Chris Drury has four points in four games since he was put on the fourth line by John Tortorella after the Rangers terrible loss to the Isles on December 18th.

Michael Obernauer of the NY Daily News, writes about Drury today about his demotion and how his game has changed:

“He’s more vocal. You can see that he’s not as stiff,” Tortorella said. “He’s allowing himself – that’s the only way I can put it – he’s allowing himself to play and letting the game come to him.”

In the New York Post today, Dan Martin writes about the Islanders and the Rangers both fighting to get into playoff positioning:

“We just beat a team that was right near us in the standings,” Tavares said of the 3-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, when Tavares scored for the first time in six games. “Now, with our conference so tight, every game seems even more important, especially against a team like the Rangers in our division. It’s huge.”

…Tavares is right. These games are big not just because every game is big, but every team is going to want to be in a good position heading into the Olympic break. The Rangers especially with the players they will be sending, they will want to be in a position that has them in the playoffs so they only need to remain steady rather than be in the sense of urgency being six points out after the Olympics end.

The Rangers are tied for eighth in the East but have two games in hand on Montreal and Florida who they are tied with. The Isles stand four points back of the Rangers but have played one more game.