Battle Of Hudson covers the Rangers and Devils, who's intense rivalry heated up in the 90's. With fresh faces added, they battle for supremacy in NYC and NJ..
Tonight, the Maple Leafs visit Manhattan when they do battle with the Rangers. The game is a 7:30 PM start. It must be one of those NBCSN flex games. Plus you got the Canadian telecast. From checking the schedule, it doesn’t say anything about NBC Sports Network. Interesting.
The Leafs find themselves trailing the final wildcard by two points. The Flyers currently occupy that spot with 65 points. With their 4-3 win in overtime over the Stars yesterday, the Islanders are the first wildcard with 66. Toronto is fourth in the Atlantic Division with 63 points. They are a point behind the Panthers for third place. The Leafs have 29 games remaining. Florida has 30.
The big news is the recent injury to starting goalie Frederik Andersen. However, it’s not serious. He’s listed as day-to-day. For now, that means Michael Hutchinson will start later. Backup goalie has been a sore spot for Toronto all season. They should have interest in Rangers netminder Alex Georgiev. It will depend on what’s offered as to whether he goes or not. You know what I think about it.
Despite his success versus the Leafs, Georgiev will not start tonight. It’ll be Igor Shestyorkin. He will get his first taste of Maple Leaf hockey. Oh boy. This should be a treat. The Over/Under is at 7 total goals. Up from the usual 6.5 when the Rangers play. As much as I like what I’ve seen from Shestyorkin, you have to think there will be plenty of goals. I’m thinking at least eight. Especially the way these teams skate and play.
David Quinn has put more of an emphasis on five-on-five play following Monday’s 5-3 loss to Dallas. Over the past two games, the Blueshirts have zero even strength goals. They have scored four power play goals including Mika Zibanejad’s lone tally in the Henrik Lundqvist 1-0 shutout of lowly Detroit. The man-advantage went three-for-three against the Stars the other night.
That means they’ve gotten zilch done at five-on-five. Oh. It’s not that they played poorly at even strength. They generated enough chances and shots. However, they got no results. Credit Anton Khudobin for that. Dallas was better at taking advantage of their opportunities. They got the last three at even strength with two in the second chasing Henrik Lundqvist. Then a rebound goal on Georgiev.
With the focus on improving at five-on-five, Quinn is toying with the idea of new lines. Yep. That includes the trio of Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast. They’ve cooled off. So, expect them to be broken up for the start of this one. When asked about it at practice yesterday, Strome understood why.
Strome: "It'll be an exciting game tomorrow night, and we're looking forward to it. I think we have a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouths after last night." pic.twitter.com/2zplp6CRwI
Here is a player who gets it. He knows that despite good results in a potential career year, he needs to be better. He admitted that he needs to shoot the puck more. Something that’s a common theme with this team. Pavel Buchnevich has been as evidenced by his three goals over the last four games. However, he got benched last game. What line will he play on?
I’d imagine Quinn is putting Panarin and Zibanejad back together in an attempt to match the Leafs firepower. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been their best players. John Tavares is under a point-per-game. He’s not been as consistent as his first year. Kasperi Kapanen is a key contributor who the Rangers might have interest in. Again, this is just spitballing.
I definitely am curious to see how they respond. This game has some juice to it given the importance for the Leafs. I’ll be there. Recap will be much later.
Stephen Johns celebrates an emotional goal during a Stars 5-3 win over the Rangers, who again failed to win three in a row last night. AP Photo credit Dallas Stars via Getty Images
Some games you can’t explain. Although I knew the Stars were better than the Rangers, it still hurts that they again failed to string together three consecutive wins. They’ve only done it once and that was before Thanksgiving.
Like a broken record that plays over and over again similar to classic Bill Murray character Phil in Groundhog Day, the Rangers aren’t a playoff team. They may have took care of business by banking four points against lowly Detroit. However, they were no match for Dallas, who used a pair of Joe Pavelski power play goals within a 16 second span to turn a 1-0 deficit around. The Stars got another goal from Henrik Lundqvist killer Blake Comeau as they scored three in a row to break open a tie game and defeat the Rangers 5-3 at MSG.
There wasn’t much to like about this one. The only area they excelled was on the power play. Indeed, the Rangers went three for three on power play goals from Pavel Buchnevich (10th), Brett Howden (7th) and Brendan Lemieux (6th). The problem was despite doing some good things at five-on-five and leading in shots 18-11 and then 22-13, they didn’t take advantage.
Instead, it was the Stars who were opportunistic by scoring four times on 15 shots to chase Lundqvist, who made his second straight start following a shutout at Detroit. It didn’t go well. He was out by the start of the third period where Alex Georgiev replaced him and allowed one goal on six shots in relief. The one was scored by Corey Perry on a rebound to make it 5-2 Stars.
That was enough for Dallas backup Anton Khudobin to come away with the victory. He was far busier finishing with 33 saves including 29 for 29 at even strength to give his team the road win. The Stars go for the metro area sweep at the Islanders tomorrow night.
The game started out well for the Blueshirts. With Andrew Cogliano off for a trip on Artemi Panarin, Buchnevich scored for the third time in four games to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead at 2:29. It was a lucky one. Taking a feed from Panarin, he skated into the Stars zone and caught Khudobin leaning with a sharp angle shot to hit double digits for the season. Tony DeAngelo picked up a secondary assist for his 40th point.
The game changed following an interference minor to Brendan Smith. Dallas would capitalize in odd fashion when Pavelski scored his 10th from John Klingberg and Jamie Benn. It was weird because of the way the puck was ruled to have gone in. Even the replays on MSG were confusing. The puck hit the glass after going in. Both Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti were confused. So was I. David Quinn had to be puzzled after losing the challenge. It handed Dallas another power play.
DQ on the failed challenge, which resulted in 2 PPGs in 16 seconds.
"We thought it was 100% out. Obviously, we had an angle that they apparently didn’t see, or there was a discrepancy. We thought we had it. We thought for sure it was going to get called back, but we were wrong."
It didn’t take long for Pavelski to notch number 11 just 16 seconds later. Tyler Seguin and Benn combined to set up Pavelski in the slot for a 2-1 Dallas lead at 8:24. He was left wide open to blow a one-timer past Lundqvist. It was lousy coverage by all four penalty killers. Jamie Benn was allowed to easily find Pavelski in the slot for the second power play goal that put the Stars up by one.
Still trailing, the Rangers got the benefit of a Dallas bench minor for too many men on the ice. They would score in unconventional fashion. Initially, the refs immediately waved off Brett Howden’s goal. The reason being is he gloved the puck down first in front of the Stars net before putting it in. They must’ve thought he didn’t get a stick on it. After video review, the call was overturned giving Howden a rare power play goal.
Kaapo Kakko picked up an assist along with Lemieux. It was Kakko’s first point since Jan. 2. So it took exactly a month for the teenager to get his 10th assist and 17th point. He’s looked better since the team returned from the break. I thought having the time off would be good. He went home and it had to help. He’s still playing on the third line. But perhaps a promotion could be coming.
After one period, you had a tie hockey game. All four goals were scored on the power play. The Rangers held a 13-7 shots edge. They would surge ahead in the second by getting five of the first nine to increase to 18-11 for the game. However, they were unable to score on Khudobin, who outside of allowing a bad goal to Buchnevich, had a good night. He finished with 33 saves. One of the best backups in the game, he allowed starter Ben Bishop to rest for Tuesday’s visit at the Islanders. The Isles need the game as they’ve fallen to the final wildcard behind Columbus and Philadelphia.
It was the Stars who got the first goal at even strength. It was an emotional one for defenseman Stephen Johns. Having dealt with post traumatic headaches, he wasn’t sure he would get to return again. He scored his first goal of the season on a good one-timer from the point through traffic to put Dallas ahead 3-2. Here’s how it looked and sounded on the Dallas telecast. Plus an emotional Johns discussing how much it meant with his parents in the stands.
A night I’ll never forget. Tried to hold in the emotions, but the only thing I could think of all night were my parents sitting in the crowd. If you know Ray & Noreen and their passion for traveling to watch me play for the last 20 years, you understand. 🙏🏼 https://t.co/KMMYUJHa9U
Obviously, you feel good for Johns. It sounds like he went through a difficult time. Him talking about the pain he experienced and how it wasn’t only him. But his parents too that have supported him by attending many games. That’s what it’s all about. He has good perspective. A feel good moment for sure.
I mentioned earlier how Comeau kills Lundqvist. He owns him. It’s the strangest thing. Since his days with the Islanders, the checking winger has always had a penchant for scoring big goals against Lundqvist. How many of the 14 are shorthanded? He did get probably two or three with the Isles and Pens down a man. For a player who’s never going to be confused with Ovechkin, he has a good shot. Once again, it was Groundhog Day at The Garden for Hank.
He probably sees Comeau in his sleep scoring on such great shots as the excellent wrist shot he ripped top shelf on the far side, blowing a hole through his glove. I said that for effect. Some guys just have goalie’s numbers. Comeau took advantage of a misread by Phil Di Giuseppe (yes he played for Chris Kreider). The puck took a favorable carom off the side boards over Di Giuseppe right to Comeau for a two-on-one. He’s a shoot first player. The alternate Stars captain earned his seventh on the fluky play to give the Stars a two goal lead at 11:56 of the second.
You can tell by the reaction of Ryan Lindgren how disappointed he was by the Comeau goal. Di Giuseppe was scrambling back, but obviously was too late. It’s a shot you’d like to see Lundqvist stop. But let’s give some credit to Comeau. It was a great shot. Better than I first thought. Not bad for a guy with 135 career NHL goals in a respectable 835 games while playing for six teams (Isles, Flames, Blue Jackets, Pens, Avalanche, Stars). The Rangers are the only team Comeau has double digits against going 14-10-24 in 36 games. Crazy stuff.
The second period was a letdown. The Rangers also took two penalties aside from the breakdowns on the Dallas goals. One was coincidental with both Howden (hooking) and Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (embellishment) going off for matching minors.
Without Kreider, who they kept out as a precaution despite him pushing to play, Quinn mixed up his lines. Believe it or not, Di Giuseppe started with Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad. However, quite a few different combinations were tried as the game went on. This even included Lindgren taking a shift with Marc Staal. Why? It also featured goal scorer Buchnevich on the fourth line with Greg McKegg and Brendan Smith in the third.
That didn’t go well. They were caught on for the Stars fifth goal. On some sustained pressure, a one-timer was mishandled by Georgiev. The rebound went right to Perry, who got position on McKegg to slam it in for just his fourth goal at 5:22. How the mighty have fallen. He once won the Hart Trophy with the Ducks.
Regarding what happened to Buchnevich, Quinn didn’t say much. He just repeated himself when pressed.
The roller coaster ride that is Pavel Buchnevich had been ascending lately, but it took a drop tonight. He was benched in the third and DQ was short when asked about why.
Strange how the guy goes from getting his third goal over the last four early on and then gets benched. The Rangers were without Kreider. Filip Chytil shifted to the wing to take Buchnevich’s place. Lemieux also played more even drawing a penalty and then tallying a third power play goal that made it 5-3 with 6:43 left in regulation. Adam Fox drew the only assist on Lemieux’s deflection. That’s something he’s adept at. He definitely needs to become more consistent. He hasn’t been as effective since returning.
Of course, Lemieux stirred the pot late. With Georgiev pulled, the sneaky Blueshirt knocked the stick out of Benn’s hands. He then took a pass and put a shot past Khudobin with a minute left as the whistle blew. With Benn irate at Lemieux for what he did, obviously it was no goal and matching minors to both players. Lemieux for interference and Benn for roughing. I would’ve done the same exact thing to Lemieux. He’s a lot like his Dad, who was a better player that knew how to agitate the heck out of opponents.
As far as replacing Lundqvist with Georgiev at the start of the third, Quinn explained it well.
Why did DQ pull Lundqvist before the third period?
"Just the feel — the mojo. It was more about giving us a little bit of a boost because we really got flat after that third goal. It was just a feeling."#NYR#NHL
He obviously wasn’t happy with his team’s effort. They once again failed to get that winning streak. How can anyone expect them to chase down all the team’s in front of them when they can’t put together a good stretch? That’s why I’ve been consistent in concluding that this isn’t a playoff team. They do compete hard, but there is also too much inconsistency which good teams don’t have.
“We definitely want to be good at home. We want to make it a hard place to play, and these next three games are huge for us.”
Next up are the Maple Leafs. They’re the same Jekyll and Hyde high flying and scoring club that doesn’t play much defense. Even worse, they lost starter Frederik Andersen to an injury during last night’s 5-3 home loss to the Panthers, who scored the last four. Michael Hutchinson replaced him after the first. It wasn’t until the third that the bottom fell out. He allowed three goals in a row followed by an empty netter.
The Leafs fell back to out of the wildcard. They have 63 points, trailing the Isles by one. The Hurricanes also have 63 with one less game played. Unless Montreal or the Rangers make a move, it’s basically 10 teams competing for eight spots.
Battle of Hudson Three 🌟
3rd 🌟 Joe Pavelski, Stars (a pair of power play goals in 16 seconds)
2nd 🌟 Blake Comeau, Stars (14th career goal vs Lundqvist on a wicked wrist shot high cheese, a Ranger killer got the winner)
1st 🌟 Stephen Johns, Stars (emotional first goal that put Stars ahead for good with parents in stands)
Rather than bore you with the same old same old about tonight’s game versus the Stars, I’m gonna dive into a topic that should be discussed more. It concerns Ranger fans and how we treat prospects.
As someone who enjoys following prospects as much as anyone, I tend to overrate our young players. I think we all are guilty of it to some degree. I can remember going back to the days of Manny Malhotra, Jamie Lundmark, Tomas Kloucek and Dan Blackburn.
Excitement over your team’s prospects is understandable. As passionate fans, we all want to see them succeed. Sometimes, it leads to unrealistic expectations. I thought Malhotra could be more than what John Muckler arrogantly stated while coaching that team. It just didn’t seem fair for him to make such an assessment public. That was the beginning of the end for him. Ultimately, he was proven right. Malhotra had a solid career as a checking type third line center that won draws and killed penalties.
Remember Lauri Korpikoski? He was the key part of the return in the Brian Leetch trade with Toronto. The Rangers took him ahead of Travis Zajac. Korpikoski was a solid checking type forward who like Malhotra, was a secondary scorer that could kill penalties. You need those types around. Niklas Sundstrom was similar, but hit 20 goals while benefiting from playing with Wayne Gretzky.
I never felt Lundmark was given a fair chance due to Mark Messier, who took up too much ice time in a failed return that resulted in no playoffs. However, Lundmark never became the player he could’ve been with Arizona and Calgary. He eventually went overseas and was successful in the Swiss League.
A freak injury while weight training did in Blackburn. To his credit, he attempted a comeback. Al Montoya had that big World Junior Championship showing helping Team USA win gold in a big upset of Canada. Glen Sather picked him. It never worked out. He was eventually moved to the Coyotes. A destination for a lot of former Rangers draft picks. Don Maloney was the connection.
We all know about the big swing and miss on Hugh Jessiman. A good guy who never recovered from a high ankle sprain. They took him over Zach Parise. Oops. Then you had Dylan McIlrath, who they loved for his size, physicality and toughness. In the old days, he would’ve made it and could’ve become a fan favorite in the mold of Jeff Beukeboom. I wanted Cam Fowler. The Ducks grabbed him. He’s had a good career, but hasn’t been as consistent as I thought. Of course, everyone brings up Vladimir Tarasenko. Hindsight is 20/20.
For years, the Rangers have hyped up their prospects and like suckers, we’ve bought in. Look what’s happening with Lias Andersson. It’s sad. The fourth line meanwhile stinks. But he’s an afterthought who’ll likely be traded in the off-season. I wonder if he’ll ever make it. He’s young enough to. Maybe a scenery change will help.
So, as fans, do we overrate our team’s prospects? Go have a look at the current roster. Only Adam Fox had performed like a future star. Ryan Lindgren will be a solid, physical defenseman similar to both Beukeboom and Mike Sauer. Neither were Rangers draft picks. But they’re definitely going to be a part of the future.
What about Filip Chytil? He’s got a lot of potential due to his skating and skill. He looks like more of a finisher than playmaker. Eleven goals and six assists for 17 points in 41 games at at age 20 seem to indicate that. He’s a young player that’s still learning to become better overall at center. Defensive assignments and face-offs are issues. I see him as a potential 25-30 goal scorer capable of 50 points. I’m being realistic here.
Brett Howden looks like a fourth liner. He can kill penalties and is okay on draws. But he struggles when it comes to burying chances. I see a hardworking player who looks more effective on the wing because it allows for more creativity. He is a better passer. But what is he? Six goals and six assists for a dozen points in 50 games isn’t much. In 66 contests last season, he went 6-17-23. The 21-year old needs a better finish. They have to figure out where he fits better. As a center or left wing.
Even 2019 second overall pick Kaapo Kakko has struggled in his first year. Seven goals with nine assists for 16 points and a team worst minus-18 rating is disappointing. However, Jack Hughes is no better on the Devils. Unrealistic expectations, much? Not every kid comes into the best league and takes it by storm. I still view Kakko as a future 30-40 goal guy with a high upside. He has the size, strength and shot. He needs work on his skating, defensive awareness and endurance.
We have to understand that it doesn’t happen right away for every top prospect. That’s my take. I’m hopeful Kakko will improve in the remaining 32 games. I’m also not down on Vitali Kravtsov despite his rollercoaster year. Let him continue to develop at Hartford. He’s 20 and it’s his first taste of North America.
While we can get genuinely excited for Igor Shestyorkin and Alex Georgiev ‘if’ he’s still here after Feb. 24, rebuilds take time. I think that’s what we are learning. The Rangers trail the wildcard by 10 points entering tonight’s home match against Dallas. A big step up from Detroit. We’ll see how they do.
What must be understood is not every prospect becomes what we hope. People are realizing that about Pavel Buchnevich. He might just be what he is. A top nine forward who can get you 15-20 goals and 45-50 points. I’d like to see him improve defensively and become more consistent shooting the puck. That’s why I don’t know what the future holds for him. He isn’t that guy. So be it.
Libor Hajek meanwhile is an afterthought. They definitely over hyped him due to the trade with the Lightning. The less said about it, the better. That doesn’t mean he can’t be part of the blueline. He will remain with the Wolf Pack while the organization decides what’s best for him.
Having patience is a big key to what happens with the Rangers. They weren’t patient with Andersson. Look what happened. I doubt we’ll ever see him in a Blueshirt jersey ever again. You cannot rush players if they’re not fully ready. If there was better depth, Kakko would be in the AHL instead of learning on the fly. I’ll bet Hasan would echo the same for Hughes across the river.
Am I still excited for what the future holds with the franchise? Absolutely because I didn’t go into this season with unrealistic expectations. I knew the playoffs were a long shot. I stand by my 85 point prediction. Something that’s within reach. If they get there, that would be progress.
We can take solace knowing this team has a legit superstar in Artemi Panarin along with a point-per-game number one center in Mika Zibanejad, who remains completely overlooked. I wish they could keep Chris Kreider, but it doesn’t seem realistic given the cap situation. The decision making from management regarding Kreider, Georgiev, Jesper Fast, Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome remains essential. It holds the key to the next few years.
There can’t be any missteps. So, do we as fans overrate our team’s prospects? Yes. But like the late Ric Ocasek said, “I’m not the only one.”
Enjoy tonight and the rest of the schedule. Keep perspective.
Henrik Lundqvist gets congrats from Brady Skjei after stopping all 33 Red Wings shots for his first shutout in over two years. AP Photo credit New York Rangers via Getty Images
In a game I didn’t see due to dinner plans with my Mom out on the nicer North Shore of Staten Island, the Rangers defeated the Red Wings 1-0 last night at Little Caesars Arena. Believe it or not, they listed 19,515 for the Original Six rematch at Detroit. I find that hard to believe given how bad the Wings are.
We'll keep it short so you can get back to your Super Bowl Sunday activities. Mika was on fire. Hank was perfect. The @NYRangers win back-to-back games against the Red Wings. Yup, I think that's it. #PlayLikeANewYorker#LGRpic.twitter.com/m6xSxmmQuj
There are two big stories coming out of this game which the Rangers had to have to give themselves any minor chance at chasing down the wildcard. Henrik Lundqvist made his first start in 20 days. Only his third since Igor Shestyorkin came up to make it a three goalie rotation with wins leader Alex Georgiev. His previous two starts weren’t good. There was some pressure yesterday.
Lundqvist did something he hadn’t done in over two years. He posted a shutout. In stopping all 33 Detroit shots, it marked the first time he recorded a shutout in 27 months. His last one came on Nov. 19, 2017. That was a 20 save shutout against Ottawa. It had to feel great for him to finally get one. At one time, he was in his prime racking up a lot of them. But those days have passed. It was career shutout number 64.
Out of curiosity, I put on the end of the game on my Tablet just wondering what the score was. When I saw 1-0 Rangers with over a minute left, I chuckled. Would it really happen? As putrid as the Red Wings are, I figured they’d get a couple of cracks at tying the game with Jonathan Bernier on the bench.
Sure enough, they did. Lundqvist made a pair of big saves including one pointblank with over 20 seconds remaining. The rebound was sitting right there to be had. Fortunately, no Red Wing got to it or we could be talking about another frustrating miss by Hank. Maybe even a 2-1 overtime or shootout loss. You never know. Especially given the history between these teams, who have played something like 14 out of the last 17 games decided by one lousy goal.
Usually, it’s with Jimmy Howard in net versus Lundqvist. This time, he got the night off following Friday when he played very well despite allowing four goals at The Garden.
There was only one goal in the classic home-and-home series rematch. It was scored by the scorching hot Mika Zibanejad on the power play with 7:47 left in the opening period. He was able to squeeze in a rebound past Bernier for number 20 from Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome at 12:13. It marks the third straight season he’s reached 20 goals. A number he’s hit in five of the last six years doing it twice as an Ottawa Senator and now three times as a New York Ranger. Last season, he had a career high 30 in all 82 games.
At 26, Zibanejad is in his prime. He’s performing at a high level. The fact is he got to 20 goals in his 37th game. He missed some time due to the mysterious upper body injury that probably was a concussion. He has been on a roll lately with six points in three games. In January, he wound up going 3-8-11 despite not registering a point in four of the 10 games. After missing most of November, Mika is over a point-per-game since with 29 points (14-15-29) over 25 games. Half of his 14 goals have come on the power play. Overall, he has nine PPG, eight even strength and three shorthanded. He leads the team in both power play goals and shorthanded goals.
In case you’re wondering, Kreider ranks second with seven on the power play while Artemi Panarin is third with six. He does most of his damage at even strength with 21 of his team-leading 27 there. An impressive number for a dynamic star player who’s been worth every penny. Ironically, this was only the second game the Rangers won when Panarin is held without a point. They improved to 2-9-1.
It’s hard to comment too much on how this wound up a 1-0 game. My guess is both teams were a bit tired from the travel due to it being a back-to-back. Maybe that’s why the goalies were so good. They both were fresh due to having not started for a bit. Though Bernier just returned from the injured reserve after missing seven games. He wound up making 30 saves.
Remember when he was the hyped goalie prospect for the Kings while Jonathan Quick was just hitting his stride as the starter in LA? That worked out a lot differently. Bernier never became a starter, but he’s an okay backup. Though he’s basically the starter in goalie starved Detroit. Bernier is 10-13-2 in 29 games with a 2.92 GAA and. 907 save percentage.
That’s much better than Howard, who’s a depressing 2-20-2 with a 4.12 GAA and .884 save percentage in 24 games. I’ve always had a soft spot for Howard, who at one time was pretty good on some better Detroit teams. He wears number 35 for childhood idol Mike Richter. Even plays similarly. For his Red Wings career, Howard is 246-193-70 with a 2.61 GAA, .913 save percentage and 24 shutouts in 540 games. His 246 victories rank third all-time in franchise history, trailing Stanley Cup champion Chris Osgood (317) and Hockey Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk (350). Not bad company.
Sadly, this could be it for Howard, who’s 35 in the last year of a contract that pays him $4 million. Sometimes, it ends badly for good players. Even great ones. I’m of course referring to what’s going on with Henrik Lundqvist, who has one more year left on his contract that is a cap hit of $8.5 million. So, his teammates were awfully excited following one last clear and the final buzzer to congratulate him on the rare shutout. He had a huge grin through the mask. Why not.
Henrik: “It feels really good to come back here and play well. In the end, you want to be out there and help the team, so it was a good feeling to be out there again.” pic.twitter.com/gFfNb30irm
You wonder what will happen the rest of this month. Well, the next three weeks preceding the 2/24 trade deadline. You have to think Lundqvist will be right back in net for tomorrow’s match against the Stars. A much better team who should be a tougher challenge. If David Quinn goes that route, look for Georgiev on Wednesday versus the Maple Leafs. An opponent he’s fared well against. He’s one up and down in the prior two meetings this season. The numbers aren’t good. That’s partially due to how Toronto plays. The Rangers aren’t a great defensive club either. That’s why it was only Georgiev who had all their shutouts the last two years until Saturday night.
Since I didn’t watch this game, I’m going to keep this short. In sweeping the Red Wings, they took all three regular season meetings versus the league’s worst team. They banked four points to move up to 54 with 32 games left. That still trails both the Blue Jackets and Flyers by nine for the wildcard.
One other note before I close out. Kreider was accidentally hit in the head by Zibanejad, who tried to skate by. He left the game in the second period. Obviously, anytime a player takes a shot to the head, you have to be worried. Kreider obviously went through concussion protocol and didn’t return to the match. Before we panic, there was no point in having him play further. It’s the Red Wings.
Considering what Kreider means, it’s not worth the risk. Quinn indicated that despite thinking it looked bad, it wasn’t as bad as anticipated. I hope that’s the truth. Kreider is up to 22 points in his last 22 games. He’s the top rental player available. That’s assuming the Rangers go that route for a proven power forward, who has become a locker room leader. Hopefully, he’s not going to miss time.
We’ll see what happens this week. I could see a scenario where they hold him out tomorrow for some more recovery for whatever the injury is. If he’s okay later in the week, I would expect him to return. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Another symbol of happier times gone by…Matt and the Maven is no longer a nightly segment on the Devils’ telecast but rather a short-run series of a few different segments over social media this year. Makes sense as Stan Fischler is enjoying quasi-‘retirement’ no longer working every day at MSG but rather going back and forth between here and staying with family in Israel, while Matt Loughlin is busy with his day job doing radio for this now-sorry team.
While the Devils have been back from the All-Star break for almost a week, tonight and being at the 20th anniversary celebration of the 2000 Cup at the Rock will be the first time I’ve actually watched the team in a couple weeks. I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch a minute of either of their two games so far. What’s the point? We’re nearly twenty points out of a playoff spot, in hopeless limbo waiting till the trade deadline and the draft lottery for the next significant days in this franchise’s history (and finding out what management team will be presiding over the future). Looking at the standings recently I realized just how pitiful the Red Wings are, with a clear fifteen-point seperation between them and anyone else. So obviously they’ll get the best lottery odds and will draft no higher than #4. Among all the other teams though? There’s a very real chance the Devils could finish back of everyone else in the NHL and get the second best odds, which are actually better than in the years we won lottos.
Not that I’m really going to sweat out the lottery anymore. Especially since I’m not expecting to get lucky three straight times in a system designed to prevent the worst teams from automatically getting the top three picks. Plus look at where the Devils are in the standings…winning two lotteries haven’t exactly been a salve for everything else that’s been wrong with this organization in the last several years. Just like winning multiple lottos weren’t enough to get the Oilers out of their post-2006 doldrums. Even our lotto picks themselves haven’t exactly provided much reason to be hopeful of being the centerpieces of a turnaround in the near future.
Sure, there isn’t much to complain about with Nico Hischier – he’s a two-way player, just came off an All-Star game appearance and seems like a good kid. However, his long-term extension kicks in next year and they are going to need Nico to take another step by then toward being a player the new Devils can build around. Twelve goals and 31 points in 45 games is just meh in his third full season considering it was basically the same level he played at as a teenage rookie, a nice complementary player but not a true building block with a solid but unspectacular 55-60 point total. Maybe I shouldn’t complain cause winning teams need players need guys like Nico, but winning teams need difference makers first and foremost and getting a #1 overall pick is the best chance for a rebuilding (again) team like the Devils to get one. Nico hasn’t been that yet.
While with our more recent #1 in Jack Hughes, he needs to take a couple of steps just towards being what Nico was as a rookie. Sure, coming up in this environment where the GM and coach have been fired, and the best player was traded in December doesn’t help but most #1 picks don’t get the soft landing of being part of a winning culture. There’s a reason you’re picking #1 generally. Nico got lucky in a sense that he was part of a team that did make the playoffs as a rookie and got to ride shotgun with Taylor Hall during his Hart year. Yeah I get the whole undersized thing, the first kid to come directly from the US development program to the pros yadda yadda yadda. At some point the excuses need to end with Hughes. 6 goals, 17 points and a -13 in 42 games just isn’t good enough for a #1 overall and one that was supposed to be ‘better’ than Nico. Being benched for long stretches against Nashville for sloppiness just can’t be tolerated whether it’s the golden boy pick or a veteran leader.
Even our other young building block in Mackenzie Blackwood hasn’t quite been the same in recent weeks with only one win in his last six starts, allowing twenty-three goals during that time as his GAA has climbed back to 3 and his save percentage creeping back down towards .900. We don’t even have a ready-made second goalie in the system – Cory Schneider completely bombed, Louis Domingue hasn’t been good in spite of a couple of decent games before the break, nobody else is really ready to contribute at the NHL level. This isn’t exactly an ideal situation for a goalie but sooner or later we’ll need to find out about Blackwood in a non-dumpster fire situation, before the constant dumpster fires ruin him long-term.
In a nutshell, this is why this team is so depressing. Not just that we’re still rebuilding eight years later from 2012 with only one quick playoff appearance to show for it, but it’s that the guys you really need to point to as beacons of hope for the future really haven’t been that during the dog days. How many other long-term pieces are already in place? You would hope Kyle Palmieri and Blake Coleman would be two – Palmieri is a solid 25-30 goal and 55-point player year in and year out while Coleman’s improved every year as a pro from a defensive player to a solid two-way threat and even has a chance to get 30 goals himself (he’s at 19 through 50 games played). However, Coleman, Palmieri and Nikita Gusev (9 goals and 31 points in 47 games) are all up for extensions this offseason and can become free agents after next year. Will any of them be able to see this franchise turn around or will they be casualties of another long-term rebuild with another GM?
Right now, the Devils and their fans are in a perennial waiting game with both an interim GM and coaching staff. Who’s going to be the next GM? Who’s going to be the next coach? What happens (and when) with immediately pending FA’s like Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene and Wayne Simmonds? A lot of uncertainty is swirling around the team, and there’s only been silence from above since the surprising though not undeserved firing of GM Ray Shero a few weeks ago. With the trade deadline less than a month away eventually ownership and interim GM Tom Fitzgerald are going to have to start playing some of their cards. Ownership claims they want to win and want to win soon but is it really feasible with this team? Can any GM come in with a realistic plan to improve the scoring depth, improve the D and improve goaltending depth in the next three years all without gutting the farm system – assuming the farm system’s even good enough to put long-term stock in? Sure, there’s still a lot of cap space available to the next GM but it doesn’t mean much if nobody’s willing to take your money to play on a loser in a limited market.
Part of the cynic in me believes that while ownership’s paid lip service to wanting to win they really would be content with playing the long game forever – they did that essentially with the Sixers before the NBA had to step in and make them try to be competitive – and that they are willing to do stuff like trade Palmieri, but would rather wait till season ticket renewals go out the middle of next week so as not to further up the cancellations. I’m already dreading the renewal despite all but committing to another year out of general apathy (I’ve already used my buyback games for this season as credit toward next, and I have more reward points than I know what to do with, given the Devils’ limited offerings that I actually want). Still, don’t annoy me and don’t annoy other people who are even more likely to bail with yet another substantial increase. Especially not if you’re just going to bait and switch and put us through another long rebuild that could go nowhere in the end.
Pavel Buchnevich gives Igor Shestyorkin some love following his third win. AP Photo credit New York Rangers via Getty Images
Last night, I went over to friend Jon’s to watch the game. We were a little behind, but eventually caught up to see the Rangers win over the Red Wings 4-2 at the World’s Most Renovated Arena. Credit goes out to my brother Justin for that nickname. Isn’t it the damn truth?
The most important thing here is the Blueshirts got off to the right start in the second half. They beat a bad team by jumping all over them. Even though they didn’t score in a dominant first period where they created so many scoring chances against a sharp Jimmy Howard, it set the tone. For a veteran nearing the end of his career in an awful season (entered with just two wins), he made some great saves. None better than robbing Filip Chytil with his glove right on the goal line.
Eventually, all the pressure finally got the desired results in a three goal second period. Mika Zibanejad was flying all night. On a bullet pass from Chris Kreider, he blew into the Detroit zone and centered for a cutting Pavel Buchnevich, who scored his ninth while flying into the back boards. It was a beautiful play by the trio who stayed together. Buchnevich deserved it as he was very visible throughout. If he plays like that, the goals will come. He wasn’t on the perimeter and was shooting the puck more.
In a game that marked the return of promising rookie Igor Shestyorkin to the net following a successful two game stint with Hartford, he was there when he had to be. He didn’t have to stand on his head. The Red Wings aren’t good. There’s a reason they’re a lock for the worst record and hoping to win the Alexis Lafreniere Sweepstakes. Despite a good top line that features captain Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and for now Robby Fabbri with Anthony Mantha out, they don’t play any defense and are very thin. If Howard (35 saves matching his number that he wears for idol Mike Richter) wasn’t good early, this wouldn’t gotten out of hand.
Detroit struggled with both the Zibanejad line and Artemi Panarin line at five-on-five. There was one long shift from Panarin, Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast where the puck seemed to stick to them like a magnet. They did everything but score. This was back in the first. Jacob Trouba made a great keep too. For most of the game, he was paired with Ryan Lindgren. That would change eventually in the third.
If you go and look at the Detroit season statistics, they’re ugly. There are some real bad numbers. Especially when it comes to scoring, plus/minus and goals allowed. They’re ranked 31st in a lot of categories. It isn’t a coincidence that their 28 points over 52 games are by far the worst. It’s pretty sad when you think that this was once a franchise of excellence. Steve Yzerman is now the general manager looking to put it back on track.
The Winged Wheel aren’t the team that won four Stanley Cups in over a decade. Gone are the nostalgic days of Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Nick Lidstrom, Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov, Brendan Shanahan, Vladimir Konstantinov, Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Luc Robitaille, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Kirk Maltby, Chris Chelios, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski, etc. Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm are still around. Valtteri Filppula returned to likely finish his career where it began. In fact, his next game is number 1,000. That’s tonight in the rematch in Hockeytown.
Getting back to the game, the Rangers continued to control it. A Zibanejad face-off win in the offensive zone led directly to Kreider neatly deflecting in an Adam Fox point shot for his 18th at 11:56. Just your classic hardworking Kreider goal where he gets position in front and finds a way to redirect a puck past a goalie. With a goal and assist, his two points give him 21 in the last 21 since Dec. 8. Twelve of his 18 goals have come since my birthday. He’s got four in the last five games. Kreider finished January with nine points (6-3-9) in 10 games. He’s up to 34 points (18-16-34) for the season while playing in all 49 games. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of scouts in attendance yesterday.
As he continues to perform well, the price is rising. Whether it’s deciding he wants to stay in New York or as a rental, it’s going to cost a lot. It’s nice to see him playing to capability. He and Zibanejad have a special chemistry together. Kreider has credited Zibanejad for making it easier for him to play his game. A nice kudos for one of the game’s most underrated top centers. We can no longer question that anymore. Just watch Mika play the game. He is a complete player now who makes players better while logging big minutes in every key situation. He was the best player on Friday going for a goal and two helpers to give him 200 points as a Ranger. That’s 90-110-200 over 246 games. He’s up to 42 points (19-23-42) in 36 contests this season. Not bad production for his cap hit which is a bargain of $5.35 million through 2022.
“Guys were excited to be back. We know what’s ahead of us, and we’re excited about it.”
In the final minute of the second, Panarin created some magic as only he can. After Tony DeAngelo got the puck out to Fast, the Wonder Bread Man took a pass from Fast and put on a series of moves before somehow scoring his team-leading 27th on an unbelievable backhand top shelf on a stunned Howard with 42 seconds remaining. It was jaw dropping. Both Jon and I couldn’t believe it. Remember. We were behind watching this on his DVR. Justin was on the phone when we saw the awesome goal. I think by that point, the game had already ended. And we were only two periods in.
The things Panarin can do with the puck are astonishing. I felt a little bad for poor Red Wings defenseman Alex Biega, who was left naked on an island. Just a simple one-on-one where the Bread Man undressed him for a highlight reel goal. His 27 are four off his career best of 31 set in his second NHL year in Chicago while playing with Patrick Kane. And some people thought he was a product of Showtime. If you watched him closely, you knew better. He proved it under John Tortorella in Columbus. Now, he’s a MVP candidate on a mediocre team that’s going to need quite a push to make any kind of run at the playoffs. They’re up to 52 points with 33 games left. Nine behind the Leafs, who leapfrogged the Hurricanes, who were 4-3 losers to Vegas.
Through two periods with his team ahead by three, Shestyorkin calmly made 15 saves. There weren’t many big ones. He made a nice challenge on an attempt in tight. There also was his cool whip glove save that looks like art. It’s a whipping motion that allows him to snatch the puck out of midair. I’ve never seen any other goalie do it before. It’s unique. I’ll credit Alyssa Harrison (Follow on Twitter) for noticing it. She has a dynamite YouTube channel you have to follow. She does cool videos and even live casts commenting to viewers on Pens games. She’s a big Crosby fan. But she’s not a homer. See some of her countdowns including Worst Divers.
In a rare game where they didn’t take a single penalty, Brendan Lemieux drew one on an agitated Abdelkader over four minutes into the third period. He went for a hit along the boards missing Abdelkader, who didn’t take kindly. He took a very undisciplined roughing minor by wrestling Lemieux down. Play continued. It was strange because for a moment, we thought the whistle would blow. Instead, play kept going and Detroit could’ve been nabbed for a second penalty. Panarin was tripped at the blueline. Instead, only Abdelkader went.
On the ensuing power play, it didn’t take long for the Rangers top unit to make Abdelkader pay. Twenty-five seconds in, Panarin passed for DeAngelo, who made a nice pass for a wide open Zibanejad. He had enough time to settle the puck before firing a laser through a Kreider screen high short side by a helpless Howard for a 4-0 lead at 5:02. I called the goal before it whizzed by Howard. Sometimes, you can tell. The puck was in and out of the net that quickly. Like watching art.
As it turned out, they needed that goal. On a night David Quinn altered his defense pairs, the brand new Brady Skjei and Adam Fox tandem struggled in the third. They got victimized for two Detroit goals. Just when we started thinking the ‘S’ word for Shestyorkin, Larkin found Fabbri wide open with no one even close. He easily finished off his 12th (11th as a Wing since coming over from Blues) to end the shutout bid at 5:59. This was embarrassing. You had both Skjei and Fox covering down low while no forward bothered to pick up Fabbri, who couldn’t had enough time for a hero sandwich before moving in and beating Shestyorkin. Filip Chytil was not where he was supposed to be. Lemieux also was in no man’s land.
Still up 4-1 as me and Jon continued to chat, neither of us felt they were in trouble. It was the Red Wings. Sure. They try hard for embattled coach Jeff Blashill, who’s somehow survived the coaching casualties. But they’re terrible. However, if you let a opponent hang around and suddenly gain confidence, strange things can occur. Just ask Montreal fans about Detroit. Their team can’t beat them.
Exactly five minutes later on a play started by a forechecking Fabbri, veteran defenseman Trevor Daley managed to put the puck right on Filppula, who like Fabbri had all day to score his fourth on Shestyorkin to suddenly make it a game. There was still 9:01 left. This play was a total breakdown. You had Fabbri beating Skjei to the net as Shestyorkin misplayed the puck. When it went into the corner, Fox decided to go help Skjei which meant you had both defensemen away from the net front. A no no. No forward took Filppula. I think it was again Chytil’s responsibility. He has to learn.
The next few minutes were a total role reversal. You had the Red Wings coning in waves searching for the third goal that thankfully never came. Shestyorkin was at his best here making a few key stops to get out of trouble. He’s very composed for a new goalie at this level. There’s a lot to like. He improved to 3-1-0 while making 23 saves. Good stuff from the Russian. Йгор йграет хорошо.
In between the second Detroit goal, Lemieux drew a second penalty on Filppula, who hooked him as the Grate One skated into the Detroit zone. The Rangers didn’t score on the man-advantage. It didn’t come back to bite them.
They eventually recovered from the doldrums that hit after the pair of Red Wing goals. Quinn reunited Fox with Lindgren once things got interesting. Skjei went back to Trouba while DeAngelo and Marc Staal stayed intact. I thought Staal and DeAngelo were the most effective D pair. They didn’t make any glaring mistakes and were sound defensively. They each were plus-two. DeAngelo picked up two helpers giving him 27 for the season. His next point will be number 40. Does it come tonight in the rematch?
“You’ve just got to keep going, keep getting pucks to the net and managing the game.”
Most cool was with Detroit pulling Howard for an extra attacker, Shestyorkin went for it twice. He had two good opportunities at scoring an empty net goal. The first, there was enough time. But it didn’t quite get there. On the second with only a few ticks left, he shot the puck all the way down. With the crowd anticipating a possible goal, it went just wide as the buzzer sounded. Had it gone in, we both felt it wouldn’t have counted. The clock was running out.
It was still pretty cool to see a Ranger goalie almost pull it off. We’ve seen it from other goalies like Ron Hextall, Martin Brodeur, Osgood, Jose Theodore, Evgeni Nabokov and most recently Pekka Rinne. At 24, Shestyorkin will get plenty of target practice.
A moment of silence & an eternity of love for nine lives cut tragically short. pic.twitter.com/IXVVZk8XXE
I felt that Kaapo Kakko looked more like the player we saw for Finland. Throughout, he was more aggressive looking for his shot. He had three good ones that Howard stopped. He was around the puck more and put himself in the right spot. He also had a physical shift where he used his size and took the body in the offensive zone. We haven’t seen much of that. A good sign for Kakko.
Greg McKegg has one really good shift where he could’ve scored twice. The first attempt came off a two-on-one rush. The second, he was all set up with an open side but missed. The Keg Man works hard. It would be nice to see him get rewarded for a change. He only has one goal. Four points total. But only minus-four which tells you about his work ethic.
Brett Howden played on the fourth line. He got 12 minutes, but just wasn’t noticeable. Maybe that was due to how we watched.
I don’t see the point in having Brendan Smith play fourth line anymore. I know he does double duty as a penalty killing D. But it’s kind of ridiculous. No disrespect meant. He definitely works hard and is a team guy. But that’s your fourth line? It’s sad that the team feels it has no viable options. Phil Di Giuseppe didn’t even dress. Steven Fogarty and Tim Gettinger barely played. Vinni Lettieri is an afterthought. Boo Nieves, who probably could play the fourth line, doesn’t even get a sniff. It’s strange.
Meanwhile, Lias Andersson (remember him) was loaned out to HV71 in Sweden by the Rangers to continue his pro career. That’s good. We’ll see how it goes. Will it change anything? Probably not. But when you are fielding an NHL roster that includes McKegg and Smith on your fourth line, you’re telling me Andersson couldn’t have done better or filled such a role? What a screwed up organization.
They can continue to toot their own horn over all the D prospects and goalies including Tyler Wall. But at some point, the forward depth needs to improve. Vitali Kravtsov (4-4-8 in 22 GP) better be part of it. He’s still figuring it out with the Wolf Pack. Hopefully, Morgan Barron if he signs after his junior year at Cornell, is part of it. So too is Lauri Pajunemi.
That will wrap it up. Sorry for the late recap and review. I was tired last night. Plus I’m visiting my Mom later for a late lunch. I’ll be back later to do something on tonight’s second game of the classic home-and-home series that wraps up at Detroit. I know Henrik Lundqvist is in for our side. But will he be opposed by adversary Howard? Or does Jonathan Bernier go? We shall see.
Better Times: Henrik Lundqvist (seen above with Carey Price) has fallen on hard times since 2017-18. In the first round series versus the Canadiens, he outplayed Price in the 2017 NHL Playoffs. It was his last series win. He had some interesting comments yesterday. AP Photo via Getty Images
A day before returning to action for the first of a traditional home-and-home series against the Red Wings, there are a few noteworthy news items coming following team practice.
The Rangers will first host Original Six rival Detroit later tonight at Madison Square Garden. Game time is 7 PM. They’ll then travel back to Detroit to again take on the Red Wings on Saturday night at the same time. Just your classic back-to-back between two old rivals. If only they were good again.
Currently, the Blueshirts find themselves 11 points behind the final wildcard in the East. It’s a logjam that has first wildcard Columbus at 62 points while the Hurricanes are ahead of the Maple Leafs by virtue of one less game played with each team having 61 points. The Panthers also have 61, but are in third place in the Atlantic Division due to two fewer games played. The Flyers have 60 while the Canadiens are up to 53 due to their 3-1 win over the disappointing Sabres, who remained at 51.
Basically, the Rangers would have to climb over all these teams to make the postseason for the first time since 2017 when Alain Vigneault coached them. It’s unrealistic. It always has been. They do have 34 games remaining. So, they can make up ground quickly if they get out of the gate fast. That means no slip ups versus the NHL’s worst team the next two nights.
Comparatively speaking the Red Wings are as bad as they’ve been in a very long time. With only 28 points in 51 games played, they’re going to lock up the worst record and be in the Alexis Lafreniere Sweepstakes. The next worst team are the Kings with 43 points after winning tonight. Then, you have the middling Devils at 44 followed by the Ducks and Senators, who each have 45. Even the defenseless Sharks are in the mix with 48 due to having no top goalie. They just lost Tomas Hertl for the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus and ACL. He partook in the All-Star Game and scored a few goals. Wow. How did it happen?
At 50 points, the Rangers could go one of two ways. Start winning more consistently and move up the standings. Or lose enough games for management to sell at the February 24 trade deadline. Thirteen games over the next 23 days will determine what the organization decides. That includes key decisions on impending unrestricted free agent forwards Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast. Everyone knows that Kreider is the top rental player available unless he negotiates a new contract with GM Jeff Gorton and Team President John Davidson.
Whatever they do, they’ll also have to figure out what is best moving forward with key restricted free agents Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Strome and Alex Georgiev. Brendan Lemieux is also a Group II this summer. In the mean time, the personable DeAngelo has had some fun on Twitter creating new T-shirts and apparel with Lemieux. They’ve teamed up with iamblueyork.com to make the DeAngelo/Lemieux 2020 shirts available.
I like the fact they can have fun with this. After all, it’s an Election year. That’s my only commentary on it. I think it’s good to have unique character players as part of the team. It can’t always be serious every minute. That’s one of the reasons I hope both DeAngelo and Strome stay. Aside from the performance value Tony Dee is giving, he clearly gets it. He doesn’t take himself too seriously while also being a great locker room guy. Ditto for Strome, who is always a good quote during and after games. So is Kreider. You can see the dilemma they have.
Let’s switch gears and get to some Henrik Lundqvist stuff. As has been repeated over and over again until we’re blue in the faces literally, he’s getting fewer starts due to the play of Georgiev and fresh face Igor Shestyorkin. He was asked about it on Thursday by SNY reporter Jonas Schwartz and how at all it compared to what happened to recently retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Here’s his interesting answer:
First off, I want to compliment Schwartz for having the guts to ask a good question. It wasn’t the same old stuff we see from most beat reporters who at times can be a little gunshy. That’s understandable.
At 37 soon to be 38, Lundqvist’s best days are behind him. It’s kind of eerie how he is basically at the same point of his career as Eli was when he decided to call it quits. The obvious difference is Manning won two Super Bowls with memorable runs that I still can’t believe. What he accomplished during those two championship seasons was incredible. That’s why it’s nonsensical when anyone questions whether he belongs in the Football Hall of Fame. I’d imagine the legendary Dan Marino would trade all his great years as a Dolphin for that one Lombardi Trophy. Phil Rivers might not make it due to not winning one.
As it relates to Lundqvist, who I thought gave a well calculated answer making sure to praise Manning and point out that he arrived a year later, it is interesting to hear him say, “I’ll always feel like a Ranger. … That will never change no matter what.”
He clearly loves it here and everything that comes with being a Ranger including the royal treatment he’s received from a top notch organization. He is a New Yorker in every sense of the word. I remember following this unknown seventh round draft pick they took in 2000 when he starred back home in Sweden for Frolunda where he won a championship. I was excited. I knew he could be the next great goalie. He turned out to be better than even thought. So did Pekka Rinne, who was also taken late by Nashville. It proves that you can find goalies later in drafts. They don’t have to be taken right away like Marc-Andre Fleury, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo or even Rick DiPietro (oops Mike Milbury).
I know he is compared a lot to Fleury due to their career win totals being similar and statistics. But Fleury has won three Stanley Cups. One as the starter and two as the backup, who delivered when he got in for Matt Murray. Ask any Pens fan about his contributions. Then he went to Vegas and achieved something nobody thought was possible. Carried the expansion Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. That probably puts Fleury over Lundqvist, who has a Vezina and better overall numbers for both regular season and postseason. If only he could’ve won a Cup in the Big Apple. That’s the only thing missing from his resume.
I’m not going to read too much into the quotes. Some have pondered if that measured response meant he could be having second thoughts about being a Ranger for his entire career. I’m not ready to go there. Until proven otherwise, Hank has 100 percent say on what happens. He has a full no movement clause. There’s one more year remaining on a contract that is a cap hit of $8.5 million. The chances of him leaving via trade are the same as Marc Staal.
Do I think it bothers him that he’s got a losing record of 9-10-3 with a 3.18 GAA and. 907 save percentage? Abso-freaking-lutely! He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t feel bad. This is a prideful man who hates losing. It’s been a lot more tough losses since ’18-19 than he wants. These are the numbers since ’17-18:
YEAR GP GS W L T/O GAA SV % SO
’17-18 63 61 26-26-7 2.98 .915 2
’18-19 52 52 18-23-10 3.07 .907 0
’19-20 25 23 9-10-3 3.18 .907 0
It can’t be fun for a goalie once considered one of the game’s best. What does he want to be remembered by? He’s already an all-time Ranger with plenty of franchise records. Yet the debate continues over who you’d want for one winner take all game.
I’m a Mike Richter guy. Not just for what he did in ’94. But for the unreal MVP performance in the World Cup of Hockey and his clutch goaltending in the ’97 run against Florida and especially the Devils. Even near the end, he proved he could still do it for Team USA leading then to a silver medal in ’02. He kept them in that game as long as possible until Canada put it away to win gold.
Would Lundqvist trade it all for one Cup? That includes an Olympic gold medal for Sweden in ’06. I don’t know. There’s nothing else to add.
One last point regarding Georgiev. If they don’t like what’s being offered for a young netminder they can control, the Rangers do not have to trade him. They can put it off until the off-season. This isn’t what some bloggers want you to know. The organization must do what’s best for it moving forward.
With Ryan Strome not practicing due to not feeling well, coach David Quinn indicated he still expects him to play on Friday. He’ll be a game time decision. If not, you could have Brett Howden elevated to the second line with Jesper Fast and Artemi Panarin. Yikes. Howden was penciled in on the fourth line while Lemieux worked with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. Hopefully, Strome can go.
Per beat writer Vince Mercogliano, Quinn has decided to change the defense pairs. Only one will remain intact. I was hoping to see Ryan Lindgren get a shot with Jacob Trouba. He finally will. Here’s how the projected D pairings look like:
I think anyone can conclude that Trouba and Brady Skjei have had mixed results together. While Skjei’s offensive production has increased, the defense these two have played has been up and down. And it’s not just Skjei, who is the new whipping boy. Trouba has had bad moments too. Let’s be fair.
I like the idea of trying Skjei with the smooth skating Adam Fox on the second pair. Fox has proven to be very capable at even strength and on the power play. Skjei continues to get the bulk of the minutes five-on-five and the penalty kill.
As for Lindgren, he’s a player on the rise. They clearly like the physical edge he brings. He’s the toughest defenseman this club has had since Mike Sauer. He delivers big hits and remains solid positionally. However, there was a little dip recently between him and Fox. So, Quinn is changing it up. Good.
Marc Staal and Tony DeAngelo stay together as the third pair which is what they should be. It’s better in terms of match-ups. DeAngelo remains a fixture on the power play and in transition due to his superb skill. Staal will continue to kill penalties. A strength for the veteran, who has been better than the silly statistics that Charting Hockey goes by.
Well, that’s going to do it for now. Hopefully, by the time tomorrow’s game rolls around, I feel better. It will be nice to have Rangers hockey back. Also, this is apparently confirmed:
No real surprise. I said in a previous post I’d give Shestyorkin the first game back versus Detroit. He should be the sharpest. I also guessed correctly that Lundqvist, who’s only started two of the last 11 games, would likely get the rematch on Saturday. That leaves Monday open for Georgiev, who I also believe will face the higher quality opponent in Dallas with Philly next.
Jaromir Jagr remains the single season franchise leader in goals and points during a memorable 2005-06 where he led the Rangers back to the playoffs. A look at some of my favorite lines. AP Photo via Getty Images
With yet another day off before they finally return for a home-and-home series against the lowly Red Wings on Friday and Saturday, the Rangers made the expected announcement that Igor Shestyorkin will return.
OFFICIAL: The Rangers have recalled goaltender Igor Shesterkin from @WolfPackAHL.
It’s the right move for the rookie goalie who went 2-0 in two starts with Hartford this past weekend. In the two wins against Bridgeport and Lehigh Valley, Shestyorkin allowed only three goals on 62 shots. He improved to 17-4-3 with a 1.90 GAA, .934 save percentage and three shutouts for the Wolf Pack. Even if he doesn’t make another start, he’s the top AHL rookie. That speaks to his dominance since coming over from Russia.
With the Blueshirts, the 24-year old netminder has started three games all at home and gone 2-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA and. 929 save percentage (104 saves on 112 shots). What will happen with the three goalie system that includes second-year goalie Alex Georgiev and elder statesman Henrik Lundqvist? Well, the schedule will finally pick up once Friday hits. In fact, they’ll play three games in four days including a home date on Monday versus the Stars.
With a schedule where there aren’t any long layoffs like we’ve seen in the first half, this should allow coach David Quinn to get all three goalies action. In February, there won’t be more than a day off between games until Feb. 16 vs the Bruins and at the Blackhawks on 2/19. A back-to-back at the Hurricanes and home for the Sharks on 2/21-2/22 before the Feb. 24 NHL trade deadline that Monday. Their next game will come on Tuesday the 25th at the Islanders. The final meeting between the bitter rivals a month after playing three times over nine days. NHL scheduling 101.
That’s 13 games over 23 days. What will the goalie breakdown be? I would like to see them give Shestyorkin the first game against Detroit. He has to get at least one of these next two against the league’s doormat. Even though the proverbial writing is on the wall, figure Quinn to have Lundqvist start in one of the two matches. If that’s the case, then give Georgiev the Stars on Monday. He has gotten the bulk of the tough opponents. Plus he will likely play against Toronto next Wednesday.
There’s little to no chance this crazy goalie rotation will continue after the deadline. As much as I hate to admit it, they’ll probably look to move Georgiev. That all depends on what’s being offered. I prefer to keep him. But that full no-move clause continues to haunt this team. Unless he has a change of heart and sees that possibly the Avalanche, Flames or Oilers (have you seen their goalies) could be good fits to chase an elusive Stanley Cup a la Ray Bourque, Lundqvist will stay on Broadway.
When even Steve Somers says it’s time for him to go, it is what it is. The less said about it, the better. The whole goalie situation is annoying. It will be until Feb. 24 comes and goes.
I’d prefer to focus on other important stuff regarding the Blueshirts. Like will Kaapo Kakko come back a better player? The vacation back home had to help. I’m hopeful that we’ll start to see more production from the 18-year old rookie. Of course, some negative Nancy’s are crying over how it’s gone so far. How are Jack Hughes and Kirby Dach doing?
Rather than bore you with more what if’s on what will happen in the second half, I’ll pick a fresh topic to invigorate Ranger minds. Even though there haven’t been many Art Ross or Hart winners over franchise history, they have boasted some excellent scoring lines that were fun to watch. I’m not going to go over the big ones I never saw. Those are the obvious lines that defined the rich history of the franchise.
Here are some of my personal favorites:
Graves-Messier-Kovalev
While the unique trio from the ’93-94 championship team didn’t last long due to the incompetence of Colin Campbell, few NYR lines were able to combine the power, physicality and skill of Mark Messier, Adam Graves and Alex Kovalev. When Mike Keenan put them together, they created magic including saving their best for Game Six while trailing the Devils 2-0 in the memorable elimination game at The Meadowlands. One Messier drop pass for a Kovalev rocket past Martin Brodeur late in the second period swung the momentum. The rest is history. Messier delivering on his accidental Guarantee with a natural hat trick. Graves off his then team record 52 goals scoring a big power play goal from Kovalev in Game Seven against the Canucks. Kovalev doing his best work during that run while tormenting both the Islanders and Canucks.
Graves-Messier-Gartner
Before you had Kovalev on that line, there was one of the all-time greatest finishers in ageless wonder Mike Gartner flying down the right wing to score on one of those breathtaking slap shots. He was not only lightning fast, but money on breakaways. Of course, Graves developd into one of the better finishers once he got to play with former Oilers teammate Messier. To think the compensation was Troy Mallette for what would become one of the most popular players in team history. When I think of Gartner, it still saddens me that he wasn’t part of that Stanley Cup team with Neil Smith dealing him to the Maple Leafs for Glenn Anderson. What a breathtaking finisher. A model of consistency before Jagr and Ovechkin.
Hlavac-Nedved-Dvorak
Although the Czech Posse didn’t last long, the chemistry between Petr Nedved, Jan Hlavac and Radek Dvorak was undeniable. They were all good skaters who had a unique style of knowing where each other were. For some of his shortcomings defensively, it’s pretty amazing that Nedved turned a solid two-way player like Dvorak into a 30 goalscorer. He got 31 with 36 assists and 67 points in ’00-01. All career bests he never came close to matching again during a solid two decade career. Dvorak was lethal shorthanded. As for Hlavac, he lasted two seasons with a career high 64 points (28-36-64) in ’00-01 turning into part of the Eric Lindros trade that included underrated defenseman Kim Johnsson with ’99 first round bust Pavel Brendl. Nedved lasted a bit longer his second stint on Broadway before being part of the infamous Glen Sather sell-off in ’03-04. His career should’ve been much better than the 310 goals, 407 assists and 717 points in less than 1,000 career games. He went home. Somehow, the Canucks took him second over Jagr, who went to the Pens at number five. The famed 1990 Draft that featured Owen Nolan, Nedved, Keith Primeau and Mike Ricci. Plus Brodeur.
Fleury-Lindros-York
The FLY Line had an aura about it that made you believe the team was on the way back. Just getting the chance to watch Lindros, who still had it, was great. While many were against the huge risk Sather took due to Eric’s concussion history, he was worth the price of admission. He didn’t just play one way either. He was a complete player in every sense of the word. It’s hard for the critics to remember just how dominant he was before Darius Kasparaitis caught him that first time with a clean shoulder check in a Flyers/Pens game on ABC. The way the Flyers and Bobby Clarke handled the serious nature of the head injury is what cost Lindros a longer career. Prior to having his bell rung at San Jose in late December 2001, Number 88 was the same dominant force he had been in Philadelphia. The Rangers were a first place team due to the Big E flourishing with the tough as nails Theo Fleury, who was the crazy sob that distracted opponents. Mike York was a perfect complement. A heady player who made the right plays. Of course, it didn’t last long with York swapped out for Tom Poti. A deal I hated. Then, Lindros (37-36-73 +19 138 PIM in 72 GP) got to work with Pavel Bure. Wow. If only it had lasted. Nothing ever did during the Dark Ages.
Graves-Messier-Verbeek
When Smith sacrificed a first round pick (Jean-Sebastien Giguere) to the then Whalers to rent Pat Verbeek for over a year, it was a risk worth taking. A proven goalscorer who was successful in New Jersey and Hartford, he played an agitating style that made him easy to respect. He made up for his lack of size (5-9 190) with grit, determination and physicality. That’s why he was successful eclipsing 500 goals and 1000 points with nearly 3000 penalty minutes. In New York, he got to play with Messier and Graves. The end result was 41 goals and 41 assists for 82 points in 69 games. Messier, Verbeek and Graves combined for 110 goals and 351 PIM. Had they not broken up the ’95-96 roster by trading away Ray Ferraro and future solid defenseman Mattias Norstrom to the Kings in a failed move for vets Jari Kurri, Marty McSorley and Shane Churla, it might’ve worked out better. They wound up playing the Pens in Round Two. Jagr and Mario Lemieux took them apart. That was a missed opportunity. Verbeek left for Dallas where he won a Cup.
Straka-Nylander-Jagr
When the whole ’04-05 season got cancelled, it was a blessing in disguise for the Rangers. The new salary cap era forced Slats to adjust his style. Having stolen Jagr from the Caps for Anson Carter prior to the end of ’03-04, he made a wise decision by surrounding Number 68 with European style players he was familiar with. None more so than former Pens teammate Martin Straka. Always underrated, the skilled playmaker who also was a key part of Kovalev’s success in ’00-01, lined up alongside Jagr again. Just as he had in ’98-99. The chemistry they formed with Swede pivot Michael Nylander was remarkable. Even though he skated in circles, Nylander knew where Jagr was on the ice as did Straka. The amazing aspect about Jagr is he was still so strong and dominant on the puck. It took two defenders and sometimes three to check him, opening up the ice for his linemates. He came out hot with something to prove. Following the prediction that the club would finish 30th, he guaranteed the playoffs and then did everything to get them there. Jagr set single season franchise marks in goals (54), points (123), power play goals (24), shots on goal (368). Both Nylander (23-56-79) and Straka (22-54-76) performed well. So did Czech friend Petr Prucha, who scored 30 goals as a rookie. The impact Jagr had on that team was unreal. Even though he lost out on the Art Ross and Hart to Joe Thornton, his peers voted him the Lester B. Pearson. That line would last one more year. Nylander left for the Caps while Jagr and Straka stuck around through 2008. At 47 soon turning 48, Jagr is still going strong back home in Kladno, Czech Republic.
Honorable Mentions
Hagelin-Richards-Gaborik
It’s easy to forget that Marian Gaborik scored 40 or more twice as a Blueshirt. He actually was a good signing who did well in his three plus years here. He led the ’11-12 team in scoring with 41-35-76. Prior to Brad Richards signing, the Great Gabby scored 42 goals and posted a career best 86 points in his first season on Broadway. Not many free agents come here and flourish. That’s what makes Gaborik and the mesmerizing Artemi Panarin notable exceptions. Even though he never quite put up the gaudy numbers, Richards was a good Ranger, who delivered in the clutch. Carl Hagelin was your classic overachiever due to his game breaking speed and two-way capability.
Kreider-Stepan-Callahan
When I think of the good teams that went deep in the playoffs, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider were a big part of why. They had that same chemistry playing together for Team USA to win the gold medal at the World Junior Championship. It’s hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Stepan provided many memorable moments with none bigger than 2015 versus the Caps. Kreider came on in 2012 from Boston College and scored big goals during that run. He was there in Game Five at MSG tying the game from Stepan. While he didn’t play a lot with them, Ryan Callahan nearly hit 30 goals in ’11-12. His best year in NYC. The former captain is best remembered for the determination he played with. Of course, Marty St. Louis replaced him.
Pouliot-Brassard-Zuccarello
Of all the lines during the 2014 playoffs, it’s the cohesive third unit comprised of Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello that was the key. No comeback from 3-1 down against the Pens without that trio. They were the hardest on the puck and terrific down low while contributing huge goals. Big Game Brass became a fixture after coming over from Columbus for Gaborik. Zuccarello did everything which is why he’s beloved. When he wasn’t taking bad penalties, Pouliot was an effective player. Bigger things were in store for Brassard and Zuccarello.
Hagelin-Richards-St. Louis
It’s strange that of all the possible combos, St. Louis fit in best with Richards and Hagelin, who was a stronger postseason performer in 2014 than Rick Nash. Don’t forget his overtime winner to eliminate Pittsburgh in the first round of 2015 either. His speed caused havoc. He was a scary transition player who was dangerous shorthanded. He certainly showed up versus the Kings. Richards and St. Louis knew each other from Tampa. They didn’t create as many magic moments. But there will always be the MSL goal on Mother’s Day where the Garden shook. And St. Louis to Richards on the power play to complete the 3-1 comeback at Pittsburgh. Plus the electrifying MSL overtime winner versus Montreal which turned out to be huge.
Nash-Brassard-Miller
They didn’t always play together. The issue was Alain Vigneault not being able to solve Marty St. Louis’ scoring struggles. He wasn’t the same guy we saw in 2014. It was too bad. This along with plugging guys like Jesper Fast and JT Miller became confusing. You also had Kevin Hayes trying to fit in as a rookie. Not having Zuccarello really hurt. He could’ve at least put them over the Lightning. I’m not sure what would’ve happened against the Blackhawks due to the state of the defense.
I easily could’ve included the Panarin line with Ryan Strome and Fast. But that’s current and unlikely to be intact much longer. I can’t put Mika Zibanejad and Kreider there due to the inconsistency of Pavel Buchnevich. Imagine if they had a real top right wing. It could be ending soon for Kreider. A sobering thought. Maybe soon, we’ll finally get Mika with Kaapo.
Finally, you had a big game played last night between Calgary and Edmonton. The Battle of Alberta is one of the best rivalries the NHL has. It was the third installment between the Flames and Oilers.
In the previous meeting, a big open ice hit by Matthew Tkachuk on Zack Kassian turned into total chaos. An aggravated Kassian responded by beating up Tkachuk, who turtled to draw a penalty. Kassian also served a suspension. Typical overreaction by the league.
The cool part was Kassian was back for the Oilers on Wednesday evening against Calgary. There was a lot said by both Kassian and Tkachuk after the last game. Tkachuk loves to get under the skin of opponents. Just ask Drew Doughty. He hates him. This time, Tkachuk knew what had to happen. He decided to stand up for himself against Kassian, who dictated the terms of their scrap.
Not surprisingly, Kassian won easily by getting in a few nice left hooks in to get Tkachuk down. However, it still was the right thing to do for a polarizing player who isn’t as tough as younger brother Brady. The reaction from both was good.
"I wish we would have got two (points) but it's the game out of the break, we got a point & we've got to move forward."
Kassian gave Tkachuk credit for answering the bell. He indicated that Tkachuk wanted to do it right away. Something Tkachuk reiterated in his postgame interview following a 4-3 shootout win for Calgary.
The takeaway is simple. If Tkachuk wants to run around hitting players, he has to be accountable. Last night, he was. That’s how respect is earned. The interesting part is Part Four of Oilers and Flames comes Saturday night at 10 EST. Too bad that’s the fourth meeting of five. Thankfully, the schedule includes a fifth and final match-up on Saturday, April 4. Might that be for the playoffs? Here’s hoping.
If you have unique rivalries such as Calgary and Edmonton or Rangers and Islanders, it would be nice if these teams faced each other at least six times. Why do they need to play the other division more than two times in the Conference? Just make it a home-and-home. If they have to have the teams from each Conference see each other, fine. But there should be more divisional games. That’s a huge selling point to loyal fans. Rivalry games matter.
What if Theo Fleury hadn’t gone through all his struggles off the ice due to alcohol and substance abuse stemming from being sexually abused as a teenager by junior hockey coach Graham James?
Prior to leaving Calgary, the very skilled and tough Fleury was on track for the Hall Of Fame. An astonishing player due to his smallish frame and electrifying speed, talent and edge, Fleury was one of the game’s most exciting stars.
Who doesn’t remember his overtime winner against Alberta rival Edmonton in Game Six of a great series and doing an awesome sliding celebration on Oilers ice? Theo was so much fun to watch unless he was burning the team you rooted for. Even though they didn’t meet frequently due to playing in different conferences, the Rangers struggled with the Flames. Especially at The Saddledome. Fleury frequently took them apart.
The thing I admired about him was his high IQ. This wasn’t a one dimensional player. He could be trusted to kill penalties and score back breaking shorthanded goals. It’s amazing what he was able to do for being basically 5-6 and a water bug, who never backed down from anyone.
I still believe Fleury would’ve been better off staying home with Calgary. Unfortunately with unrestricted free agency coming up in the summer of ’99, they couldn’t afford him. So he was traded to Colorado in a deal that netted the Flames solid defenseman Robyn Regehr. He actually helped them reach their first Stanley Cup Final in ’04 since a younger Fleury was part of their only Stanley Cup Championship team as a rookie in ’88-89.
Fleury was a good rental for the Avalanche. However, they didn’t keep him. Maybe that should’ve been a warning sign to then Rangers GM Neil Smith. Instead, he signed the dynamic Fleury to a nice contract in hopes the talented star right wing could bring more excitement to a franchise that had seen better days.
By then, Wayne Gretzky had retired having played his final game on Broadway in a overtime loss at home to the Penguins. It was a great final swan song for number 99, who picked up one final assist. But Jaromir Jagr ended it with a highlight reel goal in overtime. I can still see him warding off defenders while ripping that laser of a wrist shot in. Gretzky took a final victory lap and the MSG crowd gave him a great send off.
If only Smith had heeded New York Post columnist Larry Brooks’ one good suggestion and acquired Fleury sooner to play with the Great One. Maybe he would’ve stuck around another year. But by retiring, it seemed fitting. Number 99 hung it up in ’99. Did he party like it’s 1999?
All this time later, it’s easier to reflect back on that wild and crazy period. While Gretzky concluded his monumental career with one final assist on a Brian Leetch goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Penguins on April 18, 1999, Fleury would sign with the Blueshirts that summer. The contract was for three years and $21 million guaranteed for the then 31-year old superstar right wing with a club option.
AP Photo via NY Post Getty Images
Unfortunately, the New York City nightlife was the worst thing for Fleury, who had long battled anxiety and depression due to being sexually abused by monster Graham James as a 14-year old boy. The way he coped was by drinking and doing drugs. All of it was revealed in its entirety in his 2009 book, “Playing With Fire.” A refreshing tell all that described so much in detail that it was stunning.
This was a troubled player who hung with the wrong crowd in the city that never sleeps. From drug dealers to addicts to homeless in obscure places. He did the same in his last NHL stop with Chicago. Having read the book a few times and having been lucky enough to meet Fleury at a book signing in ’09 which included a memorable chat and family photo, I have so much respect for the man. He overcame his addiction and survived nearly ending his life when he was at rock bottom.
I’m glad he lived and turned his life around. I can still recall some crazy moments from his three years as a Ranger that never made any sense. That included flipping the bird to our fans at a home game we attended. Beating up the San Jose Sharks mascot. Doing the chicken dance following a brawl with the Islanders that featured Sandy McCarthy. Even leaving the rink in Pittsburgh for the team bus following a game misconduct. Holy moly.
And yet following a disappointing first season, he was leading the NHL in scoring at one point. That included a ridiculous seven shorthanded goals to go with 74 points in 62 games before checking himself into a league mandated substance abuse program. It sure helped explain all the craziness.
In his final year on Broadway, he racked up 216 penalty minutes to rank in the top five with a list of enforcers. He was out of his mind. Somehow, Fleury managed to play in all 82 games while tallying 63 points (24-39-63) to rank second in team scoring behind Eric Lindros, whose 73 points in 72 games proved he still had it following a blockbuster trade with the Flyers. But the success of the FLY Line that also featured Mike York, faded following Lindros getting his bell rung in a season turning loss at San Jose. Another concussion for the Big E along with an injury to captain Mark Messier turned the team from challenging for first place in the old Atlantic Division to missing the postseason again. Even the addition of Pavel Bure wasn’t enough. He scored 12 goals in 12 games with 20 points while mostly teamed with Lindros.
At 34, Fleury wound up playing his final NHL season with the Blackhawks. Another struggling Original Six franchise that was too big for his off ice issues. I can remember reading him describe hanging out with some shady people at a drug den. They thought he was cool. It’s hard to fathom.
In an anticlimactic season that saw him placed on waivers due to more issues stemming from his substance abuse, he finished with 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points with 77 penalty minutes in 54 games. After violating the league substance abuse policy, he was suspended again leading to the end of his NHL career.
A 15-year career that once included helping his hometown team win their only Cup as a rookie while becoming the franchise leader in points before Jarome Iginla surpassed him, ended abruptly. Twice, the pint sized Fleury reached the century mark in points while posting eight seasons of 30 goals or more. The first seven coming with Calgary before getting 30 with the Rangers in ’00-01. While there, he registered career point number 1,000. The club presented him with a silver stick to commemorate the honor.
Despite how it ended, he wound up over a point-per-game with 1,088 points in 1,084 NHL games. That included 455 goals with 633 assists along with 1,840 penalty minutes. He was a seven-time All-Star who won a Cup and an Olympic gold medal representing Canada including the memorable ’02 Winter Games in Salt Lake City when they broke their drought by defeating Team USA. I can still remember watching it in my old apartment in Bristol, Connecticut while working for ESPN. It was so exciting. That game also happened to be Mike Richter’s last hurrah. My favorite Rangers goalie.
After having success playing in Ireland, Fleury made one final comeback attempt in Calgary Flames training camp during ’09. He was cleared by the NHL in September. The biggest highlight came in his return in Flames jersey when he scored the shootout winner against the Islanders. Over 20 years later after winning a championship, he proved that he still had it. The overwhelming crowd reaction at The Saddledome says it all.
What a pretty move. Even though he finished with four points in four preseason games, that was finally it for Fleury. Even though he was released from his pro tryout, he was forever thankful. It allowed him to go out on his terms the right way. On Sept. 28, 2009, he retired from hockey as a Calgary Flame. The way it should’ve been. He really should’ve spent his entire career there. But the economics prevented it.
His autobiography remains a best seller. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves hockey and has gone through personal struggles. As someone who battles anxiety and depression, I really came to appreciate Fleury’s courageous story. He made a lot of mistakes, but no one knew what happened to him. I’m glad he took Graham James to court. He pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of Fleury, teammate Sheldon Kennedy and cousin Todd Holt. Somehow, the monster got a ridiculously light sentence of two years. It became five. Some justice system.
Since then, Fleury has become a motivational speaker and helped so many who struggle with mental illness. He also published another book and even became a country singer.
At 51, the underdog who the Flames took in the eighth round 166th overall in the ’87 NHL Draft, has been away from hockey for quite some time. I know the chances of him getting into the Hockey Hall of Fame are slim due to what happened off the ice. However, he was very successful on it becoming a star player who not only produced, but was tough as nails despite his small stature.
Nobody had more heart. If only we knew the gross nature of what he overcame. I know this. He would’ve been a lock for 500 and possibly 600 goals. You’re probably talking in the neighborhood of 1,300 points. He doesn’t need to be inducted to be remembered.
There are plenty of former players who remain out of the Hall of Fame. That includes Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Alex Mogilny, Doug Wilson and Curtis Joseph. Of those mentioned, I believe Mogilny will get the call real soon. I’m not sure about the rest sadly. That’s the usual politics with any Hall of Fame committee. See baseball.
I know Pavel Datsyuk will make it eventually once he retires. He’s still playing back home in Russia. He remains one of my favorite centers ever due to how complete he was. Kind of like former Red Wing teammate Sergei Fedorov. Patrice Bergeron is the embodiment of that now. The best player from the famed 2003 Draft class.
I’ll never say I enjoyed all of Fleury’s antics. However, few players played with as much passion as him. His over the top goal celebrations were the stuff of legend. Even if it probably drove Don Cherry nuts. I loved how hard he played the game. Imagine that kind of player in today’s wussified sport. It’s very different. Think Brad Marchand but more skilled and crazier. That’s how I describe Fleury.
You don’t have the rowdy games too often between rivals where all hell breaks loose. Even the recent Rangers win over the Islanders two weeks ago that featured a pair of fights and more rough stuff, seems tame by comparison. You don’t see too many line brawls anymore. However, a clean hit can now cause commotion. It’s just how it is.
Everything is magnified and over analyzed. I hate the instigator. But it’s never going away. Neither is fighting despite the whining we see from hypocritical media who once loved it. I’m not talking about staged fights. But ones that are necessary to defend the honor of fallen teammates when liberties are taken.
Imagine what would’ve happened to Gretzky or Lemieux without tough guys. Ditto for Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid today. You still gotta protect your stars. You can’t have Tom Wilson delivering cheap shots injuring people and then not being held accountable. Even if I respect his overall game, he pushes the envelope a lot more than Marchand, who’s crapped on due to his weird behavior of the past. Eerily reminiscent of Sean Avery, who is a special kinda crazy.
The current game can still be enjoyable due to the elite skill. When they’re not calling everything, it’s better. However, the shootout has to go. Continuous three-on-three overtime until there’s a winner makes sense. Or just go back to ties. The point system that rewards loser points is so artificially induced that there needs to be an asterisk next to team statistics and goalie ones when they get credit for victories via the shootout.
They’re never going to overhaul the system. It will never become like soccer. It is exactly like the lack of leadership that’s allowed some of the game’s brightest stars like Ovechkin to skip the lame All-Star Game. So much for promoting the sport when guys will come up with any excuse to not partake. The three-on-three tournament format is an abomination. Forward thinking by commissioner Gary Bettman. The same genius who thinks participation in the Olympics is a total waste.
Oh well. This is what you get from a league where there are way too many gaps in the 82-game schedule. The Rangers don’t play until Friday. Why? Bye weeks are for losers. This isn’t the NFL.
They could easily play 82 over five months and start the playoffs sooner. That would be better than going head to head with the NBA, who wised up and moved up the start of their season.
Condolences go out to Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the other seven victims. A very sad tragedy. What’s very alarming is how awful several media outlets are. They don’t care about being right when it comes to such awful tragedies. Only about being first. It’s unprofessional and completely disrespectful. Imagine how the families feel.
Sometimes, today’s world of advanced technology and social media sucks. The worst aspect is the helicopter crash could’ve been avoided if they didn’t fly in poor conditions due to the fog. This is a case of history repeating itself. I wish such tragedies didn’t exist. Prayers go out to the victims and each family.
The eerie part is it happened after LeBron James passed Bryant for third all-time on the NBA scoring list in his hometown of Philadelphia. Last side note on Kobe. I can remember being at the ’96 NBA Draft at the old Meadowlands sitting all the way up in Continental Airlines Arena. I went with my brother and our friend. I saved the Draft poster. It’s hard to believe and will continue to be for a while.
It’s worth noting that Wayne Gretzky turned 59 on Sunday too. The game’s Great One was an afterthought due to the tragedy. It’s hard to believe he hasn’t played in 21 years. We were at his final game. Jaromir Jagr won it in overtime for the Pens by using his strength to carry a defender and beat Richter. Nothing stopped Jagr back then. Not even a bad groin that playoffs. Go ask Devils fans. His performance in Games Six and Seven were heroic.
If you’re looking for a good write-up on the 20th Anniversary of the ’99-00 Stanley Cup Champion Devils, see Hasan’s excellent piece yesterday.
Right now it seems hard to believe there was a time where the Devils were among the elite franchises in the NHL and a perennial championship contender. Maybe the only reason I do believe it is because I lived through it. In fact, it doesn’t even seem like two decades have passed since the franchise’s second Stanley Cup in June 2000. This weekend the Devils are having a 20th anniversary reunion and celebration of that team the night they play the Dallas Stars (their 2000 Finals opponent) at the Rock. Of course, the first indication that this is a different time is that none of those playoff games took place in the Devils’ current home building but in East Rutherford, NJ at the old Continental Airlines Arena.
It almost seems tacky to say – but in some ways the second championship was the least memorable of the three for me, though you could argue it was the most talented bunch of the three championship teams (1995, 2000, 2003). There’s always something special about the first championship, and the 1995 playoff run was not only an underdog’s delight – with all four series being won without home-ice in any of them – but arguably kept the franchise in New Jersey hereafter given it would have been a PR nightmare for both the NHL and Devils owner John McMullen to have the league’s champion move, particularly out of McMullen’s own home state. 2003 will forever hold a special place in my heart because of the heart of that particular team, and the fact I was in attendance for many of the games in the last two rounds including the Cup clincher against the Ducks.
That said, there was a lot to celebrate and remember about the 2000 team. Ironically pretty much the first thing I think of when it comes to the 2000 team – apart from the Cup-winning goal itself – is how the team sputtered just before the playoffs, resulting in the shocking firing of coach Robbie Ftorek with just eight games left in the regular season. While Ftorek should be given some credit for helping transition the team from the veteran outfit that won in 1995 to a younger group led by the A-line of Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora and Jason Arnott, along with incorporating no fewer than four vital rookies during that 1999-2000 season (Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, John Madden and Colin White), the team’s playoff failure in 1998-99 against the #8 seed Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round coupled by a 5-10-1 stretch late in the 1999-2000 season sealed Ftorek’s fate and he was replaced by assistant Larry Robinson. Bear in mind the team was still in first place at the time, and this firing was universally panned by the hockey media.
While my favorite Devil of that period was gritty, personable defenseman Ken Daneyko and my favorite Devil after he left was Elias for the way he carried himself on and off the ice – in many ways Robinson was my favorite person ever associated with the franchise because he was always loyal, humble and genuine, yet a proud and fierce competitor. Larry first made an impact as an assistant on the ’93-94 and ’94-95 teams, the latter of which won the franchise’s first Cup, then he got a deserved promotion when the Kings hired him as their head coach. After four up-and-down seasons ended in frustration and a pink slip, he came back to the Devils as an assistant under Ftorek for that ’99-00 season and turned out to be the right man at the right time for this team.
It wasn’t immediately apparent though, as the team continued to sputter around .500 in Larry’s first few weeks on the job, eventually losing the division to the Flyers by a single point. Yet, many players on the team’s highlight video credit the team’s final regular season game against the Panthers (ironically, ending on an OT winner by Arnott) with being the impetus that spurred the team to a higher level in the postseason. And sure enough, the Devils found another gear sweeping those same Panthers in the first round, with captain and star defenseman Scott Stevens beginning a dominant postseason by helping to shut down Rocket Richard winner Pavel Bure – and continued it through the next round, helping to contain the Leafs’ formidable Mats Sundin as the Devils beat the rival Leafs in six. One of the few games I was able to attend as a college student that year was the Devils’ memorable Game 6 clincher against Toronto where they allowed a mere six shots in a spotless 3-0 triumph.
Now in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Flyers, it looked like a mismatch through five periods as the Devils won Game 1 in Philly just as easily as they beat the Flyers there in the 1995 Conference Finals (winning all three games in the city of Brotherly Love in a six-game triumph), and jumping out to a 3-1 lead late in the second period of Game 2 before things fell apart and the Devils would lose a momentum-changing 4-3 decision. Shockingly, the team gave drab performances in losing both games 3 and 4 at home to fall behind 3-1. With the season at a crisis point, it was the mild-mannered Robinson who managed to jolt the team out of its doldrums with an impassioned, out of character speech that snapped everyone to attention and made clear the opportunity they were losing out on, but one they still had a chance to make something of.
Now simaltaneously chastened and emboldened, the Devils responded by walking into the lion’s den of Philly and coming out of it with a dominant 4-1 win that put the series back up for grabs. A tense Game 6 back in New Jersey remained scoreless late into the third period before perennial big-game player Claude Lemieux (himself getting a second chance in New Jersey after an ugly post-Cup divorce with the team) scored to break the deadlock in an eventual 2-1 win that evened the series. Back in Philly for Game 7, it was again Stevens who struck a memorable blow – literally – by knocking Flyers franchise center Eric Lindros out of the lineup just a game after he returned from a long absence, with a then-legal shoulder to head hit. However, it was another tight affair on the scoreboard that again wouldn’t be decided till late in the third period, this time with the young Elias assuming the mantle of Flyer-killer scoring both goals in another 2-1 decision, including the winner with just under three minutes remaining.
After beating their rival in such spectacular fashion, the Devils went into the Stanley Cup Finals flying and ran the Stars out of the Continental Arena in Game 1 with a 7-3 score which wasn’t even as close as that. Of course, the defending champion Stars wouldn’t go down as easily thereafter and Dallas struck back with a 2-1 win in New Jersey evening the series. However, the Devils continued their playoff reputation for being road warriors in Dallas. After going 10-1 on the road during the ’95 run to the Cup, the Devils were on their way to fashioning a just as spectacular 10-2 road playoff record in 2000, including winning tense Games 3 and 4 in Dallas (2-1 and 3-1) to take a seemingly commanding 3-1 lead in the series – though the Devils had just seen the other end of what can happen when you’re up 3-1 in a series.
Sure enough, the two teams engaged in a memorable back-and-forth over the final two games, mostly a back-and-forth goaltending duel with Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour alternating heart-stopping saves. It took till the third OT of Game 5 before anyone was able to score, unfortunately for the home fans that would be the Stars’ Mike Modano, spoiling the potential home party and sending the series back to Dallas with a taut 1-0 triple OT win. As if things couldn’t get more tense between the two teams, Game 6 started out with some bad blood after a physical opening period culminated in the Stars’ Derian Hatcher knocking Sykora out for the game. Even for that period of time, it was a dirty hit considering Hatcher left his feet and seemingly led with his elbow.
With so much on the line, eventually the teams settled into another grinding, tense game with Scott Niedermayer of the Devils and Mike Keane of the Stars alternating goals in short order during the second period. However, that would be it in terms of scoring through regulation and the first OT, which nearly ended when Arnott’s penalty gave the Stars a rare OT power play. Fortunately for both Arnott and the team, the Devils’ great defense and goaltending did the job killing off the penalty and things crawled into a second OT. Fittingly, it was the remaining 2/3 of the A-line who finally broke through with Elias finding Arnott through traffic with a no-look cross-ice backhander that had its own eyes, and the big centerman did the rest with a historic goal.
I remember staying up deep into the night for this game’s finish, I can’t remember exactly but I think it was at least 1:30 in the morning East Coast time when the game finally ended. It was certainly worth staying up for that, as well as the postgame where coach Robinson made one more extraordinary gesture after Elias brought Sykora’s jersey onto the ice and draped it over his shoulder with the Czech winger stuck in a local hospital after being knocked out of the game. Seeing this, the coach took Sykora’s jersey and put it on himself, creating a memorable visual.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Devils’ three titles in nine seasons is that each team had different personalities (not to mention different coaches). Both the ’95 and ’03 teams were veteran-laden though the ’95 team had more talent and was able to create more offense while the ’03 team squeezed every ounce out of having an all-world defense, goaltending and Pat Burns’ coaching. 2000 was the Devils’ youngest, most high-octane team of the three in terms of stats, yet still capable of winning gritty low-scoring games when the chips were down.
If any of the Devils’ championship teams were going to repeat it could and should have been the 2000 team. In 2000-01 the Devils had an even more dominant regular season with 111 points and a league-leading 295 goals. Yet the same focus and determination that symbolized the 2000 playoff run went missing in 2001. Still, the team got back to a second straight Finals on talent despite struggling at times to beat Carolina (losing two straight after going up 3-0 in the first round) and Toronto (falling behind 3-2, then having to take two must-win games to escape the second round), before beating a spent Penguins team in the Conference Finals. Facing a formidable Avs squad in the Finals, the Devils managed to get a 3-2 lead, one win away from going back-to-back but the inconsistencies of that playoff year finally caught up with them in the final two games and they came up short of making history.
Still, nothing can take away what that 2000 team accomplished – especially for captain Stevens who won the Conn Smythe and became one of the few modern playoff MVP’s who won the award on the strength of defense, time and again shutting down Bure, Sundin, the Flyers’ top line with John LeClair and Mark Recchi and the Stars’ HOF first line of Modano and Brett Hull. It was certainly a showcase playoffs for #4, who was having his leadership questioned after a series of dissapointing team finishes post-1995 Cup. Certainly team architect Lou Lamoriello deserves special mention too, not only for his gutsy decision to make a late-season coaching change, but also for a bold series of trades from bringing back Lemieux to bringing in uber-skilled Alexander Mogilny and having him play a secondary role. 2000 was also a memorable last hurrah for owner McMullen, responsible for bringing the team to New Jersey in 1982 and keeping them here thirteen years later, but eventually he would be compelled to sell the team to the YankeeNets corporation after the 2000 playoffs.
hasan4978
Derek
Battle Of Hudson 
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