Wheels come off in Alberta

Posted on November 9, 2019 by hasan4978

Instead of the winning streak clip from Major League, I get to post this one after the last two games – and really 90% of this season.  I wanted to post the Japanese gardner ‘they’re still ****ty’ clip from Major League but had to opt for this cause this is a family blog after all and I couldn’t post an open swear word.  Unfortunately both sentiments apply to this current Devils team, which after flirting with NHL .500 came crashing back down to reality with two losses in Alberta to Calgary and Edmonton by a combined 9-2 score.  Now the Devils sit seemingly too far out of the playoff race to matter after just four wins in their first fifteen games.  Already – in early November.

A road trip that got off to a surprisingly good start in Carolina and Winnipeg hit a pothole almost from the moment they went up 2-1 in Calgary and proceeded to give up eight straight goals after that – four against the Flames, and four in a loss to the Oilers.  Even worse, this loser team tried to sell all the golden oldies of moral victory lines…we played well, it wasn’t as bad as the score indicated, yadda yadda yadda.  Hogwash.  Moral victories are for losers, and that’s what this team and this organization is right now.  Losers.  Just like the Oilers used to be (especially when Taylor Hall was there), always waiting for the next lottery to fix their problems.

To beat a dead horse even more, the staff’s problems with lineup decisions and tactics are one thing but both this general acceptance of losing and the lack of fight in the room to push back against it speaks to lack of leadership both from coaching and players.  When arguably one of your three best players this season (Sami Vatanen) gets elbowed and concussed out of the game in the first period with yet another cheap shot – reminiscent of Nikita Kucherov in the playoffs who gave Vatanen the first of a now-series of concussions with another bad elbow – and there’s no response to it at any point in the game don’t tell me about how well you played or how you deserved better from a 4-0 loss where you were outshot in the game and in the third period while trailing big.

All these games are just running together, so don’t expect many recaps going forward at this rate unless things start to change.  This feels like one clip from Major League I can post:

Honestly I do have to give the NHL (or the Devils) credit on one aspect…the time for games on this trip really hasn’t been prohibitive for East Coast fans watching.  Usually a West Coast trip has a ton of 10 and 10:30 starts on weeknights where I couldn’t even watch in the first place but in theory I could have watched any game on this trip, the Jets game started at 8 PM on Tuesday and both the Alberta games started at 9.  Notice I said could have.  This team just isn’t doing enough for me to bother with any game I’m not stuck going to.  Even after the two wins I had a feeling they’d hit the skids in Calgary so I didn’t bother watching.  I was going to watch last night except it was Cory Schneider’s turn to play which usually is an automatic loss, and sure enough that was the case again.  Not that it would have mattered who played when you get shut out by the immortal Mikko Koskinen.

Still, how can I think this is getting any better anytime soon?  Especially since it needs to get better soon to save the season before we start to sell our free agents (and that means Hall, Vatanen assuming he’s not out forever, and maybe even captain Andy Greene).  Perhaps the only noteworthy thing of the last few days is Shero met with Hall’s agent in Calgary over pizza.  However with the more the team loses, I’m that much more ambivalent over giving Hall what he wants long-term.  Sure he’s putting up points via the assist but he hasn’t really scored a lot of goals yet and he’s had some scary moments like a some turnovers and penalties in Calgary that led directly to two goals.  Maybe he was affected by whatever happened – or didn’t – in contract talks.  Or maybe he’s just checked out of what seems to be yet another losing season.

Not to mention if Hall thinks the fans were rough on him before, wait till the team comes back off the trip further buried in the standings with just four wins in their first fifteen games.  Every fanbase and locker room wants to keep up hope but really, where is it at this moment?  Let’s say 95 points winds up being the playoff marker for the last wild card which is actually slightly under where it’s been the last couple years in the East, the Devils would need 83 points in their last 67 games (sixteen games over .500 if you’re counting) just to hit THAT marker.  This team is going to play sixteen games over .500 with no coaching, their best defenseman out indefinitely – and yes the fact Vatanen has been the best defenseman is a problem considering P.K. Subban is still in the room, no locker room leadership and a so-called leader who’s more worried about what the home fans are doing than what the rest of the team is?  Not bloody likely.

And I’m sorry, people want to give GM Ray Shero a pass but he’s had five years now and has stuck with the same failed staff despite all the evidence that the coach cannot get this team out of a hole.  Our two best seasons under Hynes – his first year and the playoff season – we got off to great early starts, but once adversity hits we never respond.  Shero’s acquisitions (such as Marcus Johansson two years ago or Nikita Gusev now) look good on paper but don’t always work out.  There hasn’t been enough time to see whether most of the Shero and Paul Castron draftees are going to be viable NHL players, though Ty Smith not making this year’s team certainly put us behind the eight-ball organizationally.  With Connor Carrick injured and Mirco Mueller not ‘pushing the puck’ enough for this staff (i.e. actually caring about defense), we’ve been playing an AHL fodder guy in Matt Tennyson, and just when we’d finally got him out of the lineup for Mueller, Vatanen’s injury pushes Tennyson right back into the lineup giving up goals left and right because he pushes play at all the wrong times.

If you want me to believe something’s going to change, then something better change and I don’t just mean IR’ing Cory for the immortal Louis Domingue hoping he can put up a 2018 Kinkaid-like stretch.  You can’t just keep banging your head into a wall with the same personnel and same ‘tactics’ with no plan B to get around or through it.

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A scoring change on Buchnevich goal

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Derek

After further review, the NHL made a scoring change to the goal Pavel Buchnevich scored during last night’s 4-2 Rangers win over the Hurricanes. What looked like the right wing’s third goal of the season on a great individual effort, will now be credited to teammate Filip Chytil.

So, the goal should now read Chytil with his third from Buchnevich at 1:15 of the third period. That goal made the score 3-1 and proved to be the game-winner. Here’s another look at it.

It’s still hard to tell. One angle makes it look like Chytil got a piece of it as Buchnevich released the backhand around Petr Mrazek. The other seems to indicate that it wasn’t touched at the conclusion. Who knows. It might be one of those goals that gets changed again.

For now, give Buchnevich another assist. He leads the Rangers with 10. That gives him twelve points (2-10-12). It’s still four points over the last two. Just all assists.

Chytil gets goal number three since his recall. That’s three in five games.

It doesn’t change anything. The outcome was still 4-2 in favor of the Rangers due in large part to Henrik Lundqvist (45 saves). He’ll be in net Sunday for sure when the Panthers visit MSG for a odd timed 1 PM matinee.

Why would the schedule makers do that? Granted. The Giants and Jets are both miserable. But they play the same time. Strange.

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Game #14 Lundqvist turns back the clock to highlight good win at Hurricanes

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Derek

Brendan Smith shares a smile with winning goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who was brilliant making 45 saves for a Rangers 4-2 win over the Hurricanes. AP Photo by Gregg Forwerck via Getty Images

This was a throwback performance. A blast from the past. Henrik Lundqvist reminded even the harshest skeptics that he can still steal a game. He was remarkable really in stopping all 22 shots during a lopsided first period against a good team. The end result was a 45 save night that sparked the Rangers past the Hurricanes 4-2 in Raleigh.

Making his second consecutive start following a strong game against the Red Wings, Lundqvist rewarded David Quinn with the kind of goaltending we saw during his peak. He was in a zone all night. Never more so than the first which saw Carolina attack at from all angles. Boosted by two power plays, they turned the Rangers end into a shooting gallery. However, despite a wide edge in play that included a 22-6 advantage in shots and a ridiculous attempts margin of like 30-8, they couldn’t beat Lundqvist.

As usually happens when a team is dominating play and runs into a hot goalie, it’s the opponent that scores. Give Joe Micheletti credit for calling it. After a barrage of miraculous stops from a locked in Lundqvist, Ryan Strome found Artemiy Panarin open in the slot for his eighth to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Jesper Fast’s hustle behind the net set the play up. Strome was able to center for Panarin, who was left unchecked by Dougie Hamilton for the all important first goal.

Speaking of Panarin, I want to single him out. He signed a huge deal with the Rangers worth an average cap hit of $11.6 million. The recently turned 28-year old Russian scoring forward has been brilliant so far. With a goal and assist, he extended his point streak to seven. Over that span, the Bread Man has lived up to his name by pumping in four goals and six helpers for 10 points. He hasn’t missed a beat without Mika Zibanejad. They’d already been split up at five-on-five.

Now, Panarin has formed good chemistry with Strome, who’s proving capable of filling the void. His primary assist gave him a dozen points (5-7-12) in the last nine games. He’s exactly a point-per-game with 14 in 14 games. Given how well they’ve played together along with complement Fast, why break them up? That’s a question better asked for Quinn whenever Zibanejad returns. The Rangers don’t play again until Sunday afternoon against the Panthers.

If you want to pay homage to how well Lundqvist played, you also have to say that Quinn made some good changes for tonight. In finally sitting out defenseman Brady Skjei, who’s not been up to speed, he has again proven that it doesn’t matter what your salary is. If you aren’t going, you will sit. I wonder if Skjei will ever get it. By that, I mean become the player management thinks he can be. They invested $5.3 million AAV. I would expect him to be back on Sunday. But if he is, who comes out?

By reinserting rookie Ryan Lindgren, who worked with Adam Fox on the third pair, Quinn had Marc Staal with Tony DeAngelo while Libor Hajek remained alongside Jacob Trouba. It would be completely honest to admit the defense struggled mightily. You cannot get outshot like they did and expect to win consistently. After being outshot 22-6 in the first, they picked it up and competed harder. The Rangers were outshot 25-13 the rest of the way. For the game, they were out-attempted 90-38.

So, before we get too excited over a second win in a row, let’s keep it in perspective. This cannot be a repeat against the equally dangerous Panthers this weekend. A team that can explode due to their elite talent. However, as evidenced in a 5-4 overtime loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, defense is still an issue under veteran coach Joel Quenneville. Florida will be on the heels of a back-to-back due to visiting the Islanders on Saturday. That should be interesting.

For so long, Quinn has continued to shuffle his lines. However, he seems to have settled on some combos that are gelling. Not only the Panarin, Strome, Fast line. But there is a lot of chemistry between Filip Chytil and Pavel Buchnevich, who had a second straight good game by notching his third goal and adding a helper. That gives him four points in two games. He set up Chris Kreider the night before. I really like what I see from that trio. They definitely are bringing the speed and forecheck. Keep them together.

That also goes for the suddenly effective third line of Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux and improving rookie Kaapo Kakko. For all the gripes over Kakko staying on the third line, he’s excelled there by improving his forecheck to create offense. He’s also getting better defensively. Kakko is competing harder by using his size and strength. He’s been throwing the weight around too. That’s what you want to see. Even though he didn’t hit the score sheet, he was very good throughout. In 13:53, Kakko led the team in shots (4) while drawing a minor penalty on Brett Pesce, and helping to create an empty net goal for Fox that sealed the victory.

What happens when Zibanejad is ready? I would seriously think about having Kakko and suddenly effective deterrent Lemieux move up to play on that line. That way the other two lines stay intact. Lemieux seems to make things happen. He creates space and is a distraction. He had a very strong game drawing a penalty and finally getting rewarded for his hard work with a power play goal on a nice redirection of a Tony DeAngelo shot that made it 2-1 at 18:04 of the second period.

That was a great response to Hamilton tying the game by going to the front and deflecting in a point shot from D partner Jaccob Slavin 3:32 earlier. Hamilton has seven goals and plays like more of a forward than defenseman. He is very good offensively. A perfect fit in coach Rod Brind’Amour’s system.

The crazy aspect is that for all the point blank chances they got that a quick Lundqvist shutdown, it took a subtle play for the Canes to get on the board. The Blueshirts had the hot goalie. That was enough to in Lemieux’s words to MSG’s Dave Maloney between periods, “Steal it.”

Aside from an outstanding individual effort from Buchnevich in which he finished a check to steal the puck and then took it hard to the net for a backhand and in with Chytil in front of Petr Mrazek at 1:15, the Rangers relied on better attention to detail to earn the win. They’re now 5-4-1 versus teams over .500. They’ve also beaten Winnipeg, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Nashville. They’re only 2-2-0 against losing teams.

For a while, it looked like the 3-1 lead would hold. However, a fluke goal from Carolina captain Sebastian Aho that went off a Ranger got past Lundqvist to cut the deficit to one with 4:02.

They never panicked. Some good forecheck shifts allowed them to kill time. After Mrazek was pulled with over two minutes remaining, the Rangers were smart defensively. Particularly after clearing their end. They were tough in the neutral zone and used good team speed to force turnovers. Both an active Kakko and Panarin applied pressure until the puck was coughed up.

Fox ended matters with his second against the team he was acquired from with 1:25 left. He gets better all the time. So does DeAngelo. Those have been the best defensemen.

This was a good win. We’ll see if they can make it three and get that “winning streak.”

Battle Of Hudson 3 🌟:

3rd 🌟 Artemiy Panarin, Rangers (team-leading 8th plus 🍎, +1 in 18:11, leading scorer with 8-8-16 in 14 GP)

2nd 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, Rangers (3rd of season plus 🍎, +1 in 17:20, 1-3-4 over last 2 GP)

1st 🌟 Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers (45 saves including 22 of 22 in a chaotic 1st, the best game he’s played in two years)

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Skjei and Haley are healthy scratches

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Derek

In about half an hour, the Rangers will face-off versus the Hurricanes in Raleigh. There are more lineup changes from David Quinn.

Finally, Brady Skjei will be a healthy scratch. He has been up and down in the first 13 games. Ryan Lindgren will dress in his place. With Marc Staal returning and having a steady game last night while paired up with Adam Fox, Skjei became the odd man out due to his inconsistency. We’ll see how he responds to being up in the press box.

Also as expected, Micheal Haley comes out of the lineup for Lias Andersson. Haley took an ill advised tripping minor penalty on Wednesday night against the Red Wings. Even though Greg McKegg scored a shorthanded goal, it makes sense to have Haley sit out. He’s not an everyday player.

The bottom line is Andersson should play. Even if it’s in a fourth line role due to the organization’s preference on Brett Howden as the third center, the 2017 seventh overall pick isn’t gonna learn anything by sitting out. I don’t know what he can do to improve while playing eight to nine minutes with fourth liners. But we’ll see.

In net, it’s Henrik Lundqvist for a second consecutive game. His first set of back-to-back starts in over a year. He will oppose Canes starter Petr Mrazek, who’s been almost unbeatable at home. It should be interesting to see what happens.

That’s all for now. I’ll have a game review later.

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Game #13: A welcome sight for Lundqvist against lowly Red Wings

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Derek

Tony DeAngelo scores his fifth on the power play. AP Photo by Mary Altaffer via Getty Images

It’s hard to know what to expect. Following Monday’s disaster to Ottawa, you had to figure there would be a better effort. Sure enough, the Rangers delivered on that promise by methodically beating the lowly Red Wings 5-1 last night at MSG on Wednesday Night hockey.

Two Original Six franchises that have fallen on hard times, this wasn’t your Dad’s Blueshirts of the 1970’s featuring the Goal A Game (GAG) Line of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, or the classic Winged Wheel Production Line of Sid Abel, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay. It’s not the 1990’s Rangers of Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Alexei Kovalev, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Jeff Beukeboom, or the classic Red Wings of Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Nicklas Lidstrom, and The Russian Five of Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Igor Larionov, Slava Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov.

After the game, NBCSN wisely aired the movie, The Russian Five covering the special connection the five Russian hockey players had while eventually starring for the Red Wings to help win consecutive Stanley Cups in ’96-97 and ’97-98. I enjoyed every minute of it. Highly recommended to any passionate hockey fan.

As for the game, there really isn’t a lot to say. The Rangers did what they had to do against a team that’s in worse shape than them. Detroit might boast a good first line featuring captain Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. However, they are so incomplete, it’s sad. Having to trot out fallen veteran Jimmy Howard in net with Jonathan Bernier as the other goalie is hard for coach Jeff Blashill. They are a long way from competing. Even with promising defenseman Filip Hronek and Andreas Athanasiou, there really isn’t much. Yzerman has his work cut out.

This isn’t like that feel good win on my birthday when Pat Verbeek beat Detroit in overtime on a power play goal. That feels like a lifetime ago. So did all the classic matchups between Howard and Henrik Lundqvist. Normally, they go toe to toe like two heavyweights. The game goes to overtime or a shootout with the final score 2-1. Not on Wednesday. Howard entered with a career record of 10-3-3 vs the Blueshirts with a 1.77 GAA and .948 save percentage. But he’s not that goalie this year.

It showed. There were a couple of leaks. Following a scoreless first period that put some fans and even a couple of whiny beat writers to sleep, the Rangers got a early power play in the second. Pavel Buchnevich passed down low for Brendan Lemieux, who did the grunt work to set up Tony DeAngelo for his fifth at 4:25. Tony Dee continues to impress. The five goals are one more than he had all of last season. He is continuing to silence the doubters.

Less than a couple of minutes later, DeAngelo stepped up in the neutral zone to create a two-on-one. Buchnevich took the puck and waited before passing across for Chris Kreider, who this time was able to beat Howard from a bad angle for his third at 6:04. He didn’t exactly fire the shot quickly. Howard has enough time to make the save, but just couldn’t. It was a soft goal and good luck for Kreider, who was appreciative of the pass from Buchnevich (2 🍎) and credited Lundqvist for a strong game.

Another Red Wing penalty led to a second Blueshirts power play goal. This time, Adam Fox took an Artemiy Panarin pass at the left point and fired a wide wrist shot that had the good fortune of going off Ryan Strome’s shoulder and in for a 3-0 lead. That’s how it goes for Strome, who can do no wrong. He continues to play well while centering the top line with Panarin and Jesper Fast. He had two more points in the win. This isn’t a fluke. He’s putting himself in position to succeed. They oughta consider re-signing him. He adds that key ingredient most of the roster lacks.

Leading by three and totally in control, a brutal mistake allowed the Red Wings to get some life. A bad pinch from Libor Hajek resulted in Detroit coming out of their zone with a two-on-one. It’s what happened next that was even worse. Jacob Trouba barely touched Athanasiou, who went by like he was a ghost to dish across to Valtteri Filppula for an easy put away to again keep Lundqvist without a shutout. Here’s how it looked and sounded as called by Doc Emrick.

Mantha made the play to trap Hajek and Filppula and Athanasiou worked a give and go. I cannot believe how soft Trouba was. He made no attempt to check him. It was dizzying. It was very disappointing. At least it was only one bad moment. He’s better than this. He’s been outperformed by Neal Pionk. A guy that was ran out of the building because he was being used in a crazy role. I’d still do the trade 100 out of 100 times. Trouba needs to perform up to expectation. He isn’t cheap. I’m not going to mention the salary.

For a while following that goal in Filppula’s 500th game as a Red Wing, they had most of the play. It was Detroit with the puck possession putting the Rangers on the defensive. Lucky for them, Lundqvist was good. He came up with some big saves to keep the lead at two. All 12 saves he made in the period were important.

The Wings hung around in the third for a bit. A bad tripping penalty by Micheal Haley gave them a power play. However, it was the Blueshirts who made the most of it. A Howard misplay allowed Greg McKegg to score a shorthanded goal from Brett Howden and Trouba at 8:44. It was his first as a Ranger. Inserted into the lineup for Lias Andersson, he shouldn’t come out when the team visits Raleigh to face his former team tonight. I would scratch Haley. Andersson needs to play. Enough of these head games.

It was also the return for Dylan McIlrath. The former first round pick was called up by the Red Wings from Grand Rapids to replace injured vet Trevor Daley. He was okay in 13 minutes. However, McIlrath was caught on for a power play goal and one at even strength. He’s a good team guy. It’s too bad he never reached his full potential. Injuries played a role for sure. So too did the ridiculous treatment he got from Alain Vigneault. But he won a Calder Cup in Grand Rapids and seems happy. That’s cool.

As usually happens in a 4-1 game, the Rangers sat back. They allowed Lundqvist to take care of the rest. He stopped all 16 Detroit shots in the final period to net the game’s first star. We’ll probably see him again against Carolina. That should be a much better game. The Hurricanes are coming off a disappointing loss to the Devils.

We’ll see what that brings.

Battle Of Hudson 3 🌟:

3rd 🌟 Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers (35 saves including 12/13 in 2nd and 16/16 in 3rd)

2nd 🌟 Ryan Strome, Rangers (5th of season plus 🍎, 3 shots in 5 attempts, +1 in 17:43)

1st 🌟 Tony DeAngelo, Rangers (5th of season plus 🍎, 4 shots, +1 in 17:02)

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Quinn’s puzzling lineup decisions a head scratcher

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Derek

There is always panic in the land of NYR Twitter. Unlike recent criticism, frustrated fans have a point regarding tonight’s lineup against the Red Wings.

To say it’s puzzling would be one way to describe it. Simply put, it’s hard to comprehend what went into David Quinn’s decisions. Before trying to answer that question, here is what he decided to do.

Of course, beat writer Vince Mercogliano got some predictable responses from perplexed fans. Even another former beat writer questioned what the rationale is for healthy scratching Lias Andersson for Greg McKegg and sitting Ryan Lindgren for Marc Staal.

There is a considerable lack of trust from the fan base when it comes to how the organization evaluates young talent. Whether you put an emphasis on analytics like other blogs, or are more conventional like I am here, one thing we can all agree on is that there’s a reason to be less than trustworthy when it comes to how the Rangers operate. They make promises they can’t keep.

Vitali Kravtsov thought he was coming over to make the roster. Instead, he went down to Hartford and probably was confused after a promising camp. Not to say I agree with the 19-year old bailing after five games to return home to the KHL. They didn’t have a top six spot available. He was blocked by Pavel Buchnevich, Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider and Artemiy Panarin. Two of those forwards haven’t been consistent.

While Kravtsov continues to develop with Chelyabinsk Traktor in Russia, there are other young players the organization must do a better job with. Since his recall, Lindgren had been solid defensively and wasn’t a main culprit in Monday’s 6-2 humiliation to Ottawa. So, why is he the odd man out for Staal? Quinn indicated he didn’t feel good about it, but based on the personnel, that’s the decision he made.

Rather than make an example of Brady Skjei, who I’m at my wits end with following another mind boggling performance that makes fans question why GM Jeff Gorton gave him that contract, Quinn chooses to bench Lindgren. Oy. I could at least see the logic if he gave Libor Hajek a night off. Hajek had his worst game of the season. That’ll happen with young players.

Why not have Skjei watch from the press box? It’s not the worst thing in the world to have the 25-year old sit out a game. I don’t care that he makes an average cap hit of $5.3 million. Quinn wasn’t afraid to do it in his first season. Ditto for Buchnevich, whose play has dipped. If he doesn’t pick it up, he could use a wake-up call.

Now, let’s get to Andersson. Since preseason, he’s outplayed Brett Howden. But the organization seems to prefer Howden over Andersson in a third line center role. Perhaps this is due to last year. He obviously has more NHL experience, which might explain why Quinn trusts him more. Both players are used on the penalty kill. However, one is clearly getting more ice time and remains the favorite.

Not to say Howden has some anything wrong. This is a clear preference by the coach, who’s been unwilling to see what Andersson can do in a different role. Why did they take Lias with the seventh overall pick in the Derek Stepan/Antti Raanta trade if they were going to treat him this way. He’s the same age as Howden. Something has to give.

Quinn explained that after a couple of good games, Andersson wasn’t as effective last game. That’s true. However, if that’s the criteria for scratching him, then it should also be applied to Howden and other Quinn favorites. There’s nothing wrong with having him sit out a game with another tomorrow. But by inserting McKegg, it makes it sound like the team is prioritizing winning over what’s best long-term. It’s a rebuild.

If they can’t play Andersson when Mika Zibanejad is missing a third straight game, what exactly does that say about the organization? If they’re gonna jerk him around, trade him. Other organizations aren’t as confusing as the Rangers when it comes to developing young talent. Is this a Manny Malhotra situation? Where they don’t think he’s anything more than a third liner. That’s probably true. I just am not crazy about how they’re going about it.

At this point, all you can do is throw your hands up in the air. It is only for one game. If for some reason both Andersson and Lindgren aren’t back in the lineup tomorrow for Carolina, I’m going to lose faith in the team.

It’ll likely be Henrik Lundqvist against Jimmy Howard like always for the special 8 PM start on NBCSN. Let’s see if they can play better in front of Lundqvist after giving Alexandar Georgiev the Lundqvist Experience.

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Redemption on the road

Posted on November 6, 2019 by hasan4978

Despite my angst over the Devils’ early season struggles, their OT loss points had kept them barely afloat, but they still needed a big road trip to get back on level ground and on Saturday afternoon I didn’t really see how that was possible.  How could I, considering our eleven wins in forty-one road games last year and three straight road blowouts to start this year?  However, after two straight close, unlikely wins in Carolina and Winnipeg perhaps this team is finally starting to show signs of why they ‘won the offseason’.

My attention was split the last two games, while I did have last night’s game on I was doing other things as well so it was in the background.  Saturday’s win in Carolina I just couldn’t bring myself to watch much of (other than the final several minutes) after the ghastly end to our long homestand last Friday.  However, one lineup adjustment in Carolina did actually go a long way when coach John Hynes scratched ‘grit’ forward John Hayden and moved Wayne Simmonds down to the fourth line.  Suddenly the fourth line which the staff loves to play in momentum-changing situations became at least semi-viable.  Also showing the urgency of the team’s situation, Hynes started Mackenzie Blackwood on a road back-to-back and the second-year player responsed with a solid 24-save performance in the Devils 5-3 win.

In a recent blog I said at least one of the goalies had to step up and play better and Blackwood has done that in his last three games, playing well enough to salvage a point out of an otherwise subpar team effort against the Flyers, following that up with two straight big wins on the road including a scintillating 33-save performance against the Jets where he only allowed one goal, and none in the shootout.  Yet somehow, the homeristic Canadian media failed to even give him a star for his performance last night.  Well bleep them.  Where that leaves fellow goalie Cory Schneider, for the moment is on the bench.  Will Cory play either game in Vancouver or Calgary this weekend?  Probably not considering the team’s still in somewhat of a desperation mode, but it would be nice to see him get in there with a better team effort than was on display earlier this season.

It’s not as if the goalie has been the only one stepping up however.  After a substandard beginning to his season, P.K. Subban finally has started resembling the defenseman we thought we were getting from Nashville.  His masterful deflection early in the third period against Carolina held up for the game-winner.  Subban also spoke for many after the game when he admitted the team was tired of being in positions to win games and not getting it done.  In Carolina they did get it done, holding on in a tense third period.  Also upping his game in Carolina was Nico Hischier, who recently came off of injury but incredibly hadn’t scored a goal in his last 24 games going back to late February.  Hischier not only scored in Carolina, but also in Winnipeg, the team’s only regulation goal.  Maybe now the floodgates are open for the talented third-year player.

As Derek reiterated in his previous blog, #1 overall Jack Hughes has had a solid start to his rookie season seemingly getting better almost every game.  His PP goal in Carolina toward the end of the first period tying the game at two was huge.  After Jesper Bratt got taken out brutally after a cheap shot by Teuvo Teravainen in Carolina, Hynes had to make lineup changes for the game in Winnipeg.  He played Jesper Boqvist for the second straight game and finally brought Nikita Gusev out of witness protection to restore him to the lineup.  Both would contribute in a big way last night, though it took a while.  Boqvist did draw a critical late OT penalty that could have been a penalty shot but alas was just another failed power play, but both he and Gusev scored in the shootout as coach Hynes finally changed a shootout rotation that wasn’t working.

With the Alberta part of this road trip looming the team needs to maintain its level of play over the last two games.  Amazingly they’re 4-1-2 in their last seven games despite all their early-season issues.  Maybe not so coincidentally that’s also the timeline since assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald came down to the bench after our 0-4-2 start.  Last night’s win in particular felt like it could signal a reset to the start of the season, especially considering it was against the Jets that the Devils’ opening nightmares began at the Rock.  Whatever the reason, just keep the good times rolling and Taylor Hall won’t have to worry about boos next Wednesday after all when you return home.

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Game #12: A hard fall for undisciplined Rangers in ugly loss to Senators

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Derek

Brady Tkachuk whoops it up with Thomas Chabot following a Senators 6-2 humiliation of the Rangers. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy Ottawa Senators

This one was ugly. Oh. We warned you. It was a bitter disappointment. The Rangers were humiliated by the Senators 6-2 at MSG. That ended the mini win streak at two.

For all the things they did well against the Bolts and Preds, they royally stunk tonight. There was no defense, sloppy turnovers, undisciplined penalties, bad special teams and uneven goaltending. The latter I am not gonna delve into. Alexandar Georgiev got the Henrik Lundqvist treatment. And he fell victim to it like Wednesday’s starter.

You cannot take any opponent lightly in this league. Not when you’re a young, rebuilding team that’s accomplished nothing. The Senators came in with nothing to lose. After being totally dominated for over 11 minutes without a shot, they were awoken by a needless fight. Brendan Lemieux engaged Mark Borowiecki. He may have won, but it was a foolish one with his team ahead one and in total control.

Prior to Lemieux’s dust up with rugged Ottawa defenseman Borowiecki, Kaapo Kakko had scored his third goal on a nice forecheck and pass from Adam Fox. The Finn showed up for this one. If only there were more passengers. He recorded his first two-point game with a goal and primary helper on an Artemiy Panarin power play goal.

Unfortunately, the Rangers lost discipline and themselves. They didn’t play smart hockey. Not only Lemieux, who would later be tossed for going after nuisance Brady Tkachuk. The penalties they took were brutal.

After doing zilch, the Senators evened the score at 14:56 due to nemesis Jean-Gabriel Pageau. With Anthony Duclair creating a distraction in front, Pageau beat both Libor Hajek and Lias Andersson to a rebound for his fourth. It was the end of a really bad shift for the Rangers.

During a scrum in front of Georgiev, Ryan Strome was upset after being shoved down by Duclair. He went back at Tkachuk to earn roughing minors. The issue was Jacob Trouba, who hasn’t been the same for a while, got an extra two for a unnecessary cross-check.

That gave Ottawa a power play. On it, Tkachuk sucked Brady Skjei into a phantom trip by embellishing it to earn a five-on-three. Entering play, the Sens had only two power play goals and were a miniscule 4.4 percent. That would change. On a broken play set up by former Ranger Vladislav Namestnikov, Thomas Chabot had a one-timer carom favorably right to journeyman Tyler Ennis for a 2-1 Ottawa lead at 18:31.

Just like that, the Rangers trailed after a period. They went from being up by nine or ten in shots to being down 14-11 by the conclusion. That’s how much their level dropped and the pesky opponent’s rose. Was it all Lemieux’s fault as some would have you believe on Twitter? No. However, he cannot take that fight when the team is up and playing well. The coach can’t be happy with it. At least when Tony DeAngelo battered JC Beaudin, he took up for himself. That’s fine.

The poor play continued into the second. They let Ron Hainsey score. That’s brutal. I didn’t see it. I don’t care to. I had the Giants on. When I had the game on, I noticed Trouba take another bad penalty early on. Hajek also did because he was out of position. Let’s just say it wasn’t his best night. Skjei stunk too. So too did Trouba, who continues to fire blanks from the point off target. What has happened to him? Hopefully, not Rangers Syndrome.

There also was a Pavel Buchnevich moment. I don’t mean that in a good light either. He continues to be a enigma. You don’t know which player will show up shift to shift. On some sustained pressure, he was on the point covering for a pinching Fox. He had the puck and decided to take a low percentage slapshot. It got blocked and Pageau picked up the loose puck, broke in and beat Georgiev top cheese for a 4-1 Ottawa lead.

It reminded me of what he did in the playoffs. I said after that first goal, he looked like he might get a hat trick. He nearly did. He just outhustles and outworks opponents. He actually entered the game a plus-11 on the Sens. This guy isn’t just a Ranger killer. He’s a good player that’s consistent.

Following another defensive breakdown that resulted in Tkachuk putting away his fourth unassisted (third straight goal unassisted), a patient Kakko took a DeAngelo feed and made a sweet pass across the seam for a Panarin power play goal that made it 5-2 with 2:26 remaining in the period. It was nice to see Kakko look more confident. Even if it came in a ugly loss. He was moved up by David Quinn to the first line with Strome and Panarin.

The weird aspect of this game was the Rangers created chances following the Panarin goal. They swarmed the Ottawa net, but came away empty due to Anders Nilsson. He made some big saves to finish with 32 for the game. Very good rebound control.

I didn’t see much of the third. There was no point. Namestnikov got a little revenge by getting a power play goal to make it 6-2. That gave him a goal and assist in his return to MSG. They did put up a little video for his two years here. He’s a solid player, who might get relocated to a contender in need of an effective bottom six forward that can skate and kill penalties. It’s a contract year for him. He already has five goals. That’s three more than Chris Kreider. Speaking of disappointing.

In the third period alone, the Rangers were assessed four penalties for 16 penalty minutes. That included Lemieux earning a misconduct for getting involved with Tkachuk, who was the best player on the ice. He hasn’t started well, but against a team that played soft, he dominated to finish with a goal, assist, four penalty minutes and a power play drawn. That’s what a power forward looks like.

There’s nothing else left to say. This was pathetic. Quinn wondered how his team would play. Now you know why. What will they do against the equally bad Red Wings, who got blown out by Nashville, this Wednesday? I have no clue.

However, Lundqvist will start and someone is getting benched for Marc Staal. Hajek or Skjei are possible. At this point, I’ve seen enough of Skjei. I’ll save that for another post. Ditto for everyone’s favorite Russian.

Battle Of Hudson 3 🌟:

3rd 🌟 Kaapo Kakko, Rangers (3rd of season plus 🍎 for 1st career multi-point game, +1 in 17:10)

2nd 🌟 Vladislav Namestnikov, Senators (5th of season plus 🍎, 3 shots, +1 in 18:04)

1st 🌟 Brady Tkachuk, Senators (4th of season plus 🍎, 6 shots, +2 in 16:43)

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The points are coming for Hughes

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Derek

It took a while, but Jack Hughes has come around. The Devils number one overall pick struggled out of the gate by going without a point the first six games of his NHL career.

There were some close calls. The 18-year old center had a few near misses on potential goals. He had bad luck by hitting goalposts. It is an adjustment going from dominating juniors to making the quantum leap into the NHL.

For Hughes, he even saw some time on the third line. That was more by design from coach John Hynes. The much maligned Devils coach has been justifiably criticized for much, but his handling of Hughes isn’t one of them. An injury to Nico Hischier helped Hughes move up to center the top line. That worked out well.

Since moving between Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri, the rookie has fit in well. Given the kid’s skill, speed and capability, Hughes probably won’t be moving off that line for a while. Even with mixed results from the team, he’s producing. After no goals or assists in the first six, Hughes has recorded seven points (3-4-7) over the last half dozen. He’s failed to record a point in just one game. The unpredictable 7-6 overtime loss to the Lightning on All Hallows Eve.

His best game so far was a three-point effort (1-2-3) in a 5-3 home defeat to the improved Coyotes. A superb game even though it proved to not be enough due to the frustrating Devils’ inability to protect leads.

Had they done so recently, their record would not be 3-5-4. Especially coming off their best win thus far by defeating Carolina 5-3 in Raleigh. Even if it came at the expense of Hurricanes backup James Reimer, it was a good win.

New Jersey will be tested some more on the challenging five-game road swing with stops at Winnipeg on Election Day, followed by the Western Canadian tour in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

For Hughes, all three of his goals have come on the power play. That’s not surprising. He has four power play points (1-3-4). Even strength is always hard for young players. Steven Stamkos experienced similar growing pains with Tampa. Playing center is also a big responsibility. Hughes has three even strength assists out of his seven points and is a minus-six.

However, he’s improving. If you looked at his overall face-off numbers, it is misleading. He’s won 52 and lost 74 for only 41.3 percent over a dozen games. But he was over .500 in two of the past four contests, going 27 and 28 over that stretch. A good sign.

Regarding the Calder race, Hughes will see a familiar name among the rookie point leaders. Older brother Quinn has 10 points (1-9-10) for the Canucks. He is a defenseman that’s one year older than Jack. Right now, he’s out due to a lower body injury. He’s likely to miss a third consecutive game tomorrow.

The interesting thing about this season’s rookie class is you have a few teenagers looking to make an impact. As we’ve seen on the Manhattan side of the Hudson Rivalry, it’s taken Kaapo Kakko even more time. The Rangers’ second pick enters tonight’s match against Ottawa with only three points (2-1-3) and an ugly minus-12 rating over 11 games.

Like Hughes, Kakko has seen time on a secondary line by design. Right now, it’s for the best. He’ll likely remain on the third line until the 18-year old Finnish right wing proves he can be trusted. Even if you disagree with the coaches, their jobs are to win games. They have to find the right matchups.

Third overall pick Kirby Dach has three points (1-2-3) for the Blackhawks. It’s in a secondary role where he can learn from future Hall of Fame tandem Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Chicago has one more game to decide if they’re keeping him for the remainder of the season. Never an easy thing. Winnipeg designated defenseman Ville Heinola to the AHL after eight games. He showed promise going 1-4-5 and plus-three.

As the season moves along, we’ll continue to follow the progress and developmental process of the top picks. For now, at least Devils fans can get a little excited over their number one pick. Hughes belongs.

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Georgiev will be in net again tomorrow, Zibanejad update

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Derek

Fresh off the hot press. Beat reporter Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic updates that Alexandar Georgiev will make his third straight start tomorrow when the Rangers host the Senators at MSG.

https://mobile.twitter.com/RickCarpiniello/status/1191044998067871750

This isn’t a surprise. Georgiev made 32 saves to highlight a 2-1 win at Nashville. He’s stopped 61 of 63 shots in his last two games. Both wins. So, it makes sense for David Quinn to ride the hot hand.

It’s a nice reward for the 23-year old, who’s shown maturity in his second season. The coaching staff is pleased with him. It bodes well.

Also, Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports that Henrik Lundqvist should be back in net for Detroit this Wednesday. The Rangers have a back-to-back with a quick turnaround Thursday when they visit the Hurricanes. One of the league’s best teams, that should be another interesting test. Every game is with the current roster.

https://mobile.twitter.com/drosennhl/status/1191045290133987329

Rosen also noted that Mika Zibanejad had skated prior to practice and is making progress. He’s a possibility for Monday. My guess is they’ll hold him out until Wednesday. The team has picked up their play. If they can sustain it, it should be good enough against Ottawa for that winning streak.

https://mobile.twitter.com/drosennhl/status/1191045686772584448

That’ll do it for now. Until next time. Enjoy the awful football.

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