Rangers vs Isles tonight in the Colisseum: LIVE

"We won our last game. If we win again today, that's 2 in a row. If we win again tomorrow, that's what they call a winning streak..... It has happened before."
- Lou Brown, Major League II

I think this was the pregame pep talk Tort gave they boys.

1st Period
Rangers goal- Rangers dump the puck deep into the Isles zone, and both Gomez and Naslund forecheck from opposite sides. The Isle's defender makes a panic pass behind him up the boards right to Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev coasts in and fires one by Danis through a Gomez screen.

2 guys forechecking= increased pressure = Tortorella goal.

Observations
- There is a clear energy in the crowd and on the ice whenever Avery is out there. The pace is much faster and the inexperienced Isles are visibly scared. Apparently Bruno Gervais never got the memo that Avery was in the lineup tonight. YOU DON'T SKATE WITH YOUR HEAD DOWN BRUNO. Avery gave him a powerful reminder.

- The Rangers now have 3 good defensive pairings. 3 lefties and 3 righties. 3 Offensive d-men paired with 3 defensive D-men. Mara and Rozsival never have to be on the ice together. This pleases me.

- The team has Avery's back. Blake Comeau gives a couple cheap shots to Avery and the other 4 Rangers jump in and start a scrum. Great way to make the vagabond winger feel like he has a home.

- End of the first. 1-0 Rangers

2nd Period

Isle's Goal: McAmmond gets the puck in his own end and moves it through the neutral zone. Both Rangers defensemen collapse on McAmmond and he hits Blake Comeau streaking down the left wing. Comeau gets behind the D and slips one through Hank. Game tied at 1-1.

-Antropov with a golden opportunity to answer quickly and retake the lead and he demostrates great patience by waiting and gets Danis to the ground. He then procedes to hit the crossbar. I think this is a microcosm of Antropov's skill set. Shows some promise but in the end frustrating.

Ranger's POWER PLAY Goal: With the Rangers on the power play because of a Trent Hunter trip, the Rangers capitalize. Tortorella has a power play philosophy called weak side shooting. Basically its hold the puck on one side and once the defense shifts, get it quickly to the other and blast away before the D can get back into position. After a couple weak side rockets on net, Antropov gets the puck on the wing and gives it the Drury at the point. Drury rockets one through a Dubinsky and Redden screen and Danis never had a chance. Rangers now have 5 power play goals over their last 7 games.

Forward and defenseman screening in front of the net = Tortorella goal. Two thus far on the night.

- Callahan, Dubinksy, and Korpikoski are all very much Tortorella type players. Lost of hustle, lots of crashing the net, lots of solid passing. I wouldn't be surprised if Tortorella told Sather that those three weren't allowed to be moved yesterday.

- I've never seen Hank use his stick so much in a game to chip pucks away. He's cleared like 5-6 pucks already that were trickling out front.

-The Rangers have been sacrificing their bodies a ton this game. Tons of shot blocking and diving to get into the passing lanes.

End of 2 and Rangers up 2-1

3rd Period
Rangers Goal: Andy Hilbert collides with Dean McAmmond in the offensive end and both fall down. Zherdev picks up the puck and streaks down ice with Gomez next to him and Naslund trailing. Zherdev peaks back over his shoulder to Naslund and Martinek takes the bait. Zherdev hits Gomez in stride and flicks it into the back of the net.

Isle's collision (Freaking Hilarious) + 3 on 1 = No Tort goal. 3-1 Rangers.

- On the power play I don't want my 6'6" 230 forward on the wing. I want him camped out in front on the net screening like a sumo wrestler. Tort needs to tell Antropov to get himself out front.

Isle's Goal: Jack Hillen and Blake Comeau play give and go up and down the ice. Hillen uses his speed to cut to the net and sneaks one through Hank's pads for his first NHL goal. 3-2 Rangers.

- Blake Comeau looks like he wants to claim that C on his chest that Guerin left behind. He has been vocal all game and has stepped his game up. And remember this, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.

- Every time Rozsival gets the puck at the point, he takes longer than Russ Tyler in the Mighty Ducks shooting the knuckle puck to get a shot off. BLAST AWAY MICHAL.

- The Rangers are not playing scared hockey like they did over the last month and sitting on the 1 goal lead. It's refreshing to see them still attacking the net and not taking the proverbial knee.

- Is there anything more nerve racking than the puck staying in your zone for more than 1 minute? It felt like the Rangers couldn't clear the zone forever and I was ready for a goal against or a stupid penalty. Luckily we averted disaster.

Ranger's POWER PLAY Goal: Thank you Radek Martinek. Isle's turn it over behind the net and Drury gets the puck out to Naslund. Naslund winds up to fire and breaks his stick. Radek Martinek goes to deflect it to the side and instead deflects it over the shoulder of Danis. I'll take it. To be fair, Duby was in the front screening and Danis had no chance to react to a soft deflection.

Power play + broken stick + dumb luck+ a screen out front: These things never happened under Renney, hence: Tort goal. 4-2 Rangers. 3 Tort goals on the night.

- Kyle Okposo is going to be that pain in the ass player that always seems to be around the puck in the years to come. Experience will help him get to the right place at the right time. Right now he's just about half a step away from being potent.

- I'm willing to bet Tort has some sort of rule that each defenseman needs to wind up and let one fire at least once a game. Tons of shooting from the point from the Rangers blueliners.

GAME OVER: RANGERS WIN 4-2...
- Hank with 28 saves in a very solid effort
- 1st Rangers road win since January 16th at Chicago
- Rangers record with Avery in the lineup: 51-23-13
- Rangers 10 goals over the last 2 games... Woohoo

Tort Goal Update Total
Tort Goals -7
Non Tort Goals- 3

And to take this full circle... If we win on Sunday, that's what they call a winning streak... It has happened before.

Trade Deadline Breakdown

For your reading pleasure, we will be breaking down each trade from today, noting what each trade means for each team and what this tells us about the direction they are going. For the record there were 22 trades today, 41 players getting new addresses, and 21 picks changing hands in the upcoming draft.

Columbus trades Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick to Ottawa for Antoine Vermette

Goph's Take: This was one of the few trades today where both sides come out winners. Ottawa has been searching for a goalie for the past couple of years, and with Steve Mason doing wonders in Columbus, Pascal Leclaire was readily available. As for Columbus, they are looking to make a push to get into the playoffs and Antoine Vermette is a solid role player that has the ability to put the puck in the net every now and then. Solid move for both teams.

Casey's Take: I tend to think that Columbus gave up a bit much to get Vermette here. Leclaire isn't a terrible goalie, but the Senators need something in net to stop pucks. I'm all for them putting up the shooter tutor and playing with the normal five guys on the ice. Columbus gets a good solid gritty veteran to help out in their playoff push. I can't believe I'm putting playoff push and Columbus in the same sentence. Wow.

Calgary trades Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and a 2nd rounder to the Avs for Jordan Leopold.

Casey's Take: The Flames are obviously trying to close the gap between them and the Sharks and Red Wings. This may be a bit much to give up for Leopold, but he will be a solid addition to the team.

Pittsburgh trades Danny Richmond to the Blues for Andy Wozniewski

Casey's Take: Just a minor deal here. Might mean that Ray Shero is not planning on re-signing Hal Gill or Philippe Boucher this summer and thinks Wozniewski and Alex Goligoski will be full-time ready for next season.

Phoenix trades Mikael Tellqvist to the Sabres for a 4th round pick

Casey's Take: This is the best the Sabres could do to bring in a goalie to get them to the playoffs? Or at the very least keep them in the playoff hunt? Color me not impressed.

Justin's Take: Well, I guess Tellqvist beats the crippled goalies the Sabres have over here in Portland, Maine. Not by much though.

Toronto claims Martin Gerber off of waivers from the Senators

Casey's Take: Gerber's fallen off the map of quality goaltenders over the last couple seasons, but maybe without the pressure of making the playoffs in Toronto things will change. With Vesa Toskala on the IR now, I could see a platoon of CuJo and Gerber in Vesa's absence.

Goph's Take: I don't think it hurts the Leafs, and if anything, rolling the dice on Gerber can pay dividends if all he needed was to get out of that toxic fog up in Ottawa. With that said, I don't expect much out of this signing.

Dallas claims Brendan Morrison off of waivers from the Ducks

Casey's Take: Very solid pickup for the Stars. If they have any hope of making the playoffs in the log-jammed Western Conference they need people to get healthy. Morrison could very bridge the gap and provide some help for a team missing big players like Brad Richards and Brendan Morrow.

Goph's Take: I like Morrison, but not as much as some of my fellow bloggers. I think he does better with oodle's of talent around him rather than making others around him look better. He will be much better with this team next year with Morrow back.

Anaheim trades Steve Montador to the Bruins for Petteri Nokelainen

Casey's Take: I'm not surprised the Bruins were pretty quiet on deadline day, but Montador brings a physical presence to the backline and some added depth. Bruins win this trade considering Anaheim has waved the white flag on this season.

Justin's Take: I like the deal for the Bruins in the sense that they get more physical in defense and a little stronger in depth. I want to see what it means for a couple rearguards on the team, Hunwick especially.

Goph's Take: I would actually put the Bruins as one of my winners on the day. They simply solidified their depth chart today which is all they really needed to do. Sometimes less is more, and that is the case here.

Calgary trades Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and 1st round pick for to the Coyotes for Olli Jokinen and a 3rd rounder.

Goph's Take: By far the trade of the day in the NHL. Calgary, who has been holding their cards tightly to their vest, nabs what could be the best offensive player that was on the market. Jerome Iginla must be doing backflips right now. A line of Iginla, Olli, and Cammelari may be the most potent line in the league behind the Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley line.

Casey's Take: Steep price to pay for Jokinen, but the return could pay huge dividends for the Flames. Before this trade, I don't think the Flames could have knocked off the Red Wings or Sharks. I'm still not so sure right now, but they have a good defense, a more potent offense now and let's not forget that they have one of the elite goaltenders in the league in Miikka Kiprusoff. Watch out for the Flames in the playoffs now.

Justin's Take: Olli Olli Olli! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Boston trades Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums to Tampa Bay for Mark Recchi and a 2010 2nd rounder

Casey's Take: I honestly don't know what the Lightning are thinking here. It's no surprise that they dealt Recchi, but throwing in a 2nd rounder to get Lashoff and Karsums is a waste to me. Just my two cents.

Justin's Take: Casey's right, it is a waste. Lashoff has some potential, but he's limited. Karsums is a high energy, hard player type, but he's a fringe NHL player at best. Boston does well to get a 2nd rounder and 3 months of Mark Recchi.

Goph's Take: How many more years will Tampa Bay be simply cutting salary and acquiring prospects at the deadline, especially with St. Louis having his contract up in 2 years? I don't see them being buyers next year, and if St. Louis jumps ship in two years, this team is going to turn into the Oakland Raiders of hockey.

The Islanders traded Bill Guerin to the Penguins for a conditional draft pick (5th rounder, that turns into a 4th if the Pens make the playoffs and a 3rd if they win 1 round)

Casey's Take: Love it, love it love it. If you go back and look at my previous posts about this saga you'll see that this is exactly what I was prepared to give up for a guy like Guerin. He'll go to the net and bang home rebounds for sure. He'll be the guy camping out in front of the net on the powerplay allowing our skill players to do what they do best. This is a very good move for the Pens.

Justin's Take: So they wanted Billy two years ago and settled for Gary Roberts. Now they need Billy for the playoff push. I like the move because he should do a lot for the Pens power play and it never hurts to have a great leader like Guerin on the team.

Goph's Take: Another trade where I disagree with my fellow bloggers. Satan, Fedotenko, and now Guerin. How many more Islanders cast offs are the Pens going to acquire from a team that perpetually disappoints? I think Kunitz was a great trade, but on this one, I don't see Guerin contributing like Kunitz has over his first 3 games in Pittsburgh.

Phoenix trades Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd rounder

Goph's Take: I saw this and it looked like Philly was gearing to make a big deal by clearing Upshall's cap space. And then nothing happened but cricket noises and Kyle (hahahahaha) Mc (hohohohoho) Laren (hehehehehe). They already have enough guys taking penalty minutes, Carcillo wasn't needed.

Casey's Take: I'll be interested to see how Carcillo and Riley Cote get along. If Carcillo has his head in the game, he can be a lot more effective than just pounding people's faces in. If he loses his head however....

Toronto trades Nik Antropov to the Rangers for a 2nd rounder and a conditional pick

Casey's Take: How bad did Toronto fans want Antropuff off the roster? I got a text from a die-hard Leafs fan right after the announcement that said "Antropuff gone. Thank God!" Enjoy Rangers.

Phoenix trades Derek Morris to the Rangers for Dmitri Kalinin, Petr Prucha, and Nigel Dawes

Goph's Take: At first when the Antropov (Antropuff because he's a big dude who plays about as physical as the Staypuft Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters) trade went down, I was concerned because it gave the Rangers a surplus of wingers and I knew something else big was coming. With that said, there were only 5 forwards on the Rangers who would be pursued by other teams: Dubinsky, Korpikoski, Callahan, Prucha, and Dawes. Personally, I like all 5 of these wingers but I would be most willing to part with the last two.

Then the Rangers sent Dawes, Prucha, and the underachieving Kalinin to Phoenix for Derek Morris, a defenseman who believes in playing... hold it... wait for it... DEFENSE!. This is something the rest of Rangers blue liners don't do too well. Over the last 3 days, the Rangers got Avery, Antropov, and Morris for Prucha, Dawes, Kalinin, and a pick. Not bad at all Sather.

Casey's Take: Morris will help a much maligned defensive corps on Broadway, but did the Rangers sacrifice a part of their future to get him? Time will tell, but I'm sure Lundqvist is excited to see someone play some defense in front of him for once.

Toronto trades Dominic Moore to Buffalo for a 2nd rounder

Goph's Take: Has a 15 game hot streak ever been more influential at the trade deadline then now? In December Dominic Moore was not on anyone's radar. Now he's getting dealt for a 2nd rounders? Don't get me wrong hes a good player and hustles as much as anyone on the ice, but a 2nd rounder? Kudos to you Brian Burke.

Casey's Take: Toronto is going to be wheeling and dealing at the NHL Draft this year with how much they cleaned up on deadline day. Picking up a second round pick for Dominic Moore is near highway robbery. Nice job Brian Burke. Well played today.

Anaheim trades Eric O'Dell to Atlanta for Erik Christensen

Casey's Take: Poor Christensen. Once again he thinks he's made it through the deadline unscathed only to see his name pop up in a post-deadline deal. Last season he got dealt for Judas Hossa and now this yawn-fest of a deal. Hope you at least have a frequent flyer card Erik.

Tampa Bay trades Steve Eminger to Florida for Noah Welch and a 3rd rounder

Casey's Take: Intra-divisional trades bother me a lot. Just doesn't seem natural. It's like sleeping with your step-sister. You grow up hating each other and fighting and such only to reconcile in a dirty unmentionable way.

Justin's Take: A least the draft pick is clean.

Goph's Take: Draft pick is tainted by association.

Calgary trades Kevin Lalande to Columbus for a 4th rounder

Casey's Take: For a day that was supposed to be about big names moving this one deal sure take the cake.

San Jose sends Kyle McLaren to Philadelphia for a 6th rounder

Casey's Take: Oh do I wish I could have seen the look on Derek's face when this trade got announced. The winner of the "nearly peed my pants laughing" trade of the day goes to Philadelphia.

Justin's Take: Hey remember that shift back in 1998 in the second period where Kyle McLaren did that really awesome thing and seemed like a great player? Yeah, me neither.

Goph's Take: Great move for Philly. The Phantoms are in 8th in the AHL and could really use the veteran presence in the playoffs.

Anaheim trades Sami Pahlsson to Chicago for James Wisniewski and a pick

Casey's Take: I like this trade for both teams. Pahlsson is a very scrappy player who gives 110% all the time. He'll be a good fit in Chicago. The Ducks are bolstering their defensive corps for 2009-2010 already with Whitney and Wisniewski. Good deal.

Anaheim trades Travis Moen and Ken Huskins to San Jose for Nick Bonino, Tim Pielmeier, and a pick

Goph's Take: This trade is a clear microcosm of where each of these two teams is headed this season. San Jose is playing for the now, and adding playoff veterans Moen and Huskins will give the Sharks much needed toughness down the stretch. On the other hand, didn't it seem like every move today that the Ducks made was just to clear cap space? This team looks as if its throwing in the towel with 17 games left and tied for the 7th spot.

Casey's Take: See Eminger Trade. Advantage Sharks in this one, Hands down, though Anaheim gets a solid young return.

3 WAY DEAL:

Carolina gets back Erik Cole

Los Angeles gets Justin Williams and a 2nd rounder

Edmonton gets Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2nd rounder

Casey's Take: About time this whole Cole saga gets put to bed. Way to ruin the suspense by going back to the team you just left this summer. Golf clap anyone?

Anyway, I think the Kings make out quite well here with Justin Williams coming over. Add him to the mix with Frolov/Kopitar/Brown and you have yourself a couple potentially fantastic lines. The question is do you break up that aforementioned trio that's tearing it up?

Justin's Take: Wait... Cole didn't get traded to Boston!? Justin 1, Eklund 0.

Casey's Take #2: Yeah, count me in on this too. Cole not coming to Pittsburgh thankfully. Casey 1, Eklund 0.

Goph's Take: Just for the record, outside of Erik Cole and Pascal Leclaire being moved, Eklund (the man of 1000 guessed) did not predict 1 other player moving today who moved. Let that sink in. The last 6 months of guesswork is all for naught. Guerin's pick doesn't count because one he was yanked from the ice Saturday, everybody knew he was on the move. Same goes with Morris who hasn't played in a week. Now he takes a much deserved (cough cough) vacation.

Buffalo trades Ales Kotalik to the Oilers for a 2nd rounder

Casey's Pick: Nice pickup by Edmonton and Buffalo gets the second rounder they dealt to Toronto for Moore back.

Goph's Pick: BUFFALO BASICALLY TRADED ALES KOTALIK FOR DOMINIC MOORE... FAIL!

Tampa Bay trades Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers, and a 4th rounder to Toronto for Richard Petiot

Casey's Take: Apparently it's bargain buyer day in Tampa Bay. Buy 1 get the whole team free. Good Lord.

Justin's Take: And the Leafs continue to stockpile draft picks and has-beens.

Casey's Take #2: Hey now, Kolzig was the man in Portland and you know it. Show some respect.

Pens Get 1-0 Win Over Islanders Sans Crosby, Whitney

For whatever reason, the New York Islanders always seem to give the Penguins fits. Tonight was just another example of this as the Pens squeaked by the Islanders 1-0.

Before I go any further, can I just say that I'm sick of the powder blue jerseys? They were cool in the Outdoor Classic last year and maybe as a rare throwback jersey, but 20+ times this season? Come on. The team was garbage when they wore those jerseys back in the late '60s and I think it's showing up in their play this season.

Anyway, the Pens had plenty of glorious opportunities in this game. On a few occasions they had the puck behind Isles goaltender Yann Danis, but were unable to slam it home or settle the puck.

Finally, Petr Sykora was the recipient of a fortunate bounce out front on a pass from Sergei Gonchar and buried the puck behind Danis for the game's lone goal. he nearly killed himself while celebrating the goal, but hey when you score a potentially season saving goal, you're allowed.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Sidney Crosby and Ryan Whitney missed tonight's game for a couple different reasons. Crosby pulled himself out of practice with a sore groin he suffered Sunday against Washington.

Whitney missed the game due to personal reasons and is expected to re-join the team Friday in Chicago.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Marc-Andre Fleury - 3.58 - 7 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP
Kris Letang - 2.84 - 4 Games Played
Hal Gill - 2.34 - 6 GP
Mark Eaton - 2.33 - 7 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 1.75 - 6 GP
Brooks Orpik - 1.75 - 7 GP
Jordan Staal - 1.75 - 7 GP
Rob Scuderi - 1.25 - 7 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 7 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 7 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP

As a result of the shutout, the Hall Gill Quotient remains unchanged from the last game and in place of dissecting goals against, let's take a look at some "rumors."

Alexander Frolov To Pittsburgh e4

First off, I like the possibility of having a guy like Frolov on Sidney Crosby's wing. A lot. However, given that Eklund is only correct 2.9% of the time according to HockeyBuzzHogwash.com, this isn't happening. He is also rumored to head to Colorado or Buffalo.

Let's just assume that Eklund is onto something here. What would we give up to get Frolov?

It's widely thought that Ryan Whitney will be shipped out of Pittsburgh by the deadline. I'm willing to take a guy like Frolov and a draft pick for Whitney. The upside to this kind of a deal is that Frolov is signed through the end of next season at $2.9 million, meaning we save about $1.1 million in cap space by dumping Whitney's salary.

Erik Cole To Pitt e4

Eklund seems to think that the Pens will trade Whitney to Edmonton straight up for Cole.

Please.

Does anyone out there seriously think that this would be an equal trade or that the Pens would actually be the victors in this deal? Come on.

Not to mention, Cole's going to be a UFA after this season. Where's the logic here Eklund?

Scott Niedermayer To Pittsburgh

Dear God, why? There's not even an "E" rating on this because there isn't a quantitative negative value for utterly laughable. It doesn't exist.

Moving on.

Ryan Smyth To Pitt

Gimmie gimmie gimmie. Seriously, I'd love this guy in Pittsburgh. The only problem here is his $6.25 million contract. Upside is that he's signed through 2011-2012.

With 20 goals and 30 assists on the season, Smyth could be the perfect fit on the top line with Crosby. Throw Pascal Dupuis on the other wing to wreak havoc and win one-on-one battles in the corners and you have yourself a formidable top line.

Smyth isn't Judas, but it's an improvement over (insert player here not named Sykora or Evgeni Malkin.)

Now onto some other rumors I've read on other sites:

Nik Antropov To Pitt

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I do not see what the big deal is with Antropov. Leaf fans affectionately refer to him as Antropuff.

Here's what I think of Antropov:

He's a good guy to have out in front to set up screens and he does score a bunch of garbage goals. That's fine and dandy. However, he's what Hal Gill would be if Gill was a forward.

At 6'6" 230, he should be feared in the corners. He's not. He's also not going to be able to keep up with Crosby on the rush.

If we send the Leafs Alex Goligoski and a 1st-round pick for him, I'm driving to Pittsburgh to demand a meeting with Ray Shero. Simple as that. Even if we send Whitney up there for him, I'm not happy.

I would much rather a guy like Frolov or Milan Hejduk than Gill's younger brother.

Stay tuned for more as we are now getting ever closer to the deadline and there's bound to be more rumors soon.