from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Tanner Glass stood up for his Rangers teammates on Thursday the way he always does, stepping in when the Bruins’ Zac Rinaldo got a little goofy in the third period against Brian Gibbons, Brady Skjei and Tommy Hughes.

But that doesn’t change the math that the veteran winger must overcome in order to start the season on the Rangers roster.

“Obviously he played on our team last year, but there are 15 or 16 [forwards] I’ve really liked so far and we’re only going to keep 13,” coach Alain Vigneault said before the Blueshirts’ 4-3 shootout loss. “We all know the skill set he brings, but do skill and speed trump that moving forward?

“We’ve got four [now three] games to play to answer that.”

Glass, who will turn 33 at the end of November, plays a hard-edged, physical game and is extremely popular in the room. In a league in which the role of an enforcer has steadily diminished, Glass is the lone Ranger capable of filling that job description, last year accumulating nine of the club’s 20 fighting majors.

continued