Today’s comes from Brandon Dubinsky, who’s really turned it up lately. He’s playing his best hockey of his young career. It’s not just about goals and assists but how hard the third-year Alaskan native is competing. Not long ago, I wondered along with many other Ranger tweeps if it would be better to trade him. But since he was shifted to wing, we’re starting to see what Dubi’s capable of. The win over Mike Richards in one of the better games the club has played Sunday was the icing on the cake, pulling the team within a point of the Bruins.

The Habs visit town tonight having been red hot- winners of five straight. They’ve played so well that they’re now tied for sixth with the Flyers at 76 points. However, Les Habitants have also played two more games. So, they’re actually seventh. Meanwhile, Philly takes on Nashville and Boston attempts to bounce back with a visit to Raleigh.

For the Blueshirts, the formula is simple. Like Adrienne said to Rocky in Rocky II, “Win!” They’ll need to be at their best against suddenly resurgent Scott Gomez, who’s teamed up well with Brian Gionta minus Mike Cammalleri. A credit to Jacques Martin. Despite being hobbled, leading scorer Tomas Plekanec is expected to be in. Andrei Markov has played better lately, notching the winner in their last game. Jaroslav Halak has been tremendous, going five-for-five since his Olympic duty with Marian Gaborik and Team Slovakia. However, he’s not had much success at MSG bringing a 1-3-0 mark along with a sub-4.00 GAA. In fact, the Rangers have won six of seven at home against their Original Six rival.

As for Dubinsky’s quote, it’s one which really applies down this critical stretch:

“We’re not going to back down.  We’re going to continue to fight, scratch and claw each and every game to find a way to get into the playoffs.”

We’ll see how they do tonight from our Sec.411 seats.