Younger Blueshirts bright spots in tough loss to Penguins

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Derek

By now, all the yo-yos complaining over spilt milk have calmed down. A 56-game schedule means it’s too early for panic. Especially four games into the new season.

A 1-2-1 record at the start isn’t what the Rangers wanted. That’s where they are following Friday night’s tough 4-3 loss to the Penguins in a shootout. The rematch is Sunday evening. I don’t know how much I’ll watch due to my rooting interest in the Bills versus the Chiefs.

I’m not ready to hang David Quinn from the guillotine. But he needs to figure out lines that work. Yesterday wasn’t his fault. They deserved a better fate than blowing a two goal lead to a very mediocre Pens, who looked disinterested until they got a break on a lucky Jared McCann goal. Ryan Lindgren accidentally put the puck in past Igor Shestyorkin to change the complexion.

The Rangers had plenty of chances to score more than the three goals they had in the second period. Ryan Strome can’t buy one. He was in all alone on Tristan Jarry and was stopped. He’s now without a point in four games. Whatever chemistry he had with Artemi Panarin looks gone. Quinn tried him with Pavel Buchnevich and the surprisingly consistent Phil Di Giuseppe on the third.

Chris Kreider is off to another slow start. Aside from his bank pass for his one goal on the power play in a 4-3 loss to the Devils, he’s hit a couple of posts and been denied by a quick Jarry. At even strength, Kreider hasn’t done enough. Neither has Mika Zibanejad. It seems like the key veterans only connect on the power play. Panarin isn’t shooting the puck enough. He must be better.

While only Buchnevich has shown rapid improvement thus far out of the experienced players, it’s the younger Blueshirts who are starting to be noticeable. With a power play goal on a good one-timer off a Panarin feed, Adam Fox has four points in the four games. He stuck on the top power play unit which got one past Jarry.

On a terrific forecheck from Di Giuseppe, he stole the puck and sent Filip Chytil in on a mini-break. The 21-year old took his time before going to a beautiful forehand backhand tuck that mirrored Peter Forsberg. It showed a lot of poise and skill which the budding Chytil has. He is looking more confident. It’s possible he could get an opportunity to center Panarin with another young player who looks better.

That would be Kaapo Kakko. Remember how lost he was most of his rookie season? That no longer is the case. Kakko has improved his skating and is more aggressive shooting the puck and attacking the net. His second of the season was a direct result of driving the net to put home the loose change created by a smart low shot by Di Giuseppe. It was as much of a shot pass knowing Kakko would be there for the goal.

On the subject of kids, K’Andre Miller celebrated his 21st birthday on Thursday. So, why not give himself a present by playing so well that he recorded his first NHL point on the Kakko goal. Confident with the puck all night while being teamed up with Jacob Trouba again, he transitioned up ice and dropped the puck for the Di Giuseppe shot that resulted in a goal that made it 3-1 Rangers. Not only was he good offensively, but splendid defensively where he checked Pens’ forwards and separated them from the puck. An excellent sign for a first round pick who looks the part.

It would be easy to point out the negatives from Friday. They didn’t finish off the dangerous Pens, who rose from the ashes to find the two goals they needed to force extras. The frustrating part was it wasn’t the big guns who did the damage. Sidney Crosby was not too involved. Strange to see. Evgeni Malkin was a non-factor. The goals came from Bryan Rust (11 shots), McCann and Teddy Blueger, who benefited from a fortunate bounce off the back boards for an easy put away. You can’t do anything about such goals. It happens.

The Rangers were the better team for most of the 65 minutes. Buchnevich had a bevy of chances to score. He couldn’t. Jarry finally played better to give his struggling team a chance. The Pens are without three starting defensemen. They still have Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin and John Marino. Crosby, Malkin, Rust, Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker still play for them. But there’s something wrong. They didn’t show much urgency until Lindgren scored on his own goalie. After that, they finally woke up.

If there’s a silver lining, the young Rangers played well. Even if Alexis Lafreniere needs to shoot the puck more instead of always passing. He’s still without a point. The top pick is getting enough shifts with Quinn even trying him out with Zibanejad and Kreider. Unfortunately, they didn’t do much and were caught on for two goals against. One was Jack Johnson losing a board battle which led to Cody Ceci firing a shot that was double deflected with Rust getting it. The other was the wide carom right to Blueger.

The question is why aren’t the big guns doing anything at five-on-five. Chytil, Kakko and Di Giuseppe have been the best line. Quinn broke it up due to wanting to see what the pair of young forwards could do with Panarin. It’s worth exploring further. Di Giuseppe is the kind of player, who can work with anyone. That’s probably what Strome needs.

There really isn’t much to be upset about. Other than Quinn sitting out Julien Gauthier for Kevin Rooney, whose penalty helped get the Pens back on track, they did enough to win. Sometimes, that’s hockey. Instead, Guentzel and Letang solved Shestyorkin in the shootout with backhands high short side. Only Panarin scored on Jarry, who stuck with Tony DeAngelo to stop his forehand deke in Round Three.

I would’ve loved to see Chytil get a shot. But Quinn went with his top three from last year. We’ll see how they respond in the rematch tomorrow night.

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Rangers should forget the polarizing Dubois after Blue Jackets travesty

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Derek

I’ll be honest. I never came out pro or con regarding Pierre-Luc Dubois. At age 22, he is a skilled two-way pivot with size and speed. I admire those qualities including his grit which is more of a North American style many teams covet. If only it were that simple.

A former third overall pick in the ’16 NHL Draft, the kid from Quebec is acting like an entitled, spoiled brat. With only three NHL seasons worth of experience, Dubois has already publicly stated his desire to leave Columbus for a bigger market. So much for loyalty to the team that believed in him enough to grab the fourth-year forward third in a Draft Class that featured Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine going 1-2. Matthew Tkachuk went sixth and Clayton Keller seventh. That’s quite a list to be part of.

While it’s true a couple have been signed long-term while Laine is on a one-year deal earning more money with each goal scored, that doesn’t excuse Dubois for his laziness in a Blue Jackets’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Lightning. On only his fifth shift of the game in the first period, he dogged it so badly that no-nonsense coach John Tortorella had seen enough. He justifiably glued his top center to the bench. The footage speaks for itself.

If that’s all Dubois is willing to give, he becomes as unlikable as one of those NBA superstars we hate so much. I don’t have to name names. The last thing hockey fans want is for the sport to become as utterly predictable as basketball. So, if you’re on the Go Get Dubois side, you can stop reading right now. After seeing that travesty, I don’t want any part of Dubois in NYC. As good a player as he is, that isn’t what we want to see from any Rangers. It lacks character and class. It’s also completely disrespectful to his teammates, who worked their butts off to earn a point against the defending champs.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1352436935025975299?s=19

It isn’t like Dubois is getting paid peanuts. He makes $5 million on average through 2022. The Blue Jackets didn’t have to pay him. But despite the public demand from a young player who hasn’t been around that long, they settled on two years for their best forward. If he really cares, he should play hard the way he indicated prior to the start of the season. Instead, he’s already become a distraction five games in. That doesn’t look good, or help his value.

One of the rumored teams interested are the hometown Canadiens. Naturally, they’d love to have a player of his talent. Even if he won’t be the biggest point producer, he’s the kind of guy who can step up his game when it matters. His 19 points in 26 career postseason games prove that. Last summer, he still was a point-per-game (4-6-10 in 10 GP) minus former superstar Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene.

Here’s the thing Rangers fans must consider. He costs $5 million against the cap. It was reported that Columbus asked for Habs center Nick Suzuki, another young roster player plus more. They wisely turned it down. The word insane comes to mind. Suzuki will be a better scorer than Dubois. He already is good. It’s not worth it if that’s the asking price. In all likelihood, the Canadiens should be a playoff team despite playing in a challenging all Canadian North Division.

What would the Rangers equivalent be to acquire such a polarizing player? Don’t insert Ryan Strome and think that’s going to work. Dubois BTW has one more goal/point (1) than the struggling Strome, who’s pressing. They would probably start with Kaapo Kakko or Vitaly Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller, a first round draft pick and probably someone else due to the young Blueshirts being unproven. Say, maybe Pavel Buchnevich? I think the Rangers would reject that on principle. Want to pawn off Tony DeAngelo? What will the defense look like afterwards? It already is sub-par due to Coach Quinn’s reluctance to sit Jack Johnson. Nobody knows why he’s in for Friday’s game at Pittsburgh. Good luck to DeAngelo, who returns following a two game absence.

The truth is this. Let’s say for arguments sake they are in on Dubois. The Blue Jackets aren’t taking back an unsigned Nils Lundkvist, who isn’t even playing in North America. Forget it. They want NHL players with at least one established along with another asset. You aren’t getting a 50-60 point player for a favorable package. Here’s a suggestion. How about waiting and seeing what this roster is capable of. They’re only entering Game 4 tonight and Game 5 this weekend. Try having patience.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1352455026522906630?s=19

A final point on the Dubois debacle in Columbus Thursday night. I watched Tortorella’s postgame. He calmly answered reporters for nine minutes via Zoom Conference. He was very diplomatic and pointed out how he’s handled Dubois or for that matter, any other player. Tortorella demands respect and wants his team to be hard to play against. Whatever that was where Dubois gave up so easily against the smaller Tyler Johnson, was a disinterested player going through the motions. It was brutal. He earned a seat on the bench. Who knows? If Quinn can sit DeAngelo, then Torts can healthy scratch Dubois.

Don’t forget that at $5 million AAV, Dubois is only locked in for two seasons. What do you think he’ll command by the summer of 2022? Exactly. The Rangers have a better top line center in Mika Zibanejad, who will deserve a nice raise this off-season. Extending him is important. That way he’s not playing out the final year of his contract. Buchnevich also needs to get paid this summer. Especially if he keeps producing. He’s stepped it up.

Don’t forget the salary cap is likely staying put at $81.5 million. So, that makes it harder to make such big moves. Like it or not, the Rangers remain a young rebuilding team searching for an identity. They play in a brutal division that’s been upgraded with the addition of the Bruins. A proven winner that’s tough to play against. The Sabres are more on the Rangers level, but boast a top 10 superstar in Jack Eichel along with scoring forwards Taylor Hall, Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner, who figures to get moved up eventually.

With two unproven goalies, rookies Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller along with Filip Chytil, Kakko and key second-year tandem Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, the Rangers realistically speaking aren’t a playoff team. Unless a team ahead of them falls like the sketchy Penguins or low scoring Bruins, the Blueshirts will have an uphill battle to finish in the top four.

Is it worth sacrificing the future for a guy who might not be around in two years? I would pass.

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Devils get dumped on with a bag of cold reality

Posted on January 21, 2021 by hasan4978

I have to admit my pessimism about the 2021 season was slowly turning into guarded optimism, with five points in our first three games coupled with the welcome news Jesper Bratt is only days away from returning after finally getting his visa following a camp holdout things were looking up – at least until about four hours ago when the news dropped that Mackenzie Blackwood was placed on the COVID list. Not that there could have been any good timing for this news, but this quite possibly could have been the worst timing, both with Blackwood being on a hot streak to begin the season and with our backup situation still being unsettled. We’re still waiting on presumptive backup Aaron Dell (claimed after the Leafs dropped him), so in the pipes tonight for our first showdown with the Isles was Scott Wedgewood.

Tonight’s loss – yeah I know as I’m writing there’s still about twelve minutes left but let’s get real, we ain’t coming from three down against a Trotz team – was probably inevitable, especially after the Devils came out flat in the first period. No doubt the team was as floored by the Blackwood news as the fans were. Even under the best of circumstances the Isles have pretty well whipped us in the last few years regardless. With it being long-time Devil Andy Greene’s first game against his former team, there was even more emotion on the side of the home team tonight. I knew what was coming and peaced out of watching early, I didn’t even turn the game on until after the Devils showed some signs of life early in the second period and broke Semyon Varlamov’s season-long shutout streak with a goal from Nathan Bastian.

Ironically Bastian made a mistake that gave the Isles their second goal on the final shift of the first period. The fact Lindy Ruff put his line on the ice after that shows he’s at least going to give younger players a chance to get out of the doghouse rather than banishing them for the night after one mistake. This team is still very much a work in progress though, especially on the not-so-special teams, which have both been putrid this season. Our PK gave up another two goals in the third period while our PP is still scoreless and nearly gave up another shorthanded goal on top of it when PK Subban flopped a pass into Yegor Sharangovich’s chest that bounced away and led to a two-on-one. Fortunately Subban did his job at the other end taking away the pass on the play but overall he’s been dreadful again this season.

Really there are a lot of vets that need to pick it up, starting with the $9 million man. Maybe if Subban had just a couple of his elite seasons with us I’d be a little more inclined to give him slack the way I am Kyle Palmieri, but he’s been nothing but a massive disappointment so far in his Devils tenure. Yes he can eat minutes but with the ineffectiveness he’s played with on both ends of the ice, that’s like lauding a bad starting pitcher for eating innings (think Rick Porcello). As a Met fan with Roberto Alomar and a Jet fan with Brett Favre, I’ve seen this script before – the great player who then comes to your team and does squat. So far the only game Subban’s been good at here is the social media game.

Not that he – or Palmieri for that matter – have been the only disappointments. Our entire third line looks lost, especially wingers Nikita Gusev and Andreas Johnsson. Ineffective on both ends of the ice, for the second game in a row they’ve been benched for long stretches. This is more than a little problem considering Johnsson was one of Tom Fitzgerald’s big acquisitions this offseason while Gusev was supposed to be a lock top six forward, but instead is only inviting more questions over whether to re-sign him at the end of the season.

I can’t say tonight’s game really annoyed me, especially since I only watched about a period’s worth of action tonight. Once the Isles scored early in the third it was good night to lights. We’ll get another shot at the Isles at the Rock this weekend in Greene’s return to NJ (where it’s unfortunate he won’t get the fan ovation he deserves) but now we’ll have to play at least in the immediate future with either Wedgewood or waiver pickup Eric Comrie who just was eligible to be placed on the NHL roster yesterday. I’m not even going to bother to look at Wedgewood’s goals given up or try to rate them, what’s the point? The dude hadn’t played an NHL game in three years, was the third goalie for most of camp and will be the third goalie again when Dell gets here. Not that Dell’s great but at least he’s been an NHL backup.

Most of my annoyance comes with the forced limbo we’re now in, wondering which of the many possible reasons listed above caused Blackwood to be placed on the COVID list. A positive test, an inconclusive test or quarantining after a close contact? There’s already enough mystery around this virus in and of itself, having to wonder whether we’re talking about days or weeks when someone does get it. But also having to wonder about whether someone has it at all or is merely a precautionary quarantine just adds to the angst around this uniquely maddening season.

While in general we might be ready to at least start to turn the corner back the other way on the virus in terms of vaccine distribution ramping up, it’s still a long road ahead, one that’s not going to be finished before the end of the season in April. This was part of the reason I was and am still a bit ambivalent about the season but at least watching Blackwood and Jack Hughes was making the season interesting. Now we don’t even have the former to look forward to in the immediate future.

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Mackenzie Blackwood on COVID list, out for tonight

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Derek

In tough news that just came across in Twitter land, the Devils will be without starting netminder Mackenzie Blackwood for tonight’s game versus the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Unfortunately, the hot goalie was put on the COVID list by the team, making him ineligible to play. Thanks to Devils blogger Hasan for noting that he’s out.

That’s a bad break for the Devils. They bring a 2-0-1 mark into their fourth game of the season. Without Blackwood, they’ll either look to Scott Wedgewood or Eric Comrie in net. Hopefully, Blackwood won’t miss significant time.

The NHL is taking no chances with the pandemic. They recently fined the Washington Capitals $100,00 for not following proper safety and protocol due to four key players hanging out in a hotel without masks. The four players are Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitri Orlov and Ilya Samsonov, who is positive for COVID-19. Not good. Meanwhile, Ovechkin, Orlov and Kuznetsov will miss the next four games. Yikes.

In better news, Devils coach Lindy Ruff revealed that Jesper Bratt will make his season debut tonight. He won’t. Amanda Stein tweeted the lineup which has Wedgewood in net.

For the Islanders, Josh Bailey was cleared for the game.

The Devils take on the Islanders at 7 PM. Face-off is approximately 7:08 EST.

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Hughes led Devils get litmus test against Islanders

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Derek

The Devils are off to a good start in this shortened 56-game season. With second-year center Jack Hughes leading the way with six points (2-4-6) including a statement two goal, assist game in a 4-3 win over the Rangers on Martin Luther King Day, he looks much better than his rookie season. The improvement in strength and skating has been noticeable for the ’19 top pick. It could be a significant breakout year for the Devils’ top gun.

With Hughes centering a cohesive top scoring line with Kyle Palmieri and promising Russian rookie Yegor Sharangovich, it looks like the Devils could surprise some people. They definitely have more structure under proven NHL coach Lindy Ruff. Even if it got dicey late at MSG due to penalty trouble and the ice being tilted, they bent but didn’t break to improve to 2-0-1 versus the Bruins and Rangers. Five out of six points earned.

Mackenzie Blackwood is a big reason for the good start. He was up against it on Monday night. Despite facing 50 shots including 21 in the third period, Blackwood stood up to the challenge to make 47 saves in the one goal victory. He’s started all three games and posted a 1.90 goals-against-average (GAA) with a .948 save percentage. It translates to 109 of 115 shots stopped. The only even strength goal he’s allowed came in the third period versus the Rangers when Filip Chytil beat him on a rebound. The other five have come on special teams including four power play and one shorthanded. If he can continue to consistently stop the puck, then the Devils should be in a lot of games.

Another positive has been the quick start from Miles Wood. An agonizing player due to his penchant for bad penalties (two goalie interference minors), he is capable of scoring between 15 to 20 goals and being an effective top nine forward. That he’s scored three goals including the power play game-winner along with a helper, is a good sign. If any coach can get something out of him, it’s Ruff, who knows a thing or two about squeezing the most out of gritty players who play the game aggressively like Wood.

Rookie Ty Smith is off to a great start with points in his first three NHL games. He’s shown off an uncanny ability to get his good point shot through. It’s resulted in his first NHL goal, a deflection and a rebound goal from Hughes off a Sharangovich face-off win. A superb skater, Smith is proving why the Devils took him in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft. Maybe the extra year of development in juniors at Spokane was better for him.

The best aspect is they’re doing this without key top nine forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt with the latter almost ready to be cleared due to the self quarantine. Hischier could miss at least a month due to his injury. Ruff hasn’t been shy about using Travis Zajac as his number two pivot while Pavel Zacha and Mike McLeod are the third and fourth centers depending on each game.

The defense is comprised of Damon Severson, Ryan Murray, P.K. Subban, Dmitry Kulikov, Smith and Matt Tennyson. They’re still waiting on veteran Sami Vatanen, who’ll likely replace Tennyson and work with Smith on the third pair. Will Butcher looks like the odd man out. That’s too bad for a player who once showed promise offensively. Maybe he’ll get moved.

New Jersey did add goalie Eric Comrie to the roster. So, they now have three goalies. Scott Wedgwood has yet to get a start. With the schedule spread out this far with two games against the Islanders over four days, there’s no reason not to stick with Blackwood. He is by far their best option.

After two days off, the Devils travel to Long Island to battle the rival Islanders, who have won two of their first three. When Semyon Varlamov starts, they have yet to permit a goal. The number one goalie indeed has two shutouts and been perfect. He is the proven vet, who’ll help guide fellow Russian countryman Ilya Sorokin in his first NHL season. A goalie match-up of Blackwood versus Varlamov is appealing. They’re both playing lights out. So, it should be interesting. Will they oppose each other in both games with the rematch not until Sunday back in Newark? We’ll see.

The one thing about the Islanders is they’re extremely detail oriented. Under Barry Trotz, they make it tough on opponents due to their patient defensive system. Coming off their first trip to the Conference Finals since ’93, they’re out to prove that run wasn’t a fluke. If they’re on their game, they’re hard to beat. It’ll be a good litmus test for the Devils.

Mat Barzal centers Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle. Brock Nelson anchors the second line which will be without key setup man Josh Bailey, who’s in COVID protocol. A few hours ago, Trotz provided no update for tonight. This is what part of the lineup could look like courtesy of Arthur Staple.

It’s worth noting Leo Komarov passed through waivers unclaimed while Oliver Wahlstrom has yet to play a game this year. Casey Cizikas anchors the very effective fourth line with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. The Islanders are a four line team, whose identity is to outwork opponents and force them into mistakes.

Former Devils captain Andy Greene faces the Devils. That’ll be an intriguing storyline. He’s part of a solid defense that features Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield, Nick Leddy, Greene and Noah Dobson.

We’ll see how the Devils do against a good opponent.

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Kreider is right about this loss being a learning experience

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Derek

AP Photo credit New York Rangers via Getty Images

It’s easy to get caught up in the end result. By the end of the night, the MSG scoreboard read: Devils 4 Rangers 3. It would be easy to point out the negatives of losing the first of eight games versus the Hudson rival. But that’s not the point.

Three games in, the ’21 New York Rangers are 1-2-0 with two points. They’re a work in progress. In the first game, they forgot to show up. The second was total domination to gain a split versus the Islanders. It showed what they’re capable of. Game 3 of 56 was a mixture of good and bad. Even with some of the mistakes that resulted in four Devils goals including a beauty from Jack Hughes, there was more good than bad.

The Rangers outshot the Devils 50-28 and out-attempted their Newark rival 81-46. On most days, that’s going to be good enough to win. They were done in by two Devils. Hughes, who was spectacular with his first two goals and a great setup for Miles Wood’s game-winner. Mackenzie Blackwood, who was remarkable in stopping 47 of 50 shots. He finally gave up an even strength goal in the third period to Filip Chytil, who was a bright spot in defeat. In particular, he and Kaapo Kakko earned more ice time in a dominant third that saw the Blueshirts tilt the ice.

Shots favored the Rangers 21-8 in the final period. However, they were only able to get the one goal from Chytil, who was able to come off the bench on a line change and follow up a Phil Di Giuseppe rebound that was all set up by a brilliant back pass from Pavel Buchnevich. He was shifted on to that line by David Quinn on the third. The improving Russian forward is making things happen. A good sign for him. He’s gotten off to slow starts in the past. He is 2-2-4 so far in the three games. Maybe he’ll find himself on the big top unit over an ineffective Ryan Strome by Friday at Pittsburgh. The power play connected twice in six attempts, but could’ve had more. They failed to tie it late.

When asked to assess only taking two of a possible six points at home, Chris Kreider chose to be more philosophical about his team’s start. Remembering that they are one of the NHL’s youngest teams, the 29-year old veteran talked about it being a “learning process” for the new players. He’s right. It’s still quite an adjustment for rookies Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, who continues to look more comfortable as he gains valuable experience. Neither saw many shifts late with Quinn opting to ride his big guns. However, they each received over 14 minutes, which is fine.

I’d like to see Lafreniere more utilized on that power play which saw Kreider, Strome, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox log over seven minutes each. As time moves forward, the third-year coach will have to trust kids like Lafreniere, Miller, Chytil and Kakko if he wants the team to succeed. That means being willing to let them learn from mistakes without being punished. Which reminds me. Why is it always the same players who are made examples? I would expect Tony DeAngelo to return to the lineup on Friday. Perhaps veteran Jack Johnson sits. You can’t have both Johnson and Brendan Smith in the lineup. It’s not sustainable.

The thing is despite doing many things right, the Blueshirts found themselves on the wrong end due to costly mistakes. Not only from the easy target. But Jacob Trouba, who didn’t have a good night. Neither did partner Ryan Lindgren, who by the game’s conclusion was back with Fox. They each were victimized for two goals against including a jaw dropping highlight reel goal from Hughes. Having already tallied his first on a face-off win by rookie Yegor Sharangovich, he blocked a Trouba point shot and broke up ice flying past a chasing Lindgren to dust Alex Georgiev with a beautiful move, going backhand five-hole to make it 3-1 Devils.

https://twitter.com/HeresYourReplay/status/1351700545568911361?s=19

He wasn’t done. After Zibanejad connected on a great Fox diagonal feed for his first on the power play to cut the lead to one, Trouba hi-sticked Hughes. The undisciplined penalty took only 22 seconds for Hughes to find just enough wiggle room to put a pass by Fox past an out of position Johnson to Wood, who was able to get enough of the puck with his stick to put it in off his skate. That made it 4-2. It matched his career high of three points (2-1-3). Hughes nearly had point number four on a setup feed of a P.K. Subban one-timer past Georgiev. However, a successful coach’s challenge overturned the apparent goal due to Kyle Palmieri being offside.

Despite the Devils’ best attempts to hand them back the game, the Rangers didn’t take advantage. Even if a couple of calls against New Jersey like the one on Mike McLeod were questionable which led to Kreider banking in his first goal off Ryan Murray, they kept taking foolish penalties. But a bench minor, a Ty Smith hold and a last gasp Nathan Bastian hook weren’t enough to come back.

At least Quinn finally realized both Chytil and Kakko were going. He rewarded each with more shifts in the final period with Kakko even getting power play duty. A makeshift line of Buchnevich, Di Giuseppe and Chytil combining for the only goal despite a strong edge in play. Blackwood stood tall in net by making 20 of his 47 saves in the third. He really did a great job as did a few teammates, who blocked 18 shots including a game high five from Damon Severson.

Lindy Ruff’s team did just enough to get the win. Sure. They held on. But they cashed in on Rangers mistakes and got better goaltending from Blackwood, who was named the game’s Second Star behind Hughes. It wasn’t Georgiev’s best night. He allowed four goals on 20 shots including a pair of rebound goals to Travis Zajac and Hughes. While it was far from his fault, he was replaced by Igor Shestyorkin, who turned away all eight Devils shots in period three.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1351741780920836099?s=19

So, Ruff got the better of Quinn in the first of eight big Battle of Hudson match-ups. He has to feel good about how his team’s played. They took three of four points from the Bruins and improved to 2-0-1 in three games against teams that are supposed to be better than them. Maybe adding the former Rangers assistant, who’s best known for the great job he did in Buffalo, is going to make them a better team. On this night, they had the two best players. Hughes and Blackwood carried them to victory.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1351734045722505219?s=09

Two of six points isn’t a good start for the Rangers. However, three games doesn’t make a season. Even if it’s only 56 matching Joe DiMaggio, there are still 53 left to play. All against division rivals including the Bruins and Sabres. Now, they must turn the page and get ready to play two at the Penguins this weekend. It’s part of a four game road trip that includes a stop in Buffalo following a big weekend for that city. Good luck to the Bills.

It promises to be interesting over the next few months. They must trust the process.

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Quinn to stick with lineup for tonight’s Hudson battle between the Rangers and Devils

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Derek

It isn’t a revelation that the Rangers will go with the same lineup that won convincingly over the Islanders this past Saturday. Coach David Quinn usually will stick with what works for the short-term. How can anyone argue this early in the season?

When the Rangers host the Devils at MSG tonight, it’ll once again be Alex Georgiev in net. He is coming fresh off a 23 save shutout. Igor Shestyorkin will be the backup. Given that the Devils, who are off to a good start after taking three of four points against Boston, they’ll likely roll with starter Mackenzie Blackwood in goal. He’s looked excellent so far only allowing three goals in two games.

With Quinn liking how well his team responded, Tony DeAngelo will again sit out. The defense pairs will be the same. That means the new top pair of Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba. A tandem I’m not against. Especially if they want to have a shutdown D pair. Both worked well together in the 5-0 win over the Islanders.

By keeping them together, it allows rookie defenseman K’Andre Miller to have less pressure while paired with Brendan Smith, who had an excellent season debut. He picked up the lone assist on Artemi Panarin’s breakaway goal and played a simple game while mixing it up. The tandem finished plus-three each.

That also means veteran Jack Johnson works with Adam Fox for a second consecutive game. With Johnson making no mistakes next to Fox, he stays in the lineup. There’s nothing wrong with it as long as they monitor his ice time. He kills penalties as does Smith. It’s all about finding the right match-ups at five-on-five. The Rangers are the home team and have the last change.

Regarding the power play, Quinn is happy with it despite going 1-for-8 on Saturday. He felt both units had enough looks. There is a possibility Pavel Buchnevich could move up to the top unit in place of Ryan Strome. That would give the first unit another left shot. Normally, it’s only net presence Chris Kreider with right shots Panarin, Strome, Mika Zibanejad and DeAngelo, who for now is out. Instead, Fox is on the point in his place. He usually is on the second unit.

The second unit had a different look the other day. Brett Howden was added to that unit and was effective due to winning offensive draws. He’s over 54.0 percent so far which leads a face-off challenged team. That might be why he’s been receiving more ice time including the penalty kill where he’s been a fixture. If only he had more scoring touch.

Quinn has expressed an interest in seeing what Filip Chytil can bring to the second power play. More of a skilled offensive player, he isn’t as effective in the dot. He’s winning below 30.0 percent. That’s an area he must improve on. Given the skill he can bring, if they did flip Buchnevich with Strome, the second line center could take the draws. That would work. Without DeAngelo, Trouba has gotten point time on the second unit. Brendan Lemieux was used in the second game and Alexis Lafreniere has been featured.

If there is any other change, Kaapo Kakko could eventually get back on the man-advantage. He alternated during the morning skate. Kakko belongs on the power play with there more operating room for him to be a shooting threat. Especially after notching his first of the season on a well executed play through the neutral zone from Chytil and Phil Di Giuseppe. It’s only a matter of time before Kakko is teamed up with Lafreniere on the power play.

With Quinn sticking with the same lineup, that means more of Lafreniere on line two with Panarin and Strome. The 19-year old top pick is still looking for his first NHL point. He’s had chances. Maybe it happens later tonight. Strome also is without a point in two games.

The third line of Chytil, Di Giuseppe and Kakko will stay intact after a good game. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get more shifts. They didn’t see as much ice time due to all the power plays. Plus none of the three kill penalties. Something Howden does while anchoring the checking line. He’ll again be teamed with Lemieux and Julien Gauthier, who hopefully will find more shifts. They need to find about him.

As for the Devils, keep an eye on the top line centered by sophomore Jack Hughes. He comes in looking more confident and stronger, having set up three goals. So far, Lindy Ruff has used Hughes with promising rookie Yegor Sharangovich and Kyle Palmieri. They have good chemistry.

It’s the play of that line that is worth watching. Especially Sharangovich, who scored his first NHL goal with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to defeat the Bruins over the weekend. He’s a very good skater that’s very fast and skilled. He scored 17 goals in the KHL this season before being recalled.

Without Nico Hischier, it’s Pavel Zacha centering the second line and proven veteran Travis Zajac anchoring the third line. Here’s how the lines looked during yesterday’s practice.

A rookie defenseman to watch is former first pick Ty Smith. He scored his first goal and followed it up with an assist. The left shooting defenseman can get his shot through and has shown confidence. He is paired with Matt Tennyson, who has supplanted Will Butcher on the third pair.

The Devils are still without Jesper Bratt, who must wait until being cleared due to waiting on visas. If he was playing, he’d be in the top nine. Ditto for veteran D Sami Vatanen.

P.K. Subban is looking for a bounce back year. So far, he’s been shutout in the goal department. Even though he isn’t what he once was, you always have to account for his big shot. Especially on the power play.

Damon Severson came up with a big assist to lead Sharangovich in for his overtime winner. It was a quick no look pass. He now is being used in more of a leadership role with an alternate. A good skater, Severson can be an offensive factor.

It’ll be Blackwood making his third straight start. He’s really been sharp thus far. Scott Wedgewood backs up.

This is the first of eight meetings between the Hudson rivals.

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In role reversal, more focused Blueshirts turn tables on Islanders

Posted on January 17, 2021 by Derek

AP Photo by New York Rangers via Twitter

One thing we’re learning in the early going is that these two game series can turn very quickly. As putrid as they were on Thursday in a 4-0 defeat, the Rangers were way better than the Islanders in a Garden rematch that was every bit as lopsided. The Blueshirts exacted revenge by winning handily 5-0 to split the pair of games against their top rival.

The difference was noticeable early on. From the outset, they were the aggressor. Looking to establish a forecheck that was absent in the season opener, they were more active during shifts. The lineup changes worked for an irate David Quinn, who had to be much happier following his team’s complete effort.

This was more like it. A team playing with urgency taking it to the bitter crosstown rival. In particular, switching to Islanders master Alex Georgiev worked like a charm. The Rangers’ winningest goalie from ’19-20 didn’t show any signs of rust after a 10 month layoff. In his first action since dropping his last decision to the Avalanche on Mar. 11, 2020, Georgiev was very sharp throughout in stopping all 23 shots for his fifth career shutout. He improved to 6-2-0 versus the Islanders. In fact, he went 3-1-0 in all four meetings last year.

Even though they had the better of the play, the shots were 7-2 Islanders. That didn’t matter for two reasons. Georgiev was stopping everything and Pavel Buchnevich scored early on surprise starter Ilya Sorokin. His goal came off a Mika Zibanejad steal and feed that saw Buchnevich surprise the rookie Sorokin by firing a quick wrist shot under his glove at 2:12.

Making his first career NHL start in place of the injured Semyon Varlamov, who took a hard shot in warm-ups which sidelined him, the 25-year old KHL Russian import was a little shaky. For the night, he made 27 saves on 32 shots.

With three revised lines outside of the KZB Line of Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Buchnevich, who was the best Rangers forward scoring his first two goals and assisting on another, they went with rookie top pick Alexis Lafreniere (+ 2 rating) on line two with Artemi Panarin (2 goals) and Ryan Strome (+1 rating). The third line consisted of Kaapo Kakko (1st goal of season), Phil Di Giuseppe (primary assist) and Filip Chytil (assist). The checking line consisted of Brendan Lemieux, Brett Howden and Julien Gauthier. It was a successful Garden recipe on Saturday night.

As for the new defense pairs minus Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren worked very well with a much more effective Jacob Trouba, who logged over 24 minutes and saw some power play duty. Adam Fox was fine with Jack Johnson, who didn’t make any glaring mistakes. Fox working double duty where he was featured on the point of the first power play unit. Brendan Smith dusted off his number 42 Blueshirt and was his usual gritty and physical self cast alongside a more relaxed K’Andre Miller. It worked out well in Game 2 of 56. The only issue is you can’t have half the defense receiving less than 16 minutes. That’s why DeAngelo should be back in for Tuesday’s match versus the Devils. We’ll see what Quinn decides.

Even though they took four minor penalties, the Rangers weren’t too undisciplined. Instead, it was the Islanders who were a step behind and kept handing their Manhattan rival power play after power play. Even though they only connected once in eight tries with Panarin finally breaking the drought in the third from Fox and Buchnevich, it gave the Blueshirts momentum while hurting the Islanders, who didn’t play well at all.

Mat Barzal took two penalties in the offensive zone that drew the ire of coach Barry Trotz. By the third period, the top Isles center was off the first line due to such lazy play. He was far from alone. It was a rough game for defenseman Noah Dobson. He turned over the puck a few times and was caught on for two goals against. Even Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield along with normally reliable duo Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier had off nights.

An Isles turnover resulted in the Rangers getting their second goal of the first period. Off a good defensive play by Smith, he made a perfect pass for a wide open Panarin to send him on a breakaway. The Bread Man didn’t miss. Moving in on Sorokin, he went high glove to beat the Islanders netminder for his first goal of the season. It was a perfect shot from a wonderful player, who had been quiet including on the power play before that moment. It got him going.

With Georgiev turning aside all 10 Islanders shots in a good period, the Rangers took the two-goal lead to the locker room. He got more run support in an inspired second where his teammates showed no mercy. After failing to convert on a pair of Barzal minors, the Rangers got it done at five-on-five. On kind of a strange play, Buchnevich came away with a loose puck and fired a hard wrist shot from a tough angle off the far goalpost and in for his second of the game. It definitely caught Sorokin off guard. That made it 3-0 at 5:57 of the middle stanza. It was unassisted.

The Rangers killed off a Kakko slashing minor right after to keep the momentum. Even though the power play still didn’t click, they continued to do damage at even strength. On a good shift from an active Chytil, who stole the puck in the neutral zone, he was able to get into the Isles zone and pass for Di Giuseppe. The quick counter led to Di Giuseppe finding Kakko open for a quick one-timer past Sorokin to increase the lead to four with 4:36 left in the second.

It was during the third that a clearly frustrated Ross Johnston lost it to earn a roughing double minor and misconduct after going after Smith and Lindgren. On the ensuing power play, some great passing from Buchnevich and Fox allowed Panarin to beat Sorokin pointblank with a great shot short side with 4:04 to go in the game. It put a stamp on the victory for the Rangers.

Georgiev stopped six more Islanders shots in the final period to pick up the shutout. It was well deserved for a player who more often than not has come through. It’s easy to forget he was undrafted and signed by the Rangers. His poise in net and maturity are probably why the team usually plays well in front of him. He also can move the puck up ice like Igor Shestyorkin, who got to watch his teammate deliver the first win of 2021. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Georgiev gets the next start at home on Tuesday.

Three Stars of The Game:

3rd 🌟 Artemi Panarin, NYR (2 goals on 3 shots, +1 in 22:17)

2nd 🌟 Alex Georgiev, NYR (23 saves for 5th career shutout, 6-2-0 vs NYI)

1st 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, NYR (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG, team high 5 SOG, +2 in 20:36)

Notes: The third pair of Miller and Smith each went plus-three. … Lafreniere logged 16:31 with three shots, nearly setting up a goal. … Buchnevich and Zibanejad were featured as a penalty killing duo each logging over three minutes while doing a splendid job. … Attempts favored NYR 65-38. … For a second consecutive game, Isles blocked 20 shots. Face-offs were 31-25 Isles led by Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11-and-5). No Ranger was over .500 with Zibanejad winding up 11 up and 11 down.

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Devils stun Bruins at the buzzer

Posted on January 16, 2021 by hasan4978

Sometimes you hear the phrase instant classic after a dramatic finish, this afternoon’s matinee between the Devils and the Bruins was certainly one of those games where that would apply. From a team perspective it’s too early to tell whether this afternoon’s 2-1 win over the Bruins will be a significant marker or a footnote long-term, but from a fan and individual player perspective it was huge in the short-term. To get three points off the President’s Trophy Bruins in the first two games after not having played for ten months is just what the doctor ordered to get some excitement back with the fanbase. And for the hero of the afternoon, scoring a buzzer-beater of a goal was quite the coming out party for Yegor Sharangovich.

What’s ironic is you would think a game with just three goals wouldn’t have much excitement or many highlights, especially compared with the pond hockey that’s being played around the league so far in this wild, strange season. Yet even with a meager amount of goals, the fireworks started early in the afternoon when Kevan Miller dropped the gloves with Miles Wood on the first shift of the game. Wood, as you may recall got two goaltender interference penalties on Thursday night and apparently the Bruins were none too pleased about that, with coach Bruce Cassidy and at least a couple of players making reference to it after the game.

If you’re in the hockey world, you pretty much knew that there would be some repercussions and Wood answered the bell in more ways than one first with the fight, then by getting the last laugh with a goal later on in the period. During his first intermission interview with Erika Wachter, Wood was quite analytical about the fight itself.

Admittedly I’m only catching up on most of the first period stuff since I was slow to pick up the game. I did start watching in the second period though and the Devils were playing well for the most part, until the return of the power play of doom which struck late in the second period and was part of a double momentum swing. First, the Bruins had scored an apparent goal earlier but the goal was disallowed, and Boston picked up a minor penalty for a failed coach’s challenge. However, basically our entire PP unit got punked by Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron – mainly Marchand who beat a slow-footed Kyle Palmieri and got a pass off to Bergeron, who powered home a one-timer. There was plenty of blame to go around on that goal however, from PK Subban who played too passively on D to Jack Hughes and Pavel Zacha who were just floating around behind the play.

In a weird way I was looking forward to the intermission segment to see what Bryce Salvador had to say about the goal since there was so much you could dissect from that one, but apparently that was too negative for our broadcast lol. In any case the game was tied at one and stayed there through a tense period, although the Devils nearly won it on a power play at the end of regulation, finally putting together some good chances but failing to connect. Once we didn’t score on the PP it looked like it was going to be a reprise of the other night – team plays well but comes up short in the skills competition and only has two points to show for the first four games. Which wouldn’t have been terrible, but if you’re a young team looking to get some belief in yourself (and build some from the fanbase) you really need to steal some games early in the season.

Not only did the Devils manage to do earn the all-important two points, but they found the most dramatic way possible when Palmieri (who had a rough game otherwise) made a good play to get the puck up to Damon Severson, whose turnaround pass found a streaking Sharangovich for a breakaway toward the end of OT, and the unfazed rookie put it past Jaroslav Halak with just 1.7 seconds remaining before the shootout. From a personal standpoint I got as excited as I’ve been in quite a while for any of my teams. Not quite Ken Daneyko when Anssi Salmela scored in OT type excited – look it up on YouTube – but close enough.

It was reminiscent of one of my other favorite finishes – the Marek Zidlicky buzzer beater against the Panthers I even put in my top ten memorable games of the 2010’s in a blog last year. He actually scored with a similar amount of time remaining off a faceoff back in 2014, I think it was. Of course I was actually in the building for that one, which is part of what made it so memorable and I probably would have been for this game too but…2020-21. Oh well.

At least this game was won by guys you hope will be a part of the long-term solution around here, and that doesn’t just include the guys who combined on the winning goal. I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up Hughes getting his third assist in two games and leading all forwards in icetime, or rookie Ty Smith getting a point in his second straight game and playing a solid 17:28 overall. Not to mention Mackenzie Blackwood, who looks in midseason form (what ten month break?) with his second straight dominant performance. This time he only needed twenty-seven saves to keep the Bruins’ powerful offense at bay, only allowing three goals in the first two games.

Many of our 25-and-under players – Blackwood, Hughes, Wood, Sharangovich and Smith all getting off to good starts is the kind of thing that can build optimism back up in a fanbase that’s been battered by years of losing. Not to mention Sharangovich’s on-ice interview was a charmer. Put it this way, sometimes the less English you know the better. When Erika asked him about what he was thinking on the breakaway, Sharangovich said ‘I think I can score and I score’.

I couldn’t have put it any better myself.

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DeAngelo a healthy scratch for tonight’s rematch, a Quinn critique on Kakko

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Derek

As expected, Tony DeAngelo will not play in the rematch at MSG versus the Islanders. David Quinn made his mind up and that’s all that matters.

It’s an early message to not only DeAngelo, who foolishly slammed the penalty box door shut and had a few choice words for the incompetent refs, who swung and missed on two goal reviews. At least a Quinn coach’s challenge saved them from themselves.

DeAngelo is an emotional player who plays with passion and energy. He has to know better. Even if the game was 4-0, you get let your emotions get the best of you. He’ll be back next week following NFL Divisional Round weekend.

I disagree with the coach on not sitting veteran Jack Johnson, who was brutal in his Rangers debut. He also is punishing ’19 first round pick Kaapo Kakko, who isn’t even on the power play for tonight’s game. Why did they take Kakko with the second pick if this is how he’s going to be treated? How is he supposed to improve?

Kakko will also switch to the third line with Filip Chytil, who he played with mostly last year. Will it be Julien Gauthier, who played well in the first game, or Phil Di Giuseppe? You don’t know with this coach. He doesn’t punish veterans. Not much different from previous Rangers coaches. I’m not gonna name names.

What we do know is the Blueshirts must play with a lot more urgency than that debacle that saw them outclassed by a well schooled Islanders. It doesn’t matter if there was no preseason. Nobody had one. The Avalanche and Oilers bounced back in their rematches. With the schedule the way it is, you have to pick yourself up and respond the right way.

Quinn spoke about not having the structure the Islanders had. Whose fault is that? Why did they look so unprepared? It’s true that they are a very young roster when you subtract Marc Staal and Henrik Lundqvist and add Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller. But the Senators had no trouble beating the Leafs last night with a similar roster that doesn’t have as much star talent. Oh. And their ’18 fourth pick Brady Tkachuk torched Toronto for a goal and two assists. Because he’s trusted and already becoming a leader.

You want your top draft picks to develop and become go to guys. Quinn has to put his young players in position to succeed. He hasn’t done it enough with Kakko, who must finish to be effective. There’s no reason for him to not play power play while Brett Howden and Brendan Lemieux suddenly are on the second unit.

That seems like an overreaction. The whole roster stunk. The score could’ve been worse if not for a few big saves from Igor Shestyorkin. Now, it’s Alex Georgiev’s turn.

I don’t know how locked in I’ll be to the second game. Part of that is due to my close friend’s team the Buffalo Bills, who I’d love to see beat the media darling Baltimore Ravens and advance to the AFC Championship Game. However, I’m sure I’ll catch most of the Islanders/Rangers. There will just be some channel flipping during the second and third periods.

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