Bickel praised for his toughness

With defenseman Steve Eminger ready to return after being sidelined since Dec. 17 with a separated right shoulder, rookie Stu Bickel will be relegated to the role of seventh defenseman. But his intensity and contributions during the season, and in his 20th NHL game Sunday, did not go unnoticed.

"Any time he was on the ice, he either got a penalty or fought," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "That's tongue-in-cheek . . . High marks for him. He made some good plays."

The bottom line is, with Mike Rupp's banged-up thumb preventing him from fighting, the 6-4 rookie was front and center.

"Everybody in the room knows it's going to be a battle," said Bickel, who collected 16 minutes in penalties in 8:16, with two fights and two interference penalties before the 6:30 mark of the second period.

"He's tough," Brandon Dubinsky said. "We joke around a lot that he's never going to shy away from an opportunity to get five minutes. He's been a great addition to our team . . . Bick does some heavy lifting for us."

Bickel wasn't the only soldier Sunday. The Rangers were credited with 30 hits and 25 blocked shots. Michael Del Zotto, who scored the go-ahead goal early in the third, said: "The rivalry's been so huge with the playoffs in the past and with 24/7 and the Winter Classic, it just amped up that much more this year."