Everyone knows how poor the economy is these days. With unemployment up all over the country, it’s no secret that the cost of living has become a huge issue for Americans trying to get by during tough times.

It’s impact is also being greatly felt in sports where attendance is not a given at many events due to ticket prices. That’s why it’s commendable to see an Original Six franchise like the Red Wings giving such great deals to their fans in Michigan.

The club announced that they’re making nine dollar tickets available for December and January with fans able to purchase as many as four seats per game. Despite being the third highest draw in the NHL, if you ever have seen a Detroit game, you know better as there are always empties which means quite a few of those seats sold aren’t being filled.

It’s not just the Red Wings as this is a league wide problem. The cost of going to a game for a family of four is astronomical. Just looking at what the Rangers charge where it can cost at least 40 dollar value to sit in the cheap seats makes it nearly impossible for parents to treat their kids to a game. Especially when you factor in food prices where hot dogs run five bucks and one beer will cost you nearly nine dollars. Soda isn’t exactly a bargain either. And five dollars for regular water bottles is a complete ripoff!

As a season subscriber, we get the benefit of reduced prices which helps greatly because saving every earned buck matters. We don’t attend every game. So, we will put games up on the Ranger Ticket Exchange or even see what a legit person on the street can get. If it sells for 25 bucks a pop, that’s a victory in itself which tells the paying customer where the prices should really be.

Try telling James Dolan. It wasn’t too long ago that our same seats cost between 20 and 25 dollars. But making the postseason three years running and the Conference Semis twice was enough for a significant raise. What if they’d somehow reached the Stanley Cup? How much are we talking?

Speaking of which, last Spring, had the Rangers advanced to the Conference Finals, paying customers were looking at ridiculous prices just for making the Final Four. Had they somehow gotten to the Finals, our family likely wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

How is this kind of greed fair to the loyal fan? We’ve been on a season plan for over a decade now and this is our first full season. But when is enough enough? What would it take for Cablevision to realize that the costs are too high and need to be lowered? With the current state of things, shouldn’t they adjust?

Heck. The Yankees are desperate to get rid of the remaining unsold luxury boxes at their new cash cow. Anyone think they’re going to lower costs? There’s a better chance of Hell freezing over with the Yanks not severely overpaying for C.C. Sabathia or A.J. Burnett.

At least the defending Cup champs have gotten the message.

It’s a couple of days late but I mentioned it in the Devils-Rangers preview about how great a game was played the other night at The Joe between the defending Cup champion Red Wings and the runner-up Penguins.

The game featured 13 goals with the Wings blowing 5-2 and 6-4 leads thanks in large part to a gigantic performance by Jordan Staal, who scored a natural hat trick tying the contest up with the goalie pulled with only 24 ticks left in regulation on a rebound.

And for good measure, he setup the winner in overtime by stripping Pavel Datsyuk cleanly on an unreal backcheck and then passing across for an open Ruslan Fedotenko, who buried it for the winner stunning the Red Wings 7-6 and most of their fans with the exception of a few Pens jerseys in the crowd who enjoyed their team’s amazing turnaround.

The game had great scoring prowess. Heck. The goal Datsyuk setup to a cutting Henrik Zetterberg was tremendous. And that wicked twisted wrister Evgeni Malkin stepped into wiring it off the far right post past a helpless Chris Osgood was the stuff of dreams. Or maybe nightmares if you’re a goalie.

But the best aspect of this game was Staal, who is the forgotten guy at times with Malkin and Sidney Crosby (goal, 2 A) front and center 24/7. Sometimes, we forget that he was chosen second overall in 2006 and had one of the better rookie seasons scoring 29 times including a freshman record seven shorthanded goals, four deciding markers, 42 points and an impressive plus-16 rating.

There’s little doubt that last season, he suffered a sophomore jinx. It happens. But this kid is awfully talented and the special skills are still there and were on full display the other night in front of a national TV audience on Versus. If that game didn’t do a good rating, I don’t know of another that could because it was that special.

Ed Olczyk summed it up best praising Staal for taking his team on his back carrying them to an inspiring victory. Believe it or not, the kid from Thunder Bay, Ontario who’s part of the royal hockey family that includes brothers Eric, Marc and Jared is only 20 and can become a Group II restricted next summer. It’d be very wise for the Pens to get him squared away.

His four-point performance even drew high praise from 33-year veteran Pens’ colorful Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange who’s no stranger to witnessing/calling such special nights:

“He just took over the game. I’ve seen it enough to know what I was watching. I’ve seen it a few times from Mario (Lemieux), (Jaromir) Jagr and (Paul) Coffey. What he did was up there with memorable performances from those guys. It was Jordan Staal’s special night.”

The thing I’ve always liked about Staal is that he knows where to go. That’s something which can’t be taught. His hockey instincts are great. It’s rare though that you see such a sound overall player who enters this league. Once he starts scoring more, this kid could be scary.

The Pens sure have a lot going for them from Marc-Andre Fleury in net to the promise of young blueliners Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski. Just wait till Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney return. They’re going to be tough to beat.

In all the discussion about how they lost Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone, maybe we forgot that one of them was made by Crosby and Malkin which explains why the latter is struggling with Tampa Bay. Hossa’s just a great player and he’s fitting in very well with the Wings pacing them with 21 points (8-13-21). But maybe gambling on Miroslav Satan and Fedotenko wasn’t as bad as I previously thought.

Not when you look at what else they’re surrounded with including Petr Sykora along with overlooked grinders Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot. The addition of vet Matt Cooke was a wise one. He’s not going to put up a ton of points but he’s a solid overall player who just improves their depth.

Also flying under the radar was the pickup of Mike Zigomanis from Phoenix earlier this season for future considerations. He’s only 27 and was a former second rounder of Carolina who’s evolved into a late bloomer that can contribute offensively and win faceoffs like the big one he won over Zetterberg to setup Staal’s tying marker. It was a couple of seasons ago in The Desert that he played on a decent support scoring line with Georges Laraque (seriously) and Oleg Saprykin scoring a career high 14 goals and 23 points.

Solid addition. Most impressive might be the Pens’ depth on the back line where vet Darryl Sydor has given them good mileage in the absence of Hal Gill. Heck. Even Mark Eaton has played alright. Perhaps the most unheralded holdover is Rob Scuderi, who doesn’t really standout but rarely makes any glaring mistakes with the puck in his end.

The 29 year-old out of Syosset, New York just does his job logging big minutes playing solid D. Guys like him will always be underappreciated cause they’re not flashy but just get the job done.

Is anyone else kinda depressed about the rest of the Atlantic’s chances after reading this? Ahh.

A couple of notes to pass along regarding the locals. So let’s get to them:

1.Holik Out 3-4 Weeks-The Devils will be without C Bobby Holik for about a month due to a broken pinkie suffered during last Saturday’s shootout win over the Capitals. He underwent surgery yesterday. The Devils recalled left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for tonight’s home game versus Sean Avery and the Stars. No matter what’s being said, he’s likely up for one reason only. We’ll just have to see if Avery obliges.

2.Rolston likely to miss significant time-The Devils also could be without top pivot Brian Rolston for an extended period due to the severe ankle sprain he suffered in the club’s 1-0 shutout of Atlanta last week which ironically he scored the lone goal in before losing an edge crashing hard into the boards during a two-on-one. Though the team has indicated that x-rays were negative with no structural damage, the recovery from an ankle sprain can be slow. According to Roto World, don’t expect to see Rolston anytime soon even going as far as to say he could miss 1-2 months. I would venture to guess he’ll be out at least another three weeks.

3.Rissmiller on waivers-The Rangers placed forward Patrick Rissmiller on waivers yesterday following Monday’s 2-1 home defeat to Dallas in which he was a minus-one with no points. Why Glen Sather inked the 29 year-old depth forward to a three-year contract worth $3 million is beyond comprehension. He was nothing more than a mirror image of Blair Betts when he played for San Jose making his signing baffling. Now, if another team picks him up, the Rangers will suffer a $1 million cap hit. I can’t really see anyone claiming him and figure he’ll pass through and play in Hartford. This dwindles the Ranger logjam at forward to 14 with Petr Prucha and Dan Fritsche now battling for ice-time with rookie Lauri Korpikoski, Nigel Dawes and Colton Orr though our coach seems to like having the enforcer in the lineup.

4.Rivet to miss 2 weeks-Also of note, Sabres captain Craig Rivet will miss up to two weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery. In six contests this season in which the team has gone a 5-0-1 including a nice comeback 3-2 shootout home win over the Bruins last night, the former Shark defenseman has posted three assists while racking up 29 penalty minutes. He was acquired for forward Steve Bernier, who then was dealt to the Canucks. Rivet is a steady puckmoving D who has bolstered the Sabre corps along with a healthy Teppo Numminen. Notice how much better they are without Dmitri Kalinin. According to BONY contributor Brian Sanborn, it’s no coincidence.

5.Lilja undergoes appendectomy-Detroit D Andreas Lilja underwent an appendectomy yesterday and will be out for tonight’s visit at St. Louis but could return Friday.

6.Avery and Giannone in spat-Apparently, former Ranger Sean Avery’s mouth was in rare form in his MSG visit Monday. Not only did he take a verbal jab at Stephen Valiquette but unleashed profanities during the first intermission at MSG’s John Giannone nearly getting into it before they were separated. Some things never change.

Don’t forget the Devils play host to the Stars tonight at 7 at The Rock. Figure it to be quite interesting. Here is the rest of the league’s schedule:

Sharks @ Flyers, 7 ET- Philly still looking for first win look to avenge OT loss in San Jose and will start Antero Niittymaki with struggling No.1 Martin Biron riding the pine. They’re the only team left without a win bringing an 0-3-2 record into a rare home and home four days apart with a Western foe. Odd.

Panthers @ Senators, 7 ET- Ottawa has broken up their top line shifting Mike Fisher between Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson while Jason Spezza works with the improved Nick Foligno and rookie Jesse Winchester. The Panthers come in having scored only 12 goals in five games with Nathan Horton the only consistent threat. Craig Anderson gets the start.

Red Wings @ Blues, 8:30 ET- The defending champs meet an improved St. Louis club which is out of the gate 4-1-0 with a perfect 3-0 home record. The Blues have gotten balanced scoring from Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes, Andy McDonald and Paul Kariya while former Wing Manny Legace is off to a great start. Detroit could have Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg back in what figures to be a good test.

Oilers @ Blackhawks, 9 ET- Historically, Edmonton doesn’t fare well in Chicago but split two games at United Center last season taking the season series 3-1. They’ll put they’re perfect 4-0-0 mark on the line against Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and a high flying Hawks’ offense. Both teams are extremely fast with Edmonton countering with talented forwards as well in Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner (lower body injury). So, this could be a fun watch.

I’ll also be on talking puck with Gary Harding and Joe McDonald for a NY Hockey Report live show between 9 and 10:30.

See ya later.

If this was a litmus test, then the Rangers get a B. Normally, I’d be pretty mad considering that a bogus call led to the defending Cup champion Red Wings tying the game late in regulation.

However, considering that the Blueshirts fell behind two goals before the first four minutes were played and rallied from 3-1 down scoring three straight to at least earn a point, how could I be that upset? Let’s face it. Even without Henrik Zetterberg and Brad Stuart, these are still the defending champs who were coming off two consecutive home losses at The Joe.

So, you had to figure Mike Babcock’s team would be ready to go against a Ranger club that played the previous night. If Tom Renney’s club started dismal allowing an unguarded Mikael Samuelsson to deflect home a Derek Meech point shot 28 seconds in and an untaken Johan Franzen to rebound home a Valtteri Filppula falling quickly two behind, then they sure didn’t play that way the rest of the night in what easily was one of the best games I’ve seen in quite a while.

Thanks in large part to the newly constructed Scott Gomez line flanked by rejuvenated Nigel Dawes and energizer Ryan Callahan, the Blueshirts wouldn’t go quietly. With Detroit threatening to blow them out in a building they’ve had little success in (no wins in Detroit since 1999), the dynamic North American trio worked together on the cycle with a beautiful backhand Gomez pass with three defenders on him getting through to an open Callahan, who made no mistake whipping a wrister upstairs for his second at 7:32 cutting it in half. Dawes might not have picked up a point but his hard work in the corner forced Brian Rafalski to give up the puck allowing his former Devil ‘mate to make a play giving the Rangers momentum.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this well played game was how much skating and chances there were for both sides. Certainly, an attacking Wings team threw the kitchen sink at Henrik Lundqvist, who returned from a night off and had to be extremely good just to get his team to overtime finishing with 40 saves. However, it’s worth pointing out that the faster New York team also tested Chris Osgood netting 32 shots or the most Detroit’s allowed this season.

Anyone who watches the Winged Wheel knows they don’t give up many shots or chances because of their fast attacking puck possession style. What last night showed me was just how dangerous they can be with the kind of precise passing that makes them more dangerous than any other NHL opponent. It seemed like all game when they were in attack mode the puck found a Wing stick who always seemed to be rightly positioned for an opportunity. They really put pressure on the D and looked very good even without one of the game’s elite players.

Trailing 2-1 in the middle stanza, the Rangers got more aggressive attacking the Wings looking for the equalizer. Particularly the Gomez unit which was buzzing all game with Osgood stopping Dawes and Callahan.

A mistake by Michal Rozsival led to Detroit restoring their two-goal lead. Thinking the Wings had iced the puck, the Ranger defenseman slowed down and misplayed it resulting in a turnover. Eventually, Detroit worked it around to Nick Lidstrom, who wound up and saw his seeing eye shot go off Tomas Holmstrom and Wade Redden’s skate past Lundqvist for a 3-1 lead at 10:57.

The bad break didn’t demoralize the Rangers who instead responded by working the puck in deep with Gomez finding a wide open Dawes for his first of the season less than three minutes later. Marc Staal kept the play alive with an effective pinch swinging the puck down low to Gomez, who quickly passed out for Dawes, who made little mistake.

Remarkably, there were no penalties called through that juncture demonstrating just how little was going on in the neutral zone in a cleanly played skating game. That’s when three straight penalties were called with two in a row on the Rangers suddenly handing the Wings a brief two-man advantage late in the second.

However, the Ranger PK was up to the task wisely anticipating Detroit passes and getting clears. They killed off the remainder at the start of the third and carried momentum forward by tying it.

Off a solid forecheck, Brandon Dubinsky worked the puck back to Rozsival, whose one-timer was credited to a screening Aaron Voros to tie it at 1:45. I’m still trying to figure out how cause it sure looked like he missed it. Maybe Rozsival will eventually get credit. Only would seem fitting since he made up for his blunder. For now, it reads Voros from Rozy and Dubi.

The Rangers continued to play well even getting a fortuitous bounce with Dmitri Kalinin’s deflected wide shot caroming off the back board to Voros, who wisely banked the puck in off Osgood and a Detroit defender for what reads as his second of the night suddenly putting the Blueshirts in front 2:14 later.

Babcock wisely called timeout regrouping his team, who then came out and played very aggressively seeming to attack from every angle. They tested Lundqvist often outshooting the Rangers 17-14 in a very exciting period.

For most of it, King Henrik was up to the challenge steadying his rebound control freezing the puck. However, the bogus call would then come when the officials wrongly nabbed the Rangers for a too many men bench minor. Rookie Lauri Korpikoski was a couple of steps from the bench about to get off when the puck was passed in the direction of the changing Ranger who hadn’t come close to touching it when the whistle blew.

As they went to commercial, an uncharacteristically irate Renney was seen red and screaming at the bench. MSG replays showed he had a legit beef. Chalk it up to the home team getting the edge. The Wings have been known to have a couple of calls go their way at crucial points of games. Just ask our Devil blogger Hasan. Jay Pandolfo/Robbie Ftorek ring a bell?

Whatever the reason, the Rangers were shorthanded and couldn’t kill it off. They did the job for more than half until the Wings got their own lucky break when a Niklas Kronwall point blast went off Redden right to Jiri Hudler, who had an open net with Lundqvist anticipating something else. He made no mistake burying it past a lunging Henrik to tie it at four with 3:39 left in regulation.

The Wings pressed for the win but couldn’t get it forcing the contest fittingly to OT. However, it didn’t take long to decide as too many Rangers didn’t listen to me yelling at the TV not to all go to Pavel Datsyuk. Naturally, they did go to the dangerous Wing pivot behind the net who quickly threaded the needled to an open Marian Hossa for a one-time blast past a helpless Lundqvist 23 seconds in giving the Red Wings an exciting 5-4 home victory over the Rangers.

Rafalski netted a secondary helper on the winner.

I can’t really complain about this one cause you had to figure this would be a loss. However, the Blueshirts worked hard fighting back and were within grasp of coming away with two points. I’ll take the point and move on.

Next are the struggling Stars who lost again 5-4 to the Avs with Marty Turco continuing his poor start. You have to figure they’ll be ready to go Monday night when Sean Avery visits his former teammates.

So, it should be another good early test.

THREE STARS:

3rd Star-Mikael Samuelsson, Det (goal, 2 assists, 4 SOG in 17:43)

2nd Star-Scott Gomez, NYR (2 assists, 4 SOG, plus-one in 20:45)

1st Star-Pavel Datsyuk, Det (primary assist on OT winner, 4 SOG, plus-one in 20:36, 9-9 on draws)

Ranger Lines:

Dawes-Gomez-Callahan (4 pts- 2-2-4)

Voros-Dubinsky-Zherdev (4 pts- 2-2-4, +6)

Naslund-Drury-Korpikoski (0 pts, minus-6)

Sjostrom-Betts-Orr (0 pts, 3 SOG, Even)

Redden-Rozsival (1 A, minus-2)

Staal-Mara (A, +2)

Kalinin-Girardi (A, Even)

Scratches:

Dan Fritsche

Petr Prucha

Patrick Rismiller

Quick Hits:

-Against one of the league’s best, Rangers held the edge in faceoffs 29-27 with Drury going 9-3 and Dubinsky 6-6. Detroit’s best was Kris Draper (7-4).

-Each club combined to block 19 shots: NYR-10 (Redden-3), Det-9 (Draper-3)

-There were only 11 giveaways: NYR-4, Det-7

-Rangers outhit the Red Wings 27-19 with Dubinsky and Mara pacing them each with five while Darren Helm had three for the home side.

-Detroit missed the net 17 times while New York missed only six shots.

-The checking unit of Sjostrom-Betts-Orr was once again superb all forechecking well and creating chances. They were rewarded with more ice-time finishing with over 11 minutes apiece.

-Despite finishing a combined minus-six, the Drury unit with rookie Korpikoski replacing Fritsche was okay using their speed to forecheck. Naslund was a bit more visible getting four shots through. I might keep them together giving it a couple of more games.

-Both Staal and Mara played big games defensively and physically. This is slowly turning into the Rangers’ best pair.

-Redden had a tough night with a couple of goals going off him and a bad read on Hossa’s winner with Rozsival there covering. Rozy was better than his partner who needs to be a little better.

-Though he had no points, Zherdev was very good all night skating extremely well and paying attention to the small details.

-Dawes earned another game with a strong night. That line looks like a keeper.

-Despite just an assist, Datsyuk was the best player all night dangerous everytime he had the puck making unbelievable reads once leading Hossa shorthanded who was thwarted by Lundqvist. The guy is arguably the top center in the game but never gets the due of a Crosby or Malkin.

-Gomez was the second best player playing extremely well flying all night setting up and creating chances.

-Both goalies played well with Osgood finishing with 28 stops while Lundqvist turned aside 40 of 45.

They chanted his name at the Garden much the way they do for King Henrik. Ranger backup Stephen Valiquette heard plenty of “Val-ly, Val-ly, Val-ly” chants and why not. All he did was blank the Maple Leafs in his first home start of the season stopping all 21 shots to lead the Rangers to a 1-0 shootout triumph- their sixth win in seven.

With his team facing a tough second part of a back-to-back visiting the defending Cup champion Red Wings later tonight, Ranger coach Tom Renney opted to give his starting netminder the night off and play Vally, who has developed into a capable backup under the tutelage of goalie coach Benoit Allaire.

Coming off a flat performance against Buffalo, the Rangers played a more steady defensive game cleaning up all the miscues against a younger Toronto club who didn’t bite the first couple of stanzas where only 29 total shots reached each goalie with New York holding a 17-12 edge.

Both Vesa Toskala (32 saves) and Valiquette were good when called upon including a key sequence in the final 30 seconds where the Ranger fill-in shut the door when his team got a little sloppy. Despite an inspired shift, Niklas Hagman couldn’t convert keeping it scoreless.

If the first couple of periods were like a chess match, then the third sure wasn’t with the Blueshirts turning it up in search of that first goal by getting the first 10 shots on a busy Toskala, who had the help of a couple of posts on some close calls.

One such flurry saw the Rangers come at the Leafs in waves with first a Ryan Callahan deflection off a Scott Gomez shot clanging both posts going directly across the goal line without going over as replays concluded three minutes later. That’s cause they kept at it with Dan Girardi’s right point shot hitting the far post with under 10 minutes left.

With nothing happening, Valiquette had to remain focused and was up to the task when Toronto’s Jiri Tlusty got off a tricky shot testing him but the cool 31 year-old Toronto native kicked it out.

While he repelled all four sent his way, Toskala was denying 13 shots including a tough stop on a tricky Nigel Dawes shot. Neither goalie budged forcing the contest to OT. In fact, it was the first time since Dec.8, 1956 that the two Original Six clubs had battled to a 0-0 score through regulation.

Of course, these days there’s overtime and a shootout to decide such matters. It was the Leafs who had a great chance to win it when Michal Rozsival was sent off for a tacky holding minor. They worked the puck around on the 4-on-3 but never forced Valiquette to be spectacular with him able to see their shots and thwart them.

Valiquette also got defensive help from Dmitri Kalinin, who twice broke up passes across in front bouncing back from a shaky game against his former club.

Once they killed it off, the Rangers got their own late man-advantage but also couldn’t cash in forcing it to the skill competition. Kinda predictable considering how well both goalies played.

Through two rounds, Nikolai Zherdev (five-hole) and talented Maple Leafs rookie Nikolai Kulenin (double deke forehand) traded goals setting the stage for Renney wildcard Freddy Sjostrom who supposedly was good in practice. It also might’ve been a reward for how well he’s played. Whatever the reason, Renney was validated when the 25 year-old Swede moved in, deked and just slipped a forehand off Toskala and the post putting the Rangers ahead 2-1.

All that was left was for Valiquette to stop Jason Blake. The former Islander came in and aimed high but Valiquette got a piece of it with his stick pushing it off the outside of the post for his third career win over Toronto.

THREE STARS

3rd Star-Fredrik Sjostrom, NYR (deciding shootout goal, 2 hits, SOG in 13:21)

2nd Star-Stephen Valiquette, NYR (21 saves in first home start, 3rd career win vs Leafs)

1st Star-Vesa Toskala, Tor (32 saves including 23 in 2nd and 3rd)

Ranger Lines:

Dawes-Gomez-Callahan

Voros-Dubinsky-Zherdev

Naslund-Drury-Fritsche

Sjostrom-Betts-Orr

Redden-Rozsival

Staal-Mara

Kalinin-Girardi

Scratches:

Lauri Korpikoski (injured)

Petr Prucha

Patrick Rismiller (injured)

Quick Hits:

-Special Teams were blah with both teams combining to go 0-for-12: Tor: 0-for-4, NYR:0-for-8

-The Leafs controlled faceoffs finishing 33-for-57 with ex-Ranger Dominic Moore going 10-7 and Matt Stajan 6-2. The Rangers’ best was Blair Betts, who was 8-8. Gomez had an off night losing 13 of 21.

-One of the reasons the Blueshirts couldn’t score was cause 44 of their attempts never made it on net with a preposterous 25 misses along with 19 more blocked by hustling Leafs. A word you never used to describe their previous teams. Ron Wilson has them playing more responsibly and it showed. Eighteen year-old rookie D Luke Schenn blocked five while Pavel Kubina got in the path of four. The Leafs had 22 attempts which never hit the net with 12 wide and another 10 blocked with Rozsival, Betts and a more active Chris Drury sharing the Ranger lead with two.

-Rangers outhit the Maple Leafs 42-32 paced by Aaron Voros’ six with Dawes and Paul Mara each chipping in four. The Leafs hit leader was the impressive rookie Schenn with five.

-Each club did alright in takeaways/giveaways with Toronto plus-five (7-2) where Mikhail Grabovski’s three led them. Drury paced the Rangers (14-9/plus-five) with four takeaways.

-Both returning forwards Dawes (2 SOG in 10:34) and Fritsche (4 SOG in 9:26) played well.

-The checking line of Sjostrom-Betts-Orr again played well doing the job on both ends. Orr’s skating has really improved and Betts earned his 14:20 with another superb effort.

-Callahan was definitely good in this one contributing three hits and his usual energy along with that near miss off both posts. He meshed very well with Dawes and Gomez.

-Drury was better in this game getting chances but missing a couple of deflections and rebounds wide. He was more active back at center and had good chemistry with Fritsche. Markus Naslund was again fairly quiet getting just two shots through. He just isn’t finding any space.

-Marc Staal got into a brief scrap with Leaf enforcer Jamal Mayers after laying a clean shoulder on one of Mayers’ teammates. It wasn’t much of a fight and he sure didn’t win.

-Both Rozsival (26:47, 2 SOG, 2 wide, 2 hits, 2 blocks) and Girardi (19:30, 3 SOG, 4 wide, 3 hits) had strong games.

-Most impressive Leaf outside of Toskala was the aforementioned Schenn, who didn’t look like an 18 year-old. The former 2008 first rounder got nearly 26 minutes skating very well while playing responsibly in his end with five blocks and five hits. Looks like Toronto has a keeper.

-Also thought Jonas Frogren (22:35) was good playing the body where he had three hits and two blocks with Kubina (4 blocks, 3 hits in 23:32) also having a solid game.

-Grabovski was pretty visible while Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky weren’t.

-Former Ranger Ryan Hollweg sat out serving part of a three-game suspension.

-In other league action, the Sabres stayed perfect winning 5-2 over the Canucks. The sizzling Thomas Vanek had a goal and two assists and Ales Kotalik added a pair. Jaroslav Spacek netted a goal and assist. They’re now 4-0-0 outscoring opponents 17-5. Getting a chance to see them live, they were a lot more aggressive than the Devils and catching some of tonight’s game, they again were flying scoring twice on the power play. It looks like many including myself have underrated this team.

-The Sens doubled up the Coyotes 6-3 with Jason Spezza posting four points (2-2-4) and Jarkko Ruutu scoring twice. Daniel Alfredsson returned with a pair of assists. Olli Jokinen notched two helpers in a losing effort.

-It was Columbus over the Predators 5-3 with Rick Nash (2 goals) and Kristian Kuselius (2 A) combining for four points. Also in his NHL debut, 2008 sixth overall pick Nikita Filatov scored on his first and only shot in 9:10. Congrats to him!

-In the Battle of Alberta, the Oilers held off the Flames 4-3 at The Saddledome with Lubomir Visnovsky tallying a goal and assist and new Oiler Erik Cole scoring his first on the power play. Sheldon Souray added two assists. Todd Bertuzzi scored his fourth for Mike Keenan’s club which is off to a rocky 1-2-1 start. The rematch is later tonight with the Flames looking to prevent the Oilers from starting 4-0.

-The Ducks finally picked up their first victory blanking previously unbeaten San Jose 4-0. Francois Beauchemin, Travis Moen, Chris Pronger and Samuel Pahlsson each scored. Rob Niedermayer notched two helpers and Jean-Sebastien Giguere recorded 38 saves for his 30th career NHL shutout.

-And finally, the Kings rallied from a 3-1 deficit posting a 4-3 overtime home win over the Hurricanes with Michael Handzus netting the winner unassisted at 3:21. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar each scored their first to tie it while Handzus notched the other pair making a winner of Jason LaBarbera (23 saves). Ex-Rangers Dan LaCouture and Matt Cullen tallied for the Canes.

Update (6:16 p.m.) - Not only did I mistakenly say the Rangers were heading to Toronto (they’re home tonight, making the fact that they’re not on MSG for me that much harder to take) but Tom Renney changed up the lines real good. Here’s how they look now:

Dawes - Gomez - Callahan
Zherdev - Dubinsky - Voros
Fritche -Drury - Naslund
Orr - Betts - Sjostrom

Different, but interesting. Let’s see what they can do.

The Rangers head to Toronto tonight to take on the team everyone has picked to play spoiler this year, the Maple Leafs. Following a lackluster performance against Buffalo the other night, the Rangers look to rebound after dropping their first game of the season.

Lineup changes are the pre-game story tonight, as Petr Prucha, Henrik Lundqvist, Lauri Korpikoski and Patrik Rissmiller will be getting the night off in favor of Dan Fritche, Nigel Dawes, Stephan Valiquette and Fred Sjostrom. The only real problem I see with this shakeup is Prucha. He was arguably one of the better players on the ice on Wednesday, so I don’t see why he is getting scratched. Korpikoski is apparently injured, plus he wasn’t producing yet this season and Rissmiller is still nursing a sore ankle. With the Red Wings on tap for tomorrow, starting Valiqutte over Lundqvist also makes sense. The lines will look like this:

Drury - Gomez - Naslund
Zherdev - Dubinsky - Voros
Fritche - Callahan - Dawes
Orr - Betts - Sjostrom

As you can see, Ryan Callahan is making his pro debut at center tonight. I don’t know how much sense that makes, as I was under the impression that Fritche was a center in Columbus. With the top line not producing, Tom Renney said he would think about moving Chris Drury back to center. This might make the most sense for the production of the team. Hopefully the third line will click tonight and the first line will pop a couple past Vesa Toskala and we’ll be on our way to another win heading into Detroit.

The defense remains the same, even with Dmitri Kalinin nursing a sore foot and Paul Mara getting tossed in Buffalo. For the record, I thought Mara wasn’t completely in the wrong and his five minute major and game misconduct wasn’t the reason the Rangers lost on Wednesday. The team played awful enough to lose, and they did just that. I believe Mara’s punishment was fair, as who knew someone like Patrick Kaleta would turtle after running his mouth and leaving his feet.

As if I needed another excuse to be even more scarse with publishing posts, the game tonight is blacked out here in Binghamton in favor of the Sabres game at 7:30. This is the second time this season, and as I don’t want to spend the $165 bucks for NHL Center Ice, I’m going to have to miss the game again. I also don’t get MSG2, so any time the Sabres play on the same day as the Rangers and there is a schedule conflict on MSG, it will be a toss up which game I actually get. Not the best situation, but I am powering through. Anyone with suggestions on how to find a way around this dilemma, please let me know.

Enjoy the game today. Don’t expect a Colton Orr vs Ryan Hollweg fight, as Hollweg is serving his second suspension of the year already. As a Hollweg supporter, I’d like to say he didn’t deserve it, but after watching the two instances, both were borderline and his reputation was all the league needed to make a decision. I can see now why the Rangers ditched him when they did.

I’ll check back sometime soon, most likely after the weekend. Until then, Derek will undoubtedly keep everyone very well informed. Take care.

That’s right. Our NY Hockey Report show is back for another year and we’re going on air from 9:30 here on the East coast to 11 as myself, Gary and Joe make our NHL predictions. How will the Rangers, Devils and Islanders do? Can anyone stop Detroit? Who’s gonna win the Stanley Cup?

Find out or even call us up!

NY Hockey Report

646) 716-7209

Get out the magic crystal ball. We’re about to embark on a long journey. Thirty teams get a fresh start where they can dare to dream of winning Lord Stanley. The most spectacular trophy in all of sports which arguably is the hardest to win.

It’s not just because you have to gut out an 82-game schedule which at times can be trying due to the tireless back to backs, three in four nights and even seven in 11 days the Rangers have beginning with tomorrow’s home opener versus Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks following a hectic preseason concluding with a two-game sweep of the overmatched Lightning in Croatia.

Such can be life in a league which seems to be pointed for expansion towards Europe emphasizing just how global the game has become with the Penguins and Senators also splitting a series in Stockholm last weekend.

Finally, the other 26 get started including an improved Devils team who dialed up Doc Brown’s time machine and went Back To The Future literally to the year of their first Stanley Cup luring free agent centers Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik for one more run while Martin Brodeur’s still good enough.

For other teams like the Islanders, the immediate future doesn’t look so bright with new coach Scott Gordon behind the bench where returning leading scorer Mike Comrie had only 49 points on what’s a rebuild around Rick DiPietro and young former No.1 Kyle Okposo. They’ll try to overachieve in an ultra competitive Atlantic where the Flyers fresh off a run to the Conference Finals losing to the Pens appear to be the favorite while Pittsburgh lost Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and are without top D Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar for at least the first three months.

Can the new look Rangers featuring Nikolai Zherdev, Markus Naslund and Wade Redden make fans forget Jaromir Jagr or did Glen Sather slip up?

Are the Panthers ready to qualify for their first postseason since Pavel Bure was the league’s best finisher or will their revamped blueline not be enough without departed captain Olli Jokinen? Can Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals do it again even with Jose Theodore in net?

Meanwhile in Carolina, the injury bug has already hit infecting Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Rod Brind’Amour making the loss of Erik Cole big though Joni Pitkanen was brought into help anchor the D. Will Barry Melrose’s return to the NHL bench be ruined by the Lightning’s apparent weak blueline?

Should the Thashers even bother taking the ice? They’ll have company in Columbus, St. Louis and Los Angeles who all should be ticketed in the John Tavares sweepstakes. Are the Leafs going to be in this process too without Mats Sundin? Maybe Toronto fans should hope.

Can Carey Price recover from last Spring to lead what looks like an even stronger Habs roster into serious contention? Are Craig Rivet and the return of Teppo Numminen enough to get a talented Sabres team back to the postseason? Is Tim Thomas a fluke and will Patrice Bergeron be the same in Beantown? Can the Senators continue defying logic despite losing another key cog?

These questions and more will get answered in due time along with whether Hossa’s addition is enough for the Red Wings to become the first repeat winner since they did it a decade ago. They’ll have plenty of stiff competition in the loaded Stars, Sharks and Ducks with maybe a couple of newcomers sneaking into the parade.

This is how we see it:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Flyers- plenty of talent in Richards/Carter but can Biron build off last year’s run?

*2.Canadiens- adding Lang and Tanguay up front makes them scarier but it all depends on Price.

*3.Capitals- the game’s best player, a healthy Nylander plus Green and Backstrom should be enough.

4.Senators- best line in game plus deep forward corps and tougher D help despite questions in net.

5.Devils- Rolston and Holik should boost scoring, D remains question but can’t bet against Brodeur.

6.Rangers- Drury leads an improved transition game. could miss Jagr and Avery but Lundqvist helps.

7.Penguins- Crosby and Malkin get them in but we don’t like Satan or Fedotenko. Hard to take seriously.

8.Sabres- balanced scoring led by Pominville, Vanek, Roy plus better D and steady Miller in net.

9.Bruins- Ryder added to solid forward corps but it’s dependent on Thomas and system.

10.Panthers- love their new look with Ballard and McCabe but who’s scoring the goals up front?

11.Maple Leafs- Wilson will get them to play hard but there’s just not enough there to get in.

12.Hurricanes- injuries already taking toll. Laviolette’s a fine coach but Ward needs to be consistent.

13.Lightning- Stamkos should win Calder and they’ll score but the D is brutal and will tire out goalies.

14.Thrashers- Schneider was good addition but they’ll have to outscore teams until Lehtonen improves.

15.Islanders- they’ll work hard but they’re young and don’t have enough scoring even with Streit.
PLAYOFFS

Flyers over Sabres in 6

Habs over Pens in 7

Rangers over Caps in 6

Devils over Sens in 5

Flyers over Rangers in 6

Devils over Habs in 7

Flyers over Devils in 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Red Wings- until proven otherwise, they’re the best team and add Hossa to mix. Conklin’s solid backup.

*2.Stars- play in top division but Avery, full year of B. Richards should be plenty. Need Zubov healthy.

*3.Canucks- scoring could still be tough but like changes and see Luongo bouncing back big time.

4.Sharks- Marleau with Thornton, Boyle, Blake plus Nabokov make them awfully tough.

5.Flames- nice additions including Bertuzzi/Keenan reunion but they’ll be hardpressed to win a round.

6.Ducks- Teemu’s back plus Getzlaf/Perry, Niedermayer/Pronger and Giguere make them lock.

7.Avalanche- Sakic takes one more shot with Tucker added but can Budaj or Raycroft do job?

8.Blackhawks- Campbell and Huet help young core led by Kane/Toews. Huet could get them in.

9.Oilers- bolstered scoring with Cole and Visnovsky. Lots of young talent but what about goalies?

10.Predators- Radulov’s departure hurts scoring. Solid D but can Ellis repeat? Trotz is a great coach.

11.Wild- possess nice blueline led by Burns/Zidlicky and Gaborik’s great but is there enough scoring?

12.Coyotes- Jokinen helps but D is thin past top 3 and they’re depending on too much young talent.

13.Blue Jackets- Umberger and Huselius boost Nash plus revamped D and Leclaire but who else will score?

14.Blues- Love Boyes and Kariya’s due for bounce back season but they’re extremely young.

15.Kings- top line of Brown, Kopitar and O’Sullivan will be fun but LaBarbera in net? They can’t be serious!

PLAYOFFS

Wings over Hawks in 5

Stars over Avs in 4

Ducks over Canucks in 6

Sharks over Flames in 6

Wings over Ducks in 6

Stars over Sharks in 5

Wings over Stars in 7

Stanley Cup Red Wings over Flyers in 7

NHL Awards

Conn Smythe- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Hart- Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit

Vezina- Roberto Luongo, Vancouver

Norris- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit (renamed The Lidstrom)

Calder- Kyle Okposo, Islanders

Selke- Mike Fisher, Ottawa

Byng- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Adams- Denis Savard, Chicago

Yes. It’s true that if you count the games in Europe this past weekend, the 2008-09 season already begun. I just don’t think it becomes official until the rest of the league gets going beginning later tonight when eight teams start up.

Here are the four games excluding the area locals with the Devils hosting the Islanders at The Rock Friday night before visiting the defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins, who should be well rested from their two-game split with the Senators in Stockholm:

Toronto at Detroit 7 ET, Versus, CBC- the defending Cup champs raise their banner along with new star addition Marian Hossa against a Mats Sundin-less Leaf team expected to finish near the bottom of the East with the immortal Jeff Finger their big offseason move. =-O :-\

Boston at Colorado 10 ET, Versus- the second half of a VS doubleheader pits two playoff teams against each other from opposite conferences. Can Tim Thomas have a repeat for Claude Julien and how will the 2000-01 Avs plus Paul Stastny fare with Andrew Raycroft and Peter Budaj splitting duties in net under Tony Granato?

Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 ET, CI- a classic Pacific rivalry renewed as the Sharks and Ducks clash in a possible playoff preview. How will Teemu Selanne look and what about Patrick Marleau on the same line as Joe Thornton under a new coach. Rob Blake also on the blueline led by big acquisition Dan Boyle? Figure it to be highly entertaining with two of the NHL’s elite netminders in Vezina runner-up Evgeni Nabokov and Cup winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere getting tested.

Calgary at Vancouver 10:30 ET, CI, CBC- another fun filled rivalry takes place when Northwestern Canadian rivals get together for the first of six action packed battles. Will Todd Bertuzzi be healthy enough to debut for the Flames under familiar coach Mike Keenan with also key pickup Mike Cammalleri teaming with Jarome Iginla up front? How will Pavol Demitra mesh with The Sedins on a revamped Vancouver team minus Markus Naslund looking for redemption. Can Steve Bernier help out the scoring relieving pressure from Roberto Luongo?

Fasten your seatbelts! It should be exciting to finally see some other teams get underway with the Devils and Islanders on deck under fairly differing expectations.

We’ll have more stuff later on on the 2008-09 season including where I’m ranking teams. So stay tuned.

Earlier today, the Red Wings came to terms on a new five-year contract worth a reported $15 million with forward Valtteri Filppula.

The 24 year-old Finn who Detroit tabbed in the third round back in 2002 attained new career bests across the board in games played (78), goals (19), assists (17), points (36) and plus/minus (16) last season. He also fared alright in the Wings’ run to the Stanley Cup posting five goals and six helpers for 11 points in 22 playoff games.

By getting the deal done, both sides avoided the headache known as arbitration. While he’s only played two full seasons, Detroit GM Ken Holland feels investing in Filppula will work out:

“We love everything about him because he’s a complete player with great character, and we think he can get even better. He plays hard, he plays hurt. He’s got great speed and talent along with versatility because he can play left wing or centre. … The only thing no one knows is how good he can be. But even if he doesn’t become a 70-point scorer we think he might be, we’ll still love everything about him as a player and person.”

“We’re really excited about locking in a player this young and this good that keeps him off the market as an unrestricted free agent for a couple of years,” Holland added. “He’s the kind of player we can build around in the years to come.”

More and more, we’re seeing these kinds of contracts handed out so that clubs can avoid arbitration and RFA. From my vantage point, Filppula is exactly what Holland described. A versatile gritty forward with speed who can shift from wing to center if called upon. He looks to be a solid two-way player who can play in any situation.

You have to figure he’ll continue to improve as a secondary contributor. It looks like the Wings once again found a good player in the middle of a draft. Full marks to their scouting staff who continues to get the job done at a very successful rate.

Lightning Sign Stamkos: The Tampa Bay Lightning signed 2008 No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos to a three-year rookie entry level contract. He’ll earn an average of $875,000 and could make over $8 million in performance bonuses.

The 18 year-old out of Markham, Ontario knows it will be a challenge going from juniors to the pros this Fall:

“I know it’s not going to be easy for me to step in right away. Hopefully I can earn my stripes and play well and really deserve to be there.”