Anton Stralman did not participate in the Rangers optional practice a day after being forced to leave Game 3 due to a crushing hit he received along the boards from Milan Lucic.

Andrew Gross at the Bergen Record adds that it's not likely that he'll play in Game 4 and that Matt Gilroy or Roman Hamrlik are the likely replacements. No word if Marc Staal, who skated again today, is an option.

...with the Rangers offense struggling mightily, I think Torts has to go with Gilroy. Hell, not even should he be in the line-up, the Rangers head coach should give him a spot on the top power play unit. Can't get worse.

...big loss if Stralman can't go as he's been one of the most under-rated Rangers in the playoffs.

...as far as a possible Staal return, I'd be against it. Why even risk putting him in an uncomfortable situation now. Not worth it.

Meanwhile, Chris Kreider, who was forced to leave Game 3 as well after taking a stick to the face, was also absent from the optional.

...why is it that everyone else who either took a stick, hit or puck to the face returned to the game but Kreider? Hope the stick didn't clip his eye, which he seemed to be rubbing afterward.

In some good news on the injury front, the Rangers website reports that Ryane Clowe made a brief appearance on the ice at the very start of the Rangers workout. It was his first time on the ice since suffering an undisclosed injury during Game Five of the first round quarterfinal series in Washington.

After skating briefly, Clowe left the ice once drills began.

...obviously, there's absolutely no chance he plays tomorrow night.

Darroll Powe (concussion) also skated today and discussed being a part of the Flyers team who came back from an 0-3 series deficit to these Bruins in 2010 playoffs (via Bergen Record)...

Suffice to say that a 3-0 series deficit was not the plan. The powerplay is more miserable than it has ever been, and that is saying a lot. Brad Richards has, in one season, gone from playoff hero to playoff zero. Injuries are affecting important players. The Rangers look like a team with no confidence. 

That being said, at some point we have to acknowledge that the Bruins are a good team. A really good team. A really, really good team. They have the right combination of high-end talent along with strong depth and a confident, talented goaltender. This is a team that won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago and could be on their way to another one. Jeff Gorton was GM of the Bruins for not even four full months, yet is a big reason behind the success of this Bruins team. Jeff Gorton is also the current Assistant General Manager of the New York Rangers. Ironically, the Bruins' beating up on the Rangers, though far from preferable, does in some sense give hope for the future. Let's look at Gorton's tenure with the Bruins and then analyze what it means for the Rangers.

via Paul Cuthbert at Hockey This Week.

After last night's demoralizing 2-1 loss to the Bruins, which put the Rangers in the unenviable position to come back from a 3-0 series hole, Brian Boyle tried to remain positive (via ESPN.com)...

"We’ve got more hockey to play. We’re not done by any means."

...ummm Brian, yes you are.

...i can take a loss knowing the Rangers put forth their best effort. No shame in losing to a talented Bruins team, but the lack of emotion and heart with the season literally on the line was beyond disappointing.

...i've defended Torts a whole bunch on this blog, but for the Rangers to come out as flat as they did is inexcusable and falls directly at the feet of the Rangers head coach. Torts is a coach who's always gotten his players to dig down deep in the big spots, but it's just not happening in this series.

Here's post game video from last night...

I'd like to take you back to last June for a moment. In an interview with Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Mark Messier divulged his thoughts on a what he believed the Rangers needed to do that offseason in order to win a Stanley Cup.

 "...teams that win the Stanley Cup get stronger as series move on, so for us this year the big thing is to add depth so we don’t have to use as many players as much as we did.

“The more depth you have, the less chance of wearing players down and having injuries.”

Depth. The ability to roll out all four lines, have them be effective in all three zones and spread the ice time around. The depth the team dearly coveted. The depth Glen Sather utilized to acquire Rick Nash. The depth the Rangers desperately needed when they traded Marian Gaborik midseason. 

The depth that is severely lacking as the team faces an insurmountable 3-0 series hole against the Boston Bruins, who ironically, have incredible depth. 

Bergen Record - Rangers' 2-1 loss to Bruins puts them in 3-0 series hole

Bergen Record - Sullivan: Henrik Lundqvist runs out of steam with little help

Bergen Record - Rangers notes: Anton Stralman hurt

Bergen Record - Bruins use complete effort

New York Post - Rangers shoved to brink after blowing third-period lead

New York Post - No one besides Lundqvist stepping up

New York Post - Bruins’ scrappy fourth-liners take over Garden

Daily News - Lundqvist can't save Rangers, who fall to Bruins and into 3-0 series hole

New York Times - Bruins Take Control of Game and Series

New York Times - With a Shot and Some Wacky Bounces, a Good Night Goes Astray for Lundqvist

Wall Street Journal - Loss Puts Rangers' Backs to the Wall

Newsday - Rangers in deep 3-0 hole after loss to Bruins

Newsday - Rangers not getting job done

Newsday - Lundqvist was King through 2 before being vanquished

Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins by the score of 2-1, tonight. The Bruins now lead the series 3-0. For a box score visit Yahoo! Sports.

...in a game that the Rangers had to have, it just wasn't enough. Not enough offense. Not enough defense. Not enough toughness. Not enough forecheck. Not enough passion. Not enough jam. Which is absolutely unacceptable in a contest of this magnitude.

...yeah great, Nash tries hard and gives a good effort. Whatever. He was brought in here to score and with eight minutes to go in the third period he had the game on his stick he couldn't deliver. And if that wasn't enough, the hockey gods gave him a chance to redeem himself with a golden opportunity to tie it late and he buried it right into Rask who didn't even have to move.

...i love Hank and he can stop the puck with the best of them, but he could be the worst puck handling goaltender in the history of the NHL. He is completely at fault for the Bruins first goal. Having said that, the Rangers don't even have the lead at that point without him.

...tough break for Kreider with the high stick, as he was real noticeable when Torts put him on a line with Brassard and Nash. Too bad Torts didn't think of that combination earlier in the playoffs.

...Zuccarello looking more like the guy who played for the Rangers the last two years instead of the one from the last two months.

...kudos to Dorsett for at least attempting to stir things up. Not sure I can remember a playoff series with less nastiness than this one.

...on that note, has Asham been a healthy scratch in this series? Boyle also. Don't think I've heard his name once during the broadcast of any games in this series.

...you mean, if you put a guy in front of the net, you can like score and stuff. No idea how the Rangers can see the Pyatt goal and not send a guy to the crease for the rest of the game.

...always fun to watch Stralman get squashed up against the glass like a bug by Lucic and absolutely no response. If he can't go in Game 4 could it be a return of Hamrtime? If so, the Rangers might as well just forfeit.

...in the words of Pierre McGuire, the Rangers power play is "UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!"

The New York Rangers host the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals match-up starting at 7:30 p.m. The Bruins lead the series 2-0. For a preview go to Yahoo! Sports.

Rangers Game Notes

TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: ESPN Radio (970 FM), XM 92

Live Stream (Don't click on ads in stream, may download virus):
http://www.firstrow1.eu/watch/187800/1/watch-new-york-rangers-vs-boston-bruins.html

Probable Lines:
Hagelin-Stepan-Callahan
Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello
Pyatt-Boyle-Dorsett
Asham-Richards-Kreider

McDonagh-Girardi
Del Zotto-Stralman
Eminger-Moore

Goaltenders:
Henrik Lundqvist - 4-5, 2.10 gaa, .935 sv%, 2 so.

Tuukka Rask - 6-3, 2.32 gaa, .928 sv%, 0 so

Opponent Notes:
- David Krejci leads the Bruins with 5g, 11a in the playoffs.

Powe and Staal skating at this AMs #NYR optional at MSG

— Pat Leonard (@NYDNRangers) May 21, 2013

The two also did bag skates with the taxi players after practice, but neither will play in Game 3 tonight. Ryane Clowe did not skate, so the line-up will remain the same as Game 2.

Here's Powe on his recovery from his second concussion this season (via Bergen Record)...

“I feel good. It’s good to back on the ice and skating with the guys.It’s a few days of skating and I felt pretty good, so I’m just trying to keep skating, working out and trying to get back in the lineup."

...until I hear that Staal is feeling more comfortable with his vision, his skating on a daily basis means nothing.

...Rangers will continue to miss both Staal and Clowe in this series and will have a very difficult time climbing back into this series without them. I feel like a broken record with those two.

As far as the Bruins go, it looks like they're going to stick with the three rookies on defense...

Darren Dreger at TSN made some waves on the radio today when he said this about John Tortorella's future with the Rangers should his team be eliminated quickly by the Bruins...

"If the New York Rangers were to be eliminated in short order by the Boston Bruins, is there a chance John Tortorella is replaced? Yes there is a chance, absolutely. No question about it. Glen Sather made the big trade, moved Gaborik out, obviously prior to that they found a way to acquired Rick Nash, they not done yet building this team into a true Stanley Cup contender but is John Tortorella the right coach, that management group for sure will have that discussion at the end of the season, whenever the Rangers season ends."

Listen to Dreger by clicking here.

...listen, Dreger has a lot more contacts than I do (I have zero) and knows the inner workings of all the NHL organizations, but I don't buy this for a second. Yes, as we've gone over ad nauseum on this blog, Tortorella has his obvious hang-ups (power play, stubbornness, constant line changes), but am I supposed to believe the guy who guided the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1997 last season is going to be fired because he only took the team to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals the next year? Yes, the Rangers did not live up to expectations in the regular season, but as I've said all year I think Torts deserves a pass for the team's slow start due to the lockout. Some players came back not prepared (cough, Richards, cough) and the moves that Sather made in the offseason did not gel very well in Torts' system because of the abbreviated training camp. But if you look at the success of the team since the trade deadline, that has Torts' trademark grinding style written all over it.

While, I'm more than confident there will be fireworks on the ice tonight, according to Bob Raissman at the Daily News there might be some off it as he explains how NBC reporters Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire went after John Tortorella for his Hagelin "stinks" comments before and during Game 3...

“And I haven’t heard John Tortorella take responsibility for a power play that’s had (Rick) Nash, (Marian) Gaborik, (Brad) Richards, a whole host of good-looking defensemen, and can’t get anything done,” Milbury said. “I think it’s time for John Tortorella to take a look at how he’s coaching this thing.”

This was just the initial shot. With the Rangers on (another) unsuccessful power play in the first period, Pierre McGuire, NBC’s game analyst, pulled the verbal bat from Milbury’s mouth and clubbed Tortorella.

“Throwing your player (Hagelin) under the bus at this time of year — no, I’m not buying it,” McGuire said. “(The power play) has been a problem all season long. It’s the schematic that’s wrong. Not the players.”

Raissman wonders if Tortorella had been informed of these comments before his brief exchange with McGuire during their in-game interview...