Bantering Points: 12/8/16

After making yet another call to the Hartford Wolfpack in need of a healthy forward, the New York Rangers will head into the MTS Centre later tonight to take on Dustin Byfuglien and the Winnipeg Jets. After calling up Nicklas Jensen yesterday afternoon, the Rangers will have to to dig deep and find a way to overcome a physical Jets team if they want to leave Manitoba with two points. Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Larry Brooks identifies two reasons why New York is in trouble going forward (NY Post)
• Brooks also penned pieces on what the team may do to jump start their struggling powerplay, and how the Rangers' rash of injuries may benefit Oscar Lindberg the most (NY Post)
• Steve Zipay writes that New York's forward depth will face a major test with the team down more than one-third of it's top 12 in Winnipeg (Newsday)
• Justin Tasch notes that Matt Puempel, Rick Nash, and Jimmy Vesey were all absent from practice yesterday as they recover from their injuries (NY Daily News)
• Brandon Cohen examines how Henrik Lundqvist is both a blessing and a curse for the Rangers' franchise (Blue Line Station)
• Cohen had more to say about New York as a team as well, stating that Tuesday's loss to the Islanders needs to be a wake up call, and that the recent string of injuries has re-opened the battle for playing time in the bottom six (Blue Line Station)
• Christian Nehls breaks down how the Rangers' handling of Oscar Lindberg has tanked what trade value he once had (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Post Practice Interviews: Ryan McDonagh, (2:30) Alain Vigneault, (6:15) Nicklas Jensen, (2:31) Oscar Lindberg, (1:31) and Derek Stepan (1:38)
• He played 25 games for New York during the 2009 stretch run, and is one of only two players of Kazakh descent to suit up for the Rangers. Yesterdays player in the picture was.....Nik Antropov (1:27 Video via Youtube)/

Around the NHL:

• Elliotte Friedman releases another edition of his 30 Thoughts (Sportsnet)
• Rick Westhead reports that the NHL is in the process of finalizing a partnership with Apple for official use of their iPads on the bench. This seems to be a prudent move on the league's part, as some highly respected coaches in pro sports aren't fans of the rival Microsoft Surface (TSN)
• Matt Larkin believes that Taylor Hall's hit on Philip Larsen on Tuesday night brought to light why teams shouldn't seek revenge over legal checks (The Hockey News)
• Former Ranger and All-Star captain John Scott officially announced his retirement yesterday, and he reflected on his unusual career (The Players' Tribune)
• James O'Brien relays word that the Vegas Golden Knights may have an issue with their trademark after it was rejected yesterday (NBC Sports)/

Do you know who the Ranger in the picture is?