Finally after a day of waiting, Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust are Rangers, while the team bids goodbuy to Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.

No matter how Jokinen meshes with Marian Gaborik, this is simply a good trade for the Rangers. They gave up nothing, while getting the cap flexibility for next season if their new No. 1 center leaves as a free agent.

These are the trades general manager Glen Sather needs to make. The Rangers can’t give up their young talent, as that’s the future of the organization, so he has to be nimble and use the bad fits in moves to make the team better.

In this trade, Sather just moved two very disappointing parts, including one that didn’t want to be in New York, and got himself a rental, which could make a huge impact this season. Coach John Tortorella knows Jokinen from his years in Tampa, as the new Ranger was the No. 1 option on the rival Florida Panthers. If anyone knows the enigmatic ex-Islander, it’s Torts. And if there’s a fit with Gaborik, the No. 1 line with Vinny Prospal on the wing, gives the Blueshirts a great scoring combination.

And if there isn’t a fit, then the No. 2 line may get a whole lot better, because there will be some secondary scoring going on, something that has been missing for most of the season.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the Rangers are a perfect team, far from it. It still needs to shed some really bad contracts in Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Donald Brashear, but it’s a start, and one that could be a sign of things to come.

Although this looks like a win-win, of course this could go south. No one thought getting Higgins and Kotalik were bad moves over the summer. In fact, this space lauded the arrival of the Smithtown, NY native, but it was not meant to be.

It’s not easy playing in your hometown, which is something Higgins learned very quickly in New York and Kotalik just never fit in with Tortorella, something not many can do. Yet, neither player were life long Rangers, just some spare parts in a greater scheme of things.

Yet, the young players are a different story. Sather must keep his young talent, since that’s the way the organization grows long term. Brandon Dubinsky still needs to grow and Ryan Callahan can improve as well. On the blue line, three young talents in Marc Staal, Michael Del Zotto, and Matt Gilroy are the future. Sure they make their mistakes, but their errors are far less glaring then Redden’s or Rozsival’s.

Maybe in the next month, Sather will be able to move another player or two. It will take a miracle to get rid of Redden’s bloated contract and Brashear appears to found his life in the Blue Seats with the addition of Prust, but sometimes things happen. Who would have thought Scoot Gomez would have been traded after last season or Jokinen and Prust come to New York for a couple of spare parts.

Things happen. And now the Rangers are better for it.

“It feels great scoring eight goals,” said forward Vinny Prospal, who was one of eight Blueshirts to light the lamp. “The Lightning played well last night against Carolina, they have a dangerous hockey team, they have a lot of defense. So it feels great that we were able to do right from the start – shut them down and run up the score.”

All in all, the goals went to all the secondary scoring guys not named Marion Gaborik.  Brandon Dubinsky, Prospal, Chris Drury, Dan Girardi, Enver Lisin, Marc Staal, Aaron Voros, and Christopher Higgins, respectively lit the lamp, as the Rangers fought for the puck right from the start of the match, almost a continuation of Sunday night’s 6-2 win over the Canadiens.

“We are trying to stay consistent out there,” said coach John Tortorella. “We are trying to stay consistent with finishing checks and again defending the proper way. I though the first period both teams were giving up chances left and right and we are fortunate to score a few goals.”

Actually the game was quite tight in the first. After going up 2-0, Vinny Lecavalier was able to cut the lead in half at 17:21, but 1:12 later, Drury came up with his tally and it was all Rangers after that.

And the onslaught continued in the second and the third as the Ranger forecheck strangled the Lightning, keeping them pinned into their own zone for large portions of the period.

“Sometimes you get a stick on the puck where maybe a couple a weeks (ago) you weren’t getting your stick on the puck,” Tortorella said. “You end up scoring a few goals the prior game, you feel more confident about it. I am not going to sit and tell you an explanation why we are scoring goals here. It’s a good thing. We are continuing to try to play our game. The important thing was also playing away from the puck.”

So the Rangers will now continue onto Philly for a game on Thursday, as the Blueshirts continue to fight on in the east.

As for the Lightning, well, they will go back to the best place they have been all day.

“The only thing we did today was get on the bus on time,” said Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet. “The bus driver was the best thing we had.”

Notes:

• The first time New York tallied six-or-more goals in back-to-back games since the 2006-07 season (Mar. 31 at Philadelphia, 6-4; Apr. 1 vs. Toronto, 7-2); the last time the Blueshirts notched six-or-more goals in back-to-back home games was Nov. 12, 2003 vs. Pittsburgh (6-2) and Nov. 23, 2003 vs. Ottawa (6-2).
• New York have now posted a record of 24-19-7 (55 pts.) overall and 12-11-4 (28 pts.) at home this season; the Rangers have now tallied a point in 14 of their last 17 games (10-3-4).
• New York notched three goals in the opening frame tonight, marking the third straight period the Rangers tallied three goals in a period following three-goal performances in the second and third periods of Sunday’s 6-2 win vs. Montreal; it is the first time since the 1998-99 season the Rangers accomplished the feat (third period of a 6-6 tie on Nov. 17 at Toronto and all three periods of a 10-2 win on Nov. 10 at Tampa Bay). *Statistic courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau
• The Rangers had eight different goal scorers and 16 different players register at least one point; the last time the Rangers had eight players score a goal in one game was a 10-5 win on Dec. 13, 1992 vs. Montreal;  New York’s 16 players with at least one point ties the franchise record for a single game, accomplished twice before – Oct. 25, 1984 at New Jersey (W, 11-2) and Feb. 17, 1985 vs. the NY Islanders (W, 9-3). *Statistic courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

There’s just something special when two greats match up for an epic battle. And 18,200 fans saw two titans in Marty Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist face off.

“[Henrik] played phenomenal,” said forward Brandon Dubinsky. “He gave us a chance to win. Obviously Marty is a great goalie and played well, but we have to just stay on it. We played a good game tonight against a good team.”

Actually, according to coach John Tortorella, the Rangers played really well. With 51 shots on Brodeur, the Blueshirts may have played their best overall game and to quote a Jim Dolan phrase of a few years ago, did everything asked of them except win.

Lundqvist stopped 45 on his own end, yet Patrik Elias was able to beat the Ranger met minder in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Devils the 1-0 win.

“I’m glad I was involved, because I thought it was a hell of a game to watch,” Tortorella said. “As a coach you are right behind the bench. I thought it was a really good game – chances for both teams. We kill off a 5-on-3 for almost two minutes. I have no complaints on how we played. It is frustrating when you come away with one point there.”

The Rangers averted disaster on that 5-on-3, 12:04 into the second. Both Erik Christenson and Dubinsky went to the box for different infractions, giving the Devils a major scoring chance. Yet, the penalty kill came through tremendously by limiting the Devils chances and outing the puck twice during the two minutes.

“We have a philosophy with it,” Tortorella said. “The only tape we show if the other team’s defense is their special teams or when they had a 5-on-3 recently. There’s a philosophy to it but what it comes down to is, eventually, you will have to block shots. They are going to change their look. I thought our guys did a great job.”

Yet all of this was not enough against Brodeur, who got his 107^th shutout and stopped a career high in shots. Even with almost perfect play, the future Hall of Famer just was too much for the Blueshirts, and Lundqvist was forced to raise his game.

“I knew after the first period that it was going to be a tight game and I can’t afford any mistakes,” Lundqvist said. “I think we played really well in our own end. We didn’t create that many scoring chances. We put a lot of pucks on the net and tried to come up with opportunities from rebounds. They are very solid. They controlled the middle in their own zone very well and made it tough for us to get in there and get any scoring chances.”

Yet, don’t fret because the Rangers did get the one point from this match and won 9 out of 13 games, putting them sixth in the conference. With Ottawa coming in on Thursday, the Rangers have a chance to continue their strong ways.

Notes: Vinny Prospal returned after a seven game absence, due to a knee injury, Tortorella said he “played well”… The Rangers have scored points in the last 12 out of 12 games…the 51 shots on goals were the most by the Rangers since they tossed 51 against the Islanders on Apr. 4, 2008….The last time the Rangers and Devils finished a game scoreless in regulation was Dec 9, 2007.

Last night’s game against the Islanders was a call to arms for the Rangers. Are they are a team or are they just a collection of overpaid veterans just looking to collect their check?

After benching Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik, the Rangers responded and thanks to an ill advised Islander starting of a very tired Dwayne Roloson, who gave up three goals on the Rangers first five shots in their eventual 5-2 win.

“I think, collectively, as a team, we responded well and everybody realized what they had to do,” right wing Ryan Callahan, who scored two goals in the match, said. “I think it’s a little bit of both. Obviously, Hank is the backbone of this team and he made some key saves.”

Lundqvist made sure the Rangers had a chance as he stopped the Islander onslaught during the first 10 minutes of the game when the Isles outshot the Rangers 10-1. Being up for the challenge, Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the match as his teammates got their legs.

“It’s happened a lot of times in this building,” Lundqvist said. “They come out flying and we have a tough time settling in. It was important for me personally and for the team to stay in there. I don’t know how we had the lead after the first period, but we did.”

But a win is a win and the Rangers will now move forward with maybe with a new found lease on life. There’s no word on Redden and Kotalik, both of who sat in the press box for the match. After a shouting match between the defenseman and coach John Tortorella, Redden was worked out by assistant coach Mike Sullivan and then expressed his displeasure to the media.

“Not real pleased about it, honestly,” Redden said.  “To be singled out – I know the team’s going through struggles and everyone’s got to be better.  The fact that I’m sitting out – I mean, I’m not real happy about it.”

Redden acted like he was losing money here, but let’s remember his $39 million contract will still be paid even if he’s sitting on the bench. And for him to be “singled out” is a joke, because he’s been playing this way for a year and a half.

Yet, you have to blame Sather for that signing, yet he will still get paid as well. Even though some morning show commentators were saying he was set to get canned, the Rangers president’s job is safe for now.

And you can look for Tortorella to go as well, but at least the coach has abandoned his old offense first mantra and started to do some neutral zone trapping over the past two weeks.

So, all is well for one night at least as the Rangers try to save the season. But is this just one night or a start of something big?

We will soon find out.

And before you ask, Marian Gaborik only had two.

The Rangers finally broke out of the scoring drought with a 7-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Goal after goal, the team looked sharp, which is precisely the team needed.

“We had a good forecheck and we kept playing in their zone which was important,” said Gaborik, who also had two assists to go along with his two goals. “Our defensive side of the game was good. We’re talking about having the third guy coming back and being responsible defensively and I think we did that.  It has to carry over on the road. We haven’t had a long trip in a while so we have to build on this and just go from here.”

The welcomed relief came after a well timed time out called by coach John Tortorella. After the Blue Jackets went up 2-0 at 9:31 of the first period, the team got a break.

“It was good to have a break, that is for sure,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. “I think the first goal was huge.  To get that in the first period and not go in here trailing 3-0.  We needed some positive energy and we got that from [Marian Gaborik].  After that, you could see how we got confidence.”

After No. 10 put the Rangers on the board, the secondary scoring happened. First Artim Anisimov scored followed by Michael Del Zotto to give the Rangers the lead in first 3-2.

Then in the second the goals kept coming. Sean Avery scored at 6:12 to chase Steve Mason, and his replacement Mathieu Garon came in with a tank of gas and a book of matches.

Less than a minute later, Avery scored again, followed by Gaborik after another 20 seconds, to make it 6-2.

“The biggest thing was coming back from a two goal deficit,” said Avery. “I think regardless of what the score was, coming back and winning a game after you’re losing 2-0 us big for a team that is struggling. I hope it puts everybody around here in a good mood.”

Matt Gilroy capped the Ranger scoring later that period with beautiful breakaway beating Garon.

Even with the seven goals, Columbus was able to make it close with a goal late in the second and one in the third.

“Do you think we were going to score seven goals tonight?” Tortorella said. “Who knows how this happens. When you go through some tough times, you need to stick with it. We got a bunch of breaks and their goaltending wasn’t that great. You can’t figure it.”

The Rangers now go on a three game road trip that includes both Florida destinations and Pittsburgh before coming home next day to Madison Square Garden.

Notes: After allowing the game’s first two goals, New York tallied seven straight from 11:29 of the first period to 12:47 of the second, marking the first time the Rangers tallied seven unanswered goals since a 7-0 victory against Boston on Mar. 7, 2009; the Blueshirts tallied three goals in a 71-second span in the second period…Marian Gaborik led all skaters with four points (two goals and two assists) to extend his point streak to seven games (seven goals and 13 points); he also tied for the game-high with a plus-three rating…Sean Avery notched two goals in 51 seconds, including one power play tally and the game-winning goal; it was his second multi-goal effort on the season and 10th of his career.

Don’t just take a the word of a humble reporter, listen to The King.

“This one hurts,” said “The King” Henrik Lundqvist. “The way we played in the third, we deserved at least a tie game, if not a win. I just couldn’t come up with a big save at the end. It’s a little frustrating. It’s just a tough one to lose.”

The team skated hard in this one but just couldn’t get the secondary scoring. Even with two goals from Marian Gaborik, the Rangers ended up on the losing end of a 4-2 stick to the Washington Capitals.

“I thought, for most of the game there, we played,” said coach John Tortorella.  “Obviously our biggest weakness is that we are not getting any secondary scoring.  We played in surges at times.  We held them to 11, 12 scoring chances.  We just aren’t creating enough with our secondary scoring.”

That’s the problem with the Rangers these days. Outside of Gaborik, there’s no other goals coming from the club and with a good team like Capitals, that’s just not enough. With two of Rangers top centers (Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky) on the shelf, others need to step up for the Rangers for them to be successful.

“I think a lot of things stem from getting the puck in their zone,” said defenseman Wade Redden, who was beaten on Washington’s winning goal by Matt Bradley. “It starts from our end, where we get good passes, chip it in and forecheck.  It is not just shots, it is creating momentum. I think we just have to rely on the simple little plays to create chances for ourselves.”

Fighting for pucks and driving to the net is one of the biggest sins for these Rangers. Outside of when No. 10 is on the ice, the team plays back and conservative, which is not good for successful hockey, especially when you are not playing a defensive system.

Yet on the bright side, there is Gaborik, who now has 15 goals on the season and is showing the Garden Faithful why he is the best goal scorer since Jaromir Jagr took the league by storm after the lockout.

“He gets the puck and makes things happen,” Redden said. “That’s a big part of our offense. Our power play has been clicking pretty good. He finds the spots on the ice and makes things happen. He is big for us.”

Garborik scored in the 1:16 into the game and then beat Semyon Varlamov 8:26 into the third on the power play to tie the match. Yet, the firepower of the Capitals behind Alex Ovechkin, proved too much.

“We’ve got to capitalize and try and score on those hardworking, grinding plays,” Gaborik said. “We just have to cut down on taking penalties and go from there. We didn’t generate a lot of shots, that was a problem there. We came back in the third, we had some good chances down low and we need to keep the puck down low more often.”

“You have to be positive and you have to think you’ll turn this around,” Lundqvist said. “We had a big win the other night and we just need to have a couple in a row and get going. Now we’re back to square one again. We have a couple of days off between games and we have to make sure we’re ready for the next one.”

He practiced and will be in goal tonight as the Rangers take on the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

“It was only me and I’m fine,” he said with a grin. “There are just a few scratches on the car. It could have been worse.”

Sure, but Lundqvist wasn’t taking any chances. Going to the Coliseum today, Lundqvist took car service.

***

Not as fortunate as Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik is out for tonight’s game with a lower leg injury. He will be replaced on the roster by P.A. Partenteau.

Yet, the rookie called up from Hartford won’t replace Gaborik’s top of the standings scoring. Coach John Tortorella expects the rest of the team to step up with players like Chris Higgins, Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan taking more minutes, and hopefully get out their scoring slumps.

“On the power play, we’re going to have to put someone in there,” Tortorella said. “Obviously we’re gonna miss him.”

There’s no word on when Gaborik will skate again or if he will play on Friday in Minnesota against his old team, the Wild.

***

With the World Series starting tonight, the Rangers chirped with some predictions. Obviously most of the team predicted the Yankees, especially Yankee fans Chris Drury and Matt Gilroy, both of whom said Yankees in six.

Other predictions Henrik Lundqvist, PA Parenteau, and Michael Del Zotto said Yankees in 6. Enver Lisin said the Yankees, although he also said he roots for the Dallas Cowboys.

Going against type, Aaron Voros went with the Jimmy Rollins prediction of Phillies in 5 and Red Sox fan Brian Boyle said Phillies in 6, because I can bring myself to pull for the Yankees.”

Williams came into the season with remarkable expectations for just a 4^th-year back, but has come out flat in the Panther’s opening games. Averaging just over 50 yards rushing per game, Williams has Carolina fans wondering where exactly their offense went.

However, he has a huge opportunity this Sunday, facing off against the Buccaneers; the 5^th worst rush defense the NFL has to offer. So if there’s one game that Williams should step up in, it’s this one. Looking back to 2008, the last time that Williams lined up against Tampa Bay, he broke out for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Look for him to do the same this Sunday.

DeAngelo Williams is only one piece to puzzle in Carolina. Quarterback Jake Delhomme has thrown only 3 touchdowns in compression to an embarrassing 8 interceptions, leaving head coach John Fox with practically no other option but to hand it off to Williams. Besides, Delhomme threw 2 picks vs. Dallas, the 28^th ranked pass defense; he doesn’t have anything on the Buccs.

DeAngelo Williams has a chance to tear the Buccs up this weekend, it’s just a matter of if he can seize that chance and take full advantage of it. If all goes well, then look for Williams to have a solid 18 fantasy points this week.

They won tight games and they won blow outs. They could shut out teams and they can win the shooting matches.

But one thing was constant during their first five wins, the Rangers were the better team on the ice.

That is until tonight where they were outplayed by a fresher Los Angeles Kings team, which pretty much outclassed the home team in every facet, except one – the final score.

Even with a superior effort by Los Angeles, the Blueshirts prevailed 4-2 to win their sixth straight in a row.

“We looked like a tired hockey club,” said coach John Tortorella, who saw his team not sweep a homestand, but also win the three games in four days. “I thought the guys were tried, we just couldn’t win the battle. We just couldn’t catch up with them but you still find a way to win one of those games when you are not on and we were not on.”

Much like a number of other wins this year, this is a game the Rangers would have lost last season. The difference here was the power play and man advantage goals by Vinny Prospal – the second being a 5-on-3 – in the first period to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

It was just enough to allow the team some comfort and leave it in the hands of Henrik Lundqvist who stopped 34 shots on the night.

“If we didn’t have Henrik in the net, who knows what the score would have been, but I guess it happens,” said Prospal who scored his 200th career goal in this match. “Sometimes you get outplayed and good teams find a way to win. Even though we didn’t play that great, we still didn’t give them anything in the third period.”

Speaking of the third, the Rangers only managed one shot, but what a shot it was. A great effort by Marian Gaborik who took a pass from Prospal and rode it along behind him like he was walking his dog. Then No. 10 composed himself which a tight wrister past Erik Ersberg (17 saves) to make the score 4-2.

In fact, all six of Gaborik’s goals this season have come in the third period.

“That’s is where game breakers make it,” Tortorella said. “That is just a great shot tonight. I thought Gaborik was our best player in all facets of the game. Third period is crunch time and he makes another big play.”

“He is a guy when he is on his game, he scores in bunches,” Prospal said. “Look at the fourth goal tonight. I don’t think too many guys can reach the shelf from where he did.”

So now the Rangers get a well deserved rest. A day off after this game means the team can rest comfortably, especially after the team looked drained for most of this match.

“The toughest part (of this game) is, obviously, the mental part,” Lundqvist said. “We know they are a really good tea, they showed it, especially in the second period where we struggled. They good part is that we didn’t panic.”

Notes: The Rangers play in Toronto on Saturday..Gaborik is tied for the league lead in goals with six and second in points with 10…Michael Del Zotto collected two assists; he now leads all first year played in league and ranks second among defensemen with seven points (two goals and five assists)…Brian Boyle scored the Rangers third goal, which proved to be the game winner in the second . It was his first light of the lamp as a Blueshirt.

Stephen Valiquette started for the first time this season in the eventual Ranger 3-0 win over the Anaheim, stopping all 18 shots sent to him, while his team dominated on the other end of the ice.

“Valley made some big saves at some key times,” said Rangers coach John Tortorella. “He played very well. I am happy for him. He goes about his business. He is kind of a forgotten man. If we want to get where we want to be, he is going to have to play well for us and he certainly played well for us tonight.”

It isn’t easy to be Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Valiquette will play probably about 15 games this season, especially toward the beginning of the season as Tortorella wants No. 1 to be fresh for a Stanley Cup run. No matter, the Ranger defense made it easy for the tall netminder as they kept the puck out of the Rangers’ zone.

Rather, they kept peppering J.S. Giguere (35 saves on the night) with shots and kept forcing the puck in the neutral zone, which kept the home team in charge for most of the match.

“I think the strongest point of our defense is how they get up in the neutral zone,” Tortorella said. “There wasn’t much zone time in our end zone. That is due to them getting up the ice. I thought all of the defense, including the forwards fore-checking was important to us. We made some good defensive plays.”

Even with that pressure, the Rangers went into the dressing room tied at love through the first two periods. Much like their win on Thursday in Washington, the Blueshirts were able take control in the third. This time on the power play.

First, just a little bit over two minutes into the period, Ales Kotalik was able to put that heavy shot past Giguere from the left circle. It was for this reason the Rangers signed the former Buffalo Sabre, as he has become a quarterback on the man advantage.

“We played a solid game right from the start,” Kotalik said. “We knew they had a game yesterday, so we were pressing Some chances hit cross bars. We had been saying to just stay with it (and) be patient, and things are going to happen for us. They did (tonight). We made a difference in the power plays. That is why we are up there (in the standings).”

Later in the period, with a little more than five minutes left, Artem Anisimov scored his first goal of his NHL career as a feed from Sean Avery – playing his first game of the year – from behind the net went to Vinny Prospal who found the rookie Russian right in front of Giguere.

Even though that was enough for Valiquette, Dan Girardi was able to add an empty netter for the Rangers’ final score.

Notes: The Rangers play again tonight at the Garden as the Toronto Maple Leafs – and former enforcer Colton Orr – come to town…The Blueshirts improved to 4-1-0 overall, including a 2-0-0 mark at home; the Rangers are in the midst of a six-game home winning streak dating back to last season, and are 10-1-0 in their last 11 regular season games at MSG…New York tallied two goals in five power play opportunities, and have now registered five power play goals in their last three games (5-14, 35.7%).