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!