Sauer, Erixon, and 24/7

Defenseman Michael Sauer has been placed on the injured reserve, joining Marc Staal as the the second defenseman to be placed on the IR because of a concussion.

The Rangers have called up defenseman Tim Erixon from the Connecticut Whale. Erixon started the season with the Rangers because of a shortage on defense after Sauer suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason. Erixon was sent to the Whale after Sauer's return, and seems to have been recalled once again because of an injury to Sauer.

24/7 will premier tonight at 10 pm on HBO.

St, Louis Out, Wolski Skating, and Anisimov on Twitter

Lightening forward Martin St. Louis will most likely not play tonight against the Rangers. He took a puck to the face from former Rangers Dominic Moore in practice. This is a huge break for the Rangers and one more offensive threat the defense has to contain.

Injured forward Wojtek Wolski skated at this mornings practice for the first time since receiving sports hernia surgery.

Ranger forward Artem Anisimov is now in Twitter!

Sauer Becomes Second Concussed Defenseman

It was confirmed by the Rangers and Torts that defenseman Michael Sauer has been diagnosed with a concussion and will not play tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightening. Sauer is listed as "day-to-day". Anton Stralman will likely be inserted into the lineup for just his second game as a New York Ranger (his first being the loss against Florida) because the Rangers have not announced any cal ups. The seriously weakened defensive pairings will most likely look like this-
McDonagh-Girardi
Eminger-Del Zotto
Stralman-Woywitka

Concerning possible call ups, Tim Erixon, who played with the Rangers in the beginning of the season due to Sauer's shoulder injury, is still suffering from an undisclosed injury and is also listed as "day-to-day". If Sauer is out for a while, the Rangers might need to make a trade, especially with the concussion Marc Staal has been dealing with.

In other injury news, Mike Rupp practiced with the team (wearing a non-contact jersey) for the first time since his knee surgery.

Rangers prospect and first round draft pick J.T. Miller was selected to attend the USA National team evaluation camp.

Rangers Vs. Leafs-Take 2

The Rangers will play the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7 pm at Madison Square Garden. The Leafs are the only team to beat the Rangers at home in regulation this season. The Rangers are also wearing their white jerseys instead of the blue ones they usually wear at home. The last time the Rangers wore their white jerseys at home, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0.

Probable Lines-
Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan
Mitchell-Boyle-Hagelin
Avery-Dubinsky-Prust

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Sauer
Eminger-Woywitka

Lundqvist

Scratches-Marc Staal (concussion like symptoms), Mike Rupp (knee), Wojtek Wolski (groin), Erik Christensen (healthy), Anton Stralman (healthy)

Player Profile-Artem Anisimov

Left wing Artem Anisimov debuted on the Russian unprofessional team Lokomtiv Yaroslavl during the 2004-05 season. He was drafted by the Rangers 54th overall in the 2006 entry draft. He signed his first contract with the Rangers in 2007 and played with the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL for the 2008-09 season. He scored a goal and had two assists in the 2009 AHL All-Star Game for PlanetUSA. He was recalled by the Rangers in February 2009 and scored his first goal in a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks in October of 2009. He signed a two year deal with the Rangers as a restricted free agent in 2011. He currently plays left wing on the top line with Derek Stepan as center and Marion Gaborik as right wing.

Rangers Ground Lightning with Rebounds

The Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 4-2.

Thoughts-

• The Rangers continue to give up early goals, and  goals in the closing seconds of the period. Surprisingly, they still win games. Imagine how difficult it will be to play them if they don't give up those goals.
• I don't think that Henrik Lundqvist played his best last night. The two goals he gave up were pretty weak, although he was screened on the first one by Derek Stepan.
• It seemed that every time there was a rebound, the Rangers scored. It was great to see Brad Richards set up Ruslan Fedotenko for the tying goal. Both players won the Stanley Cup with Tampa in 2004. Fedotenko actually scored the cup winning goal. 
• Artem Anisimov had a great game. Ryan Callahan pressured the Tampa defense and caused a turnover. Arty Anticipated the shot by Stepan, and was in prime position to put in the rebound. 
• When Stepan said he was "ready to rock, he wasn't kidding. Stepan drew a penalty when he was elbowed in the head by Pavel Kubina. Recently it almost seems like Stepan can't go a game without getting hit. Even though the Rangers didn't score on the power play, Stepan scored off yet another rebound to break the tie. Stepan has matured as a player immensely this year after a relatively slow start, as has Arty, who are both part of the GAS Line. stepan earned himself the BRoadway Hat for his efforts, and became the first player to earn the hat twice. 
• Richards put the icing on the cake, scoring an empty netter against his former team. 
• It is a good sign that the Rangers find ways to win even though they don't play their best hockey. Hopefully they realize that they do have some things to fix, and play hard against Toronto on Monday. 

Rangers Vs. Lightning

The Rangers will play the Lightning in Tampa Bay tonight at 7 pm on MSG.

Probable Lines-
Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan
Hagelin-Boyle-Mitchell
Avery-Dubinsky-Prust

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Sauer
Eminger-Woywitka

Lundqvist

Former Lightning-Brad Richards (played with the Lightning from 2000-2008, won a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2004, traded to the Dallas Stars on   February 26th, 2008), Ruslan Fedotenko (scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in 2004, left in 2007 as a free agent)

"Ready to Rock"

Derek Stepan is "ready to rock" tonight against Tampa Bay. John Mitchell is now wearing a visor. Mike Rupp skated with the non-contact jersey on at the optional skate today, and Marc Staal skated by himself after practice.

Game Day Updates

Henrik Lundqvist will be in the net for the Rangers tonight. The Lightning will start Mathieu Garon in net. John Mitchell is wearing a visor at morning skate after blocking a shot with his face during Thursday night's game against Carolina. Derek Stepan, who was also hurt blocking a shot on Thursday, is skating and testing his ankle.

Stepan, Rupp, and Staal

Derek Stepan, who was hurt blocking a shot yesterday, did not practice today. X-rays came back negative, and he plans to play tomorrow night against Tampa Bay. Any absence of Stepan would hurt the Rangers, so lets hope he gets better soon. Mike Rupp skated for the second day in a row, but Staal took the day off. He expects to skate tomorrow.

Rangers Weather the Hurricane

The Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5-3 last night. They are now on a 4 game winning streak, and will play the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night.

Thoughts-

• Anyone else notice Stepan didn't take any more faceoffs after he lost the one that lead to Carolina's first goal? He really needs to work on that. 
• Stepan redeemed himself later in the game with a pass to Gaborik, setting up the Avery goal. 
• I don't think anyone blamed Stepan for that first goal after the blocked that shot in the closing minute of the 3rd. It scared the hell out of me to see him crawling around on the ice like that. He didn't miss a shift though, even though he was grimacing the rest of the game. The Rangers tweeted that Stepan was "OK" and he was hobbling around the locker room. Hope he gets the day off tomorrow. 
• Speaking of blocked shots, Mitchell is a beast. He jumps right up after getting slammed in the face with the puck, and later says he was frustrated because "who wants to block a shot with your face?" Forget Torts and Avery, I wanna see this guy on 24/7. Going by the way he's playing, he might be able to stick with the Rangers far awhile. 
• Once again a great game by Gaborik. has there been a game this season where we haven't said that? He had 1 goal, 1 assist, and a great diving play in the end of the 3rd period to knock the puck out of the zone when Carolina had an extra skater. 
• Hagelin also had a great night, and got an assist on the Sauer goal, meaning he has a 4 game point streak, like Richards.
• The Rangers are really scoring up and down the roster, including the defense. Only 4 players didn;t record points. The Rangers scored 5 goals, so, if a different player had a goal or assist each time, 15 different players would have point. 14 Rangers did because Gaborik got a goal and an assist. 

Rangers Vs. Hurricanes-Take Two

The Rangers play the Carolina Hurricanes for the second time this season tonight at 7 pm on MSG. The last time the Rangers played Carolina, they won by a score of 5-1.

Probable Lines-
Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Richards-Callahan
Hagelin-Boyle-Mitchell
Avery-Dubinsky-Prust

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Sauer
Woywitka-Eminger

Scratches-Marc Staal (concussion like symptoms), Mike Rupp (knee), Wojtek Wolski (groin), Anton Stralman (healthy), Erik Christensen (healthy)

Other News-With the coaching change in Anaheim, it seems that Bobby Ryan will not be traded in the near future. While Marc Staal is progressing, he still experiences the occasional bad day, indicating that his return won't be soon.

Staal, Rupp, Ducks, Biron, and Wolski

Marc Staal spoke to the media and says he has been improving, but it's too soon for a timetable for his return, although he does expect to play this season. It was reported that he was skating with forward Mike Rupp, who has been out with a knee injury. The Anaheim Ducks fired their coach Randy Carlyle, and hired Bruce Boudreau, who was recently fired by the Washington Capitals. This seems to have put an end to the trade rumors about Bobby Ryan, but they may be looking to trade him in the future. Andre Deveaux, who was put on waivers yesterday, has been assigned to the NHL. Marty Biron will start in goal tonight to give Lundqvist a break. Wojtek Wolski tweeted that he was skating the other day, posing the question of what happens when he returns. When he eventually does return, he will be taken off the LTIR, and the Rangers will need to do something to get under the cap limit. That could include waiving Christensen and Mitchell, just Christensen, or maybe trading Wolski. (A similar situation happened last year with Michal Rozsival. He went down with an injury so Ryan McDonagh was called up. He played so well that the Rangers kept McDonagh and traded Rozsival to the Phoenix Coyotes for, guess who, Wojtek Wolski.