FOR ALL THE TALK of the Ranger youngsters on the blue line who have been given a taste of the big leagues this season, perhaps no rookie has earned higher praise from his head coach than Artem Anisimov.

The Rangers haven't felt this good about their center position all season, and while much of it has to do with Brandon Dubinsky's return from five weeks on the shelf with a broken hand, another big part of it is the ascension of Anisimov, who has given John Tortorella the happy headache of trying to find more ice time for the 21-year-old rookie. And when the coach made the decision last week to drop Chris Drury down in the lineup, it was Anisimov who stepped into the responsibility of No. 2 center.

And in the three games since the bump in the lineup, prior to last night's game at the Garden against the Florida Panthers, Anisimov had scored twice and continued his strong play, including a rumbling drive to the net at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday that was reminiscent of the offensive creativity that first perked the Ranger coaches' attention in the preseason. Very quietly, the rookie who was AHL Hartford's leading scorer last season has put himself third on the Rangers with seven goals, behind only Marian Gaborik's 25 and linemate Ryan Callahan's nine entering last night.

"Anisimov, he just keeps on growing," Tortorella said. "The thing I like about him, from a coach's perspective, is he's been strong on both sides of the puck, so you just know you can put him out there. He listens to what we're telling him and he understands it. He just gives you that confidence that you can call his number and throw him back out there."

Tortorella has also mentioned how he likes that Anisimov "just goes out there and plays - he hasn't seemed nervous to me," and that is much more true now than it was early in the year. Anisimov admitted to feeling nervous during the first month of the season but said that now "I feel good - comfortable, much better" - even though this is a player who made his NHL debut in April when the Rangers needed an emergency center for Game 7 of their first-round series against Washington.

With Dubinsky back and the top three centers as set as they can be given Tortorella's fickle nature, Vinny Prospal has returned to left wing and the Rangers appear to be sensing some stability at the position for the first time this season. Since Tortorella had the "hard conversation" with Drury telling the captain that his role would diminish - his ice time has been scaled back and while he still kills penalties, he has been removed from the power-play rotation - Drury had equaled Anisimov's two goals in three games entering last night and has been more at ease and effective in fewer minutes.

"I think sometimes when you pop him in a different role, you take a little pressure off him," Tortorella said. "You've got to take some pressure off of Dru because he simply won't take it off himself. I think that's hurt him a bit - he's put so much pressure on himself, the role he has with the team, the captaincy, New York, everything. We have tried to take that off him."

As for the fourth center, that role remains up in the air. Brian Boyle returned to the lineup last night after leaving early in Saturday's game in Philadelphia when his lower back seized up, which kept him out of Monday's victory. His return made a healthy scratch out of Erik Christensen, who hasn't wowed Tortorella since joining the Rangers off reentry waivers from Anaheim on Dec. 5. Christensen has no points and is a minus-3 in seven games in a Blueshirt.

"I just haven't seen enough out of Christensen in the opportunity we've given him, in an offensive position," Tortorella said. "I haven't seen enough there."

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Rangers prospects Ryan Bourque, Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan have been selected to play for the United States at the World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan, which begin on Saturday and run through Jan. 5.