Rangers Recap: Capitals 4 Rangers 3
Hi guys
Quick recap, I didn't see the game, and Joe is having technical difficulties. A few notes, and then you can link the game recap below:
From Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants: (click link for full story)
No surprise Tortorella called the first two periods the worst the Rangers have played in the preseason. "It was turnovers, no battles, anything about the game in the first two periods, you could go down the list," Tortorella said.
Tortorella said the plan is to reduce the roster by one by tomorrow, if not tonight, leaving the Rangers with 22 players. Tortorella said, right now, he would include veteran tryout Alexei Semenov within the 22 but the Rangers still need to sign him to a contract. Tortorella said we'd have to talk to GM Glen Sather, then, seeing the looks on our faces, then asked if we ever talked to Sather. Sometimes, he was told. But not often. So if the number is 22 and that includes Semenov, it's down to cutting either a forward (Boyle, Anisimov, Voros, Grachev) or D Michael Del Zotto (presuming Matt Gilroy has made the team and unless the Rangers do something really unexpected like try to send down either Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival, which, personally, I think is kind of doubtful). Under that scenario, I think a forward gets cut because I can't see carrying only six defensemen. Purely on performance, I think Boyle has shown the least of those four, taking the preseason as a whole. Based on salary cap, shedding Voros' $1 million might be appealing. But the fact that Avery isn't available increases the need for wings so maybe they keep Prospal on the wing to start.
I know some of you guys have been down on Girardi, and it sounds like the coach is with you:
Tortorella is not happy with defenseman Dan Girardi. The coach said it wasn't just the "young guys" playing badly, "it starts with the veteran guys." Particularly when asked about Girardi's training camp, Tortorella admitted he was not happy with the way the fourth-year veteran had approached his preseason.
From Steve Zipay at Blue Notes: (click link for full story)
Artem Anisimov (with his team-leading fourth goal), Evgeny Grachev (his first) and Donald Brashear---playing his first game here since leaving the Caps in the summer---scored in the third to provide some semblance of balance.
"If we played like that for the first two, it might have been a different outcome," said Vinny Prospal, who played left wing with Brandon Dubinsky at center and Marian Gaborik on the right. "We didn’t support our goalie and didn’t have enough shots. Then we got our (butts) kicked between periods."
Definitely sounds like I made the right move going to watch the Giants.