Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Mollie Walker notes that in spite of a couple of rough losses as of late, the Rangers have remained cautiously optimistic about turning things around soon (NY Post)
• Colin Stephenson points out that although Jacob Trouba is seemingly incapable of playing up to the level his $8,000,000 yearly salary commands, he can at least play with emotion and punch people in the face when things don’t go his way on the ice (Newsday)
• Following the game against Chicago, Blackhawks’ forward Andreas Anthanasiou called out Trouba for his sub-par play and suspiciously common “borderline” hits (Sportsnet)/

Around the NHL:

• Ken Wiebe examines the journey Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen took on his way to becoming an elite NHL forward, including the brief stop he made with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage (Sportsnet)
• Travis Yost highlights how the Toronto Maple Leafs low risk, high upside gamble they made on goaltending this offseasonis coming to fruition (TSN)/