The disappointing part of the Rangers rebuild

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Derek

This is Lias Andersson in happier times after scoring his first NHL goal in late ’17-18. The Rangers have mismanaged him like past first round picks. AP Photo via Sporting News courtesy Getty Images

On Sunday, the Rangers made two moves. They placed Micheal Haley on waivers. The second one was sending down Lias Andersson to Hartford. Tim Gettinger was recalled.

Sadly, both were expected. Haley had a couple of bad games in a row due to taking penalties. So, they punished the veteran. As for Andersson, he’s been in jail since the start of the season. No matter what he did in training camp to draw praise from coach David Quinn, he was behind Ranger darling Brett Howden. That left him on a mismatched fourth line getting inconsistent minutes.

This isn’t how you handle a first round draft pick that you took over two years ago. Whether you are in his corner or have already given up like the organization seems to have, Andersson has been butchered. Whether or not the 21-year old center can recover depends on his character. It’s being severely tested right now.

It started in his draft year. After he was taken seventh overall as part of a trade that included defenseman Tony DeAngelo coming back from the Coyotes for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta, Andersson was only in Sweden with Frolunda for 22 games. He was having success back home posting seven goals and seven assists.

That same year, he proved himself with a very good Under 20 World Junior Championship where he led Sweden to a silver medal. Andersson posted six goals and an assist. The end of the tournament was highlighted by a frustrated Andersson tossing his silver medal over the glass into the crowd. While it was critiqued by hypocritical Canadian media who wouldn’t settle for second best at anything, it was seen as a positive in these parts.

Here was a player who hated losing. That sounded like the kind of person you’d want to have as part of your team’s rebuild. Andersson was the team captain for his country and represented them well. Somewhat interestingly, Canucks fifth overall selection Elias Pettersson also had seven points (5-2-7) in the same tournament while playing with Andersson. The Rangers had him at the top of their draft board. They weren’t wrong. Pettersson has gone on to become the best player from the 2017 NHL Draft by winning a Calder and being a point-per-game producer for the Canucks.

There haven’t been many instant success stories from that draft. Devils top pick Nico Hischier is a good two-way center. But he hasn’t fulfilled lofty expectations. Flyers second pick Nolan Patrick continues to be plagued by injuries. The top players from that first round are Pettersson along with defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Cale Makar.

However, it hasn’t been a huge draft so far. Andersson isn’t the only one who’s struggled. Casey Mittlestadt, who was selected by Buffalo right after, has yet to establish himself consistently. The best of the rest so far are Martin Necas, who wasn’t rushed by Carolina. Nick Suzuki looks promising for Montreal, who acquired him from Vegas in the Max Pacioretty trade.

Interestingly, Rangers number 21 overall pick Filip Chytil ranks seventh in points from that draft with 33 (18-15-33) over 93 career games. As you can observe, that’s hardly consistent. However, the Rangers have handled the skilled center better than Andersson. They let him develop for over half a season with Hartford. He came up and finished the season playing nine games with the Rangers.

The following year, Chytil stayed up with the team and had mixed results as a 19-year old. With Quinn opting to play him mostly on the wing, Chytil had some success. He scored a few highlight reel goals due to his skill set. He wound up with 11 goals and 12 assists for a decent total of 23 points over 75 games. However, like most young players that age, there were some hiccups. After being shifted to his natural position of center following the trade of Kevin Hayes, he really struggled. The result was a tough end to the ’18-19 season where he finished minus-22. The scoring dried up.

Handpicked by Quinn in the past training camp to become the team’s number two center, Chytil continued to struggle. He was so disappointing that he didn’t make the Opening Night roster. Instead, they sent him back to the Wolf Pack. It was the best thing that could’ve happened. Rather than sulk, the 20-year old went down and worked hard to produce nine points in nine games.

With a mysterious “upper body” injury to Mika Zibanejad that continues to keep him out of action, Chytil came back up and immediately showed a renewed confidence by scoring goals in his first two games. Thus far, he’s been a different player by netting six goals and a helper in nine contests. All while forming solid chemistry with Pavel Buchnevich (2-13-15) and Chris Kreider (5-5-10).

While there have been some real bright spots in the second year of the rebuild under Quinn, including promising rookie defensemen Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek along with 2019 second overall prize Kaapo Kakko, there have been two disappointments. Despite being given every chance to succeed by the coaching staff, Howden hasn’t improved. Sure. He’s a good skater, who the team trusts to kill penalties and is okay on face-offs. But he’s getting close to 16 minutes and remains stuck on four points (2-2-4).

While the young 21-year old Canadian has been given every opportunity even though he wasn’t impressive during preseason, you have Andersson who now finds himself the odd man out. He wasn’t getting enough consistent ice time due to Quinn’s penchant for rolling three lines, which left the fourth line an afterthought. Even if he outplayed Howden in camp, it didn’t matter. It was like the organization had predetermined that Andersson would center the fourth line and Howden the third due to being given more rope.

It just hasn’t been a fair process. They messed up Andersson’s first year and didn’t do much better in ’18-19. He got into 42 games last year and went 4-2-6 with a minus-13 rating and 29 penalty minutes. At least he played. In the 17 games he got into this season, it’s been purgatory for Andersson. He served some time on the penalty kill, but was basically averaging seven minutes at even strength. Barely enough to establish himself. The results have been predictable. One assist and a minus-eight.

In 66 total NHL games, Andersson has only three goals and six assists for nine points with 33 PIM and a minus-20 rating. Of course, he has to become a better player if he wants to make the National as Kevin Weekes calls it. It’s very hard to succeed when you’re given little ice time and linemates like Haley, Greg McKegg and Brendan Smith, who’s given a good account of himself so far.

It just isn’t ideal. The Rangers have failed Andersson. A player they took over Mittlestadt, Necas, Suzuki and Robert Thomas. For those impatient fans that have thrown in the towel, there haven’t been too many success stories from the 2017 Draft. Remember when everyone raved about Nashville prospect Eeli Tolvanen? He’s struggling with AHL Milwaukee. Things sure can change.

Is it over for Andersson in New York City? That chapter hasn’t been written yet. It’s up to him to go down and prove himself. He’s now in the same situation as Chytil. The problem is if he had success and comes back up, the pressure will be on. Eventually, Zibanejad will return. Even if the organization is being about as truthful as the Warren Commission. Howden will still be here. So too will Ryan Strome, who’s been brilliant while benefiting from centering wunderkind Artemiy Panarin. Where would this roster be without him? Don’t answer.

What even further hurts Andersson’s long-term future with the Blueshirts are potential steals such as Cornell’s Morgan Barron and recent second round draft pick Karl Henriksson. It appears that things look bleak. Unless Andersson can find his confidence and establish himself in the second part of the season.

This has happened before. Manny Malhotra went through it when the organization was in ruins. An ugly history that saw the checking center fans loved go from 8-8-16 his age 18 year to 12 total points over the next 77 games between ’99-00 and ’00-01. After going 7-6-13 in 56 games during ’01-02, he was traded to Dallas with Barrett Heistein for Roman Lyashenko and Martin Rucinsky. A trade that turned heartbreaking for the Rangers due to Lyashenko committing suicide on July 5, 2003. Crazy stuff.

It would be five years later when the organization was hit with the terrible tragedy of former 2007 first round pick Alexei Cherepanov, who suffered from a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy. He passed out following a shift on the OMSK Avangard bench next to former star Ranger Jaromir Jagr, who immediately called for medical attention. Had they had a working defibrillator, he could’ve been saved. There was no ambulance at the arena. Eventually, it arrived and Cherepanov was transferred to the hospital where he died tragically.

The 11-Year Anniversary of his death was on Oct. 13 last month. It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long since Cherepanov passed away. I remember seeing it flash across NHL Network at the bottom of the screen while my family viewed a feature on Mark Messier. I was stunned. We later left for the game that night and they paid tribute. It was so sad.

What this has to do with Andersson is nothing really. Just that history hasn’t been too kind to the Rangers when it comes to drafting and properly developing first round picks. Nothing was worse than ’99 with former GM Neil Smith taking Pavel Brendl fourth overall and packaging future first line center Marc Savard to swap up in the first round with Calgary and select Jamie Lundmark. Another player who was mishandled.

There have been other first round failures like Dan Blackburn, Hugh Jessiman and Al Montoya. That’s why we’ve learned to appreciate Marc Staal, Chris Kreider and former Rangers Michael Del Zotto and JT Miller.

There just haven’t been many success stories with this team. It’s why even if you’re overly optimistic, you should be more cautious. What have they ever proven? They’re lucky they won the lottery and landed Kakko and Panarin chose them over the Islanders, Panthers and Blue Jackets. Otherwise, they’d be a long way off.

Let’s also be honest about the big elephant in the room. Henrik Lundqvist is done being a reliable consistent starting goalie. His contract is more of a issue than anyone wants to admit. So is his attitude. Igor Shesterkin remains in Hartford while dominating the AHL following impressive play in the KHL. He turns 24 before Christmas.

If this were truly a rebuild, Lundqvist would be forced out to Calgary or San Jose, who each can use a proven veteran goalie. It would be left to Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev.

It’s not. They think they can compete for the playoffs. That shows you how delusional and misguided they are. It never has been realistic. The goal should be the continued development of the young players including the forgotten Andersson. They have failed him.

Posted in Column | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Devils waive Schneider

Posted on November 18, 2019 by hasan4978

Six and a half years ago is a long time, but somehow it does seem like just yesterday when I was at the Rock for the 2013 NHL Draft as Lou Lamoriello pulled a fast one on everyone and traded the #9 overall pick for highly regarded goalie Cory Schneider in a transaction that was (typically) totally secret from everyone until that moment, even though the teams had agreed to the trade the previous night.  What made this memorable other than the general shock and excitement was the classic Gary Bettman troll, when he went up to the podium to announce the trade and is met with the requisite boos he then comes back with ‘I think you’ll want to hear this’…referring to the trade details.  When he did reveal the details, the entire arena exploded in approval.  For years everyone was complaining that Lou had no succession plan for the great Martin Brodeur, but with one fell swoop here was the hope of our future – the guy who was going to be Andrew Luck to Peyton Manning or Steve Young to Joe Montana – the guy who kept the legacy of great Devils goaltending going.

It’s with this backdrop that today is still a melancholy day for me.  Despite my angst and dissapointment over Cory’s play the last two years, and the inevitability of this moment once Mackenzie Blackwood took the starting job with both hands along with the acquisition of Louis Domingue as another goaltending option to hedge against Cory’s continued struggles I still find myself a bit sad today.  I’ve been saying for months if not the last year or so that this franchise was going to have to move on from Cory…but now that it’s here with the announcement of Cory being formally waived this afternoon to Binghamton (and likely ending his Devil career) I’m stuck thinking of what could have beens and should have beens.  It feels like the end of an era somehow, but an era of what?

Cory is one of the most star-crossed athletes I can remember, and it began in that initial awkward season where he was here to replace Marty, who was still here on the last year of his contract.  By almost all accounts, Cory had a terrific first year with the Devils – a 1.97 GAA and .921 save percentage in 45 games.  What he didn’t do…was win.  He only had sixteen wins, while Brodeur somehow went 19-14-6 despite far worse splits (2.51 and .901) in his final full season.  Yes, winning is what matters above all else but how can you fault a goalie for not winning when he gets approximately 1.5 goals a game in ‘support’ the way Cory did that first year?  Cory’s numbers that year and the next two looked empty somehow without the wins to back them up, or any kind of hope for playoff berths after the shootout-induced failure of 2013-14 (thirteen shootout losses kept us out of the playoffs that year).

2013-14  16-15-12  1.97 GAA  .921 SPct

2014-15  26-31-9  2.26 GAA .925 SPct

2015-16  27-25-6  2.15 GAA .924 SPct

By most accounts he lived up to the billing he had of being a young goalie on the come of being great and signed a seven-year extension after that first season as a Devil, but as the team continued to deteriorate around him, it’s obvious Cory was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And quite frankly, after word came out that we were about to lose Ilya Kovalchuk to Russia and that Lou knew about it before it became public knowledge, you have to in hindsight question the logic of using the #9 overall pick to trade for a goalie when the team around him was already starting to deteriorate.  Marty and Patrik Elias were both on their last legs, Kovalchuk and Zach Parise were out the door and the rest of the team was getting older and slower.  We were all blinded by optomism when the trade was made and relieved Lou had finally come up with a ‘succession plan’ for Marty, but knowing what Lou knew then it should have been obvious that the plan should have been to rebuild and get younger but hey, just like us he couldn’t help it – he didn’t want to say uncle when we’d had 20 years of almost uninterrupted success at that point.

After wasting three of Cory’s prime years on bad teams, the bottom started to fall out for him too in 2016-17 with hip and groin injuries getting the better of Cory as he dropped to a 2.82 GAA and .908 save percentage on a horrendous Devils team.  Things did pick up briefly for a time in 2017-18, obviously more for the team but even Cory himself had a strong start to the season as the Devils found themselves in an unexpected playoff position, but the injury bugaboo struck Cory again in the winter, and when he came back nothing seemed to go right – namely a historic winless streak of twenty-one straight regular season games that extended deep into 2018-19.  Cory’s troubles led to the Cinderella run of backup Keith Kinkaid, who along with Hart winner Taylor Hall saddled the team on their backs and led them to the promised land of a playoff berth.

Thankfully Cory did have one last shining moment in the playoffs that year, when Kinkaid crashed back to reality after the first two games in Tampa Bay, Schneider got his opportunity for redemption in Game 3.  Despite a groin injury suffered in the third period of that game, Cory somehow willed himself to make multiple saves on that play and finish a virtuoso performance, earning a win that certainly did matter – even if it didn’t technically end the winless streak which was a regular season stat.

Sure it was the only game the Devils would win in the playoffs that year (and since 2012) but Cory acquited himself well the rest of the series too.  Unfortunately after hip and groin surgery that offseason, he started 2019 in the same funk he ended the 2018 regular season, unable to win a game or stop a puck.  Rock bottom against Vegas wasn’t pretty in early December when I was witness to an awful three goals allowed in less than ten minutes and Cory streaming down the tunnel clearly despondent and upset with himself.  For all the ripping Cory has gotten over his actual play…he’s beyond reproach on the subject of whether he cared or not, and always taking accountability for his own failures even when things weren’t actually his fault.

After a couple of months on IR and getting an extended conditioning assignment in Binghamton, Cory returned and split time with rookie Blackwood and though the team was once again in a hopeless cause Cory’s own play started to pick up again, particularly after he ended the regular-season winless streak with a relief win against the Wild.  With three years left on his contract including this season, Cory didn’t so much as earn another chance this year as he was given one out of neccesity, but after a decent finish to the season, a good World Championship showing on the US team and a promising preseason there was a sliver of a hope Cory could rebound and at least have another stretch of good hockey.

Sadly that ended on Opening Night, which served as a perfect prism for how star-crossed Cory has gotten.  His strong first two periods when the Devils led 4-1 were quickly overshadowed by how he had to leave the game with cramps, then the team collapsed so he couldn’t even get a win out of that either.  Allegedly, the cramps were no big deal but given Cory’s numbers this year I’m not sure there wasn’t more to it than that.  With an unsightly 4.59 GAA, .852 save percentage and nary a win in six games there really was no recourse left for the Devils.  Especially after yet another backup – Blackwood – took Cory’s job with Domingue playing well in the AHL since his acquisition, something had to give.  Particularly after Blackwood played in a travel back-to-back after a 38-save extravaganza Friday night.  Obviously something did give.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1196460059984891909

What’s next for the classy yet star-crossed goalie?  Likely a stint in Binghamton for the rest of the year barring injury or Domingue being just as bad, before the final two years of his seven-year contract almost inevitably get bought out.  As much as it hasn’t worked out for Cory here I can’t take any joy in his career disintegrating.  It just wasn’t going to work for him here, especially after the ghastly end of 2017-18 but I hope he does get another chance somewhere else.  Maybe former coach Alain Vigneault puts in a good word and he gets a shot as Carter Hart’s backup, or he goes back to Vancouver.  Those would be the ideal solutions.

We know what’s next for the Devils, the net is clearly Blackwood’s going forward and deservedly so.  Hopefully Domingue gets a shot sooner rather than later to provide a backup we’re going to need in the long run to keep Blackwood fresh the rest of the season.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A child shall lead them

Posted on November 17, 2019 by hasan4978

So what is a team to do when their best player is stuck on two goals finding new and creative ways to not score, their so-called best defenseman has been MIA, their veteran goalie has proven to be useless and the coaching staff is under fire from all sides?  Of course, the answer is rely on a 22-year old with 37 career games in net to carry the entire team.  Make no mistake, Mackenzie Blackwood is close to the only reason the Devils got any points out of this back-to-back, let alone all four.  Certainly he was the only reason the Devils escaped the Rock on Friday night with an undeserved ‘win’ against the Penguins despite the team getting outshot 39-21.  Even being at the game I didn’t exactly feel good about the performance of anyone this side of Blackwood, who was truly spectacular against the Crosby-less Pens.

That’s not to say the Devils didn’t play well last night.  It was hard to tell given I really wasn’t expecting much from last night’s game so I didn’t pick it up until early in the third period, when the referee clown circus was rolling into town.  And where the clown circus car is, Chris Rooney usually isn’t far away.  Remember him, Devils fans?  Most of us would rather forget, after his Stanley Cup Finals-deciding major penalty against Steve Bernier after missing a clear Kings penalty seconds earlier, and a handful of other games where he’s made a meal of the simplest things – usually against the Devils, to the consternation of former coach Pete DeBoer who got thrown out of a late-season game against the Rangers the following season – essentially for telling Rooney how much he sucked.

The irony of last night is it seemed to be two different refereed games, with zero penalties called in the first thirty-seven minutes followed by total mayhem and chaos in the game’s final twenty-five minutes.  In the case of last night it seemed to go both ways at times with neither set of fans happy with the refs calling every little thing – real and imagined – as if it were an NFL game.  Although really, when are Hab fans ever happy with the refs to begin with? With the Devils trailing 2-1 (despite outshooting the Habs and old friend Keith Kinkaid 20-9 in the first period!), the refs suddenly realized they had a quota of penalties to hit and started whistling everything under the sun.  Back-to-back penalties against P.K. Subban and Damon Severson led to a 5-on-3 goal for the Habs that gave them a 3-1 lead and seemingly put the game to bed given the Devils’ lack of fight when falling behind this year.

But no…this time the team actually did show some grit and Nico Hischier’s shorthanded goal with just seconds remaining kept the Devils in the game at 3-2 and set up a ridiculous third period with penalty after penalty, which included a bench minor for too many men on a power play against us (LOLHynes), a double minor against the Habs’ Max Domi where they somehow avoided being shorthanded for very long given Domi’s penalty was just eleven seconds after Miles Wood went to the box, and then Kyle Palmieri went off for cross-checking during the 4-on-4 taking away all but about forty seconds of the four-minute double-minor.  Mercifully Palmieri’s penalty was the last of a third period that saw six minors and two double-minors called, but it wouldn’t be the last time the refs interjected themselves into the game.

Shockingly, the Devils’ previously inept power play did manage to score with the little time remaining on Domi’s double-minor when a perfect Taylor Hall pass found the stick of Wayne Simmonds in front, and the big man tipped it home to tie the game at 3.  It really is amazing how Hall can still be so pinpoint with his passes, but when it comes to actually hitting an open net earlier in the contest for what should have been a gimme goal, his aim was nowhere to be found.  Be that as it may, Simmonds’ goal tied the game and seemingly set up overtime until…well the refs somehow calling THIS a good goal on the ice in the final minute of regulation:

Somehow both interfering with the goalie and shielding/shoving the puck in with your body counted as a good goal, not to mention on netmouth scrums like that we’ve been getting quick whistles when our skaters have come close to breathing on the other team’s goalie.  It looked like another typical Montreal referee moment (thank you Peter Laviolette for the true viral clip that won’t die).

Fortunately the video review people in Toronto restored some sense of sanity and rightly disallowed the goal, sending the game to OT.  Ironically it was one last penalty that would decide the issue, this one called on Phillip Danault in OT.  With open ice on a four-on-three, Kyle Palmieri found the perfect spot from the left side of the ice to one-time the winner past Kinkaid off another on-target Hall feed.  It was Palmieri’s seventh goal of the season, but first since his hat trick against Tampa Bay nearly three weeks ago.  Blackwood was again strong in net with 31 saves, but this time at least the Devils gave him enough help offensively to get a more deserved win.

And wither poor Cory Schneider?  If you can’t start him on a road back-to-back when Blackwood had to stop about five kitchen sinks that were thrown at him against the Penguins, then it’s time to waive/IR him and give Louis Domingue a shot.  You can’t literally play Blackwood the rest of the way with over 60 games left in the season (despite the fact Blackwood does have every single win the team has), and it’s going to be a long while before the team either escapes peril or is eliminated for good.  For John Hynes, everything is literally a one-game season right now though.  Two wins may have cooled the griddle he’s on for the moment but this team has a long way to go to get out of the hole it built for itself.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game #18: David Quinn’s explanations make no sense following frustrating loss at Panthers

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Derek

I’m past the point of having patience. A lot of what David Quinn says is hogwash. He did it again following a extremely frustrating 4-3 loss at the Panthers.

Forget about how well Artemiy Panarin, Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast played. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care that Panarin extended his career best point streak to 11 with a goal and assist. He’s a great player. For that, he deserves all the accolades he receives. He’s up to 23 points (9-14-23) in 18 games. Doing it with Strome (goal) and Fast (assist). He doesn’t need Mika Zibanejad.

Tony DeAngelo also scored on a play set up from Panarin and Greg McKegg. Yes. The Keg Man played well. That speaks volumes. He got the ice time that Lias Andersson never will ever get as long as he’s a Ranger. I’m done. I’ve had it with Quinn’s excuses. Here’s what he said about why he went with three lines and double shifted the top one.

It’s baloney! The second line had a bad game. Filip Chytil wasn’t as effective tonight and Pavel Buchnevich frustrated me to no end with how long it takes him to shoot the puck. Right now, he’s a one trick pony. The 13 assists look nice on the stat sheet, but there’s no way he should only have two goals. Two goals in 18 games for a guy who they gave a decent raise to following his strong finish last year, is unacceptable. Maybe if he was more instinctive like Alexei Kovalev, he wouldn’t be such an enigma.

The fact that this crack committee continues to roll out Brett Howden shift after shift despite his four points (2-2-4) and stone hands is an insult to every fan who roots for this team. What does he do so well for those 15 minutes? He can skate. He wins a few draws. But he is not offensive minded enough to warrant the loyalty Quinn gives him while treating Andersson as if he’s a bad Swedish meatball. Greg McKegg played and was effective even getting an assist and hitting a goalpost.

So, you can have your say. I’m also sick of Henrik Lundqvist yelling at some of his much younger teammates following plays. Adam Fox was a bit tentative on one defensive shift. It happens and will continue to with such a young roster. Particularly on the defense that includes Fox, Libor Hajek, Ryan Lindgren and DeAngelo, who deserves to be re-signed before his price escalates further.

Lundqvist is not the same great goalie he was. I wish some of this fanbase woke up and realized it. He hasn’t had a shutout in over two years. He isn’t as fast laterally anymore. Otherwise, he gets over and squeaks a pad on the Evgenii Dadonov goal. He had a pair for Florida, who took advantage of early foolish penalties from Buchnevich and Micheal Haley. The Rangers penalty kill is taking it on the chin. That’s seven power play goals allowed in two consecutive losses.

The backbreaking goal in a predictably wide open game where defense was optional was when Lundqvist somehow allowed Ranger killer Brett Connolly to beat him through the wickets to tie the game at three. That was a brutal one to allow at that stage because the Panarin line was absolutely dominating play. There are zero excuses for Lundqvist not making that critical save. No matter what MSG lackey Joe Micheletti says. It’s almost as bad as Chico Resch was with Martin Brodeur. Everything is a deflection or funny bounce.

I’m not pinning it on Lundqvist either. There was way too much running around. Florida did the same thing, but Sergei Bobrovsky woke up after allowing a dreadful goal to Panarin on a very weak shot. In the third, the two-time Vezina winner remembered that he gets paid a lot of money. His best save came on DeAngelo, who looked skyward afterwards. There were others including a weird sequence where he got a pad on a tough low shot and spun around because he had no idea where the puck was. It was Dominik Hasek like.

To the Panthers credit, they defended better when they had to in the third period to get the win. I thought it would wind up 5-4 even before the team’s combined for four goals in a wild first. But things settled down somewhat.

What I really am down on is how Quinn is handling the bench. Brady Skjei continues to look lost. He can skate and shows some of it on rushes, but defensively, it’s lacking. He might become a good trade candidate once K’Andre Miller arrives next year. They have both Lindgren and Libor Hajek for the other two left D spots.
Why not look to dump the salary and free up space to re-sign Strome, who does almost everything well despite the false narrative? Unless they’re getting a good prospect and first round pick, I’d like to keep him. It doesn’t have to be long-term either. Three years at say $4.75 million AAV is likely.

The last thing you want this team to become is too predictable. They can’t be one dimensional. You need good character guys with a combination of skill and grit who are willing to mix it up. I see that in the versatile Strome, who is trusted in every situation, along with DeAngelo and Brendan Lemieux. They can all be kept if the organization isn’t clueless.

What is discouraging is the way they continue to butcher Andersson. Either play him and see what he can do or free him from jail. He must feel like he’s in Siberia. Kevin Shattenkirk did. So did Manny Malhotra. It’s a Malhotra redux and it’s supposed to be a “Rebuild.” Unbelievable.

You cannot make this stuff up. I got nothing else to add. The next game isn’t until Wednesday against the Caps. That should be cute. I am not gonna waste anymore energy on tonight. It is what it is.

Battle Of Hudson 3 🌟

3rd 🌟 Evgenii Dadonov, Panthers (2 goals helping my fantasy team, good player)

2nd 🌟 David Quinn, Rangers (for treating this game like it was the Stanley Cup, who cares about development)

1st 🌟 Artemiy Panarin, Rangers (9th of season plus 🍎, a remarkable player who sees everything on the ice and makes everyone better)

Posted in NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Free Lias

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Derek

It’s as simple as this. Through two periods, Lias Andersson has played a grand total of six shifts against the Panthers. That’s 3:13 of ice time in two periods for the 2017 seventh overall pick the Rangers took as part of the Derek Stepan trade.

Andersson had only 1:01 through a chaotic first which saw the teams split a pair of two’s. Even if you aren’t in favor of the 21-year old center who’s being wasted by the organization on the fourth line, this is a travesty. It’s unacceptable!

Either play him or free him from this double standard madness that sees David Quinn reward stone hands Brett Howden with third line duty. He has four freaking points! Enough already!

It’s time. #FreeLias

Posted in NYRangers | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Saturday Night Hockey Message

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Derek

Tonight is a extremely busy Saturday Night for hockey. In fact, 30 of 31 teams are in action. That included a few afternoon games. Carolina defeated Minnesota earlier in overtime on a goal from sizzling sophomore Andrei Svechnikov. I knew I should’ve kept him.

There are four other games going on. So much for the Lightning staying hot. They’re down 3-1 at home to Winnipeg late. The red hot Oilers are trying to hold off the resurgent Stars. Darcy Kuemper is working on another shutout for the Coyotes against the Flames. He even got involved with Matthew Tkachuk. And the Kings are looking to keep the surprisingly slumping Golden Knights ice cold.

As for the Rangers, they’re looking to rebound at Florida. It looks like Jacob Trouba has avoided the Mika Zibanejad UBI plague. Kaapo Kakko sounds like he’ll suit up. Good news if true.

UPDATE: Kakko is a no go again due to the flu. Bad news.

The Devils look for two in a row behind Mackenzie Blackwood, who’s become the starter. He was the difference in last night’s 2-1 win making 38 saves. Can the Devs stay hot at a good Montreal team fresh off a good win over the Caps?

Now, here is a message for Sportsnet and Hockey Night In Canada. If they think it’s going to be business as usual, they got another thing coming.

https://twitter.com/Kovy274Hart/status/1195845601524617217?s=19

The way I see it, they overreacted 24 hours later after the mainstream media blew Don Cherry’s commentary on wearing a poppy out of proportion. Grapes has always supported the troops. It’s ironic he lost his job on Remembrance Day. I don’t agree with the decision and believe Ron MacLean is a fraudulent hypocrite, who probably was forced by the network into that apology.

Fans do have a choice here. You can quietly protest CBC and Sportsnet by not tuning in. For me, that’s simple. NHL Network usually airs HNIC on Saturday. I will not flip to it once. I’ll be locked in on the Rangers and Panthers. Plus check in on the Devils and Canadiens.

As far as I’m concerned, they made their choice. I’ve made mine. I’m not telling anyone what to do or not do. That ultimately is up to you. Everyone has a different stance. I believe they’ll lose viewership and feel the wrath of some fans.

That’s all for now. This will be my final commentary on it. Enjoy the hockey! Thumbs up!

Posted in Battle News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game #17: Lightning strikes for Rangers in humiliating fashion, Chytil and Panarin bright spots along with a point on Georgiev

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Derek

Ondrej Palat celebrates his goal that made it 4-0 as the Rangers were embarrassed by the Lightning 9-3. AP Photo by Chris O’Meara via Getty Images courtesy Newsday

This one was ugly. If it were the old days in elementary school, the Rangers would get a ‘U’ for Unsatisfactory. Loose Translation: They got a lousy F in a uncompetitive mismatch that saw the Lightning do whatever they wanted in a 9-3 drubbing at Tampa.

They played without Kaapo Kakko, who had the flu. Jacob Trouba also left sometime in the second period with an “upper-body” injury. His status is uncertain for Florida.

It was embarrassing. If you thought the awful nightmare against the Bruins was bad, holy moly. It was over quick. Poor Alexandar Georgiev was hung out to dry. Prior to the game, I told Sean (@NYCTheMic) of BlueCollar Blueshirts not to take the Under. He believes Georgiev is the better goalie than Henrik Lundqvist. At this point, I’m inclined to agree.

However, I knew the Lightning would come out ready following their two game sweep of the fading Sabres. Don’t forget the 4-1 win the Blueshirts posted at home on them. A game they easily could’ve won by a lot more. I figured it would be an offensive mindset with plenty of open ice and a plethora of scoring chances. Boy, was I right.

It’s the way they lost that disappointed me. Almost as if they couldn’t be bothered to defend. I’m not going to say there was no compete from all 18 skaters. That wouldn’t be fair or accurate. Not everyone mailed it in. Structurally, they stunk. They knew it. I’m sure the blame Lindy Ruff crowd will pin it all on the unpopular assistant coach. Though I have no idea what he does to help David Quinn. So, you got me there.

Following a rare goal from known sniper Luke Schenn that Georgiev should’ve had, the first period took a turn for the worse. An undetected Alex Killorn elbow on Brendan Lemieux set the Rangers off course. What followed were some dubious calls including a Lemieux retaliation for a cross-check on Killorn along with a garbage slash on an irate Tony DeAngelo, handed a dangerous power play a full five-on-three.

It took that gnat Killorn all of five seconds to score on the first half of the man-advantage. Quinn was really upset at the bench. His mood didn’t improve much when Brady Skjei screened his own goalie to allow Nikita Kucherov to fire a bullseye off the far goalpost and in that increased the Bolts lead to 3-0 at 6:20. By then, Quinn told Lundqvist to get ready. He knew where this unmitigated disaster was headed.

Before he could even get loose, Ondrej Palat made it 4-0 only 22 seconds later. There was zero defensive coverage on this one. Adam Fox got burned by the speedy Palat. He took a Ryan McDonagh pass in the neutral zone and blew past a flatfooted Fox before blowing one by a shell shocked Georgiev to force him out of the net.

It happened that quickly. The Bolts got the first four goals within a 4:03 timespan. Only the Schenn goal was bad. The other three were a direct result of lousy penalty killing and poor defensive coverage. Joe Micheletti called them out on it after Georgiev was chased. It was hideous.

When Lundqvist relieved him, it didn’t get much better. Immediately, the Lightning went for the kill only to have the veteran make a couple of key saves. At the time, they were due to how early it still was in the game. What if the Rangers woke up and rallied?

As putrid as they were in getting outshot 16-5 including a lopsided 12-1 at one point, they did get one back courtesy of Chris Kreider on a mini break. Artemiy Panarin made the play possible by waiting patiently before finding a cutting Kreider, who was in on Andrei Vasilevskiy. He went to his signature move where he likes to deke and go backhand. However, as he made his move, Kreider lost control of the puck. Having been unlucky most of the first part of the season, he got a lucky break when it worked as a perfect decoy shot that fooled Vasilevskiy for his sixth of the season.

That made it 4-1. They did get a late power play on a actual call on Killorn for hooking with 1:20 left in the period. But like their first attempt which was too predictable, the Blueshirts didn’t get anything accomplished. Had they been able to score on it either at the conclusion of the first or start of the second, maybe it could’ve changed the complexion. Instead, they took the collar literally and figuratively.

They no showed most of an uncompetitive second period. Undisciplined penalties were the theme. Frustrated by the refs’ inconsistencies, they only hurt themselves on the scoreboard. A poor line change resulted in a bench minor. The worst penalty you can take when you’re getting your asses handed to you by a very skilled team that does a lot of damage on the power play.

It took all of 35 seconds for Victor Hedman to get the puck across to captain Steven Stamkos in his favorite spot for a one-time and a bang short side on a frozen Lundqvist. It was textbook passing by both Kucherov and Hedman for Stamkos, who’s money from that left circle like Alex Ovechkin.

All night long, there was too much space left for the talented Lightning to do what they wanted. The Rangers left way too many gaps. They may be able to score goals. But you cannot get into a track meet against Tampa. Even with Panarin still playing a good game in the blowout loss, it didn’t matter. With two assists, the Bread Man extended his point streak to a career high 10. During that hot stretch, he has four goals and 11 assists. In a awful game, Panarin somehow managed to go plus-three while setting up Kreider and one of two from Filip Chytil. That’s not an accident. It’s a credit to how hard he competes.

The Lightning continued to pour it on. They didn’t just do damage on the power play that destroyed the Rangers penalty kill by going a ridiculous 5-for-7. They also managed to get schooled at even strength on the next two Bolts goals. It was the Tampa fourth line that made it 6-1. On a Libor Hajek turnover and a blown assignment by Lias Andersson with way too much space between Skjei and Hajek, Kevin Shattenkirk got the puck over to a wide open Pat Maroon for a quick low snipe at the halfway mark.

Shattenkirk had himself a night against his former team. He wasn’t done. Less than four minutes later, Cedric Paquette and annoying pest Yanni Gourde got the puck over to him for a nice wrist shot and goal past Lundqvist for a 7-1 lead. On this one, Gourde moved around Brendan Smith and made a perfect feed for Shattenkirk’s fifth. With a goal and assist, he must feel like he went from Siberia to South Beach. Escaping New York for Tampa Bay is like going from the frigid November weather to nothing but sunny beaches and hot babes.

With frustration boiling over, Ryan Lindgren got into it with Tyler Johnson in front of Lundqvist. They went off for matching roughs. All hell broke loose when Lemieux was in tight on Vasilevskiy. He tried to stuff a backhand in, but the rating Vezina winner stoned him before being bumped into. To Lemieux’s credit, he did try to avoid him. But there was no way he could. What I didn’t like was Lemieux immediately dropping the gloves and catching McDonagh off guard with a couple of quick rights to the face before the ex-Ranger knew what hit him.

I understood Lemieux’s frustration. He’s a competitor and doesn’t half-ass it. He plays hard. But he could’ve shown some class by waiting for McDonagh to get his gloves off. McDonagh isn’t a fighter. So, it was dissatisfying. I wish it had been Killorn or Gourde. Two guys that acted like punks. Of course, the blind refs gave Lemieux an extra for goaltender interference.

Off a clean face-off win, Kucherov got the puck over to Stamkos for another rocket. Initially, it looked like his second goal with it seeming to tip off Lundqvist’s glove. However, as both Micheletti and Sam Rosen pointed out, Killorn somehow got his stick on it to put it in. The original Stamkos shot was going wide. That fourth power play goal took all of six seconds.

Judging from Lundqvist’s reaction, I got the feeling he’d ask out. Now, I don’t know for sure if he did. But sure enough, Georgiev returned for the start of the third period. I don’t care what the truth is behind that decision. I didn’t like it one bit. He was the backup tonight. But once Quinn went to him, our 37-year old veteran should’ve finished the game. It came off bad.

I’m really starting to wonder if Lundqvist is selfish. I don’t care what he did in 2012, ’14 or ’15. I don’t care about all the franchise records he has. All they do is make excuses for him. He doesn’t have to be here. He chose to be.

Seeing Georgiev forced back into the net bothered me. To the 23-year old netminder’s credit, he got back in and made some tough saves. That’s a good T-E-A-M guy. The only goal he allowed was to that fraud pansy Gourde, who again wouldn’t fight Lemieux. It was a fifth Tampa PPG. He caught Lindgren flat-footed and drove one far post and in.

Rather than focus on the Lundqvist story that MSG predictably ignored on their postgame with John Giannone, Steve Valiquette and Anson Carter, I want to praise Chytil for how he’s come back and played. A lot of young players get sent down and sulk after not making the roster. Instead, he went down to Hartford and played his butt off to finally get recalled when Mika Zibanejad went down to the mystery UBI.

All he’s done is score six times in eight games while looking like a totally different player. The best aspect is it’s at center. His natural position. He is in better position and making good reads and reactions due to a different confidence level. He put away his fifth goal early in the third by putting himself in the right spot to receive a good Hajek pass and fire home a beauty past Vasilevskiy that temporarily made it 8-2.

Following Gourde scoring on the man-advantage due to a Jesper Fast hi-sticking double minor, Chytil again was in the right spot to follow up a Buchnevich rebound for his second of the game. In a very bad game for the team, he wound up with two goals, won 7 of 12 draws and was plus-one in 15:08.

That tells me a lot about the kid’s character. He’s gonna be a good one. The chemistry he has with Buchnevich (team-leading 13 assists) is undeniable. I also like Kreider on that line. He’s starting to pick it up too. He nearly had his second of the game on a very good pass by DeAngelo. But he just missed. Definitely one he would want back. I also loved what he and Ryan Strome had to say in the postgame. Those are the only interviews I’m putting up.

Of course, it’s not even up on Rangers Twitter. What a waste. To summarize, Strome called it embarrassing and unacceptable. They hung both goalies out to dry and didn’t give themselves a chance. Kreider echoed similar thoughts along with them losing their structure and getting disconnected from how they have to play. That’s the best I can do.

No three stars. Unnecessary.

Posted in NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Crickets chirping in Newark

Posted on November 14, 2019 by hasan4978

NHL.com has this video clip of last night’s ‘highlights’ as nine minutes long.  I beg to differ, and not just because I’m salty over the Devils’ latest fiasco at the Prudential Center.  Even when the Devils had a 2-1 lead through the first fifty-three and a half minutes, it wasn’t a particularly entertaining game.  In the glory days, it used to be that boring was other fans’ code for being bitter over our stifling defense shutting down games but in the case of last night boring represented two bad teams playing a near passionless game with one bad team getting ultra conservative with a one-goal lead and eventually paying for it.

Even with a surprisingly high attendance of 13,438 (barely 3000 short of capacity) for a midweek fall game against a nondescript team, it wasn’t like the team gave the crowd much to be excited about.  Other than maybe the first several minutes of the game when the Devils could have run Ottawa out of the building with some early momentum, outshooting the Sens 8-0 and getting a sweet breakaway goal from Wayne Simmonds to take an early lead there wasn’t much to report from the game.  Even Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s first goal that tied the game in the first was met with a collective ‘huh?’ reaction after he snuck in a shortside goal on Mackenzie Blackwood.

Maybe that goal was indiciative of how the Sens sneak up on teams in general.  If you asked me before the game I wouldn’t have guessed they even had six wins, or remembered the name of their head coach.  Nor did I realize Pageau even had a hat trick until I read about it in Derek’s recap.  After they stripped down and started an owner mandated budget-cut (i.e: ‘trust the process’) nothing was or is expected from Ottawa this year.  And clearly they’re not going to make the playoffs in a loaded Eastern Conference, but just the fact they compete and have gotten their share of wins early is indicative of buy-in from the players of this coaching staff, no small consideration after it wasn’t too long ago where some Senators players were videotaped in an Uber with unfiltered thoughts on the state of their team.

One of my bitter jokes last night was that if you had someone Uber-recording Devils players after the game they’d probably give the exact same cliched, milquetoast thoughts they give for public consumption.  Which isn’t a compliment, but rather an indictment of the so-called leadership on this team and the lack of passion in the room.  No I’m not expecting Scott Stevens to walk through that door, but it would be nice to see someone – anyone – throw a skate in the locker room and demand more from this underachieving group.  This lassiez-faire atitude reached a new low last night in the third period.  Once Devils defenseman (ahem) Matt Tennyson tied the game with a perfect screen in front of Blackwood on Mark Borowiecki’s goal, right there the team quit on the ice in the last six and a half minutes.  In a tie game, against the Ottawa Senators at home.  Basically every last man starting with my guy P.K. Subban, whose ‘effort’ on both Pageau’s winning goal and on a breakaway Blackwood had to stop before that was hideous…you don’t believe me, check that highlight video.

Not that he’s the only one whose effort dragged in those last few minutes but when you’re talking about a supposed leader on the team – whether it’s Subban floating around during the game or Taylor Hall after it seeming more preoccupied with his stats in his free agent year than the team’s losing, then Houston we have a problem here.  That goes to leadership and the lack of respect for it.  Why would the players have any respect for management when there’s been zero accountability in the last five years?  Say what you want about Lou Lamoriello, things got stale here – it was time for a change and the team needed a rebuild, I get all of that but he wouldn’t stand for what this team’s become now.   And he’s certainly getting the last laugh in Long Island now, isn’t he?  As the Islanders win their nine thousandth straight game while the Devils head for rebuild 2.0 and a deadline where Hall, Andy Greene and Sami Vatanen could all be on the move and we’ll be once again breathlessly hoping good things happen in threes with another lucky lotty drawing.

Not that winning lottos have done a lot of good for us at this point.  On this roster we’ve iced THREE #1 overall picks on an almost nightly basis – Hall, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes – along with the ‘best player not in the NHL’ in Nikita Gusev, traded for a Norris Trophy winner in Subban and made other additions like Simmonds.  Yes everything needed to go right for the Devils to be on the plus side of the playoff bubble but instead, the total opposite has happened and everything has gone wrong.  Blackwood struggled early and fellow goalie Cory Schneider’s just struggled – again.  Gusev may have a world of talent but he’s been frighteningly bad away from the puck to the point where he was scratched for two straight games.  Subban hasn’t done much at all, and Hall only has two goals and is a whopping 0-7 on breakaways including one last night that could have put the game away early in the third period against a Sens team that really showed little bite until the tying goal.

Yes there’ve been plenty of low points this season – losing the four goal lead on Opening Night, losing a three-goal lead to Florida, but in some ways last night was the total nadir with the team quitting on a game the franchise absolutely needed to win if they wanted to sell any hope of getting back in the playoff race anytime soon.  Instead the Devils sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference entirely with their twelfth loss in seventeen games, suffering their seventh home defeat in nine games.  I don’t want to hear about the St. Louis Blues last season being dead last in the NHL in January, that’s the exception rather than the norm plus it took 100 points to make the playoffs in the East last year (and 99 the year before that) while it only took 90 to make the playoffs in the West.  The Blues made the playoffs comfortably in the end but they would have had to go down to the wire to make it in the East where there’s a lot less of a cushion, especially when you factor in improving teams like Florida and the Flyers who didn’t even make the postseason last year.

It’s not even just that things are bad now…but what’s truly a discouraging thought is why should I think things are getting better anytime soon?  Even putting aside for a moment that a deadline selloff and rebuild 2.0 looms, what’s truly grating is with each passing day, week and month John Hynes and this current staff stays employed despite a resume of one playoff appearance in five seasons and a whole lot of ugliness around that, I’m that much more convinced that there’s no accountability anywhere in this organization.  Crickets are chirping while Newark burns down around Ray Shero, who may very well lose his second GM job based on sticking with a hand-picked coach too long.  That’s presuming the owners actually care about the hockey team and not just the profits in the building.

At least in the case of Dan Bylsma you could understand it, he won a Cup with Shero.  What has this head coach done to deserve total immunity?  I’m half expecting Shero to troll me and all Devil fans like Christopher Johnson with the Jets and announce that Hynes is here through the rest of the season and beyond.  You want to blame some of Hynes’ woes on the goaltending that’s fine, but he was supposed to be a developmental coach that hasn’t exactly developed a lot of the young talent on this roster.  Even Nico has stagnated in his third year.  If it wasn’t for Blackwood stepping up after his own bad start to the season – last night aside – would this team have any wins at all?

When a handful of players underachieve you tend to blame the players.  But when pretty much an entire roster is underachieving, that’s when you gotta blame the coach.  Even the good plumbers (as Jacques Lemaire would once famously say) like Blake Coleman and Travis Zajac have been MIA this season.  While this isn’t quite as bad as the John MacLean fiasco of a season yet, it may well get there with more ‘efforts’ like last night.  But at least you knew there would eventually be accountability for inefficiency and lack of effort in 2010.  I’m not so sure about that now.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Devil Dilemma

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Derek

Andy Greene defends a Senator during a disappointing 4-2 home loss for the Devils. AP Photo by Bill Kastroun via Getty Images

One of the real mysteries of the early season is the inconsistent play of the New Jersey Devils. Somehow, a team that improved its roster through the NHL Draft with top pick Jack Hughes, then trading for defenseman PK Subban, and signing well respected veteran forward Wayne Simmonds, has not found its footing.

Even a promising 2-0 start to a five-game road trip with back-to-back wins at Carolina and Winnipeg was tarnished by awful performances in consecutive losses to Calgary and Edmonton. At one point, they were outscored 8-0 after jumping out to a 2-1 lead against the Flames. Such implosions have been a frequent occurrence under veteran coach John Hynes. No longer the fresh face he was when GM Ray Shero hired him from Wilkes-Barre Scranton in the Penguins organization, the fifth year Devils bench boss isn’t getting it done.

Most discouraging is that following a feel good 2-1 win at Vancouver to conclude the Western Canadian portion of the road trip 3-2-0, they laid another egg in Wednesday night’s 4-2 home loss to the Senators. Like many games they’ve blown for mind boggling defeats, it was a game they should’ve won. Instead, they wasted a 2-1 lead courtesy of Simmonds and Will Butcher goals that had them up a goal after the first period.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1194779048490274816?s=19

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1194788632848150530?s=19

Unable to add to the lead in a second that featured a brilliant rush from Hughes, who split two Senators before being denied by veteran goalie Craig Anderson, the Devils left the door open for an Ottawa comeback. Having seen them first hand outplay and outwork the Rangers last week in a well earned Senators 6-2 win at MSG, they play the game hard. Despite not being the most talented, they continue to work hard under first-year coach DJ Smith.

If you let them hang around, it’s at your own risk. Ottawa has posted wins over the Hurricanes and Lightning. If you don’t bring it, they can beat you. Last night’s victory was their third over the last four. In fact, that made it four of six for a team that lost six of their first seven games at the start.

Having stated that, you cannot lose games like the one the Devils did at The Prudential Center in Newark on Wednesday. Not when you have higher expectations. This is a roster that’s supposed to challenge for a playoff spot. If we are judging it off the first 17 games, it’s a colossal failure. New Jersey finds itself with a 5-8-4 record for only 14 points. That puts them in last place in the Metro Division. In fact, their five wins and four ROW (regulation overtime wins) are the fewest in the Eastern Conference. A far cry from what’s expected.

The Devils are currently without top defenseman Sami Vatanen. I said top because after having trouble with injuries establishing himself following a trade with Anaheim that sent 2011-12 playoff hero Adam Henrique to the Ducks, he’s been the one constant on this year’s roster. In 15 games, Vatanen leads Devil defensemen in goals (4), points (8), plus/minus (4), and ranks second behind team captain Andy Greene in blocked shots (25). He’s also tied with Butcher with four assists. He missed a second straight game with an “upper-body” injury.

It definitely hurts the back end. Even with key addition Subban, who has yet to establish himself following a trade with Nashville, the Devils still lack depth on the blueline. Without Vatanen, the top four consists of Subban, Butcher, Greene and Damon Severson, who isn’t known for his defense. Yesterday, Hynes was forced to play both Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson as the third pair. They were on for a goal against in approximately 20 shifts.

The Senators got a signature performance from breakout star Jean-Gabriel Pageau. A name I’m quite familiar with unfortunately. His four goal game against the Rangers in a Senators comeback win in overtime was a crusher during the second round of the 2017 Playoffs. While Pageau isn’t as skilled as other forwards, he makes up for it with good skating and a consistent work ethic. He was at the center of the 6-2 win last week at MSG. He’s been on fire lately.

Since the two goal game on Nov. 4, the pesky center has eight goals over his last half a dozen games. That included a hat trick in which he victimized the Devils. Already having one back in the first period, Pageau got the game-winner with 2:01 remaining in regulation. It followed up a tying goal from physical defenseman Mark Borowiecki 4:29 earlier. One that Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood needed to have. There was some traffic, but the shot from Borowiecki went right through him.

Following his second of the game, Pageau anticipated what Taylor Hall wanted to do. The former league MVP who once carried this team to the playoffs only two years ago telegraphed a shot that Pageau easily blocked. He quickly fired the puck down ice into a vacated net for the hat trick at 19:34. An intelligent play by a complete hockey player.

Maybe that’s the biggest issue plaguing the Devils. Aside from getting unsteady goaltending from the tandem of Blackwood and Cory Schneider, who isn’t the same guy laterally due to the injuries, they don’t have many complete players that can lead the team.

Subban was brought in as much as a gate attraction as much as he was to help stabilize the defense. Two goals (one empty netter in a win over NYR) and three assists is hardly enough for a player of his caliber. While I’ve always admired his cool personality and what he does off the ice with charities, this is a former Norris winner who must perform better. If not, it’s going to be a long season in New Jersey.

The Devils know they’re not getting much from Greene aside from five-on-five play, penalty killing and the grit that comes with blocked shots. The reality is the well respected veteran just turned 37 and is in the final year of his contract. He could be on the move to a playoff contender that can use a guy with his character as a depth defenseman on a third pair. Similar to Marc Staal in New York, Greene plays a bigger role out of necessity. Listening to him speak to reporters after the loss is reason enough to respect him.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1194815547600461824?s=19

AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NHL.com

Then there’s Hall, who again failed to hit the score sheet. He remains stuck on two goals in 17 games. His shooting percentage is an anemic 3.2 percent. It’s not going well for the birthday boy. Hall turns 28 today. Two seasons removed from a awe inspiring Hart that saw him achieve career bests in goals (39), assists (54), points (93), plus/minus (14), power play points (13-24-37) while matching a career high in game-winners (7), the Devils leading point getter as legendary former New Jersey voice Doc Emrick would say, is without a goal in six straight.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1194815358013771776?s=19

Hall’s 15 points including 13 assists pace the team. However, they need him to start finishing. Two goals on 62 shots isn’t getting it done. Neither is no power play goals or game-winning goals. He’s in a contract year. Unless things dramatically change, the Devils organization might decide to trade him. How much is a skilled player, who has a Hart Trophy under his belt gonna be worth? He currently is being paid $6 million this season. The cost next summer could be astronomical. Or out of the price range.

With Shero recently extending third-year pivot Nico Hischier for an average cap hit of $7.25 million through 2027, he’s looking to build at center led by 18-year old phenom Hughes and the 21-year old Hischier. The dependable right wing Kyle Palmieri is signed at a discount AAV of $4.625 million through 2021. He will cost significantly more by then. Considering that they’re probably going to lose Hall, Palmieri is a must keep.

Here’s the question for the Devils. Who else fits into their long-term plans? Simmonds is signed for a year which means his $5 million salary can come off the books. Vatanen also can become unrestricted next summer. He has a solid AAV of $4.875 million that expires following the season. The 28-year old right shooting Finn could be gone by the trade deadline. Especially with top D prospect Ty Smith in their future. Even though he didn’t make the roster, the 2018 first round pick is expected to make the jump from Spokane next year.

Which other forwards are worth keeping? Shero invested nine million over two years in former KHL star Nikita Gusev. A small 27-year old Russian forward he acquired the rights to from Vegas for a 2020 third round pick and a 2021 second round pick. A pretty good price to pay for a player who never played in the NHL until now. So far, it’s been mixed results. Gusev has four goals and two assists, but has also been a healthy scratch in three games. That’s not a ringing endorsement. If you are paying him an AAV of $4.5 million, he has to play. Their scoring depth isn’t great.

Hard working two-way center Blake Coleman is a good bargain that earns $1.8 million through ’20-21. He’s a good penalty killer and shorthanded threat. The 28-year old American has three goals and two helpers. He is a diligent checker who delivers hits. But he’s a third liner that must contribute. Last season was a breakout with a career high 22 goals, 36 points and 71 penalty minutes.

Two younger players they’re counting on are Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha. Each are signed through 2022. Wood gets $2.75 million AAV while Zacha costs $2.25 million towards the cap. Of the two, it’s the former first round pick Zacha who’s been one of the club’s most consistent players. No longer being used at center, he’s shifted to the wing and provided offense with a pair of goals and six assists for eight points. Consistency remains the key to his growth.

As for Wood, he remains a frustrating player for Devils fans. The 24-year old from Buffalo is a player who plays with a lot of energy. Sometimes, he can be too wired and take ill advised penalties. In their playoff season, Wood scored 19 goals and added 13 assists with 84 penalty minutes. 2018-19 was disappointing as he wound up only 10-14-24 with 91 PIM in 63 contests. So far, it’s much of the same. He is on the fourth line and has five points (2-3-5) with a minus-six rating and 10 PIM. He’ll sometimes create breakaways due to his work ethic, but doesn’t possess good hands.

Jesper Bratt is in his third year. The 21-year old Swede with the great speed has four goals and two assists while getting into 14 games. I don’t understand why he doesn’t play every game. He isn’t a top six forward. However, he can be helpful on the third line due to his skating and ability to create scoring chances. The other Jesper is Jesper Boqvist. A rookie who’s been used sparingly despite a good camp. He scored in a shootout, but doesn’t have an official NHL point yet in six games. Pretty soon, the Devils must decide what’s best for him.

One Devil that hasn’t been discussed is Travis Zajac. Believe it or not, the 2004 first round pick taken one spot after Lauri Korpikoski, is still in Jersey as one of the team leaders. Even though his production suffered following the bitter departure of Zach Parise, the two-way pivot has remained a solid player. Sure. The big contract former Devils architect Lou Lamoriello gave him was frowned upon. But the $5.75 million on average no longer looks that bad compared to some other contracts.

Last season, Zajac had a good year posting 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points over 80 games. He was healthy and proved he can still be a key contributor. However, it’s been a bad start for him. He only has one goal and three helpers in 17 games. While his role might not be what it once was, Zajac is still a dependable guy on face-offs as well as the penalty kill. He can be used as a match-up center at five-on-five. Though that’s gonna be Hischier’s role very soon.

When you look at the roster, you can argue that key stars Hall, Subban and Hischier can perform better. Palmieri has 11 points (6-5-11). Hughes is 4-5-9 so far and continuing to learn. Simmonds is 3-5-8. If he’s not producing on the power play which has been a issue, that’s a problem.

So, is this team really this bad? Probably not. Unless the scoring picks up via Hall going on a hot streak and Subban finding the range, they’ll be hard pressed to win consistently. Blackwood is the better goalie. He’s only in Year Two. If Schneider’s struggles continue, would they recall Louis Domingue? It could be worth a shot.

This team will go as their key players do. Hughes will improve. He’s got that kind of talent. I would put him back between Hall and Palmieri. Let Hischier work with a second line of either Gusev or Zacha with Bratt.

What about Hynes? That all depends on Shero, who remains loyal to his friend. Obviously, it’s gotta be frustrating for Hasan and the Devils fans. They don’t have that look. When my friend Rob has thrown in the towel this early, you know it’s bad.

Whatever happens, the roster could look very different a few months from now.

Posted in Column | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Interesting thoughts from Brendan Smith reveals a lot about his character

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Derek

Brendan Smith is one of the older players on the Rangers. At 30 years old, the veteran is the fourth oldest Blueshirt behind elder statesmen Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal, and role player Micheal Haley.

Originally acquired from the Red Wings in ’16-17 to help the Rangers advance to the second round of the playoffs, he re-signed for four years with an average cap hit of $4.35 million through 2021. After struggling mightily in ’17-18 due to admittedly doing too much celebrating following his wedding, Smith carved a new role under coach David Quinn last season.

With the organization going in a different direction by committing to a rebuild, Quinn decided to try Smith up front as a fourth line forward. The odd move saw the defenseman adjust his style even putting up points through hard work. It likely saved his NHL career.

While many pundits wondered if Smith would be a buyout candidate along with Staal, the Rangers did neither. Instead, they freed Kevin Shattenkirk, who has since found a new lease on life with the Lightning. Where all Rangers seem to go. For the Shattenkirk crowd, it was the best move for all parties due to Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo along with big acquisition Jacob Trouba, who ironically has struggled compared to the other two right defensemen.

A good training camp for Smith saw him rewarded by Quinn. He once again became a fixture on the fourth line. He won the roster spot fair and square due to his work ethic. While there are legitimate gripes about the butchering of Lias Andersson, Smith has proven to be an effective fourth liner due to the energy and grit he brings. Though not a long-term solution, he also doubles as a penalty killing defenseman. Quinn has utilized him right.

Some people might ask why is Smith still in New York. It’s quite simple. His commitment to the team along with his character and experience are viewed upon favorably. Just listen to him during this recent interview put up by the Rangers on Twitter.

The man gets it. He understands what the team must do to win hockey games. He also doesn’t sound like a player, who is going to accept mediocrity. He’s talking about how getting wins now is just as important as next March and April. He’s right. Even if the playoffs remain a long shot, Smith has the right approach.

They want to create a winning environment. You never hear Quinn pleased following a blowout loss like they’ve had to the Bruins and Senators. Both at MSG. A losing culture is unacceptable. They aren’t the other tenant, who is run like a circus. Thankfully, Dolan isn’t involved with the hockey team. He lets his hockey people run it.

As for Smith, I like his message. It’s one that you want the younger players to get. They looked a lot happier last night celebrating Kaapo Kakko’s overtime winner over the Pens. That’s how it should be.

Posted in Column | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment