Hey BSB readers. I’m back. Only been gone a week. But what a week…. stuck in the UK snow (we really cannot deal with adverse weather), adventures abound and internet access totally gone. I’ve had a very frustrating and snowy week personally but that’s not what you want to read. Let me be selfish though and throw some of my opinions on the last week in Ranger land – and ahead of tonight – at you.

Dale Weise; from what I saw he played well in limited time but that doesn’t surprise me. Since coming back from his injury he had got straight back to being an offensive weapon for Connecticut and deserved his call up. With Callahan down and Gaborik injured he should be in NY. I think he deserves a chance to establish himself as a Ranger and given a legitimate chance I think he would. He’s a very good prospect.

Zuccarello Promoted; I appreciate what some writers such as Jess at Prospect Park say in that Zuccarello may not be ready and should be left to dominate all season in the AHL but I believe in rewarding good, sustained play. There’s an opening on the Rangers right now and he deserves his chance tonight. Whether he stays should be down to his play as well as the numbers game. Now, should he play well and everyone returns and he would be limited to less than10, 11 minutes a game then yes, I totally endorse him going back down and playing 20 a night but nothing wrong with giving the kid a taste of the big show. Hopefully it will motivate him to get there permanently.

How to Deal with Stamkos tonight; Well, in short, you can’t. Like AO, Cindy and guys of that ilk you just limit the damage they do. Stamkos may have the best shot in the entire league right now so what do you do? You may have to take a risk or two and close him down as quickly as possible which may leave space in behind. You do it. If you give Stamkos the shot he can beat any goalie in the league. Marc Staal and Dan Girardi need to be used against him and you keep the kids like Del Zotto (if he plays) or Gilroy or Sauer away from him. Let them concentrate on lesser opposing players and themselves rather than the most lethal finishers in the league.

Does Anyone Still Want St Louis in Ranger Blue? Remember all the rumours and clamour for the little winger to have a reunion with Coach Tortorella in NY? Doesn’t seem so relevant any more. Don’t get me wrong St Louis is elite but he’s 35 (maybe older) small and has a long contract and the reducing clamour for him to be a Ranger is because of one main reason: the development of the home grown Rangers. It’s a promising time to be a Rangers fan and that’s because of the likes of Zuccarello, Weise, Kreider and on the big club, Dubinsky, Callahan, Stepan and Anisimov all showing how promising the future may be. No need to day dream about having the opponents best players any more. This club has its own talent.

So How Does Tonight Go?

Rangers will win this game & it wont be because they shut Stamkos down, it’ll be because they worked harder than Tampa and scored more. Rangers 4-3. Thanks for putting up with my opinions today; now I’m back from my disaster of a week I’ll be back to normal and back to helping support Dave with the site so keep checking back.

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