New York Rangers

Tonight's Game The Rangers face-off against the Boston Bruins tonight at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts trail in the series, 3-0, following a 2-1 loss in Game 3 on Tuesday...

oh wait no never mind. Its Miuccia Prada and she runs the famous fashion company Prada. Just thought id try and lighten up the situation with the Rangers being down 3-0 and all. Sorry for reminding you guys. I have to get another 30 words in so im gonna go on a Torts rant. Everyone knows his system and its easy to defend and exploit. Pierre Mcguire even saw it and hes retarded. #BettmansABitch #Literally #FireTorts #HireVigneaul oh wait no never mind. Its Miuccia Prada and she runs the famous fashion company Prada. Just thought id try and lighten up the situation with the Rangers being down 3-0 and all. Sorry for reminding you guys. I have to get another 30 words in so im gonna go on a Torts rant. Everyone knows his system and its easy to defend and exploit. Pierre Mcguire even saw it and hes retarded. #BettmansABitch #Literally #FireTorts #HireVigneaul

Ooops. Sorry, I forgot to post this one earlier. The post Post-practice interview: Ryan McDonagh appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

The Rangers, who now must win four straight to advance past the Bruins in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, a deficit only three teams have overcome in NHL history, held an optional skate today at their training center. D Anton Stralman, hurt on a heavy second-period check by Bruins LW Milan Lucic - Stralman played just one more shift before missing the third period - was not on the ice and, from the way coach John Tortorella spoke about it, seems doubtful to out for Thursday’s Game 4. If he cannot play, Matt Gilroy or Roman Hamrlik, both were on the ice today and have been skating with the Rangers’ Connecticut (AHL) call-up practice squad, are the candidates to replace him. Of the two, Gilroy is probably the more likely to be inserted into the lineup. Regardless of who goes in, if Stralman is out, it means more minutes for, certainly, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi and, no doubt, for Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger and John Moore. Then again, Marc Staal also skated today and, just perhaps, he goes back in for Stralman. Staal has only played Game 3 against the Capitals since having his vision affected as he was struck by a puck on March 5. “Losing Stralsy is a big blow to us,” Tortorella said. “He puts himself in a situation there where he’s playing in an area to try and make a play and gets hurt. And he’s done that really through the playoffs here. To a defense that’s lacking a little depth right now, it hurts us. Listen, we’re 0-3, there’s no sense of feeling pressure, the players that get to play tomorrow and play more minutes than maybe they’re used to, grab a hold of it and let it happen. Crap, if you lose you’re done. That’s what I’m hoping for and I believe we will get it from some of our guys.” Also on the ice today were Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe. For Clowe, it was the first time skating with teammates since he went off the ice woozily in Game 5 against the Capitals after playing just 1:55. Clowe played Games 4 and 5 against the Capitals after returning from a suspected concussion. Chris Kreider, who got hit in the forehead by Tyler Seguin’s stick blade, did not skate. It’s unclear whether either Powe or Clowe - more likely Powe - would be available if Kreider can’t play. Powe (and Arron Asham), of course, was a member of the 2010 Flyers, who made the playoffs on the final day, as we remember, beating the Rangers in a shootout in the season-finale at Philadelphia, then beat the Bruins in the conference semifinal after falling behind 3-0 in the series and 3-0 in Game 7. Powe spoke about his recollections of that series and the similarities he sees between those Flyers and these Rangers after practice. Read below for his comments… ====================================================== Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AGrossRecord Follow the Record Sports Staff at twitter.com/TheRecordSports

Here is John Tortorella’s post-practice press conference, in which he spoke about reaching a new level of effort, about the loss of Anton Stralman, about how the series has gone so far, etc. The post John Tortorella press conference video appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

The Powe interview has to do with his being part of the 2010 Philly team that came back from 0-3 against Boston to win that playoff series. The post More post-practice interviews: Powe, Zuccarello appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

The New York Rangers were greeted with some good news this morning, as Ryane Clowe joined some of the other players at an optional morning skate. This is the first time that Clowe has skated since he took a big hit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. It was suspected that Clowe had suffered his second concussion, and with the length of time he's been out, that's the likely diagnoses. Darroll Powe and Marc Staal were also present at the skate, but both of their statuses continue to remain unknown at this point. Powe did speak with the media this morning, and when he was asked about his health, he replied "I don't know" with a big grin on his face. Again, whether that means he's ready or not still remains to be seen. Along with the good news, there was also some bad news. Anton Stralman was absent from the skate this morning, and sat out the third period of last night's Game 3. He too took a big hit from Milan Lucic along the boards, and it's suspected that he has concussion-like symptoms as well. If that latter is true, that's yet another big loss for the Rangers, as they continue to fight the injury bug throughout these playoffs. Thoughts?

Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports After a back and forth series with the Washington Capitals and an emphatic Game 7 win in the nation’s capital, the Rangers had plenty of reasons to enter the second round with confidence. Although Rick Nash did not score a goal in the first round, he still had plenty of scoring chances which gave fans hope. After dropping Game 1 in Boston 3-2 at the hands of Brad Marchand‘s overtime goal, the Blueshirts knew they had to tie up the series heading back to New York. Unfortunately, that is not the way things panned out. New York dropped Game 2 as well losing by a final score of 5-2. Do not let that score fool you however, Rick Nash did score his first playoff goal, and up until the third period, I felt that the Rangers were playing their best playoff hockey so far. But, a third period collapse filled with defensive miscues and blown coverages would be their eventual downfall. So, the Rangers headed back to New York trailing 2-0 in the series, the same spot that they found themselves in against Washington. After watching last night’s debacle, it is clear that this team needs a makeover. Brad Richards once again looked invisible which is starting to become a daily occurance, Nash did not score, the powerplay was awful, and it looked like Henrik Lundqvist was the only player trying to get a win for his team. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Szagola-USA TODAY Sports John Tortorella I know this team cares and they are trying to win, but they aren’t going to be successful with John Tortorella at the helm of this squad. His grind it out and mega defensive system does not work when you have star players like Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Ryan Callahan. Although I agree that it is the players job to put the puck in the net, it can all be traced back to the system. The way Tortorella runs things just doesn’t work anymore on Broadway. The question that is being asked now is “Has Tortorella lost his team?” It has happened before in hockey, where players no longer respond to their coaches, and now the fear is the same thing may be happening in the Big Apple. It looks like Tortorella’s tyrannical way of running things is forcing the players to tune him out. Before last night’s game, the Rangers went 99 consecutive games without a defeat carrying a lead into the third period. You would have expected his team to come out with fire and swagger, but that didn’t happen. Instead, we saw the play taken to the RANGERS. If you want to hold a lead in this league, you have to bring a consistent and structured forecheck. Many times last night the Bruins were able to just waltz right out of their zone, with absolutely no pressure being applied. That just doesn’t work in this league, and it stems back to coaching. After a fluke bounce was put in by Daniel Paille, the Blueshirts trailed 2-1 with 3 minutes to play. So Tortorella called his team over to discuss some things, which was the right decision. Once the puck dropped and the Rangers controlled play in the offensive zone, there was not one guy in front of the net. If I was coaching, I would have told all three of my forwards to crash the net and look for rebounds and tip-ins. Instead, the Rangers kept play to the outside, and barely mustered a shot on goal. This is frustrating as a fan, and maybe it’s time to close the curtain on Tortorella’s Broadway show. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports Brad Richards Back in February, Larry Brooks of the NY Post reported that the Rangers could use their amnesty buyout to get out of Richards’ contract. Many fans thought that was absurd, a slow start to the season means that we talk about buying out players? Well, that buyout may become a necessity. Although he had a pretty good run at the end of the season with 11 points in 6 games and a hat trick against Buffalo, many people were describing that effort as “empty points.&

Another Jet rumored to want out. Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Alex Burmistrov wants out of Winnipeg, and will not sign a contract extension this summer. Lawless noted that Burmistrov, an RFA this summer, “wished to be traded at the deadline” and has “no intention of re-signing with the Jets.” Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was rumored to attempt to trade the young forward, and “the names Jakob Silfverberg, Drew Stafford and Kyle Okposo have all been attached to Burmistrov trade rumours.” Burmistrov, a former top-ten pick, has 23 goals and 58 points in his 194 game NHL career. This includes an awful 4-6-10 line from this season and a spot on the bench for the final four games as a healthy scratch. There is a noted rift between Burmistrov and head coach Claude Noel, which is likely the main cause for Burmistrov’s desire to leave Winnipeg. Despite the low point totals, Burmistrov still commands a decent amount on the trade market. He is cost controlled, and he has the potential to be a great top-six forward. His metrics (.043 Corsi Rel QoC, 6.5 RCorsi, 52% OZone start) aren’t anything special, but they aren’t bad either. At just 21 years old, the sky appears to be the limit for the young Russian. He has the hard part –competency in his own zone– at a manageable level. Offense will come eventually. The problem with Burmi is the cost. If names like Silvferberg, Stafford, and Okposo are being thrown out there, then the Rangers equivalent is Chris Kreider. Kreider himself is relatively unproven –and significantly worse in his own end– like Burmistrov, but that kind of deal is a bit of a sideways deal. Plus, it makes little sense for the Rangers to give up a kid who is still cost controlled for another season for a kid –who again is unproven offensively– who is up for a raise this offseason. A deal without Kreider would like involve JT Miller, another kid who the organization has deemed untouchable in other trades. It’s highly unlikely either gets dealt, especially when the organization is in win-now mode (thus trading a kid would be for a piece for a Cup run, not a sideways move). Winnipeg had been rumored to be looking to deal Evander Kane at one point, so let’s take this one with a grain of salt. Tweet

More to follow later, including video of John Tortorella’s presser, and an interview with Darroll Powe, who probably won’t play tomorrow, but who was part of the Philadelphia team that came back from 0-3 to beat Boston in the 2010 playoffs. The post Post-practice audio: Tortorella, Callahan appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.