By: Bruce Berlet
Losing one of your most versatile forwards and second-leading scorer before the season even starts and your leading scorer and captain in the third game might throw many teams for a loop.
The Rangers faced such a dilemma early in their 85th NHL season, but a line of three Wolf Pack graduates has been their salvation since Vinny Prospal missed the start after offseason knee surgery and Marian Gaborik and Trumbull native Chris Drury went on injured reserve after sustaining a dislocated left shoulder and re-broken left index finger on Oct. 15.
The tandem of Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and alternate captain Ryan Callahan (reading from left to right) has kept the Rangers afloat offensively since opening night while coach John Tortorella has shuffled his other three lines almost as much as Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander has changed his four lines in search of some consistency on the attack.
“They’ve evolved into our best and most productive line and the one being used against the other team’s best people on a lot of occasions, so it’s strength against strength,” Rangers assistant general manager/assistant coach and Wolf Pack GM Jim Schoenfeld said. “And all three guys are used on the power play and to kill penalties, so right now they’re doing a really good job for us.”
The trio, none of whom are first-round picks, specialize in “dirty goals” in front thanks to constantly moving their feet, tenacious forechecking and a willingness to get to the net in traffic. The only time that they’ve been separated was during a 6-4 loss to Atlanta last Wednesday when Anisimov injured his ankle and was forced out of the game after blocking a shot, a Rangers specialty. When an MRI exam showed no damage, Tortorella immediately reunited the line for a game at Carolina that the Rangers lost, 4-3.
“They’re definitely high energy,” said Rangers defenseman Michael Sauer, who played with all three in Hartford. “They all go fast, skate hard and are all over the puck. They all bring something unique and use each other’s strengths.”
And the combination was initially an experiment. Tortorella had Gaborik and newcomer Alex Frolov penciled in to play with center Erik Christensen and hoped Dubinsky, Anisimov and Callahan would be a good second line.
“We just wanted to see what that line looked like right away, and once we did, it has taken off,” Tortorella said. “They’ve done everything offensively and defensively, and it’s home-grown, which is very important as we develop our kids. It’s important for our organization that we do it from within, and obviously they’re a big part of our core.”
The scrappy, 5-foot-10, 190-pound Callahan has been the ringleader of the threesome, putting together career-high streaks for goals (four games) and points (seven). His tenacity and grit earned plaudits in Hartford, and he won the Rangers’ Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for his hard work throughout the season in 2009 and 2010.
“Every game I’ve coached him, you know what you’re going to get,” Tortorella said. “He’s really becoming a leader, not only with his play, but also with his voice, and that’s a good thing. As a young man in our organization, he’s really growing.”
Said Schoenfeld: “Cally has been his typical Cally but scoring more. He makes the big block in the penalty kill, makes the big offensive play, finishes every available check and tries to finish it with force. He’s a terrific example of the type of game that we want our team to play.”
That was never more evident than in Monday night’s game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. Late in the second period of a tie game, Callahan dropped to the ice to block Duncan Keith’s howitzer, took it directly on his left ankle and limped to the locker room. The puck struck so hard that it forced skin and muscle into a bone. During the second intermission, it was “sucked off” the bone and stitched, leaving his sock soaked with blood.
“Hey, it’s Curt Schilling,” someone said, referring to the Boston Red Sox right-hander who beat the New York Yankees in the playoffs while his ankle was bleeding.
“Too bad I’m a Yankee fan,” Callahan said.
Callahan missed the first 32 seconds of the third period, but 23 seconds later, he set up Dubinsky’s second goal in a 3-2 victory.
“You usually don’t have a line together right from the start, but we found some chemistry and complement each other pretty well with different styles of play,” said Callahan, whose 42 hits are fourth in the NHL and 20 blocks are the most among league forwards. “Dubi and I played a lot together in Hartford, and Artie has grown a lot from last year. He’s gotten a lot bigger, and the way he’s protecting the puck and handling it down low has been really big for us.
“The work of Artie and Dubi down low makes it easy for a guy like me just to try to get open. The big thing about our line is getting the puck behind the defense and trying to forecheck. That’s where our strength has been. We haven’t been setting up pretty plays through the neutral zone. It’s been more on the forecheck and holding onto the puck and creating opportunities off of that.”
Callahan said he benefitted from his first Winter Olympics in February in Vancouver, where he was exposed to the best players in the game as teammates and competitors and played alongside Drury on a line and killing penalties as the United States won a silver medal, losing to Canada in overtime in the title game.
“I think it helped out a lot confidence-wise, to be able to go out there and play against guys at that level,” said Callahan, who scored 52 goals with Guelph in the Ontario Hockey League in 2005-06 and 35 goals as a rookie pro with the Wolf Pack a year later. “I came back and felt good about my game coming into the season. I knew I had to make a difference and pick up my game a bit.
“I think the Olympics helped me out doing that by going over there and playing against top-level guys. There’s nothing specific that I learned other than just knowing I could play against those kinds of guys.”
Callahan, the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in 2004, knew he had to improve now that he is in his fifth season with the Rangers after being an AHL All-Star in his only full season with the Wolf Pack.
“This is best start I’ve ever had, and I’m coming into putting myself as a veteran,” said Callahan, an alternate captain for the second straight season who has four goals and team-high nine assists in 11 games. “I’m no longer one of the young guys, so what I want to do is make a difference, put up some more points and try to be a leader. So far I’ve gotten off to a good start.”
Callahan has been the de facto captain in Drury’s absence and eager to try to pick up his game without Gaborik, Prospal and Drury.
“When those guys went down, we knew we would be looked upon a little more and get some more ice time and different opportunities,” Callahan said. “For us to be successful we had to kind of take the load a little bit and run with it, and I think we’ve done that well.
“The line has been good all year, but we’ve got to keep it up because it’s only 11 games into the season. As a team, the big thing is guys are buying in and everybody is playing the same system. We’re playing as a team, which we need to do when you lose top guys like that. I think that’s where our success has come from, everybody playing as one unit.”
Tortorella said the 6-1, 210-pound Dubinsky understands preparation better and is being level-headed about everything while being used exclusively at left wing for the first time in his career. He split time at wing and center last season, but in the modern game, forwards are constantly shifting position.
“It’s good to be able to play both positions, but we feel that he’s so strong taking the puck to the net, finishing checks and winning board battles that (left wing) is a real good place for him,” Schoenfeld said. “Sometimes it’s just a matter of chemistry because even though you start at left wing, you’re all over the ice. Everybody is changing lanes in today’s game, so it’s not a major difference.
“We don’t designate that our centers are always the low guy, just the guy who’s the first one back in the zone. So there’s a lot of exchange within the positions, but it has been a real good shift for him.”
Dubinsky said the move to wing has allowed him “to take some of the thought out of the game.”
“It’s just black and white versus gray areas when you’re a center and a little bit all over the place,” said Dubinsky, who has a team-high seven goals, tied for fourth in the NHL, and four assists. “Playing center can be a tough job because you can get tired if you’re down low battling.
“But wing simplifies things and lets me focus on the portion of the game when I’m on defense, not as much as when you’re a center and supporting everywhere. It’s a lot less skating, an easier position in the defensive zone and lets me be the first on the forecheck and the first out of the zone to go play offense. Playing that straight-ahead game has certainly been good for me so far.”
Tortorella said playing wing forces Dubinsky to move his legs to chase pucks.
“When he’s at center, he’s looking to make plays, and that’s when he starts gliding.” Tortorella said. “And when Dubi starts gliding, he’s an average player. I think he’s a left winger because it forces him to his strengths. He can hound pucks, is physical and forechecks harder because that’s his job there. As a center, you have a few other things to go, so I think left wing is his position and he has grabbed a hold of it and become a very important guy for us.”
Dubinsky, the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2004, said effort is the key ingredient to the line’s success.
“I think we’ve all got some talent, but we’re by no stretch (Penguins star center) Evgeni Malkin and (Capitals star wing) Alex Ovechkin,” Dubinsky said. “I think the difference maker for us is making sure we’re consistent. We have that work ethic and that energy that we need to have every night. When you put those things together with the talent we do have, we’re certainly capable of putting some pucks in the net, and when you do that, it’s obviously fun to play hockey.”
The 6-3, 187-pound Anisimov had made the biggest strides this season. The Rangers’ second-round pick in 2006 is much stronger and surer of himself in physical play and winning more battles for the puck after working with a strength coach for the first time this summer. He also has taken what Schoenfeld called “more educated risks with the puck at the right time deking the defenseman.”
“He senses danger and knows when to try a big move and when a safe play is in order,” Schoenfeld said. “He had a good year last year (12 goals, 16 assists in all 82 games), but I think there’s been a huge jump. He’s getting more chances and creating more for his linemates.”
Tortorella attributed much of Anisimov’s improvement to staying in New York City during the summer, working out with strength and conditioning coach Paul Goodman and taking English lessons to help with the language.
“Artie has grown as far as his aptitude in what we’re asking him to do,” Tortorella said. “We put him in a second-line role last season and he struggled because he was nervous in a different country and so young (20). But he has grown up, and I think he’s right on cue with the process that he’s going through to be a really good player in this league.”
Anisimov, who played with Callahan when he was sent to Hartford for conditioning two seasons ago, said he is quicker, stronger and has better balance because of a first go-round of workouts with Goodman, skating with a new Russian coach and one skating session with Barb Underwood, a former Canadian and world pairs skating champion with Paul Martini who worked with the Rangers and Wolf Pack during the summer and in training camp.
“I just try to play my game, go hard and play every game like it’s my last,” said Anisimov, who has three goals and six assists. “My first three steps are quicker, and I feel more comfortable with the puck. I try to keep moving and make plays, and our line is reading each other, helping each other and doing well defensively and on the forecheck.”
When Gaborik possibly returns in a few weeks and Prospal and Drury in December, it should improve the Rangers and have a trickle-down effect on the Wolf Pack, who will get three players barring more injuries in New York.
“When we get those three back, it’s going to make our team a lot better,” Dubinsky said. “While they’re out, guys are doing a phenomenal job stepping up and trying to fill those voids as best they can.”
No one is stepping up and filling more than the three key imports from Hartford, though Dubinsky didn’t want to get overly excited after being in the early limelight two years ago with Aaron Voros and Nik Zherev, neither of whom is still with the Rangers.
“Being instinctive together is coming,” Dubinsky said. “I get scared talking about lines and how awesome it is because I’ve had these conversations before. But there are some things that have happened early on where a guy is not there so there’s something talked about.
“There’s constant communication between the three of us trying to find different plays, and I think if we stay together, it will become even more instinctive knowing where guys are. It’s something we’ve talked about and have gone over as a line like, ‘If I come out from behind the net, here’s where I want you. I don’t even want to look. I want to know that you’re there.’
“Through talking and trial and error it becomes more instinctive and easier to play together. Cally and I enjoyed playing together in Hartford because we know that each other is going to bring it every night. And obviously with Artie’s energy and talent level, it makes it a lot of fun for us.”
Injuries Hopefully Over for Former Wolf Pack Defenseman
A strong training camp earned oft-injured defenseman Michael Sauer a spot on the Rangers’ opening-night roster. He beat out rookies Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko and has been rotating time on Broadway with veteran Mike Eminger and second-year pro Matt Gilroy, who played five games with the Wolf Pack last season.
“It has been kind of a grind with some tough days with all the injuries,” said Sauer, who played his fifth game of the season Monday night alongside Eminger. “But I’ve just tried to keep the faith and know good times are coming. All you can do is control what you can today. But it’s been a blessing so far, for sure.”
Injuries helped prevent Sauer from playing more than three games with the Rangers, who selected him in the second round in 2005 as part of the trade that sent Hall of Fame defenseman and Cheshire native Brian Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs a year earlier. Sauer tore an ACL in the second playoff game against Portland in his rookie season (2007-08), had a solid sophomore season and then sat out the second half of last season because of surgery on his left shoulder.
“You never know what would have happened (without injuries),” the 6-foot-3, 206-pound Sauer said. “You think you’re ready, but sometimes you still have things to work on and things to develop. So you just have to make sure you’re ready and control what you can control every day, make sure you show up to work, play hard and do your best. The rest will take care of itself. Hopefully it’s all behind me, and it stays there.”
The 23-year-old Sauer from St. Cloud, Minn., who hasn’t had any problems with the shoulder this season, is the younger brother of Kurt Sauer, a defenseman for the Phoenix Coyotes, the Rangers of the West, and Craig Sauer, a former Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings linebacker.
Newsworthy
Former Yale standout wing David Meckler (six goals, three assists) is tied with rookie Brandon Kozun (five goals, four assists) for the scoring lead of the Manchester Monarchs, who begin a home-and-home set with the Wolf Pack on Wednesday night at the XL Center. Meckler and Kozun are one point ahead of Dwight King (5, 3), Corey Elkins (4, 4) and Alec Martinez (2, 6).HiHi Center Marc-Andre Cliché, the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2005 who never played in the organization before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings with Jason Ward and Jan Marek for Sean Avery and John Seymour on Feb. 5, 2007, was named the Monarchs’ captain last week. Jeff Zatkoff has done most of the goaltending and has a 3-3-1 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. … The first two AHL goals for former Farmington High School and Avon Old Farms standout Nick Bonino led the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-2 victory over the Albany Devils Saturday night. Bonino, who had 45 goals and 62 assists in 116 games in three years at Boston University before turning pro, also has seven assists, including one on Kyle Palmieri’s goal in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Wolf Pack last Saturday night. Bonino has points in his last six games after being shut out in his first two pro games. He was a sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2007 and then was traded to the Anaheim Ducks with Timo Pielmeier for Kent Huskins and Travis Moen on March 4, 2009. Bonino had one goal and one assist in nine games with the Ducks last season. … Former Wolf Pack and Rangers wing Nigel Dawes and Stratford native Jaime Sifers rallied the Chicago Wolves from a two-goal deficit, setting up Mike Siklenka’s winner on a power play in a 3-2 victory over Rockford on Saturday night. … Former Whalers great Kevin Dineen’s Portland Pirates had perhaps the wildest/most successful weekend ever for a visitor to Norfolk, VA. On Friday night, the Atlantic Division-leading Pirates (8-2-0-0) got two goals from Marc-Andre Gragnani and rallied twice before notching a 6-5 shootout victory over the Admirals on Derek Whitmore’s goal in the fifth round. A night later, Gragnani scored 65 seconds into overtime as the Pirates won 7-6, rallying from four deficits, including 6-4. Whitmore had two goals and an assist, and Travis Turnbull had one goal and three assists. … Palmieri was named AHL Player of the Year for getting five goals and one assist in 1-1-1 week. He had his first career hat trick, scoring three times on three shots, in a 5-4 loss at Hamilton, earned the Crunch a standings point with a late goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to Hershey and scored the go-ahead goal and had an assist in a 3-2 victory over Albany. The Anaheim Ducks’ first-round pick in 2009 also scored a tying, sixth-attacker goal with 24 seconds left in regulation in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Wolf Pack on Oct. 23…Hershey center Keith Aucoin was named AHL Player of the Month for October, when he led all scorers with 14 assists and 19 points in 10 games as the Bears began their quest for a third consecutive Calder Cup with a 6-3-0-1 record. … Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalies John Curry and Brad Thiessen were named co-winners of the AHL Goaltender of the Month for October. They split the goaltending duties and combined to go 8-0-0-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average and .935 save percentage as the Penguins remained the league’s only unbeaten team. Thiessen (4-0-0, 1.96, .930) and Curry (4-0-0, 1.72, .940) alternated starts. In 245 minutes of work each, Thiessen stopped 107 of 115, while Curry was 110 of 117. The Penguins ranked first in team defense (1.88 goals allowed per game) and penalty killing (93 percent). … Portland center Luke Adam was named AHL Rookie of the Month for October after he had six goals and seven assists and was plus-6 in 10 games. … Former Wolf Pack and Rangers right wing Jed Ortmeyer signed a professional tryout contract with the West Division-leading San Antonio Rampage on Friday and was scoreless in a 5-2 victory over the Houston Aeros. He joined former Wolf Pack and/or Rangers teammates Ryan Hollweg and Al Montoya. … Former Wolf Pack captain Craig Weller has signed with the Cardiff Devils in Wales and will be playing against another former Pack right wing, Brad Smyth, who has three goals and six assists in eight games with the Belfast Giants. Smyth is the Wolf Pack’s career goals leader with 177.
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