After the news broke last night that Tim Erixon and Kris Newbury have been demoted and that Andre Deveaux was promoted, the news broke today that Deveaux is in New York practicing with the team.

Deveaux will wear #33 if anyone is wondering.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Whale won in a shootout last night. The winning goal was scored by none other than Sean Avery. If you want to keep up with the Whale, follow this twitter profile. How interested would you be in a weekly Whale recap?

Michael Del Zotto and Artem Anisimov are both not practicing today, as Del Zotto's hip is still sore, and Anisimov is either still hurting from being checked into the boards yesterday, or he is being benched for poor play.

The lines are:

Every Saturday morning we'll give you the "week in review" for New York Rangers stories you might have missed that were published on Blueshirt Banter the past week. Also, we had over 1000 comments in the past two game threads, awesome work guys!

- Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards are finding their groove, and the results have been fantastic. Richards has assisted on all four of Gaborik's goals this year, and things should only get better from here. 

- The Rangers have a victory hat. Yes, it's exactly what you think it is. Yes, it's the greatest thing of all time.

 - Kevin takes a look at the red-hot start Gaborik has had to the season.

- Bryan takes a loot at the play of Ryan Callahan, and whether or not his play has decreased since the start of the season. 

- Relive the Rangers victory over the Calgary Flames.

- Relive the Rangers victory over the Vancouver Canucks. 

- Probably one of the most expected changes was the left winger, on the top line. Brandon Dubinsky saw a fair amount of time on the top line, during the Anaheim game. Although, do you think he's the best fit, or would someone else suffice?

 - John Tortorella met with the media for the first time, after returning back from Europe. One of the hottest topics, is the current health of Marc Staal. Tortorella stated that Staal continues to receive treatment, and would not be practicing this week.

 - We were all hoping for a turn-around season for Marian Gaborik this coming season. So far, he's been looking like his old self. Nick over at Rangers Tribune takes a look at why we could see the "old" Gaborik back this year.

 - With the absence of Marc Staal on the top defensive pairing, someone had to step-up in his place. Not only one, but two took on this role so far. Those being Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi. Girardi has played about 30+ minutes per night,and added five blocked shots. From a mid-season call-up last season, to a mainstay on Broadway, Ryan McDonagh is in the same boat as Girardi. He averages around 27+ minutes per game, but has a ton of takeaways in the defensive end.

- I'm going to finish this off with a pretty sick looking background image. This is coming from the Rangers website, and I must say, it is pretty awesome.

Sorry for the later posts the past few days guys. A crazy work schedule colliding with a crazy European schedule isn't working out. That should, hopefully, not be an issue from tomorrow on. 

Anyway, onto some good news. Michael Del Zotto, who is one of the players currently fighting for a roster spot this year, has known he needs to step up if he wants to start the year with the big club. And he did that yesterday, notching an assist and playing an overall solid game in the New York Rangers 2-0 win over HC Sparta. 

The Rangers are hoping that Del Zotto becomes a difference maker again this year, the way he was his rookie season. Although he hasn't had the strongest of camps, by all reports it seems as if he has gotten stronger since the team hit Europe. 

Join me after the jump for more. 

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The New York Rangers are using the following lines in practice today, according to Andrew Gross:

Wolski-Richards-Gaborik, Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan, Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust, Rupp-Stepan-Zuccarello.

Staal-Girardi, McDonagh-Sauer, Del Zotto-Eminger. Lundqvist and Stajcer the goalies on ice.

Could these be the lines that the Rangers will use in their first regular season game? The lines seem quite realistic, as Wolski is the left winger for Richards/Gaborik like expected, the D pairs seem the same as expected, and the two lines John Tortorella wants to keep together are together. (Dubi-Anisimov-Cally, Fedo-Boyle-Prust)

If these are the lines, the third line is the most interesting. Michael Rupp and Derek Stepan were both expected to be on this line, but Mats Zuccarello seemed to be in a battle with Carl Hagelin, Eric Christensen, Sean Avery, and others for the third line right wing spot. Looks like Zuccarello won. Also worth noting is that Stepan is at center, rather than left wing.

If these are the lines, the only thing left to see is where the players that were not cut during the first round of cuts end up. Tim Erixon, Carl Hagelin, Sean Avery, Eric Christensen, and more.

The second group is:

Avery-EC-Weise, Thuresson-Mitchell-Bourque, Hagelin-Newbury-Deveaux, Bickel, Erixon, Parlett, Bell, McIlrath, Biron.

Also, the Flyers have released Mike Nylander.

Thoughts? Who do you think will get the "scratched" spots?

Despite a 4-3 OT loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Rangers will be playing in the Traverse City Tournament finale tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. 

The Rangers, who are participating in the tournament for the sixth year, have only won the entire thing once; when Brandon Dubinsky was leading the charge. These Rangers, lead by NHL-hopefuls such as Christian Thomas and Tim Erixon, are hoping to do exactly the same. 

The game starts at 7 p.m. tonight so, as always, there will be an open thread up at 6:30 p.m. 

Below the jump are some notes to hold you over until the game begins. 

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The New York Rangers jumped out to a quick start in the Traverse City Tournament, having their way with the St. Louis Blues en rout to a 5-2 victory. 

The power play was an issue for the Rangers all last year, but it was not a problem for the Rangers' prospects last night. The Rangers moved the puck with ease when they found themselves on the man advantage last night, and a lot of that had to do with Tim Erixon.

We heard about his ability to run the point, and that he wasn't a flashy hockey player, but was wildly effective. Seeing it in person was special. Erixon only notched a goal and an assist, and I say "only" because he could have had a lot more points. His passes kept the movement of the power play fluid, and his shots from the point were dangerous and well-taken. 

If Erixon plays like that again today, I would be thrilled. 

More analysis after the jump. 

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 - Traverse City starts tomorrow and all the hype is finally here, it's hockey time again! The Rangers sent out a press release yesterday about the involvement of Twitter during the Tournament. John Gianonne, and Dave Maloney will be answering fan questions all throughout the tournament as well.

 - Also, again with Traverse City coming up, which player are you looking forward to seeing the most? Joe takes a look at which of the Rangers prospects to keep a close eye on during the tournament.

 - This week's recent tragedy in Russia affected tons of people, both in Russia and around the world. Michael over at Bleeding All Blue at how the plane crash deeply affected the New York Rangers organization as well.

 - Many are questioning how Brad Richards will perform in his first season on Broadway. To add to the speculations, Glen over at SNY Rangers Blog, takes a look into the advanced stats that could make or break Richards.