By BRETT CYRGALIS Halfway through the first period today, while 12,000 people stood and pounded drums in the upper deck of the PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland, I found myself in a weird situation: I was pulling for SC Bern…

I hate to be the glass half-empty guy here because it’s still riveting stuff seeing the Rangers in this electric European atmosphere. But given the time and space afforded them against a clearly inferior Bern team, you have to wonder if this is counterproductive preparation for when the NHL really starts on Saturday.

Yes, there’s something [...]

As you watch today’s Rangers vs. SC Bern game, follow the scene here, as we’ll be posting our observations of the unique atmosphere at PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland. See what’s going on off camera as you watch it live on MSG.

When the Rangers face SC Bern today (Noon ET; TV: MSG), only a few players on the Bears roster will have had NHL experience. The most experience is behind the team bench in the person of head coach and former NHL star John Van Boxmeer.

If the Rangers were looking for a hungry opponent and a tough crowd, they certainly found it in Bern, Switzerland. When the Blueshirts face off vs. SC Bern today (Noon ET, MSG), their No. 1 job will be to prevent a Swiss version of the "Miracle on Ice."

The Rangers and their hosts SC Bern have warmed up. The referees are on the ice, including Don Koharski — could he ever have imagined being in the same building as Jim Schoenfeld, sharing donuts, in Switzerland? The 5,000 or…

The Rangers and their hosts SC Bern have warmed up. The referees are on the ice, including Don Koharski — could he ever have imagined being in the same building as Jim Schoenfeld, sharing donuts, in Switzerland? The 5,000 or…

The Rangers and their hosts SC Bern have warmed up. The referees are on the ice, including Don Koharski — could he ever have imagined being in the same building as Jim Schoenfeld, sharing donuts, in Switzerland? The 5,000 or…

I know this is a few days late, but I wanted to throw some thoughts out there regarding this Petr Nedved tryout/cut. First, though, I did want to mention how bad I think this pre-season schedule is going to affect the team in the long run. Last week, including Saturday, the team looked completely spent, unmotivated, and out of sync. I’m hoping this was the result of the crazy, six-games-in-eight-nights stint, and not a sign of how this season will turn out. Now, the boys will play a couple of “Olympic rules” games in Switzerland, followed by a back-to-back weekend opener against the Lightning. I’m tired just writing it out. Now, on to Nedved. You see, it isn’t so much the fact that Nedved was cut that bothered me, even though he was probably the best, most motivated player in camp (except maybe for Dubinsky). It’s the Tom Renney line of thinking that bothers me. See, here I was thinking the team was shifting away from the defense-oriented system of the past few years. Here I was thinking that signing Naslund (who floundered in Vancouver’s defensive system), Zherdev, and Redden, to go along with speedy Scott Gomez was a sign that they were going to try and open it up a little. And here I was thinking that Renney had more offense in mind when he said he expected to have more production from the fourth line. And then he cut Nedved. And then he praised Blair Betts. Blair Betts is a nice player. He does his job, he gives up his body, and he never complains. Blair Betts is a nice player, IF you have an explosive offensive team, and you don’t need ANYTHING from the fourth line, other than playing mistake-less hockey. The problem is that, without Jagr, Shanahan, Avery, and Straka (and even WITH them last year), the Rangers ARE NOT an explosive offensive team. They NEED to have a scoring threat on all four lines if they hope to compete with some of these Eastern Conference teams, not to mention the added games against the Western teams this season. Blair Betts and Colton Orr would have trouble putting up points with a 22-year-old Gretzky. Petr Nedved, on the other hand, has 749 NHL points (including playoffs). Sure, only 37 of them have come since the lockout, and sure he is going to be 38-years-old this December, but he can still skate well, and for 7 to 10 minutes a night could have been a very good fourth line center. And Henrik Lundqvist listed him as one of the three best wrist shots in all of training camp. Oh, and he was one of the best offensive players in the pre-season games. Don’t think for one second this is about Nedved. I don’t believe at all that the team’s fortunes were going to turn on Nedved’s ability to get 20 points this season. This is about Tom Renney, and a philosophy that is going to severely backfire sooner or later. When you have the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Elias, Spezza, Kovalchuk, etc. running around the East, you can only pray that Henrik Lundqvist keeps you in it. Eventually, he won’t. But, it looks like it’s going to be the same old Renney. Same old putrid fourth line. I just hope that all of those “career turnarounds” that need to happen do, in fact, happen. Otherwise, we could be looking at a lottery pick, and the “next one”, John Tavares. He better know how to play a trap, otherwise Tom Terrific might send him to Hartford for a few years until he becomes more responsible in the defensive zone. HDH…