As NY state announces fan return to buildings, Devils season still in limbo

Posted on February 11, 2021 by hasan4978

It’s been exactly eleven months to the day since sports stopped and fans were last allowed in buildings in the tri-state area but after pauses, bubbles and a myriad of COVID cases, NY governor Andrew Cuomo announced that local arenas can again allow fans in less than two weeks (the 23rd, to be exact), starting out with 10% capacity. If you’re an Islanders or Rangers fan you’d be excited for the chance to see your team live again. Maybe doubly so for baseball fans, who haven’t gotten to see their respective teams since early fall in 2019, it’s been about eighteen months since any fan has passed through the turnstiles at either Yankee Stadium or Citi Field.

Of course there’s the flip side to that anticipation and excitement, and I don’t just mean the precautions that have been rumored – such as wearing masks during the entire game or having to provide proof of a negative test within 72 hours of each time you enter the building. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not ideal conditions to watch a live game but until a majority of the population gets vaccinated and we get out in front of the curve this is an inevitable part of the deal for sports in 2020-21. Maybe all things being equal I’d do it for one or two games just for the sake of going, if I had that option. There’s still so much we don’t know yet since this news is only twenty-four hours old but I would bet a large number of the seats every team will sell will be to season ticket holders. As it is at the moment, there are more season ticket holders for even the worst teams than there will be tickets available.

Which brings me to the real negative and what will likely keep me from opting in for the rest of this season – capitalism. I get owners have been losing money for eleven months playing games in empty arenas and bubbles without fans, and in the back of my mind I figured all along that they may well take advantage of the situation early on with limited fans in buildings and just overcharge the crap out of the few tickets there are, capitalizing on scarcity and fans’ hunger for normalcy. In the front of my mind, it didn’t really occur to me to check prices for teams who have already had fans in the building until the last couple of days. I was hoping against hope owners might do the right thing (for once) and just charge normal-ish prices for fans who are gonna be inconvenienced by all the protocols and also just plain wary of going into closed buildings with strangers for three hours at the moment.

Hearing the rumored prices for Brooklyn Net fans on WFAN earlier from the afternoon hosts (one of whom is a Nets season ticket holder) pretty much shattered the illusion of anything close to normal when it comes to ticket prices in general though. Apparently the cheapest get-in price is $600…not for the rest of the season but per game. I get Brooklyn has appeal with the big three fueling a title run but my goodness, that’s taking scalping to the nth degree. Especially considering the NBA regular season is pretty irrelevant for title contenders as it is. With about twenty more home games in the NBA that would drive the price to a cool $12 grand per ticket, and that’s before dropping a dime on the playoffs which will also be overcharged compared to normal since we won’t have full arenas by then.

Obviously the NHL teams won’t be quite that high, even at the Garden since hockey isn’t basketball – but if you figure tickets are approximately five or six times normal price (at least) for the Nets in the cheap seats, then it’s pretty depressing to figure out your own equivalent. For my $35-40 seats that could be upwards of $150-200 per game. I was already wary about going back this year until being vaccinated but those kind of prices would turn it into a flat no, as much as I’d like to get back to the Rock recreation is still recreation. And it still won’t have the ambiance of a normal crowd or the person-to-person interaction that makes going to games better than watching it on TV. For me, I’d rather watch on HDTV than pay playoff plus prices for regular season games without a real crowd where you can’t really interact with the people who are there.

I get that for every two people like me they’ll still manage to find enough people willing to jump through all the hoops and pay the exorbitant prices. I hope they don’t – but the law of supply and demand definitely favors teams right now as an offshoot of the slow rampup to normalcy, particularly the bigger the fanbase. Still, with ratings going down across the board and people getting out of the habit of going to games you would think owners would not be penny wise and pound foolish and make it as easy as possible for patrons to attend games rather than just take advantage of the super diehards you have while everyone else will go another six months or so without attending a game and have that much more time to grow out of the habit.

Of course all of this is moot as a Devils fan until and if they actually get back on the ice, it’s been eleven days since their last ill-fated game in Buffalo and it’ll be another five days before their next scheduled game assuming that isn’t postponed as well. As of yesterday, seventeen Devils still remain in COVID protocol with only the guys who were first put on the list – Mackenzie Blackwood and Travis Zajac – having come off. If we have any other postponed games we’ll pass baseball’s Cardinals for a dubious record – the longest COVID-related absence to date. As a result of the Devils and several other teams having extended COVID absences, the NHL announced a series of modified protocols including rapid tests every day. Why that wasn’t instituted till now is mind-boggling, but as usual the answer is probably related to money.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1359967923763351561?s=20

At least the NHL seemingly resolved us of wrongdoing by stating we have, and will continue to follow protocols. Which suggests this is a league issue, as well as a society at large issue. I’m not getting into the viability of opening up stuff when the majority of people still haven’t gotten vaccinated to this point. I get the NHL has challenges other sports don’t have including cramped benches, indoor arenas and more person to person contact but that’s all the more reason why the NHL’s protocols needed to be souped up as much as possible before things have gone to crap for nearly a third of the league – including a number of teams in the Metrowhatever division we’re in now.

I haven’t paid one bit of attention to the NHL in the last ten days, it feels a bit like the summer again where other teams were playing and we’re back in limbo. I know more about what teams have been in and out of COVID protocol than I do about the actual results on ice these days. I do suspect that our continued COVID pause is a reason why we haven’t heard officially about NJ allowing fans into buildings the way we have NY. What kind of horrible optics would that be when you announce ‘building is open for business!’ while the team’s still in quarantine?

I know I probably won’t be back at the Rock until October in all likelihood, but at this point I’d just rather have some games to watch again. Especially during the winter with snow upon snow falling, and another two months before baseball season.

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Marchand dooms Rangers in overtime, good effort wasted, Panarin hurt

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Derek

AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy New York Rangers

Brad Marchand made the Rangers pay by scoring 36 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 win at MSG. His breakaway goal past birthday boy Alex Georgiev decided a well played game between old Original Six rivals. They’ll meet again on Friday.

For the Rangers, it was a second consecutive heart wrenching loss. Another winnable game against a tough opponent that didn’t go their way. Instead, they fell to 4-5-3 on the season. After going 3-0-1 over four games, they’ve scored twice in the last two defeats.

Offense continues to be an issue with both the power play and a snake bit Mika Zibanejad struggling. Zibanejad played well throughout generating quality scoring chances along with four shots on Tuukka Rask. But they continue not to go in for him. Twice, Rask robbed him. Once, on a great Chris Kreider pass where he fired a shot that a sliding Rask got across and gloved. Then, on a shorthanded breakaway when the Bruins netminder stood tall on a good shot.

Complicating matters, leading scorer Artemi Panarin got hurt late in the second period. It was a strange play during a shift that saw his leg get tangled. Clearly in pain, he limped back to the bench. He only saw one shift in the third while on the power play. It looks like a lower-body injury for the Bread Man. More will be revealed before Friday’s rematch.

Here’s the issue. Without Panarin, who paces them in scoring with 15 points, it hurts the top six. He and Ryan Strome seemed to be finding chemistry with improving forward Kaapo Kakko. Now, we don’t know what his status is for the next game. With yet another cancellation due to the Flyers having COVID issues this Sunday, the Rangers can use two points against the first place Bruins.

One-goal losses are mounting. They fell to 1-3-3 in such games. The positive is they’ve earned points in three losses. The bad news is they aren’t maximizing these opportunities. The only win came in Buffalo when rookie Alexis Lafreniere scored his only NHL point on an overtime winner. The top pick was noticeable during some shifts including one in which he replaced Panarin on the second line. But he remains stuck on one goal in 12 contests. He received over 12 minutes, but failed to register a shot.

David Quinn alternated between Phil Di Giuseppe and Lafreniere during the third period. Normally, Laffy13 plays on the third line with Brett Howden and PDG. In fact, he only had 7:28 of ice time through two periods with Di Giuseppe having even less. But they each wound up with more shifts due to the loss of Panarin at even strength. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if he can’t go on Friday.

The hockey in this one was entertaining and hard-working. There was a lot of skating with few stoppages during the first period. The defense from both teams was particularly strong with blocked shots a theme throughout. Adam Fox got in the path of four. He continues to play extremely well as the Rangers’ number one defenseman. There isn’t much he can’t do thanks to superb skating, smart puck decisions and good offense when the chance presents itself. He logged a game high 26:11 while Bruins ace Charlie McAvoy turned in 25:04.

With most of the first played in the mud, you had to work for your chances. That gritty style was perfect for the ever improving fourth line. Playing together for a second straight game, the line of Kevin Rooney, Brendan Lemieux and Julien Gauthier put together a strong shift to open the scoring. On a superb Lemieux forecheck behind the Boston net, he made a nifty backhand feed for a cutting Gauthier, who beat Rask for his first career NHL goal at 13:50. It was a splendid play that put the Rangers in front.

Even though he only saw six Bruins shots, Georgiev was sharp on his 25th birthday. He wasn’t shaky like the previous three outings. The rebound control was better as was his glove. He had a good game finishing with 29 saves.

Rask was even better. As was already mentioned, he denied Zibanejad twice with the glove save on a point blank chance leaving the first line center uttering some words to the Bruins starter before headed back to the bench. The encouraging part is he had arguably his best game. The skating and overall play was there from Zibanejad, who just had to follow through with the same effort on Friday. If he does, chances are he’ll finally snap out of it.

As for Rask, he tracked the puck very well to make 33 saves for the win. That included 14 of 14 in the second and 14 of 15 in the third. There’s a reason he’s one of the game’s best goalies.

Trailing by a goal, Boston started to come in the second. Taking the play more to the Rangers, they began creating some tough chances on Georgiev. Ironically, it was while on the penalty kill that they got the game tied. With Craig Smith off for slashing, a sloppy turnover from Panarin in the Boston zone allowed Chris Wagner to steal the puck and come in and beat Georgiev for a shorthanded goal at 9:41. It was a careless play from Panarin, who mishandled the puck and did a bad job recovering.

That was the only goal in the period. Georgiev was superb stopping 18 of 19 shots to keep the game even headed to the third. It proved that he was focused and made Quinn look right for finally going back to him after a three-game absence.

In the third, it was Anders Bjork who struck first thanks to a neat pass from Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk was able to lose Jacob Trouba, who lost his footing in the corner. He then created a two-on-one down low by finding Bjork for the put away with 11 minutes exactly left.

Seventeen seconds later, Anthony Bitetto didn’t like a Wagner hit at the end of a shift. So, he took matters into his own hands and fought Wagner. He did well. Perhaps that scrap provided a lift.

Just over two minutes later, some more yeoman work from Lemieux resulted in Rooney tying it up with 8:38 remaining. On the play, Ryan Lindgren had his shot redirected by Lemieux in front. The rebound came right to a wide open Rooney for a tap in at 11:22. Rask immediately protested along with the Bruins bench due to thinking Lemieux touched the puck with a high stick. But replays confirmed that it wasn’t above crossbar height. Plus it was Rooney who finished the play to pick up his fourth point in five games. He’s played very well.

With the game tied headed down the stretch, DeBrusk thought he scored. His wrist shot surprised Georgiev, going through him and very close to the goal line. The refs immediately blew the whistle to review it. The original call was no goal. The replays on MSG were inconclusive. One replay made it seem like the puck touched only white which would’ve meant a good goal. But the other showed a bouncing puck on edge on the goal line. It was too close to reverse. So, the call on the ice stood. A lucky break for Georgiev.

As it tightened up down the stretch, neither goalie budged. The game predictably went to overtime. In it, one mistake by Pavel Buchnevich was enough for Marchand to cash in. Following a game saving play by a diving Fox, who made a lunging save on Marchand with Georgiev dead to rights, Buchnevich came two-on-one with Fox. Instead of shooting, he got duped by McAvoy who faked like he was going to take the shot.

Before you knew it, Buchnevich forced a pass in the middle right to McAvoy. He then quickly passed behind Zibanejad for Marchand, who had a clean breakaway versus Georgiev. The clutch player didn’t miss, going with a deke and short side to win the game at 36 seconds of OT.

The Rangers have to take some good things from the loss. They played the division’s top team well. But at some point, they need to win these games. Even if we don’t know what lies ahead with the Flyers becoming the latest COVID-19 victim, it’s time for this team to string some wins together. That also could mean the coach finding out what he has in Lafreniere instead of babying him.

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd ⭐ Kevin Rooney, NYR (game-tying goal, 9:38 left in regulation, +2 in 11:54)

2nd ⭐ Brendan Lemieux, NYR (2 primary assists, 1 penalty drawn, +1 in 10:30)

1st ⭐ Tuukka Rask, Bruins (33 saves including leaving Zibanejad speechless)

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Georgiev moves on from DeAngelo altercation the right way

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Derek

AP Photo via Getty Images

In many ways, one of the cool things to admire about Alex Georgiev is his poise. Since joining the Rangers, the birthday boy who blows out 25 candles when he makes his first start since the sad episode following a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pens, has always displayed a level of maturity.

Win or lose, his calm demeanor never changes. Not even after the altercation with former teammate Tony DeAngelo, who’s since been dismissed by the organization for detrimental behavior that cost him his job. Despite a sad incident that took place over a week ago in Pittsburgh, the 25-year old Georgiev has moved on. When asked by New York Post columnist Larry Brooks about what happened, the unflappable netminder chose to take the high road. A wise move.

“I don’t want to elaborate on what happened. I just want to keep it in the past,” he told Brooks. “Emotions happened, and that’s all I can say.

“I wish Tony the best moving forward.”

That’s the right way to handle such a difficult situation. It hasn’t been easy for Georgiev or the team. Despite made up rumors to the contrary, DeAngelo was a popular teammate. However, his polarizing behavior got him in trouble. It was more than he was worth. That despite what he contributed last year.

All of it’s in the past. For Georgiev, he gets a chance to return to net when the Blueshirts step up in competition and host the Bruins for the first of two over three days at Madison Square Garden. It’s an opportunity for him to get back on track. After shutting out the Islanders to start the season, he’s lost three straight decisions (0-2-1) by allowing 12 goals on 82 shots. That translates to an ugly 4.50 GAA and .854 save percentage.

Rangers coach David Quinn wants to get him back in. Igor Shestyorkin performed very well the past three starts. But with a busy schedule, the third-year coach emphasized how important it is to have two goalies for this strange season.

“I think [Alex] has handled [the fallout] it well,” Quinn stated. “It’s been over a week now and I think we’ve all moved past it. Our guys are in a good spot and he’s in a good spot. He’s looked good in practice.

“I think it’s important for him to get in the net for a variety of reasons. We’re going to need him, one, and two, he wants to play. I think this will help him to continue to move forward here but I think he’s moved forward anyway.”

Of course, he’s correct. Georgiev needs to get righted. It’ll not be easy facing the division-leading Bruins. Boston is 8-1-2 with 18 points in 11 games. Despite star power forward David Pastrnak missing time, they haven’t missed a beat. Led by future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron (6-9-15) and the game’s best overall left wing Brad Marchand (7-8-15), they’re where they usually are.

Even after letting former captain Zdeno Chara go to Washington and Torrey Krug sign in St. Louis, the Bruins haven’t missed a beat. In four games since returning, Pastrnak is on fire with eight points (5-3-8). Part of the NHL’s best line, he’s the finisher who’s particularly dangerous on the power play.

Charlie McAvoy is third in team scoring with 10 points while playing mean defense. David Krejci is still there chipping in nine assists and key additions Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith have added depth scoring. Tuukka Rask is still one of the best starting goalies with Jaro Halak a good backup.

This is going to be a big challenge. Especially coming off a 2-0 shutout defeat to the Islanders. A frustrating game due to how well they played the first 50 minutes before falling apart. Offense is at a premium. If Artemi Panarin doesn’t get on the score sheet, it’s problematic. Until Mika Zibanejad snaps out of his funk, there isn’t enough scoring.

The power play has been equally frustrating. It’s too reliant on the number one unit which features Panarin, Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox and Pavel Buchnevich. They stay on for too long and despite creating looks, aren’t finishing enough due to Zibanejad’s struggles. That leaves the second unit of Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Strome, Alexis Lafreniere, Brendan Lemieux and Jacob Trouba with little time to get anything set up.

Speaking of Lafreniere, he remains stuck on one goal in 11 games. Part of the problem is he’s been moved around from line to line. Not in the top six, he currently plays with Brett Howden and Phil Di Giuseppe (PDG). They had a good game on Monday night. For Lafreniere, it’s about continuing to create chances and bring energy to his shifts. It would be nice if the coach didn’t shorten his shifts in crunch time.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers respond to the upcoming challenge. After the Bruins, it’s the Flyers. Another good team that can score goals with former Blueshirt Kevin Hayes off to an impressive start in his second year there.

We’ll see how Georgiev fares along with the team on Wednesday night.

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Varlamov shuts the door again on Rangers in a defensive battle, Islanders win playoff caliber game

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Derek

One mistake was all it took for the Rangers to lose a hard fought game to the Islanders. Unfortunately, they made a pair in the final part to get shutout 2-0 by Semyon Varlamov. He’s now posted two shutouts in two starts versus the Rangers.

It isn’t a bad loss by any stretch. The Rangers went toe to toe with the Islanders in a North/South grind it out, playoff caliber game. They worked extremely hard and stayed with the more experienced bitter nemesis, who don’t forget made the Conference Finals last year. Simply put, they didn’t get the job done. So, the mini win streak ends at two.

Truthfully, Igor Shestyorkin deserved better in this one. He played as well as he could by making tough stops throughout. The problem was he got no run support. The Blueshirts couldn’t cash in on either of their power play chances. Again, David Quinn over relying on the top unit. He throws all his eggs in one basket. It doesn’t leave the second unit enough time.

Neither team budged through 50 minutes. Although it did open up somewhat early in the third period when Varlamov denied both Artemi Panarin and the jinxed Mika Zibanejad on breakaways. The first one was a glove save on Panarin, who couldn’t believe it. The second was when he didn’t blink on Zibanejad’s fake and closed the five-hole up much to the slumping number one center’s chagrin. He can’t buy a goal.

Those two Varlamov stops were the biggest of the game. Eventually, he got some help from his fourth line. In these kind of games where there’s hardly any breathing room, it’s the grinders who usually decide it. With Cal Clutterbuck baring down on Libor Hajek, he made a big mistake by sending a backhand up the middle right to Adam Pelech. He took a low shot through traffic that Matt Martin got a piece of allowing Casey Cizikas to score in tight with under nine minutes remaining.

Just over two minutes later, they allowed Mat Barzal to start a quick transition to Clutterbuck, who outmaneuvered Adam Fox to set up Martin for a put away. He beat Anthony Bitetto to the front for the crushing goal that finished it off. The third line did a poor job on the back check which turned a nothing play into a key insurance marker for the Islanders. Noteworthy is that Bitetto was caught on with Fox, whose usual partner Ryan Lindgren wasn’t out for the shift. Lindgren played over 21 minutes.

Jacob Trouba took a late penalty to give the Isles their only power play with less than four minutes left in regulation. They didn’t have to do anything. They killed the two minutes off the clock, leaving the Rangers with 1:47 remaining. Not enough time to do much of anything given how this game was played. Right now, the playoff proven Isles are better at it than the Blueshirts. It’s a game they can learn from. They’ll have to.

With under a minute left, they called a tacky delay of game minor on Pelech, who couldn’t believe the call. The Islanders bench including coach Barry Trotz protested. It looked like the puck didn’t go straight out of play. Leave it to the MSG replay to not even bother showing a good look as to whether it was.

It didn’t matter. The Isles did what they had to do to win the game. And it was that cohesive fourth line that got it done. Coincidentally, the Rangers’ most effective lines were their third and fourth lines. They were good throughout and effective on the forecheck. Alexis Lafreniere had five hits and didn’t look intimidated. He even stripped Leo Komarov in the first to generate a scoring chance for Phil Di Giuseppe. He worked hard as did the fourth line that included Kevin Rooney, Brendan Lemieux and Julien Gauthier.

To Quinn’s credit, he rolled all four lines. Nobody played under 10 minutes. A rarity. It truly was a tight checking game where you knew whoever scored first would win. Unfortunately, it was the Islanders.

Kaapo Kakko received over 17 minutes while playing on the second line. He was thwarted by a sharp Varlamov pad save on a one-timer in the slot. He also made a good defensive play to break up an Isles’ opportunity. Even though the numbers aren’t there, he’s definitely improved overall. So far, Kakko is 2-1-3 having missed a game for COVID Protocol. If he keeps working, they’ll start to go in.

K’Andre Miller stood out in defeat on the blue line. He made a great defensive play to sweep the puck away from an attaching Barzal. It was also his outlet that trapped the Islanders which led to a one-on-one between Panarin and Varlamov. Miller is doing well. He recovers quickly and uses his reach to break up plays like the potential tap in for Brock Nelson that never made it.

Fox played another strong game. He made some subtle plays in his end to get out of trouble and join the rush. Although he did get caught out on the Martin goal, he was superb throughout while getting big minutes. His 24:59 paced the Rangers.

Both Russian netminders faced 30 shots each. Shestyorkin stopped 28 while counterpart Varlamov stopped all 30 to pick up his third shutout of the year.

Listening to the postgame, Chris Kreider felt that while they didn’t give up much, they didn’t do enough offensively to score. He said the team was good in spurts. Quinn reiterated that by indicating that they didn’t have many second chances. He also noted that they didn’t build any momentum off either power play.

The Rangers were better on face-offs. In fact, the second worst face-off team went 27-and-17 against one of the league’s best. Zibanejad won 11 of 13 while Ryan Strome won 11 of 15. That’s a big positive. They entered slightly over 41.0 percent. The Rangers worked on draws in practice. This is a nice improvement.

There really isn’t anything else to add. With Boston coming in for two on Wednesday and Friday, this is the exact style they have to play. The only difference is doing what it takes to get the ‘W.’

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd ⭐ Matt Martin, Isles (2nd goal, plus 🍎, +2 in 16 shifts-10:30)

2nd ⭐ Igor Shestyorkin, Rangers (28 saves on 30 shots, another game he allows 2 or less)

1st ⭐ Semyon Varlamov, Isles (30 saves for 3rd shutout, 2nd vs NYR this season)

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A haunting realization for hockey fans

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Derek

This was the picture at an empty MSG earlier as players warmed up.

The music might be the same. But the building isn’t. Without fans, there will continue to be hockey played as long as COVID-19 doesn’t affect the Rangers. It’s already impacted several American teams including the Devils, who never should’ve played the rematch at Buffalo over a week ago.

This empty scene is seen around most arenas. Here were the Senators preparing for their game.

There is no buzz in these buildings. Just players going about their business like they have so many times since childhood when they played peewee. Even those games were attended by family and friends. I used to watch my brother skate at the local Skating Pavilion down the road. It was always fun.

The point is it’s a sad reality. Here we are almost a year later with no end in sight to the pandemic. It could take months for many adults like myself to get the vaccine. It’s elderly like my parents and people with pre-existing conditions who are the priority. When they have shortages due to all the patients who must receive the vaccination, it’s not a positive sign.

It’s kind of like Groundhog Day. Considering all the snow, ice and freezing cold weather we’ve had since the calendar turned to February, you get the point. Sports are still going on, but with confusion like we saw with the Brooklyn Nets and the strange Kevin Durant situation last Friday. The COVID PROTOCOLS leaving star teammate James Harden confused.

There’s been talk that the Wild might not play this week either, forcing the NHL into more rescheduling of games. Something that could also occur with the Sabres and Devils. This is now official. No games this week for those three teams.

What if this disturbing trend continues? How can they continue to think they’ll complete a 56-game season? It feels like they’re gonna have to consider pausing. Even the NBA is doing better. But not much given all the players you find on Health and Safety Protocols. There are cancelations almost every night.

Somehow, the NFL completed their most challenging season last night with the Bucs and Tom Brady surprising the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in a 31-9 rout. The Super Bowl was played in Tampa before 25,000 fans spread out around the stadium. It was successful even if the big game fizzled.

The difference is football is played outdoors. They didn’t have to reschedule too many games and were able to work around the pandemic. Baseball too is outdoors. They played in a bubble and the Dodgers won the World Series over the Rays last year.

For indoor sports like the NHL and NBA, it remains a serious concern. Especially for hockey. Naturally, there have been no such issues in the All Canadian North Division. It’s here in America where the virus continues to run rampant.

I have no clue when things will return to normal. While some teams can host a limited amount of fans like in Florida and Texas, most NHL arenas will be eerily silent except for the music and pumped in crowd noise. It isn’t the same. However, there’s nothing they can do about it. All we can do is watch when our teams are on. Enjoy it for what it is. A necessary distraction from reality.

There isn’t much else to say. Hope feels a long way off. We got a long long way to go.

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Shestyorkin gets third straight start versus Islanders

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Derek

After getting the weekend off due to the Devils battling COVID-19, the Rangers return to action tonight to face the Islanders. It’ll be the third installment of the Battle Of New York at MSG. They split the first two at the start of the season.

Most were wondering what David Quinn would decide in net. Would he go to Alex Georgiev, who’s had a good record versus the Islanders, or ride the hot hand in Igor Shestyorkin? After much secrecy, it’s officially Shestyorkin who’ll get his shot at the Islanders.

For the Rangers, who are up to 4-4-2 following big wins over the Pens and Caps last week, it makes sense to stick with Shestyorkin. He earned two wins and played well. It’ll be his seventh start. He’s 3-2-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .913 save percentage in 7 games. Following a slow start, he’s won three straight decisions while allowing five goals on 84 shots. Now is the time to establish him as the starter.

Georgiev hasn’t played since the wacky 5-4 overtime loss at Pittsburgh that resulted in the altercation with since dismissed defenseman Tony DeAngelo. A polarizing player who the organization is trying to find a new team for. They’re not in a rush. If it makes sense, then there’ll be a trade. Georgiev has been given time off to settle down. He’ll definitely see time during a busy week.

Officially, there are no lineup changes. Brendan Smith skated in a non-contact jersey. There’s nothing new to report on Jack Johnson. Colin Blackwell also remains out. Here are the projected lines:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich

Panarin-Strome-Kakko

Lafreniere-Howden-Di Giuseppe

Lemieux-Rooney-Gauthier

Miller-Trouba

Lindgren-Fox

Hajek-Bitetto

Shestyorkin

Georgiev

The Islanders enter with an identical 4-4-2 record after defeating the Pens 4-3. They came back to win it on home ice on goals from Cal Clutterbuck and captain Anders Lee on the power play. Jordan Eberle tallied twice and Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to earn his fourth victory.

It looks like the Isles will also have the same lineup for tonight. Varlamov gets the start.

This is what it looked like at practice yesterday.

The Islanders are missing Anthony Beauvillier. He is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Michael Dal Colle took his place on the second line and tallied two assists against Pittsburgh.

For the Rangers, Artemi Panarin looks to stay hot. Over the last four games that’s seen them go 3-0-1, he has nine points (3-6-9) including three-point nights against the Pens and Caps last week. He and Ryan Strome have found the chemistry they had last season. Strome enters with five points (3-2-5) in four games.

Kaapo Kakko joined them last game and played well. He picked up his first assist on a good defensive play in his zone to trap Zdeno Chara. That led to Panarin setting up Strome for the game-winner.

Mika Zibanejad notched a primary assist on the empty net goal from Pavel Buchnevich. It was his first point in seven games since Jan. 19. Zibanejad remains stuck on a goal with two assists. The good news is he’s looked better over the last two games. Maybe tonight he finally snaps out of it. He has one goal on 32 shots. The Rangers need him.

Since notching the exciting overtime winner at Buffalo for his first NHL goal, Alexis Lafreniere has been quiet. The top pick is currently playing on the third line with Brett Howden and Phil Di Giuseppe. He is still adjusting. Hopefully, the rookie will figure it out soon.

The fourth line that features Kevin Rooney (points in three straight), Brendan Lemieux and Julien Gauthier has played well. It’s nice to see them contributing. Rooney emphasized how they have to be a four line team to be successful.

Adam Fox has been the team’s best defenseman so far. He leads all Blueshirts D in ice time (24:29) and scoring with seven points (1-6-7). Five of his seven have come on the power play where he quarterbacks the top unit. Fox has been on for four goals for and three goals against at five-on-five. He and partner Ryan Lindgren are a solid tandem the coaching staff relies on.

K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba are the other pair that comprise the top four. They continue to improve as a tandem with Trouba pacing the team with 37 hits and his 24 blocked shots tied with Fox. That included nine in the win over Washington.

It’ll be Libor Hajek and Anthony Bitetto as the third pair for a second game in a row. They didn’t break 10 minutes with David Quinn opting to lean on his top four due to the schedule. With upcoming games against the Bruins twice and then the Flyers on Valentine’s Day, look for the third pair to receive a few more shifts at even strength.

We’ll see if the Rangers can make it three in a row.

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The COVID-19 Concern

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Derek

As we reach Super Bowl weekend in February, there is a harsh reality for hockey. They’re facing something different this season.

Much like the NFL and NBA, the NHL has adversity due to the virtual unknown. Unlike last summer when they were successful in executing a great postseason due to two bubbles thanks to Toronto and Edmonton without a single player testing positive for COVID-19, the league is in dire straits already. Not even a month in and there have been many players from teams who have either been positive or in COVID Protocol. That’s caused seven teams to postpone games for as much as a week.

Having already seen the pandemic hit the Stars, Golden Knights and Hurricanes early, four more teams have had to pause their schedule. They include the Hurricanes, Devils, Sabres, Wild and Avalanche. All are not currently playing which has resulted in several cancelations affecting other teams.

At the moment, the Devils have 17 players in COVID-19 Protocol. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov was added to the list earlier today. He joins a lengthy list that includes Jack Hughes, Kyle Palmieri, Ty Smith, Jesper Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich, Andreas Johnsson, Nikita Gusev, Nathan Bastian, Mike McLeod, Damon Severson, Janne Kuokanen, Travis Zajac, Pavel Zacha, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen and Connor Carrick.

At least starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is no longer part of it. After a great start to the season, he hasn’t played since making 47 saves to hold off the Rangers on Jan. 19. The Devils have been forced to start mostly Scott Wedgewood with Eric Comrie winning his first game in last Sunday’s rematch at Buffalo. A game that shouldn’t have been played. Something resident Devils blogger Hasan referred to a few days ago. The Sabres even had concerns going in, but the NHL gave the go-ahead. A huge miscalculation.

Here’s the thing. Nobody knows if the virus was transferred during the game. That hasn’t been proven. However, the NHL announced some changes to their rules in an effort to make it safer for its players. Most notable is the removal of glass panels behind benches to allow for better airflow. They also don’t want any players reporting to the arena for a game until one hour 45 minutes before puck drop. The exception is medical treatment for injuries. There must be a mandatory six feet of space between players in the locker room.

“With about 20 percent of our season played, we are mindful of the fact that we might be seeing a more aggressive transmission of the virus and will continue to make adjustments to our Protocols as we consult on a daily basis with, and adhere to, the recommendations of our medical advisors,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said yesterday in a statement.

Bettman added that nearly 100 players entered COVID Protocols. Less than half were due to confirmed positive results. Most cases have been asymptomatic. The most important issue is the players’ safety. Given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, the NHL will continue to closely monitor the situation and make necessary adjustments.

Hopefully, they won’t have to consider pausing the season. Every team that’s been negatively impacted have been in U.S. cities. It isn’t surprising given how poorly the virus has been handled. There doesn’t seem to be any control despite vaccinations finally being made available. The problem is they must continue to prioritize elderly and people with pre-existing conditions, who are more at risk.

Much like basketball, hockey has been hurt by the pandemic. In less than a month, the NHL has postponed 26 games. Some have been rescheduled while many are still to be determined. It isn’t a fun time for anyone.

As great as it is to have the sport back, prioritizing safety and precautions are more crucial than playing games. The NHL believes it will be able to complete a 56-game season with it concluding in early May. They did leave some space just in case.

It’s hard to believe that things will improve. The truth is nobody can predict what lies ahead. In what’s already been a crazy three and a half weeks that’s made it feel like an eternity due to the postponements, the cold winter continues to punish much of the Midwest and East Coast with up to two feet of snow dumped in the New York and New Jersey area. A polar vortex is being predicted with record breaking low temperatures coming that could even reach warmer states like Florida. None of this is good.

I honestly have no idea how the rest of the year will go. In Year Two of the awful Coronavirus, it doesn’t look promising. Even if you’re the most optimistic hockey or sports fan, you have to be concerned. People’s livelihood is more important.

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Bitetto’s rare goal highlights Rangers’ win over Capitals

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Derek

When he got the call on Monday, Island Park native Anthony Bitetto couldn’t have been more excited. The defensive defenseman had a good debut for the team grew up rooting for. It paled in comparison to his second game. He scored a rare goal to highlight a 4-2 Rangers’ win over the Capitals at home.

The goal Bitetto scored was only the third of his NHL career. It’s one he’ll remember. The goal was of the highlight reel variety with the veteran skating through the Caps’ defense before flipping a backhand past Vitek Vanecek halfway through the contest to put the Rangers ahead by two. He later admitted that his last three were disallowed.

On a night where Libor Hajek got back in the lineup for the first time in over a year, the Rangers played a good game in defeating a tougher opponent in the 10th game. They won their second in a row for the first time this season. More importantly, they continued to play better by picking up seven of a possible eight points to get back to NHL .500 (4-4-2). The victory moves them into a tie with the COVID-19 stricken Devils with 10 points in the East Division. The idle Islanders are now eighth.

There were other positives in the win. Ryan Strome continued his resurgence by tallying twice to give him points in four straight. After a slow start likely due to the new contract, he’s come out of it. The valuable second center has his confidence back, which showed as he, Artemi Panarin and budding sophomore Kaapo Kakko were easily the best line. They combined for six points and a plus-six rating.

In a rookie goalie match-up featuring Vanecek against Igor Shestyorkin, it was the 25-year old Russian who came out on top by making 31 saves. That included half a dozen big ones on Alexander Ovechkin, who did get his final shot to go off a Nicklas Backstrom offensive draw that made it interesting. It also featured Shestyorkin absorbing a heavy Ovechkin one-timer from his office that caught him good. He was okay and showed more confidence to win for a second consecutive time.

One thing that helped was getting off quickly. Facing a good opponent who just blew a game to lose for the first time in regulation, the Rangers came out flying. Following a shift from the reunited KZB Line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, the second line had a good cycle that produced a hard-working goal. Off a feed from Panarin at the point, Adam Fox took a low wrist shot that Strome redirected top shelf on Vanecek at 1:41. It was nicely executed play with Strome doing the dirty work.

They could’ve had more. In fact, the Blueshirts had nine of the first ten shots. However, Vanecek kept them off the scoreboard on an early power play by robbing Zibanejad. Panarin made a great read through the Caps’ penalty kill to pass across for a quick Zibanejad one-timer. But Vanecek was able to keep the puck out on a good shot against the grain, leaving the struggling top center looking skyward. Even though he didn’t score, Zibanejad looked more like himself. Maybe he’ll get one in the next game.

That won’t be until at least Monday when the Islanders are supposed to visit MSG for the third time. We can only hope at this critical point. Not even a month in, COVID-19 is affecting a lot of teams and players. With the Devils, Sabres and Wild not playing due to positive tests, the Avalanche are the latest team to have games postponed. This is a troublesome sign for the NHL, who altered one of its rules to further restrict players from being at risk. One can only hope the complicated situation will improve.

As for the rest of the first period, the Caps finally awoke from their nap. Perhaps Ryan Lindgren delivering a thunderous check on Capitals antagonist Tom Wilson got them going. He got revenge later by nailing Lindgren, who absorbed a double check in the corner. Washington outshot the Rangers 7-6 to conclude the period.

The Blueshirts also continue to improve steadily on the penalty kill. They went four-for-four against the Capitals, who boast the Great Eight. Plus Backstrom, John Carlson, T.J. Oshie and Wilson. They’re still without Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is still in COVID-19 Protocol. So is Ilya Samsonov. Though they haven’t missed him as much due to Vanecek. The 25-year old Czech goalie made 28 stops.

Even though they couldn’t cash in on a Garnet Hathaway tripping minor penalty, the Rangers increased the lead to two thanks to some wondrous puck wizardry from Bitetto. On a Kevin Rooney pass behind the net, a pinching Bitetto carried the puck around after sidestepping a Carl Hagelin hit. He then came off the wall and cut to the middle before beating Vanecek for his first goal as a Ranger at 9:15. It was Bitetto’s first one since Nov. 18, 2017 with Nashville.

After successfully killing off a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the Rangers ran into some bad luck when a Hathaway shot took a funny carom off Hagelin and by Shestyorkin’s glove to cut the lead to one with 63 seconds left in the period. It was a strange play that saw the puck go off Hagelin’s body and Shestyorkin couldn’t field it. Hathaway drew a Brett Howden slash to put the Caps on the power play with 10 seconds remaining.

In the third, the Rangers again got it done on the penalty kill. Their new aggressive box has been working. Shestyorkin still had to deal with Ovechkin. He also got help from a defense led by Jacob Trouba, who blocked a game high nine shots. Half of the team’s total (18). It was one of his best defensive games since joining the Blueshirts over a year ago.

Nursing a one-goal lead with Shestyorkin making key saves like his predecessor Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers took advantage of a bad turnover to get a huge insurance marker. After Jakub Vrana backhanded a pass to nobody, Kakko chipped a backhand pass up the boards past Zdeno Chara. That resulted in a two-on-one between Strome and Panarin. It was a textbook give and go with Strome getting a pass back from Panarin to tap in his second of the game for a 3-1 lead with 12:05 remaining.

Following a stoppage, Backstrom beat Zibanejad on a draw right back to Ovechkin, who made no mistake by smoking a wrist shot past Shestyorkin with 8:59 left in regulation. It was Ovechkin’s 709th of his career.

During a four-on-four, the Rangers stayed ahead thanks to Shestyorkin, who was under siege most of the third. He turned aside 10 of 11.

Strome nearly had the hat trick but missed. He might want to work on that since he also had Vanecek out of the net earlier and sent a puck wide. No worries though. Panarin and Zibanejad combined to send in Buchnevich for an empty netter at 19:33. It snapped a seven-game drought.

Before the game ended, Vanecek didn’t take kindly to Brendan Lemieux skating by his net. He tripped him up at the buzzer which lead to fisticuffs. While Lemieux somehow avoided facing the music, Rooney stepped in and fought Brendan Dillon. He didn’t win against a very tough Dillon. But earned some more stripes. I don’t know why Lemieux did that for. The game was over. With seven games left, figure the Caps to be coming after him.

At the end of the day, it’s a good character building win. Even with Alexis Lafreniere struggling and David Quinn limiting Hajek and Bitetto to under 10 minutes, this one was special for Bitetto. A Broadway Hat kinda night for the area local.

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd ⭐ Jacob Trouba, NYR (9 blocks, 4 hits, +1 in 24:42 including 3:56 SH)

2nd ⭐ Anthony Bitetto, NYR (1st goal as a Ranger, +1 in 9:30)

1st ⭐ Ryan Strome, NYR (2 goals, +1 in 21:42)

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Kakko set to return and Hajek gets his chance on birthday

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Derek

Tonight, the Rangers return to action when the Capitals visit The Garden. It’s the first of eight match-ups against one of the division’s best teams. Coming off Monday’s 3-1 comeback win over the Penguins, it’ll be a good litmus test for the Blueshirts. They’re in the bottom part of the newly formed East Division tied with the Islanders at 3-4-2 for eighth.

Two points against a good Washington team that enters at the upper echelon of the division with a 6-1-3 record, would be a huge confidence boost. Especially given that they’ve yet to put together a good stretch. Don’t forget that Game 10 means there will be only 46 games left in the abbreviated season. One that’s threatened by COVID-19 with the Wild joining the Devils and Sabres who are the latest NHL teams to have games postponed due to several positives. It’s definitely a cause for concern.

For the Blueshirts, they got good news when second-year right wing Kaapo Kakko was cleared out of COVID-19 Protocol after missing a game for tonight. The sophomore has two goals in eight games so far while being moved around. His skating has improved and just maybe the former Rangers ’19 second pick will take advantage of a great opportunity. With Colin Blackwell still out, Kakko gets a look on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. This is what many fans want to see. If it clicks, we could get to see a lot more of Kakko on the second scoring line.

The other bit of news is that Libor Hajek will make his season debut. It’s been a while for the former Lightning ’16 second round pick, who was a key part of the 2018 Trade Deadline blockbuster involving Brett Howden that also netted former Blueshirt Vladislav Namestnikov, a ’18 first round pick (Nils Lundkvist) and a conditional second pick in ’19 that became Karl Henriksson. That sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Lightning.

On his 23rd birthday, it’s a chance for Hajek to show the coaching staff what he can do. A player that’s dealt with injuries and been passed on the depth chart by promising rookie K’Andre Miller, he will be on the third pair with veteran Anthony Bitetto, who had a solid first game on Monday. It probably won’t be a lot of minutes because David Quinn can manage the shifts along with assistant coach Jacques Martin. But it’s important for Hajek to play a good game at five-on-five. That’s where he’ll be featured.

Igor Shestyorkin gets his second consecutive game in net. We’ll find out if he can build on his good outing three nights ago. He has an opportunity to give Quinn something to think about. While it hasn’t been the best start for the 25-year old rookie, he can make a case for the number one job with Alex Georgiev getting a mental break due to the unfortunate incident with soon to be former Ranger Tony DeAngelo.

I’ll have more later on the game.

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Talking Rangers Hockey

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Derek

https://anchor.fm/derek-felix/episodes/Pushing-Buttons-Rangers-Move-On-From-DeAngelo-with-a-Big-Win-eps6l

The Rangers are back in action tomorrow night when they host the Capitals. With both defensemen Jack Johnson and Brendan Smith uncertain for the game, I ponder if we could see defenseman Libor Hajek play with Anthony Bitetto.

Hajek was part of the trade that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay. He and Brett Howden were key pieces that came back with former Ranger Vladislav Namestnikov, ’18 first round pick Nils Lundkvist and ’19 second round pick Karl Henriksson.

If you want to listen to my latest Pushing Buttons Podcast, please click on the link above to hear more on the Rangers. Or find it on Spotify.

It includes the organization moving forward without Tony DeAngelo, who’s drawing interest from teams with the Rangers willing to pick up part of his $4.8 million salary cap hit. Plus some praise for Howden, who still has a chance to establish himself in a more defined role.

I discuss the trade GM Jeff Gorton made almost three years ago. Plus more hockey.

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