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..
Mikael Backlund beats Henrik Lundqvist for a crushing shorthanded goal that came three-on-five. The Rangers lost 4-3 to Calgary. AP Photo Credit Calgary Flames via Getty Images
The New Year is only two days in going on three. I’m already perplexed by the continued head scratching lineup decisions of David Quinn. This is no longer about the weird line combos that may as well have channeled Tom Renney.
Rather, it’s about how the second-year Rangers coach is handling certain players. For the first time in a month, Kaapo Kakko was having a good game. Having already picked up an assist on a power play goal, the 18-year old second overall pick finally erased a 19-game scoring drought by having a wrist shot deflect off a Flame in front to tie the score at three in the second period.
Unfortunately, his goal and assist weren’t enough to prevent Quinn from mysteriously benching him in the third following a minor penalty in the offensive zone. It wasn’t a good penalty to take. However, it was the impressive play of the third line that comprised kids Kakko, Filip Chytil and Brett Howden that had the team in position to grab a point. However, by skipping over Kakko for fourth line forward Greg McKegg late in regulation down a goal, Quinn only hurt the team in a frustrating 4-3 loss at Calgary.
I was so annoyed by his response about wins and losses to Brett Cyrgalis that I went off in a Tweet below regarding the way Quinn mishandled the last few minutes off the Rangers’ second straight defeat in Alberta.
I understand that sometimes, Quinn wants to set a good example by benching players following undisciplined play. He finally sat Brady Skjei (minus-2 in 16:32) for some more unsteadiness and a penalty of his own in the third. The top left defenseman got what he deserved. That meant that Marc Staal was moved up to the top pair with goalscorer Jacob Trouba.
For a second consecutive game, Ryan Lindgren struggled. He failed to take Sean Monahan on what turned out to be the game-winner with 11:38 remaining in the second period. Calgary used a quick transition with Johnny Gaudreau making a bullet pass to Noah Hanifin at the point on a three-on-two rush. Hanifin passed for an open Monahan in front and he beat Henrik Lundqvist upstairs for his 14th to answer Kakko less than three minutes later.
Astonishingly, that was it for the scoring. The same two teams who hardly play structured defense, didn’t get another goal in the second half of the contest. A sharp contrast to the seven they had the first 28:22 including a combined five in a old fashioned Western shootout during the first stanza.
Defense was indeed optional in that opening period. So apparently were common sense and checking. It was an inauspicious start again for the Rangers. A horrible back pass trapped Trouba which allowed Gaudreau to get behind and have a clean breakaway from center ice. He smoothly moved in and patiently opened up Lundqvist to go five-hole with a nice backhand off a deke for his 11th unassisted at 4:15.
Shortly following the goal, Calgary ran into penalty trouble when both Sam Bennett and Derek Ryan took minors 49 seconds apart. That gave the Blueshirts a five-on-three. What should’ve been a gimme turned into anything but when more ridiculous East/West passing garbage resulted in yet another breakaway goal for the Flames. Somehow, they allowed Mikael Backlund to score a shorthanded goal three-on-five unassisted at 7:16. He too went backhand five-hole on Lundqvist, who needed to make that save.
Trailing by two, finally the Rangers woke up. Rather than do the pass, pass, pass, grenade routine, they simplified their strategy. Adam Fox, who heard it throughout the night due to not signing with Calgary that drafted him, passed the puck to Pavel Buchnevich, who then fed Trouba for a simple wrist shot that beat former Blueshirt Cam Talbot. It was his sixth.
Still on a five-on-four man-advantage, more simplicity from Fox set up a quick Kakko wrist shot that Talbot mishandled, allowing Chytil to backhand the rebound out of mid-air home for his 10th at 8:07. That gave the Blueshirts back-to-back goals on the power play 25 seconds apart. Both accomplished by the second unit that just made simple and intelligent reads. Nothing fancy about it.
But before the first ended, Ryan was able to score his seventh from Dillon Dube for a Calgary 3-2 lead at 13:18. It was another Skjei mishap that allowed Ryan to score on a wrist shot past Lundqvist due to the defenseman deflecting the puck past his own goalie. This has now happened three times with Skjei. No wonder Lundqvist gave him the death stare.
I don’t care who is in net. Right now, it doesn’t matter. The Rangers are playing awful hockey. They may as well be headless like the Scarecrow from The Wizard Of Oz without a brain.
On what was a forgettable night for the top line of Artemi Panarin (-3), Ryan Strome (-3) and Jesper Fast (-3), it was the Kids Line that got the game tied up at 5:46 of the second. On Fox’s third assist of the game, Howden fed Kakko for a shot that took a favorable bounce off a Calgary defender and in for his seventh to make it 3-3. Boy did he need it.
But on a night they never led, the Rangers fell apart in one giant swoop on another bad shift for the Panarin line. They got caught deep while Gaudreau started a great passing play with Hanifin to combine on Monahan getting the game decider at 8:22. Lindgren missed a few shifts after the blunder. He only played 12:15.
With Quinn later sending a message to Skjei, it meant Staal played a throwback game by receiving 22:12 while getting double shifted for part of the third. Partner Tony DeAngelo logged 22:19 while Trouba paced all Blueshirts with 24:18 and seven shots. Fox got 17:58 while assisting on all three Ranger goals. A good bounce back for him following a poor New Year’s Eve game in the weird 7-5 loss to Edmonton.
The Rangers never could find the equalizer. Their offense stalled in the final period. For a while, Calgary held them to five shots. Again, Joe Micheletti was critical of the team for not taking more shots. Talbot isn’t good anymore. He didn’t have to be. Aside from a nice sliding denial to thwart Panarin, he was steady enough to finish with 24 saves to outduel Lundqvist (4 GA on 29 shots).
Perhaps most perplexing was Quinn deciding to play McKegg for a late shift in place of Kakko, who disappeared following his holding minor on Rasmus Andersson with less than eight minutes left in regulation. This wasn’t a good decision. It was shortsighted. If this is how he’s going to coach, what’s the point of having a ‘Rebuild?’
On one hand, DQ says it’s about wins and losses. On the other, he benches our future star when he’s having his best game in weeks for a well respected veteran, who gives an honest effort. No disrespect meant towards Keg Man. I like what he brings. But he doesn’t possess the skill or talent of Kakko. It was a ridiculous move by an out of touch coach that seems in over his head. This isn’t college.
Kakko deserved more than the 12:59 he got. So did Lindgren, who following a cross-check to the back of the neck of Milan Lucic not only got the expected stickwork back. But also a cheap shot that bloodied him. Somehow, the same officials from the Edmonton debacle I heard about gave each player matching minors. How is that fair? The refs are Chris Schlenker and Brad Meier.
It gives me no joy to mention the referees. But they definitely messed up. Lucic should’ve received an extra two which would’ve negated the Flames power play. Utterly ridiculous.
Even though the shots wound up 10-9 Flames in the period, I’m not suggesting that the Rangers deserved to win or even get a point. Anytime you allow an opponent to score a shorthanded goal two men down and get consecutive unassisted breakaways, it’s embarrassing. All four Flames goals were the direct result of careless play, abysmal puck management and poor coverage by the Blueshirts.
You’re not going to win many games playing as loose as they did. If they think that’s gonna work when they visit Vancouver where former Blueshirt JT Miller is a top line player with uber talents Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, they got another thing coming. Don’t bother making the trip unless they decide to be fully committed to this winning style of hockey Quinn is referring to.
As far as Buchnevich, I have no use for a player who hates being checked and doesn’t finish checks enough. His indecisiveness and sourpuss expressions after not scoring aren’t a good look. This is a fourth-year player approaching 25. Either he gets it or they move on. Twenty-two points including only six goals in 40 games isn’t enough for the bridge deal they gave him. He should be better by now.
I don’t understand why Quinn continues to force feed him with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. KZB isn’t what it once was. Buchnevich is bringing them down. I am left with more questions about the coach as we approach the halfway point of the season. That isn’t good.
Battle Of Hudson 3 Stars:
3rd π Adam Fox, Rangers (3 π in 17:58)
2nd π Kaapo Kakko, Rangers (7th of season plus π, +1 in 12:59)
1st π Johnny Gaudreau, Flames (11th of season plus π, +1 in 17:39)
βWe just have to play better defense. You canβt score five goals every game and expect to win like that.β
Despite a 5-2-1 stretch heading into the new year I remained skeptical about the Devils’ ability to maintain their recent run, especially with a schedule that doesn’t get any easier heading into the long All-Star break in a little over two weeks.Β Particularly facing an Islanders team that has been among the best in the league this year, and beat us all four times last year after the Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz braintrust took over on Long Island.Β Even when the Islanders have had bad teams, Nassau and Brooklyn have both usually been a house of horrors for us anyway.Β And oh yes, #1 overall pick Jack Hughes had to miss tonight’s game due to injury – though it didn’t prevent him from making the shootout winner two days ago in a stirring New Year’s Eve victory over the Bruins – another team that’s had its way with us in recent years.
I also had to miss tonight’s game, not due to injury but a prior commitment.Β Nobody was more surprised than me when I did check the score with seconds to go in the third period when the last I’d seen of it was after the Islanders had scored in the second to take the lead and had another goal waved off due to interference.Β This Devils team is showing a fight they haven’t for much of the season though (really since the 2018 playoff run), bookending goals from PK Subban and Nico Hischier late in the second period and early in the third.Β Subban’s blast was something we really haven’t seen from the former Norris winner all season and he’s finally starting to look like the Subban of old as opposed to an old Subban, while Nico continues to mature before our very eyes, picking up the scoring pace after his own slow start.
Even with a third-period lead, the early-season Devils were certainly no lock to win a game like this but give credit where credit is due, a rookie coach (Alain Nasreddine) has them playing with purpose and a little more structure, while a rookie goalie (Mackenzie Blackwood) is shutting the door the way no other Devils goalie has since Keith Kinkaid’s six-week spurt in 2018.Β Although other rookies like Cale Makar have been statistically more impressive, Blackwood is starting to get some consideration for the Calder trophy, as he only played 23 games this year so he’s technically eligible.Β A fact that surprised both me and coach Nasreddine in his presser after the Bruins shootout win.
I would have liked to have listened to the last few seconds on the radio but as it’s very rare to catch a game on WFAN anymore, I still have to remember to turn it on my phone with the dopey internet streaming signal.Β Maybe I’ll watch some of the replay tomorrow or not since I just realized the game was on NBCSN and not MSG, in any case it has been a while since the Devils have had a win like this over the Islanders.Β Though not a hated rival per se, they’ve been an annoying gnat over the last several years and it’s only been exacerbated by Lou resurfacing there after being pushed out as Devils GM, then leaving the Leafs after his contract expired.Β Lou’s success in both Toronto and with the Islanders has only thrown our failed rebuild into further stark light.
For one night at least, we showed we weren’t their patsies though.Β And have now improved to 6-2-1 in our last nine games, starting to inspire shades of both the 2010-11 Devils’ second half run and the 2019 Jets’ second-half surge.Β Really our season is starting to parallel with my Jets in a startlingly similar fashion.Β Lose a horrifically epic opener at home, setting the tone for a dreadful first half then rally in the second half, too late to make a difference for this season but hopefully not too late to carry some momentum into next season.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of a good second half would be Nasreddine, who’s making a case for full-time employment and making me start to order crow from the menu.Β I criticized his hire as GM Ray Shero just not wanting to admit that his own vision and system have failed, so he just changed the voice hoping to buy more time – but sometimes changing the voice can be important too.Β Especially since Nas seems more patient and aware of what’s going on.Β While there is a clear difference between a junktime surge and winning when it matters, we probably aren’t going to get winning when it matters the rest of this season anyway.Β What we do need out of the second half is for our veterans like Subban and Travis Zajac to show they aren’t washed up while younger players continue to develop.
For now I’m glad I just have some level of excitement back.Β After selling my tickets to Saturday’s game a few days ago just wanting to get rid of them and also having plans Saturday night, part of me wishes I could go now.Β But as it is I’m going Tuesday during our return match against the Isles on Retro Night, and am still gunshy after only seeing two wins in my eleven home games in attendance (one of them a game against the Penguins which Blackwood stole, that didn’t feel like a win) and a myriad of blown leads.
Not to mention questions still remain…will we ever find a way to get wins from a goalie not named Blackwood? (since we still have only one win in twelve non-Blackwood starts)Β What will happen closer to the trade deadline with other FA’s to be like Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene and Wayne Simmonds barring a miracle Blues-like surge back into the race against the odds in a brutal Eastern Conference?Β Yes they’ve already traded Taylor Hall, but more and more that’s starting to look like addition by subtraction in another parallel to 2010, where another coach firing and the trading of our sulking captain (Jamie Langenbrunner) was the impetus for the second half surge.Β Even the knowledgeable Trotz acknowledged as much in the pregame:
#Isles Barry Trotz talked a lot yesterday and this morning about how the #NJDevils are playing "freer" hockey now that the "elephant in the room," Taylor Hall," has been traded. Devs 3-0-1 coming in, 5-6-2 under interim coach Alain Nasreddine
Somewhat surprisingly, Arizona’s started to struggle after acquiring Hall as well, though that’s less consequential to us other than determining the position of the first-round draft pick we eventually get from them.Β It’s ironic if trading Hall did spur the team on, since the team was clearly carried by Hall in 2017-18 and struggled largely without him in 2018-19 but that combined with the coach firing has jolted a new energy in the room that hasn’t been around much lately.Β For now that’s about all we can hope for.
It’s been officially 2020 for nearly five hours. Admittedly, I didn’t get to see any of the game last night. Like some people, I was out doing New Year’s Eve stuff with my brother and our friends. Needless to say, we had more fun than the Rangers did in a wild, crazy and strange game they lost at Edmonton by a score of 7-5.
I’m not about to do a long recap of a game I missed. With the exception of updates from Justin and Twitter, I never thought they’d ever come as close as they did. This was a game they trailed by a touchdown in. The Oilers got three in the first period with James Neal scoring only 11 seconds in. They would add three more in the second, highlighted by Neal cashing in his third for a hat trick on a power play. Edmonton scored three power play goals.
By the time they made it 6-0 on a broken play Josh Archibald scored on with the Rangers running around, an incensed Alexandar Georgiev broke his goalie stick before being lifted for Henrik Lundqvist. From viewing the highlights above, it wasn’t his fault. This was a total meltdown by the Rangers. Both rookies Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox struggled. It was their worst game since coach David Quinn paired them up.
There also was an oops play where Mika Zibanejad had a Edmonton pass go off him right to Leon Draisaitl for a goal on the penalty kill. That was the kinda night it was. There was more going on than just the first six Edmonton goals that chased Georgiev. Fans on my timeline were irate over the officiating. That included a couple of people who cover the team. It sounds like the Blueshirts got the short end of the stick.
To their credit, they never quit. A great feed from Artemi Panarin set up Chris Kreider for his 12th with less than 30 seconds left in the second. Panarin nearly willed the team back to a historic comeback. He would record a goal and three assists to give him 55 points. It’s astonishing what the Bread Man is doing. There are no words. MVP caliber.
Somehow, the Oilers nearly blew a six goal lead on home ice. They led by five entering the third period. They’re not exactly great defensively and haven’t been getting consistent goaltending. There’s a reason they have fallen to fourth in their division and are now clinging to a wildcard.
Ryan Strome reminded his former team of how foolish they were by giving him away for Ryan Spooner. He finished off a Fox pass across that Panarin started with a excellent pull up and feed to the rookie defenseman, who set up Strome to make it 6-2. Strome then fired a shot that looked like his second straight goal. But Marc Staal was in front and had the puck deflect off his stick. They changed the goal to Staal from Strome and Panarin.
It got even more interesting when Panarin skated unchecked and surprised Mikko Koskinen with a quick wrist shot that beat the Edmonton starter short side, high glove to cut the deficit to 6-4. There was still plenty of time left. At that point, Justin put it on his phone. I could hear Sam Rosen calling the Zibanejad goal that just crossed the goal line to make it 6-5. On it, he fired a shot that Koskinen gloved. However, his glove was over the line resulting in video review confirming the goal that made it a one goal contest.
With Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, Panarin made the only mistake he did in an otherwise brilliant period. Instead of shooting from the left circle, he forced a pass in the middle that was easily intercepted for an Oilers empty netter that finished off the comeback attempt.
Basically, Edmonton held on for dear life to pull out a bizarre 7-5 win. I never got sucked in. I figured being down six goals was too much to ask. Even if Kreider got one back to make it 6-1 before the conclusion of the second.
Let’s give them a lot of credit. Sure. It’s still a loss that had a lot of ugly moments including an infuriated Quinn mouthing off to the officials following an extra minor to Lindgren he didn’t like. The problem was Edmonton had already scored, meaning the coach showed no composure by earning an unsportsmanlike minor to put a dangerous opponent back on the power play. The end result was two goals in like 15 seconds. Connor McDavid set up Neal for his hat trick. Brutal. Oddly, that was McDavid’s only point.
Even if the officials aren’t doing you no favors, you have to show more poise than that. Quinn yapped and waved his arms. A no no. Predictably, the refs put their whistles away in the third.
There’s nothing much else to add. It’s a New Year. A new decade. It’s 2020. Hard to believe 1990 was 30 years ago. I feel old. Let’s hope a new Roaring 20’s brings more excitement for everyone.
RyanStrome, whohad four points, gives good friend and teammate Tony DeAngelo a handshake after his overtime winner gave the Rangers a 5-4 winatToronto. AP Photo credit New York Rangers via Getty Images
In what turned out to be a great weekend for the Rangers, they managed to sweep the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs over 24 hours. After recording two assists in a 5-3 home win over Carolina on Friday, defenseman Tony DeAngelo capped off consecutive victories by scoring the game-winner in overtime to beat Toronto 5-4.
One of the best Blueshirts aside from headliners Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, DeAngelo continues to produce for this team that’s now climbed back into the wildcard race. In withstanding a late Leafs push that included Auston Matthews tying goal with under a minute left in regulation, the Rangers improved to 19-15-4 with 42 points through 38 games. Counting Sunday night’s games, they trail Hurricanes by six points and Flyers by five.
At this point, the super talented Lightning are on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Their latest win keeps them within a point of third place Florida in the mediocre Atlantic Division where only the Bruins are a virtual lock. You have to believe the Bolts will surge ahead of both the Panthers and flawed Leafs into second. That would leave Toronto and Florida to battle it out with the perplexing Canadiens and possibly Buffalo for a top three spot. Whoever isn’t third will battle a bunch of Metropolitan Division teams for the two wildcards.
While we don’t know how it all will shake out, DeAngelo is proving that his breakout year in ’18-19 isn’t a fluke. Following establishing career bests in assists (26), points (30) and penalty minutes (77) in a career high 61 games while learning about discipline under David Quinn, the 24-year old from Sewell, New Jersey is one of the biggest NHL bargains. A gifted player who makes $925,000 finds himself among the top 10 in D scoring with 28 points.
That already includes new personal bests in goals (8) and game-winners (2) with the latter category both coming in three-on-three OT. He’s in elite company with Rangers legend Brian Leetch for overtime winners. In recent memory among Blueshirts, not many defensemen have put up the kind of numbers DeAngelo could wind up with. Former captain Ryan McDonagh had 43 points (14-29-43) during ’13-14 when he was coincidentally the same age (24). We know how good he was. We’re not comparing.
However, by taking the qualifying offer from GM Jeff Gorton during training camp, DeAngelo bet on himself. He will again be a restricted free agent next summer. By continuing to perform well under Quinn while establishing himself as a reliable puck moving, offensive defenseman, his price is increasing. What will it take to keep him? There’s no way DeAngelo takes less money than he’s worth this time. It presents an interesting dilemma for the organization.
They are rebuilding while remaining competitive most nights. While there have been a few hiccups which you should expect for the NHL’s youngest roster, the Rangers aren’t out of it yet. The next month including a challenging three game stretch in Western Canada that begins at Edmonton on New Year’s Eve, will help determine what they decide. That includes a very hard decision on Chris Kreider, who’s finally picked it up in a contract year. Quite a few playoff contenders have interest in renting him. If they move on from the invaluable Kreider, he’ll be very difficult to replace.
βThere was a buy-in tonight. For us to come in here on the road against a very good team, in a very hard building to play in, and come out with two points is big for us.β – Kreider pic.twitter.com/PeafEegXOC
Jesper Fast is also unrestricted in July 2020. However, the versatile two-way forward will come much cheaper. For how hard he plays and how he’s used, Fast might be worth keeping. He’s a team leader and brings a consistent work ethic to the rink. He only earns $1.95 million and is an affordable $1.85 million against the salary cap. Even a rebuilding team can use that sorta player moving forward.
There will also be decisions on Brendan Lemieux and DeAngelo friend Ryan Strome. Strome continues to excel on Broadway. Since Gorton stole him from Edmonton for Ryan Spooner last year, the 26-year old forward has proven he can shift from right wing back to his natural position of center without missing a beat. When Zibanejad went down, Strome stepped up by forming solid chemistry with Panarin.
Even when Quinn has gone away from it, he’s discovered that some combos work better together. Ditto for Zibanejad and Kreider, who’s back on track. On Saturday, Strome had two goals and two assists to highlight an exciting overtime win up North. For a second consecutive night, he shot the puck more and was rewarded for it. That included blowing a slapshot by Toronto starter Frederik Andersen. In the two straight wins, he’s 3-2-5 and plus-four. Though all five points came at even strength, Strome’s addition to the first power play unit helped result in a power play goal for Zibanejad against Carolina. Unlike the indecisive Pavel Buchnevich, who’s struggling with his confidence, he knows what to do with the puck.
With things going well for his teammate who is third in team scoring with 35 points (10-25-35), DeAngelo has continued to throw overwhelming support towards Strome. Even on social media where he called out a Rangers blogger, who highly emphasizes analytics, Tony Dee stood up for his friend. You don’t usually see too many professional athletes too active on Twitter. But the personable DeAngelo is quite the character.
Even new beat writer Vince Mercogliano was amused by his commentary. Clearly, DeAngelo was referencing the 48 shots the team gave up to the dangerous Leafs, who also attempted 90 altogether including 21 that were blocked by gritty Blueshirts and another 21 that missed their mark completely. The Rangers had 38 shots on goal. Only 18 didn’t make it to the Toronto net.
It’s not advisable to allow that many shots daily. Especially with the Leafs owning the Blueshirts in the face-off circle where they dominated by winning a ridiculous 47 of 69 for 68 percent. That means the Rangers only won 32 percent which translated to the Leafs having the puck more. They were able to make up a two-goal third period deficit on goals from Pierre Engvall and Matthews.
That stated, the Rangers didn’t play a bad third. They had eight shots on goal. But didn’t score the insurance marker needed to avoid a Leafs comeback. This was your typical Toronto game where defense was optional. Unlike the past Monday’s meeting, the Rangers came out on top thanks to a very patient Panarin, who waited for the right exact moment to thread the needle for a cutting DeAngelo, who beat Andersen at 52 seconds of OT.
If not for a monstrous diving save from Alexandar Georgiev and a interesting decision to keep play going by moving the puck to Strome, who went behind the Ranger net to get out of dodge, the play never happens. Strome made a good outlet pass for Panarin, who turned on the jets to make it a two-on-one with overtime hero DeAngelo.
He is well liked too. His personality keeps things loose. When they did a team poll on which Ranger is the funniest, most chose him. This is a young man with a lot of character, who’s never backed down from a challenge. He has overcome a tough start to his professional career to become a dependable player Quinn and his coaching staff can lean on. Don’t forget he was a first round pick by Tampa. He showed a little bit with Arizona, who had enough defensive depth to part with him and their 2017 seventh overall pick to acquire Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta.
Regardless of what he thinks politically, the team must do what’s best for them moving forward. Personally, I think any fan or media member who tries to openly campaign against DeAngelo due to his political beliefs, are very thin skinned and lack good judgment. Nothing has anything whatsoever to do with each other. This is the PC world we live in. Where every word is put under a microscope and over analyzed by people who need to move on.
Too much of athletics is now associated with politics. That’s the last thing I’ll say on it. I root for the logo on the front of the jersey. If DeAngelo can continue to perform at a high level and help the Rangers win hockey games, I’m happy. That’s what it’s all about.
Tony: βI donβt think anybody was panicking. We stuck with it and found a way to pick up the extra point.β pic.twitter.com/RdYU5y9aND
One thing I have come to appreciate is his honesty during interviews. Similar to buddy Strome, DeAngelo is very good at analyzing games. Whether it’s following good wins or tough losses, he does a nice job breaking things down. He continues to also show a keen sense of humor as seen above with the female reporter who asked about his confidence. At the end of the day, you had some pretty pleased players in the room.
Were you excited to see Tony score the game-winner?
It’s hard to believe that the decade is coming to a close. It wasn’t that long ago that we were meeting Theo Fleury at a book signing for his unbelievable story of conquering the demons in Playing With Fire. That photo is still saved on my Google. That was in 2009. Yep. Ten years ago.
Here we are with 2019 coming to a close soon. It’ll be Christmas next week and Chanukah comes out late. Then New Year’s Eve with your favorite Bowl games and cool hockey mixed with the World Junior Championship. The year really is ending, which means a new decade starts up in 2020. That’s a Wow moment for me.
I guess the older you get, the harder it is to realize that the more relaxed 80’s and cool 90’s are in the rear view mirror. The age of innocence is gone. I remember a time when I played on my block and in the park. Came home from school and watched Voltron and Transformers back when cartoons were on network television. Now, it’s all junk. Kids can’t be kids.
What does this have to do with things you might ask. Oh. Everything. I’m old school. I know I’m not alone here. I’m sure Hasan has similar memories of a more laid back era where anything seemed possible. Now, it’s all front and center on the internet with childish arguments and on social media. They’ll fight you over anything and hide behind a computer screen. All the stuff I know now stemming back as far as 2000 is that the internet has ruined a lot of things. Simpler times need to come back.
All that fairly stated, it’s time to reflect back on the most successful Rangers decade since those 90’s. Ironically, it’s finishing similar to that era. No. We don’t have to bury our heads in the sand waiting for the next doom and gloom move that’ll fail like the Dark Ages. Thankfully, common sense prevailed this time with a renewed commitment to a rebuild. This team doesn’t have aging stars either. But a true superstar they paid top dollar for who’s playing like a top 10 player.
That’s the good news. The bad is they’ll likely miss the playoffs for a third consecutive year. The longest such stretch since The Dark Ages between ’98 thru ’04. I don’t count 2005 due to the cancellation of that entire season which saved this franchise. Most fans don’t want to hear that. But had things stayed the same, Glen Sather would’ve continued to screw up. The salary cap forced him to change the way he built the team. With an assist from legend Jaromir Jagr and a late 2000 seventh round pick by the name of Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers were saved.
The next decade saw them make the postseason in every year except one. From ’05-06 through ’16-17, they were one of the best teams in the NHL. They made at least the second round four times and reached three Conference Finals including their first Stanley Cup trip in 20 years. They became one of the most successful franchises during that era. The best part came during the first half of the decade spanning ’10-11 until ’14-15. They went from a first round elimination to the Alexander Ovechkin Capitals to three Eastern Conference Finals in three of the next four seasons. One with taskmaster John Tortorella and two with the more laid back Alain Vigneault. Both are still successful coaches in the league.
Thinking back, I don’t know which loss hurt more. The numbing feeling when Adam Henrique scored on a rebound to beat Henrik Lundqvist about a minute into sudden death to send the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals in Game Six of 2012. Or the excruciating Game Seven 2-0 shutout home defeat in 2015 to the Lightning in a perplexing Conference Final that ended the last serious run. To me, I consider 2014 a positive memory for to how valiantly that team fought back from a 3-1 series deficit to stun the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin Penguins in the second round. The heart they showed following the death of Martin St. Louis’s Mom France was unbelievable.
The way they rallied with Lundqvist having perhaps his greatest three games while St. Louis scored the emotional first goal appropriately enough on Mother’s Day in a Game Six win gave me full confidence they’d go into Pittsburgh and finish the job. Fittingly, it was some St. Louis hustle to create some more magic with Brad Richards that wound up being the series clincher in a nerve racking Game Seven they won by the skin of their teeth. The leadership which included Brian Boyle, Dominic Moore, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Ryan McDonagh, Anton Stralman, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and American duo Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider stood up. That was a total T-E-A-M effort. Having former Cup winners Richards and St. Louis sure helped them accomplish the first ever 3-1 comeback in franchise history. So did Lundqvist, who made every clutch save and never allowed the Pens to grab another lead the final three games.
That Vigneault led team would conquer the Canadiens in the Conference Finals. McDonagh destroyed the team that drafted him with a monster series. The Rangers took the first two games up in Montreal and then split the next two to go up 3-1. Even without Carey Price, who was injured during a incidental collision with Kreider in Game One which set off the fireworks from ignorant Canadian media who ignored Alexei Emelin tripping a rushing Kreider right into Price, Montreal didn’t quit. They dug in and pulled out Game Three in overtime and then blew out the Rangers in Game Five at Bell Centre to put the pressure squarely on the Blueshirts. Prior to a hard Boyle forecheck and great pass setting up Moore’s great series winner near the conclusion of the second period, an acrobatic Lundqvist made a ridiculous save to rob Thomas Vanek. If he scores there, who knows.
They protected the 1-0 lead to get Lundqvist the shutout. It was bedlam at The Garden. It’s still the best game I’ve ever attended given the thrilling circumstances of seeing this team clinch the Wales Conference Trophy on home ice. A true wow did that really happen kind of magic moment. It was exhilaration in the stands. The first Stanley Cup appearance since 1994.
If only they had won the whole damn thing. As it turned out, Staples Center became the new house of horrors. Two goal leads blown in the third periods of Games 1 and 2. The uncalled Dwight King goaltender interference didn’t help matters. Neither did Vigneault opting to sit back and protect the lead against a bigger, stronger and more skilled opponent that wore them down in the third before putting the pin in the Ranger Voodoo doll to kill our souls in overtime. When they didn’t show up ready for a must win Game Three, it was over. Sure. They won Game Four and had a great chance at taking Game Five in Hollywood before the painful final script. What if they’d forced Game Six at MSG? I definitely think there’s a Game 7.
Instead, they failed miserably on power play chances in sudden death while Jonathan Quick stoned Kreider on a breakaway I thought he was scoring on. Then the cruel ending by of all people, Alec Martinez who also did in the Blackhawks. Go figure. It’s a sequence I’d like to forget or erase like the image of four Blueshirts standing around as Henrique put a loose puck by Lundqvist two years prior under Tortorella.
Sometimes, sports are cruel. They can break your heart. I’m still forever thankful I got to see this hexed franchise win in ’94 as a high school senior. Just to see the sheer joy it gave our Dad meant everything. I don’t know if they’ll ever get that close again as the 2014 Cup Final or third period of Game Seven in 2015 when it all went wrong. Of course, there was no Zuccarello either due to that crazy McDonagh shot he took off the helmet that nearly ended his career. It’s still astonishing that he made it all the way back. He is an inspiration and will always remain beloved in NYC.
I wish I could just throw away what happened in 2016 and 2017 with the latter proving to be the bitter end of some very good Ranger teams. I still can’t believe they lost in the second round to Ottawa and went out with a whimper at home Game Six. Yes. Sadly, we were there for the final postseason game of a heartbreaking decade. One filled with almosts instead of a fifth Stanley Cup Championship.
The window officially closed after that May night. It’s more astonishing that that Senators team nearly beat the eventual repeat champion Pens. They had to dig deep and work sudden death to win that series. Crazy. Look where they are now. Anthony Duclair is now their top finisher. How’s that for irony? The same player included in a package for Keith Yandle, who was good here in his year and a half but misused by AV. Remember how he underutilized Eric Staal? Wow. Talk about a waste.
You know. I don’t hate Vigneault. He had his way of coaching and was very successful in the Big Apple. So close to consecutive Cup appearances. The forwards simply didn’t get it done in that Game Seven. Blame whoever you want. The defense was the walking wounded with McDonagh, Girardi, Staal, Yandle and Kevin Klein all playing hurt. Had Mac been healthy, that might’ve been enough to win. Oh well.
Instead, here we are with a rebuilding team in Year Two looking like it’ll be three straight seasons without the playoffs under David Quinn. It’s not easy to get back when you’ve subtracted so many players who meant so much during that era. I left out Kevin Hayes, who certainly developed well under Vigneault by becoming a responsible two-way center. He struggled in those runs, but improved leaps and bounds by the time the team moved on from him last February. He now is part of an AV Flyers team that looks destined for at least a wildcard and could make some similar noise to his New York teams.
I didn’t forget the key contributions of Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky or Rick Nash either. They are tied together due to the trade with Columbus where Torts still coaches and is trying to work miracles with while Artemi Panarin stars on Broadway. Former teammates Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel have also moved on from their astonishing first round sweep of the Lightning, who may as well be the symbol of playoff chokers for the decade. Look at the talent Jon Cooper has to work with. They’re not even in playoff position at Christmas break.
The thing about those teams that included Marian Gaborik, Carl Hagelin, Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko, Michael Del Zotto and quality backup goalies Cam Talbot and Antti Raanta, is they had a lot of pieces. But just never could get over the hump.
There are so many memorable moments. The Game Seven elimination of the Ovechkin Capitals in Washington. A huge Game Six victory at Ottawa to stave off early elimination after finishing with the East’s most points. Del Zotto finishing off the Caps in an equally tough second round highlighted by a last second Richards tying goal and a Staal overtime power play winner. Yes. He actually played PP! Or Richards to Gaborik to win a huge game in sudden death. There were a lot of magic moments vs the Caps. I bet they were glad not to see Lundqvist or 2015 second round heroes Kreider, McDonagh and Stepan in 2018 when they finally won. They still had to go through the Pens.
So, in summing up a decade of Rangers hockey, it was pretty damn good. They missed the playoffs in 2010 due to the stinking shootout in Philly in Game 82. Olli Jokinen… They would make the postseason the next seven years. There were some good runs and big games at 33rd and 8th Avenue. Believe it or not, MSG used to sound pretty lively before the renovation and escalating ticket and concession costs priced many passionate fans out of the building. They created a library by separating the real fans from celebrities. That’s all Dolan cares about now.
So, who deserves inclusion on the All Decade Team? I’m going to go 1-5 forward lines with extras. Eight D. Three goalies. And one coach. No. It won’t be Quinn. No complaints.
RANGERS ALL DECADE TEAM
Line 1: Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello
The biggest performers of that era. All were instrumental throughout the decade including the runs. Step to CK extended it in Game Five against Braden Holtby and the Caps. Then the Step drop pass to Mac for the winner that a hustling Jesper Fast created. Yes. He was part of it too. A great move by AV moving him up. The anxiety driven third in DC where Henrik saved their bacon. Then the great face-off play with Step rebounding home the Danny G shot for the series clincher. Zucc only led the team in scoring a few times.
Line 2: Nash-Brassard-Gaborik
Big Game Brass obviously was huge during that era. What a money player he was. From anchoring Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot on the pivotal third line in ’14 to a starring role in ’15 where no Blueshirt had more points those postseasons (’13 included). Gaborik gets here due to his two 40-goal plus seasons and clutch play vs Caps. They turned him into Brass. Nash may not have had as big an impact, but he was a very good player. If only his stick had a few more goals in it. The injuries didn’t help.
Line 3: Hagelin-Anisimov-Callahan
When you look back at the first part of the decade, it was Ryan Callahan that epitomized those Black & Blueshirt teams. He turned himself into a second line player, who could score on the power play and was a shorthanded threat. Was captain before the infamous Slats trade for St. Louis that included one too many firsts. Artem Anisimov was highly underrated. He was a solid two-way center who could hit 20 goals and play power play and penalty kill. Hagelin was the overachiever who had that great transition speed AV loved. So did Torts. He was terrific five-on-five and on the PK. He beat the Pens in sudden death of Round One in ’15. Played well vs Kings.
Line 4: Hayes-Richards-Miller
All three were good contributors in their time spent on Broadway. Even though he didn’t quite live up to expectations, Richards was a key part of two runs. His clutch tying goal against Washington set up Staal’s winner. His pass for Gaborik was perfect too. Good leader, who was a big factor in the team’s rally vs Pens. Set up MSL for series winner. Both Hayes and JT Miller were good regular season players, who had trouble scoring in the playoffs. Both could be still here if the organization didn’t go in another direction. They’re doing well elsewhere.
Line 5: Dubinsky-Boyle-Moore
Okay. They’re all centers. But these three were key players for those teams. It’s easy to forget Brandon Dubinsky’s impact. He formed a nice bond with Jaromir Jagr early on before working with Callahan and even Anisimov. They were the top line in ’10-11. The Draft Line didn’t last long due to the additions of Richards and Gaborik. Who could forget the shorthanded goal Callahan and Dubinsky combined on before beating the hated Pens in OT? Eventually, Dubi and Arty went for Nash. Boyle was a junkyard dog. Scored over 20 goals under Torts with Brandon Prust and Fedotenko. He always stepped up too. Moore returned after the loss of his wife to cancer. He was a fan favorite. It was poetic that he got the clincher from Boyle to send the Rangers to the SCF.
Extras: RW Martin St. Louis, LW Brandon Prust, RW Jesper Fast, C Mika Zibanejad, LW Daniel Carcillo, RW Derek Dorsett, RW Pavel Buchnevich
It’s hard to include everyone. I had to put Marty St. Louis here when he easily could’ve been higher. He was terrific in that ’14 run scoring the huge OT winner to beat the Habs in Game 4. He struggled in his final year and just didn’t have much left. I am a huge fan of him. Prust was all hustle and grit. How about the Line Brawl that involved him, Prust and Stu Bickel along with Mike Rupp? Carcillo came up big vs his former team, the Flyers in the first round. Dorsett was a gritty fourth liner. Both Fast and Zibanejad are here on merit. Jesper is worth keeping. I love Mika. Can he stay healthy and earn another contract? Buchnevich has had solid production for a third round pick that was part of the Nash deal. However, consistency remains the issue for the talented yet defensively challenged Russian.
D Pair 1: McDonagh-Girardi
You could make the case for Anton Stralman due to how good he was in ’12 and especially ’14. Only good defenseman against LA. I’ll never get why they let him go to the Bolts. Slats replaced him with Dan Boyle, who never quite fit at the end of a superb career. Similar to how Kevin Shattenkirk couldn’t do anything right in his two years. Without Mac and G busting their ass against the top scoring lines while forming a memorable top pair, there’s no three Conference Finals or Stanley Cup trip. While McDonagh gets all the ink for how good overall he was, nobody bled more Blue than the ultimate warrior Girardi. I’m glad he went out on his terms with the Bolts.
D Pair 2: Staal-Stralman
When it finally does end for Marc Staal, he’ll be remembered more fondly by even the harshest critics, who are quick to point out his flaws. The same people who loved the heart he still has. He’s overcome a serious concussion and other injuries due to playing a lot like Girardi. There’s nothing the alternate captain won’t do. He still remains a respected team leader near the end. Stralman is one of Sather’s best moves. When he signed him, Torts didn’t know a lot about the right skating defenseman, who just needed the chance to prove himself. A smooth skater who was good at even strength, he could play power play and PK. Tampa utilized him more on the PP. He’s now in Florida.
D Pair 3: Yandle-Klein
In really assessing the decade success, these two did the most even though they weren’t in the Big Apple too long. Klein is easily forgotten even though he came over from Nashville for Del Zotto and fit in well in the AV system. Who would’ve ever thought that? He was that depth right D they needed. He scored quite a few goals and was steady. Yandle is well documented. With Sather needing another puck moving offensive defenseman, he went all in on Yandle by trading Duclair and more firsts to the Coyotes. Yandle was good in his year plus here producing points. But for some reason, AV preferred him on the third pair and second power play unit. Too bad they didn’t keep him after ’15-16, trading his rights to Florida. He’s been even better there. Will he help the Panthers get back in the playoffs?
Extras: LD Michael Del Zotto, LD Brady Skjei, RD Tony DeAngelo D Steve Eminger
Both Del Zotto and Skjei are similar in that they’re former first round picks that started well early and then dropped off. It’s so easy to omit MDZ from the ’12 run to the Conference Final. But he had his best season and helped close out the Caps. If only the night life didn’t become such a distraction. I’m glad he got it and stayed in the league. Now, he plays more chippy in Anaheim. Skjei had a great first year putting up goals and points while not looking overwhelmed in the playoffs. But AV knew. He protected Skjei from tougher assignments by having him on the third pair. He remains decent offensively but an enigma defensively. Tony DeAngelo is here because there’s not much else on the right-side and he’s developed offensively where he can contribute both at even strength and power play. Too bad he’s likely gone. It could be a big mistake. Steve Eminger makes it over Bickel because he was a better depth D who could adequately fill in. A solid citizen.
Starting Goalie: Henrik Lundqvist
King Henrik as he’s affectionately known certainly has been the backbone of some good Rangers teams that went far. In his Vezina year, he was the main reason they finished first in the East. Money performances in elimination games the first two rounds vs Sens and Caps. Disappointing that he got outplayed by Martin Brodeur. Used to rack up 30 wins or better and the shutouts that remain stuck on 63. Terrific in ’14 going 5-1 in elimination games with his stellar play turning around the Pens series. If only he had been better in overtime vs Kings. Did it again to the Caps to help key the second 3-1 comeback in two consecutive years. The goalie duel between him and Holtby was memorable. It’s unfortunate how it ended at MSG. It’s been downhill since the sour elimination to Craig Anderson and Ottawa.
Backup One: Cam Talbot
Without his brilliant goaltending filling in for a seriously injured Lundqvist due to him taking a dangerous shot off the neck that could’ve ended his life, there’s no President’s Trophy in ’14-15. Talbot was splendid for those two months backstopping the team to first place. He handled everything so well. A excellent interview. It’s too bad he didn’t find similar success elsewhere. He had one big season with Edmonton getting them to the playoffs, but couldn’t duplicate it. Cam will always have a special place in my heart. The backup in Calgary.
Backup Two: Antti Raanta
Acquired from Chicago to replace Talbot, Raanta had a similar good run as the understudy to Hank. When you look at all the success Ranger backups have had, the credit goes to goalie coach Benoit Allaire. He works well with whoever he gets improving them. Even Steve Valiquette would agree. Raanta lasted a couple of years before moving to Arizona. Injuries have put him behind Darcy Kuemper. He could be a starter for someone. Currently the number one with Kuemper week to week.
Extra: Alexandar Georgiev
He’s been here for a little over two years after being signed as a free agent. The Bulgarian bear is cool between the pipes and plays a stand up style similar to Brodeur. He’s had good success since last February putting up better numbers than Henrik. But is the 23-year old the odd man out once Igor Shesterkin is ready? It’s a dicey situation. I like his poise and attitude which doesn’t change following tough games.
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault
As good as his predecessor Tortorella was at setting up the foundation for the team to contend, the more laid back Vigneault was able to take the next step by guiding the Blueshirts to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. They had to go seven to edge the Flyers and then showed sheer determination and focus to rally from 3-1 down to beat the Pens for the first time. Defeated AV’s former team Montreal in six. If only he’d been more aggressive in those third periods in LA, we could be talking about a Stanley Cup. Was outcoached by Cooper in a gut wrenching ECF and the same by Guy Boucher in the ’17 Conference Semis. He still was very successful even though it ended badly. Now trying to do the same with Flyers.
Well, that’ll finally do it. Not a moment too soon with the Rangers returning tonight from holiday break to play Carolina. Any disagreements? Vent away. Happy Holidays! π
What happens when you play well for two periods, but don’t finish the job? The Rangers learned the hard way during last night’s exasperating 5-1 loss at the Flyers.
A game they easily could’ve won got away in dizzying fashion. They went from leading a well played game 1-0 on a Jesper Fast shorthanded goal to Travis Sanheim scoring with 1.7 seconds left in the second period to beat an otherwise brilliant Henrik Lundqvist.
Up to that point, he was outdueling young Flyers netminder Carter Hart. Then Sanheim took a shot that deflected both off Mika Zibanejad and Lundqvist’s goal stick to change the momentum. The Rangers were that close to getting out of the second with a 1-0 lead. They were the better team.
Then the third period came. Let’s just say it was one to forget. They had many chances to beat Hart more than once, but couldn’t. Pavel Buchnevich had another one of those games where you wonder what will it take for him to score goals consistently. He had several point blank opportunities throughout and could only look skyward following a Hart glove theft on one such chance.
There also were close calls for Artemi Panarin, Zibanejad (goalpost) and Brady Skjei. But Hart didn’t cooperate. The Zibanejad post came with his team trailing by one with over seven minutes left in the third. Kevin Hayes had put the Flyers up by converting a good Joel Farabee cross ice pass by picking high glove on Lundqvist. An area most shooters target against the veteran goalie.
It was the first game for Hayes against his former team that traded him to Winnipeg before last trade deadline in a deal that netted Brendan Lemieux with a first round pick they flipped back to the Jets with Neal Pionk for Jacob Trouba. Winnipeg wound up selecting defenseman Ville Heinola.
The game was also former coach Alain Vigneault’s first versus the team he guided to a Stanley Cup appearance and Presidents Trophy. So, it was very special for both. Hayes really shined in this one for his new team. After a slow start, the two-way center is finding his game under the coach he developed well under in the Big Apple. He wasn’t only a huge factor in scoring twice on his former teammate to highlight a Flyers four-goal third period. But he also was physical landing a clean hit on Panarin.
Hayes had something to prove. The simple fact is that even though the Flyers doled out a lot of money by paying him over $7 million a year on the cap, he is a good player, who Vigneault knows he can lean on in every situation. That includes five-on-five, power play and penalty kill where he killed valuable time on another dreadful Rangers power play by skating around with the puck shorthanded to cheers from the Flyers crowd.
In a weird game where you couldn’t find one bad penalty call where the teams were in the box a lot, the Rangers penalty kill excelled throughout the first 40 minutes. In fact, two straight Philly power plays totaled zero shots to draw jeers from a crowd that boos Santa. The Rangers had their own issues on the man-advantage. They again took the collar for the game and are 0 for their last 16. Even when they set up something good such as Zibanejad for a one-timer, it’s eaten up by Hart. Then you even had Panarin misfiring from within 20 feet what usually is money. Plus the Buchnevich blanks.
You get the picture. Once again, they blew a 5-on-3 at a key point. When you don’t score on those, it’s usually bad news. Insert former WWE superstar Wade Barrett aka Stu Bennett on NWA Powerrr. There was no good news to report. Only “Bad News.”
So, how did a goalie duel with both Lundqvist and Hart go from the Rangers leading 1-0 to a total implosion in the final half of the third period? Quite simply, they got careless. After Sanheim found enough room to walk out and beat Lundqvist at 19:58 of the second for the first of two, things unraveled. It didn’t happen right away.
That’s the irritating part. This game was there for the taking. Even if you don’t believe this team is making the playoffs like me, a win in regulation would’ve meant two points gained on a team they trail for the wildcard. The Flyers came in seven up on the Blueshirts. Instead of losing, they took the first meeting with a superb third to go nine up at the holiday break. A four point swing.
There were a lot of frustrated Ranger fans on Twitter. I was one of them. Following Hayes going around Skjei like he was a used traffic cone before owning Lundqvist with a great backhand, forehand finish around his right leg pad, I decided I had enough. I went to the gym. Yes. I had no idea the Flyers added a fifth goal until I got home and showered. I thought I was hearing things. Wow. It made me glad I left.
Here is a interesting piece in a Tweet that was noted by Chris Kreider on what went wrong in that period. He’s right on about the breakdowns.
It’s interesting to see him say that under AV, who emphasizes an aggressive system based on speed, skating and transition, that he feels when they were coached by him, they had a tighter structure. It sounds like an indictment of David Quinn and his coaching staff. The only holdover from Vigneault’s bench is Lindy Ruff. The former Buffalo and Dallas head coach who gets blamed for everything. Does he get any credit for the improved penalty kill that is tied for first with the Hurricanes with eight shorthanded goals?
When people point fingers at the defense, they’re half right. Yes. The D does have breakdowns from time to time. So do the Flyers. The difference was Hart covered for their mistakes. Despite a strong game, Lundqvist couldn’t sustain it. When his team needed a big save, he let Hayes beat him top shelf on an unscreened shot. It was a good shot, but not impossible to stop. On the game-winner, all three forwards got trapped. Buchnevich was too late and Adam Fox couldn’t prevent the pass from getting across.
The Flyers third goal was a Sanheim follow up with Lundqvist way out of his net due to a point blank stop on a jail break. Then he fell to the ice and couldn’t recover in time for Sanheim’s shot into an open net. This is becoming a problem for Hank. He flops to the ice when things fall apart and takes himself out of position. Despite some quality saves including a great one to deny Morgan Frost on a two-on-one, and a huge stop on Sean Couturier, he has moments where his age shows. Him starting the back-to-back wasn’t an issue. He had plenty left after an easy win over the Ducks.
I’m not faulting the goaltending here. The poor coverage that included way too many gaps and not enough checking, really cost this team any shot of winning last night. It was abominable. This is how this team is. When they start taking high risks as Kreider mentioned, that’s when they get in trouble. He probably can’t wait to be free from this mess. Realistically speaking, he only has two months left as a Ranger. Unless things drastically change, the successful former ’09 first round pick will be gone. It’s sad.
Things can change so quickly. One minute, you’re up. The next, you’re down. That’s what the Blueshirts have become. They had their window and missed it. Glen Sather swung for the fences a couple of times with Martin St. Louis and Keith Yandle. 2015 hurt more in my opinion. To go out the way they did on Garden ice was a disgrace. We saw it in Game Five. I knew they’d go into Tampa and win. Then, the disastrous Game Seven. Shutout again at home. The first ever time in franchise history the Rangers lost a home Game 7. Not a single goal scored in the final six home periods of that bizarre series.
It’s easy to wonder if Mats Zuccarello could’ve been the difference that Spring. But with all the D wounded, I’m not sure they would’ve had enough left to beat the Blackhawks. It would’ve been winnable. And probably a very exciting series. We’ll never know. Chicago won its third Cup of the decade. Even with how brutal they are now, they’re the team of the decade.
So, what else is there to say? Nothing. Lias Andersson is gone. And the organization thinks they can make the playoffs. I don’t see how. The Blue Jackets have suddenly reeled off six in a row. No Panarin. No Matt Duchene. No Sergei Bobrovsky. No Ryan Dzingel. And Oliver Bjorkstrand is out for a month. No problem for John Tortorella. They’ve turned their season around.
Playoffs? They are too soft. There’s too much inconsistency. This is a team that gives up too many high danger chances. I’m not a chart nerd either. I just watch. The system isn’t good enough. That’s on Quinn. He’s the man in charge. They are young. I get it. But you’d like to see improvement defensively and with backchecking and players coming back hard by taking the body. Not puck watching.
Ryan Lindgren is the most physical defenseman they have. He should get a look on the top pair in place of Skjei, who continues to get caught out of position so frequently, it’s like watching Buchnevich fail on another scoring opportunity. Jacob Trouba has to do too much. When he makes a mistake like he did on one of the goals against in the third, it’s really glaring. But he plays hard nosed and is physical as well as solid offensively.
Fox looks to have hit a wall. His offense has disappeared. Maybe the three day break will help. Tony DeAngelo consistently creates offense. That’s why he paces the team in D scoring. He had a nice move off a face-off win to force a Hart stop and then another on a Buchnevich backhand in tight.
Marc Staal isn’t creating much because that’s not his job. He knows his limitations and doesn’t take many dangerous risks. He’s been fine since Libor Hajek went down. Skjei is contributing offensively. He could’ve had two goals on Monday night. However, his struggles defensively hurt. For what he makes, it’s mind numbing. Would he look different in a more structured system under a different coach? Fans love to bash players. But look at the difference Dave Tippett is making in Edmonton. Ditto for Rick Tocchet with Arizona.
More people are beginning to question if Quinn is the right guy. He barely used his fourth line as I predicted in the third. Why would he? The fourth line has been a team flaw since Brian Boyle departed. Once he did, the Rangers never seriously challenged again. Funny how that works. Remember, it was his hard forecheck and pass to Dominic Moore for the series clincher versus the pesky Canadiens in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final. Madison Square Garden rocked that night. Best game I ever attended.
You have to have four lines you can roll. Especially in a back-to-back situation. Why isn’t Tim Gettinger or Steven Fogarty here? I question the organization thinking. What’s the goal?
Kaapo Kakko again sat out due to being nicked up from that shot block. He did play one game before sitting out the last two. Maybe the time off will do him some good. He hasn’t looked right the entire month. He is only 18.
What happens on Friday when they return to action? I don’t know. I’ll be as locked in on the World Junior Championship as I can be. Team USA has a great chance to challenge for the gold medal. K’Andre Miller and Zac Jones are part of the team’s blueline. I’ll be covering it on Hockey Prospects. It all starts up on Thursday the 26th.
Kudos to Zibanejad for getting some players together to take a cool photo in tribute to Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom. He’s out for the season battling Ewing’s sarcoma. A form of bone cancer. It’s hard to believe. We are all #OskarStrong!
Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider had fun on Sunday at the Ducks expense. AP Photo credit New York Rangers via Getty Images
Early games aren’t fun. Especially if you lose. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case today for the Rangers, who had too much for a flu ridden Ducks team on short rest. The result was a predictable 5-1 home win. Anaheim played the day before and beat the Islanders in a wild and crazy 6-5 shootout win on Long Island. However, they were without their three best forwards on Kids Day at MSG.
A more rested Blueshirts took full advantage of the Ducks, who skated without captain Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell. They dominated early by outscoring the Ducks 3-1 in a lopsided first period. In a period they controlled by outshooting the wounded Ducks 18-6, they easily could’ve had twice as many goals. But they refused to shoot on the way too predictable power play that’s as cold as ice.
That didn’t matter. Filip Chytil and Brett Howden ended long scoring droughts. They connected 1:31 apart to put the Garden hosts ahead 2-0 before the halfway mark. It was a brilliant rush by Chytil off a Brendan Lemieux lead pass that allowed the slick Czech to get in on Ryan Miller and beat the American veteran netminder with a nifty backhand. That goal was his first in 11 games since tallying against Boston on Nov. 29.
A couple of shifts later, Howden put himself in the right spot to follow up a Tony DeAngelo rebound for his fourth which Artemi Panarin set up. It was Howden’s first point since Dec. 5 and first goal in 16 games. His last one came back on 11/20 versus Washington. Used on the third line due to Kaapo Kakko being out, Howden took advantage of the opportunity by playing on the wing instead of his customary center.
Even though they dominated play, the Rangers let the Ducks cut the lead in half when Sam Steel was allowed to stand in front and redirect a Ondrej Kase shot past Henrik Lundqvist at 9:58. Jacob Trouba blew the assignment. Once again, there would be no shutout for Lundqvist, who was fine on what was a light day. It’s possible Quinn goes back to him tomorrow for the Flyers. Over his career, he has a great record in back-to-backs. This could be an opportunity for him to get back on track.
Some feistiness between Ryan Lindgren and Max Comtois resulted in matching roughs. Right after, Chris Kreider got a takeaway in the neutral zone and turned on the jets to move in on Miller and beat him with his bread and butter move by tucking home a backhand off a beautiful fake at 12:16. His ninth goal was unassisted. Just an outstanding individual effort from a player who’s heating up. Kreider would score his second of the day later to give him eight points (4-4-8) over the last seven games.
Along with Panarin (20 goals) and Mika Zibanejad (12 G), Kreider is the third Blueshirt to hit double digits in goals. With him finally reunited with Zibanejad, he’s hitting his stride. That’s who he should’ve been playing with once David Quinn split up Panarin and Zibanejad. Panarin continues to have solid chemistry with Ryan Strome, who picked up his 23rd assist on a shorthanded goal by Zibanejad in the third.
For a second consecutive game, Pavel Buchnevich played with Panarin and Strome. The cohesive trio looks good so far. I’m glad Quinn kept them together along with Zibanejad, Kreider and Jesper Fast. It’s about time he allows his forward lines to gel. The only suggestion I have is for Buchnevich to be more selfish. He had some excellent scoring chances, but often deferred to Panarin. That’s also the main issue with the powerless play. Too much East/West crap which makes it easier for opposing penalty kills to intercept passes and clear the puck. They’re too predictable.
The second was a bore and snore fest. Neither team excited the younger crowd, which made the building sound like a library. At least there was some nastiness to keep some fans enthused. Over halfway through the contest, Howden got into a wrestling match with former Ranger Michael Del Zotto. He was giving it to Howden pretty good during that shift. So Howden went back at him during a scrum to cause matching roughing minors. I wish the officials would’ve let them go.
A few minutes later, Lemieux got an unsportsmanlike conduct for being Brendan Lemieux. It was ridiculous. Something Joe Micheletti pointed out on the broadcast. Lemieux sucked Ducks tough guy Erik Gudbranson into dropping his glove because he thought they were about to fight. Instead, Lemieux kept his mitts on and skated away. For some reason, the refs gave Lemieux a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct too. It should’ve been another sleep inducing Ranger power play. Gudbranson also got a misconduct. He was mad.
Prior to that chaos, a rushing Zibanejad got the puck over to Kreider in front for a nice deflection goal that gave him his 10th for a 4-1 lead. It was the only goal of the period.
Following a successful penalty kill of a DeAngelo tripping minor, the second concluded with even more craziness. During a heated scrum after the buzzer, a couple of Ducks jawed with Lemieux. That included enforcer Nicholas Deslauriers, who got upset when Lemieux gave him a chop with his stick to earn a roughing minor and a misconduct. He missed the first 12 minutes of the third period.
The Rangers killed off the Lemieux two-minute minor penalty to start the third. This also happened:
That was the Rangers’ NHL leading seventh shorthanded goal. Zibanejad got it from Strome. His shot from an angle snuck through a distracted Miller, who had to deal with a cutting Trouba right in front. It almost looked like he got a piece of it. Some reporters thought so. For now, it’s Zibanejad shorthanded from Strome at 1:16.
Eventually, things boiled over. Deslauriers and Micheal Haley finally went at it for a bit to earn fighting majors. You knew the crazy Deslauriers was going to find a dance partner. I’m surprised Gudbranson didn’t. He wanted to kill Lemieux for being his usual ornery self. Lemieux has to pick his spots. He has a bad reputation due to his last name. Being the son of Claude Lemieux is tough. He’s been screwed over in some games.
In the third, the Rangers got two more power plays. They predictably didn’t do anything on it to wind up 0-for-5. At some point, it has to change. They’re making it very easy on opponents who take liberties with them. Adjustments need to be made.
The next two games should be tough. They’re in Philadelphia to see familiar faces in Kevin Hayes and former coach Alain Vigneault. Then after the holiday break, return home to host the Hurricanes. I know they’ve had their number. But at what point do the Canes finally pay them back? They’re a good team.
In any event, tomorrow night is the first meeting of the season between the Rangers and Flyers. Who makes the schedule? They don’t see the Islanders until next year. Brain surgeons.
It would be a nice Christmas gift if they could go into Philly and turn the cheers into jeers like the tradition of booing π . They could be in a foul mood if the Eagles lose to the Cowboys.
Lias Andersson requested a trade. David Quinn and the Rangers organization failed him. AP Photo courtesy Getty Images
In a unsurprising move, Lias Andersson has requested a trade from the Rangers. That news was revealed by TSN insider Darren Dreger earlier this afternoon.
Lias Andersson has formally asked the @NYRangers for a trade. He is no longer with the club. Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton will use the Holiday Freeze to assess the market.
It wasn’t long ago that the Rangers swung a trade sending popular center Derek Stepan and good backup goalie Antti Raanta over to the Coyotes in exchange for Tony DeAngelo and the rights to their seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The deal was made by GM Jeff Gorton on June 23, 2017.
When it was their turn to pick, the Rangers selected Andersson out of Smogen, Sweden. Thought to be a hard working tenacious center with a strong work ethic, some observers wondered if they took him too high. There are always Monday morning quarterbacks that second guess such key decisions.
When it comes to Gordie Clark, he doesn’t have the best track record in the first round. But in that same round, he later took Filip Chytil at number 21. A young promising center that’s worked out so far. So, that draft isn’t a total fail.
When it comes to drafting and development, the Rangers aren’t the best at being patient. Their handling of Andersson his first pro year didn’t help. Even though he put up good numbers with Frolunda by tallying seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 22 games in the Swedish Hockey League, it was probably a mistake to bring him over to AHL Hartford so quickly.
Part of the thinking probably had to do with Andersson impressing during the 2018 IIHF Under 20 World Junior Championship. He captained Sweden to a silver medal. During that tournament, he scored six goals and had an assist to total seven points.
However, it was his reaction to receiving his silver medal that went viral. Upset that his team lost, he tossed the medal over the glass causing hypocritical TSN analyst Ray Ferraro to criticize him. Had he done that as a Canadian player after losing, it would’ve been universally praised. It showed a young player with a fiery side who hated losing. Isn’t that what you want?
His reaction was viewed more favorably by Rangers fans. Some even envisioned Andersson one day becoming a future captain. Instead, things started to unravel following a brief stint with the Wolf Pack at the conclusion of ’17-18. After doing alright there by going 5-9-14 in 25 games, he was recalled by the Rangers. In seven games, he scored his first NHL goal and assist.
It seemed like he was on the right path following Year One. But things would quickly change in ’18-19. His second pro year started in Hartford. This time, he wasn’t as consistent at age 20. Having gotten into 36 games, Andersson had only six goals with 14 assists for 20 points. While the production was okay on a bad roster, he also was a minus-24 with 25 penalty minutes. Expected to become a reliable two-way center, that should’ve sounded off an alarm that he wasn’t ready.
Instead of keeping him there to further develop, the Rangers organization recalled Andersson after trading Kevin Hayes to Winnipeg. What a big mistake that was. Rather than let him get ideal ice-time with Hartford, they nursed him along for the the rest of the season. Even though he showed some of the competitive spirit he had with Sweden by going back at opponents and even fighting, Andersson struggled to distinguish himself under first-year NHL coach David Quinn.
The end result was only two goals with four assists for a total of six points, 29 PIM and a minus-13 rating over 42 games. Was this really the right move for his development? Of course not. But they kept him up for good once Hayes was moved. It was a poor choice by an organization not always known for having patience like a majority of the fanbase.
In many aspects, they wasted Andersson’s second year. A no no that didn’t benefit anyone. Most of all the former first round pick they took ahead of Casey Mittlestadt (recently demoted by Buffalo), Martin Necas, Nick Suzuki and Robert Thomas. Had they chosen Chytil with the seventh pick and took Andersson 21st, there wouldn’t have been such unrealistic expectations. While Lias has recorded only nine points (3-6-9) in 66 career NHL games, Chytil has scored 20 goals with 17 assists for 37 points over 109 games.
Complicating matters, Andersson had a good training camp and impressed the coaching staff in preseason by outplaying both Chytil, who was sent down, and Quinn favorite Brett Howden. Even after Quinn praised Andersson for his improvement, he found himself on the fourth line behind Howden. From the symbolic moment where he accidentally tripped over a ridiculous camera wire (typical MSG) while being introduced at the season opener versus Winnipeg, it’s been a nightmare for the 21-year old Swede.
While Howden continued to receive more responsibility by Quinn due to familiarity, Andersson would sometimes miss shifts as games would evolve due to the coach not trusting him. There were games even when top pivot Mika Zibanejad was out that Andersson was still barely getting any regular time at all. What was even the point of playing him in 17 games if he was hardly going to crack eight minutes a night?
Quinn definitely played favorites. Not to disrespect what Howden is as a player. As a rookie, the 21-year old center played 66 games and registered six goals and 17 assists for 23 points with 14 PIM and a minus-14 last season. He started off well by showing that he could pick up points early due to his high IQ and hard work. However, he slumped badly in the second half despite continuing to receive decent ice time that included penalty killing shifts.
So far in Year Two, Howden is 3-5-8 with a minus-seven rating in 34 games. Hardly an improvement from his first year. He now is behind Zibanejad, Ryan Strome and Chytil, which makes him the team’s fourth center. In the 6-3 loss to Toronto on Friday night, he received less than eight minutes. Basically, the Lias Andersson treatment by the same coach who in some instances, barely gave Andersson six minutes.
It was no way to help a young player develop and likely hurt his confidence. They finally sent Andersson down to Hartford. It didn’t go much better. Following a promising start that even included a pair of goals with a helper in a win a couple of weeks ago, he hasn’t posted a point since and was a minus-six the past three games. The last two were ugly losses at Charlotte earlier this week. In 13 games, he is 4-1-5 with 14 PIM and a minus-nine rating.
Perhaps the recent struggles finally were the last straw. It’s painfully obvious that it’s not working out for Andersson here. By most accounts, he has a good attitude. So, that’s not the problem. The issue is how he was handled last season where he was rushed and then butchered by an inexperienced coach, who still can’t decide what his forward combinations should be with Christmas approaching.
Just ask Kaapo Kakko how he’s doing. A much higher rated prospect who looks lost under Quinn. The 2019 number two pick is 6-8-14 with a minus-13 rating in 32 games. A far cry from what they were hoping for. Most of the production has come via the power play where he’s 2-7-9. Instead of improving, Kakko has taken a step back.
While the 18-year old Finnish right wing should be fine, it has to be a bit concerning how he’s looked. Eventually, it should change. He’s too good a player for this trend to continue.
As for Andersson, it’s disappointing that we’ll never get to see what he could’ve become. Maybe if they’d handled him differently, this wouldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have helped matters that he was rumored in a trade offer for unsigned Edmonton forward Jesse Puljujarvi. Another highly thought of young player, who hasn’t exactly fulfilled expectations. The Oilers rejected the trade proposal and failed to get him signed by the December deadline. He will eventually be moving.
The only thing left to say is I wish Andersson the very best. The sad aspect is with his value so low, the Rangers won’t get much of a return. They have only themselves to blame for this mess.
My last blog was basically an overview of the decade itself and all the main events on and off the ice by year.Β This time I’ll expand the Devils retrospective by looking more closely at the top ten games and naming my all-decade team.Β First, the top ten games in chronological order:
2/5/10 – Devils 4, Leafs 3 – An otherwise unremarkable February game against the Leafs at the Rock had a remarkable finish in the first game for Ilya Kovalchuk after the blockbuster trade bringing him to Newark.Β Trailing 3-1 with 3:04 left in the third period, the Devils rallied to tie on goals by the immortal Dean McAmmond, then Travis Zajac on a PP with Kovalchuk getting a secondary assist for his first point in the white and red.Β Jay Pandolfo scoring the winner with nineteen seconds left in regulation was pure hilarity on the one hand, and on the other gave us some (false) hope that it was the start of something special with Kovalchuk, even as he played a secondary role in this wild finish.
3/12/11 – Devils 3, Islanders 2 (OT) – Hockey wasn’t much fun for most of 2010 after Kovy’s debut, as the 2009-10 season crashed and burned – while the 2010-11 season started in historically bad fashion before Jacques Lemaire came out of retirement and helped make hockey fun again – inspiring the team to a marvelous second half.Β Our wild run back to relevance crested with this pre-St. Patty’s day game against the Islanders at the Rock in early March, with Anssi Salmela scoring an OT winner and inspiring this hilarious reaction from former player and current color guy Ken Daneyko.
4/26/12 – Devils 3, Panthers 2 (2OT) – Back in the playoffs after a brief absence in 2011, the Devils made the most of their return trip to playoff hockey, but it wasn’t easy as a back-and-forth series came down to Game 7 where the Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then the Panthers tied it at 2 in the third.Β After one heart-stopping OT went by without the winner, rookie Adam Henrique struck less than four minutes into the second OT for his first big postseason moment, finally getting the Devils over the first-round hump they hadn’t cleared since 2007.
5/25/12 Devils 3, Rangers 2 (OT) – After the dramatic series win over the Panthers, the Devils crushed one of their biggest rivals in five games (the Flyers), and were on the verge of knocking an even bigger rival out for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.Β Certainly it wouldn’t be easy against the Rangers, and just like Game 7 in Florida, another early 2-0 lead evaporated as the teams battled into OT.Β Fortunately this one didn’t last as long with Henrique again doing the honors after just 63 seconds, sending the Devils to the Finals and giving the Rock its best moment since opening in 2007.
1/11/14 – Devils 2, Panthers 1 (OT) – More of a personal favorite than anything else even though the team was still in a playoff hunt for most of the year, this game stands out for two reasons.Β One, the hilarious sight of NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal dropping the ceremonial first puck in an Alexei Ponikarovsky jersey he allegedly had to borrow because it was the only one that’d fit him.Β Two being the dramatic nature of the ending itself, with the teams looking like they were headed to a shootout before one last faceoff with under four seconds remaining…but Travis Zajac won the draw, then Jaromir Jagr dished the puck to Marek Zidlicky, who had enough time to beat Tim Thomas right before the buzzer – and sent both the home crowd and Thomas into differing states of emotional overload.
4/13/14 – Devils 3, Bruins 2 – With the team starting to get older and further away from the glory days, the next couple of these are going to be melancholy starting with Martin Brodeur’s final game as a Devil.Β Forgettable meaningless game or not, there was only one satisfactory ending allowed.Β Fittingly the GOAT went out with a win at the Rock to the approval of the cheering home fans though.
4/9/16 – Devils 5, Leafs 1 – Even with my sadness over seeing my favorite player (Patrik Elias) and an all-time team team icon likely to retire, he couldn’t have gone out any better, giving fans a reminder of what they were about to miss with a three-point night including a dramatic final minute goal that brought the house down.
10/7/17 – Devils 4, Avalanche 1 – Although we were two years into the new regime by now, this was arguably the moment where Devil fans had hope again for the present and the future, with young additions contributing all over the lineup against a solid Colorado team.Β Although it was #1 overall Nico Hischier who was the headliner coming in – and he played well in his NHL debut – it was the undercard additions of Will Butcher (three assists) and Jesper Bratt (goal and an assist) who each grabbed a starring role on the day, and this win propelled the Devils to a 9-2 start to the season.
4/5/18 – Devils 2, Leafs 1 – After a hot start and inspiring close to the 2017-18 season for the Devils, they stood one win away from clinching a playoff spot in the regular season home finale and penultimate game against the Leafs.Β It wouldn’t be easy as the Devils fell behind 1-0 but second-period goals from Pavel Zacha and deadline acquisition Pat Maroon, along with solid goaltending from stretch-run savior Keith Kinkaid proved just enough to win the day, and give the home fans a deserved moment of celebration after five dark years on and off-ice.
4/16/18 – Devils 5, Lightning 2 – Despite falling behind 2-0 in their first-round series with the top seeded Lightning, that couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of a sellout crowd witnessing the Devils’ first home playoff game since Game 5 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.Β This proved to be yet another curtain call for Hart winner-to be Taylor Hall.Β Hall’s three-point night helped the Devils and their fans have one more night of celebration in the 2018 season, after they dramatically came from behind twice to take the lead late in the third (with Hall’s assist to Stefan Noesen providing the eventual winner), then pulled away with two empty-net goals.
Actually ranking the games themselves would be obviously different, with the Henrique goal against the Rangers #1 by a country mile.Β I’d likely put Henrique’s ‘other’ OT goal and the Devils returning to the playoffs in 2018 as #2 and #3.Β Everything else, who cares?Β It’s a matter of personal preference for the most part.Β Honestly it wasn’t all that hard to come up with a list of ten though, which probably says something about how few actual highlights there’ve been in this decade.
For my Devils all-decade team:
F: Hall-Elias-Palmieri
D: Greene-Zidlicky
G: Schneider
Coach: DeBoer
My reasoning on Hall is simple, there’s only one Hart trophy winner in team history and Hall gets the nod mostly on that, along with the team’s 2018 playoff run.Β Plus where else was I going to go?Β As far as the ’10’s go, Parise was a one-hit wonder too since he missed most of 2010-11 and left after that, and his 2012 wasn’t anywhere near Hall’s 2018.Β Kovalchuk played RW for most of his tenure here, but I passed him over for Palmieri partly out of spite plus out of longevity.Β Let’s face it, for all the good Kovalchuk did in the latter half of 2010-11 and 2011-12, that was pretty much it for him in terms of career highlights here, while Palmieri’s had four going on five solid seasons now as a RW and has been a franchise bright spot in the dark ages.Β Elias at center is almost a technicality but he did play center long enough for me to qualify him and I’ll give him the distinction of being one of the few back-to-back all-decade Devils.Β As much as I like Zajac and respect the longevity angle, I just can’t put him as a top-line center of the decade.Β Henrique wasn’t consistent enough outside of his two big moments for me to stomach putting him there, although like Palmieri he was a bright spot as the dark ages hit, on and off the ice and deserves honorable mention.
Defense and goaltending, it wasn’t exactly the glory days – there isn’t really a lot to pick from anymore.Β Greene is an obvious pick given he played for the entire decade and has been a first-pairing D for most of it – including all the playoff runs – serving with distinction despite trying circumstances.Β Zidlicky’s always been a personal favorite and his acquisition was key for the 2012 Spring of fun, plus he had a few more soild years after that.Β And let’s face it who else was I going to pick…Salvador?Β Fayne?Β Tallinder?Β Severson?Β Yikes.Β I really had to grit my teeth picking Schneider in goal – especially given Marty’s spring of 2012 but facts are facts, Cory had the better decade (last couple of years aside), he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time during his peak.Β Not to mention his acquisition at the draft in Newark was one of the most memorable moments of the decade in itself.Β And let’s face it, even Marty doesn’t have longevity enough to merit being on the all-decade team three straight times.
Coach has to be DeBoer with combined longevity and results.Β It basically has to be by default since we’ve really only had two coaches after 2011, unless you give it to Jacques based on one meaningless but fun second half.Β That’s all from me, hope these last couple of blogs were as fun for you to read as for me to do.Β I’ll probably be back after the New Year although most of the action is going to be off the ice at this point in terms of trades and what happens with the coach.
AP Photo credit Toronto Maple Leafs via Getty Images
There was no relief for David Quinn or the Rangers tonight. They literally got no Re-Leaf. It was a mind numbing yet predictable 6-3 home loss to Toronto before a less than capacity Garden. Boy, am I glad my Dad sold these tickets. I’ll get to why in a second.
Throughout the latter half of the day after I found out Alexandar Georgiev was starting against an opponent he dominated his last two starts the previous season, I couldn’t get the final score out of my head. For some reason, all I saw was, Maple Leafs 6, Rangers 3. That’s exactly how it played out.
If I were the gambling type, I would’ve played those numbers and taken the Leafs and the over. That’s how certain I was they were winning. Maybe it was due to their recent upswing under new coach Sheldon Keefe. Or perhaps because I felt they were due to light up Georgiev, who’s been stellar and earned well deserved praise. Call it just a hunch.
I would’ve preferred to be wrong. There’s something about the ridiculously talented Leafs that screams bad match-up. Sure. They play run and gun where defense is optional. The problem for Quinn’s younger Blueshirts is that too often, they leave their goalies out to dry. It didn’t matter who started. It would’ve played out the same. Sorry to burst the bubble of the Henrik Lundqvist fan club.
I’ve seen this type of wide open game before. Rarely do the Rangers come out on top. And they’ve been victimized by these same Leafs before. Remember Georgie’s first start last year where they led and then the roof caved in in a humiliating third period up North? Exactly.
I also didn’t care for the three day layoff they had following the Crashville Nashville disappointment. I’d have much preferred they play a game on Wednesday or even Thursday to stay sharp. Sometimes, longer rest doesn’t help. Plain and simple, they got into the wrong kinda game versus the wrong opponent.
At no point did they ever lead. Before you could even blink, it was 2-0 Leafs on goals from Pierre Engvall (who) and William Nylander 2:14 apart in a strange first period that was even despite the inauspicious start. Prior to those tallies, the Rangers had a bevy of opportunities to score that they wasted like an early power play 46 seconds in. But they only registered two shots on it and fired some pucks wide into the corner advertisement.
It was as if they were auditioning for a spot. You also had some close calls with Mika Zibanejad wiring a one-timer past Toronto iron man Frederik Andersen off the far goalpost. He couldn’t have been any better set up in the slot. A nifty pass from Artemi Panarin later set up rookie defenseman Ryan Lindgren perfectly. But his high wrist shot clanged off the crossbar. If memory serves, I’m fairly sure the Leafs came down and scored following the near miss. That’s the kind of lethal countering team they are.
The good news is the Blueshirts finally got back in it. Over two minutes later off a good Chris Kreider recovery of a corner dump in, he made a great move around two Leafs to get the puck to Zibanejad. He then made a little touch pass in front for a cutting Brady Skjei, who accidentally fanned on his attempt which worked perfectly to fool Andersen for his fifth at 14:04.
On some more porous defense from the Leafs, Pavel Buchnevich applied some forecheck pressure on Morgan Rielly that forced him to cough up the puck. On a soft reverse that didn’t work to equally inept Tyson Barrie, Buchnevich made a smart play by kicking the puck over to Panarin. He then moved in down low for a two on one and faked shot before sliding it over to a wide open Ryan Strome for an easy putaway that tied the score at 17:51.
The goal for Strome snapped a 15-game scoring drought. It also was Buchnevich’s first point in 10 games since Nov. 29. Buchnevich was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lost night. He would later add his sixth goal for his first multi-point game since 11/20. He definitely showed that he had chemistry with Panarin and Strome. Hopefully, Quinn doesn’t overreact and split them up. I also liked what I saw from Zibanejad, Kreider, and Jesper Fast. If either of those lines are changed for Sunday’s matinee against Anaheim, I’m going to be annoyed.
I’ll be honest and admit I didn’t catch much of the rest on the TV. But while I was busy in the car, I heard Don LaGreca call the Mitch Marner (garbage5–on–3becauseToronto) power play goal that originally was credited to John Tavares. As it turned out, Marner had his centering feed go off Skjei. My Twitter feed fumed over him. More on that later.
The good news is the Rangers showed more fight when Buchnevich got to a Marc Staal rebound and fired home his sixth at 5:27 to once again tie the game up at three. Tony DeAngelo helped set it up to earn his 17th assist and 24th point. Both pace all New York blueliners.
Despite the game tilting in favor of the Leafs style, Georgiev made some key saves to keep it tied after two periods. The Leafs outshot the Rangers 13-4. The first was played on more even terms. By that, I mean the shots were more reasonable (12-8 Toronto). Secondly, as the game materialized, the Toronto bias kicked in. I don’t like mentioning the officiating. But after those clowns at the Department Of Player Safety didn’t even have a telephone hearing with Ryan Ellis for his cheap shot on Buchnevich, the refs favored the Leafs in this one.
I didn’t get to see it. But the Brendan Smith slash that led directly to Marner converting on a two-man advantage was tacky. Later, I couldn’t believe they let the Leafs get away with a bench minor. It also looked like there was interference that forced Filip Chytil offside. No call on either. They then gave Adam Fox a roughing minor late in the period for playing physical hockey. All he did was shove down Toronto forward Dmytro Timashov. Both Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti sounded exasperated. Total incompetence.
I’m not blaming the officiating for the loss. Like Strome told John Giannone between periods, they had to take more shots and not get into the track meet they already had through two. He was very emphatic about that. The point wasn’t driven home.
Instead, the Rangers played a sloppy game and got what they deserved. Pete Stemkowski was all over Georgiev for letting Nylander beat him five-hole for a 4-3 Leafs lead at 2:10. One of two goals a candid Georgiev admitted he wished he had back. He also gave credit to the opponent for playing a good game. The way he handles himself following such defeats is a reason to stay optimistic. He doesn’t let it get to him. I expect Georgie to bounce back whenever his next start is. It’s either gonna be Monday or after the holiday break depending on Lundqvist.
What really screwed up the third was the miscommunication Strome and Panarin had. A turnover by the team MVP allowed the slick Marner a one on one with Georgiev. He beat him upstairs for his second of the game to give Toronto a pair of goals in 47 seconds. A backbreaker that took the wind out of the Ranger sails.
Toronto didn’t exactly sit back either. They continued to shoot the puck and force Georgiev to make saves. They held a 15-10 shots edge and were a comfortable 40-22 overall. It’s not even worth mentioning the attempts. This was a game you burn.
Skjei wound up minus-two for the night. That means despite his fifth goal at even strength, he was on for three goals against. That’s too many. No wonder so many I follow ripped him. Ironically, he just got engaged too. Congrats to Brady, who is a good guy. He needs to play much better.
The ghost of Kaapo Kakko played over 16 minutes on the third line with Chytil and Brendan Lemieux. Kakko was not good finishing minus-three with only one shot. He’s clearly struggling since that bout with the flu. He did stay in the game after blocking a shot late in the first. He limped off. Obviously, he was able to continue which is good.
However, his struggles are showing that he’s not ready. I’m not suggesting sending him down. However, don’t be surprised or outraged if he finds himself on the misplaced fourth line to start tomorrow’s match. That would mean the offensively challenged Brett Howden, who works hard but doesn’t have a lot to show for it. And Smith.
I fully expect Greg McKegg to be on the third line tomorrow. Whether it’s continuous remains to be seen. I don’t know what the answer is to Kakko’s woes. He seemed most effective at five-on-five with Howden when he centered the third line with Lemieux. That was when Zibanejad was out. That’s no longer an option.
They’ll have to figure something out while turning in a more defensive oriented game. Otherwise, it’ll continue to be a shooting gallery for Lundqvist as it was for Georgiev.
hasan4978
Derek
Battle Of Hudson 
You must be logged in to post a comment.