Battle Of Hudson covers the Rangers and Devils, who's intense rivalry heated up in the 90's. With fresh faces added, they battle for supremacy in NYC and NJ..
On Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers visited the Philadephia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Led by Mika Zibanejad’s hat trick, the Rangers defeated the Flyers 6-3 to snap a five-game losing streak. It was their first win since besting the Florida Panthers 5-1 in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.
Ironically, Zibanejad posted his first hat trick of the season in that victory. Since putting up three goals and two assists for a five-point effort against the Panthers, Zibanejad has been on a roll. Despite the team’s struggles without Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, the 32-year-old center has continued to produce for the Rangers. He’s scored nine goals over the last seven games, highlighted by two hat tricks. Since Dec. 31, Zibanejad has an eight-game point streak totaling 17 points (9-8-17) over that span.
Now up to a team-leading 21 goals with 25 assists, his 46 points trail Artemi Panarin by eight for the team lead in scoring. Speaking of Panarin, he matched Zibanejad with three points, including two goals yesterday. The Bread Man responded well to learning that the Rangers don’t plan to sign him to an extension. In the second period, he made a perfect pass across to set up Zibanejad for the record-breaking power-play goal that allowed him to break a tie with Camille Henry and Chris Kreider for the most power-play goals scored in franchise history with number 117.
Better enjoy while it lasts. You won’t see a Ranger that can pass the puck as good as Panarin for A WHILE…if ever with the exception of Fox.#NYR pic.twitter.com/Y7fxUw3oKQ
After Travis Konecny opened the scoring for the Flyers, the Rangers responded by getting the next three goals over an 80-second span. Panarin replied back to tie the game just 43 seconds later for his 17th. Following a strong drive to the net from Alexis Lafreniere, the loose puck came right to Vincent Trocheck, who found Panarin open in front for an easy finish.
On the next shift, Zibanejad netted his first thanks to some nifty teamwork from Braden Schneider and J.T. Miller. After Schneider pinched to keep the puck in for Miller, his back pass for a Zibanejad shot beat Flyers goalie Aleksei Kolosov to make it 2-1.
Othmann Scores First NHL Goal
The Rangers continued to take it to the Flyers, who entered the game winless in five (0-4-1). Brennan Othmann scored his first NHL goal to make it three goals on three shots against Kolosov, who was chased from the net.
Following a Christian Dvorak wide shot that caromed right to Will Cuylle, he turned it into an odd man rush with Othmann. Able to easily gain the Flyers zone, Cuylle passed across for Othmann, who made no mistake by going top shelf for his first goal in 34 career games. The 2021 first round pick celebrated by emphatically pumping his fist while congratulated by teammates. Cuylle made sure to grab the puck for Othmann.
Following the win, Othmann singled out Zibanejad for giving him some good advice. He told him that it would come following some close calls that left the 23-year-old forward frustrated. Since being put on the third line with Noah Laba and Cuylle, he’s looked more comfortable. Othmann has provided the energy boost Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan wants to see. He’s been more noticeable on the forecheck taking the body.
Hopefully, he can keep it going when the Rangers visit the Anaheim Ducks for the first of three games in California on Monday night.
Zibanejad Ties Cook’s Franchise Record For The Most Hat Tricks
In the second period, Zibanejad made Rangers’ history with two more goals. The first came when he scored his 117th power-play goal to become the franchise leader by passing former teammate Chris Kreider and Camille Henry. The second came when he buried a Miller feed to record his ninth hat trick as a Ranger, tying him with Bill Cook for the most hat tricks in franchise history.
Following a Flyers turnover in the neutral zone, Scott Morrow sent Miller in on a two-on-one with Zibanejad. Miller easily dished across for an easy Zibanejad put away for the record-tying hat trick. Over his career, he has 10 hat tricks with three coming against the Flyers. That included two three-goal games eight days apart on Mar. 17 and Mar. 25, 2021 in Rangers’ blowouts in which they outscored the Flyers by a combined 17-3.
By by converting on the power play earlier in the period, it marked the 11th time in his career that Zibanejad has scored at least 20 goals or more in a season. With the exception of his first season as a Ranger in 2016-17, he’s posted nine straight years of 20-plus goals. By getting his 21st, he already surpassed his 2024-25 total in only 48 games. The next target would be reaching the 30-goal mark, which he’s done three times before. We’ll see if he can make it four.
Panarin Reaches 800 Games
Saturday was the 800th career game for Panarin. He did it in style by scoring twice and setting up another to record three points in the win.
With the Rangers comfortably ahead 5-1, Panarin padded the lead to five when he got his second of the game on a Lafreniere feed. Taking a pass from Lafreniere in the slot, he beat Samuel Ersson with a wrist shot for his 18th to make it 6-1.
When asked by reporters about not being part of the team’s plans moving forward, he said, “I’m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m okay with that. I’m a Ranger right now, so I’ll play every game 100 percent.”
It isn’t easy for a player to keep playing knowing that their days are numbered. Panarin has been a superb Ranger, who’s produced at an elite level. Since joining the Rangers in 2019-20, Panarin ranks fifth in points among all NHL players. According to Stat Muse, his 604 points trail only David Pastrnak (608), Nathan MacKinnon (695), Leon Draisaitl (711), and Connor McDavid (793).
The only thing he hasn’t done is help the Rangers win a Stanley Cup. In the team’s two runs to the Conference Finals, Panarin wasn’t able to match his regular season production. In 2021-22, he had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points to tie for third with Kreider on the team in postseason scoring. Throughout that spring, it looked like something was bothering him. In 2023-24, he recorded five goals and 10 assists for 15 points to rank third on the team during the postseason behind Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck.
Now 34, he has an important decision ahead that could impact both the Rangers and his career. With a full no-movement clause, it’s entirely up to him whether he decides to agree to waive it to go chase a Cup. By going public, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury doesn’t have as much leverage.
Martin Gets First Win
In his first start for the Rangers, Spencer Martin picked up his first win by making 25 saves. After giving up an early goal to Konecny on the game’s first shot, Martin steadied by stopping 25 of the next 27 shots.
He was particularly strong in the third period when the Flyers turned up the volume. Despite facing several high-danger scoring chances, Martin only allowed Trevor Zegras to beat him. He made 12 saves in a busy final period to earn the victory.
Sullivan Gets 500th Win
After waiting a while, Sullivan got his 500th win as an NHL coach. Most of his success came in Pittsburgh where he went 409-255-89 in a decade before leaving to take over the Rangers this season.
His first year hasn’t gone according to plan with the Rangers only 21-22-6 through their first 49 games. They currently rank 15th in the East with the fewest points (48) in the conference. The 6-3 victory was only their fourth win in regulation since Nov. 28.
In the second period on Saturday against the Flyers, Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play goal to put the Rangers ahead 4-1.
The goal allowed Zibanejad to become the Rangers’ franchise leader in power-play goals with number 117. That broke a tie with Camille Henry and Chris Kreider.
On a great play started by Scott Morrow, who moved the puck to Vincent Trocheck, he then passed it over to Artemi Panarin, who found Zibanejad open for a shot that beat Flyers goalie Sam Ersson at 5:38 of the second period.
Zibanejad later tied Bill Cook for the most hat tricks in franchise history with his ninth. He put away a J.T. Miller feed on a two-on-one for the record-tying hat trick.
The Rangers led the Flyers 6-2 entering the third period.
Following another embarrassing 8-4 loss to the Senators on Jan. 14 that made it five consecutive defeats, the Rangers finally admitted the obvious to disgruntled fans who’ve seen enough of a heartless roster that lacks character in the franchise’s centennial season.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury released a statement that provided an update on what the organization plans are. As expected, they won’t include Artemi Panarin, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He will not be offered a contract extension, which means that the Rangers intend to trade him to a playoff contender looking to win this year.
Given how poorly constructed the roster is, this was predictable. The Rangers entered the season very top heavy. The success depended largely on a core of veterans that included Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Panarin, Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. Injuries to Fox, Miller, Shesterkin, and Trocheck have contributed to the downfall. With neither Will Cuylle nor Alexis Lafreniere performing up to expectations, the offense has relied too much on Panarin and Zibanejad.
When Fox was healthy prior to his first stint on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), the Rangers hung around with a 13-12-2 record through November. Since losing to the Lightning 4-1 on Nov. 29, they’ve gone 7-10-4 over the last 21 games. They’ve only won three times in regulation over that futile stretch. In a 3-2 overtime loss to the Mammoth on Jan. 5, both Fox and Shesterkin suffered injuries. A lower-body injury has kept Shesterkin out over the last four games. Unlike Fox, who was placed on LTIR for the second time, Shesterkin is close to returning.
In the four games since, the Rangers have been outscored 27-10. Jonathan Quick has been chased from the net twice in lopsided defeats to the Bruins (10-2) and Senators (8-4). After giving up six goals for the second time in his last three starts against Ottawa on Wednesday night, Quick was replaced by Spencer Martin. At that point, the Senators led 6-0 before head coach Mike Sullivan pulled Quick. The first period was so uncompetitive that the Rangers gave up before intermission by allowing Dylan Cozens to score with less than five seconds left.
The only positive coming out of that game was the arrival of rookie Gabe Perreault, who recorded his first career two-goal game. Both goals came on lead passes in front with Perreault able to go to a deke before finishing each. Only 20, the 2023 first round pick is the Rangers’ best prospect. He might be their only prospect capable of playing in the top six. A place he should stay for the remainder of the season.
If there's any silver lining, Gabe Perreault looks like he's on FIRE 🔥
Perreault remained with Miller and Zibanejad at the morning skate. So disgusted with his team, Sullivan made the line change in the first period the other night. He also had Panarin back with Trocheck and Lafreniere. A line that once was responsible for most of the team’s success when they won the Presidents’ Trophy and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 2023-24. That feels like a lifetime ago.
Key Players Want To Stay
Despite where the Rangers currently are in the standings, sitting last in the Eastern Conference with 46 points, key players have indicated to Drury that they want to stay put. They include Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Miller, Shesterkin, and Zibanejad. All have no-movement clauses in their contracts.
For now, the non-Panarin guys with NMCs — Fox, Gavrikov, Miller, Shesterkin and Zibanejad — sound like they're on board and expressed that they want to be here, according to a source. #NYR
While it’s likely that all five remain Rangers during the next phase of the franchise, Trocheck wasn’t mentioned. A gritty center who brings a lot to the table, he doesn’t have full trade protection. With a more workable contract ($5.625 million AAV) that doesn’t expire until 2029, Trocheck could be a candidate teams have interest in. He has a 12 team no-trade list this season.
Selected to Team USA for the Olympics due to his checking and tenacity, the 32-year-old plays both power play and penalty kill while remaining strong on faceoffs (55.4 percent).
Panarin Era Coming to A Close
As indicated earlier, Drury held an individual meeting with Panarin and told him that they wouldn’t be offering an extension. Instead, they would like to find an opportunity for him to win elsewhere.
According to a source, Panarin was one of the players who met individually with Drury today. It was described as "an honest meeting" in which #NYR expressed they won't be extending him and they'd like to find an opportunity for him to win elsewhere.
That largely depends on Panarin, who has a full NMC. When he chose the Rangers on July 1, 2019, it was because he wanted to play in the big city under the bright lights. For almost seven years, the 34-year-old Russian has been the brightest star at Madison Square Garden since all-time Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist. Set to play in his 800th career NHL game when they visit the Flyers on Saturday, Panarin has registered 202 goals and 399 assists for 601 points in 477 games as a Ranger.
The biggest highlight came when he scored the overtime winner in Game 7 of the first round to help the Rangers overcome a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Penguins in 2022. They came back to defeat the Hurricanes in seven to advance to the Conference Finals. After taking the first two games, they lost the series in six to the two-time defending champion Lightning.
In a memorable 2023-24, Panarin set career bests in goals (49), assists (71), and points (120) to lead the Rangers to the best record in the league. His 120 points are the second most by a Ranger in a single season, ranking behind Jaromir Jagr, who broke Jean Ratellele’s record with 123 points in 2005-06. He finished fifth for the Hart and was selected as a first-team All-Star for the second time in his career.
Panarin posted five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in the postseason. Four of his five goals were game-winners. After they eliminated the Capitals and Hurricanes in the first two rounds, the Rangers lost to the Panthers in six. The stingy Cats held Panarin to a goal and three assists in the series. Panarin scored late in Game 6 with Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker. The Panthers held on to defeat the Rangers 2-1 to advance to the Stanley Cup, which they won over the Oilers.
Despite the current team being a mess, Panarin remains productive with 51 points to pace the Blueshirts in scoring. He ranks second in goals (16) behind Zibanejad, who leads them with 18. His 37 even strength points lead a team that’s struggled. Unlike last year when he had eight power-play goals, he only has scored once on the man-advantage.
With an assist this weekend, he’ll reach 400 as a member of the Rangers. Panarin is closing in on 1,000 points for his career. In 799 games with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Rangers, he has 318 goals and 603 assists for 921 points. Assuming he stays in the NHL and signs in July, Panarin will reach that milestone.
If he wants to shed the label as not being the best playoff performer, then he’ll be amenable to waiving his NMC. We’ll see what he decides.
Criticism For Drury
Ever since MSG CEO James Dolan appeared on The Carton Show over a week ago to publicly support Drury, the Rangers have fallen apart. A former player who wasn’t a good captain, he’s hid behind the curtains like that memorable scene in The Wizard of Oz. We all know the one. He’s a gutless executive who refuses to make himself available to media and face the music.
That’s why Drury chose to create The Letter Part II. Unlike his predecessor Jeff Gorton, who was more serious about a rebuild through the draft and trades, Drury refers to it as a retool. If that were truly the case, what would he call the following:
Dumped Barclay Goodrow on waivers in a prearranged move so the Sharks could claim him to get around his no-trade protection. Ironically, Goodrow’s having the last laugh on a better team thanks to Hart candidate Macklin Celebrini carrying the Sharks.
After making it no secret that he planned to trade captain Jacob Trouba during the summer of 2024, Trouba blocked a move to Detroit. After the threat of unconditional waivers to Hartford, he accepted a deal to Anaheim for a weak return of Urho Vaakanainen, who’s become the odd man out on the blue line following signing a two-year deal. Elijah Neuenschwander was selected with the fourth round pick.
In a league memo that made both Trouba and Chris Kreider available with the team 12-4-1 in November 2024, Drury watched the team go into the tank due to a disconnect in the locker room that he created. When he finally forced Trouba out on Dec. 6, what followed was more dissension.
After being a healthy scratch by Peter Laviolette, Kaapo Kakko fumed at being made the scapegoat for an under-performing roster in which vets never were made examples out of. Eventually Kakko was traded to the Kraken on Dec. 18 for Will Borgen and a sixth round pick (Samuel Jung).
Following six weeks, Borgen is given a five-year contract with a $4.1 million cap hit on Jan. 25. His play slips in the second half of a forgettable season. As is standard, he has a no-trade clause for the first four years of the deal. A solid player who’s at best a third pair defenseman, he remains on the second pair due to how weak the blue line is.
Despite the team hardly proving itself, Drury decides to double down by packaging Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first round pick to the Canucks for Miller on Jan. 31. The deal also nets Jackson Dorrington. However, that first round pick winds up being dealt twice via Pittsburgh to Philadelphia who select Jack Nesbitt. After putting up 35 points in 32 games, Miller’s struggled as the leader of a bad team with 26 points and a minus-17 in 39 games.
Playing through an injury during the 2024-25 season that caused him to miss some time, Kreider scored in his final game as a Ranger. He also assisted on a Zibanejad goal. Knowing it was the final time he’d ever play for the franchise as one of its greatest goalscorers, he agreed to a trade to Anaheim on Jun. 12 that netted Carey Terrance and a third round pick (Artyom Gonchar).
After being acquired with Juuso Parssinen from the Avalanche for Ryan Lindgren on Mar. 1, Calvin de Haan had some choice words for the organization due to how little he played despite the team performing well in his three games. He was promised a role but instead, he became a healthy scratch under Laviolette. Eventually, de Haan clarified his statements to reporters by explaining how he felt. A six-player deal that included Jimmy Vesey netted promising second round pick Malcolm Spence, who has eight goals and five assists at Michigan as a freshman. The fourth round pick is Mikkel Eriksen, who plays in Sweden.
Before hiring Sullivan, Drury doubled down by signing Parssinen to a two-year contract. After posting two goals and an assist in 14 games under Sullivan, Parssinen passes through waivers where he is sent to Hartford. Following one game, he suffers an injury and hasn’t played since.
For reasons only known to him, Drury signs Taylor Raddysh for two years with a $1.5 million cap hit. After a hot start highlighted by a hat trick, Raddysh falls out of favor before he posts two goals and an assist in a win over his former team in Washington on Dec. 23. Since then, he hasn’t registered a point in nine games while playing mostly on the fourth line. But his 7-4-11 is still ranked 10th in team scoring due to the lack of talent.
Drury’s first draft pick Brennan Othmann remains without a goal in 33 NHL games. Taken 16th in 2021 ahead of Wyatt Johnston and Josh Doan, he’s yet to establish himself. After going back and forth in Hartford where he’s produced better results, Othmann is being given another chance to play on the third line with promising 2022 fourth round pick Noah Laba, who looks like a top nine player.
Before the 100-Year Anniversary, Drury signs Conor Sheary to a one-year, two-way deal for $775,000. The 33-year-old veteran who was a member of back-to-back Stanley Cups under Sullivan in Pittsburgh, becomes a permanent fixture in the top nine. He’s often miscast in a top six role due to Sullivan’s preference of having defensive-minded vets. Despite giving an honest effort, unlike many teammates, Sheary manages only one goal with eight assists in 37 games before being placed on LTIR on Jan. 1.
In a recent game due to injuries, both Anton Blidh and Justin Dowling are recalled. Each plays in two games before being sent back down to Hartford.
Due to spending close to the max, Drury is forced to send down younger players to remain cap compliant. A roller-coaster that hasn’t helped with roster stability during an embarrassing centennial anniversary highlighted by the team having only five wins at MSG in mid-January.
On Jan. 16, Drury releases a statement that acknowledges the disappointments of a roster that lacks any guts or soul. A passionless roster that he created. Of course, he doesn’t apologize to the fans who have called for his head in recent home games by chanting, “Fire Drury!!!” Instead, it’s a cowardly letter where he doesn’t have to answer a single question, adding further insult to a forgettable season
Counting Down Until It’s Over
Most fans are counting down until it’s over. The Rangers have 34 games remaining on the schedule, including a four-game road trip that begins tomorrow at Philadelphia for another nationally televised game. What will they do for an encore?
To be blunt, it’s 34 days of waste for a fan base that’s sick of Drury, who’s replaced Glen Sather as Dolan’s new personal favorite. But remember, he’s a winner who hates losing. Drury won a stacked Avalanche in 2000-01. They shouldn’t have even won that year. The Devils and Martin Brodeur blew that series in Game 6 with a no-show.
Drury had a good career, highlighted by his game-tying goal late in regulation in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Rangers in 2007. Maxim Afinogenov scored the overtime winner to rescue the Sabres to a 2-1 victory. Buffalo advanced to the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Senators.
As a GM, Drury has been a failure. Even though he’s right about there being successes with runs in 2022 and 2024 thanks to the roster Gorton and former team president John Davidson built, he’s changed coaches three times, and turned a good roster into one of the NHL’s worst. The Rangers are unwatchable.
Last season was pretty bad. This one feels even worse due to how poorly they’ve performed under Sullivan. It was Drury’s choice to bring in his buddy. It was also their decision to make Miller captain of this sinking ship. What happened to No More BS? Miller couldn’t even find the words to explain away a 10-2 humiliation in the Boston Massacre on Jan. 10.
The only Ranger who’s been accountable has been Zibanejad. He’s played hard and is close to matching his 2024-25 goal total (20) due to putting in a honest effort. Win or lose, he’s available in the locker room to answer questions. He never sounds lost as to why they aren’t winning. That’s your runaway Steven McDonald winner.
When the Olympic break comes in February, it’ll serve as a vacation for the fans. The only thing to look forward to is whether or not Panarin agrees to a trade, and which players move in March.
There’s nothing left. What a way to honor the past Rangers legends and fan favorites.
Vincent Trocheck summed up the feeling in the locker room following a 10-2 drubbing the Rangers suffered against the Bruins this afternoon in a Boston Massacre that would’ve made Paul Revere proud.
“We should be embarrassed right now and I think we are.” Mollie Walker, NY Post.
Despite getting the game’s first goal from Mika Zibanejad (5 goals over the last 4), who was nicely set up by assist machine Artemi Panarin, they were pitiful defensively by committing 20 turnovers in a one-sided match, which told the story. They made an abundance of mistakes in coverage to turn a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 deficit by the conclusion of the first period.
It was a comedy of errors from defensemen that allowed the Bruins to do whatever they wanted in a lopsided period. The Rangers seemed to be stuck in quiksand against Boston’s relentless forecheck that wreaked havoc. The Bruins took advantage by outskating and outhustling a disjointed team who looked like their heads were elsewhere.
Talk about turning on the jets 💨
Marat Khusnutdinov blows past the defender to tie the game early here in the opening frame!
Marat Khusnutdinov scored the first of four goals in a memorable performance for the 23-year-old forward. He went completely around an out of position Braden Schneider and beat Jonathan Quick with a wrist shot that tied the game. Following Schneider’s horrible coverage, Will Borgen fell down to allow Pavel Zacha a clean look for his first goal of three on the day. Two Bruins recorded their first career hat tricks, with Khusnutdinov and Zacha combining for seven of the 10 goals.
HAVE AN AFTERNOON, PAVEL ZACHA 🐻
He's got his first career hat trick, and we're just barely over halfway through the game! pic.twitter.com/AfYmcV543Y
The Rangers spent way too much time in their zone defending. They had trouble on breakouts due to bad passes that wound up on Bruin sticks for scoring chances, which Quick turned away. That included stopping consecutive breakaways. He kept his team in it for as long as possible until the roof caved in completely.
With Zibanejad already off for tripping Casey Mittelstadt, J.T. Miller took a very undisciplined slashing minor on Charlie McAvoy to give the Bruins a two-man advantage late in the period. After Quick made a couple of great saves, including two on David Pastrnak from point blank range, play continued after another close call on another attempt.
What a BIZARRE ending to the first period…
The Bruins and Rangers both left the ice but turns out the puck crossed the line with 30 seconds left so both teams had to come back out of the locker room to finish the period 🤯 pic.twitter.com/zcIkDJQtLU
Following Quick committing highway robbery on Morgan Geekie, time expired. But with the Rangers already off for the locker room, they were called back due to a video review confirming that Zacha had his rebound completely cross the goal line before Schneider had kept it out. With ABC already in an intermission segment, they went back to Ray Ferraro who provided an update on what happened. The refs put 32.9 seconds back on the clock. The score remained 3-1 with the Bruins still on the power play to start the second.
A couple of minutes after Pastrnak just missed on the five-on-four, Fraser Minten finished off a Viktor Arvidsson pass to make it 4-1. Borgen was again the culprit on the goal. It was part of a rough afternoon for him and Matthew Robertson, who were victimized on three goals. Head coach Mike Sullivan’s move to team them up didn’t have positive results, eventually leading to him going back to Carson Soucy and Borgen while Robertson shifted down to play with Scott Morrow. Nothing worked. It was a nightmare.
Trailing by three, Trocheck got behind the Boston defense for a breakaway before getting slashed from behind by McAvoy to lead to a penalty shot. However, he was unable to convert with Jeremy Swayman able to get his right pad on Trocheck’s attempt to keep his team ahead by three.
Shortly after, the Bruins top line skated circles around the Rangers fourth line, leading to Pastrnak setting up Khusnutdinov for his second of the game. Schneider and Vladislav Gavrikov were caught behind the net, leaving Matt Rempe in front. He was too late on the coverage, allowing Khusnutdinov to make it 5-1.
Demonstrating how futile the effort was, Tanner Jeannot hit the goalpost on the next shift. In between all the scoring, the Bruins’ toughest players went at the Rangers during scrums, which included Nikita Zadorov having words with Miller. He also said something to Rempe at the end of another shift. Nothing materialized.
Using Morrow as a screen, Zacha completed the hat trick by zipping one past Quick to increase the Boston lead to 6-1. That ended Quick’s day. He was replaced by Spencer Martin.
Following a delay due to all the hats on the ice, Sam Carrick had enough and challenged the bigger Mark Kastelic at center ice. A scrappy player who never backs down, he took a big right at the end of the fight from Kastelic, who looked like he wanted more. If more players had Carrick’s heart, maybe the Rangers wouldn’t be where they are. A flat out soulless team without any identity. Similar to the 75th-year anniversary, they’ve disgraced the jersey in their 100th year.
Miller made it 6-2 on the power play. He took a Zibanejad feed in front and beat Swayman for his 11th goal. Trocheck drew the secondary helper.
Rather than build on it, Will Cuylle was unable to hit the net from directly in front. Instead, his miss led directly to another defenseless sequence that resulted in McAvoy being left wide open to bury a Pastrnak feed that made it 7-2. He got behind Panarin for an easy goal.
The third period was basically a glorified exhibition. Khusnutdinov was given too much time and space in the middle of the ice to tip in a Pastrnak shot pass for the hat trick. Frustration boiled over with Carrick going after Andrew Peeke, who got an additional roughing minor that put the Rangers on a power play.
Pastrnak later set up another goal when he pulled up on Trocheck and found a cutting Minten to make it 9-2. Borgen didn’t pay attention and was victimized. Equally as bad was seeing Alexis Lafreniere lose his balance. Like many teammates, he was a complete no-show, finishing minus-4. All 18 Rangers skaters were a minus in the game, managing to outdo the Devils in their 9-0 shutout loss to the Islanders.
With fans urging on the Bruins by chanting, “We Want 10!”, Khusnutdinov rewarded them with his fourth of the day.
Sean Kuraly went after Cuylle for a hit from behind on Arvidsson a few minutes earlier. Cuylle ate some rights from Kuraly, who stood up for his teammate. The Bruins not only dominated the Rangers. They humiliated them in every possible fashion.
If this wasn’t an eye-opener for Chris Drury and James Dolan, there’s no hope. It was one of the worst losses they’ve had. As bad as the teams were in the Dark Ages (1997-04), they usually pushed back in bad losses. The 2025-26 Rangers are gutless. Changes need to be made now. But will they come Monday? The cap limits what they can do. Don’t expect anything.
Laba Returns
After missing the past two games, Noah Laba returned to center the third line. He played with Gabe Perreault and Taylor Raddysh. They actually were the best line due to only being on for one goal against.
In 19 shifts (14:48), Laba had a shot, three attempts, and went 5-for-11 on faceoffs. He, Perreault, and Raddysh spent more time in the offensive zone. Considering how bad the rest of the forwards played, keeping them together for the next game makes sense when the Kraken visit MSG on Monday.
Before last night’s game, the Rangers held a pregame ceremony that honored fan favorites in their 100-year history. Among the notables included Nick Fotiu, Don Maloney, Jan Erixon, George McPhee, Pierre Larouche, Tony Granato, Chris Nilan, Tie Domi, Darren Langdon, Jeff Beukeboom, Colton Orr, Brandon Prust, Sean Avery, Ryan Callahan, Adam Graves, and Henrik Lundqvist. They all received a warm welcome with the loudest ovation reserved for Lundqvist.
When it comes to recognizing their illustrious past, the Rangers have done a phenomenal job in their centennial season. Unfortunately, the current roster has disrespected the alumni by continuing to lose in bad fashion on such nights. In the latest embarrassment on home ice, they fell to the Sabres 5-2, dropping to a dismal 5-11-4 at MSG.
It’s inexplicable how poorly they’ve played in front of passionate fans who tried to get behind them during a strong third period. Despite outshooting the Sabres 14-3, they managed to get outscored 2-1 in a mind-numbing loss that summed up their season. Outskated by a faster opponent that built a 3-1 lead through two periods, the Rangers had the momentum when Vincent Trocheck had his shot beat Colten Ellis from a bad angle to cut the deficit to one just 51 seconds into the third.
From that point, they continued to attack the Sabres, who were more vulnerable in their end. The relentless forecheck from every line including a very noticeable Matt Rempe (game-high six hits) got the crowd into it with “Let’s Go Rangers” chants. But after he gave up a soft goal to Trocheck, Ellis steadied in net for the Sabres by making 13 saves in a busy third.
If there was a play that really typified what’s gone wrong in the centennial anniversary, it happened with over five minutes remaining in the game. Upset all night due to Braden Schneider catching him with a clean hit that bloodied his nose, Peyton Krebs took an undisciplined double minor for high-sticking Trocheck, who got underneath his skin. That put the Rangers on a four-minute power play with a good chance to tie it.
Instead, disaster struck when a bad turnover from Alexis Lafreniere inside the blue line led directly to Mattias Samuelsson scoring a crushing shorthanded goal to give the Sabres the cushion they needed with 5:22 left in regulation. It was such a poor decision from Lafreniere that he heard boos when head coach Mike Sullivan put him back out for his next shift. It was well-deserved for a career underachiever who’s never lived up to the hype that made him the number one pick in 2020.
Only this team. Only this group of guys can dominate a period like that, earn a double minor late in the game, with a chance to tie the game, and give up a goal like that.
What made it worse was that after he forced a pass that had no chance of reaching Vladislav Gavrikov, Lafreniere coasted instead of hustling back. For a player who once was considered a future star by both the media and scouts, it was pretty damming. More often than not, he doesn’t seem to have a high hockey IQ and looks checked out half the time.
Ever since team president and general manager Chris Drury signed him to that seven-year contract extension with a $7.45 million cap hit on Oct. 25, 2024, Lafreniere hasn’t come close to earning it. The 2023-24 breakout season in which he put up 28 goals and 29 assists for a career-high 57 points feels like so long ago, which can also be echoed for the eight goals and 14 points he had that postseason. There’s zero fire and no intensity.
It’s astonishing how bad he’s been since Drury gave him the big contract. After starting last season with seven points (4-3-7) in his first seven games between Oct. 9-24, the 24-year-old has had a significant drop-off in production. It didn’t start until late November. He was still scoring and setting up goals with 16 points (8-8-16) in 19 games. Following that, he only had 29 (9-20-29) over the remaining 63 games. Counting the inconsistency this season, Lafreniere has managed just 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points in his last 108 games.
When it comes to his contract, Lafreniere doesn’t have any trade restrictions until July 2027. There’s nothing stopping Drury from exploring the market to see what’s available. At this point, it would probably have to be an equally disappointing player with a similar deal.
Unless there’s a team with cap space that thinks they can fix him. He looks like a disinterested player who can use a change of scenery. Even in a top six role along with increased power play time, he doesn’t seem like a player they should keep. Unless things turn around dramatically, his time on Broadway could be coming to an end.
Alexis Lafrenière has gotten first power play and top six minutes like fans wanted and it has not got him going.
Lafreniere’s inconsistent play isn’t the only issue with the Rangers, who fell to 1-6 when wearing their centennial jerseys. It’s no secret that they’re an aging team built around Artemi Panarin, who continued to produce by setting up both goals including a Mika Zibanejad one-timer that made it 2-1 in the second period. Zibanejad has been on fire lately with eight points in the last three games, highlighted by his Winter Classic hat trick and two assists on Jan. 2.
With two helpers on Thursday, Panarin reached a milestone with his 600th career assist. For the seventh consecutive season, he seems destined to lead the Blueshirts in scoring with his 48 points pacing them. Zibanejad is second with 38 points. Unless he agrees to waive his no-movement clause before the March 6 trade deadline, Panarin could play out the final year of his contract. As the Olympic break draws nearer, the Rangers should have a better idea of what their plans might be moving forward.
In his first start since the injury to Igor Shesterkin (lower leg), Jonathan Quick didn’t play well enough to win. He allowed four goals on 20 shots. At least two were ones he could’ve had, including Samuelsson’s shorthanded goal that went short side, catching him leaning. He also was unlucky on the Sabres’ third goal scored by Jason Zucker when a Rasmus Dahlin shot went off Quick and Zucker’s shoulder to make it 3-1.
Even though they were limited to 19 shots before the empty netter from Ryan McLeod, the Sabres created several dangerous opportunities in the slot. The Rangers were guilty of backing in, which exposed the middle of the ice. That was evident on a goal Alex Tuch scored that put the Sabres up 2-0 in the second. Both Schneider and Gavrikov backed in while no forwards were in the vicinity on Tuch’s wrist shot that went top shelf.
If there was a plus, the Rangers played more physical by taking the body whenever they could. They outhit the Sabres 32-26. Some of the havoc caused by Rempe created some looks for Sam Carrick. But as has been the case through this point of another season headed nowhere, he didn’t bury his chances. The lack of secondary scoring continues to plague them.
They played without Noah Laba for the second straight game. A positive development is that he could be nearing a return after taking line rushes at Friday’s morning skate. The Rangers will visit Boston on Saturday afternoon.
Considering how bad they are, it’s hard not to wonder what the conversation was between former players who watched another ugly display after being introduced by legendary MSG television voice Sam Rosen. To be a fly on the wall to hear what Avery or Callahan thought. Gritty players who actually bled for the jersey.
We know that Fotiu, McPhee, Nilan (Knuckles), Domi, Langdon, Orr, and Prust all weren’t shy about throwing ’em. Beukeboom was as tough as they come on the blue line. When Graves wasn’t riding shotgun for Mark Messier, “Beuke” was doing it for Brian Leetch or any teammate. That was their mentality.
Gone are the days when players had each others backs. To be perfectly blunt, today’s roster remains far too soft. There’s too many players okay with Shesterkin or Quick being run. There was no response to the Brandon Hagel hit that caused Adam Fox to miss 14 games. Even if it was clean, there should’ve been something. The Rangers don’t see the Lightning again until April when they’ll be eliminated.
If you don’t believe it, then you’re as blind a bat. There isn’t enough character, heart, or resiliency. The only player willing to answer the bell is Carrick, who even went with undisputed heavyweight champion Mathieu Oliver in Columbus. Rempe can’t due to his thumb recovering from surgery.
Through 45 games, the Rangers have 46 points and only 13 regulation wins. The sad aspect is that even with all the teams in front of them winning last night, they’re still a few points back. Even with Miller picking up an assist in his return, there wasn’t enough from a vanilla group. If they gave more of an honest effort like the inspired third period, maybe I’d give them more of a chance.
Does anyone feel optimistic about their chances against the Bruins, who haven’t been playing well? Gabe Perreault remains on the third line and looks like he’ll be sent down. It’s probably the right thing to do for his development.
Scott Morrow returned yesterday. He had a shot hit the goalpost late with the Rangers trailing by two. Sullivan has changed the defensive pairs for tomorrow by having Carson Soucy with Morrow. Will Borgen and Matthew Robertson will work together on the second pair.
There isn’t much to look forward to. At least it’s wildcard weekend.
When we last discussed the Rangers, they lost in overtime to the Mammoth on Monday to remain at 46 points, which dropped them to seventh in the Metropolitan Division. It’s still where they are as they return to home ice with the resurgent Sabres visiting Madison Square Garden later tonight.
The game three days ago proved to be costly with Rangers’ stars Igor Shesterkin (left leg) and Adam Fox (lower-body) suffering injuries that will keep them out of action for a while. Shesterkin was hurt on a play in the first period when he fell awkwardly due to minimal contact with Mammoth forward J.J. Peterka with seven minutes left. He had to be helped off the ice.
Fox must’ve gotten banged up at some point later on because he played over 23 minutes before missing the first two shifts of overtime. Without him, the Rangers gave up the winner to Jordan Spence on a nice backdoor feed from Nick Schmaltz. On Tuesday, Fox was again placed on the long-term injured reserve, which means he must miss at least the next 10 games. That same day, Shesterkin was put on the injured reserve.
The Rangers recalled 30-year-old journeyman goalie Spencer Martin and defense prospect Scott Morrow from Hartford. Martin will serve as the backup for tonight’s game behind Jonathan Quick, who’ll get most of the workload until further notice. It should be a lot for the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer to handle. Especially given the current state of the roster, which will be without their best defenseman for probably the rest of the month.
Out of the 10 games they’ll play, six will come against teams they’re battling with in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres enter play with 48 points in 41 games, which is three less than the Rangers. Due to winning 11 of their last 12, Buffalo trails Pittsburgh by a point for the second wild card. The Pens are in action against the Devils, who have been a train wreck lately. They’re tied in points with the Rangers but have played one fewer game. For them to actually give themselves a realistic chance at the postseason, the Rangers have to start winning consistently. They only have 13 regulation wins, which are the second least in the East.
After the Sabres, they visit the Bruins for a Saturday matinee on ABC. During the upcoming stretch, they’ll play Boston twice, Ottawa, Philadelphia, and then have a home-and-home with the Islanders, who currently sit in second behind Carolina. If Fox only misses 10 games, he would be eligible to come off the LTIR on Jan. 29 for the home part of the back-to-back against their bitter rival.
Right now, that’s a long way off. There are lot of games that’ll be played between now and then. There are four games out of conference with the Kraken visiting MSG on Jan. 12. After they visit the Flyers on Jan. 17, they’ll head to the Pacific Coast to face Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose between Jan. 19-23.
Miller Returns to Lineup
After missing seven games due to an upper-body injury he sustained on Dec. 20 against the Flyers, J.T. Miller returns to the lineup.
The Rangers only won twice (2-3-2) without him. Those two wins came in games when they scored at least three goals or more in blowouts over the Caps and Panthers. For an offensively challenged team, they do pretty well when they get three or better, with a 17-2-1 record. Five of the 17 wins came in overtime or a shootout.
When asked by Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic about why he prefers to use Miller on the wing instead of at center, Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan indicated that he likes having different options on faceoffs while also feeling that he and Vincent Trocheck have chemistry.
With Laba still out, I asked Sullivan why prefers Miller on the wing vs. using him, Zibanejad and Trocheck down the middle. He said he believes JT is "capable in both positions," but he likes the chemistry he's shown with Trocheck + having the lefty-righty faceoff options on the…
If they went more conventional due to Noah Laba being out, a top three of Mika Zibanejad, Miller, and Trocheck would make them much stronger down the middle. Instead, they’re using Justin Dowling as one center while Sam Carrick takes his usual place between Anton Blidh and Matt Rempe.
Considering how thin they are after the top two lines, it doesn’t make much sense. Neither does having Gabe Perreault penciled in with Dowling and Taylor Raddysh. What kind of offense will he be able to create playing about a dozen minutes with less skilled players? Will Cuylle has been ice cold, and is much better suited to play on a checking line with Trocheck.
Morrow should be back in over Urho Vaakanainen, who stayed on late with the extras. It never made sense to play Vaakanainen over Matthew Robertson in the last game. The third pair will probably have Robertson and Morrow back together. Hopefully, they don’t get pinned in their end against the dangerous Sabres, who are a quick transition team.
Zac Jones Won’t Face Rangers
Zac Jones will not be in the Sabres lineup tonight, per Lindy Ruff.
Former Ranger Zac Jones was recalled by the Sabres yesterday. However, he won’t get the chance to face the team that selected him in the third round in 2019. In 115 NHL games, Jones had four goals and 24 assists for 28 points and a minus-10 rating while playing parts of four years in Manhattan.
Jones leads Rochester in scoring with 30 points (2-28-30) this season. That’s a dozen more than leading Wolf Pack scorer Trey Fix-Wolansky (10-8-18). Speaking to how anemic the Hartford offense is, Perreault’s 17 points are still the second most.
Centennial Theme Features Fan Favorites
Faceoff could be delayed due to it being another Centennial night. The Rangers will honor fan favorites prior to the game. Adam Graves will definitely be one of the players featured. That should be fun.
The Rangers have only won once in their centennial jerseys.
If there’s one word to describe the Devils’ catastrophic 9-0 loss to the Islanders, it would be humiliation. They were embarrassed by the Islanders in a rivalry game on ESPN Plus. Imagine if it had been featured on the NHL on TNT. Good thing the higher ups selected the Maple Leafs and Panthers.
A couple of days removed from fans mercifully booing Luke Hughes every time he touched the puck in a 3-1 home loss to the Hurricanes due to two own goals by the struggling third-year defenseman, the Devils hit rock bottom in what was the worst shutout loss in nearly 40 years. The 9-0 defeat was the second time in franchise history they were held without a goal by such a wide margin.
9-0 Islanders. This is the worst Devils shutout loss since March 31, 1986, a 9-0 loss at the Rangers. These are the only two times in team history they lost by 9+ goals and were shut out.
A team featuring Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes somehow managed to match what the 1985-86 Devils did in a 9-0 loss at the Rangers on Mar. 31, 1986. At least there were some fights in the third period of that game. Instead of showing a backbone, they didn’t take a single penalty last night.
In fact, it was the Devils that drew the only three penalties. Fittingly, they went 0-for-3 on the power play. How bad was their performance? Only one player avoided being caught on for an Islanders goal. Rookie Arseny Grityuk is the answer to that trivia question. The rest of the 17 skaters all finished with minus ratings.
Astonishingly, they gave up all nine goals at five-on-five. Despite outshooting the Islanders 44-24, the Devils never beat Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 36 of the shots at even strength, with the other eight while shorthanded.
It was a night to forget for Jacob Markstrom, who remained in for all nine goals on 24 shots. How bad was he? Markstrom allowed goals on two of the first three shots he faced. By the time Anthony Duclair beat him for the second time on an identical shot, that made it three goals on five shots to put the Devils in a 3-0 hole before 14 minutes were played.
By the time Duclair completed his natural hat trick just 3:29 into the second period, it was painfully obvious where the game was headed. Even after Simon Holmstrom padded the Islanders’ lead to five, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe never signaled for Jake Allen to come on for Markstrom.
With team president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald in attendance along with ownership, it was a clear message being sent from Keefe to management. It was Fitzgerald’s bright idea to extend an injury prone veteran goalie for two more years.
Despite a recent revival, Markstrom’s been one of the worst starters in the NHL. His 3.48 goals-against-average is tied with Sam Montembeault for the highest GAA among starters. The difference is that the Canadiens have played two other goalies, including top prospect Jacob Fowler to help Montembeault get a reset.
Unlike Markstrom, Allen’s been the much better netminder. In 21 starts, he has a 2.55 GAA and .913 save percentage with his 11 wins leading the Devils. By comparison, Markstrom has a lowly .878 save percentage with 10 wins in the same amount of starts with each appearing in 22 games.
The odd part is that they have Nico Daws down in Utica playing in the American Hockey League. Although he isn’t considered the goalie of the future, the 25-year-old Daws has performed well when called upon. In 2024-25, he went 3-1-0 with a 1.60 GAA and .939 save percentage. In his only start this season back on Oct. 22, he made 30 saves on 31 shots in a win over the Wild. Considering how poorly Markstrom’s played, there isn’t a good enough reason for the Devils to bring Daws up and go with three goalies.
Part of the problem is that due to all the contracts Fitzgerald gave out which included no-movement clauses for many players on the roster, including the declining Hamilton and the immovable Ondrej Palat, who has two goals and six assists in 43 games this season. Keefe still plays Palat in the top nine, and has used him on the top line with Hughes. A puzzling decision when despite giving an honest effort, the 34-year-old veteran is done. When the season concludes, he’ll be bought out with a year left on his contract.
As for Hamilton, he reportedly turned down waving his NMC with Fitzgerald looking to clear space to acquire Quinn Hughes. Instead, the Canucks traded him to the Wild, who had no such trouble fitting him in without having to play musical chairs. Hughes was so impressed with what Wild GM Bill Guerin did that he had the memorable quote praising Guerin for ‘sacking up.’ Since they traded for him, the Wild are 8-2-3. In 12 games since joining Minnesota, Hughes has a goal and 11 assists for a dozen points with a plus-6 rating while averaging over 27 minutes a night.
Undoubtedly, Fitzgerald’s plan was to bring in the elder Hughes to team him up with younger brothers Jack and Luke. Quinn had expressed a desire to one day play with them. However, that now seems unrealistic due to him going to a better team that feels they can compete now. He isn’t eligible to sign a contract extension until July 1. If he does decide that he likes playing in St. Paul, then the Devils’ dream of having all three Hughes’ brothers will go up in smoke.
In a related post, Battle Of Hudson’s Hasan referenced the quick extension Fitzgerald rewarded defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic with. A good first half from Kovacevic allowed him to sign on for another five years with a $4 million cap hit. However, he struggled in the second half and then had off-season knee surgery that has kept him out of action this season. Before last season, he only played two full seasons with the Canadiens.
Despite having 2022 second overall pick Simon Nemec behind both Hamilton and Brett Pesce, Fitzgerald made the risky move due to Nemec struggling in his second year. To the surprise of only the Devils, the 21-year-old Nemec became their best offensive weapon from the blue line with his seven goals and 18 points leading them before a lower-body injury sidelined him. He was particularly clutch scoring twice in overtime to help the Devils to big wins, highlighted by his first NHL hat trick versus the Blackhawks on Nov. 13.
What if Fitzgerald had waited before giving Kovacevic the long-term contract for half a season? It never made any sense to begin with. When it comes to the roster he’s built, not a lot does.
Since Jack returned from finger surgery on Dec. 21, he hasn’t been the same player. After scoring in the first period against the Sabres that night, Hughes hasn’t scored another goal. In fact, he only has three points (all assists) over his last seven games. He set up a pair in a 4-1 win over the Mammoth on Jan. 3. That was the Devils’ second straight win following a third period rally to come back and beat the Blue Jackets on New Year’s Eve. They’ve been outscored 12-1 over the last six periods.
It doesn’t matter how bad the goaltending is when they don’t finish consistently. Aside from a two-goal performance in an overtime loss to the Caps on Dec. 27, Bratt has two goals since Nov. 6. More of a playmaker than finisher, his point production is down. Outside of a pair of two-point outings since Christmas, he’s gone without one in eight of the last 10 games. A better player than what he’s shown with 33 points and minus-11 rating in 43 games, the 27-year-old Bratt needs to get going.
Hischier has 32 points (12-20-32) thus far with an uncharacteristic minus-6 rating. Normally a dependable two-way center who’s considered one of the best defensive forwards, the Devils captain must turn it around. A player that doesn’t make excuses, he told the media that he expects the team to respond well to Tuesday night’s onesided loss.
If there’s a real problem with the roster, it’s that the only player outside of Hughes capable of putting up goals is the inconsistent Timo Meier. A streaky scorer, he’s yet to reach 30 goals since being acquired from the Sharks in 2022-23. Meier’s tied with Hischier for the team lead with 12 goals. His five power-play tallies pace the team. For a player making close to $9 million through 2031, they need more production from the 29-year-old veteran.
Dawson Mercer is tied with Hughes for second in goals (11). A versatile forward who’s taken more faceoffs since Jack returned, the 24-year-old Mercer is a solid player that kills penalties well. On a deeper team, he’s probably better suited for the third line. But he’s put up 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points, which places him third in team scoring behind Hischier and Bratt. He had more success earlier in the season before Hughes’ incident at a Chicago steakhouse. At the time, the Devils were 12-4-1 before things went off the rails.
Aside from solid third line forwards Connor Brown and Cody Glass, there’s not much secondary help. In his rookie year, Gritsyuk has shown flashes of a promising young player capable of contributing more than the eight goals and 10 helpers he has. Keefe has started to use him more in an expanded top six role. A strong skater with a good shot, the 24-year-old can make things happen during shifts. They have to hope that Gritsyuk can find the back of the net with more regularity.
Paul Cotter is a high energy player who provides physicality. Despite being a good skater, he only has five goals. Cotter will become a restricted free agent following the season.
Fitzgerald gambled on Stefan Noesen and to a lesser extend Evgenii Dadonov to provide more scoring help. After putting up a career-high 22 goals last season, Noesen hasn’t come close to duplicating it. He hasn’t been the same since having groin surgery in the off-season, which caused him to miss the start of the season. He’s been useless with only three goals in 37 games while taking bad penalties. Dadonov has only played in five games due to injuries with the latest being a wrist issue that landed him on long-term injured reserve Dec. 11. At least he’s only signed for a year at $1 million AAV with mostly performance bonuses.
Somehow, a rising team that looked like it could seriously challenge three years ago has become a complete mess. Lindy Ruff was the fall guy in 2023-24 with Travis Green replacing him before winding up in Ottawa. Meanwhile, Ruff went back to Buffalo where it all started. Somehow, he has the Sabres playing much better with them having won 11 of 12 to vault past the Devils in the standings.
Now, it’s Keefe who’s dealing with the same core that quit on Ruff. Don’t forget that they nearly blew the playoffs last year before getting eliminated by the Hurricanes in the first round. At least they found their way in without Jack. They were no match for their nemesis on Tobacco Road.
What’s the plan moving forward? With so little room on the cap ($787,500) thanks to Fitzgerald’s mismanagement, it doesn’t look like he can make any significant upgrades for a playoff push. However, everything remains right in front of the Devils due to the parity in the East. Even with 46 points and 15 regulation wins, they still have time to turn it around. With 39 games remaining, all it would require is more of a consistent effort from an underachieving group that looks disinterested. They sure don’t play enough defense or manage the puck well. Turnovers and bad coverages hasn’t helped.
Keefe prefers his teams to play more of a two-way game. He was very critical in his postgame about the breakdowns that led to too many Islanders goals. Even if you hate Markstrom, he had played better coming in, which Keefe referenced.
The Devils will next face the Penguins, who have won five in a row to move into the second wild card. They’re only three points up on the Devils, who desperately need a win. We’ll see what they’re made of.
It’s a New Year. But apparently, it’s the same script for the Rangers when they play at MSG.
Three days after putting together a convincing win over the Panthers at the Winter Classic in Miami, the Rangers dropped another game at home by losing to the Mammoth 3-2 in overtime on Monday night.
Aside from wins over the Canadiens and Flyers in mid-December, they’ve lost five of their last seven home games. They’re now 5-10-4 at MSG, continuing a disturbing trend in a perplexing season that’s seen them play much better on the road with a 15-8-2 record.
Worse than that is the current lineup. Playing without Noah Laba, the bottom six included Justin Dowling and Anton Blidh, who replaced Brett Berard after one game. Icing AHL players at this point of the season is an indictment on the lack of depth, which Chris Drury is responsible for. In a twisted irony, he got an endorsement from Garden CEO James Dolan during a public appearance on The Carton Show yesterday.
James Dolan "absolutely" still believes in Chris Drury to build the Rangers into a winner: pic.twitter.com/ywwjSZInMQ
“He and Mike Sullivan are installing a new culture into that club and that does not happen overnight. I’m being patient.” Mollie Walker of The NY Post.
That culture includes an experienced coach who’s shown no confidence in most of the Rangers’ younger players. What’s the point of recalling Berard if he’s not going to play consistently? How is a 35-year-old veteran [Dowling] the replacement for Laba on the third line? The trio of Blidh, Sam Carrick, and Matt Rempe received more minutes than Dowling, who played a team-low 7:18. Sullivan used Jonny Brodzinski and Taylor Raddysh more regularly.
If you still have faith in Drury to reconstruct a dull roster that he put together, you have to be naive. 2023-24 feels like 10 years ago when in actuality, it was two years ago. It was his doing to dismantle a Presidents’ Trophy winner that reached the Eastern Conference Final into a much worse product that fans are spending more money on to see the Rangers lose.
There isn’t much to say about a roster that’s played more games than anyone else in the division. Like most teams playing the condensed schedule due to the Olympics, they have players out. After being cleared for contact, J.T. Miller is getting closer to returning. Adam Edstrom remains out with another injury for the second straight year. Even though he’s a role player, Edstrom is missed due to his size and speed.
If Miller is activated off the injured reserve for Thursday against the Sabres, it would be a big help to a very thin roster that’s too reliant on three to four established players. If they don’t contribute on the score sheet, there’s little hope of the Rangers being successful. That aside, they’re now closer to the bottom of the standings due to their inconsistency.
In the loss to the Mammoth, they were largely outplayed at even strength by a younger and faster opponent. If not for Adam Fox revitalizing the power play, they would’ve been shut out by Karel Vejmelka, who isn’t even close to an upper echelon starter.
The Rangers were on their heels for most of a scoreless period that was mostly controlled by the Mammoth. It was due to their speed and aggressive play attacking the net that led to Igor Shesterkin getting hurt at the 13-minute mark. After he kicked out a Dylan Guenther shot, Shesterkin tried to avoid J.J. Peterka, who was searching for the rebound. There was very little contact, but when he fell backward, Shesterkin landed wrong on his right leg and was in a lot of pain.
After he was helped off the ice, Shesterkin was replaced by Jonathan Quick. To his credit, he came in cold and stopped Peterka on an odd man rush. It looks like he’ll be playing a lot more with the Rangers putting Shesterkin on the IR due to the right leg injury he sustained. They can term it lower-body, but that’s dishonest and insults fans’ intelligence. Hopefully, it isn’t the worst-case scenario.
UPDATE: Igor Shesterkin (lower body) will not return tonight.
With Shesterkin out for the foreseeable future, the team sent back Berard (again) and called up Spencer Martin. Martin was signed as insurance due to the organization not trusting Dylan Garand. What else is new? They are afraid to start him. Other teams wouldn’t hesitate to give a prospect a spot start to see what they’re capable of.
At least the Rangers showed some life in a more inspired second period. Buoyed by a power play that went 2-for-2, Alexis Lafreniere tipped home a Mika Zibanejad pass to give him four points in the last two games. He’s been playing better lately. For Lafreniere, it’s all about producing consistently. We’ll see if he can put together a stronger second half.
A turnover from Artemi Panarin allowed Guenther to come in and put in his own rebound to tie the score.
But with the Mammoth taking two penalties to put the Rangers on a full two-minute 5-on-3, Vincent Trocheck redirected a Panarin shot for the second power-play goal of the period. Zibanejad added a secondary assist for his second helper.
In a lackluster third, Michael Carcone blew right around Urho Vaakanainen to get the equalizer. Vaakanainen was back in the lineup for Matthew Robertson, who played close to 22 minutes on Jan. 2. The decision to play Vaakanainen for the first time since Dec. 21 was a head scratcher. He doesn’t defend well enough or finish checks. At the very least, Robertson would’ve taken the body on Carcone.
Quick made a few good stops to take it to overtime. He didn’t have much chance on the winner scored by Sean Durzi, who was left alone to tip in a Nick Schmaltz feed at 1:06.
There isn’t much else to say. The Mammoth were too fast and swept the season series. Aside from the power play connecting twice, the only other cause for excitement was Quick standing up for himself after Daniil But banged into him for goalie interference two minutes into the second.
Why should Quick have more intensity than most of the roster? Rempe can’t fight due to the surgery he had on his thumb. Carrick is the only player who ever makes it his business to do anything.
Not only is this team unexciting to watch, but they’ve made fans apathetic. In many ways, due to the roster Drury constructed, there isn’t a cause for excitement when they play. It’s eerily similar to what’s going on across the Hudson, which Hasan detailed in his post earlier today.
As I was finishing this up, Fox has another injury. He was placed on LTIR again. This time, it’s the ridiculous LBI term they love to use. If this team hadn’t been toast before, they sure are now. There is no reason to even tune in anymore.
I guess all of the complaints over Fox being passed over for Team USA can end. It’s sad that he’s become injury prone because he’s an elite player. What a bummer.
Word is #NYR Igor Shesterkin (lower-body) is going on IR. Adam Fox is also going back on LTIR and will be reevaluated when he is eligible to come off.
When it rains, it pours. Scott Morrow was recalled to take Fox’s place on the roster.
The Rangers could wind up being the worst team in the East. At the moment, that dubious distinction belongs to the Blue Jackets, who have three less points (43) in three fewer games. Both Toronto and Ottawa enter play with 45 in 41 games.
If they fall apart in January, there’s only one thing left for Drury to do.
When I made my last post in the preseason about stepping away, I wasn’t sure if I was retiring or just going on a semi-scaled back version of posting. Long story short, I just wasn’t having fun writing about this team anymore and ranting about them semi-regularly had gone past being therapeutic and into masochism. I was tempted to post when the Devils had their eight-game winning streak early in the season but I just couldn’t bring myself to fully trust this franchise and they’ve shown why since then, going 14-17-2 in their last thirty-three games which honestly looks better than it’s been in actuality.
So why post now? Succinct version: It feels like we’re at a literal DEFCON 1 moment as a franchise here.
I’ve often used the old Wargames clip as a barometer for when crisis was at its highest in a given season, but what’s happened lately goes beyond even just another season going down the drain. This could well be a fork in the road moment for a franchise that needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask uncomfortable questions of themselves and the people around them, unfortunately I’m not sure if they have the stomach to do so. Before I even get to Luke Hughes and the disaster that was last night (see above for the abridged version), a quick recap of the first half if you will.
We started the season just the way we ended 2024-25 – losing a sloppy game in Carolina, but unlike last year the Devils responded from that setback and won their next eight games with a lot of them coming against tough teams. I’m shocked looking back on that now that we managed to beat teams like Tampa, Colorado, both of last year’s Cup finalists, etc…but things did actually look good at that point, much as they looked good for the first half of last season before the roof fell in. However, it didn’t take that long for the roof to start caving in on this season as they lost three of four games on a West Coast trip and have gone up and down like a medical chart since, although the downs have been more frequent and more time-consuming than the upward swings.
You also wouldn’t think it to look at things now, but the Devils actually won nine of their first ten home games with an OT loss being the only blemish at Prudential Center early in the season. Losing four straight at home in late November-early December put an abrupt end to our good form in front of the paying customers though, and started the clock ticking on the fans’ patience with the team that already had started to struggle on the road even before that point. Incredibly, they’ve gone 2-8-1 in New Jersey since starting the season 9-0-1 at home.
There are a million games and things I could point to from the first half that have been annoying – getting pumped twice by the Flyers inside of eight days, the home game against Tampa when Jacob Markstrom hit his nadir, giving up three goals inside the first several minutes and finally causing Sheldon Keefe to give him a deserved early hook, losing their heads against Columbus when the Blue Jackets started cheap shotting guys and blowing an early 2-0 lead when the Devils forgot to play hockey, etc etc
If I went back through all the lows of the first half I’d be here all night though. Honestly, while I’ve compared last season to 2009-10 when the Devils also had a great first half followed by a poor second half and anticlimactic early playoff exit, I never dreamed I would be comparing this season to the start of 2010-11, but at times it’s felt like we’re just a more talented, better coached version of the John MacLean-led disaster class given that most of our best players have stopped remembering how to score goals, like that team.
Not that I’m giving Keefe a pass for what’s happened the last calendar year by saying we’re better coached than 2010, on the contrary. He’s got his hands all over this mess now, between the scoring drought and with his utter lack of holding anyone not named Simon Nemec accountable for anything. At best, he’s a puppet for hapless GM Tom Fitzgerald, whose definition of a team being a family usually includes backing away from even the public appearance of tough love. When guys do the same things over and over again and don’t get punished, you wonder why players start to go through the motions and/or stay stuck in bad habits. It took two years for Fitz to finally get mad enough to call out Dawson Mercer in the end-of-season breakup meeting last year, at least he’s had a better year this year than the last couple although he’s certainly not been the force he was three years ago.
As awful as things have been on the ice, they’ve been even more dreadful off the ice starting with Fitz’s idiotic two-year extension for Markstrom, hurrying to double down on a guy who’d been playing poorly for the better part of an entire calendar year (thankfully he’s finally put together a string of at least decent games in a row after his save percentage was like .860 forever), culminating with the aforementioned disaster against Tampa at home where he was jeered off the ice.
Even with his recent improvement, you can’t really trust the guy long-term to A) stay healthy, and B) re-find his game immediately after coming back from injury-related absences and now we have to walk that tightrope for another 2.5 seasons. Forget about ever giving Nico Daws a chance or any other young goalie for that matter, we can’t have that. There were even rumors of poor Nico mulling a KHL offer, before turning it down.
Even that’s become trivial now given what was to follow, much of it centering around the Hughes clan (and that’s even before getting to last night). Luke’s preseason holdout set him back the way Mercer’s did last year though to be honest, it’s not like he was playing all that great at the end of last season either. Still, he held out before he got his $9 million a year and then has been dreadful for large chunks of this season. Do I think he got his money and stopped caring, no – clearly he does if you saw that reaction of him on the bench earlier in the season after missing a goal needing to get calmed down by big brother Jack…but he also still has a maturity issue that isn’t helped by the fact the organization clearly caters to both brothers. I’ll get to that more later.
Speaking of Jack…in a lot of ways the most annoying thing from the first half of the season came when he somehow sliced open his finger at a team dinner. Not knowing the details (I’m not sure if I buy the team’s state media version of it just being an unfortunate accident without alcohol or roughhousing involved), and even if you want to give Jack the benefit of the doubt, the fact is he has missed time in multiple seasons now. And he can no longer clap back at reporters like he did earlier in the season when he was questioned about his recent injury record. Sure, a guy checking him into the boards is one thing a la Jack Eichel last year but he did this one to himself, and the team’s downturn largely coincided with his exiting the lineup…not that it’s been helped by his return since though.
Oh and let’s not forget the saga over the Hughes brother that isn’t even here…the Quinn trade rumors finally came to a head in mid-December when the Wild (in Quinn’s words) ‘sacked up’ and traded for him, conveniently right before we were set to play the Canucks at home in what could have been an awkward situation for everyone involved.
What’s annoying isn’t even so much that we didn’t get him, it’s that we couldn’t even entertain the notion of getting him because Fitz had made a cap mess so deep he couldn’t possibly beg his way out of it. This goes back in part to his hair-trigger panic signing of Jonathan Kovacevic last year after he had a good first half of the season, and Nemec had a poor first half coming off of injury. Since then, Kovacevic’s play dipped in the second half, he got injured and is now just about ready to come off the injured list, further complicating an already messy cap situation. Even if you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt on signing Kovacevic, it’s not ideal to have so many defensemen already making big money with Luke’s extension imminent, and part of why Fitz’s panicked, reactionary GM’ing has led to him being up against a wall now.
It also came out in the wake of the failed Quinn trade, that Fitz had asked at least one player to waive his no-trade and was rebuffed. Reading between the lines (i.e. him not denying it when directly asked about it), it seems that player was Dougie Hamilton – who’s also the highest paid defenseman on the team with Luke. Do I blame Hamilton for nixing a trade, no I do not…what I do blame him for is dude, if you want to be here then at least give effort. He’s spent much of the first half of the season floating and committing penalties, without the dynamic offensive gifts of the past that might have at least canceled out some of that. Dougie’s situation might be the closest parallel to 2010-11 I can make, since it’s eerily reminiscent of Jamie Langenbrunner being asked to waive a no-trade, then skating around the first half of the season in who cares mode. At least act like you want to be here, or do us all a favor and waive for a team that wants you. Just being in who cares mode, ole’ing the greatest goalscorer in history is just embarrassing and doesn’t help anyone.
Of course it would be Dougie that was asked to waive his NTC because Ondrej Palat’s production for his money has been so bad basically from the minute he signed his deal that it’s not even worth it to try to attach a pick to get rid of him IF he even waived his own NMC, he’ll likely be a buyout at the end of this season with one year left on his deal and a spectacularly bad free agent signing, with not even one good season among the four he’s played here. At least he’s tried, I’ll say that much for him but given the fact he was lauded for veteran leadership, I haven’t exactly seen that at all from him here given how disappointing this franchise has been for the better part of three years now.
He’s just another guy who doesn’t rock the boat and get in people’s faces, we have too many of them here including the captain and head coach. Which is why it stands out when someone actually does, like Jack in the Capitals game – the same one as that Ovechkin goal above – when he called the team out after giving up a last-second goal in the first period…only to have a careless turnover in front of his own net, leading to a three on the goalie goal less than twenty minutes later. At least he tried, but holy heck what a way to self-own. It took one of the newest Devils – Connor Brown – to lay into the team after a typically deadass two periods at Columbus on New Year’s Eve, that finally seemed to wake them up in a three-goal explosion in the third period, followed by an impressive win (at home no less!) against Utah on Saturday where for a hot moment it seemed as if maybe we were a game away from getting back on track here…too bad it was against the dreaded Canes.
Now we can get to last night and the impetus for this post (well actually two nights ago now by the time I finish this since I’ve already gone over midnight and will now finish the rest of this off tomorrow morning)…
First things first, no I wasn’t in the building for the Canes game – it’s been hard to get motivated to even watch this team anymore, much less go to the games. My only attended games all of December were two fiascoes I’ve already alluded to, the 8-4 loss to Tampa Bay with Markstrom hitting rock bottom and a 4-3 OT loss to the Caps where basically every goal was caused by someone’s catastrophic mistake. If it wasn’t Jack giving up a 3-on-0 or Dougie watching Ovechkin shoot the puck by him it was Jonas Siegenthaler committing the cardinal sin of trying to play the puck in the last five seconds of a period rather than just eating it at the boards, turning it over as the Caps scored a goal with less than a second remaining. Fittingly, the game ended in OT on a Luke mistake when he tried to force the puck to Paul Cotter, who was covered and wound up springing the breakout the other way that proved decisive.
Even that wasn’t as mind-numbingly stupid as what he pulled Sunday night though. I didn’t have any inkling what happened until I saw this Tweet from Kristy Flannery alluding to it:
The fans in attendance here are voicing their displeasure every time #NJDevils Luke Hughes touches the puck. It's been a rough night for the 22-year-old.
Shocked that our fans actually targeted anyone much less a popular kid, I immediately had to suss out what happened on a message board and when I heard Luke had scored TWO own goals, I was like…really? Did he get drunk with holiday cheer or something? I was expecting maybe he deflected one in and had one bounce off him but the actual highlights were far worse. Now you can’t help but think in this age if there’s going to be a FanDuel burner account investigation, the second one in particular was actually that bad. Technically it might not have been an own goal but he more or less did hand it to Taylor Hall (ironically) on a silver platter, skating basically from the blueline to the front of his own net while Hall trailed him like a shark, then pounced to finish off the goal.
Going from 1-0 up to 2-1 down entirely because of Luke’s cavalier carelessness – eventually becoming a 3-1 loss – seemed to be the final straw that made the crowd snap and boo him the rest of the night every time he touched the puck. Oh, it’s been building…the crowd finally turning on Markstrom against Tampa was a tell, and certainly in the Caps game you could feel it when the team was booed off the ice after a first period that wasn’t even that bad, but Siegenthaler’s bonehead play ruined it for everyone. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a Devils skater (non-goalie) targeted for wrath of the crowd though, certainly not to this degree. Even Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010 – yikes, another 2010 comparison – wasn’t getting it quite this bad, it was almost comical when they had Happy Thanksgiving messages on the jumbotron and Kovalchuk was booed there.
While I didn’t get the annoyance of seeing these plays in live time, or the totality of the defeat, I did have my eyes firmly rolling at the reaction afterward where the coach, players and team personnel put more effort into backing Luke off the ice than they’ve done for a lot of actual games in recent weeks.
Nico Hischier speaking on a day he wasn’t scheduled to just to offer Luke support was portrayed as some grand gesture on Twitter, in some ways that’s a perfect encapsulation of the problems around here. Nico is a nice kid and to be fair that’s something you should do as a captain for a teammate, but also maybe things don’t even get to this point if Nico and others had come down on Luke beforehand – not like Sunday’s the first time he’s played poorly and made lazy, braindead mistakes, they were just the most obvious examples for all to see. Perhaps if the team tried to self-police the garbage they’ve been putting out on the ice, the crowd wouldn’t have been compelled to do it themselves on Sunday.
Do I think the crowd went too far? Yes, I do agree with Mike Rupp and others when they say booing the first shift was fine, after that it just became counterproductive. I’m pretty sure I would have done just that if I was there (booed only the first shift), but why was Luke even still out there shift after shift in the first place? That’s where if you actually had a strong coach, Luke would be sitting down at least through intermission but Keefe, like the rest of this organization is too soft to really go after the golden boy players. And Keefe even mocked the suggestion in the postgame that he should have benched Luke, like really dude? I know your roster is limited – despite being mostly healthy now – but sometimes you have to make a point for the greater good, and sometimes a kid just needs to reset. You could argue for either of those to have been the case, and that’s all the more why not benching Luke for even a single shift was arguably just as annoying as his braindead mistakes.
To a degree I do feel like the crowd was over the top harsh on Luke – which included dumb bronx cheers when he tried to skate through the entire Carolina defense and got put on his backside – because he conveniently put the target on his back in front of everyone and inadvertently took a bullet for the whole organization, not like he’s the only one who’s been a disappointment (far from it) although the fact he held out getting a new contract when we have cap issues doesn’t help either. At this point I feel like the GM is the one who should be getting the fans’ ire for causing and putting a lot of this mess together, hopefully he’ll get his soon enough.
I don’t feel bad for Luke in any case, maybe this was the kick in the ass he needed and wasn’t ever going to get from a pathetically soft locker room. Just the audacity of him saying he’s played pretty good hockey this year shows that there’s been no critical feedback at all until Sunday when the fans did it for the staff and the team. Not that anyone else gets it from the team either other than maybe a kid like Nemec, he’d have been sent to Siberia if he pulled what Luke did last night. We know they won’t do crap about Douglas’s floating nonsense – he just keeps leading the blueline in icetime night after night.
Things must change on and off the ice, and in a hurry before changes are eventually forced on them. Firing another coach and/or finally banishing some underperforming players won’t fix the root issue of there being a lack of in-house discipline. This team’s fast on pace to miss the playoffs for a second time in three years after 2022-23 was supposed to be a signal of the Devils becoming the next great force in the league. While I’m down on Keefe right now clearly it’s not just a coach problem at this point – heck, look at Lindy Ruff in Buffalo, they can’t lose a game since they canned their rubbish GM and enforced some form of accountability for years of losing. Maybe he wasn’t ever the problem here after all.
Does make you wonder what would happen if we also canned our own rubbish GM (and actually replaced him with an outsider, not just another in-house promotion)…
The Rangers appear to have lost Igor Shesterkin to a serious injury. During the first period against the Mammoth, Shesterkin was accidentally run into by J.J. Peterka, who was searching for a rebound following a save on Dylan Guenther.
After Peterka banged into Shesterkin and knocked him over inside his crease, he was in a lot of pain while lying flat on his back. The injury occurred with seven minutes remaining in the period.
Igor Shesterkin needed help getting off the ice after an innocent looking play 🤕 pic.twitter.com/cEAW85xKSn
Rangers trainers immediately came out to tend to him. Noticeably limping off while being helped to the locker room, Shesterkin couldn’t put any weight on his right leg.
Igor Shesterkin needed help getting off the ice after an innocent looking play 🤕 pic.twitter.com/cEAW85xKSn
Jonathan Quick immediately replaced the injured Shesterkin in the net. Before he exited the game, Shesterkin made nine saves in a scoreless period. Quick came on in relief and stopped all three shots.
When the game concludes, we’ll learn more about the right leg injury Shesterkin suffered. If it’s as bad as it looked, he could be lost for the remainder of the season.
The 30-year-old netminder entered the game with a 17-12-4 record, a 2.47 goals-against-average, .912 save percentage, and one shutout.
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