Sport-scan daily brief

Fast never officially was added to the Rangers NHL roster, but he skated in his first Rangers practice on Tuesday to show the coaches what he can do. He played a full season in the Swedish Elite League with HV71.

BLUESHIRTS DEAL DRAFT PICKS FOR CLOWE DAY BEFORE NHL TRADE DEADLINE

Ryane Clowe and Arron Asham will replace Kreider and Miller in the lineup Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be cranky after laying an egg in Tuesday’s 4-1 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres that snapped the Pens’ 15-game winning streak.

Asham goes back into the lineup after inexplicably being scratched for two games despite adding energy and one goal in three appearances after a long absence due to a back injury.

Pittsburgh, by the way, traded a conditional draft pick to Carolina in exchange for forward Jussi Jokinen, adding him to their recent haul via trade of Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray.

PROJECTED RANGERS LINEUP (lines other than Stepan’s are educated guesses)

Forwards: Rick Nash-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan, Mats Zuccarello -Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik, Carl Hagelin-Brian Boyle-Ryan Clowe, Taylor Pyatt -Darroll Powe-Arron Asham … Defenseman: Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto-Anton Stralman, Roman Hamrlik-Steve Eminger …Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist … Scratches: Matt Gilroy.

Notes:Zuccarello could remain on the Richards line or move back down … I believe McDonagh and Girardi will be reunited against the Penguins to face the Iginla-Malkin-Neal line.

New York Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667852 New York Rangers

After trade of Marian Gaborik, Rangers' newcomers step up in rout of Penguins

By Pat Leonard / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 10:26 PM

The Rangers explained Wednesday afternoon’s stunning trade of three-time 40-goal scorer Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets the only way they could: by throttling the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-1, hours later at the Garden. Led by Ryane Clowe, Derick Brassard and John Moore, the newcomers all scored and combined for four goals and eight points in their debuts.

“There were a lot of distractions,” said center Brian Boyle, a rumored trade target who stayed put and busted out of a slump with a career-high four points (goal, three assists) playing with crafty center Brassard (goal, three assists). “It was a ‘When are these guys gonna get here, thank God I’m still here’ type of thing. At a certain point you have to focus on Pittsburgh. It was a pretty tough task, but I think we did that. The guys came in, shook our hands and we went out and played.”

Brassard, 25, was also instrumental in all three Rangers power-play goals, as the Blueshirts scored on their first three man advantages — the first time they’ve scored three power-play goals in a game this season.

Clowe, 30, a winger acquired from San Jose on Tuesday for draft picks, scored his first two goals of the season and added an assist despite arriving in New York on a red-eye flight and sleeping a total of 90 minutes all day.

“My gut feeling was telling me I would fit in pretty well here,” said Clowe, a 6-2, 225-pound bruiser who waived his no-trade clause to join the Rangers.

One win over the stumbling Penguins (28-10-0, 56 points) — losers of two straight without injured captain Sidney Crosby (broken jaw) — does not validate GM Glen Sather trading away Gaborik, who had 114 goals and 115 assists in 255 games as a Ranger during three-plus seasons. But a blowout win over a team that recently won 15 straight games — with Clowe scoring as many goals as Gaborik had in his previous 22 contests — certainly was a start.

“It’s always sad to see someone leave who you’ve played with for a lot of years,” said Henrik Lundqvist (26 saves). “You felt some sort of responsibility that someone had to leave because we haven’t gotten the job done. It was almost you use that energy to try to play even better.”

Gaborik, whose relationship with coach John Tortorella soured, waived his no-move clause to allow the trade because, as he said in a conference call: “There was a team that really wanted me, and another team that wanted to go in a different direction and trade me.”

But the Rangers (18-15-3, 39 points), in a three-way tie with the Devils and Islanders in points, went from ninth in the Eastern Conference to the seventh spot by virtue of having a game in hand over the Isles and more regulation and overtime wins than New Jersey.

The deal for Brassard, Moore and Derek Dorsett (broken collarbone; injured reserve) will help the Rangers regain some of the grit they lost in the Rick Nash trade and to free agency. It also frees up money this summer to re-sign the likes of pending restricted free agent Derek Stepan.

Sather, who is recovering from March 21 prostate cancer surgery, worked the phones on this deadline deal, and on Wednesday night, it brought many returns despite the late arrivals of Brassard and Moore and Clowe’s fatigue.

“Throws coaching right out the window, huh?” Tortorella said.

New York Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667853 New York Rangers

Rangers’ Gaborik shipped to Blue Jackets

By BRETT CYRGALIS

Last Updated: 4:31 AM, April 4, 2013

Posted: 2:47 AM, April 4, 2013

It was arguably the biggest trade-deadline move in franchise history, and now the Rangers have to hope it pays off.

Before Wednesday night’s 6-1 win over the first-place Penguins, the team sent slumping star winger Marian Gaborik, along with minor league defensemen Steven Delisle and Blake Parlett, to the Blue Jackets for center Derick Brassard, defenseman John Moore and winger Derek Dorsett, plus a sixth-round pick.

Brassard and Moore, who scored twice last night, were both in the lineup at the Garden — Dorsett is injured with a broken collarbone, and expected back by season’s end.

“I’m hoping it’s going to help us with some new juice,” coach John Tortorella said before the game. “It’s part of the game, it happens a lot at deadlines, and it’s just time to play.”

After leading the team with 41 regular-season goals last year, Gaborik had nine goals through 33 games in this lockout-shortened season and that was not enough. Things came to a head with Tortorella in Ottawa last Friday when the two had a lengthy, animated conversation on the practice ice at Carleton University, but the coach does not want their relationship to be taken out of context.

“Gabby and I have a great relationship,” Tortorella said. “... He’s a good man and I’ll miss him.”

What the team won’t miss is Gaborik’s $7.5 million cap hit, which would go for next season, as well. With the cap ceiling coming down about $6 million to $64.3 million for next year, the Rangers are most concerned with getting deals done for important restricted free agents Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin.

The other recent trade acquisition, power forward Ryane Clowe, will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and is expected to at least have conversations about an extension. Clowe, 30, made his Blueshirts debut last night, as well, and also contributed a pair of goals.

Leading the new group is Brassard, 25, who was the sixth overall pick of the Blue Jackets in 2006 and had centered star winger Rick Nash in Columbus before last summer’s deal which brought Nash to Broadway.

Moore, 22, is still a work in progress on the blue line, but is noted as a fantastic skater who can add some depth to a defensive corps made shallow by Marc Staal’s absence.

As Gaborik said on a conference call, “it’s nice to be on a team that wants me,” and that might not always have been evident during his tenure in New York. At times Tortorella relegated him to the fourth line, and at times benched him entirely.

New York Post LOADED: 04.04.2013

667854 New York Rangers

Hurt wrist sidelines Rangers’ Miller

By BRETT CYRGALIS and LARRY BROOKS

Last Updated: 2:52 AM, April 4, 2013

Posted: 2:50 AM, April 4, 2013

At what first seemed like a move to make up for a roster depletion because of a trade, it turns out Rangers rookie J.T. Miller was recalled Wednesday hours after being sent down to the minors because his left wrist is still bothering him, The Post has learned.

Miller took the morning skate Wednesday before the Rangers beat the Penguins, 6-1 at the Garden, and in the early afternoon was sent to the AHL’s Connecticut Whale along with fellow rookie forward Chris Kreider. When the team traded star winger Marian Gaborik just before the 3 p.m. trade deadline, Miller was recalled, and Kreider went to Hartford.

Originally, it seemed as a precaution just in case Derick Brassard, a center who came from Columbus in the Gaborik deal, couldn’t make it to New York in time. But it was really because the team wanted Miller to receive treatment on the wrist here rather than in Hartford. It was believed he couldn’t have played if they wanted him to.

Miller, 20, originally hurt the wrist in a game in Newark on March 19, but played two nights later against the Panthers before having to sit one game out, March 24 against the Capitals. He returned for the next game, and played four straight before last night.

It was after the Rangers’ 4-2 over the Jets on Monday that coach John Tortorella expressed his concern for Miller and Kreider, both of whom he played sparingly that night.

“Quite honestly, I’m worried about the two kids,” Tortorella said after the game. “Not that I’m upset with them, I just think the stakes are high, we play so many close games, and I just have to watch how they go through the game and, ‘Do I trust them?’ ”

Kreider has been sent down now twice this season, and though before the last call-up Tortorella said he doesn’t want to be “knee jerking him around,” it seems the philosophy is the development of Kreider would be best suited in the minors.

“I never said he was here to stay,” Tortorella said about Kreider before the game. “I would never say that about a kid that’s still learning to be a pro.”

Defenseman Marc Staal was at the Rangers’ practice facility in Westchester yesterday and had an off-ice workout. He still is recovering from the horrific right-eye injury he suffered on March 5 against the Flyers after taking a puck in the face. His timetable for a return is still unknown, but the team said he has not suffered any setbacks.

Staal declined to speak to reporters.

Also assigned to the Whale was Swedish winger Jesper Fast, who got his first practice with the team on Tuesday. ... John Moore, a 22-year-old defenseman coming over from the Blue Jackets in the Gaborik deal, took Roman Hamrlik’s spot. Moore scored the Rangers final goal of the night.

New York Post LOADED: 04.04.2013

667855 New York Rangers

It’s on Tortorella to make revamped Blueshirts work

By LARRY BROOKS

Last Updated: 4:18 AM, April 4, 2013

Posted: 2:49 AM, April 4, 2013

Listen, given the confluence of circumstances featuring the unhealthy dynamic between Marian Gaborik and coach John Tortorella plus the slumping sniper’s $7.5 million charge next season under a cap that will decrease, general manager Glen Sather did quite well indeed Wednesday in sending No. 10 to Columbus in exchange for Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore.

That move, a day after the deal with San Jose for Ryane Clowe dramatically resets the Rangers’ season, adding a rocky road mentality to the club that had been absent for much of the rocky road the club had traveled before the extreme makeover produced a bonanza in Wednesday night’s 6-1 rout of the Penguins at the Garden.

“If we were where we should be this wouldn’t have happened,” said Brad Richards. “It’s a message to everybody this is not good enough.”

Cap issue or not, it should never have gotten to this with Gaborik, who twice hit the 40-goal pinnacle in his three full seasons on Broadway but never could quite convince Tortorella of his value as a winning hockey player.

It seems as if there are a lot of players who don’t seem to have the necessities required by this coach; who don’t take the body at every turn, who won’t fling themselves in front of pucks.

You hear a name and your first reaction isn’t necessarily, “He could help the Rangers,” but rather, “He could never play for Tortorella.”

At some point, that becomes the tail wagging the dog.

A coach who compromises his principles is a coach most often out of work. But it is a maestro’s responsibility to recognize an orchestra doesn’t consist of a percussion section alone. It takes strings, woodwinds and bass as well to make beautiful music.

The Rangers have hit a dramatic reset button over the last two days in dealing Gaborik and by sacrificing three draft picks to obtain Clowe. They are a deeper team, having used the deadline to add depth and to address deficiencies in grit and grind that arose over the summer with, most notably, the free agent defection of Brandon Prust to Montreal.

Quite rationally, the Rangers didn’t want to pay Prust the $10 million over four years he received from the Canadiens. The problem is, they have been paying ever since. They have paid with uninspired play that has them on the playoff bubble with 12 games to go, and eight of those on the road.

And they paid on Tuesday by sending a second-rounder and Florida’s previously acquired third-rounder (plus a conditional pick yet to be determined) to the Sharks for Clowe after already having dealt their 2013 No. 1 for Rick Nash.

Clowe — a bigger, more talented Prust — is an impending free agent, but it is believed his agent discussed the parameters of an extension with the Rangers before agreeing to waive his client’s no-trade to come to New York. Sather should be careful about that, even if the winger adds as much value down the stretch as he did in last night’s two-goal, one assist Broadway debut.

For long-term investments in 31-year-old power forwards — and certainly in the $4-5 million per neighborhood that Clowe, who will turn that age in September, is likely to receive — are dicey propositions.

The Rangers most surely got more than a bucket full of pucks for Gaborik, even if he’s one of the rare players around the NHL who can score by the bucketful. They got three relatively young ones — with Brassard a talented center, Moore an exceptional skater on the blue line, and Dorsett a tough pugilist — who could be here for a while.

The Blueshirts entered this season dramatically remade, more top-heavy, more talent-driven. Perhaps it is because Tortorella was deprived of a training camp during which to instill his values, but the coach was not able to get that group to respond.

Now, the Rangers have changed the group and the dynamic. It is on Tortorella to make it work and to direct this orchestra so it makes music to the Garden’s ears.

New York Post LOADED: 04.04.2013

667856 New York Rangers

Newest Rangers key lopsided win

By BRETT CYRGALIS

Last Updated: 4:09 AM, April 4, 2013

Posted: 2:46 AM, April 4, 2013

Rest assured, it will not be like this tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.

Because Wednesday night in the Garden there was as rosy a hue as could be imagined engulfing a once-dormant Rangers team, as new trade additions ran amok and led the way to a 6-1 win over the first-place Penguins.

Showing up 15 minutes before warm-ups were two of the three pieces returned from Columbus in exchange for Marian Gaborik at yesterday’s trade deadline, center Derick Brassard and defenseman John Moore combining for two goals and three assists. And Ryane Clowe, who slept 30 minutes on a red-eye flight Tuesday night after being obtained for draft picks in a trade with the Sharks, adding his first two goals of the season as well as an assist.

NICE START: New Ranger Ryane Clowe made an immediate impact last night with a pair of goals in a 6-1 win over the Penguins.

“Throws coaching right out the window, huh?” John Tortorella sniped.

Turns out, it’s not just the sleepless that benefit from trades like this, either. The struggling Brian Boyle managed to get his second goal of the season and add three assists, while Brad Richards also seemed to gain some life and add another two helpers.

All in all, the 18-15-3 Rangers are now tied with both the Islanders and Devils in points, but leapfrogged both and into seventh place in the conference by virtue of more wins than the Devils and one game in hand over the Islanders.

“Just to have a couple new faces in the room, it changes the dynamic in here,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, solid in making 26 saves. “On the ice is one thing, but off the ice, it’s going to change too. So hopefully this can help us.”

It will start tomorrow, when they head to Pittsburgh to finish this home-and-home with the Penguins (28-10-0), who played without Sidney Crosby, still nursing a broken upper jaw. The Pens were the ones who had taken all of the early trade-deadline headlines, but they were the ones that came out flat in the second game of a back-to-back and were wiped out by a Rangers team that now looks a lot more like the one that was two wins from the Stanley Cup finals last season.

“We were definitely more in-your-face type of team today,” Lundqivst said. “We didn’t give them a lot of room. A lot of great things.”

It started early, when Brassard showed immense patience on a power play midway through the first, circling and getting the puck to Richards at the point. He fired it, Boyle deflected it in, and up 1-0 things seemed good.

Little did the team know how good they would actually get.

Two minutes later, Ryan McDonagh scored the first even-strength goal for a Rangers’ defenseman since Anton Stralman against the Jets on Feb. 26, a stretch of 17 games. Then Clowe got off the season schneid by putting in a backhand, letting the first-period buzzer sound with the Rangers up 3-0.

“It feels good to get the monkey off the back overall,” Clowe said from under the Broadway Hat. “I don’t know if it was the no sleep, but there was no pressure because you’re just going out there and playing free. Overall, the guys looked pretty loose and it was good.”

Midway through the third, with the Rangers already up 5-1 and Clowe having scored his second of the night — and season — the puck came rolling out to Moore at the point. It seemed implausible that it could happen, but he shot it and somehow it found its way through Marc-Andre Fleury and the fairy tale beginning was complete.

“Funny how it works,” Tortorella said, smiling.

New York Post LOADED: 04.04.2013

667857 New York Rangers

Rangers notes: Ryane Clowe makes Blueshirts debut

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Andrew Gross

Ranger debut

Newly acquired Ryane Clowe was in the lineup Wednesday after taking a red-eye flight from San Jose and heading straight to the Rangers' morning skate.

The left wing, 30, said leaving his lone team in eight NHL seasons was emotional but he chose to waive his no-trade clause to come to the Rangers because he believes their style of play is the best fit for his rugged game. Clowe, in the final season of a four-year, $14.5 million deal, hopes to stay long term.

"I haven't had the year I think I wanted to have," said Clowe, who had no goals, 11 assists and 79 penalty minutes in 28 games for the Sharks.

Working out

D Marc Staal, sidelined indefinitely with facial injuries and impaired vision since being struck by a puck March 5, was at the practice facility Wednesday morning for an off-ice workout.

A helmet with a visor was hanging at his locker stall.

Sent to the AHL

Rookie Chris Kreider was reassigned to Connecticut (AHL) after being benched in the second period Monday.

Bergen Record LOADED: 04.04.2013

667858 New York Rangers

Rangers rout Penguins, 6-1, as newcomers lead the way

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday April 3, 2013, 11:43 PM

BY ANDREW GROSS

NEW YORK – Marian Gaborik waived his no-trade clause to go where he felt wanted and the three newcomers in the Rangers’ lineup – the two coming in exchange from Columbus not arriving at Madison Square Garden until 10 minutes before warm-ups – all scored at least one goal to make sure he wasn’t missed.

“There were a lot of distractions – when are these guys going to get here? Thank God I’m still here, type of thing,” Brian Boyle said.

Yet even with Derick Brassard and John Moore running into the building and going on the ice for the game, the Rangers managed a season-high three power-play goals and a season best for goals in a 6-1 win over the Penguins on Wednesday night.

“It was crazy, it was wild,” said Clowe, operating on next-to-no sleep after taking a red-eye from San Jose but scoring two goals with an assist after going without a goal this season for the Sharks.

Brassard had a goal and three assists, immediately impressing his new teammates with his passing skills, and defenseman John Moore added the final goal.

Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for his 268th win, moving past Eddie Giacomin into second place on the team’s all-time list as the Rangers (18-15-3) leapfrogged the Devils and Islanders into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Gaborik and his five-year, $37.5 million deal, were sent to Columbus along with minor league defensemen Steven Delisle and Blake Parlett for Brassard, Moore, the injured Derek Dorsett and a sixth-round pick.

“They’re a team that really wants me,” Gaborik, a 40-goal scorer and the Rangers’ leading scorer in two of his three seasons in New York, said on a conference call. “I didn’t have fun this year. I don’t think the whole team has at all, too.”

Gaborik and coach John Tortorella downplayed reports of a rift between them.

Still, trading a player of Gaborik’s caliber makes everybody take notice.

“Yeah, it’s always tough but you just deal with it,” said Brad Richards, who had two assists as he centered Clowe and the newly re-signed Mats Zuccarello. “The biggest thing is if we would have been where we wanted to be, none of this would have happened. It’s a message to everyone that it’s not good enough right now.”

The Rangers, looking a lot more like last season’s high-energy grinders with a persistent forecheck, snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Penguins (28-10-0), who host New York on Friday night. The Penguins lost on back-to-back nights after a 15-game winning streak.

“We haven’t done what’s expected of us; this a chance to prove them wrong,” said Boyle, who had a goal and two assists after spending the day worried that he would be traded. “It was a lot of fun to win, obviously, and to get the offense going. The new guys gave us a spark. More than a spark.”

The 6-foot-1, 202-pound Brassard, 25, was the sixth overall selection in the 2006 draft and had seven goals and 11 assists in 34 games for the Blue Jackets after setting career highs with 17 goals and 30 assists in 2010-11. He has one more season left in a four-year, $12.8 million deal that will cost the Rangers $3.2 million against next season’s salary cap.

Dorsett, 26, has been sidelined since March 7 with a fractured clavicle, but is expected to be able to play before the season ends. The 6-foot, 190-pound agitator has three goals, six assists and 53 penalty minutes in 24 games this season and 727 penalty minutes in 280 career NHL games. He’s in the first season of a three-year deal with an annual salary cap hit of $1.67 million.

Moore, 22, was the 21st pick in the 2009 draft and the offensive-minded defenseman has two goals and six assists in 86 NHL games. He’s in the first season of a three-year entry-level deal that carries a salary cap figure of $965,000.

The Rangers need every cent of salary-cap space they can find heading into the off-season with Derek Stepan, who has developed into their No. 1 center; speedy left wing Carl Hagelin; and Ryan McDonagh, at times their No. 1 defenseman, all restricted free agents.