Drury not ruled out for Thursday

Monday November 9, 2009 11:46 AM By Steve Zipay

                  ....according to reports from practice....Lundqvist, Gaborik, Lisin among those resting....Tortorella thinks Curtis Glencross should be disciplined by NHL for Drury hit...no callups yet

Source: Dubinsky has broken bone in hand, out three weeks

Sunday November 8, 2009 8:27 PM By Steve Zipay

            As Tweeted an hour ao, a  reliable source says Brandon Dubinsky has a broken bone in his right hand from blocking a shot in Calgary and will be sidelined three weeks at least. Chris Drury has concussion symptoms today.

           UPDATE:

           All right, dragging my butkus back home, off for a couple days to recharge the batteries. Barbara Barker will be at the 10 am skate Monday to fill y'all in (thanks for coming back UpintheBlues, tell your friends we're still rocking, and a cast of hundreds (well, maybe the ever-efficient Arthur Staple or Mark Herrmann) will carry ya through Tuesday. I'll be back at the darn keyboard soon...Unauthorized tales from the trip TBA..

The Forsberg Option...

Sunday November 8, 2009 1:27 PM By Steve Zipay

               ....sounds like a spy novel, right?

               Anyway, greetings from Calgary Airport, waiting for flight and keenly looking forward to arriving home. I see that Finland is hammering Sweden 7-0 in the Karjala tourney (which Russia won), so it appears that 36-year-old comeback boy Peter Forsberg remains pointless in three games. 

               But the scouts from numerous NHL teams are watching, including a Rangers contingent, and the Rangers could use a center with Drury and Dubinsky out for the time being.  The Rangers wanted another playmaker even before those two went down Saturday night.

               Problem is, how much dough does Forsberg want, and does he want to play in New York or elsewhere? Rangers are less than a million under the cap, and could clear some more, but...And then there's the risk of Forsberg's surgically-repaired foot acting up again...

What next? Lundqvist, centers, the upcoming sked

Sunday November 8, 2009 2:06 AM By Steve Zipay

                  Well, it appears the Rangers will have Vinny Prospal centering the first line and Artem Anisimov the second for as long as Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky are out. Is it possible that Evgeny Grachev or Corey Locke will be summoned as a sub? They are not real deep at center in the minors. Presumably Ryan Callahan could fill in, but...

***

             One positive: The Rangers have just three games in the next 10 days and four in the next 15. 

****

             Here's my pregme story on the Lundqvist injury and his quotes. Sounds as if he will, barring a setback, be back in net on Thursday against the Thrashers....

        Calgary---An undisclosed injury to goaltender Henrik Lundqvist that kept him from starting as scheduled against the Flames on Saturday night---and might force him to miss Thursday's game---overshadowed the anticipation of the first meeting between Sean Avery and defenseman Dion Phaneuf since the left wing’s controversial comments about his ex-girlfriends last December. 
             Less than 24 hours after coach John Tortorella declared that the team’s No. 1 netminder would start the finale of this three-game trip, he reversed gears and said backup Steve Valiquette would be in the net for his second consecutive game. "Vally is going. It's just rest for Hank," was all Tortorella repeated, but Lundqvist later said he was nagged by an injury, believed to be a groin or muscle strain.
            Lundqvist (8-5-1, 2.52 GAA), who allowed three goals in a 4-1 loss to Vancouver on Tuesday, had been seen with an ice pack on his upper right thigh, which he described to Newsday as “stiff”, but both goalies participated in the morning skate at the Saddledome.
            In the post-skate briefing, Tortorella confirmed that Valiquette would play his third game of the year, but offered no other explanation except “rest for Hank”, and became irritated when pressed. 
             Meanwhile Valiquette, who had said he didn’t expect to play for awhile after making 26 saves in the 4-2 victory in Edmonton Tuesday, confirmed that he was told in the morning that he would start. Lundqvist said that when he took the ice in the morning, “I knew I wasn’t playing.”
               When Lundqvist emerged from the trainers room after about an hour of treatment, he said he was “pretty confident” that he would play against Atlanta on Thursday, a nine-day layoff.
               "It's just a minor little thing that's been bugging me,” he said, “so it's a good time to get a break, we're not playing until Thursday, so a couple days off here and be good to go.”
                Lundqvist would not be specific about the injury, except to say it wasn't related to any recent collisions in the crease. He acknowledged that if it were a playoff game, would probably dress. "Yeah, I would say so. This is more for the long run. It's a long year, so I'm gonna try to stay fresh. This is a good decision, I think."     
                Tortorella has said that he wanted Valiquette (2-1, 2.63 GAA) to start more games than the dozen last season to ease the workload of Lundqvist, who will play for Team Sweden in the Olympics in February. But clearly, this substitution was unplanned until yesterday morning.
            

The Wrap from Calgary: Post-game quotes, stats

Sunday November 8, 2009 1:43 AM By Steve Zipay

                Tough, tough loss to end the longest road journey of the year....

                 Head coach John Tortorella:

                On Glencross hit on Drury at 49 second mark: "Obviously, they didn't see it. It should have been a  five-minute major." 

                 On whether there should have been retaliation: "I think a lot of guys didn't even see it. But we're here to win the hockey game, that's so early in the game."

                "I thought it was one of our best games of the year. The difference was Kiprusoff. We hold them to six scoring chances, we have 16 or 17, I thought the guys in played well in all facets of the game played well. Our transition was good, our forechecking was good, our power play was good."

                On whether Dubinsky's injury might be long-term:  "I think, yeah, I'm not sure, they told me something was opened up. I'm sure it's gonna be a little while. Rammer (trainer Jim Ramsey) came to the bench and said it opened up the skin, I'm not sure if it's broken or not. But he'll probably be out for awhile." 

                  On Valiquette's play (19 saves): "It was OK". 

                  On four-minute major in second during which Iginla made it 2-1. "Kotalik high-sticked the guy. That one was right."

***

                  Vinny Prospal, who had an assist (as did Marian Gaborik) and played a team-high 26 minutes:  "One of those games when you run into a hot goaltender. He's been giving them a chance for two years in a row,. He made the key saves at the time when he needed to give them a lift, and we hit a goalpost a couple times. At the end, that was the difference. I think we were outplaying them. This was probably our best game on the road by far. We lose two pretty good hockey players to injury, but whoever was out there played well. Maybe it was a case where we might've deserved better, but if you don't score, you don't win."

***

                  Dan Girardi, who scored and played very well defensively: 

                   "I thought we had some chances, off a couple posts, generated a lot of shots (33), which was nice. I thought we played pretty well defensively, the last five minutes we're trying to create things, so there were a couple odd-man rushes. But the efforts there, we just gotta keep getting better, got to get some pucks on net. I just shot it got past the first guy and it made it all the way through. But he made some key saves from them."

***

                The Flames were 1 for 3 on the PP....Rangers won just 37 percent of the faceoffs......Sean Avery played 14:28 without any penalties or points...Ex-Ranger Nigel Dawes assisted on all three goals and is 4-6-10 on the season...

Drury has concussion, Dubinsky "out for awhile" with right wrist injury

Sunday November 8, 2009 1:11 AM By Steve Zipay

             The Rangers fly back to New York Sunday carrying the knowledge that they had ground out a strong game against Calgary, ("We outplayed them," said Vinny Prospal) but facing the prospect of playing without two centers, Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky, for some time.

                "I thought we played one of our best road games," said head coach John Tortorella. "The difference was Kiprusoff."....

                He said the training staff said Dubinsky's right arm "was opened up (on the Jay Bouwmeester shot in the second period), I'm not sure whether it's broken or not...he'll be out for awhile." 

               As for Curtis Glencross' blindside shoulder hit to the jaw/face in open ice that left Chris Drury "concussed" on his first shift, Tortorella said: "It's a missed call. It should have been a five-minute major."  

Live Game Thread: Rangers at Calgary

Saturday November 7, 2009 10:02 PM By Steve Zipay

             Vally vs. Kipper.

             Avery vs Phaneuf.

             Zipay vs catwalk way above center-ice scoreboard to press box.

             A looooooong walk.

             Heart's still thumping.

             Anyway, first period of the finale of the the three-game trip coming up. Please feel free to join in. 

             Watch for Robyn Regehr to be matched with Gaborik.  Calgary (9-4-1) has won two straight in OT. Rangers are 1-1 on trip and Lundqvist (sore groin/thigh) was a morning scratch after being scheduled to start.

             Starters:

            Valiquette (Scoreboard said Stephane Valiquette), Girardi, Staal, Prospal, Dubinsky, Gaborik

              Kipper, Phaneuf, Regehr, Bourque, Langkow, Dawes

****

             Dan Girardi's fourth of the season, an innocent, but accurate wrister from the right point, appears to hit Craig Conroy in front and sail by Kipper at 17:16. Daymond Langkow's deflection through Vally's pads at 3:56 had given the Flames the lead on their third shot.

           Still no word on the status of Chris Drury, who was felled at the 49 second mark by Curtis Glencross' blindside shoulder with Drury circling, not near the puck, in the Rangers d-zone. Trainer Jim Ramsay helped a woozy Drury off, and he didn't return to the bench. The Rangers double-shifted centers. Avery and Phaneuf bumped as Avery has heading to the bench midway through, but no fireworks. Shots: 9-9.

            RANGERS 1, FLAMES 1, END OF 1

            Following the news that drury was finished for the evening, Brandon Dubinsky was injured (right arm) blocking a Jay Bouwmeester slapper from the left point on the power play at about the four-minute mark. He skated off cradling the arm and did not return, so the Rangers played without both centers for much of the game. Dubinsky palyed 9:40 total; Drury 19 seconds.

           Jarome Iginla made it 2-1 on a power play, cradling a pass in front from former Ranger Nigel Dawes, picking the high glove side and beating Valiquette, who had little chance, at 16:47. Rangers gutting it out, outshooting Flames 20-17. Gaborik had one shot through 40 minutes. Byers and Lisn are seeing very little ice time.

           FLAMES 2, RANGERS 1, END OF 2

Jarome Iginla on Phaneuf/Avery: "I'm sure if he gets a chance to run him over, he'll finish it"

Saturday November 7, 2009 4:55 PM By Steve Zipay

           Dion Pheneuf wasn’t available to the media after the morning skate here in Calgary. Sean Avery, playing on the fourth line with Brian Boyle and Dane Byers, spoke only briefly to me and Larry Brooks of the Post and said nothing remotely incendiary about tonight’s game, the first on-ice meeting of the pair since Avery’s "sloppy seconds" remarks as a Star last December.

         Flames captain Jarome Iginla, coaches Brent Sutter and John Tortorella and former Ranger Fredrick Sjostrom did touch on the subject:

          "It’s a while ago and Avery paid a price, he was out for a while," said Iginla. "But I’m sure if Dion gets a chance to run him over---he’d probably run him over anyway---I’m sure he’ll finish it and probably vice versa, that’s the way they play. I think besides that, it’s just… battle and compete in the hockey game, I don’t think it’s going to be any more than that."

          Sutter said Phaneuf has to forget the issue, "because if it’s the other way, we’re not going to get the best out of Dion, and Dion knows that. It was a year ago, there were consequences paid for that. We know that Sean Avery’s a good player when he’s in the right mindset and we have to be making sure we’re doing a good job against him and playing the way we need to and don’t get caught up in everything else that’s going on, because it will affect the way we need to play. And I don’t want to see that happen."

         According to Sjostrom, "It hasn’t even come up," in the locker room, but he laughed and agreed that "maybe the Swedes aren’t included in the conversation."

         Tortorella of course, steered clear of the topic. "It’s the New York Rangers playing the Calgary Flames. That’s for you guys, not us," he said.

In Calgary: Lundqvist scratched

Saturday November 7, 2009 3:48 PM By Steve Zipay

               CALGARY---Less than 24 hours after coach John Tortorella declared that Henrik Lundqvist would start the final game of this three-game trip, he reversed gears and said backup Steve Valiquette would be in the nets for his second consecutive game. "Vally is going. It's just rest for Hank," was all Tortorella would say, but the Rangers No. 1 goalie is fighting a nagging injury.

             Lundqvist (8-5-1, 2.52 GAA) mentioned the other day that the ice pack on his "stiff" right upper thigh/groin was for something minor, and indeed, both goalies participated in the skate at the Saddledome and Valiquette left the ice first while Lundqvist chatted at center ice with Sean Avery and other players. In the dessing room, Lundqvist removed his equipment and disappeared for treatment for more than an hour. When he emerged he said that was pretty confident  that he would play against Atlanta on Thursday, a  nine-day layoff.

               "It's just a minor little thing that's been bugging me, so it's a good time to get a break, we're not playing til Thursday, so a couple days off here and be good to go," he said, adding that  when he got on the ice this morning "I knew I wasn't playing." Valiquette said he was informed of the decision this morning, so therefore, the coach wasn't being misleading on Friday.

             Lundqvist, who was in the net in the 4-1 loss in Vancouver on Tuesday, would not be specific about the injury, except to say it wasn't related to any collisions in the crease. He acknowledged that if it were a playoff game, would probably dress. "Yeah, I would say so. This is more for the long run. It's a long year, so I'm gonna try to stay fresh. This is a good decision, I think."      

           Valiquette, who made 26 saves in the 4-2 defeat of Edmonton Thursday. is 2-1 with a 2.63 GAA.    

            The news overshadowed the anticipation of the first Dion Phaneuf-Avery meeting on the ice since last December's remarks about ex-girlfriends that hastened AVery's departure from Dallas. More on that in a few...