Stu Bickel #41 of the New York Rangers checks Wayne Simmonds #17 of the Philadelphia Flyers during an NHL preseason game at Wells Fargo Center on September 26, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

With recent injuries of Steve Eminger, Michael Sauer, and Jeff Woywitka, the New York Rangers are in a serious defensive situation.

As a result, the Rangers have called up two Connecticut Whale defensemen,  Tim Erixon and Stu Bickel.

Courtesy of the official New York Rangers website:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Stu Bickel has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Bickel, 25, has recorded two points (one goal and one assist) and a plus-two rating in the last four games.  In 27 games with Connecticut this season, he has registered one goal and three assists, along with 80 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating.

His plus-four rating is tied for third on the team.  Bickel recorded his first shorthanded point of the season with an assist on Friday vs. Bridgeport.

The Chanhassen, Minnesota native was acquired by the Rangers from Anaheim in exchange for Nigel Williams on November 23, 2010.

He was originally signed by the Ducks as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2008.

And the announcement on Erixon:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Tim Erixon has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Erixon, 20, has registered one goal and 11 assists for 12 points, along with 12 penalty minutes in 14 games this season.  He leads all Whale defensemen and is tied for third on the team in assists, and is tied for first among team defensemen and seventh on Connecticut in points.

He also ranks fifth on the team in average points per game (0.86).  Erixon registered seven points in a five-game span (one goal and six assists), beginning with his first career AHL goal on November 12 at St. John’s and culminating with a career-high, three assists on November 23 vs. Portland.  He also tallied an assist while making his AHL debut on November 2 at Bridgeport.

The Port Chester, New York native returns to the Rangers where he has skated in nine games this season.  He began the season on the Rangers opening night roster, and has posted a plus or even rating in six of his nine contests.  He made his NHL debut on October 7 against Los Angeles in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Premiere.

Erixon was acquired by the Rangers along with a fifth round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Shane McColgan) from Calgary, in exchange for Roman Horak and two second round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Markus Granlund, Tyler Wotherspoon) on June 1, 2011.

He was originally selected by the Flames in the first round, 23rd overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.