Courageous survivor Kyle Beach exposes the Blackhawks, weak response a black eye for NHL, Quenneville resigns from Panthers

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Derek

It was a long time ago that Sheldon Kennedy spoke out about being sexually assaulted by former Junior hockey coach Graham James. It took years later for Theo Fleury to come clean with what James had done to both him and Kennedy. His book, “Playing With Fire”, exposed James for the pedophile he was. It’s a book I got and had personally signed from the courageous Fleury at a book signing before a Rangers game. I still have the picture saved from that night.

Having since read Fleury’s book a couple of times, I still can’t fathom what he went through during that rough period. Nobody should ever be forced to experience that. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world where sexual predators exist. Many high up on the food chain who get away with it. I don’t have to cite names. These are untouchable people who are part of a despicable underworld where rules don’t apply to them. It’s sickening.

For over a decade, Kyle Beach lived that nightmare. A former Chicago Blackhawks first round pick in 2008, he never played one NHL game. Now we know why. It was back in 2010 during the Blackhawks’ run to the first of three Stanley Cups that Beach was called up to the Black Aces and traveled with the team that drafted him. What we didn’t know was what a terrible ordeal he went through. It wasn’t until recently that a John Doe had accused former video coach Brad Aldrich of sexual assault in May 2010. Eleven years after the alleged encounter, that victim filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks on May 7, 2021.

An independent investigation from Jenner & Block LLP into the alleged assault found that Blackhawks higher ups that included former GM Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville were aware of what happened. Instead of taking action against Aldrich, they didn’t respond to the serious allegations made by Beach. Instead, they prioritized winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1961 over the well being of their own player. An unthinkable way to handle something of such serious nature.

Regrettably, we see it all the time. USA Gymnastics comes to mind. The courage former Olympic champions Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles and Maggie Nichols showed while testifying on September 15 against Doctor Larry Nassar, is amazing. They stood up for themselves and for former teammates who were sexually assaulted by Nassar while USA Gymnastics stood by and did nothing. Neither did the FBI. Maroney was a vocal critic of their investigation.

With his name withheld from the public as John Doe, Kyle Beach didn’t have to come forward. However, he wanted to have his voice heard in front of the camera on TSN’s SportsCentre. It was on Wednesday night at 6 PM that the courageous Beach appeared on TSN and spoke with Rick Westhead for approximately 25 minutes about his horrible experience. He talked at length about how Chicago Blackhawks management did nothing until after they won the Cup. Eventually, Aldrich was forced to resign. Somehow, they still allowed him to participate in Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup celebrations even being included at the parade where Beach was close by. He even got to have his day with the Cup.

The rest reads like a who’s who of how to not handle such a serious accusation. Aldrich landed another job at the University of Miami (Ohio) where he sexually assaulted two men in Fall 2012. He got letter of recommendations from the Blackhawks for that job and one at Houghton High School in Michigan where he assaulted a 16-year old boy on the hockey team. How could any organization promote this kind of crap? Aldrich is a sexual predator. Astonishingly, he only received a prison sentence of less than a year for these heinous crimes. Worse, he likely can’t be charged due to the statute of limitations. It honestly feels like a sad episode of Law And Order SVU where there is no justice. It’s agonizing.

What makes it worse was seeing the emotions Beach went through during his revealing exclusive interview. He fought back tears while he answered every question Westhead asked him. It was powerful stuff. He credited his girlfriend for being behind him throughout this whole ordeal. They’ve shared moments of tears, happiness and laugher with Beach finally feeling plenty of relief and vindication.

So many lies were told by the Blackhawks including Quenneville, who pretended he first learned about the gruesome details this past June. He was at the upper management meeting they held on May 23, 2010 with Bowman present along with former assistant GM and current Winnipeg Jets’ GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, former Blackhawks vice president of hockey operations, Al MacIsaac, former Team President John McDonough and Executive Vice President Jay Blunk. Once the news broke, Bowman and MacIsaac left their posts. Blackhawks CEO Rocky Wirtz informed the media that they would no longer be part of the organization moving forward. Beach called it a great step in the right direction.

One disturbing aspect after all of this finally came out was how the NHL responded to it. In typical fashion, they gave the Blackhawks a $2 million fine. A slap on the wrist. It was a decade ago that the Devils were fined $3 million and forfeited a third round pick in 2011 along with a first round pick for signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term deal that they determined as cap circumvention. You’re telling us that a contract they thought violated the rules of the CBA is worse than a coverup by an organization that protected its own interests at the expense of a young player, who was sexually assaulted. The scary part is Beach said word spread around the locker room quickly. Everyone knew. He was teased about it by players. Thankfully, former defensemen Brent Sopel and Nick Boynton supported Beach. Boynton basically said the top stars knew including Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp. He really didn’t hold back.

The league also didn’t suspend Quenneville from coaching the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night against the Bruins. Instead, he was behind the bench for what should be his final NHL win. He resigned Thursday night. Although NHL insider Kevin Weekes hinted that John Tortorella could be the replacement, it looks like former NHL player Andrew Brunette will take over as Interim Coach for the time being. He was a top assistant on a coaching staff that includes Derek MacKenzie, Ulf Samuelsson and Tuomo Ruutu. The Panthers have started the season a perfect 7-0. They should be okay. There’s a plethora of talent and experience on a deep roster that should contend. Tortorella didn’t mince words while on The Point when asked by ESPN host John Buccigross how he felt about the sexual assault Beach was brave enough to reveal. He was a 20-year old kid. Now, he’s 31 and playing in Germany. Somehow, he’s held it together to have a solid pro career. He’s a survivor.

It’s hard to believe in this day and age that such despicable behavior still is allowed to go on behind closed doors. Harvey Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence for sexual abuse allegations dating back to the 1970’s. Over 80 women came forward in October 2017. He was found guilty of two felonies in February 2020. He is currently serving time in Los Angeles at Wende Correctional Facility. Another disgusting person who was convicted of sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York was Jeffrey Epstein. After being arrested on July 6, 2019, he was found dead in his jail cell on August 10, 2019. Considering some of the prominent list of wealthy names that appeared under him, it remains very strange how he died. I don’t believe he killed himself. That’s my only comment on it.

If we are to change as a society for the better, such despicable behavior cannot be tolerated. It is unacceptable. It’s sad that Beach had to experience the similar pain and emotional heartache that both Sheldon Kennedy and Theo Fleury did. The latter of who turned to alcohol and drugs at a young age as a coping mechanism. Fleury remains one of my favorite players. He was a fiery player who played much bigger than his slight frame. If not for the off ice issues, Fleury is a Hall Of Famer. He finished over a point-per-game for his career with 1,088 points in 1,084 games. He took a lot of verbal abuse from opponents who got below the belt about his substance abuse issues. That probably explained his crazy behavior. He battled so many demons.

There are many former players who have been taken advantage of. Daniel Carcillo said he also was a victim of sexual assault. He’s been pretty outspoken about the league’s mishandling of the concussion lawsuit. A separate issue that of course commissioner Gary Bettman won’t touch. Let’s just say there’s a lot of bad history when it comes to the NHL’s past. It’s incredibly disappointing that they didn’t take stronger action against the Blackhawks organization. They should lose first round picks and pay a heavier fine.

Even Jonathan Toews’ commentary on the Beach situation missed the mark completely. Nobody cares what he thinks about Bowman personally. The whole thing stinks. The Hawks were a great team that won three Cups last decade. Now, that is forever tarnished. It’s poetic that the struggling Maple Leafs rallied back to beat them in overtime 3-2 in Chicago. The Blackhawks remained winless. Only the abysmal Coyotes have a worse record. This isn’t about some of the younger players on their roster like Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach or the much respected future Hall Of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury. It’s about mainstays Toews and Kane still being there and not doing anything to help Beach. Unbelievable.

When a story like Kyle Beach’s breaks, it’s much bigger than the sport. You feel nothing but sadness and emptiness for him. I’m glad he had enough heart and strength to go public. He didn’t have to. Instead, he wanted to to tell his story. He told the truth and exposed the Chicago Blackhawks for gutless frauds. Cowards. That goes for NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. Nobody did anything. It’s completely unacceptable.

The time has come for the good old boys’ club to die. I hope the courageous story of Kyle Beach is the beginning of a major overhaul in sports.

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End of Devils’ homestand flames out

Posted on October 26, 2021 by hasan4978

The last thing I wanted to do after getting back from this game – mercifully early because of the utter trash effort this team put on the ice for the first two periods – is write about this game tonight. Honestly there’s not much real analysis needed. For the third straight game this team was a complete no-show for the first thirty or so minutes of the game, certain players have been no-shows even more often than that and this team got eviscerated by the second actual good team they played on this homestand, just like they got eviscerated by the first good team they played in the Caps.

Not that I really paid much attention to analyze anything. Calgary killed us off farcically quickly in the first period with four goals in an under seven-minute span starting with a breakaway goal from 400-year old, 500-pound Milan Lucic. Considering it went five hole that might have been the most stoppable goal given up in the first period, certainly the second goal was on the immortal Jonas Siegenthaler, who not only turned the puck over inside the blueline, but also allowed Andrew Mangiapane to muscle his way around him for an easy ‘garbage goal’. Before you could even pick your jaw up off the floor, a PK Subban penalty led to another predictably easy PP goal allowed within twenty-two seconds, a deflection by Elias Lindholm that mercifully ended Nico Daws’ night. Poor kid, went from hero to zero tonight though you can’t exactly blame him for this team’s complete dumpster fire. Not that the goalie change helped matters as a horrid turnover by Jesper Bratt (one of a few that got him benched for much of the second period) led to another breakaway goal, this time by Mangiapane who faked poor Scott Wedgewood out of his skates.

Honestly I should have walked out then for how interested the Devils were in the game. Has this franchise ever come back from four down to win a game? I can’t think of an instance. I can think of a three-goal comeback a few years ago against Vegas, but not four although they had ridiculous ‘missed it by that much’ junktime rallies late last season against the Pens (six goals down) and the Rangers (four goals down). Because I was already there and have no intention of going to the ridiculous Halloween evening start against Columbus I stuck it out through the second period, but the team’s play and effort level really didn’t improve all that much even though they got a lucky goal from Pavel Zacha in the second after a giveaway from the immortal Dan Vladar, who would have been better off just continuing to nap in his net for all the pressure we put on him. To be exact, we had thirteen mostly inconsequential shots in the first two periods and to reference the old Zach Parise line, with all due respect they might have as well had a pee-wee goalie in net.

Since this is gonna be a night of toss around the blame, I want to focus on three people in particular – starting with the head coach. Obviously when your team is just not ready to play multiple games in a row the coach has gotta take responsibility for that. Not only that but you also have to question Lindy Ruff’s decision to again scratch Marian Studenic – after he had a terrific game against the Sabres – in favor of grinder Mason Geertsen. It was particularly puzzling after the coach’s postgame comments on Saturday on how the Devils were missing Jack Hughes and Miles Wood so there was some speed lacking in the lineup and Studenic brought some of that element. So Studenic plays well, you admit the team could use the speed element and you go back to the goon that isn’t even that good of a goon? I like Lindy personally but he’s definitely showing his….old-school proclivity on that one. From what little I read about the third period Geertsen took a bad penalty that led to the fifth goal, shocker. Not to mention the fact that the coach tinkered around with all the lines and d-pairings instead of just leaving the same guys together that finished the Sabres game on fire.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment of this season has been Yegor Sharangovich so far, the fact he doesn’t have a goal is bad enough but his effort and commitment have been sketchy at best this season, and he earned another benching in the middle of this game. Shockingly he has three assists in the first five games, but one of them was a junktime point against the Caps. I kind of expect this kind of mercurial up and down play from Jesper Bratt at this point though. So do Matt and Chico, who reportedly eviscerated him on the radio after some of his poor play early. I don’t want to hear hey, he’s a sixth rounder, we’re way past that now. Bratt is what he is, a maddening, streaky player who can get 15 points in 20 games but inevitably follows that up with a 4 point in 20 game stretch where he’s sloppy, gets benched and need to get the spurs put up his rear end before he responds.

Not that the turnover twins were alone in their poor play early, you could pretty much count the number of guys on one hand who actually played well tonight. I’m not sure you’d need five fingers either. Zacha had a second goal in the third period so you have to say he played well, Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist in the third period – albeit borderline junktime, but still the teen rookie is continuing his nice start. Dougie Hamilton had assists on both third-period goals, which turned a 5-1 game into a laughably faux close 5-3 finish. Ty Smith seemingly didn’t suck in his second game off IR, but that’s pretty much it for guys who played well.

You could take the glass half-full approach and say 3-2 is fine for the opening homestand but I don’t want to hear that. This is more of a glass empty 3-2 in my eyes, because you got eviscerated by the only two good teams you played on this homestand and were life and death to beat the other three bad teams at home with no back-to-backs and zero travel. You can’t even blame this on goalie play and missing Mackenzie Blackwood because Daws saved their bacon the other night while Jonathan Bernier (who seems to be in witness protection now) did well in his two starts.

Speaking of Blackwood, probably the only good news in the last couple days is twofold, both involving the presumptive starting goalie. He skated on the ice today, getting a step closer to a return and he got his first vaccination shot, so our long local nightmare of wondering if this guy was going to miss games on account of not being able to travel to Canada is over with. Maybe we’ll actually get Blackwood or Bernier back in time for the Devils’ next game in Pittsburgh on Saturday. It’s nice to have days off considering we still have multiple injuries we’re dealing with but obviously the days off haven’t helped the team this year after all the excuses given about NO PRACTICE TIME last year. Our special teams are still awful and this team’s still incredibly mercurial even with a far more spaced out schedule.

For now the Devils have to ask themselves why they continue to sleepwalk out of the gate in these games. If they don’t get a more consistent effort out of a young team that shouldn’t be taking nights off, not much else is going to matter.

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Blueshirts Flame Out in deserved home loss, Sloppy Play and Turnovers doom four game win streak

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Derek

It was a home fizzle. In their return from a perfect 4-0 road trip, the Rangers flamed out literally in a dismal 5-1 loss to Calgary at a less than capacity MSG. More on the attendance later.

Playing for the seventh time over a dozen days, it caught up to the Blueshirts on Monday night. They were sloppy from the outset. On a night they had 20 turnovers, nine came in an ugly first period. Outplayed and outshot by a sharper Flames, it could’ve been worse if not for the play of Igor Shesterkin. He bailed out the team as long as possible in a first controlled by the aggressive forechecking Flames. They doubled up the Rangers in shots, 15-7.

With the puck management far from ideal, they also were down a forward when Ryan Reaves went to the locker room for an unknown injury. Although he did return to the bench for the second period, he never took another shift. Reaves only played 62 seconds before coach Gerard Gallant went with 11 forwards the remainder of the game. He did a good enough job rotating, but even with a healthy Ryan Strome back following a 10-day hiatus for being COVID positive (fully vaxxed), this was a stinker.

For far too long, Shesterkin was left to fend for himself. He came up with a few big saves in a lackluster opening period. However, the Flames finally broke through with 1:10 left. On a good transition up the ice, Calgary created a three-on-two rush that ended up with defensive defenseman Chris Tanev finishing off a Johnny Gaudreau pass for what else but his first goal of the season. A player better known for blocking shots and defense, Tanev was able to beat Shesterkin at 18:50 to give the Flames a well deserved lead.

On the radio side, Pete Stemkowski was pretty critical of the Rangers’ careless play. Maybe it was a product of them being tired. However, no one used that excuse following the game. That’s not in the Gallant DNA. Of course, it was brought up by USA Today’s Vince Mercogliano in the postgame. But he wouldn’t directly say that was the reason for the 20 giveaways they were credited with. But Gallant did note that they’ve had the busiest schedule so far so, you know he’s aware that it hasn’t been easy. Just getting to this point with a 4-2-1 record through seven games is a positive when you consider both Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad have only one goal apiece. Plus Strome missed over a week and Kaapo Kakko again sat out. Hopefully, he’s ready by Friday when the surprising Blue Jackets visit. That won’t be no picnic with how well Elvis Merzlikins is playing.

If not for the strong play of Shesterkin, it easily could’ve been 3-0 Calgary entering the second. Instead, they only trailed by one. There was more than enough time to get things righted. But before they got in sync, a bad miscommunication between Patrik Nemeth and Filip Chytil hurt their comeback hopes. On a simple play where Chytil passed the puck back to Nemeth behind the Rangers net, Nemeth miscalculated by throwing a dying quail right to Andrew Mangiapane. He was happy to take the early Halloween gift and fire the puck past Shesterkin high glove side with little wiggle room at 2:09. The goal was unassisted.

I wonder if Nemeth just thought Chytil would be in a different spot. The play made no sense. You don’t pass the puck in front of your net like that. It was uncharacteristic for Nemeth, who’s actually been a solid addition to the blue line. On that one, he screwed up and paid the price. Just an inexplicable turnover that wound up in the back of the net. One point here. You can’t always rely on Shesterkin to make every save. They’ve done that in at least two of his starts. In particular, the shooting gallery at Toronto last week. He was unbelievable. This can’t turn into another Henrik Lundqvist. Speaking of which, he was in studio for the third time with John Giannone and Steve Valiquette. They sure had fun analyzing the game and cracking jokes.

Not long after the Mangiapane goal, Chris Kreider was tripped up by Mikael Backlund. Handed a first power play, the top unit really disappointed the crowd. Outside of an early Kreider chance in front on an Adam Fox pass, the reunited first unit stunk it up. Panarin again refused to shoot the puck. Instead, he forced another pass into nowhere. That led to a Calgary shorthanded bid. But nothing came of it. Blake Coleman is awfully good at reading plays and generating chances. He had a superb game.

With the top unit overstaying their welcome, they heard it from displeased fans. They only had two power plays. Neither were particularly memorable. If you wanted a good idea of how bad they were, Panarin only had two shots while Fox had zero. Mika Zibanejad only was credited with two. One was a tricky shot that fooled Jacob Markstrom, who still kept it out. Maybe if the top players actually shot the puck more, they would’ve been successful. When Jacob Trouba leads your team in shots (6) which was as many as Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider and Fox combined, that’s usually a bad sign. Nothing against Trouba, who played his third straight strong game. But he can’t be relied on for offense.

It wasn’t that the team was bad in the second. They played much better hockey. That included more active shifts and some edge that they lacked in the first. The best shift came from Kevin Rooney, Dryden Hunt and Kreider, who was double shifted. They did some superb work down low applying forecheck pressure. A pinching Fox kept the play going. However, Calgary was able to escape trouble with solid defense. A trait under veteran coach Daryl Sutter. They didn’t back up despite leading by two. Something Lundqvist mentioned after the period. The Flames didn’t give the Rangers much space.

Another strong shift from the trio of Barclay Goodrow, Panarin and Strome nearly resulted in a goal for Trouba. With Gallant not liking what he saw from Alexis Lafreniere in a quiet first, he moved up Julien Gauthier to the first line and bumped the second year left wing down to the third line with Chytil and Sammy Blais. He decided to give Goodrow a shot with Strome and Panarin on the second line. A hustling Goodrow recovered a loose puck behind the Calgary net. He got it over for Panarin, who made a nice move to get the puck to Strome. The center had a cutting Trouba for a backdoor. But after he was stopped by Markstrom on the first attempt, Trouba had a rebound smothered by Markstrom on what seemed like a open net. That’s the kind of night Markstrom had. He finished with 28 saves.

Despite carrying much of the play, the Blueshirts had nothing to show for it. They trailed 2-0 after two periods. Somewhat astonishingly, they were ahead on face-offs. Yes. In a game they were too loose in which is why they got a deserved loss, they won 61 percent (31-and-20) of the draws. That included Strome going a near perfect 11-for-12. He’s not exactly an ace in the circle. But he was sharp for having missed extended time.

In the third, the Rangers earned a second power play when the hard-working Goodrow was hooked by Oliver Kylington. The power play again was mindless. You had more epic fails from the vaunted top unit. It was despicable. They’ve only connected three times so far. All courtesy of Kreider. Panarin is not even close to where he was the first two years. Something’s missing. Zibanejad is getting shots, but they’re not going in. To be honest, the power play only works due to Fox. When he’s not able to control play and get shots through or find the seams, they’re not going to be successful. He and Kreider are the two most important power play players. One makes dynamic reads while the other is the net front presence.

By the time the second unit got on that included Lafreniere, who got off an acrobatic shot while down to force Markstrom into a save, the 13,590 fans made it known how they felt. Bronx cheers were heard at the World’s Most Vaccinated. Could you blame them? The power play has to get a lot better. When the little used second unit is doing more, that’s an issue. Hopefully, the extra practice time can get things fixed. This is a perfect time for them to have three days off. Especially with it pouring cats and dogs. Perhaps Panarin needs a booster shot.

Funny enough, Gallant had Rooney out for an offensive draw with his grinders. Rooney won the face-off and just as the power play expired, he went to the net and converted in front from Hunt and Trouba at 5:25. Trouba got his shot on net and both Hunt and Rooney were there. Even as it looked like it was Rooney who got it, they actually gave it to Hunt, who had a solid game. I now understand why he’s on the roster. He works hard and is a Gallant kind of player. Even though they eventually changed the scoring to Rooney from Hunt and Trouba, that was Hunt’s first point as a Ranger. The original scoring was Hunt from Trouba and K’Andre Miller. I didn’t get how.

What happened next was mind numbing. On a shift in their end, Gauthier was clearly clipped by a Flames player. Somehow, the four blind mice didn’t see it. Unbelievable. Making matters worse, after a failed clear, Coleman scored on his own rebound to restore a two goal lead. This was ridiculous. How do two refs and two linesmen not detect the high stick? That missed call changed the game. The Rangers had momentum. Then it was gone in the blink of an instant. Coleman is a pesky player who plays hard. At one point,he was lined up against former Lightning line mate Goodrow. The irony. On the goal, he took one shot that Shesterkin stopped, but found the loose change and went backhand to make it 3-1 at 8:13. Boos rained down.

At that point, it was too much to overcome. When you have such a call go against you which in this case was a missed one, maybe it isn’t your night. These things happen. Even the few conspiracy theorists were using the ridiculous prop bets as to why. I cannot stand those in game gambling advertisements. They are promoting degenerate garbage. It’s all over the TV and radio. Prop betting should be banned. That’s how gambling addicts lose money fast. It’s bad enough they legalized it. Go listen to Craig Carton on Saturday morning to understand how addictive and dangerous gambling is. MSG sure has sunk. How do you go from great programming like SportsDesk and High School Weekly to this nonsense? We know why.

Rant over. Back to the game. On what was a good night for Trouba, he and partner Miller still got victimized by Backlund. On a good Noah Hanifin lead pass to Coleman, he slipped the puck to a streaking Backlund, who caught Miller leaning. With Trouba on the other side playing the pass, Backlund easily got by him to sneak one past Shesterkin for a 4-1 Calgary lead with 8:28 left in regulation. Game over. It was lazy positioning from Miller and Trouba didn’t close the gap. Too often in today’s NHL where they emphasize every cockamamie obstruction foul while overlooking the stick fouls we saw with Gauthier, defensemen get burned because they become too passive on such plays. Probably for fear of getting called. But both Miller and Trouba have to know better. That effectively ended the game.

As if to confirm how awful the officials were, they just had to call Chytil for a weak high-sticking on Kylington with the game decided. There was 1:36 left. They’ll call that, but totally miss the obvious one on Gauthier that killed any comeback hopes. Amazing. Of course, Mangiapane got a late power play goal with five seconds to spare for bookkeeping. That is how it ended.

As they skated off the Garden ice, Shesterkin showed frustration following the loss. But as Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti said, this wasn’t on him. The bottom line is his team played poorly. I must say I like Shesterkin showing such intensity. He wants to win. A similar quality to Lundqvist. You want your goalie to have that edge. I bet it brought a smile to Hank’s face. He really fits this new gig perfectly. He’s very good and analyzes the game well. I hope we see more of him. He looks happy. It’s great to see.

BATTLE OF HUDSON THREE STARS 🤩

3rd ⭐ Jacob Markstrom, Flames (28 saves on 29 shots)

2nd ⭐ Michael Backlund, Flames (goal plus 🍎, 4 SOG, +2 in 16:08)

1st ⭐ Blake Coleman, Flames (goal plus 🍎, 8 SOG, +2 in 17:32)

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Daws’ sensational debut leads the Devils over Buffalo in OT

Posted on October 24, 2021 by hasan4978

For all the talk about the younger players already on the Devils’ roster – including teen rookie Dawson Mercer who had a point in his first three NHL games – and guys like Alexander Holtz and Luke Hughes in the pipeline, I never gave a moment of thought to Nico Daws past reading a little bit on him when he was drafted. Why would I, when the Devils had a 24-year old Mackenzie Blackwood as the starter, plus a solid veteran backup in Jonathan Bernier? Especially given that goalies usually take longer to make an impact at the NHL level regardless, and the German-born Daws was a 2020 3rd round pick with exactly one game of AHL experience before last night’s stunning NHL debut. Daws wasn’t even taken in his first year of draft eligibility in 2019, as he was a backup on his own OHL team. And yet, here we were last night watching him in his NHL debut after the Devils’ top two goalies both started nursing injuries at once.

Seeing the 20-year old Daws announce his presence to Devils fans by making 24 saves last night including some high-quality stops early, just reminded me once again that there’s no better reality TV than professional sports. You just can’t script this stuff in Hollywood and be believable.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1313943430662422536?s=20

Reading Daws’ scouting report in the YT video, you see why the Devils brass (including legendary goalie Martin Brodeur above) liked the kid enough to use a third-round pick on him. A Devil goalie that’s calm with good lateral movement and can play the puck…who else does that sound like to you? Obviously it took the perfect storm to shuttle him to the NHL last night as the Devils’ third different starting goalie in four games this season – and none being the presumed #1 in Blackwood – and he’ll likely spend most of the season in Utica once Blackwood and Bernier start playing again, but for one sensational Saturday night Daws became an instant fan favorite, backstopping what can only be described as a grinding 2-1 OT win.

Last night’s Hollywood moment looked more like a Same Old Devils game through two periods. You would have thought the Devils would come out with their hair on fire after both the desultory effort on Thursday and coach Lindy Ruff taking his team to task over it. Particularly with the kid in net. And yet, almost every Devil aside from Daws was straight trash in the first period. You couldn’t have had a worse first five minutes to the game with the inevitable result of an early holding penalty by Jonas Siegenthaler being yet another power play goal allowed by our not-so-special teams to Dylan Cozens, one of the Sabres’ own prized younger players (#7 OA in 2019).

In some ways what happened less than a minute later was worse, when the Devils were about to go on the power play but Ruff made a foolish challenge to a disallowed goal that was never going to be overturned considering it was an official’s judgement call. Asking the refs to overturn a goal they waved off due to a player being thrown into the goalie is like asking NFL refs to overturn their own pass interference call – which few did, thus it stopped being reviewable. The fact we got a bench minor over it, to turn our PP into a 4-on-4 just made it worse. Coach Ruff predictably took full responsibility for the challenge after the game, admittedly I was impressed with his recall during the post-game presser comparing it to a disallowed goal against the Bruins last year (god knows I don’t remember a lot of in-game details from last season), but it didn’t help the team last night.

Things didn’t improve a lot as the Sabres dominated the first while the Devils continued to skate with their head in the clouds – exhibit A Yegor Sharangovich having two lazy, mindless turnovers in a five-second span, though it didn’t truly bottom out until early in the second when the Devils’ PP proved (again) as inept as their PK, not only failing to convert on back-to-back Sabre penalties but failing to even keep the puck in the Buffalo zone or get quality chances during the four minutes with an extra man. A botched keep by PK Subban drew particularly loud boos as everyone there was just fed up in general watching this team’s PP. It’s especially galling when other team’s PP’s score so easily on our PK and there’s no built-in excuse of a lack of practice time this year.

As if embarrassed into action by their own ineptitude or the fans’ dissatisfaction, the Devils picked their play up and started outskating the Sabres (on the second night of a back-to-back) from there, but it looked like it wouldn’t matter after a period where the Devils hit no fewer than three posts, including an absurd double save by Dustin Tokarski off of Marian Studenic after a breakaway in an extended sequence where the Devils could have had goals twice and even got the goal horn ringing for half a second. After that happened, I was convinced the Devils weren’t scoring all night.

Even though the Devils’ play improved for the rest of the night, Daws still had to be on point – particularly in one sequence late in the second when he stopped a breakaway by Drake Caggiula, then made another couple of point-blank saves soon after, including one off a deflection. As daunting as 1-0 looked at the time, we were never coming back from 2-0 last night. Things looked especially bleak when Nico Hischier was briefly forced off the ice late in the second, after a brutal uncalled spearing in the ribs made the rest of the night painful for the captain.

Not only did Nico return for the third (despite pain that made him wince the rest of the night), but he was johnny on the spot early in the period when Dougie Hamilton’s point shot missed the net, but Nico deflected the rebound off the back boards past Tokarski for not only the tying goal, but also a goal on the power play at that. Will miracles never cease? Despite outshooting the Sabres 29-12 in the final forty minutes, tying the game was the best the Devils could do over sixty minutes. However it did set up another dramatic three-on-three goal, this one by Pavel Zacha, who took a nice spinaround feed from Damon Severson and beat Tokarski with a laser of a wrister to win it. Sadly no stick toss from Pavel, but the goal will do just fine.

Unlike the Kraken game, the three stars were farcically easy last night, it’s just a matter of what order you want to put them in. I do want to shout out Studenic for a strong game too, especially being in and out of the lineup so far this season, though given the coach’s comments in the postgame about him adding speed that we’re missing with Jack Hughes and Miles Wood out of the lineup, I’d expect to see more of the 22-year old Studenic for the immediate future. At the arena, the three stars were Zacha, Hischier and Daws. I’d reverse that order.

Devils Three Stars:

  1. Nico Daws – 24 saves, win in his NHL debut and as the coach said after, two Nicos were indeed better than one
  2. Nico Hischier – PPG, clocked a shade over twenty minutes despite playing hurt after the second
  3. Pavel Zacha – GWG in OT

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Kreider sparks historic comeback win as Rangers get gritty goals to stun the Senators late, Goodrow nets game-winner

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Derek

For more than two periods, the Rangers had little going on in the final game of a four game road trip at Ottawa. After Josh Norris beat Alex Georgiev from way out 64 seconds into the third to put the Senators ahead by two, it looked like it would be another sleepless matinee loss at Canadian Tire Center.

However, Chris Kreider and a resilient bunch of Blueshirts had other ideas. It was Kreider’s power play goal with 5:23 remaining that sparked a stirring 3-2 comeback win over the Senators in Kanata, Ontario this afternoon. Not only did they get off the deck to rally from two down by scoring three straight times within a 3:20 time period. But they made history. As hard as it is to believe, it’s the first time in franchise history the Rangers have ever won a game in which they faced a multi-goal deficit with six minutes left in regulation.

If you want to be successful during a season, sometimes you have to find a way to win tough games you have no business winning. This isn’t to suggest the Senators are a good team yet. But they aren’t exactly a pushover anymore. With Brady Tkachuk back after finally signing a big extension, Ottawa is a team with some good young talent like Tim Stutzle, Norris, Shane Pinto (missed game due to injury), Thomas Chabot [Shalom], Drake Batherson and Artem Zub that should continue to improve. So, I wasn’t surprised it was a nail biter. Especially with it being the fourth and final game of a great road trip. By show of hands, who had the Rangers winning all four? This was the one I thought they’d lose.

For some reason, playing Ottawa on the weekend with an early start time usually means curtains for the Rangers. It’s like a scene in Halloween where you already know the character is getting killed off by Michael Myers. I’m glad they found their game just in time to steal two points. Even if the comeback was helped by an embellishment call on Stutzle that resulted in a four-on-four goal from unlikely source Ryan Lindgren to shockingly tie it 75 seconds following Kreider’s team-leading fourth (third on power play). It also didn’t hurt that an injury to Ottawa starting goalie Matt Murray forced backup Anton Forsberg into the game without any chance to warm up. There still wasn’t much he could do about the two goals that beat him on three shots. They were good deflections from Lindgren and Barclay Goodrow, who made it two consecutive games with a goal.

As if to prove that point, it took the Senators only 41 seconds to score the game’s first goal on Georgiev. Making his first start in 10 days, he looked rusty early. On a rare play at five-on-five where a pinching Adam Fox got caught, Stutzle started a quick transition up the ice. Taking a Connor Brown feed, he blew into the Rangers zone and made a perfect pass for Nick Paul, who beat Georgiev from the circle with a high rising shot past his glove for a 1-0 Ottawa lead. It definitely irked me. I’m already down on Georgiev, who isn’t consistent behind Igor Shesterkin. I figured that goal was gonna be the start of a long day.

Give Georgiev credit for settling in. His teammates didn’t have a good first period. After Ryan Reaves drew a tripping call on Norris, the power play continued to be an eyesore. The first unit did nothing. It was the second unit that encouraged me. In particular, Jacob Trouba who I’m not a big fan of having on one point with rookie Nils Lundkvist. He was good in this one. He even made a nice spin-o-rama and got his shot through to force a save from a sharp Murray, who was making his second consecutive start. I felt like the second unit worked hard to generate chances. Even though they didn’t connect, it was an improvement.

At even strength, I liked the new second line in the opening 20 minutes. Even though neither Filip Chytil or Alexis Lafreniere did much in the game, it seems like they have good chemistry with meat grinder Sammy Blais. Blais continues to impress with his strong work ethic. He’s making more fans as I predicted. Pavel who? Relax. I’m kidding. Blais won’t put up the offensive numbers Pavel Buchnevich will with the Blues. But he doesn’t have to. He brings a very hard-working honest approach that rubs off on teammates. If someone deserves a goal soon, it’s him. He’s still off to a good start with three assists in five games. The three have come over the last two. But it’s more than that with the 25-year old Swede, who’s very active during shifts and makes things happen. That includes heavy hits and even the occasional scrap which we saw earlier.

Blais wasn’t the only one to get into it. After a good clean check from Trouba, Tkachuk didn’t like it and challenged the veteran defenseman. Trouba obliged. Even though the very tough Tkachuk got the takedown, Trouba did okay. He took the Senators’ best player off the ice for five minutes. They could’ve used him moments later with Kreider off for holding Stutzle. The Rangers got the job done on the penalty kill. Tkachuk returned for Ottawa’s second power play of the period. But the penalty kill gave them very little all game to go 4-for-4, only allowing two power play shots on Georgiev. Give credit to the work players such as Goodrow (3:09) and Patrik Nemeth (2:58) did. Both are fitting in well.

Just to follow up on Georgiev, I thought he did a good job the rest of the period after the stoppable goal to Paul. He made some key saves to keep the Senators from extending their lead. They outshot the Rangers 10-8. When the period concluded, I felt relieved. It didn’t feel like a one goal deficit.

In fact, Georgiev kept his team in the second period. Ottawa held a 10-4 edge in shots during it. However, they were unable to beat Georgiev and take advantage. For the game, he finished with 26 saves on 28 shots to even earn the game’s Third Star. It’s never easy for a backup goalie to play after going over a week without a game. So, that shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s not going to get as many starts with coach Gerard Gallant making it clear that Shesterkin is the man. Figure him to be back in for Calgary on Monday. The Rangers will finally be home.

One of the things that hurt past Rangers teams that missed the playoffs were our goalies giving up goals early or late in periods. In today’s case, it happened twice to Georgiev. On a seemingly nothing play, Norris gained the blue line and fired a wrist shot from distance. Sure enough, it snuck by Georgiev, who should’ve had it. This one came 64 seconds into the third period to give the Senators a 2-0 lead. The goal was unassisted. At that point, I feared the worst. Fortunately, the Rangers never quit.

If there’s one thing we know from recent teams, this is exactly the kind of game they never win. It would’ve been easy for them to say, ‘It’s not our day. We can still take satisfaction going 3-1 on the road trip.’ Not this team. They weren’t satisfied.

Able to pick up their play, the Rangers got more pressure on Ottawa. The only trouble was Murray wasn’t cooperating. He made some good stops to keep his team ahead by two. It looked like the last ditch effort wouldn’t get rewarded. But in a determined final period where Blais fought Paul to take him off the ice with less than 10 minutes left, the Blueshirts didn’t go quietly.

Following a Parker Kelly hook on K’Andre Miller, who had a second straight better game that included six blocked shots, this time the power play made it work. On just a superb play started by Mika Zibanejad, he got the puck to Artemi Panarin. It was his turnover that resulted in the Norris tally earlier in the period. This time, he made up for it by making a perfect shot pass for an open Kreider in front. He was able to tip in his team-leading fourth and third power play goal to cut the deficit in half with still 5:23 to go.

On the Kreider goal, Murray was injured. The above replay might indicate that it was a lower-body injury that caused him to exit the game. That meant Forsberg had to come in cold to try to preserve the Ottawa one goal lead. Like I said earlier, it wasn’t his fault. It was the Rangers’ gritty effort that stole this game. One they could look back on if things continue to go well.

Then came a critical moment that helped the comeback. With the shifty Stutzle skating by in the neutral zone, Trouba took him down with an obvious trip. However, the officials decided that Stutzle helped sell the call. That resulted in him getting a coordinating two for embellishment. Of course, the 11,167 fans in attendance voiced their displeasure. You be the judge.

I guess it depends on your perspective. Whatever you feel, instead of the Senators having a 5-on-4 power play with 4:38 left, the teams played 4-on-4. That made a huge difference. Right away off a face-off, the Blueshirts scored when Fox made another great play. After taking a Kreider feed, he found open space down the right side and sent a great pass towards the net that partner Ryan Lindgren redirected past Forsberg to suddenly tie the score with 4:08 remaining. What made it so shocking is it was Lindgren in front. The defensive defenseman had enough sense to go to the dirty area and get his first of the season from Fox and Kreider. The game-tying goal came seven seconds into the 4-on-4.

Ottawa never recovered. You never know how a young team is going to respond to blowing a game they had won. It was the more experienced Rangers who took it away. With just over two minutes left in regulation, Goodrow was able to get his stick on a long Blais shot for the game-winner. Trouba helped set it up. It gave Goodrow goals in two games in a row. He sealed the win over Nashville on Thursday with an empty netter. This was pure determination with him able to neatly deflect home the Blais shot with 2:03 remaining.

The Rangers were able to protect the lead for the remainder of regulation to earn their fourth successive win on the road. Just call them the Road Warriors. Cue Hawk and Animal with manager Precious Paul Ellering. He’s the only one still around. Both Hawk and Animal live on in spirit for wrestling fans like myself and my brother Justin, who celebrates his birthday. Happy Birthday 🎂🥳🎉!!!!! I bet he’ll love the wrestling reference. He’s the biggest Road Warriors fan I know. I still think they were the best tag team even if I was preferential to the Midnight Express.

Right now, the moniker Road Warriors fits the Rangers. They just finished a perfect road trip going 4-for-4 by defeating the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Predators and Senators. That’s quite a statement after going 0-1-1 in the first two games. They’re now up to a Metro Division best 4-1-1 with nine points. Don’t forget the Hurricanes are looking to stay undefeated while the Capitals picked up their eighth point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Flames, who visit MSG Monday. Getting off to a good start is important. They’ve found ways to win without two top six forwards. Maybe Kaapo Kakko and Ryan Strome will be ready in two nights.

With both Panarin and Zibanejad still each with only one goal, the roster balance that Gallant and Team President and GM Chris Drury has come through. When they can get solid contributions from a supporting cast that at the moment includes Greg McKegg, Dryden Hunt and Morgan Barron, you have to feel good. Blais and Goodrow are getting it done so far. So is Nemeth, who very quietly goes about his business playing third pair with Nils Lundkvist and killing penalties. There’s a lot to like. They have character.

The Rangers host the Flames on Monday and then get a needed three day break before the Blue Jackets visit The Garden on Friday. Then, it’s back on the road including the first ever meeting against the expansion Kraken on Halloween. What a way to close October. It doesn’t get any easier with games in Vancouver and Edmonton before concluding a four game Western swing at Calgary.

BATTLE OF HUDSON 3 STARS 🌟

3rd 🌟 Jacob Trouba, NYR (🍎 + fight, plus-1 in 19:39, 3 SOG in 7 attempts)

2nd 🌟 Barclay Goodrow, NYR (GWG 2nd straight game with a goal, plus-1 in 16:40)

1st 🌟 Chris Kreider, NYR (PPG + 🍎, 6 hits, 5 SOG in 8 attempts, plus-1 in 20:22)

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Devils’ injury situation continues to mount as reality hits against Caps

Posted on October 22, 2021 by hasan4978

Let’s just start with the good news, I’m glad I couldn’t even watch last night’s game, let alone attend what was always going to be a predictable beatdown by the Caps, who’ve owned us the last several years. Sure, we don’t have a good record over a lot of teams in that stretch, but we were 0-6-2 against the Ovechkin gang last year and have been particularly dominated by them since at least 2014-15. You would think there would have been a good effort last night given that backdrop and the team’s 2-0 start, but apparently not. Maybe we’ve accepted the fact the Caps are our daddies. Sure we had people missing – which I’ll get to – but when you have the coach indirectly calling out our stars for a lack of effort and switching around the lines in Game 3 because of a no-show against a rival that’s dominated you, that’s…not good.

I kind of beg to differ with the coach in one respect because this team IS outskilled against the Caps at full strength, never mind with the joke of a lineup we put out there last night, partly because of the injuries and partly by choice due to overcompensating against the expected physicality of the game with guys like Mason Geertsen. Nothing against a kid playing his second NHL game but the Caps laugh at guys like that being in another team’s lineup. Of course he’s gotta say we have enough talent to match up with anyone though. Especially if the effort is clearly lacking. You would think with a lineup that is full of guys with stuff to prove that wouldn’t happen, but maybe that’s an example of why certain guys have something to prove.

Has Jesper Bratt even been alive for the first three games? As much as the spreadsheet warriors like to claim Bratt’s a great defensive forward, I don’t see it – either by the eye test or the lack of PK time. When he’s not scoring he’s borderline useless, possession or no possession and he tends to have streaks of four points in fifteen games followed by streaks of twelve points in the next fifteen. Bratt was clearly one of the guys being singled out last night due to his 14 minutes of icetime though, and this isn’t exactly the first time a coach has had to put the spurs to him. So was Yegor Sharangovich, who’s clearly not gotten off to a good start this season. He had an assist but was also a -2 in just 11:30 last night. I’d give him a little more time before getting the search party out, but as this roster is currently constituted, we’re gonna need this guy to score upward of 20 goals and play a good all-around game. Janne Kuokkanen had a junktime goal last night but has overall been just as invisible as the first two guys on the opening homestand.

It’s not just the kids that have to pick it up (though sadly I’m not expecting PK Subban to pick it up at this point), although it’d be nice if the kid captain started scoring again. Nico Hischier’s offensive production has gone down every year since his strong debut stapled on a line with Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall. I get he hasn’t played a lot of hockey since the pandemic started, I get that he was milliseconds from scoring against Seattle but one assist in three games is just now gonna cut it from a supposed franchise center. Especially now that we’ll need guys like Nico to pick up the load even more with Jack Hughes on the shelf due to a separated shoulder, and likely week-to-week at the very least.

Not that Hughes was our only actual missing Devil last night. Miles Wood and Ty Smith are still on the back of milk cartons, and due to the vagueness of reporting and information on their injuries god only knows when they’ll be back. You could say the same for alleged starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood but hey, he skated yesterday. Get out the confetti and balloons! With Blackwood out, the Devils could ill afford having Jonathan Bernier also getting hurt, but apparently his ‘minor camp issue’ cropped up again and he had to miss last night’s game, giving the crease once again to Scott Wedgewood. So much for having a full lineup in the first season post-COVID breakout with all but one roster player now being vaccinated.

Last night may have been a reality check in that the Devils certainly aren’t on the level of actual top teams in the NHL, but Saturday is another acid test against a currently surprising 3-0 Sabres team. I get the Sabres might not know they’re supposed to suck yet, plus there’s a little ‘thank god we don’t have to deal with that guy’ backlash towards Jack Eichel, who’ll likely be traded for Ben Simmons or Deshaun Watson anyday now (kidding), but if you’re the Devils looking to take a step forward this is the kind of game you gotta win at home. Especially with the Sabres on the rear end of a back-to-back. Whoever’s in net on Saturday, we’ll need a better effort from our D-core and PK, and more of our forwards to get going.

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Backed by Shesterkin, Rangers continue successful road trip in wins over Toronto and Nashville, Panarin finally scores and Chytil clicks with Lafreniere and Blais minus Kakko/Strome

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Derek

Sometimes, it’s as simple as the goalie standing tall against good opponents. Since giving up the Miro Heiskanen overtime winner in his season debut that he felt he should’ve had last Thursday, Igor Shesterkin has been on a roll. It’s been the brilliant play of the third year netminder that’s propelled the Rangers to three consecutive wins on the road.

After stoning the Maple Leafs on Monday with 40 saves including 16 in a lopsided second period, Shesterkin played another excellent game to help backstop the Rangers to a well earned 3-1 win at Nashville last night. He was able to outduel Predators’ starting goalie Juuse Saros to improve to 3-0-1 in four straight starts this season. Unlike Monday night when he was under siege due to the Leafs’ face-off domination prior to Mika Zibanejad going forward with a draw that resulted in a surprising Artemi Panarin overtime winner, Shesterkin didn’t have to face a barrage against the pesky Preds. He was good enough to make 28 saves which was one better than Saros, who also had a good night.

The difference in this one proved to be the newly formed second line anchored by Filip Chytil. After he had success by moving Panarin up to the right side to play on the top line with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, coach Gerard Gallant decided to keep the trio intact for last night. Without Ryan Strome and Kaapo Kakko, maybe he felt it was the best way to go for the time being. Although they didn’t hit the score sheet, that forced Nashville coach John Hynes to match his top line and number one pair against them. Perhaps that matchup helped the second line of Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere and Sammy Blais, who combined for five points (2-3-5), 12 shots on goal and a plus-six rating.

Following a good successful coach’s challenge from Hynes that negated a Ryan Lindgren goal due to Panarin being offsides, Adam Fox led a quick transition into the Nashville zone. After going wide to take a player with him, he was able to find a cutting Blais down the middle where instead of shooting, he made a nice pass across for a wide open Lafreniere, who buried the chance for the game-winner with 9:07 remaining in regulation. On that same shift, Lafreniere used some deception to get off a tough shot on Saros that he repelled. This time, the improving sophomore got his second of the season on some great passing from both Fox and Blais, who had his best game so far by recording a pair of assists.

When asked about the opportunity to play with Lafreniere, who was seated right next to him at a postgame conference call, he called the former top pick an “unbelievable player.” Some nice praise for a second year kid who’s not just relying on his skill to make a difference. He has a tremendous work ethic. Lafreniere isn’t all finesse. He will go to the hard areas to score goals. That amount of hustle will get rewarded. We know about the skating and speed he possesses. But he shows great maturity with his effort and the way he handles himself. He has the same calm demeanor as a great player he probably looks up to who plays in the division.

Unlike the game at Toronto where Shesterkin had to deal with the relentless shooting sniper Auston Matthews (8 SOG in 16 attempts), the Rangers got off to a better start in Music City. On a good play in the defensive zone started by Lafreniere, he moved the puck to Blais who then was able to find Chytil in transition. Using his explosive speed, the former ’17 first round pick was able to break in on Saros to create a two-on-one. Looking pass, instead Chytil surprised Saros with a backhand that beat him far side to the glove (he catches right) at 2:12 of the first period. It was the first of the season for Chytil. He needed it. He had some chances, but hadn’t gotten anything to go. That should give him a confidence boost entering Saturday’s 1 PM matinee at Ottawa.

The first was pretty back and forth between the two teams. They combined for 22 total shots. Nashville outshot the Rangers 12-10. Although they generated quality chances, Shesterkin was there to deny them. His best save came when he got across to deny a point blank opportunity from Mikael Granlund that looked like a certain goal. Not so fast. That’s how locked in Shesterkin is right now. In the last three wins, he’s stopped 99 of 102 shots. Not much is getting by him. The only Toronto goal three days ago came on a fluky Michael Bunting rebound in the second period. It was again another strange one from 20-year old rookie Philip Tomasino, who of course became the latest player to get his first NHL goal versus the Rangers. It came off a funny Ryan Johansen carom. That tied it 7:01 into the second.

The frustrating aspect of the game was the power play. They went 0-for-4 including blowing a two-man advantage earlier in the period. Part of the problem is without Kakko and Strome, Gallant is limited in his options for the second unit. He used the top unit a lot more than the second one which is lacking. That meant more of Zibanejad, Panarin, Fox, Kreider and Lafreniere. In the four opportunities, they managed eight shots on Saros, who stopped them in their tracks. Sound familiar? It’s like the groundhog seeing his shadow. Cue Bill Murray as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day. It doesn’t matter who coaches. Let’s hope things improve once Strome is cleared and Kakko returns. He did take the morning skate. He isn’t eligible for tomorrow’s game. But would be for Calgary when they are back at MSG after the weekend.

After 40 minutes, the game was tied at one. The shots favored the Predators, 24-22. Each side had a dozen in the middle stanza. Credit both Shesterkin and Saros, who as I said were good throughout. They’re both young number one goalies. Ironically enough, each was taken in the fourth round of their drafts. Saros went 99th in 2013 while Shesterkin was picked 118th in 2014. They took different routes with Saros coming over from Finland by age 21 to back up Predators’ legend Pekka Rinne, who just retired. Shesterkin stayed home in Russia where he played in the KHL until finally coming over in ’19-20 at age 24. Both have a cap hit of at least $5 million. Shesterkin gets $5.666 million AAV. Each have pressure to perform with Saros replacing Rinne and Shesterkin trying to fulfill expectations after getting a new contract. There’s definitely some similarities. Saros is 26 while Shesterkin turns 26 on December 30.

In the third, the Blueshirts killed off a Barclay Goodrow roughing minor to keep the game tied. Predictably, it was a bit tighter. You didn’t have as many shots or scoring chances. In fact, the Rangers clamped down to hold the Preds to only five shots. That along with some strong play in the neutral zone allowed them to earn their third consecutive win. After starting the season with back-to-back losses including a tough OT defeat to the Stars, they’re up to 3-1-1. An important thing considering how competitive the Metropolitan Division is. Both Carolina and Washington are off to quick starts. So are the Blue Jackets, who seem to be out to prove they can compete without a star player. Elvis Merzlikins is the biggest reason for that. He’s dedicated the season to close Latvian friend Matiss Kivlenieks, who tragically passed away on the Fourth of July. He’s been great so far.

On kind of a strange play, the Blueshirts thought they had the lead when Lindgren had a shot take a good bounce off a Predator to sneak past Saros. However, Hynes immediately challenged for offsides. He got some good input from his video replay staff as Panarin was pushed over the blue line before the puck fully entered play. That made it offside. There was no protest from the Rangers bench. They probably knew it. It would’ve been a lucky bounce. That’s not exactly how a well played game should be decided. Especially in net. Instead, you had a better ending.

Shortly after, Fox made another one of those subtle plays that really reminds me of a Hall Of Fame defenseman that played for a bitter rival. No. He doesn’t compare to any former Rangers legends. It’s another player, who Fox plays eerily similar to. I won’t say at this moment. It’s not the right time. On the winning play, Fox smoothly skated through the neutral zone, gained the Nashville blue line and was able to thread a perfect seam pass for Blais while being covered. That led directly to Blais feeding Lafreniere for his game deciding goal at 10:53 of the third period. It really was a great passing play. Fox was the reason why. This far, he’s got four points (1-3-4) in five games. He’s also a plus-five while logging the usual enormous minutes at five-on-five and on the penalty kill against the best players with overlooked partner Lindgren. They’re becoming one of the league’s most dependable tandems. Both are 23. Fox will be signed to a rich extension soon.

I could go on about Fox. I didn’t take him to repeat for the Norris. I thought Cale Makar would win it. He’s off to a lousy start along with the Avalanche. However, things can change. Don’t expect Colorado to continue to struggle. I’m sure Makar will be in the conversation with Fox. However, I’m going to now ask the question. Who would you rather have? I didn’t think Fox was in that category a while ago. But the way he plays the game has changed my mind. It’s number 23 who is the Rangers’ best player. Without him, they’d be lost. If you subtracted Fox from the lineup, the Rangers would crumble. He’s proving it daily.

Goodrow, who was strong in the third defensively, earned his first as a Ranger when he scored into an open net. It was the consistent play from the supporting cast that decided it. Lines two through four got it done. That even includes Greg McKegg, who got key minutes at even strength and the penalty kill. Morgan Barron played on the fourth line while Julien Gauthier sat out. Gauthier is becoming another team ornament. If he can’t break into a lineup without two top six forwards, what’s he still doing on the roster? Nothing is ever as it seems with this team. Chris Drury kept Gauthier, Libor Hajek and Dryden Hunt. How can they justify that? At least Hunt plays the kind of edgy style Gallant prefers. Hajek is AHL fodder. Gauthier is the new Brett Howden. Stone Hands Part II.

Meanwhile, a little update on Vitali Kravtsov, who remains home in Russia. He’s waiting for the Rangers leadership to do something. It is apparent he’ll never play another game for them. Not as long as Drury is around. Especially after finding out he berated the former first round pick twice. I think he knew once they made the organizational changes, he was gone. More is coming to the surface with Arthur Staple now doubling coverage on the Rangers despite being an Islanders insider on The Athletic. He took over for Rick Carpiniello, who retired. Gallant did call up Kravtsov to try to change his mind. But it was too late. If the Rangers don’t come off their demand of a top six forward, it won’t be easily resolved. For the time being, it doesn’t matter as it doesn’t affect the roster moving forward. Time will tell if Kravtsov is right. I’ll never understand how he didn’t make the roster.

At least the Rangers are off to a good start. That matters. You don’t want to fall behind early in such a division where every point is so valuable. That includes the one they got against Dallas. I wonder about Alex Georgiev. How many starts will he get? Would you start him at Ottawa with a quick turnover? Or do you ride the hot hand in Shesterkin? I like that Gallant made it clear who his starter was. A huge difference from David Quinn, who never committed to Shesterkin. It’s obvious that he’s the guy. They’re going to depend on him a lot this season.

It’s refreshing to see a supporting cast take some pressure off the top guns. Panarin remains stuck on one goal. So does Zibanejad. You need balance to be successful. Guys like Blais, Goodrow and the underrated Kevin Rooney really help. Lafreniere and Chytil came through. They’ve won three of five without getting anything from Kakko. That is a net positive.

So was the defensive play from Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller, who both had their best games. They were strong defensively and reliable. Trouba had some key shifts late and prevented a potential tying goal by taking away a Matt Duchene pass when he probably should’ve shot. He was on his backhand. Trouba stayed home to break it up. Patrik Nemeth also gavwe the Blueshirts 20 big minutes. As usual, Nils Lundkvist was on the bench down the stretch. He didn’t do anything wrong. At some point, they have to trust him.

That’s gonna do it for now. I’ll have more either later today or Saturday.

BATTLE OF HUDSON THREE STARS

3rd ⭐ Sammy Blais, NYR (2 🍎, 4 SOG, +2 in 12:06)

2nd ⭐ Alexis Lafreniere, NYR (GWG 2nd goal plus 🍎, 4 SOG, +2 in 16:07)

1st ⭐ Igor Shesterkin, NYR (28 saves on 29 shots, 3-0 in last 3 starts with 99 stops on 102 shots)

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Devils grind their way to 2-0 despite Hughes’ injury

Posted on October 20, 2021 by hasan4978

Normally a second home game of the season can be a sleepy affair, especially when it’s between interconference teams (and ones that have never met before last night at that). Last night’s 4-2 win over the Kraken was anything but sleepy, due in large part to physical play and erratic refereeing – but at least it was entertaining for me and the nearly 14,000 in attendance and another nail-biting Devils win, and a necessary one at that with the Caps coming up on Thursday followed by the shockingly hot Sabres on Saturday.

It might prove to be a costly win though, as the first period rough stuff culminated in Jeremy Lauzon driving Jack Hughes into the boards near the end of the opening frame, costing the Devils their franchise center for the remainder of the night at least. Hughes is reportedly day to day with further testing due on a likely shoulder injury this afternoon. Was it dirty? I still haven’t seen a replay where it didn’t look that way tbh, but coach Lindy Ruff tried to tamp down the temperature after the game by saying it there wasn’t much wrong with the hit. Certainly the refs didn’t think so either, but all night the refs seemed inclined to let physical play go even when it veered on dirty, while calling every ticky-tack obstruction foul known to man (particularly ours). Arguably the refs missed a far worse boarding call minutes earlier in the first period by Seattle, but at least that one didn’t injure a key player.

Obviously with the Kraken having been blown out in Philly the night before, the staff seemingly sensed this kind of thing could happen and dressed enforcer Mason Geertsen for his first NHL contest. Michael McLeod’s fight with Brandon Tanev 2:27 into the game was a harbinger of things to come. Geertsen’s inevitable fight with Lauzon in the second period – which the refs didn’t actually let become a real fight – took both players off the ice for much of the second period but things didn’t calm down for a while in a game that had a combined 76 PIM’s in it.

Maybe the refs wouldn’t have had to call half as much of the other stuff they did if they nipped the rough stuff in the bud during the first period, or even if they let Geertsen and Lauzon have a real fight in the second. To be fair at least, when it came to physical play the refs let go a possible boarding penalty from Jonas Siegenthaler late in the second period as well, only calling Seattle’s Ryan Donato for an instigator penalty after the teams’ third fight of the evening. Then again what can you expect from a league that employs a former goon as its head of public safety?

And yes, everyone was glad Geertsen did what he did responding to the Hughes hit, god knows the Devils have had too little of that pushback in recent years, and are going to need pushback to deal with continued targeting of key franchise players like Hughes. Still, people that are stuck in the ’80’s think goons are some kind of deterrent, clearly they’re not – particularly when the refs act like three blind mice once the rough stuff starts. This isn’t the ’80’s Oilers where Marty McSorley could give Wayne Gretzky free reign to score nine thousand goals, the game is officiated differently now (though you wouldn’t know it by a couple of the things that were let go last night) and the instigator penalty cut out a lot of the Slapshot-esque bench-clearing brawls of the past.

Not to mention having a um, specialist hinders you on the ice at a certain point. Without Hughes for the last two periods and with Geertsen playing only 3:07 total, the Devils basically had ten forwards for much of the night. Rolling three lines (for the most part) is fine when you have three days off before the game and another day off after, but it would be tricky to do on a back-to-back or a fourth game in six nights situation. Goons at this point basically just provide empty emotional calories for the team, rather than actually helping tangibly on the ice. Which isn’t totally insignificant in a long 82-game season, but gives you limited value certain nights.

The shame of it is, all the unpenalized rough stuff and Hughes’ injury kind of overshadowed what was a good game, or at least became one. We looked ready to run Seattle out of the building in the first with two early goals, including Dawson Mercer’s first NHL goal. As happy as I was for Mercer getting the goal (and eventually the game’s first star), really the play was all about the passing – Ryan Graves’ terrific outlet pass and Tomas Tatar’s seeing-eye feed off the ensuing 2-on-1 gave Mercer the far easier part of the goal, and he wouldn’t waste his chance at glory. Mercer’s goal also added to a nice piece of symmetry among the young Devils:

Less than two minutes later Damon Severson doubled the Devils’ lead in his return to the lineup, being johnny on the spot when a Hughes point shot came loose in front of the crease for Severson to poke home the rebound. While the Devils clearly grabbed control of the game, they could not put it away with Jesper Bratt wasting a wide-open chance minutes later to make it 3-0. At the other end Jonathan Bernier was holding down the fort when things did break down, stopping Jordan Eberle on a breakaway in the first period among his 27 saves on the night. With coach Ruff admitting before the game it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Mackenzie Blackwood will play on this homestand after an apparent re-aggravation of an offseason hip issue, might a hot start give Bernier an inroad to taking the job from under Blackwood’s nose? Stranger things have happened, but at the very least Blackwood’s gotta be available first before it’s even an issue.

Penalties that weren’t called were the bane of the Devils’ existence in the first but the penalties that were called hurt more in the second period, with back to back penalties against McLeod and Yegor Sharangovich resulting in the Devils needing to kill nearly four minutes of the Kraken power play. Shockingly they did kill the penalties off but couldn’t get the puck out of the zone while still running around seconds after the penalty ended, and Riley Sheahan scored a quasi-power play goal not actually on the power play. With the game now up for grabs, the Devils didn’t take long to restore their two goal lead after Jimmy Vesey finished off a nice tic-tac-toe play started by Andreas Johnsson and Colton White for his first goal as a Devil, scoring less than five minutes after Sheahan’s goal. Thankfully the Devils were able to maintain their two-goal lead after Alex Wennberg’s apparent goal shortly thereafter was overturned on review, following a successful offside challenge from the Devils. Perhaps some karmic retribution after Nico Hischier’s apparent goal at the end of the first period had to be overturned because the puck hadn’t quite crossed the line at 0.0 yet.

I was shocked the officials actually gave us a power play late in the second after Siegenthaler’s edgy play earlier referenced, but perhaps the instigator being called on that sequence finally quelled the rough stuff in the third. Or maybe it was just the game situation with the Devils trying to sit on a two-goal lead. Not surprisingly the refs decided to insert themselves one more time, after ‘letting the boys play’ for much of the third period they called back to back minors seconds apart against Severson and Pavel Zacha as if they wanted to try to get Seattle back in the game. Not so surprisingly our 5-on-3 gave up a goal to Jared McCann, though it came after nearly a minute of holding out. A tough break to be sure, but it’s still not gonna help the early PK stats.

At least unlike the opener, there was no empty-net goal to break the home fans’ hearts, instead it was Zacha getting redemption by putting one into the empty net to finish the game off and giving the Devils their necessary 2-0 start. I admit if the media wanted to give Mercer the first star to make the fans feel good, it worked for me. I’m not sure he necessarily deserved it only playing twelve minutes and not really being the key to his own goal but so be it, hopefully it’s the first of many more to come (both goals and first stars), but quite honestly I had a hard time coming up with three stars for this game. Guess you could call this one winning by committee. Coach Ruff may have had the best answer of all as to who deserved the first star of the night:

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1450662833474187264?s=20

So the coach decrees, so it is

Devils three stars:

  1. Our video review team: A successfully overturned goal
  2. Ryan Graves: 2 assists and a +3 in 22:27
  3. Jonathan Bernier: 27 saves
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Kravtsov goes home to further complicate messy situation, Barron recalled for tonight

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Derek

Even when they finally get a win, things aren’t as they seem for the Rangers. With key right wing Kaapo Kakko suffering an upper body injury on a hit from Alex Romanov during the first period in Montreal, he was placed on the injured reserve. At minimum, the third year forward is out a week.

That means he’s out for tonight’s game at the Maple Leafs, Thursday at Nashville and Saturday in Ottawa. He won’t be eligible to return until the Blueshirts are back home next Monday versus Calgary. Without Kakko, that weakens the Rangers at right wing. Once a team strength, it no longer is thanks to the Vitali Kravtsov Saga. An unnecessary distraction that was created by both sides. The latest after TSN insider Elliotte Friedman said that the Rangers were trying to get Kravtsov to come back and play in Hartford is that the disenchanted former 2018 first round pick went home to Russia.

All of this could’ve been prevented had the organization communicated better with the self entitled Kravtsov, who hasn’t done himself any favors. It was in 2019 that he pulled a similar stunt after failing to make the roster. After initially going down to Hartford, he didn’t like playing there. Eventually, the Rangers agreed to reassign him to his KHL team Chelyabinsk Traktor. It went poorly for him that he was demoted in Russia. Eventually, Kravtsov had a change of heart and finished his season with Hartford. COVID complicated the hockey season and sports world with many leagues cancelling the rest of the schedule.

A year later, Kravtsov stayed home and played better for his KHL team. He produced well scoring 16 goals and 24 points in 49 games for Traktor. After they were eliminated from the playoffs, the Rangers finally brought him over. In 20 NHL games, he tallied two goals and two assists while mostly playing on a bottom line under former coach David Quinn. There were moments where he was bumped up. He didn’t look out of place. It’s my opinion that Kravtsov deserved more ice time. Unfortunately, he was behind recent first round picks Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. That made it hard for him to get the opportunity he had hoped for. Quinn trusted Colin Blackwell, who performed admirably on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.

Somewhat curiously, the recent information the organization fed the New York Post about Kravtsov’s exit interview didn’t come out until last week. I find it very strange that suddenly, there was an issue they knew about during the summer. If that was indeed the case, why didn’t Chris Drury make Kravtsov available? He had more trade value. Instead, following an injury that kept him out most of the preseason until he scored a power play goal from Strome in a win over the Islanders, the Rangers mysteriously cut him and kept depth forward Dryden Hunt and team ornament Libor Hajek, who’s behind Jarred Tinordi.

That decision was perplexing. Nothing against Hunt, who had a solid showing in training camp. But they preferred not to expose the veteran to waivers. Ditto for Hajek, who looks to have no place in the club’s plans. Supposedly, Drury tried to trade him with no success. That’s because Hajek has little value. It never made sense to re-sign him. Especially with the knowledge that Nils Lundkvist was being given a spot in the top six with both Tinordi and Patrik Nemeth signed as veteran presences.

Both young defense prospects Zac Jones and Braden Schneider impressed in preseason. Even stranger, they’re not paired together for the Wolf Pack. Instead, Jones plays with veteran Anthony Bitetto while Schneider works with Matthew Robertson. Interestingly, coach Kris Knoblauch has Jones playing the right side on the top pair. Maybe that’s by design. Happy Birthday to Zac!

Given that the defensive depth is excellent, I don’t understand the Rangers’ reluctance to let Hajek go. He’ll likely not get another opportunity here. It isn’t fair to him. So, he isn’t quite what they hoped for. Put the blame on former GM Jeff Gorton. He didn’t exactly do well getting both Hajek and former Ranger Brett Howden in return as part of the Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller trade. At least it netted Lundkvist, who will play his third NHL game later. A gifted skater with offensive potential, he’s still searching for his first NHL point. Right now, he gets around 14 minutes depending on how much power play time there is on the second unit. Hopefully, he’ll gain the coaching staff’s trust and receive more shifts in close games. The Rangers are being cautious with him thus far.

As it pertains to Kravtsov, who isn’t helping himself by quitting on the Rangers, you subtract what should be a player on the third line and suddenly the team is paper thin at right wing. What’s more. Julien Gauthier has only played one game. That’ll change tonight with him likely slotting in for Kakko on the second line. Having recalled veteran Greg McKegg, who served as the team’s fourth center in the win at Montreal, they have brought up Morgan Barron. Another center who is decent in the face-off circle, he scored goals in the Wolf Pack’s first two games. Barron had a good enough camp to possibly make the team. But was blocked by checking center Kevin Rooney.

At the moment, Chris Kreider continues to play the right wing to allow Lafreniere to stay at his position on the left wing where he scored the game-winner back home in front of family on Saturday night. So far, it’s working out well. Kreider has scored in all three games and leads the team in goals (3) and power play goals (2). However, when you take out Kakko, who’s expected to have a good season in his third year, there’s not much scoring depth on the right side. Gauthier has yet to prove himself as a reliable scorer. When Hunt plays, it’s not to provide offense. Barclay Goodrow had been used a lot by Gallant at all three positions. He can be moved around due to his versatility. However, he’s not known for his scoring, but rather his checking and grit. We know what Ryan Reaves is here for.

Add it all up and there seems to be a void without Kravtsov. Unless Lauri Pajuniemi performs well in his first year in the AHL, there’s not much available. Both Will Cuylle and Brett Berard are playing for their junior teams. Each should have a bright future. Especially Cuylle, who Gorton at least got back in return as a second round pick for Lias Andersson. Another former first round pick the organization mishandled. He thought he did enough to make the roster a couple of years ago. Instead, they sent him down where he had a mental breakdown.

While the cases of Andersson and Kravtsov are different, you have to ask why this keeps happening with the Rangers. While they went out of their way to gift 2019 second overall pick Kakko a spot even though he wasn’t close to ready, he never played one game for Hartford. Neither will Lundkvist if everything goes well. It’s a bit inconsistent for the organization to treat certain prospects better than others. Jones could be here, but isn’t due to a numbers game.

I still haven’t figured out what all the fuss is over K’Andre Miller. He spent his entire first season with the Rangers. There were ups and downs. Something you’d expect from a young defenseman. Last season, he played on the penalty kill. An area I believe he should continue to receive shifts. Instead, Gallant has stuck with Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox while Nemeth and Jacob Trouba comprise the second shorthanded pair. So, Miller is only being used so far at even strength. That should change. He and Trouba have had some issues. They struggled in the third period against the Canadiens. They were caught out of position on the tying Jonathan Drouin goal. That second pair remains a question mark. They’re depended on for key minutes at five-on-five.

If they can’t work it out with Kravtsov, then they must trade him. This can’t be a distraction that lasts all year long. The Rangers have plenty of room on the cap to add an NHL player. But it’s awfully hard to see them getting a top six forward in return for an unproven prospect, who needs an attitude adjustment. Would they trade with Chicago and acquire the suddenly out of favor Dylan Strome? The problem is the younger brother of Ryan Strome [COVID protocol] isn’t a right wing. Unless Gauthier can start finishing around the net, right wing will be a concern. Hopefully, Kakko isn’t out too long with his injury. They need him.

For the time being, we don’t know how the complicated Kravtsov situation will play out. If he’s eventually dealt which is looking more and more likely, can Drury still get a good enough return to improve the roster? Or will the mismanagement of another prospect hurt the team? Halloween is right around the corner. Trick or Treat.

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Foxy effort not enough in tough overtime loss to Stars in emotional home opener

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Derek

It started the right way. Every Ranger wore the classic home white jerseys with the number 7 and the name Gilbert on the backs as they skated during warm-ups. Prior to last night’s game,the Rangers paid tribute to franchise legend Rod Gilbert, who passed away earlier this summer.

It was an emotional moment for Madison Square Garden. Following player introductions and the announcement of the new coaching staff that includes Gerard Gallant, they had a seven second moment of silence for No. 7. Then, Gilbert’s entire family came out to a great ovation from over 17,000 who attended the home opener. Wife Judy was brought out to drop the ceremonial first puck at center ice. Both Stars captain and Rangers alternate Mika Zibanejad posed for a picture and then shook her hand. She smiled which was nice to see. A video tribute was also shown of what made Gilbert so special to New York City hearts. It was wonderfully done.

Following the pregame ceremony that probably brought a lot of tears in the building as well as for those watching at home, there was still a game to play. In what can best be described as a better effort than the Wednesday’s clunker at Washington, the Rangers outplayed the Stars for two of three periods. However, a bad start put them in a two goal hole before Adam Fox took over the game to help rally the team along with Chris Kreider to a 2-2 tie. Despite probably deserving a better result, the Rangers lost in overtime 3-2 to the Stars on a Miro Heiskanen goal.

One of the surprises was that Sammy Blais didn’t play. He’s already nursing a lower-body injury from the Washington game. Shocker. He had a few ferocious hits. Hopefully, he isn’t out for Saturday at Montreal. With the Canadiens losing again, you know they’ll be amped up to play the home opener tomorrow night at Bell Centre. In other words, it won’t get any easier. Not with the Maple Leafs to follow on Monday.

The starting lineup included Dryden Hunt and Julien Gauthier, who didn’t play in the season opening dud that was a total waste. But Hunt did. It’s incredibly mystifying why he’s on the roster. Sure. He plays an honest game and is physically involved. But is that really who they chose over the exiled Vitali Kravtsov? Speaking of him, the father of the former ’18 first round pick put up an interesting Russian article. The English translation is a bit perplexing. This isn’t to suggest what Kravtsov decided to do is right. It’s not. But I think there’s more than meets the eye here.

Also making his true NHL debut was former first round pick Nils Lundkvist. He received over 14 minutes including some point duty on the second power play. As expected, he had a new number. Instead of number 53, he rocked number 27. Best remembered for former Stanley Cup champion Alexei Kovalev and recent captain Ryan McDonagh. Not for Jack Johnson, who astonishingly scored a highlight reel goal in a Colorado home win over Chicago that had me laughing. I thought Lundkvist looked confident for his first game. He created some scoring chances off the rush. There was one hiccup that cost a goal against. But that wasn’t entirely his fault.

Unlike Wednesday, Igor Shesterkin was in net for the second game of a back-to-back. He got a nice ovation from the crowd. Fans are excited for this team. We all want to see them succeed. There are more expectations. Obviously, they don’t want to get off to a slow start. At 0-1-1, they need to right the ship. As Kreider said afterwards during a postgame press conference sitting next to Fox, they only get a two game slate when asked about adjusting to the new system Gallant installed. He didn’t stutter. Kreider has done his part so far scoring in both games on tip ins. Exactly what you want from the longest tenured Blueshirt. Fox was unbelievable on Friday night, nearly willing the team back to a win. One of six alternates, the 23-year old Norris winner looks even better so far. With points in the first two games, there’s no telling what he’ll do. He sure is exciting to watch.

After an initial good start that earned them a power play, the Rangers found it difficult to score on veteran Braden Holtby. The former Caps goalie played very well before exiting due to dehydration. He made 25 saves before giving way to Anton Khudobin, who did a good job coming in cold to pickup the win by stopping all six shots he faced.

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