Sport-scan daily brief

“We’ll probably get a general sense to where players are over the summer,” Biron told the Daily News on Friday in Pittsburgh, where the Rangers opened a three-game road trip with a 2-1 shootout loss. “Certain years the issue comes up more than others, but a lot of times we break into smaller groups where people can share their ideas on different issues. It sometimes makes for better discussions and then we can bring it back to the whole group.”

The NHL’s position is that visors should be mandatory as a safety precaution for its players, but the NHLPA fights a policy on the premise of protecting each player’s right to choose.

Biron is a goaltender, so the rule would not affect him directly, but the 35-year-old veteran believes the natural evolution of the game will lead to the rule being passed eventually – even if it doesn’t happen this summer.

“I’m a goalie, but you hear about how visors can affect your sight or your breathing,” Biron said. “I don’t know, but it’s common sense to me for it to become a more concrete issue than it is now. I bet back in the day players disagreed on wearing helmets, but the game grew and as we went on helmets became mandatory. But there are players who wear visors who still think players should have the choice. So that’s why these discussions are important.”

Staal suffered a gruesome injury on March 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers when a puck deflected into his right eye. The Rangers defenseman is working out off-ice and has not added skating to his rehabilitation yet, but when he does, he will be wearing a full visor curving low across his face.

Staal’s brothers, Hurricanes centers Eric and Jordan, also adopted visors after Marc’s frightening injury, and the brothers reunited on Saturday with Marc travelling for the first time with the Rangers since the injury for the first two legs of a three-game road trip.

Rangers teammates are encouraged that Staal is now able to attend team dinners and be around the group, returning to a more normal routine rather than rehabbing alone at home while the season passes by.

Visors cannot protect NHL players from everything, of course. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby wears a visor and recently had his jaw broken by an errant slap shot from teammate Brooks Orpik.

Still,the NHLPA estimates 73% of players now wear visors, as some players change their minds and younger talents filter in from the AHL, where visors already are mandatory.

Rangers winger Taylor Pyatt, a friend and teammate of Staal’s who told the Daily News in early March he’d consider adopting a visor, confirmed on Thursday that he plans to make the switch this summer and that he, like Biron, sees a mandatory visor rule eventually being passed.

“I think it’s inevitable,” he said.

New York Daily News LOADED: 04.08.2013

668819 New York Rangers

Richards now goal-oriented

By BRETT CYRGALIS

Last Updated: 4:18 AM, April 8, 2013

Posted: 12:09 AM, April 8, 2013

There was 14:41 remaining in the third period Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C., with the Rangers holding a 3-0 lead over the Hurricanes, when Brad Richards found himself standing alone at the right post and the puck sliding toward him. Richards wound up, one-timed it, and backup goalie Justin Peters — who had 14 career wins and came in cold to the start the third — robbed Richards with a fantastic glove save.

It was a play that belied Richards’ struggles this year, but it was another chance in what has been an increased stream of them over the past two weeks or so.

“Richie has worked hard at the other parts of his game,” said coach John Tortorella, whose team will play the fifth-place Maple Leafs tonight in Toronto at the beginning of a home-and-home that concludes Wednesday in the Garden. “The offense is coming.”

Earlier in the game, Richards had done what he does best — facilitate a scoring opportunity. After a chippy and scoreless first period, Richards chased down a puck on the power play and drew three Hurricanes’ defenders toward him, below the goal line. Quickly, with little hesitation, he backhanded a pass to a wide-open Derek Stepan, who netted it and got that all-important first goal.

“We don’t bury that, it stays 0-0 and who knows where it goes?” Richards said. “Opportunistic, I guess, is the word, right? We’ll take it.”

What has been opportunistic is Richards taking advantage of his new linemates, Mats Zuccarello and Ryane Clowe. Having never really found a rhythm with Marian Gaborik over a year-and-a-half stretch, Richards now gets to skate with two players who are a little more low-maintenance and open up the ice to take advantage of his world-class vision.

“I think Zuke and Ryane helped me too,” Richards said. “It’s a lot simpler. I think Zuke is seeing the ice and I think Clowey opens up some ice for me, and I can play off him, too.”

Tortorella agrees with the assessment, going with that group often for the three games they’ve been together, although no one has scored except Clowe netting two in his first game as a Ranger, a 6-1 win over the Penguins at the Garden on Wednesday.

“I thought that line was better,” Tortorella said. “They developed some scoring chances.”

That’s not exactly the highest praise in the game, as the coach is well aware. For a guy like Richards, a former Conn Smythe winner for Tortorella when they won the Stanley Cup together with the Lightning in 2004, the puck needs to go in. Moral victories and chances can abound, but confidence is rebuilt only by goals and wins.

“Every offensive player, they need the results,” Tortorella said. “He’s beginning to get some and I think he feels better about it.”

So although Richards has just six goals and 23 points this season — and has scored just two goals since March 12, a span of 14 games — the offense is starting to be produced again, and a snowballing of confidence would be the desired effect.

“I felt some things coming here lately, and getting rewarded is obviously key to it,” Richards said. “Getting on the board, helping the team get on the board instead of just getting chances, eventually it just gets old.”

New York Post LOADED: 04.08.2013

668820 New York Rangers

New linemates help Rangers' Brad Richards snap funk

ANDREW GROSS

STAFF WRITER

The Record

Monday, April 8, 2013

TORONTO – Brad Richards has dealt with what he considers a frustratingly subpar performance so far this season with, at varying times, anger, self-deprecating humor and just outright bewilderment.

The veteran center, in the second season of a nine-year, $60 million deal, knows the only way to shake his roller coast of emotions is increased and consistent offensive production.

And as the Rangers have pointed themselves in the right direction with a 3-0-1 spurt heading into tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre, so has Richards with a goal and four assists in that span, mainly on a line with newly acquired rugged wing Ryane Clowe and newly re-signed playmaker Mats Zuccarello.

"I felt some things coming lately and getting rewarded, obviously, is a key to it," said Richards, who is once again starting to make pinpoint passes. "Helping the team getting on the board instead of just getting chances or being involved in chances. Eventually, that just gets old."

Richards, 32, had three goals and two assists in the 12 games preceding last week’s spurt – with wins over the Jets, Penguins and Hurricanes and a 2-1 shootout loss at Pittsburgh that felt like a victory.

This week is equally crucial to the seventh-place Rangers’ playoff chances as they’ll face the fifth-place Maple Leafs twice – including Wednesday at Madison Square Garden – and also the Islanders, who are tied with them in points with 42, but have played one extra game.

The Rangers did not practice Sunday after playing back-to-back games.

"You have a bad night or two and all of a sudden, five other teams crawl right back in it," said Richards, who is on pace for career lows with six goals and 17 assists, though the lockout-shortened season makes that dubious statistic somewhat moot.

"We’d rather look up and try to chase teams down," Richards added. "That’s our mentality right now. We think we can continue to do that and these two games coming up are an opportunity to do that."

Just as playing with the 6-foot-2 Clowe, who creates space on the ice for Richards because of his big body, and Zuccarello, whose passing has set up Richards in advantageous spots, has given Richards the opportunity to salvage something from this season.

An extreme creature of habit, Richards’ preparation for the season was deeply impacted by the uncertainty of the four-month lockout.

"I think Richie has worked hard at the other part of the game [defense] and I think his offensive part is coming," coach John Tortorella said. "Every offensive player needs some results. He’s beginning to get some."

Bergen Record LOADED: 04.08.2013

668821 New York Rangers

Rangers up next: at Maple Leafs

The Record

Monday, April 8, 2013

Rangers at Leafs

Today, 7 p.m.

TV: MSG

Radio: ESPN-FM 98.7

Bergen Record LOADED: 04.08.2013

668822 New York Rangers

Improved special-teams play gives Rangers boost during playoff push

By STEVE ZIPAY

Originally published: April 7, 2013 9:31 PM

Updated: April 8, 2013 12:19 AM

A revival in special-teams play in the past four games clearly has boosted the Rangers' late playoff push.

The power play, which had dragged down the entire offense and had been 2-for-23, is 5-for-11, with five different scorers in the last four games. The Rangers have climbed to 19th in the NHL rankings at 17.2 percent, up from 25th at 14.4 percent.

The penalty kill, which had allowed seven goals in 22 chances, is 14-for-14 in the last four games during the Rangers' 3-0-1 stretch, including 5-for-5 on Saturday against Carolina. That streak lifted the Rangers from 21st in the PK standings at 80.2 percent to 11th at 84.5 percent. Ryan Callahan also had a shorthanded goal April 1 against Winnipeg.

Gaining seven of a possible eight points, according to two websites that calculate playoff odds daily, raised the Rangers' chances. Sportsclubstats.com figures that the Blueshirts have an 89.6-percent chance to be in the playoffs. Hockey-reference.com puts it at 79.3 percent.

"I just think some of the personnel is playing better," coach John Tortorella said of the power play. "Zook [Mats Zuccarello] has added something to it and we're finding a way to score goals. There's been much more puck possession; some of the times when we were struggling with it, we were getting chances but we weren't scoring. We're scoring on it now at key times in games. Brass [Derick Brassard] comes in here and he's added something to it. [Ryane] Clowe and Brian Boyle are doing some good work in front of the net."

Brad Richards, in a serious funk most of the season, also has added a goal and two assists. "I think his offense is coming," Tortorella said. "He makes a great play to [Derek] Stepan on a pretty important [power-play] goal to start us off [Saturday]. He's making more plays."

Newcomers Brassard, from Columbus, and Clowe, from San Jose, have a goal and two assists each on the power play, and Zuccarello has an assist. Rick Nash scored Saturday on the PP and has three goals (two at even strength) in the last four games.

Special teams could very well be a factor in the upcoming home-and-home series against the Maple Leafs, beginning Monday night in Toronto. The Rangers won, 5-2, at home in their only other matchup Jan. 26. The Rangers did not score and were 0-for-4 on the power play. Two players who scored three of the goals won't be playing: Marian Gaborik (two) is with Columbus and Marc Staal (one) is injured. Toronto is ranked third on the penalty kill.

With Henrik Lundqvist playing both ends of the back-to-back Friday and Saturday, it is possible that Martin Biron (2-2-1, 2.32 GAA) will start in goal Monday night or Wednesday. He beat the Maple Leafs, 3-0, in his last start in Toronto on Jan. 14, 2012.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668823 NHL

Russia revelling as team on the rise

RACHEL BRADY

The Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Apr. 07 2013, 8:58 PM EDT

The Russians didn’t win a single game at last year’s women’s world hockey championships, causing many to worry that the team could be a total embarrassment at home during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

At this year’s world championships, Russia is a podium contender and has earned a semi-final matchup with top-ranked Canada on Monday night. Russia was undefeated in round-robin play and upset Switzerland in the quarter-final, last year’s bronze medalist. Russia wants to win a medal in Ottawa to fuel itself for Sochi. It has shown big improvement here, but some other nations haven’t.

“It’s awesome to see the country hosting the next Olympics doing so well here at the tournament,” said Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados. “We were all talking, we’re excited to play them and see what they’re like.”

Russia has added more resources since last year, hired a new coaching staff and a new general manager in former Ottawa Senator Alexei Yashin. They began a mentorship with former Canadian Olympic coach Shannon Miller, who has gone on to coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she has won five National Collegiate Athletic Association titles.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Russian forward Aleksandra Vafina, who played for Miller at UMD this season. “Many of us are scoring our first international goal. This is a big, big event for us, and we are so excited to be on a roll.”

No everyone has shown such improvement. After winning bronze last year, the Swiss brought eight new players to this tournament. Many wondered how Finland and its world-class goalie Noora Raty might have closed the gap with the North Americans. The Finns kept it respectable with a 5-2 loss to the U.S., yet got throttled 8-0 by Canada, despite some Finnish players’ confident pre-game Tweets.

Standing on the podium with silver medals around their necks at the 2006 Turin Olympics, Swedish female hockey players once represented a sign of hope for a sport that is thoroughly dominated by Canada and the U.S. Today, Sweden is battling in a best-of-three relegation series with Czech Republic, fighting just to keep a spot among the top eight women’s hockey nations who compete in the world championships each year.

Over the past few years, Sweden has lost many of the players who upset the mighty U.S in the semi-final in Turin to advance to the Olympic gold-medal game against Canada. Young players have replaced them. Then, the backbone of the Swedish team, star goalie Kim Martin, an NCAA player who also led Sweden to Olympic bronze in 2002, got injured preparing for this tournament and has not played in Ottawa.

“This feels awful,” said Swedish forward Pernilla Winberg. “We were supposed to be one of the top teams here.”

There is a bitter irony in Sweden’s story. The International Ice Hockey Federation began a mentorship program in July of 2011, taking former coaches and players from the top-ranked four women’s hockey nations at the time and assigning them as mentors to the teams rated five through 14. It’s just one part of a $2.1-million women’s hockey improvement project started after lopsided scores stole headlines at the Vancouver Olympics and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge warned the women to improve parity or be removed from the Olympic program.

Sweden was one of those top-rated countries back then, so it was slated as nation to provide mentors rather than receive them.

“I talked with the IIHF last year and asked why we send out 10 Swedish players and leaders to help others when we need all the support we can get,” said Swedish coach Niclas Hogberg. “It’s a strange feeling for me as a Swedish head coach when there are Swedish people I would like to work with who are going to work with other countries.”

Sweden earned bronze medals at the 2005 and 2007 world championships but hasn’t made the podium since. For a while, Finland was beating Sweden yearly in the bronze-medal game, except last year when it settled for the fifth/sixth-place game. This year, Sweden tumbled all the way to the relegation game. Now, up 1-0 on the Czechs in the series, Sweden must hold on or be demoted down to the second division.

The second relegation game is Monday afternoon as well as Finland’s semi-final against the U.S, before Canada and Russia face off. The final relegation game, if needed, will be Tuesday, as well as the bronze- and gold-medal games.

Toronto Globe And Mail LOADED: 04.08.2013

668824 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators drop fourth in a row to lowly Florida Panthers

Don Brennan

Ottawa Sun

First posted: Sunday, April 07, 2013 08:44 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, April 07, 2013 11:02 PM EDT

SUNRISE, Fla. — Forty-five days after Craig Anderson was listed as “day-to-day” with a sprained ankle, the Senators goalie had to feel like he was still a spectator.

For most of his first game since Feb. 21, he was barely tested. But as dominant as they were, his teammates couldn’t pull away from the Florida Panthers.

And finally, they paid for it.

With Sergei Gonchar in the box serving the Senators first penalty of the game, Dmitry Kulikov beat Anderson with a wrist shot and just 9:14 remaining in the third period for a goal that stood as the winner in a 2-1 final at BB&T Center on Sunday.

The loss was the Senators fourth in a row, extending their longest slump of the season.

It also ended Anderson’s personal string of success against the Panthers at eight consecutive wins. He’s now 9-1-1 all time against his old team.

Panthers goalie Scott Clemmenssen was the first star of this game, as the Senators outshot the home team 41-17.

The only thing they had to show for it was Cory Conacher’s first goal with his new team.

At game’s end, the Senators were just four points up on ninth place New Jersey Devils. But their hold on a playoff spot could become even looser later in the night, depending on the result of New Jersey’s game with Buffalo.

Andersson’s ankle, which kept him out 19 games, survived this one just fine. In fact, he made a right skate save on the rush by Quinton Howden that forced Gonchar to take his penalty.

On the winning goal, Anderson couldn’t see Kulikov. It appeared as though he moved to his left to find him, and when he did, the shot went in on the side he left open.

“It’s one of those things, it’s a 1-1 game and it’s my job to make sure it stays that way,” Anderson said.

“Sometimes those are the hardest games, to stay mentally in the game. “(But) it’s my job to stay focused and be ready for the next shot.”

Anderson had to wait a while for his first shot of the game. His first official save wasn’t until the 4:45 mark, and it was an easy one off a Peter Mueller flip in from the blue line.

The Panthers tied the game at the 1:08 mark of the middle frame, when Marcel Goc held his position in front of the net to deflect home a Tomas Fleischmann shot from the top of the left-wing faceoff circle. But after that, it was all Senators.

They outshot Florida 15-4 in the second period, seemingly boosted by Matt Kassian’s victory in a fight with George Parros before the six-minute mark.

“I thought we played great, really, the whole night,” coach Paul MacLean said. “We dominated the game

for the most part, but we got goalied. We’ve done that to other teams in the past.

“But for us the good sign was we played hard for the 60 minutes. It was probably one of

the best games we’ve played in a long time, if not for the whole season, from start to finish.”

Daniel Alfredsson put on a show for the “seven or eight” Swedes he played junior hockey with in attendance. His friends were in town for a hockey tournament that starts Monday.

“They said I wouldn’t crack the lineup,” Alfredsson cracked before he game.

The Senators next game is Tuesday, when they’re in Tampa Bay to face Ben Bishop and the Lightning.

Suddenly, they’re in a real battle to gain a berth in the post-season tournament.

Twitter: @sundonib

Turning point

A screened Anderson went to his left but the shot went to his right on Kulikov's winner with Gonchar in the box

Thumbs up

Cory Conacher scored his first goal as a Senator, on a setup by Jakob Silfverberg

Thumbs down

Kyle Turris has to bury the shot he had in front on a set up by Guillaume Latendresse

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 04.08.2013

668825 Ottawa Senators

Coach Paul MacLean tells Ottawa Senators players no more kid stuff

Don Brennan

Ottawa Sun

First posted: Sunday, April 07, 2013 07:08 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, April 07, 2013 09:18 PM EDT

SUNRISE, FLA. -- Paul MacLean ordered his team off the ice Sunday morning.

The players weren't permitted to play the traditional keepaway game orchestrated by Daniel Alfredsson. They weren't allowed to stay out for extra shooting or breakaway practice. Stuff they enjoy doing, they couldn't do.

When the coach blew his whistle to officially end the 20-minute skate, they were sent straight to the dressing room.

From there, they followed the usual pre-game routine.

When the Senators are winning and playing the way MacLean wants, he leaves them to their own devices after practice. But on the heels of suffering three-regulation time losses for the first time this season, MacLean put his foot down.

"The last couple of games we haven't come out and started very good," said MacLean. "And we tend to stay on the ice for pre-game skates and play stupid pet tricks maybe a little bit longer than we should. We just wanted to make sure, with a 6 p.m. game, that we managed our time a little bit better.

"I decided to take charge of managing the time as opposed to letting them do it."

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 04.08.2013

668826 Philadelphia Flyers

Bad timing for Flyers

POSTED: Sunday, April 7, 2013, 9:50 AM

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ The Flyers had their worst period of the season at the wrong time on Saturday.

They allowed four second-period goals _ the most they have surrendered in any period this season _as they lost to struggling Winnipeg, 4-1, and fell five points out of a playoff spot with 10 games left.

Ruslan Fedotenko scored the Flyer’ lone goal.

"I felt they came out stronger, said Fedotenko, referring to the second period. "It's not necessarily we didn't show up, but they were stronger. They were faster. I felt like we were a little bit too much waiting and reacting instead of initiating. Give them the credit. They turned it around and unfortunately for us, we couldn't recover from that."

The Flyers took the second period off and it ended their four-game winning streak. They need to play with 60 minutes of desperation in each of their last 10 games or they will be watching the playoffs.

*******************************************

The Flyers haven’t announced it yet, but they have reportedly signed University of Minnesota defenseman Mark Alt _ a prospect they acquired from Carolina with goalie Brian Boucher in January _ to an entry-level deal.