Rangers-3 Devils-0

Rangers - 3 Devils - 0

Listen to it bitches!

Refs/Pens - 4 Rangers -3

Title says it all.

I won't justify this game with a response.

Thrashers - 5 Rangers -4 (SO)

Two words.....

Cluster fuck.


Ok it could have been worse.. We could have lost in regulation, we could have lost 10-2 (wait thats happened before) or we could have blown a 5 goal lead....

Fuck thats happened before too.

Fact of the matter is when you have a three goal lead on a team like Atlanta, there is no fucking reason to lose that game. The worst part is that even though we were up 4-1 at one point in the game, it was a pretty misleading score since we were being outplayed pretty badly 5 on 5 when ever it was 5 on 5, which through two periods was not often.

I think John Tortorella has done everything the right way since hes gotten here, but he two things today that were really, really strange.

1. Starting Vallequete - It wasn't entirely his fault but why not start Hank and take the 2 points that are there? We have an off day tomorrow and are coming off of one, its not like there are back to backs to worry about here.

2. Not using Zherdev on the Shootout - six shooters, no Zherdev - what gives?


Three up Three Down

UP: 1. Chris Drury - 1 goal 2 assists and had his best game ina long time. Shoot out magic wasn't there for Chris today but he was one of the few guys who can say they did everything they could to win tonight

2. Wade Redden - Best defenseman by far tonight. Made an excellent block on an odd man rush which set up a goal by drury.

3. Nik Antropov - Whens hes on the ice good things usually happen. He and Drury got a little bit Lazy on Atlanta's second goal but other htan that he was spectacular again. When hes on the PP it actually looks decent. When he isn't it looks dreadful.

Three down

1. Staal/Girardi - -4 on the night. Chris Campoli would be proud.
2. Steve Vallequette - Those 2nd and 3rd goals against were awful. He semi made up for some of it in the shootout where he got no help but he should have been able to win this game for his team in regulation.
3. Rangers PP - How many 5 on 3's does it take to get to the center of what it takes to get this fucking thing to work?

Next up: Pittsburgh in the Igloo. If we win this game I'll forgive this team for playing such a shitty game tonight. I wanted 4 of 6 out of tonights game and the next two so we need atleast 3 in the next two. I'm fully expecting to lose something like 4-1 or 3-0 on Saturday so any type of result which involves us moving up in the standings would be a welcomed surprise.

What a perfect end to what was a shitty day for me. Thankfully they aren't all like this.

Rangers - 2 Wild - 1

Rangers - 2 Wild - 1

Ok first things first, how fucking awesome is this picture? Almost as good as the outcome of the game. The Rangers controlled the game from the second the puck was dropped and even though the score makes it look like it was a close game, it really wasnt. Id say this was one of the few pure 60 minute efforts the Rangers have put forth this season and even though they only scored two goals, its nice to see that they can still win a game this way when they need to. I guess you can say the fact that the Rangers have scored only 3 goals in their last 2 games is a bit alarming but its not like they've been short on scoring chances.

I thought there were a few interesting things about tonights game. For one, watching the Wild was like watching the Rangers under Renney. They kept it "close" for most of the game but they didn't really threaten to take control of the game at all. They played a bend but don't bust the fuck apart system but gave up a few more quality chances than they should have. I for one was pleased to see the Rangers playing an attacking system and just out performing a team whose coach is the master of the trap. Jaques Lamaire is a dude who I'd love to sit down with one day and talk about hockey with but I think his impending retirement is pretty much fitting right now, the trap is dead!



Heres some interesting, yet useless piece of information (An Homage to Trenton Thunder, which would be more accurate minus the interesting.)

If the Rangers trade Rozsival, Do not resign Morris and buy out Redden in a years time and decide to go with a Defensive unit of...

Staal-Girardi
Del Zotto-Mara
Sanguinetti-Sauer

Thats a unit of 3 Amiercans and 3 Canadians - you rarely see an all north american top 6. Also every single player in that group except for Sauer played their amateur hockey in the OHL (Sauer played in the WHL.)

Too bad Sauer tore his ACL last season. If he hadn't there would have been a good chance that one of Rozsival or Redden wouldn't be here right now (probably Rozsival.)

Props to Wade Redden - Hes looked better the last few games. The entire D looked great tonight.

3 up 3 down

Up: 1. Nik Zherdev - A goal and an assist and was all over the place tonight. Awesome showing from the dude tonight. The goal he scored was such a tough shot from a seemingly impossible angle and he made it look so easy. I've practiced shooting from that angle with no goalie in the net or defenders trying to stop me - Its not easy.

2. Nik Antropov - Didn't show up on the score sheet but he had another awesome game. He must have created 6 quality scoring chances by himself. Hes using his size MUCH better than I remember him doing in Toronto. Let it be known that he has moved to the #1 slot of UFA's to resign.

3. Mike Sauer - Welcome to the NHL! This wasn't one of those "well, he didn't do anything bad tonight so thats good!" types of performances. Sauer showed tremendous poise with the puck while being pressured, made numerous good passes out of his own end and was great positionally. Didn't look out of place at all. He'll get more comfortable with each game - He'll only get 4-6 max with the Rangers but its nice to know that we have someone who is ready to contribute at this level. Take your time getting healthy Rozsival, infact take the rest of the year if you need to!

Three down

1. Markus Naslunds decision to lean forward to get the puck - The last time he did that he got jolted too. A few weeks later one of his teammates almost killed the guy who hit him. I'd be worried about this happening again if Ryan Hollweg was still on the team.

2. Owen Nolans face - Major props to him for taking on Orr, but he got destroyed.

3. The announcer of tonights game - Who the fuck is Korpicowski?


Next up: Atlanta at Atlanta on Thursday. The last remaning game against a team under .500. Two points are a must because the next game is against the Pens at the Igloo which means that we're playing the Pens and the refs. Fucking Crosby.

Senators - 2 Rangers - 1

Senators - 2 Rangers - 1

I'll keep this short.

The team looked gassed tonight. That has been a problem in the back end of back to backs for the Rangers so far under Tortorella and the lack of conditioning is a legit area of concern going forward for this team. It didn't help that only three forwards showed up tonight. Ottawa did a great job in their own zone pressuring the puck carrier and blocking shots, Chris Phillips in particular had a monster game. One again as is the case when ever we seem to play him, Alex Auld turns into a wall when the Rangers play him. I've said that when ever the Rangers play him they get W'Auld, cuz the dude turns into a fucking wall. Despite his performance, the Rangers came oh so close to tying up the game with less than a minute left when Gomez passed the puck from behind the net right onto the tape of Antropovs stick, but his shot hit the skate of Phillips. I actually jumped out of my chair thinking the puck was in when this happened but it was just one of those games.

Three up, three down

Up: Ryan Callahan: Set up the loan goal with his hussle. Was visibile when ever he was out there, threw a bunch of good hits and came within a fraction of an inch of netting his 20th of the year and rining it off the pipe instead.

Brandon Dubinsky - Finally ended his goal scoring dought. He and Callahan were excellent tonight. I thought Tortorella should have kept those two together and thrown Antropov with them in the third.

Nik Antropov - Could have easily had 2 goals tonight if it wasn't for being W'Auld on a breakaway and stopped by Phillips skate. Did great work in the fore check and made one of those plays that makes your jaw drop when he basically tossed a defender in the corner and made a perfect pass to drury for a scoring chance.

Three Down

Avery/Gomez/Zherdev - This line sucked tonight. They're going to run into problems if they try to do things by themselves instead of using eachother. Zherdev really pissed me off at times tonight trying to get too cute with the puck and ofcourse the eventual game winner was caused by Gomez trying to get too cute instead of just getting the puck in deep.

Markus Naslund - His hands are gone. He had 3 golden oppurtunites but couldn't bury any of them. I guess you can say he doesn't belong here since he wasn't as bad as the three above him but still, you have to bury atleast one of the chances he had tonight.

Wade Redden - Through out the game he was pretty good but the 2nd Senators goal was on him after Gomez and Avery fucked up. He let the shooter play him instead of standing him up and screened hank in the process. It was still a shot that Lundqvist usually stops but not a soft goal by any means.


Michael Rozsival will undergo an MRI tomorrow to see if he fucked up his knee worse than it looked like he did. Expect Potter to get the call up for Tuesday, though Sauer deserves it more and I'd love to see what Sanguinetti could do in a game or two with the Rangers.

Next up: Tuesday at home against Minnesota. Funny how Gaborik just happens to get healthy in time for the Rangers (and wasn't well enough to play the Devils last week, though it probably wouldn't have made a difference in that game) Minnesota is a Renney type of team so we should be able to take it to them if we play our A game. I'm going to laugh if Dan Fritche ends up scoring a hat trick in this game - he was misused worse than Prucha when he was here.

Rangers - 5 Sabres - 3

Rangers - 5 Sabres - 3

Its funny how winning a game in regulation is more satisfying than a win in OT/SO, even when you play better in the game you win in extra time. Tonight was a perfect example of how a game plays out when things are going well. I didn't think the Rangers played well at all today. They weren't terrible, far from it, but they weren't great either. Lundqvist wasn't terrible, but he wasn't out of this world good tonight either, but they still go the two points against a desperate Buffalo team.

My one issue with the game tonight was the third period where we wilted a little bit. I don't know if it was because of the three goal lead or by design (conserve energy for tomorrow nights game), but I would have felt a lot better if we had kept the pressure up, scored the 5th goal and then played patty cake for the rest of the period. Buffalo is a good offensive team so giving up 40 shots to them is not a surprise (6 PP Opps for the Slugs.)

One things for sure, the game it self was highly entertaining through the first two periods. I'm not a fan of the Sabres, their fan base or Lindy Ruff (hes a hell of a coach though) but I have to credit them with the fact that they never play a boring game. Watching two teams combine for 70+ shots, 8 goals and a bunch of hits both ways will make for exciting hockey more often than not.

That leads me to my next point which I've reiterated time and time again - ANOTHER GAME WITH MORE THAN TWO FUCKING GOALS! Get this, out of the Rangers 31 shots, 21 of them were considering scoring chances! We're averaging 3.09 goals a game under Tortorella (including the first two games and a shut out.) Take out the first two games and you'd have a team tgat would be on pace to score 292 goals in a full season - Thats fucking remarkable considering the lack of actual legit goal scorer on this team.

I'm not going to do 3 up 3 down since I don't think anyone is worthy of a down but i'll point out some guys who I felt played well tonight.

Ryan Callahan - hes pretty much become a mainstay on the 3 up part of my posts here and if I had done it again hed be there again. One goal away from 20 and has flourished under Tortorella. I think Korpikoski is a better fit on his line rather than Sjostrom but Freddie is playing well right now so its hard to justify moving him down.

Marc Staal - I think he has 7 points in 11 games under Torts. Hes been amazing in his own end for quite some time now. Eric and Jordan are going to have to give him pointers on how to hit the net this offseason when he heads back to the sod farm because he misses the net as much as Bruce Driver and Michael Rozsival combined.

Nik Antropov - Another guy who has found himself listed in the 3 up section more than once. Antro is doing everything you can ask, including decking that fuckbag Patrick Kaleta. Hes quickly moving up my list of players to resign this offseason and at this point hes ahead of Zherdev IMO.

Nik Zherdev - Scored another fluky goal but what ever, they all count. he had one of the best shifts you could possibly have in what was otherwise a pretty dormant third period for the team. I love it when this dude moves his feet with determination and plays a chippy game, hes much better that way. There have been times this year where he is so creative that he fools everyone with a pass including his teammates, that happened twice tonight.

Paul Mara - I want him back next year, end of discussion.

Next up: Ottawa tomorrow at home. Senators are not a playoff team but they've been hot recently - its going to take a better effort than the one we had tonight to knock off the Sens.

2009 Draft - Who the Rangers should target.

The 2009 draft is being pegged as the deepest draft since the 2003 NHL draft which saw every single player in the first round play at least one game in the NHL except for one player (who shall not be mentioned.)

The Rangers should be picking in the 17-22 range which means that they'll miss out on the can't miss players for sure (Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, MSP) and the 2nd tier of High Ceiling players (Schenn, Kane, Schroeder, Kadri) but the first round (first two rounds really) are so deep that if the Rangers play their cards right they should end up with a solid player or two or perhaps with a little bit of luck (or if they trade up), they can land a big time talent.

Here are a few guys I'd really like the Rangers to take a hard look at.

1. Scott Glennie - C/LW Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

Pros: Sky high goal scoring potential and excellent wheels. Plays the game at a high octane level. His top gear is pretty much unmatched in this draft. Doesn't have a great frame (Listed 6'1" 174) but he should be able to fill out and play at 6'1" 190-195. The Rangers don't have many blue chip scoring prospects in their system (ok, they have one) so adding Glennie would be a major coup. Major weapon on the Penalty Kill.

Cons: His abrasive style may lead to injury problems in the NHL. He plays with the same intensity of Ovechkin and isn't nearly as big as Ovy is. Hes not a one dimensional player by any means but he isn't as strong in his own end as most of his peers are. He plays on a line with Brayden Schenn, so the question is there if he can produce on his own.

Outlook: I've seen him projected to go anywhere from the top 10 to out of the first round. If he falls past the top 12 I'd be happy with trading up to land him. Glennie has first line all star written all over him.



2. Zack Kassian - RW Peterborough Petes (OHL)

Pros: Hes already a big dude who is going to get bigger (6'3" 205 and plays like hes even bigger than that.) He plays with max effort and plays a very mean, tough game to go along with very good hands for a guy his size. Scouts have called him Milan Lucic with more skill (Think Corey Perry.) Sign me up for that.

Cons: As is the case with most guys who play his type of game, He isn't a very good skater and will need to improve on that to make the jump to the NHL. Hes a guy who will play two years in the OHL after being drafted so he isn't an instant impact type of player.

Outlook: Kassian is a personal favorite of mine. Over the past few drafts we've heard guys like Kyle Okposo and James Van Riemsdyk be refered to as power forwards due to their size when they're both pretty soft players. Kassian is a legit power forward prospect who has shown a very nice jump in his offensive numbers and a willingness to get better. Should be availavle where the Rangers select but he's also a guy a team might go off the board to select.

3. Jeremy Morin - C USNTDP (NAHL) -

Pros: Great scorer. Playing at almost a point a game pace against players who are much bigger, stronger. Leading his team in points. A guy who is a major threat on the PP.

Cons: Has been been sliding down the rankings for a few months now. Probably because he isn't dominating at the level he is playing at but again, its against older kids.

outlook: Morin at anything past the 20th pick is a steal in my opinion. This New York native has the potential to be the steal of the draft. It wasn't long ago that he was projected to be a top 10 pick.


4. Landon Ferraro - RW Red Deer Rebels (WHL)

Pros: Great speed and goal scoring ability. Excellent blood lines (Son of Ray Ferraro) and is putting up killer goal totals for an awful team, Ferraro has scored 22% of this teams goals this year. His numbers would be even better if he had more talented players around him but the fact that he is producing as well as he is with less than talented players is a great sign. Plays much bigger than he really is. Plays in a strict defensive system which also might hinder his goal totals a bit.

Cons: 5'11" 165 is pretty slight, even for the "new" NHL. Isn't much of a playmaker so that really limits his potential to be an all around offensive threat.

Outlook: Mid/late to late first round selection. Hes a guy I'd take if the other three are already off the board. Theres a chance that he might even slip into the 2nd round but you can bet that he'll be picked before the Rangers pick again.


5. Peter Holland - C/LW Guelph Storm (OHL)

Pros: Great size and is learning how to plays like he has it. Has the projectable frame that should allow him to play at 6'2 200-205 pounds. Owns a very hard, accurate shot and a sound defensive game.

Cons: Isn't as physical as you'd like him to be. His effort has been called into question at times on the ice but he is a guy who likes to study the game off the ice so that doesn't make a ton of sense. His offensive upside isn't as high as other players in this draft.

Outlook: Id love to find a way to land this guy in round 2 but hes most likely a late first round, early 2nd round selection. He is a guy who won't make his NHL Debut for 3 or 4 years after the draft and even this his upside seems a bit limited but if he puts it together he can be a force.

Rangers - 4 Canadiens- 3 (SO)

Rangers - 4 Canadiens - 3 (SO)

I'll be honest, I found my self getting pissed off more often than I should have been watching a game in which we never trailed in. The Rangers, for stretches carried the play and looked like they were playing against a pee wee team. They were the better team tonight, and they deserved the two points but I'm upset that they allowed the Habs to get a point in a game they had no business getting a point in.

But again, this is a game that a month ago, we lose 3 or 4 to 1. That goal that Lundqvist gave up with less than 5 minutes left to go would have probably been the game winner for the Habs under Renney. Thats the beauty of Tortorella, Lundqvist doesn't have to be perfect under him and can still get wins.

The PP didn't look that great today (though they hit a crossbar on it) and Carey Price actually played a pretty good game today for the Habs. Lapierre was pissing the hell out of me which means that he was playing a good game for the Habs.

All in all this game had the feel of one that was going to be a huge let down and when Gomez took that penalty with less than two minutes left to go I thought the Habs would end it in regulation for sure. The PK was excellent again today, killing 5 of 6 and they've killed something like 40 of their last 44. Most importantly,aside from the two points, the team scored more than 2 goals in regulation once again!

In the shootout - Naslunds move was jaw dropping. Nice to see that he can still wow you when there is no one else on the ice.

Three up Three Down

Up: Ryan Callahan - Was everywhere on the PK, forecheck and potted his 17th goal of the season. Hes been the team MVP this year as far as I'm concerned. He does everything you could ask for from a third line player and will always be worth more than he'll be paid. Props to Dubinsky on making a great play getting to the net before Cally banged home the rebound - If Dubi keeps on doing that the goals will come.


Nik Antropov - Best forward on the ice. Scored another goal and almost had a 2nd. Antropov has hit 3 posts as a Ranger! He was causing havock in the offensive zone, throwing hits making plays, I'm really starting to like his game. Sweet shot in the shootout too.


Wade Redden: I can give this to the entire Defense minus Rozsival but Redden had a great game after a rough first 5 minutes. He made a great pass to Drury which set up the first goal and showed great poise and patience breaking up a 2 on 1 while the Rangers were on the PP. He also fired a few good shots on goal.

Down: Chris Drury - Yeah he some what made up for his awful gaffe by scoring the shootout winner but that is the third time in a little over a week that Drury has failed to get a puck in deep and the other team was able to score a goal because of it. He needs to simplify his game big time, its obvious that he is trying to do too much.

Henrik Lundqvist - The Bell Centre has been a house of horrors for Hank and today was no different. Obviously he wasnt at fault for the first two goals against but the third goal against was as soft as they come. Maybe he was doing an homage to Marty honoring fatso for breaking the all time wins record.

Michael Rozsival - I don't know what the hell he was doing tonight. He was throwing careless passes up the middle all night long, would take the puck to the middle of the ice in his own zone while being pressured and looked like he was skating with cement in his skates. Really hoping that we find a taker for him this off season, we've got more than capable bodies in the minors that can do what he does for much less than hes making.

Honorary Down: Montreal Fans - If you watched the game you should understand this one. A Hab player falls, they think its a penalty. Every single time a Montreal player skates the puck past the opponents blue line the crowd is louder than the crowd at the Coliseum when the Isles score a goal. Atleast I didn't hear any of those stupid soccer chants tonight.

Next game: Saturday at home against Buffalo. The last time the Rangers played a home game on Saturday they scored 6 goals, hopefully they can replicate that again. 6-3-1 in the last 10 games should be more than enough to get this team into the playoffs.

Plus 57

The Hockey News decided to redo last years draft based on players who have yet to play significant minutes with an NHL club. Guess who the biggest mover was?

"The biggest mover is center Evgeny Grachev, taken 75th overall by the New York Rangers in 2008. Among 2008 draftees on the Future Watch top prospect list, Grachev was 10th. Re-do the draft now and he’s surely go in the mid first round."

Grachev is listed at 10th overall. I think you can make a strong case for him to move up as high as 7th or 8th on that list too


Here is the rest of the list

1. Nikita Filatov, Columbus, 6th overall, 1st in FW09, plus-1 slot in draft re-do

2. Cody Hodgson, Vancouver, 10th overall, 2nd in FW09, plus-2

3. Jacob Markstrom, Florida, 31st overall, 3rd in FW09, plus-20

4. Colin Wilson, Nashville, 7th overall, 4th in FW09, minus-1

5. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis, 4th overall, 5th in FW09, minus-4

6. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa, 15th overall, 7th in FW09, plus-3

7. Tyler Myers, Buffalo, 12th overall, 9th in FW09, minus-1

8. Zach Boychuk, Carolina, 14th overall, 16th in FW09, no change

9. Jordan Eberle, Edmonton, 22nd overall, 17th in FW09, plus-6

10. Evgeny Grachev, N.Y. Rangers, 75th overall, 19th in FW09, plus-57

11. Chet Pickard, Nashville, 18th overall, 22nd in FW09, plus-1

12. Tyler Cuma, Minnesota, 23rd overall, 24th in FW09, plus-4

13. John Carlson, Washington, 27th overall, 27th in FW09, plus-7

14. Colten Teubert, Los Angeles, 13th overall, 30th in FW09, minus-7

15. Michael Del Zotto, N.Y. Rangers, 20th overall, 32nd in FW09, minus-2

16. Joe Colborne, Boston, 16th overall, 34th in FW09, minus-6

17. Kyle Beach, Chicago, 11th overall, 39th in FW09, minus-12

18. Jake Gardiner, Anaheim, 17th overall, 40th in FW09, minus-7

19. Mattias Tedenby, New Jersey, 24th overall, 43rd in FW09, minus-2

20. Jake Allen, St. Louis, 34th overall, 45th in FW09, plus-6

21. Thomas McCollum, Detroit, 30th overall, 57th in FW09, plus-1

22. Greg Nemisz, Calgary, 25th overall, 59th in FW09, minus-4

23. Vyacheslav Voinov, Los Angeles, 32nd overall, 60th in FW09, plus-1

24. Aaron Ness, N.Y. Islanders, 40th overall, 71st in FW09, plus-8

25. Patrick Wiercioch, Ottawa, 42nd overall, 74th in FW09, plus-9

26. Cameron Gaunce, Colorado, 50th overall, 75th in FW09, plus-16

First-rounders from 2008 who weren’t part of our top 75 prospects and would have slipped in a draft re-do are: Anton Gustafsson (21st overall to Washington), Tyler Ennis (26th overall to Buffalo) and Daulton Leveille (29th overall to Atlanta.)

Keep in mind this list is based on the blended assessments of 22 scouts and doesn’t take into account team needs or drafting philosophies.

THN

Evgeny Grachev Review

Grachev Season Stats - 60GP 40G 40A 80P +48

Rewind to the 2nd day of the NHL draft last year. The Rangers picked another defenseman in the first round and picked a Center out of high school with their 2nd pick (Derek Stepan, which is looking like a pretty solid pick, but thats for another post.) When their turn came up in the third round, the Rangers selected this massive Russian machine.

Evgeny "Battleship" Grachev is listed at 6'3", 212 pounds (which is probably closer to 6'4" and 220 now) gave the Rangers a much needed potential top six forward with size. International Scouting Services had him ranked as a late first rounder in their final pre draft rankings but the shaky Russian transfer agreement caused him to drop in the draft. Well that and no one really got a good look at him while he was playing in Russia, even the Rangers front office didn't expect him to explode on the scene like he did.

Grachev made it known that he was going to be in North America this year prior to the draft (he was drafted by the Brampton Battalion of the OHL in the Import Draft) so credit the Rangers on doing their homework to make sure that he was 100% committed to making the move to North America. Grachev got off to a slow start in the OHL, notching just two assists in his first five games but with the adjustment with moving to a new country and new style of play, that was to be expected and its pretty impressive that he adjusted as quick as he did. Grachev produced at a 1.41 point a game pace this season despite the slow start, and got progressively better as the season went on. Infact if you adjust his stats minus his first five games and replace those five games with the rate he produced for the rest of the season they would look like this...

60 GP 43G 42A 85P +54

85 points would have him tied for 9th in OHL scoring, 43 goals tied for 4th, and +54 tied for first - not bad for a first year player. Since returning from the WJC's, where he had a very good showing, he has been producing at a 52 goal, 97 point pace, which would have placed him 2nd in goals scored and 2nd in points, behind soon to be top pick John Tavares.

As I mentioned before, the Scouts must have not gotten a good look at Grachev before the draft because the scouting reports said that he needed to work on his accelration - that could not be further from the truth. He is faster going north-south than anyone in the OHL and his fellow countryman and top 5 pick in last years draft, Nikita Filatov. I'm not saying he is a better skater than Filatov, hes not - Filatov is a stop-on-a-dime and go skater. Hes shifiter and makes sharp turns better (which is why Grachev, who was listed as a Center when he was drafted has been shifted to LW and will play the wing in the NHL) but Grachevs straight away speed would put him near the top of the NHL's elite (Think Jeff Carter skating wise, whether or not he matches his production in the NHL remains to be seen.) There is no doubt that if Grachev had played for Brampton last year, he would have been a top 15 pick in the draft, perhaps even cracking the top 10 -

Despite being Russian, his game suits the North American style MUCH better since he is not an East-West player. His explosive straight away speed makes him a tremendous threat on the PK, where he has picked off a pass and just blazed past defenders en route to scoring a goal where he makes the goalie look silly. Grachev has played the point on the PP which shows a big vote of confidence from his head coach about his defensive abilities. Here is a guy who will get a ton of minutes at the next level since he can be used on the PP, PK, Even Strength (he led his team in ES points this year) and he was always the third shooter in shootouts too. Perhaps his most impressive stat is that he was picked as one of the three stars of the game 25 times out of the 60 games he played, thats 42% of the time.


The biggest worry about Grachev is that he is so big and fast that he may struggle a bit once he starts playing against players who are bigger and faster than his peers in the OHL but that shouldn't be too big of a worry because he is going to get bigger and faster too. It's tough to imagine this but Grachev is still growing into his body and isn't close to filled out. He should play at 6'5" 230-235 when its all said and done and with his speed, that is going to be awfully tough to handle. Seriously, Power Skating and Weight training should be at the top of his to do list when the offseason comes.

Aside from the stats, Evgeny is known to have a solid work ethic, is very coachable and is really passionate about the game. He was interviewed after a game earlier this year while Brampton was in the midst of a record setting winning streak and when the interviewer said that they were playing really well Grachev responded with "We're not playing as good as Windsor", who finished the season as the best team in the OHL by a pretty wide margin. Teammates Cody Hodgson (10th overall, 2008) and Matt Duchene (2009 draft eligible, top 5 pick) have raved about his attitude and how likeable and funny he is, which can be seen here.



With the OHL playoffs starting this Friday, It will be interesting to see how Grachev performs on a bigger stage before making the jump to either the AHL or possibly even the NHL next year. A big showing in the playoffs would go a long way in solidifying Grachevs spot as one of the top 20 prospects in hockey, likely moving him up even higher on the list, making scouts regret that they let him drop into the third round of the draft just a year ago more than they already do.

Rangers-4 Flyers-2

Rangers - 4 Flyers - 2

Going into the weekend I said that I'd be happy with a split. I don't know if everyone else felt that way but heres what I do know...

A month ago we lose this game 2-1 and drop both games this weekend.

The result of the game was nice, every time you win a game its a good thing but whats more encouraging is that the Rangers scored more than two goals for the fifth time in the last seven games. Infact, if you take out the first two games in the Tortorella era, the Rangers are averaging more than 3 goals a game under Torts, and thats with a shut out mixed in there. Renney apologists will point to two things: 1. The team is playing over their heads right now becuase they have a new coach. 2. They got three new players at the deadline. Is it possible that the team just upped their effort level because of a coaching change? Yeah, I'll say thats a safe assumption. Do the additions of Avery and Antropov help? of course they do. However whats important to look for here is the way that they're scoring goals and how they're back to firing well over 30 shots on goal on a pretty regular basis.

How many times did you see forwards crash the net and score ugly goals under Renney? I think the fourth line is the only line that did that and they don't score all that often. The one goal that had me convinced that things were on the way up under Tortorella was the only goal that the Rangers scored against the Panthers a few weeks ago when Markus freaking Naslund scored a goal by skating to the front of the net with a player draped all over him and burying a rebound while in the process of falling on his ass. It'd be nice if every goal scored in the NHL mirrored a segment from an Alex Ovechkin highlight reel but that just doesn't happen and when you can't take it coast to coast, you gotta get to the front of the net and pick up the trash.

As for the actual game, The Rangers won it with their Power Play (when was the last time we were able to say that?) Sure they had a ton of PP opps, one of them being a five minute major but to bury three goals on the PP against a team that is very good on the PK is impressive (Note: the Ranger PP is operating at about 20% under Tortorella, and all the kinks still haven't been worked out yet.) Put a solid effort from Lundqvist ontop of that and more often than not, the result will be an extra number in the win column for the Rangers.

There were five guys who stood out in this game for me, three good, one not so good and one awful.

Good: Derek Morris - I think its clear that this dude is a step up from the other deadline deadweights we've added to our blue line in previous years. Hes much better defensivley than I thought he would be and he really excells at getting hard, low, deflectable shots on net on the PP. The hard shot/pass he threw at the net that resulted in Avery's first goal was beautiful. I have no idea how he only had one PP point with the Coyotes before the deadline - He already has two with the Rangers in six games.

Nik Antropov - Hes quietly been excellent for the Rangers since arriving from Toronto. He could easily have five goals in six games if not for hitting two posts. His game will rarely wow you like a Zherdev's will when he has a good one but I think thats good - Hes more of a shoot it or get to the front of the net when you don't have it type player and I really like that. He isn't a speed demon by any means but his size/reach and knowing how to use them makes him play much faster than he really is. Oh yeah, hes got a pretty wicked shot too. Get used to that wrister, the release and velocity on it are pretty much spot on with Grachev's. I'm really warming up to the big Russian, almost enough to want to keep him on this team going forward.

Sean Avery - I don't get it. He wasn't that good in LA, he did virtually nothing in Dallas but he plays amazing in a Ranger uniform. The Rangers record with him in the line up reflect that, but the last 3 games he has been by far the best player on this team. Whats amazing is I don't think hes chirping nearly as much has he has in the past, though that hasn't stopped five, sometimes six players on the opposing team from taking a shot at him when they get the chance and hes done a pretty good job of not retaliating so far. Whats unfortunate for Sean is that his ability gets lost in the side show he creates on and off the ice. As a hockey player, hes pretty good - Hes an excellent skater, has a very good shot, underrated vision and decent hands around the net - that package of skills should result in him being praised for his talents instead of torn apart for his antics. I have no idea how much longer this will last because its only a matter of time before he loses his cool or gets hurt but he is a perfect fit for Tortorella's system and if he can keep this up and stay healthy he'll be a major steal at the 1.9 mill he is being paid by the Rangers.

Not so good: Markus Naslund - Other than just missing out on burying a rebound on the PP, he was invisible today and that has been the case way too often lately. I'm not accusing him of dogging it but he just doesn't have it anymore. Markus has been a very classy guy whose had a great NHL career but those skills that made him known just aren't there anymore. I know he has 21 goals (it is 21 right?), but there is no reason he should be playing ahead of a guy like Korpikoski who does more good things on the ice night in and night out than Naslund.

Awful: Wade Redden - He picked up a secondary assist today but other than that he was terrible. One of my friends told me to watch for a big jump in Redden's play because Tortorella's system forces Redden to keep his feet moving and he'll be less liable to be caught flat footed and that his offensive production would go up. Through the first four games of the Tortorella era my friend looked like a genius...

Since then, hes gone back to the Redden we've gotten to know too well. He makes horrible decisions on when to pinch and when not to pinch, isn't moving his feet and he isn't covering passing lanes in his own zone well, or sometimes at all. I feel bad for picking on a guy who has taken a ton of grief this year but he has to pick it up and I know he can - I've already seen him play better than this a week ago so and no one loses it that fast.

The rest of the team put forth a solid effort. Up next: Montreal in Montreal. I'd enjoy a win so much more against the Habs if Carey Price is in net - I can't stand that smug overrated asshole.