Rangers head coach Tom Renney discusses his team's 2-1 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 17 at MSG.

Rangers players Wade Redden, Markus Naslund and Henrik Lundqvist look back at the team's 2-1 shootout win over Ottawa on Nov. 17 at MSG.

Rangers broadcasters Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti give their take on the Blueshirts' 2-1 overtime shootout win over Ottawa on Nov. 17 at MSG.

When last we saw Jarkko Ruutu, it was the playoffs, he was a Penguin, and he and Brandon Dubinsky got together for a little discussion in which they mutually agreed not to exchange Christmas cards any more. Now, Ruutu is in Ottawa and still up to his dirty old tricks, and Dubinsky still thinks "he's an idiot," as he said at least twice tonight after the game. He has every right to say so, after Ruutu ran him high early in the game, causing some sort of at least temporary discomfort. The Finnish pest was quiet after the first period, as the Rangers made the conscious decision to stop letting him be the distraction he was in the first, when he got into it with Aaron Voros and Colton Orr in addition to Dubinsky and went after Marc Staal a couple of times.

But he became an issue again at the end of the game after he embarrassed himself during the shootout by losing the puck. He retrieved it in the corner a fired a wide angle shot at Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers did not appreciate that (although Lundqvist, who thankfully stayed alert, said that he didn't mind). True to form, Ruutu skated right by the Ranger bench, and someone reached out with a stick (Voros?) but did not make contact. After the Rangers won the shootout and gathered for their fan salute, there was Ruutu still on the ice, attracting the attention of Dubinsky, Voros, and Orr, a brave boy with all the protection he was getting by the officials who kept the Rangers away from him.

Dubinsky spoke to the two refs at that point and relayed later that they told him Ruutu was within his rights taking that shot since he was still moving forward and hadn't yet taken a shot. Tom Renney was not happy that Ruutu took that shot -- he wondered what might have happened had Lundqvist not been paying attention and got conked on the side of the head or something like that. At that point, he did not know about what the refs told Dubinsky. He was not happy when I relayed that to him -- I'm not sure if he was mad at me for telling him, mad at Dubinsky for telling me, mad at the refs for what they told Dubinsky, or just mad in general at Ruutu and the refs. Most likely the latter. More tomorrow about the game itself.

So if you had to guess..

Which coach tonight said he was proud of each and every one of his players for a “heck of a game”?

And which coach talked about the need to be more consistent, the need to attack more, and who was asked to defend everything from his personnel decisions to his team’s practice habits?

If you guessed Craig Hartsburg as the ecstatic coach after his 14th place Senators lost their fifth straight and Tom Renney grimly assessing the state of his first-place Rangers, you were right.

Truth is, the Rangers were a few subway stops shy of stellar tonight. And if it wasn’t for Henrik Lundqvist, this was yet another game that could have easily gone in the other direction.

But honestly, if you didn’t know the score when you walked into the locker room, you’d have thought they were blown out of their building.

“We have to use this as our wake-up call,” Brandon Dubinsky said.

Right. Heaven forbid this winning should continue.

(I know what he meant, don’t worry).
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As for Tom Renney’s benching of Aaron Voros and Nikolai Zherdev in the third period—no, you weren’t in a psychedelic haze, that really was Colton Orr starting out on the power play—the coach said he was trying to send both a message.

“I thought they could have offered us up more than what they had at that point in time,” Renney said.
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Continuing a recent run of beefs with officials, Renney took issue with what he thought were two non-called interferences on Daniel Alfredsson’s second period goal and Jarkko Ruutu’s second shot on Henrik Lundqvist in the shootout.

“What happens if that hits Henrik in the side of the head?” Renney said of Ruutu’s shot. “He’s looking at our bench instead of straight ahead. We lose our goalie.”

Once again Monday night, the Rangers came back to score the tying goal in the third period, then unleashed their not-so-secret weapon - Henrik Lundqvist - on the Ottawa Senators in the shootout, all adding up to a 2-1 victory.

New York Rangers forward Nikolai Zherdev, of Ukraine (13) scores a goal against Ottawa Senators goalie Alex Auld during the shoot out of the NHL hockey game Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Anyone else seeing what I'm seeing? Another two points in the bag where the two were not just handed to the Blueshirts. They had to take 'em. Trust me on this....that's a very good sign. I know, you'll counter with how this guy made a bad play and that guy did this. Look at the scoreboard, asshole. These points don't grow on trees. Your NY Rangers earned another TWO BIG POINTS. Here's the recap. OK, I admit to being in a bit of a bad mood as Ruutu has my blood up. If I was playing in that game I'm sure I would have been thrown out for something. I do give credit to the Rangers for not allowing the guy to change the outcome of the game. During the first period when all this Ruutu crap started, the refs expressed their displeasure with the guy as they clearly gave Voros a pass on a play where I believe he deserved a four minute minor. It was the reputation of Ruutu that allowed Voros to receive only the two awarded against. The refs spoke clearly as I see it. I still would have decked that guy. So, Niki "Way Cool Jr." gets benched for a bit and the talking heads pick up on it. Say for a second that they were correct and Renny was trying to send the kid a message. What does his sjoot-out goal say in return? Just asking. Check the Rodent for the happy recap. BEER ME ! ----}- Bird...

Naturally there was the obligatory media scrum around Wade Redden downstairs just now, when we asked the former Ottawa defenseman about playing his old team. The plan is to re-enact the same scene Wednesday when Markus Naslund faces Vancouver.

Come to think of it, maybe we can just dust off the same quotes from Redden and use them for Naslund.

“It’ll be good to see (insert former teammates). I really enjoyed my time in (whatever city),” (whatever player) said. “I’ll always remember the time we (insert team highlight here). But it was time to turn the page. Now I’m a Ranger, but I want to thank (insert former coach, general manager, trainer, pilates instructor) for giving me a chance in (whatever city).”

OK, so Redden didn’t exactly say that, and it wouldn’t be completely ethical to replicate quotes like that. But it sure would be a good way to save time.
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Jokes aside, here is what Redden said about facing the Senators tonight. He said he met up with Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips, and only then did the significance of tonight start to hit home.

“I just think it’s the final recognition, going up against the old guys,” Redden said. “I think it’s a good thing. It really hit home just seeing the guys yesterday. It was different. I’m excited about playing them. It’s been a big change this year. I don’t know. I’m just looking forward to getting out there against them and knowing that I am against them. It’s good to finally play them.”

So there you have it. Nice guy, Wade Redden. But he’s not exactly Richard Pryor in front of a tape recorder.
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Meanwhile, apropos of nothing in particular (other than of course that the Rangers power play is still struggling) I asked Tom Renney if there were any forwards he would consider using at the point.

“Maybe, but I’m just not even there yet in my own mind,” Renney said. “I’m just thinking about this group of guys, this group of defensemen finding the answer.”

I’m not surprised by Renney’s answer. Truth is, unlike with Matt Cullen two years ago or even Martin Straka last year, there is no obvious forward worth trying at the point.

Chris Drury was tried there for a spell last season, but he wasn’t entirely comfortable (plus the thinking is Drury is too valuable in front of the net). Scott Gomez obviously has the puck-carrying ability but doesn’t have the shot, while Ryan Callahan might have the shot but probably doesn’t have the defensive sense needed to defend a rush.

Actually, if the coach ever wanted to be bold he could experiment with Nikolai Zherdev since a player at the point is actually afforded the room to carry the puck and make a play. But don’t count on it. For all of his obvious gifts, Zherdev is enough of a defensive liability at forward. Put him at the point and Renney would be in a cold sweat the entire time.

What a difference a year makes. A year ago, the Ottawa Senators, fresh off a trip to the Stanley Cup final, were 15-3-0 at this juncture in the season. This season, the meltdown they experienced last spring has continued in full force, as they are 6-9-2, losers of their last four (scoring just four goals total in those four games), the last two against the woeful Islanders. And Daniel Alfredsson, their leader, hasn't scored a goal in ten games.

But all of that just makes this a trap game for the Rangers. There may be no reason in the world to believe that the team with the second worst record in the league can compete against the team that stands second in the league. But the Rangers have fallen into that trap before, like they did the last time they met those woeful Isles. Adding to the trap atmosphere are the one-on-one meetings the Senators' coaches held with their players yesterday -- if they respond, the Rangers will have a tough game on their hands.

You can read about those meetings in the Ottawa Sun and Ottawa Citizen, you can read in the Sun about the Sens' attempt to re-start their offense by reuniting the Pizza line of Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley, and you can read a debate in the Sun about whether the Sens miss Wade Redden -- short answer, they miss his play but not his salary and miss Zdeno Chara more. There is more on Redden from the Canadian point of view at CBC.

Redden gets some attention on the Ranger side too before his first meeting against the only team he played for in his eleven NHL seasons prior to this one -- Newsday, Record, Daily News, Post, Game On!, NYR.com, Stats, and the Citizen have game previews. Rangers Report has more on Redden today, as well as news that Scott Gomez remains out of action while Markus Naslund will play with a minor injury. This guy says Naslund is still a Canuck at heart -- he hasn't been in the Ranger locker room lately.

So how about the new third line of Lauri Korpikoski centering Nigel Dawes and Dan Fritsche? Those guys got a little attention after jumpstarting the Rangers' comeback the other night. At Blueshirt Bulletin+ today, we have exclusive interviews with Korpikoski and Dawes, and Renney talking about their contribution and what he thinks of the power play. We didn't see any of this stuff anywhere else. Click here to read it if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and BB+.

On the farm, Evgeny Grachev has a huge game for Brampton yesterday, scoring four goals against (yes) Ottawa. Read about it at Prospect Park, Citizen, and Battalion web site. Hartford won in Cleveland -- see Howlings, Plain Dealer, WP.com, and Beyond the Blueshirts. Finally, come down to Cosby's new location tonight to meet Steve Zipay and get a signed copy of his new book about the Rangers, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" -- full details here in Steve's Blue Notes blog.

I just noticed that the indefatigable Peter Abraham has set up a Facebook fan page for his Yankees blog

With that in mind, I should mention we have one set up, too, which could be a cool way for some of you get to know one another outside of your shared disdain for overpaid defensemen; and of course, to attract more readers.

So anyway, have at it. I just became a fan of my own blog, too, which I realize is terribly narcissistic. Maybe to balance things out, I’ll comment on one of my posts and call myself an idiot.

One other other thing about Facebook, which has even expanded its reach to thirtysomething drips like me: Some of you have tried to friend me, which is very cool and very flattering. But my basic rule, on advice from others, has been to reserve that for people I know or at least have met.

It’s a necessary precaution when you have kids, so I hope everyone understands.