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Rangers Sign Talbot to One-Year Extension, Brassard Practices |
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The Rangers locked up Cam Talbot for one more season, re-signing the team's back up for $1.45 million next season. I don't if anyone is or how anyone could question this deal, save for maybe wanting it be a year or two longer. In 28 games, 24 starts, Talbot has gone 14-9-2 with a 1.80 goals-against average and .936 save percentage with five shutouts. There is not much more you could want from a back up, plus, he has righted the ship when needed when Henrik Lundqvist struggled and needed time to clear his head. Despite all this, Lundqvist and not Talbot will play Saturday and if Hank has a monster game Saturday, it's feasible though unlikely he could play Sunday.
Derick Brassard, who missed two games with the mumps, returned to practice today. He was between Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello, but it's unclear if he will play tomorrow or Sunday against Carolina. As of now, all signs are that he will play Saturday with a final call to be made tomorrow. With Lee Stempniak possibly out due to a suspected case of the mumps, the side out rotate of the lineup continues. The top-nine is likely where it would sit, with the only question if Glass or Fast or Stempniak would sit if the latter was healthy.
Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello
Kreider-Stepan-St. Louis
Hagelin-Hayes-Miller
Glass-D. Moore-Fast
The power play, with Brassard back, is listed below. Of course, to have power plays, you actually need to possess the puck, which was lacking for good portions of the Western Canada trip. I will get into this in another blog, when I discuss what still needs to occur for the team to be considered for the upper squads in the division, but getting the PP rolling is one close if not at the top of the list. For #1, Nash should be in front of the net, creating traffic and diverting attention from the rest of the squad.
PP1: Nash-Brassard-MSL, Boyle-Stepan
PP2: Kreider-Miller-Zuccarello, McDonagh-Girardi
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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