Before the game, the media spoke with Tom Renney, who seemed very loose as his team looks to take control of this series by going up 3-0.

Jaromir Jagr came in and showed the press his Stanley Cup Ring, which he tells us is the “2008 ring.”

The Blueshirts will tote the same lineup out there, why change?

As for the Devils, they will desperately try to get back in this series which could be over by Wednesday if the Blueshirts keep winning.

Philly won today with Marty Biron coming through with a shutout, so it’s a brand new series with the Flyers taking home ice.

Oh and the Mets lost 9-7, but we won’t go there.

More later….

Tom Renney said Valiquette plays for scheduling purposes, and Henrik Lundqvist will be in Jersey and Montreal.

But tonight the Rangers play the Flyers in a game that hopefully gets the competitive juices flowing as time is ticking away.

“Anything can help,” Renney said. “I would like to think it doesn’t matter, but these are four point games and Philadelphia is playing very well and we have to have the passion to play”

For the lines, Renney is changing the lines once again with Marty Straka moving back with Scott Gomez and Jarmomir Jagr. Sean Avery goes back with his buddy Brendan Shanahan with Brandon Dubinsky centering and Chris Drury will center Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha.

That’s all for now.

And for some Giants news check out NYGMen.com, which I am running for the week.  

 

Now things have changed. The Blueshirts have gotten their grove on and are tied with the Flyers for the divisional lead.

But a 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes on Monday has given Tom Renney some concern. So he worked his team for two hours on Tuesday and according to the Ranger reporters not moonlighting the Winter Meetings, were to a man determined to put that loss behind them.

And with the Leafs still trying to keep the puck out of the net, this may be the perfect team for them to rebound.

I will have some more later as it comes in….

Going into the third, the Blueshirts will need to keep the pressure up and continue to prevent any shooting lanes to be open.

With on 14 shots with 16:36 left, the Ranger have done a good job keeping the Flyers at bay.

More later on NYSD with a game recap.

But the smart money says he will give it a chance and play. Just a gut feeling.

Flyers in town with the 8-4 record [4-4 on the road]. The Rangers will look to jump on Marty Biron. Ben Eager out of the game as a healthy scratch and Darian Hatcher with a knee injury and there’s a bunch of suspensions. It may be a watered down version of the Broad Street Bullies tonight.

More Later…    

After going through contact during the moring skate today, Renney will hold him out against Washington and then consider using him on Saturday against the Devils.

“He want through it this morning and we will see about it tomorrow,” Renney said. ”He will have more contact and put him into situations and draw some conclusions. And we will listen to him to.”

Avery’s style will test the shoulder and even though the Rangers need him right now, Renney and his staff will not bring him back early. Yesterday, Avery expressed discomfort after practice, which may be an indication that the shoulder may not be healed.

“The problem is there is some discomfort there,” Renney said. ”We have to see if they injury on the joint has any damage and that’s where the medical people step in and help us. We all know how Sean likes to play and how he has to play to help us. That may be the ultimate test.”

And when that test happens is all up to the coach. If it’s not Saturday, then Monday or Tuesday against the Flyers and Islanders, respectively.

***

Jaromir Jagr was chatting with the press, while adjusting his sticks for the game. He was stunned to hear about the Martina Hingis situation, who was dating a friend of his during Wimbledon when her positive test for cocaine took place [they now broke up]. After heaing the situation he said Hingis played well afterwards and loudly denied any knowledge of her improprieties.

 

That’s the story of the first period as the Rangers gave away the puck a little too much for anyone’s taste. And the 2-0 Flyer lead, on goals by Sami Kapanen and Mike Knuble is the result. Some neat things: Colton Orr took on David Laliberte and the Flyers rookie got a 10 minutes misconduct and an instigator penalty. When will the Flyers learn?

And Henrik Lundqvist made a penalty shot save off Kapanen to the glove side.

But giveaways. If the Rangers cut that down, they should be fine.