Rangers News: GameDay Preview, News and Notes, Scouting the Stars

You guys see this? Jeremy Roenick, never at a loss for words, says he is "baffled" by Team USA's choice of Chris Drury for the Olympic team.

That's probably because he doesn't see Drury being the type of guy to bust up a hotel room, the way his 1998 team did in Nagano.

We've all been noticing the increased physical play from Michael Del Zotto, and Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants talked to him about it today: (click link for full story)

"That's one part of my game I always felt was underrated in juniors," said Del Zotto, 19, who acquitted himself well in recent run-ins with Carolina agitator Tuomu Ruutu and 6-foot-9 Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara. "I think I've shown a little more grit, especially at home. I wanted to be more physical to get the crowd into it early and get them back on our side."

Carp over at LoHud did his mid-season report card, and the Enver Lisin-Rico Fata comparison is priceless.

This was mentioned last night in the radio chat, but at the Mets introductory press conference for Jason Bay, Ranger Great Rod Gilbert was a surprise guest, and presented Bay with a customized Ranger jersey. Figures, the guy signs a $66M contract, and HE gets a free jersey.

I know the Rangers haven't been great, but are they really "D-plus" bad?

The Rangers will be on WPIX-11 two times this month.

More after the jump.......

Stars vs. Rangers Head-to-Head: (from nhl.com)

	STATS 42 GP 42 18 W 20 13 L 17 11 OT 5 47 P 45 0.560 P% 0.536 2.86 G/G 2.60 2.95 GA/G 2.76 20.1 PP% 20.4 77.8 PK% 85.5 32.2 S/G 29.5 30.5 SA/G 29.9 47.3 FO% 48.8

Last 10 -- Dallas 4-5-1; New York 6-2-2

Season series -- This is the first and only meeting between the teams. They met twice last season, with the Stars winning both games.

Big story -- The points are big for two teams living close to the bottom of the playoff chases in their respective conferences. The Rangers have 45 points and are tied for seventh in the East. However, they are only four points ahead of 13th-place Florida. The Stars have two more points than the Rangers in the same amount of games played, but sit four points out of a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive West.

Team scope:

Stars -- Consistency is the name of Dallas' game. They've had just one three-game losing streak this season, but they've also yet to put together a three-game winning streak. Their 4-0 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday was their second in a row.

"We've been what our record says we are - up and down," center Brad Richards said. "We've had some good spurts, and we've had some bad spurts."

January could be a make-or-break month for the Stars, who play 15 games. Goaltender Marty Turco, who was given Tuesday night off, should be back in net tonight for Dallas.