Three New York Rangers prospects who are playing in Russia this season will take turns facing off against one another starting today as part of the 2009 Moscow Mayor’s Cup, a pre-season exhibition tournament that pits four classic Moscow teams (and bitter rivals) against one another.

Summer acquisition Pavel Valentenko (#3) and Dynamo Moscow kicked off the four day event at Moscow’s Megasport Arena earlier this morning with a 4-2 victory over Krylya Sovetov. The day’s second contest will pit 2009 draft pick Mikhail Pashnin (#3) and CSKA Moscow against former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Ivan Baranka (#7) and Spartak Moscow, beginning at 11:00am (all times EDT). The current teams take Friday off in favor of a pair of legends games before regrouping for more games on Saturday and Sunday.  For Dynamo, Spartak and CSKA, the tournament serves as the final tune-up before the 2009-2010 KHL season gets underway on September 10th.

Those wanting to whet their appetite for the upcoming hockey season can watch all the games (except Friday’s legends matches) live online at Sportbox.ru using the links below. The feeds will also be archived at the same locations shortly after their conclusion for later viewing.

UPDATE 2:30pm: Scratch Valentenko off your scorecard.  Dynamo head coach Sergei Kotov reports the defenseman will not participate in the Mayor’s Cup games due to an unspecified injury.

In the second game of the day, CSKA topped Spartak 3-2 in a shootout.  Neither Pashnin or Baranka earned points, but the latter was in the penalty box when CSKA scored to make it 2-1.

[...] NY Rangers prospects will play in 2009 Moscow Mayor’s Cup (Beyond the Blueshirts) [...]

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