As per TSN, Patrick Rissmiller has been placed on waivers. The 29 year old former San Jose Shark appeared in two games this season, most recently was last night when he skated along with Chris Drury and Markus Naslund.

This saves the Rangers approximately $1 million and perhaps paves the way for another defenseman or it may involve Brendan Shanahan and Mats Sundin. Suffice to say this will most likely not be enough to sign either, but it may be a step in that direction.

I still put my money that this will prompt another defenseman on the Rangers roster.

It continues to amaze me how the Rangers just cannot get over the hump against the Western Conference. Granted, they have taken on two very difficult teams in Dallas and Detroit, but it seems that the Rangers just can’t put together a decent 60 minutes.

Dating back to last season’s woes, it has been shown that the Western Conference is the deeper and arguably stronger conference. So if the Rangers are a top team in the East, are they merely only an average team in the West?

Perhaps this lacks equal comparison, but which Western Conference contenders do the Rangers really matchup well against? We have to figure that Detroit and Dallas are comparable, but in the end the Rangers lost to both. Minnesota and Edmonton should match up well and I would venture to say that both St. Louis and Edmonton are currently playing a bit above expectations.

In essence, if the Rangers aren’t able to defeat Dallas and Detroit, two of the best teams in the West, are they really Stanley Cup contenders? I say nay.

It is very easy when doing pre-season predictions and analysis to call teams contenders. Why? Because nearly everyone matches them up against their own conference. However, Stanley Cups are won against the other conference!

What may seem trivial at this early stage of the game, may actually be a good indication of where the Rangers stand and what needs to improve to get over that threshold.

Don’t get me wrong, the Rangers have had an outstanding start, but it seems nearly like a blessing in disguise that before the Rangers get too far into this season, there should probably be some tweaking in order to better compete with the left conference.

Friday, the Rangers are in Columbus in what should be a confidence builder against the West.

More to come…

While Ranger fans and the hockey world mourn the loss of an upcoming star, there is a lot to take solace in on Broadway. The Rangers, off to a 5 - 0 start, have the opportunity tonight to win an unprecedented and club-record sixth game to start the season.

What can we attribute to this?

First, we have the power play. Yes, Monday night’s 5-on-3 was atrocious, but other than that the Rangers are getting shots through and have produced on the man advantage. A distinct difference from last season. An added bonus is that many of those goals have been dirty goals, from hard work in front of the net. Again, a mentality foreign to this club the past three seasons.

On the flip side of the special teams, the penalty killing has been perfect. Many thought this could suffer with the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Martin Straka not in the lineup, but everyone has contributed strongly and kept the opposition predominantly to the outside.

Now, I won’t bore you with what you have already heard. You know that Brandon Dubinsky, Aaron Voros and Nik Zherdev have been outstanding. You know that the first and third line have yet to really click on U.S. soil, and you know that the fourth line has been better than last year. As for the goalies? They speak for themselves.

So where are the Rangers weaknesses? Well, they are more obvious than the media is currently examining given the winning streak. The most glaring has to be the defense down low in their own zone. Certain players, such as Paul Mara and Dmitri Kalinin, have looked slow in their own zone and unable to really compete on the boards.

This has led the Rangers to being trapped on multiple occasions only to have a forward, an icing, or a goalie bail them out. Granted, these defensive pairings are still aclimating to each other, but it’s clear that another strong bottom-pairing defenseman could be a huge help.

Now consider the problems on the first and third lines. It is not a question of talent, but rather chemistry and combination. Head Coach Tom Renney just hasn’t fit the pieces into the puzzle. In time, the Drury-Gomez-Naslund line will succeed. The third line will need consistent personnel in order to do the same.

Ryan Callahan has established himself on the line. Then amidst the craziness the Rangers will have to decide between Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Patrick Rissmiller, Dan Fritsche, and Lauri Korpikoski. Who belongs where? Nobody really knows, but the Rangers need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Personally, I think Prucha needs to be in the lineup.

Some stuff to ponder as well as a piece over at The Hockey News.

More to come…