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| ► OTG POLL
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Previous Polls
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| ► RUMOR MILL
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Thursday - March 25th
With 18 days remaining until the NHL trade deadline, all is relatively quiet on the Rangers front.
Not unexpectedly, the Rangers are probably going to be minor players this time round, without much in the way of short term assets they would be looking to part with.
Clearly they would look at offers for those on short term or expiring contracts like Brendan Smith, Ryan Strome, Jack Johnson and perhaps the likes of Colin Blackwell.
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| ► INJURY REPORT |
| Jacob Trouba |
4/21 |
| Took a heavy hit and was wobbly on his feet, no timetable on his return, but the concern of course if he had a concussion |
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| MORE INJURY NEWS... |
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Question Of The Day
September 29th, 2017
How many rostered players were on the ice for opening night 2016-17
Answer...
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| ► RANDOM RANGER |
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CHRISTOPHER HIGGINS
(2009-2010)
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Born: |
Jun 2 - 1983 |
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Pos: |
Left Wing |
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GP: |
55 |
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G: |
6 |
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A: |
8 |
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Pts: |
14 |
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PIMs: |
32 |
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Center Derek Stepan appears to have won a spot
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Posted by Toby Ivey ≡ 4:49:25 PM - October 3, 2010
The Rangers today made what will possibly be their last two roster moves prior to the start of the season. By sending Pavel Valentenko and Ryan McDonagh down to Hartford, they effectively have got down to the 23 man roster for opening night.
That means good news for today's Rangers Countdown Profile subject. With the last reassignments made, along with the pending assignments to Injury Reserve for Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal, there's enough room to maintain Derek Stepan on the roster.
Player Profile
Drafted 51st overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Stepan's career has been one of building success. After a freshman season with the University of Wisconsin that saw him put up 33 points in 40 games, Stepan went on to lead the Badgers with 54 last year in just 41 games.
He also was selected to represent, and captain the US Under-20 World Junior Gold Medal winning team, where he again lead the competition with 14 points in just 10 games, as the Americans upset Canada to take home the honors.
His success in college and on the world stage was more enough evidence for the Rangers, who signed him to a three year entry level contract after just two seasons in college.
A strong performance in the Traverse City Prospects tournament where he caught the eyes of several observers, including perhaps most importantly Head Coach John Tortorella, put him in good stead going into camp.
Since then Tortorella has had little but good things to say about the 20 year old Minnesota native, and using him to center the top line of Marian Gaborik and Alexander Frolov right from the start.
And it would seem, that if it was wholly up to Tortorella the rookie would be in the line-up from day one. But hockey is a business, and there are more player assets on the roster than anyone knows what to do with, and as we have come to learn, Glen Sather has generally been loathe to dispose of an asset without getting at least something back.
Fortunately for Stepan, a couple of injuries to veterans have allowed the decision to be delayed, giving him further opportunity to solidify his position in the line-up.
Whether he'll be able to do that in the face of the return of Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal remains to be seen, but for the moment there's a window of opportunity, as well as a desperate need for a first line center.
If the Rangers do elect to send Stepan down eventually, he looks all but certain of being a first call-up the minute that the team's offense falters or injuries start to take their toll.
2009-10 Statistics
Team: New York Rangers (NHL)
Stats: 12 goals, 42 assists and 8 penalty minutes in 42 games
Prediction
Team: Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
Stats: 6 goals, 14 assists and 4 penalty minutes in 22 games
Team: New York Rangers (NHL)
Stats: 8 goals, 22 assists and 6 penalty minutes in 52 games
Trivia
Stepan is a graduate from the Shattuck-Saint Mary's High School program in Minnesota, which has also produced the likes of Sidney Crosby, Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews.
Profile of the Author:
Has been an active follower of the New York Rangers since the 1996-97 season. Began OutsideTheGarden.com in 2001, and has continued to collect data and provide analysis on the team through to the current day.
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Additional stories from Toby Ivey:
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| ► NEXT GAMES
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Thursday Apr 22nd
7:00pm - Home
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Friday Apr 23rd
7:00pm - Home
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Sunday Apr 25th
6:00pm - Home
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Tuesday Apr 27th
7:00pm - Home
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Thursday Apr 29th
7:00pm - Home
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Saturday May 1st
7:00pm - Road
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Monday May 3rd
7:00pm - Home
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Wednesday May 5th
7:00pm - Home
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Complete Schedule
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| April 22nd, 2021 |
| MADISON SQUARE GARDEN |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
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1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
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| ► STANDINGS
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Team |
GP |
W |
L |
OT |
Pts |
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Capitals |
46 |
29 |
13 |
5 |
62 |
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Islanders |
46 |
29 |
13 |
8 |
62 |
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Penguins |
46 |
29 |
14 |
7 |
61 |
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Bruins |
44 |
26 |
12 |
7 |
58 |
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Rangers |
46 |
23 |
17 |
3 |
52 |
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Flyers |
45 |
20 |
18 |
7 |
47 |
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Devils |
45 |
14 |
25 |
3 |
34 |
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Sabres |
46 |
12 |
27 |
3 |
31 |
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| FULL STANDINGS |
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