If the Islanders were proud of their shallow victory Monday night against a Ranger team comprised mainly of prospects, I will allow the Rangers the same emotion after last night’s 5-2 win.

Wisely, the Islanders decided to give their goons the night off and use this preseason game for the purpose for which it was intended, to evaluate their talent. By the same token, Ranger fans, coaches and management were able to do the same.

Unfortunately, because everyone played well, the prospect picture continues to puzzle. Nigel Dawes, who has been pretty invisible this pre-season, got third star of the game. Brandon Dubinsky continues to bring it, along with some convincing pugilistic skill. Artem Anisimov didn’t play but you can’t keep your eyes off him while he’s been out there. It’s a veritable hockey Hobson’s Choice.

The biggest revelation of the night is that Scott Gomez might be the center we’ve been missing for Brendan Shanahan. It begs the question, will Drury compliment Jagr eventually? Will Drury become a brown shoe? (see “Matching Shoes and Handbag” below).

Nigel Dawes, who had two assists on the Shanahan goals and assisted on the Gomez goal, was given the opportunity to shine. That’s all very nice, but I prefer a player who doesn’t need to be coddled to produce.

Staal played a decent game, no glaring errors. But the kid is no Girardi. It would do no harm to send the kid to Hartford to be seasoned. It would be less “cap costly”. Thomas Pock has more experience and like Jason Strudwick can be pressed into service as a forward if the need arises.

Because I’m the kiss of death, I’ll say nothing. I’ll just sit back and wait for management to make their choice.

P.S. Just a shout out to the handsome and debonnaire John Giannone. John was gracious and engaging to “the Ranger Faithful” outside the Garden after the game. I am glad I am not the only one who feels the league was at fault for that disgraceful exhibition on Long Island on Monday night. By allowing Chris Simon to play in the preseason, in spite of his remaining suspension, the league was as culpable as the Islander goons.

Like the old joke, once again the NHL has decided to make fighting a priorty by letting the likes of Chris Simon play in the preseason, in spite of his suspension. Way to go Gary and Colin. You keep giving the NHL a blackeye with your shortsighted and assinine decisions. Fortunately, tonight the Rangers gave as good as they got and it was Chris Simon left the game with the black eye and a game misconduct. But, hey, it’s the preseason so who’s counting.

Andy (the Goon) Sutton tried to set the tone for the game by laying the elbow on Ryan Callahan but he got the penalty and his clock cleaned by Colton Orr. I believe it was young Dane Byers who landed the punch on Chris Simon in the big melee and blackened Simon’s eye. Yes, you heard me right. Chris Simon got owned in all his fights with the Rangers. Islander fans should all chip in and get Chris a nice Porterhouse for his eye.

It all went to hell in a handbasket at 8:11 of the second period. A donnybrook broke out including a goalie fight. Montoya crossed the blueline and got in a couple of nice shots to DiPietro’s head before Rick wrastled Montoya to the ice. I’d give this one to Montoya on points. DiPietro is a cheapshot artist. Whatever happened to the Marquis of Queensbury rules?

Gratuitous violence notwithstanding, there was a dearth of 5 on 5 hockey being played. My Line of the Night Award goes to Hollweg, Betts and Orr. Ryan Hollweg scored a beautiful, yea, skillfull shorthanded goal. Like the Flyer game, the big guns were not clicking at even strength. Dawes made a few decent plays but was otherwise invisible. Shanny needs to shake the rust off. Even Drury looked tenuous at times.

Ryan Callahan has NHL Allstar written all over him. He is brave, smart and poised. (PS. Ryan, I have a cute daughter your age.) I can’t wait to see Artem Anisimov play for the Rangers. He is crafty. I don’t think he’ll make it this year but he brings it down low each and every game I’ve seen him in. Having said that, if this game is the decider, I’d take Dubinsky over Dawes. Dubinsky just keeps on bringing it. Dawes had a good chance early on but also coughed up the puck. Doesn’t seem to try as hard as Dubinsky, Byers or Korpikowski.

Thomas Pock was a revelation tonight. He played with more poise then I have seen from him and he can throw down too! While Roszival did not look as God awful as he did on Saturday, it was perhaps because he was paired again with Malik. Next to Malik, Roszival looks like Bobby Orr. I’ll stop there on Malik. No use beating a dead horse because, unfortunately, he ain’t going anywhere.

Marc Staal will most assuredly be on the list of those next to be cut. He is not ready for the NHL yet.

Lastly, to all the Islanders and their fans, you disgust me. I hope you enjoyed your shallow victory tonight. You played a Ranger team comprised mostly of prospects while you essentially had your opening night roster on the ice. You scored 3 of you 5 goals on the powerpaly against the Rangers third and fourth string goalies. Overall, the Rangers owned you in the fights, which for the most part were instigated by your players. Maybe if you play hockey from here on out, instead of gooning it up, you won’t wind up any more of the laughingstock you are right now.

Last night after I got home from the game, I was ready to rip the Rangers a new one but then I thought the better of it. I thought of Meatloaf’s musical question and decided to wait until this morning before putting finger to key.

Like everyone at the game on Friday, I came away with a very positive feeling about the Rangers, their youth, their backup goaltending and the new season. After last night’s debacle against the Flyer’s, I went home scratching my head. After a solid outing Friday night, we were sucker punched into watching a rather embarrassing loss with our marquee players Jagr, Gomez and Drury on the ice. And, that’s $22 million dollars worth of suck.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Lundqvist’s save pecentage for this game was .782 . I hope he didn’t leave his ability to concentrate next to the runway during Fashion Week. Maybe the coaching staff should let Montoya back up Lundqvist for the start of the season. Montoya breathing down Lundqvist’s neck might not be such a bad thing. A possible coup d’etat could keep the King more focused. Why didn’t the Rangers pull Lundqvist after 30 minutes like they did they previous night with Montoya and Valiquette? It could have saved Lundqvist a world of embarrassment while giving Wiikman a taste of the NHL.

I know it’ s only their second preseason game. But, with the exception of Byers, Smith, Korpikowski and Betts, tonight’s bunch looked like they were waiting for 10:16 to Ronkonkoma. Drury, Prucha, Hossa were all -3. The Rangers had 14 minutes of powerplay and couldn’t score a goal. Gomez missed a wide open net. Nigel Dawes had the misfortune of getting assigned to tonight’s squad. His lackluster performance surely should send him down to Hartford before Dubinsky. By the way, Hugh Jessimen should ask for his money back on those boxing lessons.

Who was that joker disguised as Michael Rosival in the number 3 jersery. Was Michael coached in the off season by Marek Malik? Or, was that Malik out there diguised as Paul Mara. Tyutin was a -3. When a prospect defenseman like David Liffiton plays over 14 minutes and is even, you know you’re in trouble.

To their credit, and I say this with a very bad taste, the Flyers lead by Mike Knuble and Marty Biron looked damn good. That’s just great. A team that was at the bottom of the heap last year comes in and now the Rangers will have another team in the Atlantic division to breathe down their neck.

Everyone says the preseason doesn’t count. These games are to allow management and the coaching staff to weed out the prospects and to set up the lines and pairings for the coming season. While that may be true, you still don’t want to see your high priced talent get spanked in the process.

Let’s see how the boys fare on the Island on Monday.

Tonight was “Kid Night” at Madison Square Garden and the Rangers showed the depth of their organization in this preseason. Of the newbies, those who really stood out for me were Artem Anisimov, Dane Byers, Brandon Dubinsky and Michael Sauer.

Defense

Dan Gerardi is the smart, steady, reliable young defensemen we met last season. Poor Kaspar. if this game is any indication of the level of his play, I’m afraid he will have to go back to Hartford. But, considering what a good game young Michael Sauer had that isn’t a bad thing. A spot should be open for one of these kids to win. Marc Staal did not impress nor did Hutchinson but they made no glaring errors either. Jason Strudwick blocked shots and mentored the young defensemen. All in a days work for Struddy.

Offense

With a capital “O” for offense, Ryan Callahan showed he is the same passionate and gifted player we saw last season. He’s a keeper but that was expected. Brandon Dubinsky is the most impressive player I have seen this preseason and he was a most impressive player last preseason, too. Dawes has to play huge to trump “Dubi” for a foward spot.

Hugh Jessimen and Francis Lessard were not really noticeable. Dane Byers got himself noticed by scoring the first goal. No one was really looking at veterans Avery, Betts, Hollweg, Shanahan or Straka. Avery, Betts and Straka had decent games. Hollweg was Hollweg. Shanahan looked like a dinosaur. But I’d cut Brendan some slack. He is 38 and needs more time to shake the rust off. By opening night, he’ll be back up to speed.

That leaves Artem Anisimov. He played 16 minutes and had 4 shots on goal, the most shots of anyone. He didn’t score a goal and he didn’t get a point but Artem made his presence felt. He’s crafty, stealthy and you get the feeling that he will always be buzzing the net and creating havoc down low. Michael Nylander who?

Where does Sather find the diamonds in the rough like Mike Smith?

What most impressed me was the cool, crisp passing by the young Rangers.

Goal

Steve Valiquette was merely pedestrian while Montoya made a good argument to be declared backup. But, would it serve for a young talent like Montoya to sit around night after night playing understurdy to Henke? Al will be sent to Hartford to continue playing and Big Steve will stay on Broadway to ride the pine as Lundqvist’s reliever.

There you have it. Night 1 of the preseason and the Ranger’s future looks so bright I have to wear shades.

Ah, the 21st of September approacheth and a new season is upon us. You can smell it in the air. Autumn in New York, why does it seem so inviting? Cooler evenings, the smell of chestnuts, wood burning fireplaces, chysanthemums waft through the air. But, the best smells of all are the smells of Madison Square Garden.

Hot dogs, popcorn, beer and a 180 by 200 ft ice surface. Friday night for the first time since May 6th, we will smell that ice again and upon it will be the latest version of the New York Rangers. We are very fortunate to have so many correspondents feeding us every detail from training camp with their reports on the various blogs and websites. They do a great job and provide an invaluable service to Ranger fans.

No more of those idle summer prognostications about line mates and defensive pairs. As the preseason moves forward, we can see for ourselves who will win a spot on the roster and who will be reassigned to Hartford for more “seasoning”.

cue organ music…

Will Hugh Jessimen fulfill the promise of a first round draft choice now that he can duck and weave?

Is defensive prospect Marc Staal, stalled?

Did Scott Gomez go to Berlitz over the summer to brush up on his Czech?

Stayed tuned for the answers to these and many other questions as we follow the ongoing saga of the 2007-2008 New York Rangers.

organ music fades out…

I’ll be back here Friday night after the game with a full report.

Let’s Go Rangers!