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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
January 14, 2012 (Game 42, Away Game 23)
Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Ontario

                                              1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
New York Rangers                0         2         1             -           3
Toronto Maple Leafs          0         0         0            -           0

Team Notes:

-        The Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0, tonight at Air Canada Centre to extend their road winning streak to four games, and are now 10-2-0 in their last 12 games away from MSG.  The Blueshirts have out-scored their opponent, 13-4, during their four-game road winning streak.

BATTLE OF THE BUDDIES: SATHER V. BURKE

NEW YORK RANGERS at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Saturday, Jan. 14, 7:00 p.m.
Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON
Rangers: 27-10-4 (58 pts)
Maple Leafs: 22-15-5 (49 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Jan. 12

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow at Air Canada Centre (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG 2; Radio: AM 1600), to begin a back-to-back weekend set against Original Six opponents. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 27-10-4 (58 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Ottawa Senators, 3-0, on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to end their five-game winning streak, and are now 10-2-0 in their last 12 games. New York has posted a record of 24-7-2 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Maple Leafs enter their contest tonight in Buffalo with a 22-15-5 (49 pts) record to rank seventh in the Eastern Conference, and have won four straight games. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, Jan. 15, at Bell Centre (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their back-to-back weekend set against Original Six opponents.

RANGERS TAKE ON TORONTO

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Monday, Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 15-5-3 (33 pts)
Maple Leafs: 14-10-2 (30 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Dec. 3

BRUCE BERLET REPORTS – MITCHELL MAKES MARK

FROM THE CREASE BY: BRUCE BERLET

John Mitchell has always prided himself in being “a pretty fast skater” and proved it when he won a fastest skater competition with the Toronto Maple Leafs three years ago.

“I think I actually beat the time in the NHL All-Star Game, so I know I can skate,” Mitchell recalled Wednesday night after his first NHL action with the New York Rangers in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils in the preseason opener at the Pepsi Center in Albany, N.Y.

Mitchell was one of the first players used in all situations and also leveled Cam Janssen, one of the Devils tough guys, as he continued to center a line with pesky veteran Sean Avery and fuzzy-faced J.T. Miller, the Rangers’ first-round pick (15th overall) in June. The trio was cited as “probably our most effective line, as far as forechecking and having some offensive zone pressure” by Rangers coach John Tortorella, who watched in the upper deck with president and general manager Glen Sather and other team executives while assistant GM/assistant coach/Connecticut Whale GM Jim Schoenfeld ran the bench with assistant coach Mike Sullivan.

NHL PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Here is the NHL released pre-season schedule. New York Rangers games are in BLUE, New Jersey Devils in RED and the New York Islanders in ORANGE.

The 2011-12 NHL regular season opens Oct. 6.

JOHN MITCHELL OFFICIALLY SIGNS

Howlings reported several weeks ago that John Mitchell had agreed to return to the Connecticut Whale. Well, the New York Rangers have now officially resigned the 26 year old forward to a one year deal.

Here’s the official release:

FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet

By Bruce Berlet

If the Connecticut Whale survives another wild playoff chase better than a year ago, they can look back to a 9-2 drubbing in Toronto on Feb. 9 as the turning point of the season.

After tying franchise records for most goals allowed and largest margin of defeat, coach Ken Gernander and assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller had a video session and discussion with the team in Toronto before heading to Hamilton.

The message of the meeting? It’s never too late to back-check.

PLAYER SAFETY FIRST

As you are most certain to have heard by now, the news coming out of Florida, where the NHL’s 30 General Managers are meeting to discuss a number of key issues, not the least of which are head shots and player safety, has been all good.

LATEST WHALE NEWS

The only trade that the Rangers have pulled off today was one to bring a player to Hartford. John Mitchell, a 26 year old center that plays for Toronto has been dealt for a 7th round draft pick. His role is to pick up where Tim Kennedy left off.

One ex-Pack Captain gone (Dane Byers) from Springfield another comes in (Greg Moore). Moore was traded to Columbus for along with Michael Chaput for Tom Sestito.

Other Whale news has Kris Newbury, Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello paperwork filed for their return to Connecticut. That’s just a formality so they can be on the clear day roster and play in the AHL playoffs.

More later…

FEDOTENKO HAS APPENDECTOMY

FEDOTENKO SIDELINED FOLLOWING APPENDECTOMY

New York, NY – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced that forward Ruslan Fedotenko underwent an appendectomy today, and will be sidelined for three weeks.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Ronald Simon at the New York University Tisch Hospital in Manhattan.