SPOTLIGHT: MELROSE PICKS

By Bruce Berlet

Former NHL player and coach Barry Melrose has always been an entertaining personality and a straight shooter as an ESPN hockey analyst.

Not surprisingly, Melrose picked two former Hartford Whalers as the greatest power forwards in NHL history. Melrose’s criteria was the candidate has to be a frontline player, very physical and has to fight. He’s not just a big guy who is a very good player who scores but is a big, mean, nasty, physical, tough guy to play against. Melrose’s picks have a lot of goals and penalty minutes and are the type of guy the other team didn’t like to play against.

RANGERS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE FLYERS

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 11, 2012 (Game 53, Away Game 28)
Wells Fargo Center — Philadelphia, PA

                                              1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
New York Rangers             2      1        2       –      5
Philadelphia Flyers            1      1        0       –      2

Team Notes:

-       The Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, today at Wells Fargo Center for their sixth win in eight games, and are now 18-5-1 in their last 24 games.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

NY RANGERS at PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Saturday, Feb. 11, 1:00 p.m.
Wells Fargo Center — Philadelphia, PA
Rangers: 34-13-5 (73 pts)
Flyers: 31-16-7 (69 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Feb. 9

TODAY’S GAME

The Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers today at Wells Fargo Center (1:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), to begin a back-to-back weekend set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 34-13-5 (73 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3, in overtime on Thursday at Madison Square Garden for their fifth win in seven games, and are now 17-5-1 in their last 23 contests. New York has posted a record of 31-10-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Flyers enter the contest with a 31-16-7 (69 pts) record to rank fourth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost three of their last four games. Following today’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Washington Capitals tomorrow, Feb. 12, at Madison Square Garden (12:30 p.m.), to close out their back-to-back set.

RANGERS GET GIANT WIN – THEY SUPER BOWL OVER FLYERS

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 5, 2012 (Game 50, Home Game 23)
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY

                                                      1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
Philadelphia Flyers        0      1            1           –        2
New York Rangers          1      1            3           –       5

Team Notes:

-        The Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, today at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games.

ROWE BACK IN GREENVILLE

BY: Ray Schmitt, Voice of the Greenville Road Warriors

The Greenville Road Warriors announced today that forward Andrew Rowe has been reassigned to the team by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

FROM WINTER CLASSIC TO FLORIDA ROUTINE

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS
Thursday, Jan. 5, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
Rangers: 24-9-4 (52 pts)
Panthers: 20-12-7 (47 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Jan. 3

TOMORROW’S GAME:

The Rangers will face-off against the Florida Panthers tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to begin a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank first in the league overall, with a record of 24-9-4 (52 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Monday in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and have won seven of their last eight games. New York has posted a record of 21-6-2 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Panthers enter the contest with a 20-12-7 (47 pts) record to rank third in the Eastern Conference, and have lost each of their last four road games. This will be the second meeting in six days between the Rangers and Panthers, with New York having defeated Florida, 4-1, on Friday at BankAtlantic Center to take a 2-1-0 series lead. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, Jan. 6, at CONSOL Energy Center (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their back-to-back set.

SATHER: “WE ARE GOING TO COME TO PHILADELPHIA AND WE ARE GOING TO WIN.”

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Sather prediction

Back on September 26th, when the NHL announced the Winter Classic game, New York Rangers’ president and general manager Glen Sather said, “We are going to come to Philadelphia and we are going to win.” Well, much as the 1994 Rangers got behind team captain Mark Messier and his, “We will win game 6, I guarantee it.” statement, the 2011-2012 team backed up Sather’s words with a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Citizen’s Bank Park 3-2 over the Philadelphia Flyers Monday afternoon.

LIVE CAM FROM PHILADELPHIA

Want to see what’s going on in Philadelphia right up to the minute that they drop the puck? Check out this live cam of Citizen’s Bank Park.

Also, Rangers to have a John Tortorella press conference at 12:45… Want to make a gentlemen’s bet that the team will announce that Ryan McDonagh is under the weather and that Marc Staal is going to play?

http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf

WINTER CLASSIC – THE PREVIEW

NEW YORK RANGERS at PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic
Monday, Jan. 2, 3:00 p.m.
Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rangers: 23-9-4 (50 pts.)
Flyers: 22-10-4 (48 pts.)
* All info through NHL games on Jan. 1

TOMORROW’S GAME:

The Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (3:00 p.m.; TV: NBC; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio). The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 23-9-4 (50 pts.). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-1, on Friday at BankAtlantic Center, and have won six of their last seven games. New York has posted a record of 20-6-2 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Flyers enter the contest with a 22-10-4 (48 pts.) record to rank fourth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost four of their last six games (2-3-1). This will be the second meeting in 10 days between the Atlantic Division rivals, with New York having defeated Philadelphia, 4-2, on Dec. 23 at MSG to take a 2-0-0 series lead. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 5, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to begin a back-to-back set.

FANFARE: CONCUSSIONS

BY: Adam Gavriel

The league’s superstar and poster-boy player has played in just nine games since the Winter Classic last season.

The New York Rangers top defenseman has not suited up in a game this season.

The Philadelphia Flyers captain and top defenseman has not played in an NHL game since November 19^th and will be out the rest of the regular season, playoffs and possibly ever again.