New York Rangers Weekly Report: Reviewing a Rough Week for the Rangers

Rangers Weekly Report No. 5

Weekly Review:

Monday (Oct. 11): The Rangers played their second game of the 2010-11 season in Long Island taking on the New York Islanders. The Rangers lost the game by a score of 6-4, and also got news that their Captain (Chris Drury) would be returning from his finger injury later in the week. The Rangers lost center Erik Christensen to a leg injury in the loss to the Islanders.

Wednesday (Oct. 13): Chris Drury was taken off the injury reserve list, which forced the demotion of young forward Tim Kennedy. With Drury entering the roster a player had to be moved due to maximum number of players.

The decision was between veteran center Todd White, and gritty forward Tim Kennedy and the final result was the demotion of Kennedy to Hartford. It was very unlikely that Kennedy would play many games for the Rangers this season, and demoting him to the AHL will give him a lot of playing time.

Friday (Oct. 15): The Rangers played their third game of the season Friday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the game being their season home opener. The Rangers lost the game in overtime by the score of 4-3, but that was the least of the Rangers problems.

Chris Drury returned to the lineup for the Rangers, but was re-injured in the second period. He broke his finger, again, and will be out of the Rangers lineup for at least six weeks.

The Rangers also lost their superstar forward Marian Gaborik to an injury. Gaborik will be out of the lineup for at least two weeks, possibly four, with a separated shoulder. The Rangers injuries will cost them, and they will have to battle through them for the next month of games.

Saturday (Oct. 16): The Rangers got news on two more injured players, Vinny Prospal (knee) and Erik Christensen (groin). Veteran forward Vinny Prospal will have surgery today, and he will find out how severe his injury is. There is a possibility Prospal lands on the long-term injury reserved list, maybe ending his season before it even starts.

Head coach John Tortorella believes Christensen will be ready to go for the Rangers Monday night, but that is not how Erik Christensen feels. He stated that he does not want to risk “aggravating” or “worsening” the injury, and he will let Tortorella know by Monday whether or not he can play.

Good news for the Rangers was the fact that Sean Avery was not suspended for his actions during the game against the Maple Leafs. After a whistle, Avery slashed Mike Komisarek in the back of the leg, dropping the Maple Leaf defenseman to the ice. The NHL will not take actions against Avery, and that is very good news for the Rangers.

More news coming from morning skates: Todd White will be in the lineup for the Rangers Monday night, and likely every game leading up to Gaborik’s return. There are no signs pointing to the Rangers calling up any forwards for Monday’s game, but if Christensen cannot play on Monday a call up is expected.

Weekly Preview:

This will be a huge week for the Rangers as they enter their period of games without Marian Gaborik. The Rangers must prove that they can win without Gaborik, and that they can keep the team in a good position for Gaborik’s return.

The Rangers have games on Monday (Oct. 18) against the Avalanche, Thursday (Oct. 21) against the Maple Leafs, and Saturday (Oct. 23) against the Bruins. It will be a big week for the Rangers.

To be successful the Rangers have to…

Play better defensively, continue playing well on offense, get their special teams back together, and contributions from Alexander Frolov will be much needed. Frolov will have to come up big for the Rangers during Gaborik’s absence if the Rangers have any chance of winning.

New Edition: Wolf Pack/Whale Weekly

This will be a new addition to the weekly reports, please leave any feedback that you have. I will review the Wolf Pack's week of games, and any transactions that they were part of (call-ups/demotions). For those who are not familiar with the Wolf Pack, they are the top affiliate team of the New York Rangers. They are part of the AHL.

Saturday (Oct. 9): The Hartford Wolf Pack defeated the Charlotte Checkers in their season opener by a score of 4-2. The big news from this game, veteran defenseman Wade Redden tallied two assists in the win.

Sunday (Oct. 10): The Wolf Pack lost to the Worcester Sharks by the score of 4-3. The big news from this game, young center Kelsey Tessier scored a goal and an assist in the loss.

Wednesday (Oct. 13): Tim Kennedy was assigned to the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers.

Thursday (Oct.14): The Wolf Pack's owner, Howard Baldwin, announced that the Wolf Pack will be renamed the "Whale" on November 27, 2010.

Friday (Oct. 15): The Wolf Pack lost their first road game of the season in a shootout to the Albany Devils. The score was 3-2. The big news from this game, Mats Zuccarello and Wade Redden both chipped in with goals, and Jeremy Williams added two assists in the shootout loss.

Saturday (Oct. 16): The Wolf Pack defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by a score of 2-1. The big news coming from this game, Mats Zuccarello added another goal to his season which ended up being the game winner.

New York Rangers: 1-1-1-3 (points) twelfth in the conference.

Hartford Wolf Pack: 2-1-1-5 (points) second in their division.

Thanks for the read, hope you enjoyed. Did you like the new edition? Feel free to leave your feedback below.