Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike ‘Doc” Emrick will miss the Winter Classic tomorrow due to illness.  Coyotes play-by-play voice Dave Strader will fill in with the call.

NHL.com has the story.

Monzo: Definitely hurts the broadcast, as Doc is the voice of the NHL, nationally.  However, I know Dave, and he does a tremendous job, and will do so tomorrow.

The NHL uses creative ways to seperate themselves from all the other major sporting leagues.  One of their top features is the Winter Classic.  Tomorrow on NBC at 1P ET the Red Wings and Blackhawks will do battle at Wrigley Field.  This is going to be one of the most unbelievable events of the season.  The Winter Classic may be more popular then the Stanley Cup Final in that it’s a planned event.  Everyone knows who is playing, when and where it is, what station it’s on and anything is possible.

What makes this years Winter Classic more appealing then last seasons, is that these two teams are the top two teams in their division and an important two points are on the line. 

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are two of the most exciting players in the NHL. On the other end Henrik Zetterberg and Nik Lidstrom will bring a dynamic matchup all game long.

Ty Conklin, goaltender for the Red Wings will see his 3rd outdoor game, as he played in the Heritage Classic on 2003 in Edmonton and in last years WC, getting the win for the Penguins.  Brian Campbell starred for the Sabres last season in the WC, scoring a goal and landing plenty of monster body checks. 

As of right now, we are looking at weather in the 30′s with a chance of snow.  Chicago will be rocking.

More later….

And check out the NHL Network all day for all access programming, including interviews and coverage of both teams practices.

The New York Post talks about Nigel Dawes elevating his play recently.

The Daily News has a story about Henrik Lundqvist always playing well after New Years.

Newsday has a report on Petr Prucha‘s desire to stay out of the press box.

I decided to reach back into my SNY intern days and create a photo gallery of some of the pictures from last nights game.

Click Here

Enough is enough and maybe we saw it last night.  Petr Prucha needs to play every night as a Ranger.  He works every shift and unlike  a Fred Sjostrom and Aaron Voros, who both battle, Prucha adds results.  Goals, drawing penalties, scrapping and battling in corners.

For whatever reason, Prucha has been in coach Tom Renney’s doghouse for the better part of a year and a half.  Prucha scored 52 goals in his first two season, but has scored 10 since then.  But Prucha is a fan favorite and a player the team rallies around.

Prucha needs to get a lot of minutes and a lot of powerplay time.

With this said, it may be worth seeing what the Rangers can get for Voros.  He has some size and will fight (and lose) to anyone.  The Rangers have plenty of people who are willing to drop the gloves (Colton Orr, Brandon Dubinsky…or Scott Gomez).  Voros may be attractive to a team looking to add some depth and would clear a small amount of cap space for the Rangers.

Just something to ponder…

Click play below to watch highlights of the Rangers 5-to-4 victory over the Islanders last night:

All the game recaps from the Journal News , Newsday, Daily News, Post, and Record feature talk of Petr Prucha sparking the team, the barrage of goals in the 3rd and the Rangers snapping their losing streak.

The Rangers (23-13-2) defeated the Islanders (11-22-4) by a score of 5-4 tonight in Madison Square Garden.

For a complete recap, boxscore and stats, check out SNY.tv.

• Petr Prucha was outstanding tonight. Despite scoring only one point, he was in the middle of everything. He rightfully earned the number one star tonight. We’ll see if Tom Renney can get over whatever problem he has with Prucha and keep him in the lineup, perhaps even a few more power play opportunities.
• Marc Staal needs to have a larger role on the blue line during the power play. Sorry, Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival, you’re not getting it done and not deserving of the extra ice time.
• Most of the Islanders goals tonight were not the fault of Henrik Lundqvist, but he still does not look right to me.
• Despite the five goals, the Rangers were 0-for-5 on the power play tonight. The Kazakhstan world junior team has a better power play unit than the Rangers do.
• Is Dmitri Kalinin capable of successfully clearing the puck. Kalinin turned over the puck twice tonight, the first one lead to the Islanders opening goal. He was booed by the Garden crowd several times when he touched the puck.
• The Rangers clearly played with a bit more fire tonight, but still have a long way to go and they’re not even close to improving the power play.

The Rangers will have the week to continue to work out the kinks in the power play until they play the Capitals on Saturday night in Washington, D.C..

The Game:

The first-place Rangers (22-13-3) face-off against the Islanders (11-21-4) tonight in the Madison Square Garden, starting at 7:00 pm.

The Goaltenders:

Henrik Lundqvist (18-11-3, 2.63 GAA) starts in net for the Rangers.

Rick DiPietro (1-2-0, 3.03 GAA) gets the start for the Islanders. DiPietro is out and McDonald will start.

The Notes:

• The Rangers are 4-1-2 in their last seven games versus the Islanders.
• Nigel Dawes has tallied at least one point in four of the last five games, registering five points (two goals and three assists) over the span.
• Chris Drury has notched 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) in 30 career games versus the Islanders.
• In their last six meeting, the Rangers have held the Islanders scoreless in 18 power play opportunities
• Doug Weight has 25 points (6 G, 19 A) in 24 career games versus the Rangers.

Monzo’s Keys To The Game:

• Accountability: This is a must win game, and the players that are accountable for this team need to step up.
• Rick DiPietro is still coming back to NHL speed. Hit him with a lot of shots early.
• Do it for the fans. They need a feel good win. Win a game 6-1, and go into the new year 10 games over .500.
  

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen nationally on Versus and heard on 1050 AM.

Twitter:

I will twittering tonight’s tilt versus the Islanders. You can follow it by clicking here.

I will be twittering tonight’s Rangers-Islanders game, starting at 7:00 PM EST.

Feel free to follow the updates and reply, by clicking here.