comments coming. Let us know what you think of the new-look Rangers.

Bell instead of Avery?

So will the Rangers claiming Mark Bell off re-entry waivers today impact their ability/desire to take back Sean Avery if the Dallas Stars expose him to re-entry waivers? Or was Bell claimed with the intention of sending him to Hartford (AHL), where he'll be a (temporary) teammate of Avery?

There are similarities between the two. Both are 28-year-old left wings. And both have checkered pasts. Avery's, obviously, has been well-chronicled here in New York and he's attempting an NHL comeback with the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford after league suspended him for six games in December for comments they considered offensive regarding his ex-girlfriend (we all know what he said).

Bell, the eighth overall pick in the 1998 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, was arrested in San Jose in 2006 for an alleged hit-and-run while driving under the influence. Bell pleaded no contest and served his punishment working in a California jail this past summer. He was also suspended for 15 games by the NHL and placed in Stage 2 of the league's substance absue program.

Rangers claim Mark Bell

Literally, it's a new day for the Rangers, who open the John Tortorella era tonight here at the Air Canada Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And there's a new Ranger, too: The Rangers have apparently claimed ex-Maple Leaf Mark Bell, a left wing, off re-entry waivers. The 28-year-old Bell was the eighth overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1998 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He had four goals and six assists in 35 games last season for the Maple Leafs and was assigned to the AHL at the start of this season.

The morning-line combinations:

F - Markus Naslund-Scott Gomez-Nikolai Zherdev
Brandon Dubinsky-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Nigel Dawes-Lauri Korpikoski-Petr Prucha
Fredrik Sjostrom-Blair Betts-Colton Orr
D - (constantly shifting during the skate but these appeared to be the most solid pairs)
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Wade Redden-Michal Rozsival
Dmitri Kalinin-Erik Reitz

Paul Mara (right shoulder) accompanied the team and participated in the morning skate but is still probably at least a week away from playing.

Tortorella did skate next to Aaron Voros right at the start, chatting with him, most likely explaining why he would be a healthy scratch.

Morning leftovers

A few minutes to catch up this morning while waiting for my 8:55 flight to Toronto for tonight's game (if everything goes perfectly, I'll make it to the Air Canada Centre for the tailend of this morning's skate - and that includes a short line at customs and a cab driver who can understand my directions to the media entrance at the ACC).

Here's today's story on John Tortorella's first day and here's an update on Paul Mara.

Hectic day yesterday, obviously, and here are some notes and quotes that fell through the cracks (either due to space considerations or my scrambled mind just forgetting to mention them, you match up the tidbits with the oversight reason):

- One of the first things Tortorella did was have the training staff remove the standings and statistics boards near the dressing room that were a staple of Tom Renney's regime. Renney liked to break the season down into five-game segments with a point goal for each segment. Tortorella wants to free his players' minds and there was a noticable release of tension in the room yesterday.

- Tortorella mentioned several times that Renney and assistant Perry Pearn (and, for that matter, the re-assigned Mike Pelino) should not be held at fault. Tortorella called Renney a friend and lamented that two good men were out of jobs. He also warned his players against claiming they'd now play better as individuals because Renney was out and Tortorella was in. Tortorella said that was "disrespectful."

Thoughts from Torts

John Tortorella met with the media for 25 minutes, a good give-and-take session. One of the things he mentioned as a positive in coming back to New York was he knows he's going to get criticized, he knows there will be boos. And he likes the passion for hockey that shows from both Rangers fans and media.

One immediate change. Us media types were told in no uncertain terms by trainer Jim Ramsey to stay the %#(&^$ off the logo in the dressing room. The carpet in the room has a big Rangers shield in the middle and Tortorella thinks it's disrespectful to walk over it. Most, if not all NHL teams have the same dressing-room policy and it was in place with Tom Renney. We the media just sort of knew this and walked around. But with the dressing room full today, there was plenty of stomping on the logo. Tortorella was among the first, if not the first, to be militant in his defense of the logo while he was the Lightning.

Assistant coach Mike Pelino, who was retained from Renney's staff along with goalie coach Benoit Allaire (who worked with Tortorella in Phoenix) was not on the ice and will not be. Tortorella explained he believes coaching changes should not be vanilla and there needs to be a clean break. Pelino will now help with the pre-scouting and the video work. Tortorella will handle the line changes and the power play. Jim Schoenfeld will handle the defense pairs and the penalty kill. It's not clear when Allaire will be on the bench as a third assistant, though I'd doubt it. Tortorella also made clear that Schoenfeld, his former boss with the Coyotes, is doing him a favor. The Rangers tried to get Mike Sullivan as an assistant from Tampa Bay but the Lightning management, in a word, freaked and a deal couldn't be done. So Schoenfeld, who had endorsed Sullivan's hiring, agreed to step in for the rest of the season.