In nine games since he returned from the World Junior Championship in Ottawa earlier this month, Rangers prospect Evgeny Grachev has taken his game to a new level, picking up points at a torrid two-per-game pace.  The 18-year old forward now has 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points in 39 games, good for third on his team and sixteenth over-all in the Ontario Hockey League.  He continues to lead all rookies in both goals and points while his +26 rating is tops among rookies and ties linemate Matt Duchene for tenth over-all.  In his last four games, the young Russian has been selected the first star of the game three times.

Grachev discussed the recent up-tick in his game (among other things) in his most recent blog, which was posted to IceDaily.com Thursday afternoon.

Photo: Rich Zacher

On most nights, a three-point performance would be worthy of first star honors.  But Monday night wasn’t “most nights”, it was a record-setting evening which saw the PlanetUSA All-Stars rally with a 9-goal third period to defeat the Canadian All-Stars by a final score of 14-11 at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.  When the smoke cleared, Philadelphia Phantoms forward Jared Ross had earned the game’s MVP award, setting records for assists and points in an All-Star game with a goal and six assists, while Houston Aeros winger Corey Locke set a new mark for goals in an All-Star game with four (he also added an assist).  The teams’ 25 combined goals also set a new bar for the AHL’s annual showcase.  All told, six players finished with four points or more, making Hartford Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov’s one goal, two assist effort little more than a footnote for most viewers.  But for Rangers fans, it was another indication that the 20-year old Russian, who’s currently tied for fourth in AHL scoring, will soon be knocking on the NHL door.

All three of Anisimov’s points came during a 9-goal third period PlanetUSA outburst which also set an AHL All-Star record, for goals in a period by one team.  The first, a secondary assist, came off a feed to Michael Ryan who dished the puck to Jonas Junland to tie the score at eight at 4:03.  His second point, the goal, came at 8:45 after he swatted a rebound past Canadian goaltender Tyler Weiman from in tight, making it 9-10.  Anisimov’s final point was his most impressive.  The 6-4 forward controlled the puck along the left boards and fed a perfect pass across the crease to Chris Bourque, who was waiting on the doorstep for the slam-dunk as his famour father Ray looked on.  The goal proved to be the game-winner, with the PlanetUSA side adding two empty-netters in the final 1:04 of play.

Hartford’s second All-Star representative, Bobby Sanguinetti, did not dress for the game, and was not present at the AHL Hall of Fame Luncheon earlier in the day.  While no mention was made of his absence on the broadcast, it seems likely that his early departure was related to the dental work that remained to be done after the rookie defenseman took a shot in the mouth on Friday night.

New York Rangers prospects Bobby Sanguinetti and Artem Anisimov participated in the 2009 AHL All-Star Skills Competition in Worcester, MA on Sunday afternoon, and both players acquitted themselves well as their PlanetUSA team defeated the Canadian squad by an 18-12 margin.

Sanguinetti, who’s at the All Star Classic despite losing four teeth and suffering a nasty facial cut after getting hit in the face with a puck on Friday night, participated in the Reebok Hardest Shot Competition.  Sanguinetti’s first shot registered at 93.2 mph, which was second amongst his PlanetUSA teammates, and fifth over-all.  Nashville Predators prospect Derek Joslin won the competition for the Canadian side with a 98.6 mph shot on his first attempt. [UPDATE: Those last two sentences were updated Monday afternoon because I apparently read the scorecard upside-down. Ok, not really upside-down, but I misread it, and had Sanguinetti with the top shot for PlanetUSA, rather than the second best, and missed Joslin's number completely.  All fixed now. Whew.]

Anisimov, who was named to the PlanetUSA roster as a last-minute substitute on Friday, participated in two events.  First up was the Enterprise Cleaning Corporation Rapid Fire competition,  which pitted two shooters against one of each of the six goalies, with each shooter alternating taking five shots in rapid succession.  The team with the most total saves at the end of the event earned a point in the over-all competition.  Anisimov scored on three of his five shots against Rochester’s Mike Brodeur, and rang a fourth off the post.  Only fourth-time AHL All-Star Keith Aucoin matched Anisimov’s 3-for-5 pace.  PlanetUSA won the competition with 23 saves to the Canadian side’s 19.

Next up for the second youngest participant at this year’s event was the EA Sports NHL 09 Breakaway Relay, which put teams of six shooters up against the opposing squad’s goaltenders, with each goal scored earning the player’s team a point in the overall standings.  Anisimov was one of only two of PlanetUSA’s 18 shooters who scored, doing so with what’s become a signature deke to his backhand.  The Canadian side won the event 5-2.

The 2009 AHL All-Star Game takes place on Monday night at 7pm.  Folks in the New York area can watch the Skills Competition prior to the game on MSG+ starting at 5pm.  Those without MSG+ can check the broadcast schedule for other viewing options.