Brandon Prust isn't exactly a household name around the NHL. This season in New York, he's epitomized the lunch-pail attitude that's transformed the Rangers' image – and so far, their fortunes. 
As reputations go, "hard-working" and "grinding" aren't usually attached to the New York Rangers – yet those are the attributes that have defined the first eighth of the Rangers' 2010-11 season.
The seeds were planted in a January trade.
While the Rangers were busy beating the Avalanche 3-1 in Denver last Jan. 31, general manager Glen Sather was busy finalizing a trade with Calgary counterpart Darryl Sutter.
The Rangers would get a struggling scorer in the person of Olli Jokinen and a grinder named Brandon Prust for the virtually invisible Ales Kotalik and defensive forward Chris Higgins.
The trade was instantly viewed as a win for the Rangers because Jokinen filled a hole at center and could be a complementary scoring threat to Marian Gaborik. Nine months later, the trade is still viewed as a win for the Rangers – because of how Prust has helped transform the ethos in the room, while simultaneously freeing the team of Kotalik’s and Higgins’ salaries.
Two days after the 2009-10 season ended, head coach John Tortorella praised Prust and then-Ranger Jody Shelley for “changing the culture in the room,” before offering that he wanted the team to continue to come together and become a harder-working group.
Tortorella was reminded of those words before a 6-4 home loss to Atlanta Oct. 23. The Rangers lead the NHL in blocked shots (245), rank second in hits (356), and are 7-5-1 despite not having Gaborik, Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal.
“Whether we are winning or losing, I felt it is a much more together group," Tortorella said. "Last year we went through situations where we changed our team concept a little bit. I think we’re comfortable and have settled on how we have to play; what is best for the way we play. Guys feel like they understand it (the system) better. I think they understand the coaching staff better and I think we understand them a little bit better, too. It’s a process for us, too.
"It brings into a situation where I think we’re building on something here.”
On Monday, the Rangers faced a challenge and passed with flying colors due to the collective work ethic in a dressing room populated by young leaders such as Prust, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. The Rangers threw 35 hits and blocked 33 shots in a 3-2 win against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. They came back from a 1-0 deficit and what could have been a deflating tying goal early in the third period.
Half a minute after Patrick Kane tied the game at 2 with a shot off the boards, Erik Christensen ripped a bullet that Marty Turco couldn’t glove.
“It’s a team. Everyone’s playing for one another,” Tortorella told Metro Newspaper in New York City after the win. “That’s a good thing early in the year. We (have) to keep building on. Everyone contributed.”
Dubinsky was asked to compare the mindset of the 2010-11 team to 2009-10.
“We showed it right from the preseason that we’re resilient. We have a different mindset about us. Last year is in the past. This year, obviously we’ve found a way to get the job done and that’s the most important thing,” Dubinsky told Metro Newspaper in New York City. “You have to be confident. You have to be consistent, and I think the biggest thing is knowing that your teammates are going to step up and play the way they need to every night and just feeding off that.”
It's a formula for success that could lead to important hockey games in the spring.
Notes
The Islanders decided to send rookie RW Nino Niederreiter back to his junior team, the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks. The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy blogged a defense of the Islanders decision, pointing out that Niederreiter’s teammate on Long Island, Josh Bailey, and a trio of Phoenix Coyotes, Kyle Turris, Viktor Tikhonov and Mikkel Boedker struggled badly when those organizations rushed them up before they were ready to play at the NHL level…Not even five weeks into the 2010-11 season and Jeff Carter has been mentioned in trade rumors. The Hockey News’ Lyle Richardson blogged that there were conflicting stories out of Philadelphia regarding whether Carter could be traded for wingers due to Nikolai Zherdev’s ineffective play. … Richardson also  wondered whether the Devils would trade Zach Parise due to New Jersey’s combination of league-worst start and being virtually capped out. ... Carter and Chris Pronger potted two goals apiece in Saturday’s fight-filled 6-1 win over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. Danny Briere suggested the on-ice violence had to do with the Islanders being frustrated and Rick DiPietro acknowledged that he and his teammates were not feeling good about themselves. “Until you get a chance to get back on the ice and redeem yourself, it eats at you. There's no time to rest. You've got to expect some peaks and valleys, but we've got to get back to winning games,” DiPietro told the Associated Press. The wire service reported that Briere's cross check to Frans Nielsen sparked the exclusive-to-Philadelphia Halloween Eve minimized on-ice remake of Slap Shot. “(Pronger) didn't want me going after Briere. I was just looking for somebody except him, to be honest,” DiPietro told the AP about being bear-hugged by Pronger. The league announced that it suspended Briere three games for his crosscheck. Briere told AP that despite being “a repeat offender,” he was “shocked” by the punishment. ... John Tortorella was upset with his team’s effort in last Wednesday’s 6-4 home loss to Atlanta. “We started making lateral passes, turnovers in the neutral zone and we allowed them to play at 140 feet. Obviously we had some breakdowns throughout the game. We weren’t playing hard enough. They were outworking us in a lot of different areas. We didn’t play the way we needed to play throughout the 60 (minutes). We played in spurts and they capitalized,” Tortorella told Metro Newspaper in New York City. “We lost and we deserved to lose. We shouldn’t put ourselves in that kind of spot, allowing five goals. We didn’t stay within ourselves and play the way we needed to. We shouldn’t have let it get out of hand.” … The Rangers’ head coach criticized defenseman Steve Eminger for a first-period interference penalty that led to a Carolina Hurricanes power-play goal before wondering why the referees did not penalize the Hurricanes for interference in the third period of New York’s 4-3 loss at MSG, according to the New York Daily News’ Blueshirts Blog. “It’s the same play Michael Del Zotto did the prior game. You can’t do it. You can’t. Whether you agree with it or not, that’s what they’re calling. So you can’t do it. It’s a penalty. Now, the end of the game, Dubi gets blatantly interfered with … I’m not going to whine, it just frustrates the hell out of me when two teams fight so hard, and you end up, it’s really a non-call there. That’s frustrating. I guess I am whining a little bit. It just (ticks) me off,” Tortorella said after the loss. The Rangers responded to Tortorella’s negative assessments by shutting out the Maple Leafs, 2-0, in Toronto Saturday night. ... On Friday, Lundqvist made 33 saves against the New Jersey Devils in his 26th career shutout. … Last week, HPT examined Ilya Kovalchuk’s first trip to Southern California after passing on L.A. to re-sign with the Devils. As one might suspect, Kovalchuk was booed throughout Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Kings. “I've played in a lot of places where I got booed. It's their choice to boo or not. The Kings are one of the teams that tried to sign me, and the (recruiting) trip here was more for my wife, because she'd never been in L.A., and she wanted to go see it. So we went. But there's no point in talking about it anymore because I'm proud to be with the New Jersey Devils,” Kovalchuk told the Associated Press. The loss could be potentially devastating, as Zach Parise did not play in the third period after suffering a euphemistic “lower body injury” and flew back to the New Jersey for an examination according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The Devils still had road games remaining against Vancouver and Chicago before they returned home Friday night for the second cross-river rivalry match against the Rangers, this time at The Prudential Center. The Record of Hackensack reported in its Tuesday edition that Parise was to undergo exploratory knee surgery according to Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, who also told reporters Monday that rookie center Jacob Josefson will miss a month and a half to two months with a detached ligament in his right hand. NHL.com reported Tuesday that Parise’s surgery found a torn meniscus in his right knee and is expected to be out for three months. … Who needs Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury? Well, 30 National Hockey League teams, in actuality. On last Saturday night, the Pens were led by Brent Johnson’s 33 saves and Pascal Dupuis’s two goals in a 3-2 road win over the Hurricanes. Crosby had two assists. Johnson’s strong start to the season (1.16 goals-against average and .960 save percentage) coupled with Fleury’s struggles (3.35 GAA and .863 save percentage) has led to questions about a goaltender in Pittsburgh. … TSN.ca reported Monday that Staal will miss another month and a half with a broken hand. Staal, who has not played in 2010-11 while recuperating from a lacerated foot and subsequent infection, was hit in the hand with a puck at practice Monday. … Islanders D Milan Jurcina will miss the next two weeks to a month with an injured hamstring, TSN reported Monday. Winger Jon Sim cleared waivers on Tuesday and reported to AHL Bridgeport.
Twitter: @DenisGorman
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