Tuesday topics: Two dozen Rangers practicing

             No, it's not Monday, started writing an entry headline yesterday and it stuck. So we've updated: 

              Including some players who are scheduled for Traverse City and vets who haven't been here yet, like Derek Boogaard, Brandon Prust and Dan Girardi.  Derek Stepan is here, as is Jeremy Williams, Dane Byers, Dale Weise, Kris Newbury....Ryan McDonagh worked out off ice....            

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              During the six-on-six scrimmage, Sean Avery beat Henrik Lundqvist but hit the post when he snuck ahead of the defense. Seconds later Ryan Callahan clipped the iron from the slot…Dubinsky beat Biron with a backhander....Among the D-pairs: Dpairs: Redden/Rozsival; Eminger/Valentenko...Head coach John Tortorella is here, but will be in Traverse City for the entire prospect tournament, an indication that he wants a long look at the prospects...The tourney begins Saturday against Columbus....Still no sign of Frolov, Gaborik, Christensen, although Gaborik expected to appear tomorrow....Mark Messier watched most of the scrimmage....Derek Boogaard said that being a teammate of Gaborik again was certainly an enticement to signing here.

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           Afterward, in his first remarks looking ahead at the season captain Chris Drury said:  “We’ve got to be better at home, especially our starts. Must’ve been 7, 8, 9, 10 games we’re down a goal in the first three or four minutes. We've got to figure that out. You can't do that in this league, the way teams play....We had the good start last year and the last 15 games, but we need to play that way consistently.... I don’t want to speak for everybody, but the summer was too long, especially the way we missed the playoffs.”

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Preparing for the camp skates, there were groups for rink-length skates, with starts every 30 seconds:

White, Williams, Avery, Redden, Grachev;

Dubinsky, Stepan, Drury, Girardi, Callahan

Eminger, Prust, Boogaard, Del Zotto, Gilroy, Newbury

Weise, Byers, Aasen, Valentenko, Rozsival, Prospal

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                Artem Anisimov was jumping sideways over a line of track hurdles after practice. He used to do 500 a day, ten at a time, in summer hockey camp in Russia...

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              Although NHL Network televised some Traverse City games last September, they apparently are taking a pass this time. Poor decision.

               More later, have to book some travel....