Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

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November 7

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"Guess who is in town? Yep, Sean Avery is back in Calgary for the first time since the superpest opened his mouth 11 months back . In case you were on Mars at the time, Avery made crude and disparaging comments about Dion Phaneuf's girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert., whom Avery previously dated. The outburst proved to be the end of Avery in Dallas, but he hooked up with the New York Rangers (again) after receiving league-mandated professional assistance for his behavioural issues. Will he keep his mouth shut this time in Calgary? Or finally apologize to Phaneuf for his extremely poor choice of words."

Sean Avery may see more ice time in Calgary

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November 7

New York Post

"If Dion Phaneuf wants to go looking for Sean Avery on the ice tonight, he had better be alert, with the winger unaccountably banished by coach John Tortorella to the bottom of the food chain on the Rangers' three-game western tour that concludes against the Flames. "It's not just about Sean. Other guys are playing well," the coach said yesterday morning after giving Avery eight shifts for a total of 5:56 of ice in Thursday's 4-2 victory in Edmonton. "There's accountability involved here. "Other players are going . . . [Ales Kotalik] was getting 10, 11 minutes a game, and now he's getting more time because he's picked it up. It's about the team, and trying to figure out who's playing well." ..."

Rangers scouting Forsberg in Sweden

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November 6

New York Post

"he Rangers are among the handful of NHL teams watching Peter Forsberg very closely when the 36-year-old free-agent center tests his chronically injured right foot in the Karjala Cup tournament that opens today in Sweden and will conclude over the weekend in Finland, The Post has learned. "Yes, we have interest in Forsberg," GM Glen Sather said. "From the reports we've been getting, the foot is much better than it was a year ago. "We'll scout him at the tournament and see what, if anything develops. But I've always liked Peter and I've always been interested in finding a way to bring him to New York, if possible." The Rangers, who go into tonight's game here against the Oilers and ..."

Dominant power play propels Rangers

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November 6

New York Post

"This was a revival meeting conducted on the best sheet of ice in the league. Maybe Glen Sather can import it from here to the Garden the way the general manager has done with so much personnel over the years. And according to Chris Drury, the meeting was called to order with a pair of kills on two penalties taken by Aaron Voros within the game's first 10:03. "Those two bad penalties there by AV, winning teams that have success over the long season kill those and then come back to score like we did," the captain said following the Blueshirts' 4-2 victory last night. "We picked up a teammate and made the kills for him, and that's what winning teams do over and over." Winning teams also ..."

Edmonton Oilers lose 4-2 to New York Rangers

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November 6

Edmonton Journal

"Just before Paul Lorieau cleared his throat to sing the two anthems, a leather-lung in the Rexall Place seats gave Nikolai Khabibulin his first shot of the night. "Khabibulin ... win one in a row." The fan was picking on the wrong guy. The beleaguered goalie, who has been very good for the last dozen games, was one of the few Edmonton Oilers who showed up Thursday night as the New York Rangers rolled to a 4-2 win. The Rangers not only scored three goals on the power play in four tries, but also emphasized all of the home team's warts. The Oilers only have one big player with top-end skill (Dustin Penner), their small guys don't win enough battles, and in their end, opposing teams have a ..."

Kotalik burns old team

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"Some eyebrows were raised in wonder when the New York Rangers offered Ales Kotalik a three-year contract worth $3-million per season. But judging by his performance so far, the former Oilers winger looks to be a bargain. Playing his first game back in Edmonton since signing with the Rangers as a free agent this summer, Kotalik scored a goal and added a pair of assists in a 4-2 win over the Oilers last night. The three points gave the Czech Republic native 15 through 17 games this season. "He's played well," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "Obviously he's a big guy on the power play with his shot. I thought after a slow start this year, he's begun to understand the game away from ..."

'Embarrassing' display by Oilers

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November 6

Edmonton Sun

"It's pretty hard to wear out your welcome on a one-game homestand, but the Edmonton Oilers managed to do just that, judging from the bum's rush they got last night at Rexall Place. Home for one game before heading out on a five-game road trip, it was clearly one-game too many for an increasingly frustrated crowd that's almost as tired of this team as its coach is. With one win in their last seven games, and outscored 19-5 in the six losses, the Oilers seem worse now than they ever did last season. Take last night, please. The Oilers looked small, timid, disorganized, devoid of passion and offensively clueless in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. And those were the good points. "It's ..."

Rangers scouting legend in Sweden

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November 5

New York Post

"The Rangers are among the handful of NHL teams watching Peter Forsberg very closely when the 36-year-old free-agent center tests his chronically injured right foot in the Karjala Cup tournament that opens today in Sweden and will conclude over the weekend in Finland, The Post has learned. "Yes, we have interest in Forsberg," GM Glen Sather said. "From the reports we've been getting, the foot is much better than it was a year ago. "We'll scout him at the tournament and see what, if anything develops. But I've always liked Peter and I've always been interested in finding a way to bring him to New York, if possible." The Rangers, who go into tonight's game here against the Oilers and ..."

Rangers' Dane Byers and coach John Tortorella are fined for fight versus Canucks

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November 5

New York Daily News

"The NHL Wednesday slapped Rangers winger Dane Byers with a one-game suspension and coach John Tortorella with a $10,000 fine stemming from a fight late in the Rangers' 4-1 loss to the Canucks on Tuesday night in Vancouver. Byers will forfeit $2,590.67 in salary and miss tonight's game against the Oilers in Edmonton. He was assessed an instigator penalty with 1:10 left in the game for his scrap with Tanner Glass 14 seconds after Henrik Sedin's empty-net goal made the score 4-1."

Canucks beat Rangers for second straight win

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November 4

Vancouver Sun

"Memo to Canuck general manager Mike Gillis: Sign Ryan Kesler to a contract extension soon because the longer you wait the more it's going to cost you. The Canucks have many injured forwards. Thankfully, Kesler is not one of them. Tuesday night, he carried the offensive load, setting up three goals in Vancouver's impressive 4-1 win over the New York Rangers at General Motors Place. He also found time to get right in the middle of a third-period melee. "All I saw was right-crosses and upper-cuts," Kesler said of the incident, which occurred during a line change. There were 10 New York skaters on the ice and seven Canucks. Somehow, Kesler got the extra penalty. "I got jumped and somehow we ..."

Three late goals lift Vancouver Canucks to 4-1 win over New York Rangers

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November 4

New York Daily News

"Rick Rypien scored the go-ahead goal 8:48 into the third period, the first of three late goals that lifted the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Mikael Samuelsson scored his second of the game on a power play with 5:57 left and Henrik Sedin added an empty-netter with 1:24 to go for Vancouver. Andrew Raycroft made 22 saves for his third win in four starts since Roberto Luongo sustained a hairline rib fracture. Ryan Kesler, who was in the penalty box when the Rangersâ€™ Christopher Higgins tied it 6:24 into the third period, had three assists as the Canucks won for the sixth time in eight games despite missing seven injured players. Henrik ..."

Gaborik is the 'game-breaker'

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November 3

Vancouver Province

"Just how explosive, the New York Rangers must have wondered, will Marian Gaborik be playing John Tortorella's relatively wide-open game? Gaborik had, after all, under Jacques Lemaire's yolk, scored five goals against the visiting Rangers in December 2007 and had 10 of the Wild's 22 shots that night. "I hadn't really seen enough of him to know if he was as constricted as everyone says he was [in Minnesota]," Rangers captain Chris Drury said Monday after a late New York practice at GM Place. "But just getting to watch him every day now, how he gets ready for games and practices, the things he can do with the puck — it's been pretty special to watch what he's capable of doing." Everyone knows ..."

Rangers not sending any sympathy to injury-ravaged hosts

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November 3

Vancouver Sun

"The Vancouver Canucks are riddled with injuries and the New York Rangers have practically none, so on paper this should not be a fair fight tonight at GM Place. Try telling that to the Broadway Blueshirts, who have lost five of their last seven and could care less about the Canucks' injury woes. Maybe they'll be the next ones struck down and they'll receive no sympathy either. "Teams get dangerous when they have injuries," said Rangers centre Brandon Dubinsky, even though the Canucks are far more dangerous when Roberto Luongo and Daniel Sedin are in their lineup. "I'm sure the guys they've brought in are capable of getting the job done for them. I don't think we're even looking at them, ..."

Rangers to face former coach and current Edmonton Oilers assistant Tom Renney

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November 3

New York Daily News

"This isn't going to be a homecoming for Tom Renney, and for now, that's just fine with him. The Rangers begin a three-city swing through Western Canada Tuesday night in Vancouver, with their next stop Thursday in Edmonton, where they will see their former coach behind the Oilers bench, now an assistant to Pat Quinn. And Renney will see a team he coached for four-plus seasons with some work he feels proud of, even if he feels there was some unfinished business. "It's not quite the same unit," Renney said yesterday of the John Tortorella-led Rangers that includes 10 players Renney never coached in New York, "but I'm going to have a hard time looking at the logo and not identifying with it. ..."

Top unit looks for 3rd skater

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November 3

New York Post

columnist Larry Brooks

"The most coveted spot in the Rangers' lineup is the opening on the first line, which features Marian Gaborik on right wing and Vinny Prospal either in the middle or on left wing. Tonight, when the Blueshirts face the Canucks in the opener of the three-game tour through western Canada, Chris Higgins, who has yet to score a goal in 14 games and who has been bounced from one line to another (and to the bench), is likely to get first crack at filling it, playing left wing while Prospal skates in the middle. "I don't think you ever find three guys who fit together perfectly," said coach John Tortorella, who previously has turned to Brandon Dubinsky (at center) and Enver Lisin (on the wing) to ..."

Safe play is King for a day

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November 2

New York Post

"And then there are those times when safe is worth two points. For that's what the Rangers earned at the Garden yesterday afternoon by executing a simplified game plan based largely on Boston's relentlessly conservative style to produce a 1-0 victory and thus put the brakes on a two-game losing streak and 1-4-1 slide. "It was a fun game, the kind of low-scoring, tight game I got used to last year," said Henrik Lundqvist, who recorded 14 third-period saves and 29 overall to record his 21st career shutout and 150th NHL victory. "This year I got a little spoiled with all the scoring, but this was one where you could feel that one mistake would be the difference." If The King had been spoiled ..."

Chara, bugged, swats at pest

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November 2

Boston Globe

"Ranger winger Sean Avery, who has a penchant for such things, was shooting his mouth off at various Bruins during the pregame warm-ups yesterday at Madison Square Garden. The trash talk caught the keenly-tuned ear of Boston captain Zdeno Chara. "Just him being himself,'' said the 6-foot-9-inch Chara, following a 1-0 Rangers win. "I skated right up to him and told him, 'Uh-uh, you're not going to do that to our team.' I tried to let him know. And I told him, every time I had a chance to hit him, I'd put him on his ass.''"

Bruins hit, but they lack scoring punch

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November 2

Boston Globe

"The Bruins are in a tough place right now and they could be there for some time, unless their shooters create better looks at the net, their scorers reclaim their touch, or opposition netminders get uncharacteristically charitable during the holiday season and hand the Black-and-Gold gift-wrapped goals with festive ribbons on top. Otherwise, the quietest place in Bruins hockey these days is that 24-square-foot abyss, neatly trimmed by three red pipes, and seemingly fronted by a thick plate of impenetrable glass. "We've got some guys in our lineup who score goals,'' Boston coach Claude Julien said following yesterday's 1-0 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. "They're just not ..."

Bruins' power play unplugged in New York

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November 2

Boston Herald

"The power play has been killing the Bruins [team stats] most of the season and did again yesterday in a 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Power plays often are the key to a team's success, and the B's are fortunate they've done as well as they have considering how little their man-up unit has produced. The Bruins have scored only six PPGs in 13 games, and four of those came against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second game of the season. Toss out those, and the B's are 2-for-41. The obvious explanation: the absence of injured playmaking maestro Marc Savard. "It's hard to put it on one player," defenseman Matt Hunwick said prior to an 0-for-5 effort with the man ..."

Bruins come up empty at MSG

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November 2

Boston Herald

"The Bruins remain stuck in their season-long rut of perfect mediocrity. Win one, lose one. The pattern continued yesterday at Madison Square Garden, where the B's were again unable to grab a second successive victory, dropping a 1-0 decision to Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. "We're certainly reminded of that quite a bit," coach Claude Julien said of the win-one/lose-one trend. "And we're certainly aware of it as well." So there was no shortage of frustration after the Bruins gave another strong two-way effort. It was the sort of performance which, had a couple of pucks found their way behind Lundqvist (29 saves), would have been deemed excellent."

Lundqvist shuts out Bruins for 150th career victory

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November 2

NHL.com

"The New York Rangers' two best players were the two best players on the ice on Sunday afternoon. Marian Gaborik returned to the ice and scored the lone goal and Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves for his 150th career win as the Blueshirts ended a two-game skid with a 1-0 victory against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden. "It was a fun game," Lundqvist said after recording his first shutout of the season and the 21st of his career. "This is what I was used to last year -- low-scoring and tight. I got a little spoiled this year. We have been scoring a lot. The feeling was one mistake could cost us big time. I like that feeling. I have to be on my toes all of the time." Gaborik, who had ..."

Henrik Lundqvist records 150th NHL victory as New York Rangers defeat Boston Bruins, 1-0

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November 2

New York Daily News

"Sunday at Madison Square Garden was the stuff goaltenders' dreams are made of. There was Gilles Villemure in the corner, receiving an ovation as his Vezina Trophy days played on the scoreboard screen. There was Mike Richter in the tunnel, hearing his name being chanted from the blue seats. And there was Henrik Lundqvist in the nets, honoring Jacques Plante with a specially designed helmet on the 50th anniversary of Plante's introduction of the goal mask. "And a 1-0 shutout?" Richter said near his old stall in the home dressing room afterward. "That's perfect for us." It was indeed a perfect day for Lundqvist, who stopped all 29 Boston shots for the 1-0 victory over the Bruins that sent ..."

Blueshirts hoping for gift of 'Gab'

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November 1

New York Post

"Any Ranger who would use Marian Gaborik's absence the last two games as a crutch to explain the team's inferior performances in road defeats to the Islanders and Minnesota doesn't have a leg to stand on. Because while any team's production would suffer without its elite go-to scorer, Gaborik's wounded knee doesn't begin to explain or excuse the Rangers' lack of energy and second effort (to be kind) in the 3-1 and 3-2 defeats, respectively. Gaborik, who participated in contact drills in yesterday's practice, said though he remains less than 100 percent, he will take warmups preceding this afternoon's match against the Bruins at the Garden (1 p.m., MSG) and decide from there whether he can ..."

Wild buy more patience with come-from-in-front win

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October 31

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In a world of tweets, texting and video on demand, patience no longer is a virtue. And what little we have left was close to being used up on the Wild. Twelve games into the season, some of us were fed up with the Wild's new system, their lack of scoring and new coach Todd Richards, who was last heard to say, "glub, glub, glub ..." as he appeared to be sinking into the Mississippi River. There is no room for slow starts in today's fast-paced society. Twelve games, grrrrr. When Craig Leipold bought the team, he announced he wasn't going to change a thing because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, he sure has fixed it now. Someone confiscate his handyman license! But in game No. 13, ..."

Rangers fall to Minnesota Wild, 3-2, as Marian Gaborik sits

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October 31

New York Daily News

"It was bad weather in Minneapolis that caused Dane Byers to arrive hours off schedule for the Rangers ' game Friday night against the Minnesota Wild . So what was the rest of the Rangers' excuse? Sure, there are injuries to point to (not that any of the Rangers did), but that's not enough to explain a second straight sluggish, mistake-prone start over 40 minutes that sent the Rangers on their way to a 3-2 loss to Minnesota and their fifth defeat in six games (1-4-1). It is, however, looking more and more as though Marian Gaborik 's status is both the diagnosis and cure for the Rangers' vanilla attack of late, one that generated only 20 shots at Wild goaltender Nicklas Backstrom ..."

Gaborik to miss reunion with Wild

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October 30

NHL.com

"New York Rangers forward Marian Gaborik will not play in Friday's game against the Minnesota Wild, spoiling a reunion with the team he had played with for eight seasons. Rangers coach John Tortorella announced after Friday morning's skate that Gaborik, slowed by a lower-body injury, would not play. Gaborik leads the Rangers in scoring this season with 10 goals and 8 assists. He suffered the injury Monday in a 5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. He did not play in the Rangers' 3-1 loss to the Islanders Wednesday night."

Run-down Rangers hope to shake slump in Minnesota

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October 30

New York Post

"Less than two weeks have passed, yet the Rangers' seven-game winning streak seems like it happened centuries ago. They have lost four of their past five games, including Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Islanders, in which the Rangers had the energy of a narcoleptic on Nyquil. "It's not the X's and O's part of it. It's the mental approach. That is my most frustrating thought after [Wednesday's] game," coach John Tortorella said. "That game was won by a team that played harder than another team, and that's frustrating because that's something that you can control. It's a mental toughness that you need to develop. Have we gotten there? No." Defenseman Wade Redden said, "I think it starts with ..."

Marian Gaborik getting his kicks as a New York Ranger

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October 30

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Marian Gaborik limped out of the trainer's room at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, a towel wrapped around his waist and a frown creasing his face. It was a recognizable scene for the Rangers' first-year superstar, whose two-goal, three-point performance against the Phoenix Coyotes became the side story to the more pressing issue of his right leg. He revealed scant information about his latest injury while emphasizing it was unrelated to the wonky hips and groin muscles that sidelined him 121 games over his last four years with the Wild. So Gaborik returns to Minnesota for New York's only trip to the Xcel Energy Center this season and likely will not play tonight, an ironic twist to ..."

How the slash of a skate severed a nose, altered a life

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October 30

Toronto Star

"On Feb. 9, 2008, veteran NHL linesman Pat Dapuzzo suffered career-ending and life-altering injuries when he was accidentally struck in the face by the skate blade of Flyers forward Steve Downie during a game in Philadelphia against the New York Rangers. The damage to Dapuzzo's face and head was far more serious than simply cosmetic. In his own words, as told to writer Christopher Botta of FanHouse.com, the 50-year-old Dapuzzo recounts his memories of the incident, the countless surgeries, the deep depression, the support of the NHL community and his determination to live a normal life again. I don't care how tough you are. I used to think I was pretty tough, that there wasn't anything I ..."

Strong game but no goals for Callahan

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October 29

New York Post

"Matt Gilroy, perhaps nervous playing his first game on his native Long Island, was extremely shaky with and without the puck all night. Indeed, it was Gilroy who allowed Matt Moulson to get behind him for the breakaway on which the Islanders took a 1-0 lead 55 seconds into the match. Gilroy, who had been on the point with the second power play unit, did not get on the power play last night. Michal Rozsival replaced him. "I'd like to have that breakaway goal back," said Henrik Lundqvist, beaten along the ice. P.A. Parenteau became the fourth Ranger this season to score his first NHL goal, joining teammates Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto and Artem Anisimov. But the 26-year-old winger probably ..."

Drury deals with doing less on 'O'

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October 29

New York Post

"THE personnel is different this year, so is the head coach, and so is the role that Chris Drury has been assigned to fill on a Rangers team that brought an 8-3-1 record into last night's match against the Islanders at the Coliseum. For no longer is Drury in a top-six offensive position up front, skating now as he does as the third-line center. No longer is Drury, who scored 55 of his 114 goals on the power play the last four seasons, on that specialty unit. "The minutes certainly aren't as sexy as I've been accustomed to getting over the years," Drury, who is averaging just 50 seconds of power-play time per game after getting an average of 3:34 last year and 3:57 his first year on ..."

Isles take it to Rangers

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October 29

New York Post

"Marian Gaborik wasn't all that was missing from the Rangers in last night's 3-1 defeat to the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. For the Blueshirts, who have won only one of their last five games (1-3-1) since stringing together seven straight victories, lacked the required work ethic, hunger and toughness necessary to prevail over an opponent that appeared to want the match more than the Rangers did, that's for sure. And it was the lack of those qualities every bit as much as the absence of Gaborik, who is out with a knee injury he sustained on Monday, that undermined the Blueshirts in this one. "They competed harder in the first period, they finished their checks," Ryan Callahan said. "I ..."

Kyle Okposo's tiebreaking, power-play goal lifts New York Islanders in 3-1 win over New York Rangers

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October 29

New York Daily News

"Perhaps if Marian Gaborik had been there Wednesday night, a few of those Ranger shots find the back of the net instead of the cold iron. And perhaps that masks all the battles they lost, all the pucks they handed back in neutral ice, all the startling lack of offensive polish with their best player sidelined. Playing for the first time without their injured superstar, the Rangers turned in their most uninspired 60 minutes of the season, and the Islanders - characteristically making up in effort what they lack in firepower, at least recently in this rivalry - milked away a 3-1 victory at the Coliseum for just their second win in 11 games this season. Kyle Okposo's power-play goal with 2:14 ..."

Islanders Are Ones With the Smiles

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October 29

New York Times

"The contrast was stark Wednesday night after the Islanders beat the Rangers, 3-1, to earn only their second victory of the season and their first in regulation. On one side of the corridor at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders rookie John Tavares sat at his stall, a white Islanders hard hat perched unsteadily on his head. He scored the insurance goal in the third period. "It's just a team thing that we have going on inside the locker room," Tavares said when asked about his hat. "I don't want to say too much about it." But he was smiling, clearly glad to have it on. On the other side of the corridor, Rangers Coach John Tortorella was getting progressively more irritated at reporters' ..."

Gaborik's status in doubt vs. Islanders

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October 28

New York Post

"After ending a three-game skid Monday night with a 5-2 win over the Coyotes, the Rangers will try to make it two in a row tonight against the Islanders. However, it likely will be without star forward Marian Gaborik. Gaborik, who was involved in a collision halfway through the third period Monday, sustained a lower body injury and was held out of yesterday's practice. "I couldn't see it on the tape, but he got into a collision late in the game and was a little sore, so we kept him off the ice," head coach John Tortorella said at the Rangers training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. "It has nothing to do with his other injuries. I haven't even talked to the trainers today, but we just kept him ..."

Lundqvist is unhurt after car crash

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October 28

New York Daily News

"The Rangers' two most important players were nowhere to be found at practice Tuesday, both held off the ice for collisions of much different kinds that were frightening for far different reasons. Henrik Lundqvist was driving to practice Tuesday on the northbound side of a rain-soaked Saw Mill River Parkway when his car lost the road and hit a guardrail off the shoulder. Lundqvist was unhurt, and no other cars were involved, the team said, giving no indication that he should be held out of tonight's game at Nassau Coliseum, the Rangers' and Islanders' first meeting of the season. Marian Gaborik, meanwhile, stayed off the ice to rest the lower-body injury that forced him out of Monday's ..."

Ex-Ranger revitalized in Phoenix

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October 27

New York Post

"Ten games into the season including last night's match at the Garden against the Rangers, and not one time has the Coyotes' Petr Prucha been a healthy scratch. "Finally!" Prucha exclaimed before the match, accompanied by a trademark smile as big as the desert. "It's good again." Prucha, who burst onto the Broadway scene in 2005-06 with a 30-goal rookie season, and captivated the Garden crowd with his frenetic style and relentless work ethic, had that smile wiped off his face last season. Tom Renney made Prucha a healthy scratch in 27 of the Rangers' first 38 games and in 36 of the 61 he coached before he was replaced on Feb. 25 by John Tortorella. "It's unbelievable; it's the best ..."

Anisimov is making his mark

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October 27

New York Post

"Artem Anisimov might be getting fourth-line minutes, but that doesn't mean that the freshman center isn't developing in that role. Beyond that, he sure is contributing. Anisimov, who had scored the Rangers' first goal in Montreal on Saturday, last night gave his team a 1-0 lead at the 2:31 mark with a brilliant sharp angle right wing wrist shot that beat Ilja Bryzgalov in last night's 5-2 victory over the Coyotes at the Garden. "We want to keep him developing the right way, and I think he has a nice role here," said head coach John Tortorella, who shifted Anisimov to the fourth line when he moved Vinny Prospal off the wing and into the middle of the top line. "He's making big plays and he ..."

Gaborik's injury might hurt

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October 27

New York Post

"It would have been nothing but a feel-good night at the Garden with the Rangers correcting many of the structural defects that had sent them into the three-game slide (0-2-1) that came to an end with a 5-2 victory over the Coyotes. The problem, however, is that Marian Gaborik, the lone indispensable Ranger other than Henrik Lundqvist, didn't appear to be feeling all that good after going to the locker room with 8:47 to play in the match and his team up by three. "I don't know. I haven't talked to Rammer," said an apparently unconcerned head coach John Tortorella, who was referring to trainer Jim Ramsay. "The game at that point [was in control], so there was no reason [to play him]." ..."

Gaborik scores twice, leads New York Rangers in 5-2 romp

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October 27

New York Daily News

"When Marian Gaborik is on his game and having one of those can't-miss nights, he is scary good. When he's limping off to the dressing room before the night is over, it's just plain scary for the Rangers. But on a night when the Rangers could take a deep breath and move on from their three-game skid, it was at least a sigh of relief to see Gaborik walking out of the trainer's room long after their 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes was over. That's when he said that what knocked him out of the game had nothing to do with the injuries that have dogged him so relentlessly in the past. "It's nothing related to my groin or hip or torso," Gaborik said "We'll see how everything is in the ..."

Rangers End Their Slump as Coyotes Agree to a Sale

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October 27

New York Times

"The Rangers beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-2, on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, winning for the first time in four games as Marian Gaborik scored twice to gain a share of the league goal-scoring lead. The night may prove to be significant for Phoenix. The bankrupt Coyotes seemed to move one step closer to staying in the Phoenix area under new ownership. In federal bankruptcy court in Phoenix, where a possible move to Southern Ontario was among the possibilities during contentious proceedings throughout the summer, the Coyotes' owner, Jerry Moyes, agreed to sell the club to the N.H.L., which has the last bid still on the table."

Torts has his eye on Gaborik

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October 26

New York Post

"Regarding recent defensive diligence (or the lack thereof) from Marian Gaborik, the elite goal-scorer who has gone minus-four in the Blueshirts' current three-game (0-2-1) losing streak: "Fair; fair," was the way John Tortorella responded yesterday when the head coach was asked for his evaluation of Gaborik's play on the defensive side of the puck. "It's a process with him. You have to be careful with creative guys to be able to tell the difference between cheating and anticipation. You have to be really careful not to take away what makes them who they are," Tortorella said. Gaborik, dangerous whenever he's on the ice, has scored eight goals, one off the NHL lead through Saturday shared ..."

Tortorella: Rangers can correct problems

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October 26

New York Post

"In going 7-1 out of the gate, the Rangers outscored their opponents 32-15 while surrendering two goals or fewer in six of the eight games. But in losing the next three (0-2-1), the Rangers have been outscored 16-9 while surrendering four goals or more in each of the defeats. "The biggest thing we're struggling with is that we're just on the wrong side of the puck," coach John Tortorella said following yesterday's practice in preparation for tonight's game against Petr Prucha's Coyotes. "In the offensive zone we're not on top of it, and in the neutral zone and our own end zone, we're not below it. "The good news is that we can correct it by playing the right way, but we're still in a ..."

Brandon Dubinsky and Christopher Higgins feel wrath of coach John Tortorella

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October 26

New York Daily News

"Brandon Dubinsky read John Tortorella's message loudly and much more clearly than he may have liked on Saturday night, but he read it and says he has put it behind him. It may not be quite as simple for Christopher Higgins. Tortorella buried Dubinsky on the bench for half the second period and all of the third and overtime after the 23-year-old center's neutral-ice turnover during a Ranger power play resulted in a 2-on-0 goal that kick-started a Canadiens rally in Montreal's 5-4 overtime victory. "I was upset about it; obviously I want to be out there and make a difference and contribute," Dubinsky said yesterday after the Rangers broke down tape of the game and then hit the ice in ..."

Canadiens top New York Rangers 5-4 in overtime

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October 25

New York Daily News

"It was a bloody prize fight at the Bell Centre Saturday night, two heavy hitters trading combinations through unstable defenses - and it was the smallest guy of anyone who landed the knockout blow. Perhaps the only thing more slippery than Ranger leads in Montreal the past few years was Mike Cammalleri Saturday night. The 5-9, 182-pound left winger was a heavyweight for his Habs, weaving his way through four Rangers down three-quarters of the rink to beat Henrik Lundqvist with a laser-beam wrist shot 2:42 into overtime, completing his third career hat trick and sending the Montreal Canadiens to a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Rangers, who have followed their seven-game winning streak with ..."

Higgins ready for homecoming against former club

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October 24

New York Daily News

"This is not the way Christopher Higgins wanted to go back, a prodigal son returning to Montreal with no goals, not having scored since Game 3 of April's Canadiens-Bruins playoff series. For a player who seems to battle frustration nightly, tonight's visit to the city where he began his NHL career, against the team the Long Island product idolized right up until the day they drafted him in 2002 - is just one more thing the Rangers ' left winger will be struggling to get his head around. "But no better place to turn things around than up there, that's for sure," Higgins said Friday. That would be the best news of all for the Rangers, who have followed a seven-game winning streak ..."

Rangers' Higgins out to end 0-fer

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October 24

New York Post

"If, before the Rangers' season started, there had been a comparison between Chris Higgins and Enver Lisin that said 10 games into the year one would be scoreless and the other would have earned his way onto the team's top line, the answer to "Who's who?" would have been obvious. But things rarely are self-evident in the NHL. The talented Higgins heads into Montreal tonight to face his former team with a glaring doughnut in the goals category, and Lisin spent all of yesterday's practice skating with first-liners Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. "Higgy just needs to continue just to play the right way on the other parts of his game and he'll get his ice time," Rangers coach John ..."

Brodeur Outduels Lundqvist to Win at the Garden

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October 23

New York Times

"Martin Brodeur entered the Devils' game Thursday seeking his 103rd career shutout to tie Terry Sawchuk's N.H.L. record, but he was after a more immediate target: he had not been the winning goalie in regulation at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 17, 2006, an eight-game stretch. Brodeur lost the shutout early in the second period, but he realized his greater ambition as the Devils survived a wild game with a 4-2 victory over the Rangers. That boosted the Devils' road record to 4-0 while sending the Rangers to their second straight loss after a seven-game winning streak. "It was nice to play well and win," said Brodeur, who had 29 saves. "I'd played some good games here but didn't win, so ..."

Rangers legends Mike Richter and Mark Messier are honored by NHL with Lester Patrick Award

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October 22

New York Daily News

"There's no question the spring of 1994 was one of the greatest for Ranger players and fans. But even though Mike Richter won a Stanley Cup 15 years ago, cementing himself as a Ranger great, it doesn't mean he doesn't look back on his Rangers career with some regret. While Richter - who along with Mark Messier received the Lester Patrick Award recognizing "outstanding service to hockey in the United States," Wednesday night - called the lockout that disrupted the Rangers' Cup defense in 1994-95 "bitterly disappointing," it is the '97 season that still bugs him. "The '97 playoffs, I really felt like I was where I wanted to be playing-wise - our team, too. We just ran out of gas in the end," ..."

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