Ranger passing early test

By TOM JONES
Published November 24, 2005

WASHINGTON - Rookie defenseman Paul Ranger has been in the NHL six weeks, so the shine of playing in the big time must have worn off by now.

"Are you kidding me?" Ranger, 21, said. "It's still all so surreal. It has been amazing and, yeah, it's still a really big deal."

What has been a big deal has been Ranger's play. A sixth-round pick in the 2002 draft, Ranger wasn't on the Lightning's radar in training camp. He played poorly in one preseason game and was sent to the minors.

But when the Lightning tinkered with its defense in mid October, Ranger got the recommendation from Dirk Graham, coach of the Lightning's minor-league affiliate in Springfield. Ranger was immediately thrown into the fire and continues to play well. He was plus-4 entering play Wednesday and is averaging more than 16 minutes a game. He played a season-high 21 minutes in Tuesday's victory at Philadelphia.

"I think he has played well, but the thing we have to monitor with him is that he doesn't get lackadaisical," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "His M.O. is that he goes a little bit up and down and we have to make sure he is ready to play all the time. I don't mean from game to game, but we don't want him relaxing for even a shift. He can't afford to dip for even a shift or the puck is going to end up in your net."

The grind of being mentally prepared every second on the ice has been Ranger's biggest adjustment.

"But I'm feeling more confident with every game," Ranger said. "I'm just trying to do what I'm supposed to."

So far, he has.

"What I like is he came up and tried to make a difference more than some of our veterans," Tortorella said. "It's like he said, "I'll show you right now what I can do.' And he has done well."

ON THE AIR: The Brad Richards radio show will make its debut 7-8 p.m. Monday on WDAE-AM 620. The show will air approximately once a month. Richards and host Dave Mishkin, the Lightning's radio voice, will broadcast from a different McDonald's around the Tampa Bay area. Monday's show will be broadcast from the McDonald's at 3480 East Lake Drive in Palm Harbor.

MISCELLANY: Before the game, the Caps honored forward Andrew Cassels, who played in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday. He's the 204th player to reach that mark. ... Forward Chris Dingman (healthy) was the lone Lightning scratch.

[Last modified November 24, 2005, 00:18:19]