Rangers continue to show resilliency
Rangers right winger Marian Gaborik celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period. (March 2, 2012) Credit: AP
John Tortorella's parting words at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Friday night were telling: "We'll take the point and get out of here."
It's March, when the contenders are separated from the pretenders, and the Rangers already have been hit by a rash of injuries: Captain Ryan Callahan is in a walking boot with a bruised and swollen foot; defenseman Michael Del Zotto has a sore hip that kept him in the press box in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning; and workhorse defenseman Dan Girardi, among the league leaders in shot blocks, is worn down and using more ice than a bartender in South Beach.
And wouldn't you know, the Bruins come to town this afternoon looking to get back into the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston, (38-33-2, 79 points) which took a regulation loss to the Islanders yesterday, trails the Rangers (41-15-7) by 10 points.
The Rangers collected three of four points on the two-game southeast swing through Raleigh and Tampa without Call- ahan and despite a simmering controversy over the benching of Brandon Dubinsky and a blistering callout from the coach. It epitomizes the club's season-long ability to grind out points and focus on the matters at hand. They are 8-1-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
And recently, it's been accomplished with the barest of rosters, in part because Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather decided against acquiring a second or third-line forward at the deadline. Yes, the prices were high. But two defensemen, rookie Stu Bickel and the newest Ranger, John Scott, have been used on offense to dress 12 healthy forwards. That thread cannot be stretched much farther, especially with three tough road games this week: In Newark, Ottawa and Chicago.
The Rangers have yet to dip into the roster of the AHL's Connecticut Whale for reinforcements. Teams can recall a maximum of four players after the trade deadline, and the decision apparently has been made to ride out the storm until absolutely necessary. As in: More injuries. Beware the Ides of March.
Nash remains Rangers target
Rick Nash, whose ticket to New York was ripped up by Columbus general manager Scott Howson after he turned down a package deal at Monday's trade deadline, presumably will remain a target of the Rangers in the offseason. Other candidates? There's unrestricted free agent Zach Parise, the slick, 27-year-old forward on the Devils who'd be a nice fit. And what about Ducks forward Bobby Ryan? Maybe GM Glen Sather, who signed free agents Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards in previous summers, will ask what it would take to pry Ryan, the Jersey kid, out of Anaheim.
Or how about Nashville defensemen Ryan Suter, an unrestricted free agent or Shea Weber, depending on which one the Predators can afford to keep? Even after resigning players whose contracts are up, such as Del Zotto, Martin Biron, John Mitchell, Brandon Prust and Stu Bickel, and accounting for the $1.7 million left in the Chris Drury buyout, the Rangers will have about $10 million that Sather left on the table in February to parcel out in the summer.
With a significant number of teams standing pat at the trade deadline, the maneuvering at the annual entry draft, in Pittsburgh on June 22 and 23, should be quite entertaining.
Mitchell hopes to skip vacation
In late May for the past few years, John Mitchell, his dad and friends have boarded a train from Gogama, Ontario, for a trip north into the remote splendor near Kapuskasing Lake in Elsas. They rent cabins and spend a week fishing for walleye in the wilderness.
"You can't drive," Mitchell said, smiling at the memories. "There's no roads. You're out all day fishing, you grill 'em up, have a couple beers, put the 500 best rock songs of all time on shuffle, it's just the best."
Mitchell played for the Maple Leafs during those trips and they never made the playoffs while he was on the team. Now a Ranger, he's hoping to miss the trip this year. "I hope we're still playing [in the playoffs]," he said.
