...first no Thomas on Saturday now no Miller. Rangers living a charmed life right now.

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Here's video of John Tortorella's pre-game presser (via The Blueshirts Blog)...



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@thenyrangers tweet out this pic of Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust playfully mixing it up before tonight's crucial game against the Sabres...


...nice to see the boys loose before tonight's huge game.

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Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants reports that John Tortorella says Chris Drury (knee) and Marty Biron (collarbone) are not skating yet. Among the injured, only Derek Boogaard (concussion) is on ice.

...probably won't see Biron unless the Rangers make it to the second round, while Dury's status seems a lot harder to predict. If he can get his knee healthy Ithis year I feel he can still help the Rangers in the playoffs with a spot start here and there.

...i don't see Boogaard playing this season. No need for a fighter in the playoffs.

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Andrew Gross reports that Mats Zuccarello and Matt Gilroy will be healthy scratches for tonight's game in Buffalo. As expected Henrik Lundqvist will be in net for the Rangers while Ryan Miller will be between the pipes for the Sabres.

...not very surprising. I thought Avery had a solid game in limited action against the Bruins on Saturday, while Wolski brings a little more experience than MZA.

...as far a Gilroy goes, he might be sitting in the press box for the rest of the season. Which isn't so much on knock on him as much as it's a testiment to how well everyone else is playing.

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Wes Goldstein at CBS Sports takes a look at the rookies besides Calder Trophy front runners Jeff Skinner (CAR), Logan Couture (SJ) and Michael Grabner (NYI) who are having fine first seasons in the NHL...

Derek Stepan: Debuting with an opening night hat trick wasn't exactly an omen of things to come because he needed nearly six weeks to score again. Still a 20-goal rookie campaign is nothing to sneeze at. Stepan has eased into his role as a versatile center by coach John Tortorella, spending most of his time on second or third lines, but playing comfortably on the top unit when injuries or circumstances have dictated.

...nice to see Stepan getting some respect around the league. 20 goals during a rookie campaign is very impressive.

...how is Sauer & McD not on this list?

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For those of you not familiar with the Yahoo Sports fantasy rotisserie scoring system click here. For more on TheNYRBlog Fantasy Hockey League Championship round click here.

OVERALL POINTS
Team   G   A  +/-  PPP  SHG  GWG  H   W  GAA  SV%  SO  TOT
TG    7.5  8   7   7.5  4.5   7  6.5  3  7.5  7.5  7   73

JDAS  7.5 4.5  5   7.5  4.5   7   8  6.5  3   3.5  3   60

MSGU   6   7  4.5  1.5  4.5   7   2  6.5  6    6   7   58

BLUE  2.5 4.5  6    4   4.5  2.5  3   3  7.5  7.5  7   52

FS    4.5 1.5  2    4   4.5   5  6.5 6.5  4    5   3   46.5

GS    2.5  6  4.5  1.5  4.5  2.5  1   3   5   3.5  3   37

S'94   1   3   3    4   4.5  2.5 4.5 6.5  2    2   3   36

GTFM  4.5 1.5  1    6   4.5  2.5 4.5  1   1    1   3   30.5

Team Key: JDAS = Jim Dolan's All Stars, TG = The Greeks, S'94 = Spring of '94, GTFM = GetTheFrlovMatteau, BLUE = BLUESHIRTS, FS = Fire Sather, MSGU = MS G-Unit, GS = Glen Sather

Scoring Key: G = Goals, A = Assists, +/- = +/-, PPP = Power Play Points, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goal, H = Hits, W = Wins, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV% = Save Percentage, SO = Shutouts, TOT = Total Points


OVERALL STATS
Team         G  A  +/-  PPP  SHG  GWG  H  W  GAA  SV%  SO
GTFM         2  1  -6    2    0    0  13  0  5.00 .792  0

Fire Sather  2  1  -5    1    0    1  14  2  1.62 .947  0

Spring '94   0  2  -4    1    0    0  13  2  2.33 .927  0

Glen Sather  1  4   0    0    0    0   5  1  1.01 .941  0

The Greeks   5  7   8    3    0    2  14  1  0.00 1.00  1

MS G-Unit    3  5  11    0    0    2  10  2  0.50 .980  1

Dolan Stars  5  3   0    3    0    2  20  2  2.00 .941  0

BLUESHIRTS   1  3   4    1    0    0  12  1  0.00 1.00  1

Thank you to the Rangers and Glass Bangers T-Shirts (I definitely recommend checking them out) for hooking us up with some great prizes.

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Bergen Record - Rangers keeping their cool

New York Post - Rangers are seeking higher playoff position

Daily News - Stepan now center of Ranger attention

New York Times - The Rangers See Room to Move Up

Wall Street Journal - Scrappy Rangers Keep Finding Ways to Win

Newsday - Rangers face Sabres in playoff run

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I'll be talking about the Rangers playoff chances on WCWP which is the internet radio home for CW Post University sports tonight at 5:30 p.m. To listen click here and then on the microphone in the top right hand corner.

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