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Stralman elevating his game

Found April 19, 2012 on Blue Seat Blogs: Yardbarker Blogger Network
PLAYERS: Brian Boyle,  Henrik Lundqvist,  Anton Stralman,  Dan Girardi,  Derek Stepan,  Stu Bickel,  Ryan McDonagh,  Marc Staal,  Ruslan Fedotenko,  Michael Del Zotto
TEAMS: New York Rangers
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The other day, Kevin Baumer asked a question about which Rangers have elevated their game for the playoffs. The obvious answers were Brian Boyle and Henrik Lundqvist, but another answer has been Anton Stralman.  Outside of Dan Girardi, who is playing as his usual self, Stralman has been the Rangers best defenseman this series. In this series against Ottawa, he is tied for the team lead in points (3) and second in goals (2). He has been a rock on defense, and has made out-of-this-world plays on defense to help preserve leads. Perhaps the biggest indicator of how well he has been playing is his ice time. Last night Stralman totaled 19:13 in ice time across 21 shifts, including 6:21 on the powerplay. Stralman has taken over the point on the powerplay, removing an ineffective Derek Stepan. Stralman’s play has been so good that he has rendered Stu Bickel relatively useless. Bickel received just 3:33 in ice time last night. It’s not like Stralman is playing from experience either. This is...
Original Story: http://www.blueseatblogs.com/2012/04/... Verified_ybn
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