...like I said in my post game thoughts good for Hank. Really seemed to spark the team.

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The New York Rangers (26-17-3) lost to the Montreal Canadiens (25-17-3) by the score of 3-2, tonight. For a recap and box score go to Yahoo! Sports and newyorkrangers.com.

...with the outstanding effort in the third period you have to wonder why it wasn't there in the first two and why they needed their goaltender jumping a Canadiens player to get them going.

...Hank was a man on an island alone tonight. Absolutely no help. Good for him standing up for himself because God knows his teammate won't.

...lack of offense has been masked by Hank and defense lately, but it is very alarming. And the number one culprit is Gaborik. He is just way too invisible.

...bad game for Wolski tonight as he couldn't convert on numerous opportunities.

...not a surprise that the Rangers started playing well once Torts gave Avery more minutes.

...thought Sauer might have had his worst game all season.

...can't believe I'm saying this but Boyle has become more of a go to guy than Gaborik.

...not sure why but when things start rolling downhill for the Rangers in Montreal they can't stop it. The only thing that saved them in the first period was that it ended.

...MZA from Stepan. I love it.

...do you realize Drury has absolutely zero goals this season? Wow.

...i don't blame Dubi for trying to get back at Subban but I think he got too caught up in it and took careless penalties.

...quick turnaround for the Rangers as Flyers are in town tomorrow.

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The New York Rangers (26-16-3) visit the Montreal Canadiens (24-17-3) at the Bell Centre tonight starting at 7:00 p.m. For a preview go to Yahoo! Sports.

Rangers Game Notes

TV: MSG; Radio: 1050AM ESPN Radio, XM204

Probable Lines:
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Zuccarello
Wolski-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust
Avery-Newbury-Drury

Staal-Girardi
Eminger-Sauer
Gilroy-McDonagh

Goaltenders:
Henrik Lundqvist - 19-13-3, 2.25 gaa, .927 sv%, 6 so.

Carey Price - 21-15-3, 2.38 gaa, .919 sv%, 4 so

Opponent Notes:
- Montreal defeated the Rangers 2-1 on Tuesday at MSG.

- Carey Price has a career 3.35 GAA against the Rangers.

- Forward Michael Cammalleri has six goals in his last three games against the Rangers, but he has missed three in a row because of the flu. However he is expected to play tonight.

- Montreal is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games overall versus the Rangers.

2010-11 Season Series:
Jan. 11 Rangers 1, Canadiens 2 at MSG
Jan. 15 Rangers vs. Canadiens at Montreal
Feb. 5 Rangers vs. Canadiens at Montreal
March 18 Rangers vs. Canadiens at MSG

Opponent Blog:
Habs Eyes on the Prize

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John Tortorella morning skate press conference

...not too often you hear the word "balls" at a press conference. Only Torts. At 3:55 mark.

For Canadiens coach Martin's press conference click here.

Videos courtesy of Jesse Spector at the Blueshirts Blog.

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Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants reports Ryan Callahan will have his hand re-examined tomorrow when the Rangers return to Madison Square Garden to face the Flyers with the hope that he'll be cleared to resume gripping a stick.

Before taking part in a bag skate this morning, Callahan said he's aiming for a Feb. 1 return...

"We'll know more tomorrow," said Callahan, adding he was not disappointed by Tuesday's non-clearance. "If I was to have put my hand on a stick, I would be ahead of schedule, right around the six-week mark. The All-Star break is a realistic date, it'll be seven weeks."

...very exciting news.

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Steve Zipay tweets that Kris Newbury will be centering the fourth line tonight in Montreal with Dale Weise being the healthy scratch.

Andrew Gross adds that the goaltending match-up will be Lundqvist vs. Price.

...was starting to wonder when Newbury was going to get a chance. Too bad for Weise who is from the Montreal area and grew up idolizing the Habs. Wonder why Torts has Newbury at center? Guess he likes Dury better on the wing.

...looking forward to the All Star match-up in goal.

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As you can see by the above graphic tickets to Rangers/Flyers game at MSG can be real expensive. Lucky for you my friends over at TiqIQ have found tickets available for tomorrow night's game up to 49% below the average price.

The ticket program TiqIQ that I have a widget for on the right hand side has found these tickets at StubHub, Ebay and other ticketing sites.

I'm also seeing fans getting ridiculously low prices through EBay auctions. A word of caution on the EBay auctions, please make sure you research the seller. There are a lot of scam artists out there and the last thing you guys need is to be taken for a ride.

Just another service provided by The New York Rangers Blog.

To check out all the deals click here.

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...hope this isn't the Rangers consolation prize for not getting a Winter Classic in 2012.

...not a big fan of the NHL starting the season in Europe would rather be able to watch the season opener at night not noon. Games almost seem like preseason.

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...another in a long line of puzzling decisions by the NHL. Six games for saying "Sloppy Seconds" and none for spearing someone in the nether region.

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Adam Proteau at The Hockey News breaks down the Atlantic Division at their mid-season report...

NEW YORK RANGERS

THN pre-season prediction: 13th in East

Scoring leaders: Brandon Dubinsky, 37; Derek Stepan, 24; Marian Gaborik, 23.

Key stat: Rangers have won more road games than any NHL team (15-7-1), but are just 10-9-2 at home.

Biggest surprise: Brian Boyle. The 6-foot-7 behemoth put up just four goals and six points in 71 games for the Blueshirts last year, but currently sits second in team goal-scoring this season with 14 (and 22 points) in 44 games. Not bad for a guy who had 12 goals in 107 career NHL games prior to this year.

Biggest disappointment: Michael Del Zotto. Maybe he overachieved last season as a rookie defenseman who posted nine goals and 37 points in 80 games. Maybe we forget he’s still just 20 years old. But nobody imagined Del Zotto’s point production would be cut in half and he would lose the confidence of management to the point where he was assigned to the American League (as he was January 3) to re-establish his game.

What to expect: If the Rangers could play all their games away from Madison Square Garden, they’d be challenging the Flyers, Red Wings and Canucks for first place in the league. Unfortunately, their maddening inconsistency at home has the Blueshirts in third place in the competitive Atlantic Division and only a short losing streak away from being on the outside of the playoff picture.

That reality is in part behind GM Glen Sather’s recent acquisition of Wojtek Wolski (for D-man Michal Rozsival) and likely will lead to additional deals – perhaps, for a big-time player such as Dallas’ Brad Richards – prior to the Feb. 28 trade deadline. Sather has more than enough cap room to make such a move; his history suggests he cannot help himself if he gets the chance to do so again.

Otherwise, the Rangers would benefit from some stepped-up play by highly paid right winger Marian Gaborik, who has just one game-winning goal in 30 games played.

...this must have been an embarassing report for Proteau to put together knowing THN picked the Rangers to finish 13th in the East when they're currently sitting in 5th.

...i would have said you were crazy if you told be before the season Stepan would have more points than Gaborik after 45 games.

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