Yes, Virginia, there is an actual game called hockey and it will be played at MSG tonight. The Rangers (32-24-3) recent hot streak coincided with a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on January 8; a victory that propelled the team forward to the Olympic break. The challenges now are to try and put aside all the off-ice distractions, restart the engines that were idled during the break and not give back the gains that were achieved in that hot streak and fall back in the playoff race.
The Rangers return to action a bit more banged up than when they left but welcome back an injured player, even though he won't play tonight. Mats Zuccarello will miss another 10-14 days with the non-displaced fracture in his left hand. In his stead, the Rangers could have dressed Derek Dorsett, who is ready to return after missing 17 games with a fractured left leg, but opted - wisely in my view - to call up and dress JT Miller. Coach Alain Vigneault said he likes what he has seen from Boyle-Moore-Carcillo and did not want to break up that trio, which we have said have been really good on the forecheck as well as Boyle/Moore on the PK. That left replacing Zucc, and playing Miller, as AV said, retains some continuity and to me, gives Miller a shot to impress given all the rumors swirling around this squad. Marc Staal is a GTD given his "twisted spine" but all signs point to him playing while Cam Talbot is between the pipes, giving Henrik Lundqvist an extra few days of rest, as he will go Saturday against the Flyers and it wouldn’t shock me to have him go Sunday against Boston, the Rangers last game before the trade deadline.
Lineup tonight:
RANGERS
Kreider – Stepan – Nash Hagelin – Richards – Callahan Miller – Brassard – Pouliot Boyle – Moore – Carcillo
McDonagh – Girardi Staal – Stralman Moore – Klein
Cam Talbot (starting) Henrik Lundqvist
Not much more clarity has come out on the Callahan and Girardi situations, other than the Rangers and Girardi's engaging in further talks that may have the sides closer to an agreement. However, Larry Brooks used the term "roadblock" in his column today indicating that the sides have been "close" for a while but unable to close the deal. I do agree with Brooks that GM Glen Sather should have jumped at signing Girardi at the beginning of the season when he wanted a six-year deal worth $33 million, which given the minutes he eats up as the right side of a top-pairing was more than reasonable. Of course, what may have happened is that Girardi, seeing the dearth of top-pair d-men in free agency may have upped his price or Sather is sticking to the six years, $5.2 mil per or five at around $5.7 mil offer he gave Girardi weeks ago. The other option is as Callahan goes, so goes Girardi, as I wrote yesterday and proposed by Brooks, but the longer this continues, the less of a likelihood of him staying a Ranger. No real update on Callahan's negotiations, save for his agent and Sather touching base, so the dance continues.
After the trade deadline, the Rangers plays Toronto at home on March 5. Beginning on March 6, they will close the regular season with an imposing 12 of 19 games on the road, making these next few games even more important for making the playoffs, let alone future positioning. Not an easy task facing a good Blackhawks in general, let alone one that would like to pay back New York for the loss at the United Center. If the Blueshirts win, much of the lead would be how they were able to get past all the distractions. If they lose, well, you can fill in the blank.
The stretch run to the playoffs start tonight. No excuses, just get a win.