NY Rangers New-Look Defense

In the midst of adjusting to a new team and playing multiple outdoor games, New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein is also trying to figure out how to play with a new defense partner. Klein has played two games with John Moore, and so far he thinks the results have been positive. They were on the ice for the first two New York goals in the second period of their 7-3 win against the New Jersey Devils last Sunday. Moore had an assist, and they combined for three blocked shots.

"Better than you could hope for [with] not really knowing how each other plays," Klein said Tuesday after his first practice at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh, N.Y. "[Moore] is a young guy with lots of skill. He can definitely fly. It's always nice skill to have when you can skate yourself out of trouble and jump up in the play. We're still working on communicating as much as possible which helps ease our transition. He knows that I'm back there and if he wants to go, I'll cover him."

Klein said the good thing about his transition to the Rangers is that Alain Vigneault knows him well from his days with the Canucks, and he had already played with Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan. Girardi, Callahan and Klein were teammates with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League during the 2003-04 season. Klein and Girardi were defense partners and played on the power play together while leading the Storm to the OHL championship.

"Same type of guy, just two more kids than he had then," Girardi said of Klein, who left behind his wife and two kids in Nashville when he was traded last week.

Klein said he also received welcoming text messages from Rick Nash, Brad Richards and Ryan McDonagh when he was traded. However, after practicing Tuesday, he realized that it will likely take him a while to get used to all the accoutrements the Rangers have in their suburban training facility.

"This facility is unbelievable," he said. "You're kind of in awe when you first come in, trying to get used to everything. It's a top-notch organization. It's pretty unbelievable to see everything they have and see how well they're treated here.