The truth about DeAngelo/Georgiev altercation, Quinn on the clock, Bitetto could debut tonight if game is played

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Derek

There have been so many stories regarding the Tony DeAngelo and Alex Georgiev dust up that occurred following the Rangers’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins on Saturday night. Many of the allegations have been proven false.

Unless it comes from a trusted source such as a beat writer or established reporter, there shouldn’t be any belief in what’s been rumored. A Rangers blog put out a false story that was refuted by K’Andre Miller and his agent regarding his first NHL goal. Contrary to that erroneous report, he did receive the puck after DeAngelo grabbed it and handed it to the training staff. Kudos to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski for doing some digging.

The less said about this ridiculous story, the better. That blog is lucky they won’t be sued for libel. Pushing such false propaganda for clicks to kick a player while they’re down is embarrassing. There’s nothing else to add.

Another rumor was that Chris Kreider punched DeAngelo after he made a wise crack to Georgiev in the Rangers locker room. It doesn’t sound like that happened. According to Elliotte Friedman, it was Georgiev who decked DeAngelo for whatever foolish comment he made. Good. There’s no place for such nonsense.

Interestingly, as reported by Larry Brooks of the New York Post this morning, it was Miller himself who broke up the altercation in the locker room. It speaks a lot to his character and maturity.

Don’t forget it was DeAngelo who was one of the first Rangers that backed Miller up following the disturbing Zoom Conference interview last summer. Whatever off ice issues he has, the rumored mistreatment of Miller is a total fabrication.

The truth is something that is of utmost importance. That’s why you only trust those who are much closer to the situation. You want the story to be accurate. It’s sad that there are fan blogs who will go out of their way to fabricate stories due to a bias against a player they don’t like. It’s wrong.

As far as what happens today, either a team puts in a claim for DeAngelo before noon or he’s still technically a Ranger. They can then try to trade him and pick up part of the contract that pays an average of $4.8 million on the salary cap through 2022. I doubt there will be any takers given the 25-year old’s baggage.

The only thing I disagreed with was coach David Quinn’s treatment of DeAngelo following the first game. A humiliating 4-0 loss to the Islanders where they hardly showed a pulse. DeAngelo showed frustration after taking a penalty by slamming the penalty box and receiving an extra minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Quinn was pretty quick to make an example of a player who ranked fourth among all NHL defensemen in scoring with 53 points (15-38-53) last season. The decision to healthy scratch him didn’t make sense. It was an overreaction by a third-year coach with an axe to grind. That didn’t go over well.

With DeAngelo done and likely to be sent home because it’s the only thing that makes sense for the Rangers organization to move forward, it’s put up or shut up time for Quinn. He talks a big game in these press conferences. But why is this team never consistent? Why do they commit glaring mistakes and take bad penalties that put them in trouble? Why do they sometimes come out flat or blow leads?

It’s time for the excuses to end. If they do play the rematch later on a blizzard day in NYC, it’ll be Anthony Bitetto getting his first game as a Ranger paired up with Brendan Smith. We’ll see how the former Predator, Wild and Jets defenseman fares. The 30-year old is from Island Park, NY and grew up a fan of the Rangers. A defensive defenseman who’s posted 27 points in 183 NHL games, this is his fourth team. Good luck to him.

Julien Gauthier returns to the lineup in place of injured forward Colin Blackwell (LBI). He’ll join Brett Howden on the third line. I’d imagine Quinn will keep top pick Alexis Lafreniere on the first line with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich while having Kreider stay on the third line.

I’m most interested to see Kaapo Kakko on line two with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. This is his chance to prove he belongs in the top six. We’ll see how he does. The fourth line consists of Brendan Lemieux, Kevin Rooney and Phil Di Giuseppe.

The top power play unit features Panarin, Zibanejad, Buchnevich, Fox and Kreider, who moves back onto it. Personally, I prefer him there because he brings the size and strength needed to distract goalies. Does Buchnevich play the point with Fox or possibly Zibanejad?

Lemieux could see power play time on the second unit. We know it includes Strome, Kakko, Lafreniere and lately Jacob Trouba. I’d like to see Miller get a look on power play two.

If the game is played, Igor Shestyorkin gets the start. He should’ve been in for Saturday following his first win last Thursday. It doesn’t make sense what Quinn is doing with the goalies. That needs to change.

That’s gonna do it for now. If you are traveling outside, be very careful and use extreme caution.

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The end of the road for selfish DeAngelo, who may have played his final NHL game

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Derek

Following up the shocking news of the Rangers placing Tony DeAngelo on waivers, I wanted to post my final thoughts on what happened. If you’re interested in hearing what I have to say, please refer to my Pushing Buttons podcast on DeAngelo and the Rangers above. I’ll be doing more of them moving forward.

Apparently, DeAngelo reacted very poorly to the 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins on Saturday night. After being caught on for Sidney Crosby’s overtime winner along with a worn out Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, DeAngelo was upset with goalie Alex Georgiev due to a miscommunication during the extended shift.

The important details are that an enraged DeAngelo got into an altercation with Georgiev. From what’s been reported by multiple sources including veteran beat writer Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic, it was very ugly. The less said about it, the better.

As I referenced in an earlier post I put up while I was out with friends who visited from Brooklyn, certain behavior can’t be tolerated. What DeAngelo did is unacceptable. It was detrimental to the team and just cause for the Rangers organization to find a reason to sever ties with the controversial 25-year old defenseman.

They had no choice. In subtracting DeAngelo, who a year ago set career bests in goals (15), assists (38) and points (53) over 68 games, the Rangers won’t be able to replace the offense the troubled player brought. His ice time isn’t easy to replace either. Especially playing one of the points on the power play. That now falls solely on Adam Fox, who must be signed long-term.

Who David Quinn decides to also use on the power play remains to be seen. He can opt for four forwards and one defenseman like he had with success last season. But will Jacob Trouba continue to be the defenseman on the second unit? Or maybe promising rookie K’Andre Miller should get a look if they realize his potential. He seems capable of handling it.

The top four will remain intact. You’ll have Miller with Trouba and Fox working with Ryan Lindgren. The third pair becomes sketchy with the choices of Jack Johnson or Brendan Smith with veteran Anthony Bitetto, who’s expected to get an opportunity in Monday’s rematch versus the Pens.

Will we ever see Libor Hajek again, or is he a bust? Have they given up on him completely? If so, they better hope they can sign Nils Lundkvist. Another small offensive right defenseman, hopefully he can help replace DeAngelo in the near future.

I have higher hopes for Braden Schneider, who looks like the big physical right skating defenseman this team hasn’t had. He will get experience in the AHL. Matthew Robertson and Tarmo Reunanen are the other D prospects to keep an eye on.

In closing the chapter on DeAngelo, he had a checkered past. The organization knew that and tried their best to work with him. He got every chance. Just when it seemed he was on his way to having a successful NHL career with the team reluctantly giving him a two-year contract worth an average cap hit of $4.8 million, he goes and pulls this crap.

This isn’t about the political commentary other misinformed fan bloggers think it is. This was due to the player not keeping his head. It’s not anything to celebrate or be happy about. It’s an embarrassing day for the Rangers, who must now move forward.

Maybe one less distraction can be a positive. The team is a mess. DeAngelo was far from the only problem. Zibanejad being a serious concern given how out of sorts he’s looked at the start. Is it due to Covid or just a lack of timing? He hasn’t been anywhere near the lights out number one center we saw last year.

Then, you have Quinn’s indecisiveness over Georgiev and Igor Shestyorkin, which is hurting the team. In net, you need stability. Alternating them doesn’t allow either to gain confidence or get into a rhythm. It should be Shestyorkin’s net to lose. If he plays well tomorrow, he must be in for the next start.

There also is the injury to sparkplug Colin Blackwell. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. He was playing so well that Quinn had him on the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome, who seems to be coming out of it. Combined with the loss of third center Filip Chytil, it’s not a good situation. Center depth remains an area of concern.

One final thing. If he doesn’t play another hockey game in the NHL, DeAngelo has no one to blame but himself. Given some information I know through an anonymous source regarding his off ice issues, he really needs to seek help. It isn’t healthy to carry around the anger he has. Whatever he does, that should be top priority.

The hockey continues for the Blueshirts tomorrow night. Hopefully, it won’t be A Mad Mad World.

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Devils circle the wagons in Buffalo

Posted on January 31, 2021 by hasan4978

Riding a three-game losing streak heading into this afternoon’s rematch with the Sabres, the Devils got even more bad news before the game when Kyle Palmieri was placed on the COVID list, joining Travis Zajac (added yesterday) and Mackenzie Blackwood (added a week ago) as suspected virus absences, to go along with the quarantining Aaron Dell, Sami Vatanen and Connor Carrick with the latter on the list due to being away from the team because of his wife expecting while the former two finally getting their visas and expected to join the team sometime in the next week. Even Nico Hischier has started skating and seems to be finally on the mend, not a moment too soon since we’re losing guys faster than they come back.

At the moment however, the starting lineup looked more like a preseason game where you’d only have a few vets at a time play and the rest kids trying to make the team. Starting in goal where Eric Comrie made his team debut after Scott Wedgewood had played the previous five games. It’s okay, I never heard of Comrie before last month either (he of the 4.07 GAA and .873 save percentage in nine career NHL starts). Heck I’ve barely heard of Mikhail Maltsev – a 4th round pick in 2016 – who made his NHL debut today, replacing Palmieri in the lineup.

Ironically it was another more ballyhooed 2016 draftee that stole the show this afternoon in Buffalo with two goals including a spectacular breakaway just twenty seconds into the game, off of a nearly ice-length feed from PK Subban. Full disclosure, I haven’t been a believer in Mike McLeod ever, starting from when he was drafted. It always seemed like his offensive touch was lacking and he never had enough other tools besides speed that could play at the NHL level. However this year McLeod’s come out with a vengeance, both in reinventing himself as a guy who can bang on the fourth line, and in maybe, just maybe finding a scoring touch. Coming into this season McLeod didn’t have a single goal in 33 NHL games and just five assists, and his AHL scoring numbers weren’t much better.

After today’s game and some other recent performances I’m starting to believe, and maybe in more than just McLeod.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1355942103394775047?s=20

Scoring his first NHL goal five days ago surely took some pressure off, and after adding an assist in yesterday’s shootout loss he – and fellow fourth-liners Nathan Bastian and Miles Wood – caused havoc all afternoon against the Sabres. Listening on the radio, Matt and Chico (can’t remember which of them said it) invoked the Crash Line of the glory days and also compared the current fourth line to the incoming snowstorm that’s going to hit the north Jersey area later on this evening. I can’t say I disagree with the latter, they’ll have to show more scoring touch over time to measure up with the Crash Line which had two guys on it that later played consistent top six minutes for the Devils. Can say, Wood and McLeod get to that level someday? Right now I’m more confident in the former than the latter, but they’re both playing well.

If you think I’m spending an inordinate amount of time on the fourth line well read on but in fact it was the de facto first line that combined for the Devils’ second goal, with just under seventeen seconds remaining in the first with a resurgent Andreas Johnsson getting his second goal in two games, albeit a flukish goal that deflected in off the winger from a rebound of a Ty Smith point shot. However, good things happen when you go to the net as Johnsson did there, and his goal also gave Smith his seventh point of the season as he continues to build on a nice rookie season.

Midway through the second period the Devils had a chance to put a firmer grip on the game but after Pavel Zacha’s painful miss of an open net you could just feel the immediate momentum shift, and BANG the Sabres roared back into the game with successive goals from Curtis Lazar and Rasmus Dahlin less than ninety seconds apart. Predictably Dahlin’s goal came on our penalty non-kill, which has been almost as brutal as the powerless play this year. Going 0-3 on the PP and 2-4 on the PK suggest there is still a lot of room for improvement on our not-so special teams after today’s game.

Perhaps the only good thing is it gave the Devils another opportunity to show their resilience and they staggered Buffalo with yet another late-period goal, this one by Wood with less than a second remaining on the clock after putting home a rebound from his own shot. If you’re familiar with US Hockey’s Miracle On Ice win over the Russians, Wood’s goal was almost a carbon copy of Mark Johnson’s game-changing goal in the final second of the first period – breakaway, shoot it on the goalie, deke him out on the rebound.

This game was always going to be one of fits and starts though, given the questionable talent level and goaltending on the ice for both teams. Our powerless play again gave it up less than four minutes into the period when Rasmus Ristolainen scored to tie it at 3, and this after Johnsson had cut short a power play of our own getting a penalty off a second faceoff violation. As Chico pointed out on the radio though, when you have a new-ish rule and a winger who’s not used to taking faceoffs, sometimes you just have to remind them to get conservative on the second faceoff.

As has been the case for most of this young season however, when one guys screws up another steps up to bail them out, or in this case three when Crash Line 2.0 scored their second goal of the night and everyone got into the act, starting with a Bastian hit that won the puck, and a Wood feed to a wide open McLeod in front for his second goal of the night. Amazing when you can double your career NHL goal total in your 42nd career game. McLeod’s second of the night stood as the game winner and Wood finally sealed a back-and-forth game with an ice-length empty netter for his second of the game as well. Four of the five goals came from our <cough> fourth line which was more or less like a second line by the end of the night.

With the win, the Devils picked up three of a possible four points in Buffalo, doing what they needed to do to try to stay afloat until the cavalry comes back. Of course in this of all seasons, will any team ever really be at full strength? It would be nice to get our starting goaltender and a top six center back at least and go from there. Vatanen’s addition would help too, although Matt Tennyson’s been a hold the fort guy on D even that’s more than can be expected from a career fringe guy. Of course it’s nice to have a staff that can actually get the most out of its younger players for a change. It’s also nice to be about 15% of the way through the season and not be out of the race yet, unlike last year.

Of course this year being what it is, and having two new COVID absences in the span of thirty-six hours puts our immediate schedule (another two-game road series, this time in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Thursday) in jeopardy. That is if you even know what the rules are on the NHL postponing games, I don’t. There have already been games postponed this year, you would think multiple cases on the same team constituting a breakout would increase the chances of a schedule delay but the NHL, like seemingly all sports leagues, seem content to play it by ear and not have a hard and fast rule on x number of new cases means y in terms of rescheduling. Which only adds even more uncertainty to what already exists not knowing whether guys are on the COVID list because of a positive test or a close contact.

eNJoy the ride seems more fitting of a moniker by the day, this season’s been a roller coaster so far.

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Rangers put DeAngelo on waivers

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Derek

The Rangers have placed Tony DeAngelo on waivers. He is making an average of $4.8 million on the salary cap and signed through 2022.

It is interesting that the organization didn’t make a separate tweet for DeAngelo. That seems strange on the surface. It also is a bit perplexing that they’d take such a drastic action this early into the season. They’ve only played eight games.

It is true that DeAngelo is off to a lousy start. He’s been caught on for too many goals against. Coming off a career season where he was a big contributor offensively at five-on-five and the power play, DeAngelo earned his salary. However, he has underperformed like quite a few teammates with Mika Zibanejad in particular struggling mightily.

Early on, DeAngelo slammed the penalty box after disagreeing with a minor penalty. That earned him two games off with coach David Quinn sending a message to the defenseman. He registered his first point on an Artemi Panarin power play goal. But as I noted in the game recap last night, he had a nightmarish game.

However, this move can’t be only hockey related. Something must’ve happened off the ice following last night’s game. You don’t just waive one of your key players who along with Adam Fox, are the key offensive defensemen on the roster. Especially given the power play role. Even if he isn’t the best defensive player, there’s no way they would do this unless he did something detrimental to the team.

It’s far too drastic. If he goes unclaimed, then DeAngelo can clear waivers. Will he even play another game? If it really is that bad as is being rumored, probably not. And if he did do what’s being said, then he should never play another game for the team. Some things can’t be tolerated.

We’ll find out soon enough what DeAngelo’s status is.

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A telling quote from Chris Kreider

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Derek

Following the overtime defeat to the Pens, Chris Kreider perfectly summed up why the Rangers lost. Hint: It had to do with the style they rely too much on. A style that isn’t conducive to winning hockey games.

“That’s just winning hockey. No team in the league can just throw their sticks out there and play east-west and try to skill their way to wins. You gotta go north at some point. There’s not enough space, there’s not enough time. You gotta make their D turn. You gotta make them go 200 feet. [Instead], we’re turning pucks over the lines, turning pucks over in the neutral zone, not making them dig pucks out of corners.”

Until they become harder to play against by adjusting to a North/South style over the all too predictable East/West crap that leads to lazy turnovers and makes it easier on opponents to come back, it won’t matter who’s in net. At some point, the light switch has to go off.

This is exactly how they played under Alain Vigneault towards the end, leaving Henrik Lundqvist out to dry. It’s been similar under David Quinn. The structure isn’t always there. Like Kreider also noted, they play well in spurts. Hardly enough consistency to be successful.

As for the narrative that it’s all the goalies’ fault for the 2-4-2 start, Lundqvist used to give up the same bad goals his last few years. That’s why they made the switch to Igor Shestyorkin with Alex Georgiev backing up last year.

Anyone who thinks it’s easy to replace a great goalie when there are higher expectations, doesn’t get sports. There was always going to be more pressure this time for both netminders.

I disagree with Quinn on rotating each. It’s not working. He has to go with one player and ride them. It should be Shestyorkin after the numbers he put up in the first dozen starts of his NHL career. He’s supposed to be the heir apparent. Why he didn’t start Saturday remains strange.

With a poor defense that’s struggling, it doesn’t make things any easier. Neither do all the glaring mistakes this team makes at inopportune times. It’s too early to judge the goalie situation. They both need more time along with the team to gel. Only a handful of players have been good.

There also is the issue of Mika Zibanejad. He’s been invisible in these games. With only one goal on the power play and numerous turnovers and lost face-offs like the one to Sidney Crosby that led to the Jake Guentzel tying goal, he needs to be much better.

Either something is wrong or he hasn’t found his rhythm yet. Until Zibanejad gets back on track, the center ice position poses a problem for the Rangers. They miss Filip Chytil.

Kreider is correct about how they have to play. Sometimes, less is more. Making the simple and smart plays matter.

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Devils fall to Sabres in shootout despite resilient effort

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Derek

On Saturday afternoon up in Buffalo, the Devils battled back to grab a point against the Sabres. Ultimately, their effort wasn’t good enough to get the second point in a 4-3 shootout loss.

Despite dropping a third straight game, there were some positives to come out of the game. Twice, they came back from a one goal deficit in an entertaining game against the Sabres, who they’ll again face this afternoon in a rematch. Some new players contributed during a seesaw third period that saw each team score twice.

Skating without team leader Travis Zajac, the Devils were able to finally get goals from newcomers Andreas Johnsson and Janne Kuokanen. They also continued to see the promise of rookie Ty Smith. The defenseman scored on the power play to add to his impressive start. So far, the 20-year old former ’18 first round pick leads all rookie defensemen with seven points (2-5-7) in his first eight NHL games. In fact, he’s tied for first in rookie scoring with Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (2-5-7).

Following a scoreless first period, the teams traded goals in the second. Facing former Devil Taylor Hall for the first time, the Devils got to see what the onetime Hart winner can do. Although he hasn’t started great in the goal department, Hall has been chipping in offensively. Recently taken off the top line by Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger, he’s responded well to being moved onto the second line. Hall would be a factor throughout the game.

On a rush started by Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour, Hall came in and fed an open Eric Staal for a quick snapshot that beat Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood for the game’s first goal at 9:03. It was a well executed play in transition. Not enough players were back for the Devils. That allowed Staal enough time and space to rifle home his third.

Late in the period, an iffy hooking call on Staal allowed the Devils to draw even. Having failed to score on a full two minute five-on-three in the first, the Devils desperately needed their struggling power play to come through. On a good play between P.K. Subban and Pavel Zacha, Subban worked over a nice pass for a Smith one-timer through traffic that beat Sabres starter Linus Ullmark with 1:25 left in the stanza. Miles Wood provided the screen in front to help tie the game headed to the third.

In a game where he changed his lines, coach Lindy Ruff tried the slumping Johnsson with Jack Hughes. It worked like a charm. After taking a Damon Severson feed up ice, Hughes gained the Sabres zone and made a good pass across to Johnsson at the opposite circle. Using Montour as a screen, he ripped a wrist shot high glove past a surprised Ullmark at 1:37 to give the Devils the lead. It was his first as a Devil.

However, it didn’t take long for the Sabres to reply back. Less than a minute later, a good forecheck from Colin Miller and Cody Eakin led to Eakin dropping the puck for a Tobias Rieder shot that beat Wedgewood to even the score at two apiece.

Although they played a good period and held a 15-8 edge in shots, they were kept off the scoreboard until later. That was due to Ullmark, who robbed Hughes of a sure goal by getting across to get a pad on his pointblank shot. He did shoot the puck back into him, but it still was a great save. Ullmark has faced a lot of rubber so far and has fared well.

A phantom hooking call on Smith halfway through the third period resulted in a Buffalo power play goal. With the dangerous Sabres top unit working the puck around, Hall and Rasmus Dahlin finally got it over to dangerous shooter Victor Olofsson in the right circle. He let go of an absolute rocket with Rasmus Ristolainen in front to beat a screened out Wedgewood top shelf. That put the Sabres back in front with 9:04 to go.

Needing another goal for an offensively challenged team still without Nico Hischier and now Zajac due to Covid Protocol, the Devils looked to some different faces to get it tied. On sorta a strange play started by Nathan Bastian, Mike McLeod was behind the net in a tough spot. He made an innocent looking drop pass to Kuokanen, who shot the puck from a sharp angle that banked in off a leaning Ullmark to magically tie the game with 5:19 remaining in regulation. The Sabres goalie didn’t cover his near goalpost to give Kuokanen just enough real estate to score his first NHL goal.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1355614151985532932?s=19

Before they could even reach overtime, they survived a Severson minor with 1:52 left when he took down Jack Eichel. Fortunately, they were able to kill off the penalty and escape.

There weren’t many shots in the overtime. Once it became three-on-three, it was tactical. The back and forth contest needed a shootout to decide a winner.

In it, Eichel beat Wedgewood with a good wrist shot off the post and in. The Devils goalie stayed too far back and should’ve challenged. Having had a good game, Jesper Bratt was selected by Ruff for the first shot. He made a good move, but Ullmark beat him to keep Buffalo ahead after Round One.

Following a Wedgwood stop on Dahlin, Nikita Gusev was denied in tight by Ullmark to keep it 1-0 Sabres. After Wedgewood did his part to stop Olofsson, the Devils’ last chance was the eerily quiet Kyle Palmieri. He made a good move looking to go backhand, but just missed with Ullmark sliding over to end the game.

The Devils will look to avenge the loss at 1 PM on Sunday. They’re 3-3-2 with eight points in eight games.

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd 🌟 Janne Kuokanen, Devils (1st career NHL goal to tie game at 14:41 of 3rd)

2nd 🌟 Ty Smith, Devils (power play goal, +1 in 17:50)

1st 🌟 Taylor Hall, Sabres (2 assists in 22:00)

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Rangers latest loss to shorthanded Pens self inflicted

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Derek

So much for all the enthusiasm over Alexis Lafreniere scoring his first NHL goal in an exciting overtime win. It was back to reality for the Rangers tonight. They suffered a cruel 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

Back home after a four game road trip where they won only one game, the Rangers couldn’t take advantage of a shorthanded Pens team. If there’s a troubling trend, it’s their penchant for blowing leads in the third period. It happened for the fourth time in eight games. That’s almost unthinkable. In what was an ugly played game full of bad turnovers, a lousy third led to the Rangers’ demise.

After playing a good second where they scored three of four goals against the Pens, who lost top defenseman Kris Letang to an injury in the first period, the Rangers forgot to play the final 20 minutes.

To hear Chris Kreider say it during the postgame, it’s the same thing over and over again. He has spoken at length about needing to play a certain way for 60 minutes. They did it against the Sabres the other night. Instead, they reverted to old habits by not getting pucks deep to protect a one goal lead Artemi Panarin provided them on the power play to end a long drought at five-on-four.

Also down a skater due to key sparkplug Colin Blackwell going down after four shifts (2:53), they had the full allotment of defensemen. Simply put, they weren’t good enough. Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith and Adam Fox were all victimized on goals against. The DeAngelo-Smith pairing is so bad, it makes one long for Marc Staal. They might not have thought it through. DeAngelo is an offensive defenseman who needs a stable defensive partner. Smith is serviceable, but can’t log the necessary minutes to make it work. He’s a good extra D. On this roster due to the misguided Jack Johnson signing, he is being asked to do too much. If Libor Hajek can’t crack this lineup, that’s an indictment on the organization.

As bad as the defense was, it was a lost defensive draw by the invisible Mika Zibanejad to Sidney Crosby that allowed Jake Guentzel to get three whacks at the puck behind Fox before finally putting it in past Alex Georgiev with 10:42 left in regulation. As responsible as he was for Crosby’s overtime winner, Georgiev allowed the Rangers to get a point in a lopsided period. The Pens outshot the Blueshirts 16-7. They generated enough chances to win it in regulation. But Georgiev had a strong third to earn his team a point.

If you had a question for David Quinn, why did he go back to Georgiev following a good performance from Igor Shestyorkin in his first win? His explanation didn’t make much sense. One would think that Shestyorkin should be given every chance to establish himself as the new number one goalie. Instead, he wasn’t allowed to build on Thursday. Very strange.

There were plenty of goals in this one. Jason Zucker got it started when he was able to redirect home a Pierre-Olivier Joseph pass at the doorstep. The play was made in transition with the disastrous Smith-DeAngelo caught on with the second line of Panarin, Ryan Strome and Blackwell before he got hurt. Kasperi Kapanen started the play to pick up a secondary assist.

On the next shift, Crosby hooked into Zibanejad for a lazy minor penalty off the face-off. It was very uncharacteristic for him. But that’s how the Pens have been playing so far. They are down a lot of defensemen including key blue liner Brian Dumoulin. But the lazy penalties and play they’ve gotten from even Crosby and ghost Evgeni Malkin are very odd. It’s almost like they’re trying to get coach Mike Sullivan fired.

Given a power play, the Rangers were unable to capitalize. The two units certainly got good looks, but weren’t able to beat Casey DeSmith, who had a good game. He made some strong saves including on Zibanejad, who can’t seem to find his scoring touch. He hit another goalpost and misfired on a few other setups.

Interestingly, it was some hard work by the fourth line that evened the game. Following a pass from Ryan Lindgren, Phil Di Giuseppe gained the Pens zone and fired a low shot that deflected off a driving Brendan Lemieux for his first goal. It was a hardworking goal for a gritty player, who plays the game honestly. They need more dirty goals like that. Lemieux is the guy who can do it.

Late in the period, a face-off loss came back to haunt them. Brett Howden was unable to beat Teddy Blueger. Blueger worked the puck back to Joseph for a shot that Brandon Tanev was able to deflect past Georgiev at 19:20. Tanev is a gritty forward, who works extremely hard. He beat DeAngelo to the spot and got his third from Joseph and Blueger. That gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead to the locker room.

The second was better for the home team. With Smith off for tripping, some sloppy play by the Pens allowed the Rangers to score shorthanded. Having already given up a breakaway to Pavel Buchnevich, who was stopped by DeSmith, they were even worse on the same shift. Bryan Rust made a back pass to nobody at the vacated point. Then, the defenseman fell down allowing K’Andre Miller and Kevin Rooney to come two on zero for an easy shorthanded goal. Miller patiently waited before dishing across for a Rooney finish. It was his fourth career shorthanded goal. Four of his 11 NHL goals have come down a man.

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Before you could look up, Malkin sent Kapanen on a breakaway behind Smith. He didn’t make any mistake by going top shelf on Georgiev to give the Pens their third lead at 9:42. But the Rangers got it right back on the next shift. Miller passed over for a Jacob Trouba shot that Kreider was able to steer in on the rebound just 43 seconds later. It was a good hardworking goal from Kreider, who definitely played better. Kaapo Kakko was also around the net as the play developed.

The assist gave Miller his first career two assist game. He’s up to a goal and three assists. More often than not, the 2018 first round pick has been on for goals for as opposed to against. In his eighth NHL game, he had two helpers and finished plus-one in 20:49 while receiving 30 shifts including 1:40 on the penalty kill. Even though they’re 2-4-2 with only six points, Miller has been a bright spot. If he continues to improve, maybe he’ll even be in the Calder conversation with Devils rookie defenseman Ty Smith.

A very bad penalty on Pittsburgh defenseman John Marino handed the Blueshirts another opportunity to go ahead. Marino had already took a bad one for delay of game. This time, he played the puck without a helmet to earn another two minutes in the sin bin. On the fourth power play, the Rangers made it work thanks to some good patience and execution from Panarin and Buchnevich.

After DeAngelo fed Panarin, he realized he didn’t have an open shot and passed down low for Buchnevich. Buchnevich then was able to pass right back for a quick Panarin one-timer past DeSmith over the shoulder. It was his fourth goal coming at 16:01 from Buchnevich and DeAngelo, who picked up his first point on an otherwise forgettable night.

A Cody Ceci tripping minor late was canceled out by a bad Kreider cross-check at the conclusion of the second during a scrum. That created a four-on-four starting the third. The penalties were eight seconds apart.

The third period was horrible. Whatever they did right in the second, they did wrong. Way too many turnovers and lazy plays that allowed a more energized Pens to take control. Georgiev had to come up with a number of tough saves. He got no support. Finally, Zibanejad lost a face-off so badly to Crosby that Guentzel was able to tie the game after deflecting a Ceci shot and rebounding it twice with Fox beaten on the play.

Quinn fumed at the refs on the bench due to them missing a Guentzel high-stick that cut Lindgren prior to the tying goal. There’s no way the two refs or two linesmen should’ve missed it. He swung the stick and connected right underneath Lindgren’s visor to draw blood. Unbelievable. The Rangers had a legit beef. It figured Guentzel would score the big goal.

The Pens continued to buzz around Georgiev’s net, but he made some key stops to get the game to overtime. In it, the trio of Panarin, Zibanejad and DeAngelo got trapped out in the Pittsburgh zone. The Pens were able to make a couple of changes until Crosby came out. Finally, Joseph passed for Crosby, whose low wrist shot went right through a clearly frustrated Georgiev for the winner at 2:27. Crosby’s fourth came from Joseph and Rust.

It’s back to work for the Blueshirts, who have no time to hang their heads. They see these same Pens again Monday. They’re 0-1-2 versus them so far. Hardly good enough. With the Capitals coming up and then the Devils and Islanders, they have to pick themselves up.

So upset with the defeat that during his press conference, Quinn called the Rangers’ third the worst period of the year. It was that bad. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond in the rematch. The Pens are not that good. However, they’re finding ways to win games and earn points by coming back.

One thing to remember is this is for the most part a young roster. You have a number of second-year players, rookies and even some who are in Year Three. There’s a lot of frustration in Rangers Land. It isn’t only the goalies. It’s the players. It’s the gaps they leave along with crucial mistakes. It’s everything. It is a learning curve for a good part of this roster. We must be more patient.

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd 🌟 K’Andre Miller, Rangers (career high 2 assists, +1 in 20:49)

2nd 🌟 Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Pens (career high 3 assists, +3 in 25:58)

1st 🌟 Sidney Crosby, Pens (overtime winner, 11-and-4 on draws, +1 in 18:50)

Stat of Game:

Giveaways

NYR 19 (Miller 5, Fox/Zibanejad 3)

Pens 12 (Ceci/Zucker/Joseph 2)

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Lafreniere scores memorable first NHL goal in overtime to give Rangers big 3-2 win over Sabres

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Derek

Alexis Lafreniere sits in the Rangers locker room with the puck of his memorable first NHL goal that came in overtime to defeat the Sabres. The victim was Linus Ullmark. AP Photo by New York Rangers courtesy Getty Images

This one was badly needed. That it was delivered by the future of the franchise was special. Playing in a tie game during three-on-three overtime despite dominating it, the Rangers got a badly needed 3-2 win over the Sabres thanks to top pick Alexis Lafreniere. He scored his first NHL goal at 2:47 to deliver a memorable moment.

The magic moment came when coach David Quinn showed faith in the 19-year old kid. Rewarding Lafreniere for his good play which included some pointblank chances that were thwarted by red hot Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, Quinn sent the rookie over the boards with surprising revelation Colin Blackwell. Immediately, Blackwell made two good defensive plays with the second leading to a two-on-one. He made the perfect pass for Lafreniere, who waited before firing a great wrist shot upstairs to beat Ullmark for the overtime winner.

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Mobbed by excited teammates who poured off the bench to congratulate him, Lafreniere was all smiles. He sure deserved it. Despite not having a point in the first six games, his confidence never wavered. Lafreniere continued to skate well and go to the hard areas in search of his first NHL point. Whether it was a goal or assist, he was doing the right things. That’s why Quinn decided to keep him on the first line with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. He could’ve had it sooner if not for Ullmark flat out robbing him on a great set up. There was also a rebound opportunity that was denied.

The only reason the game required overtime was Ullmark. After fighting the puck early on in his second start versus the Blueshirts in three days, he became a brick wall. His team was so badly outplayed that shots were 15-5 in the first period and 24-9 after two. For the game, Ullmark made 36 saves with every one coming in regulation. Some of the spectacular variety. He once again turned into Dominik Hasek wearing those classic Sabres throwbacks.

It was all Rangers in the first 40 minutes. After easily killing off a foolish cross-checking minor from Brendan Lemieux, they dictated play throughout the first period. With newly formed lines that included sparkplug Blackwell playing with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin while Chris Kreider worked with Brett Howden and Kaapo Kakko, who had an active game, the Rangers came out aggressively. Hungry to the puck, they won most of the battles against a flat Buffalo team that didn’t look ready to play. The fourth line consisted of Lemieux with Kevin Rooney and Phil Di Giuseppe.

A sustained attack allowed them to finally get on the scoreboard first. With Buchnevich still on, he drew attention before passing down low to Panarin. The Bread Man then fed Strome for a nice finish to put the Rangers ahead 1-0 at 9:44. It was Strome’s second goal. He is still without an assist, but his confidence is coming back.

If not for Ullmark, they could’ve had more. Instead, the Sabres number one goalie kept his team afloat. A rookie mistake by K’Andre Miller hurt the Rangers near the period’s conclusion. After his hard dump in came all the way around and out, it fueled the Buffalo transition. The puck came to Sam Reinhart, who pulled up inside the Rangers blue line and centered a pass in front for Jack Eichel, who got position on Miller to put the puck home with 21.3 seconds to go. A bad break. Miller was unable to deny Eichel, who scored for a second consecutive game.

With the contest all even, the Blueshirts continued to play well in the second period. They had some power play opportunities including one in the first minute. The problem was they couldn’t cash in. Quinn changed up his top unit by deciding to move Buchnevich up and Strome down. He also threw a different look by teaming Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox at the points. Kreider was moved to the second unit. Throughout, they generated scoring chances and plenty of looks. But nobody could score on it. An issue that still must be resolved when they return home starting Saturday for four of the next five games.

With the defense not giving up anything, the Rangers held the edge in territorial play. Ironically, it was during four-on-four with less than five minutes remaining that they were able to retake the lead. Both Blackwell and Jake McCabe were taken off the ice for interference and slashing minors with 5:43 left.

Less than two minutes later, Panarin had a puck bounce back to him due to a Matt Irwin miscue. It worked like a pass with Panarin quickly firing a wrist shot in short side for his third unassisted with 3:50 left in the period. A Strome slashing minor 61 seconds later was easily killed off by the Rangers penalty kill. The unit included Buchnevich and Kreider with both doing a good job. So did Brendan Smith and Jacob Trouba.

Through 40 minutes, Igor Shestyorkin had hardly been tested. He had eight saves. The only blemish was not his fault. It was a tip in from Eichel at 19:38 of the first. He still looked calm and more focused despite the lack of activity.

An undisciplined Ryan Lindgren minor penalty for cross-checking Kyle Okposo from behind into the boards was mind numbing. Not only because it was dangerous given Okposo’s history and where it was. But due to it being unnecessary. Lindgren’s second penalty of the night cost the team.

As good as the penalty killing had been up to that point, they were unable to get the job done. Just 20 seconds into the minor, Taylor Hall and Victor Olofsson combined to set up Reinhart at the doorstep for a neat deflection inside the goalpost. The power play goal tied the score at two with 15:13 remaining.

Afterwards, the play was more even. It was a little wide open with the teams combining for 29 shots. Buffalo held a 15-14 edge after only totaling nine entering the third. However, Shestyorkin didn’t allow the Reinhart power play goal to deflate him. He made some quality stops to keep Buffalo in check. So too did Ullmark, who was never better than on a Rangers power play.

Following Jeff Skinner foolishly clearing the puck into the stands, the Blueshirts had a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead. After a timeout from Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, Quinn sent out his new top unit. They did everything but score. Controlling possession for the full two minutes, they had good shots on Ullmark. It didn’t matter. Nobody could beat him. Even with DeAngelo teamed with Fox at the points looking better than what they had, nothing got past Ullmark. There were a couple of passes from Panarin and Fox that probably should’ve been shots. However, they couldn’t have had a better power play. It was the brilliant play of the goalie that kept it tied up.

Eventually, the game would need overtime. Quinn featured Panarin with Mika Zibanejad and Fox. He also used Buchnevich with Kreider and DeAngelo, who had a good game despite not hitting the score sheet.

When it was time to put another combination out there, Quinn didn’t hesitate to throw Lafreniere out with Blackwell. It was curious to see Blackwell chosen over Strome, who’s a good skater in three-on-three. However, Quinn knew. As if to confirm it, Blackwell stole the puck from Eichel and then calmly set up Lafreniere for the overtime winner. His first NHL point was an overtime goal. One he’ll remember forever.

It ended a four-game losing streak. It came at a perfect time. The Rangers really needed this one. They needed two points. Even if there’s no way Buffalo should’ve gotten a point, that’s what a hot goalie can do.

Seeing the poise with which Lafreniere finished off his first goal and handled his interview with CBC was great. He’s a very mature kid. There is a lot to like. This one is special.

THREE STARS OF GAME

3rd 🌟 Artemi Panarin, Rangers (3rd goal of season, assist, 4 SOG, +2 in 21:06)

2nd 🌟 Linus Ullmark, Sabres (36 saves including 22/24 1st two periods)

1st 🌟 Alexis Lafreniere, Rangers (overtime winner for 1st NHL goal, 4 SOG, +1 in 15:27)

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Reality bites: Devils swept by Flyers

Posted on January 28, 2021 by hasan4978

After a 3-1-1 start, things were looking up for the Devils. Especially with the surprise return of Jesper Bratt to the lineup the first day he was eligible to come back with the team for tonight’s second game against the Flyers in three days. Maybe it shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise that he was rushed back without a real practice under his belt because this team is desperate for offense, as tonight’s dreadful 3-1 loss proved. It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise the Devils lost both games – at home! – to a talented Flyers team who finished with the top seed in the conference last year. Especially with slanted officiating that even coach Lindy Ruff couldn’t help but make a snide remark about in the postgame after Wednesday’s 5-3 loss, where a string of questionable calls led to the Devils giving up three straight goals in the third period of what was a 2-2 game. Doesn’t sound like today was much better, so I guess working the refs (who were the same refs with travel restrictions) didn’t help in this case.

Of course bad goaltending on Wednesday and a popgun offense also didn’t help our cause in either game, along with our disasterous special teams which have been a problem the whole year. Other than maybe the special teams (when we had a returning coach for the PK and one of the best scoring forwards of all time running the PP), I can’t say this should have been a surprise coming into the season. Obviously the first five games inflated expectations a little, but the problem with just attributing our last two losses as regressing to the mean is that we’ve had zip, zilch and nada from many of our veteran leaders, specifically Kyle Palmieri and P.K. Subban. Palmieri’s beard has become the new MB30 helmet of bad juju. Catty references aside, perhaps his impending contract status is weighing on him. Subban, on the other hand doesn’t have that excuse. Maybe he’s just shot and still hasn’t figured how to adjust his game after his back issues which started at the end of his Nashville tenure. Whatever the reason, we need more from our highest paid player – offensively and defensively.

As far as the goaltending, it’s hard to get annoyed other than at our current situation where we’re playing a career journeyman. It would be nice to get consistent goaltending from more than one guy one of these years. Admittedly it’s hard to fault Scott Wedgewood on much tonight, but after what we saw from Mackenzie Blackwood early in the season (and Wedgewood on Wednesday) it’s hard to make the case goaltending hasn’t mattered in these two games. Presumptive backup Aaron Dell is still a week away after – finally – getting his own visa situation resolved.

Offensively the power play woes have been well documented but other than Jack Hughes there hasn’t really been a lot of production from anyone offensively, man advantage or no man advantage. New acquisition Andreas Johnsson had his best game as a Devil by a country mile but it still didn’t materialize in points. After a hot early start benefitting from playing regularly in the KHL before camp, it looks like Yegor Sharangovich is turning back into a pumpkin. Speaking of guys whose contracts might be weighing on them, what exactly happened to Nikita Gusev? Hopefully Bratt’s return will help a little but three goals in two games – leaving out that junkiest of junktime Pavel Zacha goals on Wednesday night – just won’t cut it. Especially in a game where the Devils dominated for two periods, but couldn’t put more than one past a previously slumping Carter Hart. The minute we botched a 4-on-1, or 5-on-1, whatever the heck it was late in the second period I should have shut the TV off right then. I knew we were gonna bite the dust in the third, and we did.

Back at .500 now, this weekend’s two-game block (I still find myself reflexively saying home and home with back to back games) at Buffalo is vitally important. Particularly coming on the front end of an eight game out of ten road stretch. The fact it’s Taylor Hall’s first game against the Devils means very little at this point, what matters is if the Devils are going to hang around the race long enough for reinforcements to potentially matter, they need to grab points against teams at their level. Going 0 for 4 against the Flyers at home was bad enough, things will look really bleak with a similar weekend in Buffalo.

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Jack Johnson out for tonight due to groin strain

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Derek

When the Rangers take on the Sabres in the rematch upstate, they’ll be without Jack Johnson. The veteran defenseman will miss his second game of the season. Unlike the first time this past Sunday at Pittsburgh, he won’t be a healthy scratch. He’ll be out due to a groin strain.

While it’s no cause for celebration, the injury to Johnson likely gives another opportunity to Brendan Smith. He’s been the extra defenseman David Quinn isn’t shy about using. Smith played twice in place of Tony DeAngelo and once for Johnson. If he is in, then the third pair will have DeAngelo with Smith. DeAngelo is still without a point having struggled. Not having a consistent partner hasn’t helped.

Another option the Rangers could consider is taking another look at Libor Hajek. Once thought as a good prospect due to his performance a couple of years ago at the World Junior Championship, he’s become the forgotten guy. Someone the organization wanted included in the Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller trade to Tampa that netted Brett Howden and two draft picks (Nils Lundkvist and Karl Henriksson, the 22-year old Czech didn’t establish himself last year. He got into 28 games and recorded five assists. Hardly enough of an impact to merit the Rangers’ faith in him.

I’d be for seeing Hajek get another crack. He was a second round pick by the Lightning in 2016. The Rangers took him due to former Tampa GM Steve Yzerman’s unwillingness to include D prospect Cal Foote. Former Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov was also in the trade. He was a solid top nine forward who killed penalties well. Eventually, he was dealt to Ottawa. He’s currently a Red Wing.

The issue with that trade is the Rangers so far have received very little in return for a top four defenseman in McDonagh and a top six forward in Miller, who now plays on the Vancouver top line with Elias Pettersson. Howden is a bottom six player who currently is centering the third line in place of injured center Filip Chytil.

That means Lundkvist and Henriksson better turn into good players, or it’ll go down as one of the worst trades in franchise history.

As for who is in net, it’s Igor Shestyorkin. He gets the start still searching for his first win. That means more consistency. Alex Georgiev hasn’t been lights out either, but has been steadier and has the team’s only win. If he wants to grab the starting job, this is an opportunity to do it.

The Rangers are 0-3-1 in their last four and desperately need a win. It’s up to the top guns to start playing up to their contracts. We’ll see if Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Jacob Trouba and DeAngelo can get it going.

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