Jesse Spector at the Daily News reports that the AHL website states that the Rangers have sent Mats Zuccarello to the CT Whale.

...MZA's game has been fading and last night may have been his worst effort of the year. A -3 as well as being just brutal on the point during the 5-on-3 pretty much sealed his fate. Although it's not like Wolski or EC are playing that much better than him.

...in the end, if the Rangers aren't going to play him down the stretch makes sense to get him playing time in the AHL especially during the playoffs.

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After last night's embarrassing effort against the Islanders Ryan Callahan could only muster this to Larry Brooks of the New York Post...

"It was unacceptable effort and execution," said Ryan Callahan. "There's no excuse for it. There's no excuse for being outworked and outbattled. To a man, we know this is unacceptable."

...yes it was Ryan. Yes it was.

...don't remember the last time I was this depressed after a Rangers loss. You know, other than the one that kept them out of the playoffs last year. And with the Flyers and Boston the horizon I'm starting to get a little concerned.

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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
MSGU  6.5 4.5  8    5   4.5   8  5.5  6   7    7  6.5  68.5

JDAS   8   3   6    5   4.5   6   4   8   5    5  2.5  57

GS     4  7.5 3.5   3   4.5   2   1   6   8    8  6.5  54

TG    6.5 7.5  5    5   4.5   6   3  1.5  3    3  6.5  51.5

BLUE   2   1   7   1.5  4.5   4   7  3.5  6    6  6.5  49

FS     4   2  3.5  1.5  4.5   6   8   6   4    4  2.5  46

GTFM   4   6   1    8   4.5   2  5.5 1.5  1    1  2.5  37

S'94   1  4.5  2    7   4.5   2   2  3.5  2    2  2.5  33

Team Key: JDAS = Jim Dolan's All Stars, TG = The Greeks, S'94 = Spring of '94, GTFM = GetTheFrolovMatteau, 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         4 10  -6    6    0    0  26  1  3.35 .894  0

Fire Sather  4  6  -1    2    0    2  32  3  2.09 .939  0

Spring '94   2  9  -2    5    0    0  23  2  2.21 .928  0

Glen Sather  4 11  -1    3    0    0  16  3  0.67 .969  1

The Greeks   6 11   0    4    0    2  24  1  2.15 .933  1

MS G-Unit    6  9  10    4    0    3  26  3  1.23 .949  1

Dolan Stars  7  7   2    4    0    2  25  4  2.01 .941  0

BLUESHIRTS   3  4   6    2    0    1  28  2  1.63 .944  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 fall to Islanders, 6-2, for second straight loss

Bergen Record - Rangers notes: Fight night

New York Post - On life support after loss to Islanders

Daily News - Rangers continue slide, lose to Isles

New York Times - Islanders Batter the Rangers, and Slow Their Playoff Push

Newsday - Isles top Rangers, deal blow to playoff hopes

Newsday - Staple: How could Isles have wanted it more?

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Rangers head coach John Tortorella speaks with reporters after the Blueshirts fell to the Islanders 6-2 on March 31.


Rangers @ Islanders lowlights.

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The New York Rangers (41-32-5) lost to the New York Islanders (30-36-12) by the score of 6-2, tonight. For a recap and box score go to Yahoo! Sports and newyorkrangers.com.

...second game in a row with the season on the line the Rangers are entirely outworked. Inexcusable. Torts has to get the blame for not having this team ready for either of these games.

...and don't let the 1-0 lead fool you into thinking the Rangers had this game under control because if it wasn't for Lundqvist and foolish Islander penalties the game would have been over in the first period instead of the second.

...big time players are supposed to step up when the season is on the line and Gaborik is goalless in the last five.

...not a coincidence that the Rangers have been out-hustled these last two games while Callahan has been a no-show.

...where did the forecheck go?

...as good as the defense has been all year is how bad they were tonight.

...weren't we talking about the Rangers maybe moving up to fifth the other day? What the hell happened?

...might be time to sit McCabe who's giving the Rangers nothing right now.

...was Perry Pearn in charge of the power play tonight?

...another active game for Avery, but bad giveaway on the first Isles goal and he's got to bang home that chance in the second which would have tied it. Big momentum swing as the Islanders come back the other way and score two straight to ice the game.

...not a good return to the lineup for MZA with a -3.

...off until Sunday when the Blueshirts visit the City of Brotherly Love.

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The New York Rangers (41-31-5, 87 pts., 8th in East) visit the New York Islanders (29-36-12, 70 pts., 14th in East) at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum tonight starting at 7:00 p.m. For a preview go to Yahoo! Sports.

Rangers Game Notes

TV: MSG; Radio: 1050AM ESPN Radio, XM 205

Probable Lines:
Gaborik-Stepan-Prospal
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Avery-Christensen-Zuccarello
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust

Staal-Girardi
McDonagh-Sauer
McCabe-Eminger

Goaltenders:
Henrik Lundqvist - 33-25-5, 2.22 gaa, .924 sv%, 11 so.

Al Montoya - 8-4-4, 2.35 gaa, .923 sv%, 1 so.

Opponent Notes:
- Islanders leading goal scorer Michael Grabner (31g) will miss his second straight game because of the impending birth of his child.

- Frans Nielsen has six points (4g, 2a) in his last six games.

- Matt Moulson has three goals and four assists in the five meetings with the Rangers this season.

- John Tavares leads the Islanders with 61 points (27g, 34a).

- The Islanders have lost eight of the last 10 meetings against the Rangers at Nassau Coliseum.

- The Islanders will not reach the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

-  Mark Streit (left shoulder surgery) will miss the entire season after having a torn labrum and a torn rotator cuff repaired on Oct. 1.

2010-11 Season Series:
Oct. 11 Rangers 4, Islanders 6 at Uniondale
Dec. 2 Rangers 6, Islanders 5 at Uniondale
Dec. 3 Rangers 2, Islanders 0 at MSG
Dec. 27 Rangers 7, Islanders 2 at MSG
March 15 Rangers 6, Islanders 3 at MSG
March 31 Rangers vs. Islanders at Uniondale

Opponent Blog:
Islanders Hockey Blog

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Update, 5:09 p.m.
Jesse Spector says Talbot call-up was precautionary and confirms that Mats Zuccarello is back in with Wojtek Wolski and Matt Gilroy being tonight's scratches.

Update, 5:06 p.m.:
Larry Brooks tweets that Lundqvist is in tonight!!!!

Update, 4:33 p.m.:
Rick Carpiniello at the Rangers Report says a reason Talbot could have been called up is so Lundqvist doesn't have to practice during this stretch of four games in six days.

Torts will address media at 5pm.

Updated, 4:06 p.m.:
Chad Johnson not on AHL Transaction list as being returned to CT Whale.

...got to assume something is wrong with Hank. Why else would they bring Talbot up? Game time decision maybe.

Original Post:
Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post reports that according to AHL transactions have Rangers recalling G Cam Talbot from Hartford for tonight's game against the Islanders.

...hope this is just a precaution, but this doesn't look good for Hank being able to play tonight after being struck on the knee with a puck last night in Buffalo.

...let's just hope Michael didn't notice on the transactions that the Rangers also sent Chad Johnson down to Hartford.

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Craig Custance at The Sporting News feels that John Tortorella is leading the race for the Jack Adams trophy...

"It raises the question — has there been a better coaching job turned in this season than the one by Tortorella? He's survived a slew of injuries, a down year from Marian Gaborik and a young defense and will most likely guide this team into the playoffs."

...Tortorella has not only done an amazing job putting the Rangers in position to win this year, but with his commitment to youth has put them in position to win in years to come. Which, to me, may be more important.

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John Giannone of MSG Networks tweets that Wojtek Wolski, Matt Gilroy and Chad Johnson were all on the ice this morning, while the rest of the team met off the ice.

...got to assume MZA back in and Wolski out. Wolski normally doesn't participate in morning skates when in the lineup.

...Rangers desperately need some scoring so let's hope MZA can deliver.

...just an FYI , Wolski has zero goals in the last 14 games, while Michal Rozsival has two. No wonder the Coyotes were so willing to take Rozy and his contract for Wolski.

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