Rangers look to Brew a win against hot opponent

November 15, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Their record continues to be one of the better ones in the league thanks to a 10-2-1 start. However, the Rangers had slumped winning only once in five before their second period explosion in their latest win over the beat up Hudson rival Devils in Newark Wednesday.

Maybe the Devs were the right elixir to cure their recent struggles even though the Blueshirts again got off to a bad start with one constant Henrik Lundqvist holding them in before Nikolai Zherdev and Chris Drury got untracked. Certainly, they took advantage of a struggling opponent who they’d owned.

Now tonight, Tom Renney’s first place club steps up in competition playing host to one of the better teams in the NHL in the red hot Bruins, who enter MSG with a five-game win streak coming off a hard fought shootout win in Chicago before dismantling the Canadiens 6-1 the other night in improving to 10-3-3 with their 23 points ranking second best to the Rangers’ 26 despite having played three fewer games.

With one of the better netminders in Tim Thomas and a stingy D under former Devil coach Claude Julien, the Bruins are a well schooled club which plays responsible two-way hockey led by veteran physical defenseman Zdeno Chara and the much overlooked Dennis Wideman, who they acquired from St. Louis for Brad Boyes in one of those deals which worked out well for both teams.

They also have a very fast attack up front which can transition from D to offense quickly with leading scorer Marc Savard (6-11-17), Marco Sturm, Patrice Bergeron, Chuck Kobasew, Michael Ryder along with emerging stars Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Adding former Phoenix No.1 pick Blake Wheeler (six goals) to the mix in the offseason gave them even more young talent to what’s become a legit playoff contender. Adding a vet like Stephane Yelle who has valuable Cup experience helped improve their depth.

When you can send out Jay Pandolfo clone P.J. Axelsson to pull out a shootout with a sweet backhand deke past Nikolai Khabibulin, you know you’re pushing all the right buttons and have a good team capable of doing something.

If the Rangers (12-5-2, 26 Pts) are to prevail, they’ll need to be extremely sharp from the outset. They can’t afford another sluggish start against a very opportunistic club that enters ranked in overall team defense (2.01 GAA). In case you’re wondering, the Rangers rank third best (2.13 GAA). So, it’s imperative to get out quickly or it could be a long night.

Looking for pleasant surprises on the home side? Look no further than third-year defender Dan Girardi, who’s not only one of the team’s most reliable in his end but suddenly has added offense to his game on a consistent basis with his 14 points (2-12-14) second on the club and tied for third among blueliners this season. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted and has evolved into a steal for Glen Sather.

Last season, the 24 year-old from Ontario tallied 28 points (10-18-28) including five power play goals in his first full campaign.

His emergence along with Paul Mara’s steady improvement have made up for Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival’s poor starts.

Updating Scott Gomez’ status via The Journal’s Sam Weinman, the playmaking pivot remains out for tonight with an ankle injury. Obviously, the team is operating on the side of caution which is probably wise considering the kind of game they got from Nigel Dawes, rookie Lauri Korpikoski and Dan Fritsche Wednesday.

Expect the same lines for tonight:

Naslund-Drury-Callahan

Voros-Dubinsky-Zherdev

Dawes-Korpikoski-Fritsche

Sjostrom-Betts-Orr

Redden-Girardi

Staal-Mara

Kalinin-Rozsival

If you’re looking for a scrap, keep an eye on Boston’s Shawn Thornton who will mix it up. So, maybe Colton Orr will get to use his fists.

Don’t forget, the other two locals are in action as well with the Devils hosting the Capitals in a rematch of last night which Washington took 3-1. The Islanders face off against Ottawa looking for a sweep of a home-and-home when they host the Sens at Nassau Coliseum.

Here are the rest of a busy Saturday night schedule:

Flyers @ Canadiens, 7 ET, HNIC

Maple Leafs @ Canucks, 7 ET, HNIC

Sabres @ Penguins, 7:30 ET

Blue Jackets @ Wild, 8 ET

Stars @ Coyotes, 9 ET

Avalanche @ Oilers, 10 ET, HNIC

Predators @ Kings, 10:30 ET

Enjoy the games!