K’Andre Miller suspended by Badgers

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Derek

In a bit of disturbing news, the Wisconsin Badgers have suspended defenseman K’Andre Miller for a violation of team rules. He wasn’t present at their practice and it doesn’t sound like he’ll take part in their IntraSquad game.

Obviously, it’s not what you want to hear. Especially for the future New York Rangers defenseman, who’s expected to have a big sophomore year for the Badgers. He was a preseason unanimous All Big Ten selection.

Taken by the Rangers with the second first round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Miller has a lot of upside. Hopefully, this is only a temporary setback and valuable learning lesson for him.

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Rangers visit troubled Senators in classic trap game

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Derek

Artemiy Panarin looks to keep it going with Jacob Trouba at Ottawa. AP Photo by Mary Altaffer via Getty Images

In about an hour from now, the Rangers and Senators will face off from Ottawa in Kanata, Ontario. The name of the arena they still play in is called the Canadian Tire Centre. Maybe it should be renamed Canadian Tire Fire.

That’s only due to probably the worst NHL owner in Eugene Melnyk. If you haven’t read New York Post Rangers beat writer Brett Cyrgalis’s scathing column, please do yourself a favor and read it. It really hits home on the big issue with the Senators.

When you think about where Ottawa was in the 2017 Playoffs, it’s sad. They were that close to beating the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pens in a seven game Eastern Conference Final. That was then. This is now.

Star players Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone are long gone along with quite a few other former Sens including since we’ll traveled Derick Brassard (now with Islanders). It’s strange. Craig Anderson remains the number one goalie. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who’s best known for tormenting the Rangers to basically end the AV Era, is still there. So is Bobby Ryan and Mark Borowiecki.

The Senators roster is considered by most pundits to be the worst in the league. They do boast promising young players such as budding power forward Brady Tkachuk and top defenseman Thomas Chabot. But it’s a long climb back. It’ll be up to those two along with Colin White and Erik Brannstrom to determine the club’s future.

They also have Anthony Duclair. Yes. That Duclair, who once was a top prospect for the Rangers before getting packaged to the Coyotes for Keith Yandle. Since, he’s moved on from Arizona to the Blackhawks to the Blue Jackets to now his fifth organization in Ottawa. Hopefully, he’ll stick.

So, it should be a piece of cake for the new look Blueshirts featuring Artemiy Panarin, Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko with Alexandar Georgiev starting? Not so quick. One thing about Ottawa. They beat the Rangers two of three last year and haven’t lost at home to them since Nov. 14, 2015 with New York prevailing in a shootout 2-1.

It’s also worth noting that the Senators lead the all-time series with a 50-38-3-4 record. They actually do better at MSG where they’re a perplexing 28-17-0-2. Ottawa is 22-21-3-2 at home vs the Rangers.

It is the Senators home opener. They lost on Opening Night to the Maple Leafs 5-3. It was all downhill after Tkachuk scored his first in the opening shift. Toronto got five of the next six goals. They can do that to almost anyone and will. They’re 2-0-0 already after overwhelming the Blue Jackets last night.

The Rangers are not making any lineup changes. Only tweaks to the blueline which struggled in a 6-4 home victory over Winnipeg on Thursday. In particular, Brady Skjei and Libor Hajek. So, Skjei-Trouba is broken up for now. That could change. Coach David Quinn has decided to go with Skjei and Adam Fox while trying Hajek with Trouba to help the rookie. Marc Staal and Tony DeAngelo remain intact.

Brendan Smith will continue to play on the fourth line as Quinn promises to find more ice time for Lias Andersson, who didn’t have a particularly good start after tripping on a cord during intros.

It’s a classic trap game for a young team that’s still in the early stages. It wouldn’t be surprising if they lose. Hopefully, they can avoid the Ottawa trap.

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Hynes to give rookie Jesper Boqvist a look in NHL debut

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Derek

Devils rookie forward Jesper Boqvist makes his NHL debut tonight. AP Photo by Bruce Bennett via Getty Images

When the Devils take on the Sabres upstate later, there’ll be one change to the lineup. Coach John Hynes has decided to take a look at rookie Jesper Boqvist.

A second round pick taken number 36 in 2017, the 20-year old Swede had a good camp to make the roster. Now, he’ll make his NHL debut at Buffalo. In a bit of a surprise, Boqvist will play on a new line with Pavel Zacha and talented Russian Nikita Gusev, who scored in his first NHL game.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1180591035660914688?s=19

I guess that means Hynes wants to use Gusev in a different role for a game. He broke up the second line. Rookie Jack Hughes will likely center Jesper Bratt and Wayne Simmonds.

The Devils also received good news on starting goalie Cory Schneider, who departed last night’s game after the Winnipeg second goal with an injury. It sounds like the best case scenario.

Until he returns, Mackenzie Blackwood will likely start. He’ll man the net tonight.

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Opening Nightmare

Posted on October 4, 2019 by hasan4978

 

I really didn’t want to have to rantpost again, not this season and especially not after tonight. Honestly I don’t even know how much my heart is in a rantpost at this point. Last year was embarassing enough as a Devils fan, but at least GM Ray Shero recognized that status quo wasn’t acceptable after one of the worst years in franchise history and made moves to bolster the talent level of the roster. After a solid preseason, optimism was sky high among Devils fans. Although we were facing a Jets team that always gives us trouble, they were missing a couple key players and coming off a tough loss at the Garden the night before. If there was ever a time to get them, it was tonight.

And sure enough, through thirty nine plus minutes the script could not have gone better if you were a Devils fan. KHL import Nikita Gusev scored the team’s first goal of the season and his first NHL goal to get the Devils on the board. Then the Devils rocked the Jets and backup goalie Laurent Brossoit for three goals in the second period, with first Blake Coleman getting his usual hustle and grit goal early in the second period, then Sami Vatanen blew one through the Jets goaltender and finally Coleman looked rather Ovechkian – if you don’t believe me just look at Derek’s post below and YouTube Ovechkin falling down goal – somehow managing to roof one shortside with one hand on his stick while falling down, scoring over what appeared to be a hapless goalie.

At 4-0 late in the second period, this team was mere seconds away from a deserved, thunderous ovation going off the ice back into the locker room. What should have been an afterthought goal by Dmitri Kulikov to spoil the shutout with eleven seconds remaining in the second period instead became like the first raindrop before an oncoming monsoon. Perhaps that was my first indicator the third period wasn’t exactly going to be easy, when the post-buzzer reaction from the crowd after what otherwise was a dominant period got muted after the late goal. Still, even me in my darkest hour of pessimism as a Mets, Jets and Devils fan could not have envisioned what happened afterwards.

If Kulikov’s goal seemed a mere annoyance at the time, Jack Roslovic’s goal early in the third period was a dose of cold water nobody in the building welcomed, and not just because it made the game 4-2 but for the even more ghastly realization afterward that goalie Cory Schneider was hurt…AGAIN. The same Cory who was supposedly healthy for the first time in years, had looked great in camp after a decent second half and good World Cup during the summer – now he had to be helped off the ice after barely two periods of real hockey. I don’t know how serious his injury was, maybe we’re lucky and he pulled a hammy but if he tore anything or re-injured his hip then my god you really just cannot count on him to be anything close to a starting goalie anymore, contract or no contract.

As confident as I might be in Mackenzie Blackwood on another day, this was the farthest thing from an ideal situation to come into, with the team reeling and him not expecting to play at all tonight. It’s one thing when you come in for a goalie that isn’t playing well, you can usually sense when a game’s going awry and start preparing yourself to come in but no amount of preparation can simulate coming in cold the first game of the season. Sure enough my worst fears were realized in the third when first Mathieu Perreault scored to cut the lead to 4-3, and seeing that clunker of a goal go past Blackwood I knew we were losing right then. Blackwood wasn’t ready to play and the team was in full shell shock now, while I was in full rant mode. I just couldn’t believe this was happening AGAIN, after how my football Jets spectacularly blundered their season opener.

Our descent back into being chokers and losers was complete when Ranger castoff Neal Pionk scored to tie the game. All it took was thirteen stinking minutes for the Jets to erase a 4-0 deficit like it was nothing! Thirteen minutes!!! I don’t want to get in all fire coach Hynes mode after one game, and to be fair goaltending and the most ill-timed of injuries was more decisive in the meltdown than even bad defense but it just never ends with this team. Blown lead after blown lead, I don’t want to hear about new NHL or how good the Jets are…malarkey. A 4-0 lead in your building with barely twenty minutes left, you cannot let that get away. That’s about as likely as well, quite a few of the Met bullpen implosions this year. But that’s a separate story.

Until there was maybe three or four minutes left in the period the Devils were like a fighter in a fog after getting hit with a haymaker, still on their feet but not really doing anything. And the refs certainly didn’t help matters (or my mood) missing a number of potential Jets penalties including a total takedown of Jack Hughes in front of the net in the first period, not to mention it seemed as if every marginal icing where a Jets player slowed up the refs allowed the icing while the Devils got jipped out of an icing call or two. Finally the Devils had a couple of good shifts late in the third, but still nearly lost the game in the dying seconds in what would have been a too fitting coup de grace when Blake Wheeler somehow hit a post and missed a wide open net from in close. Yet the gimmicky three-on-three gave us chances to salvage some honor back but despite four or five quality chances to win the game the Devils outright missed the net on far too many of them and couldn’t cash in a barely deserved winner.

Maybe on a normal night I’d actually have felt fine about going into a shootout…but with a shaky goalie and a choking team I really didn’t want to deal with drawing out the misery any longer. While Gusev at least cemented his own solid debut with a shootout goal, Kyle Connor quickly evened the score after it seemed like he was allowed to come to a complete stop and take as much time as he needed on his attempt. I’ll probably look at the highlight later and realize he didn’t, but man in the moment it looked like he was allowed to have all day in front of Blackwood before scoring. With Hughes, Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri all missing their chances the shootout lurched to its inevitable but deserved end when Wheeler atoned for his late-game miss and finally put us out of our misery.

If there was ever a night where the expression ‘loser point’ was apt, it was tonight for the Devils. Anyone that wants to tell me oh at least they got a point tonight, get out of my face. This was a loss that felt like three losses rolled into one. It not only brought back memories of my football team’s recent season home opener disaster, but also one of the Devils’ recent past where they came into another season with unbridled optomism after a bunch of offseason signings and additions. Things looked great when the Devils scored two early goals and then led the Stars 3-2 late in the game, but somehow blew both leads and the whole ball of wax 4-3 in OT. The year was 2010-11…and that loss was the harbinger of bad times to come in the John MacLean error.

I really hope we’re not headed down that path. And yes I know last season was the complete inverse where we outscored four straight opponents 17-4 and looking like a dominant team before falling off. Obviously Game #1 of 82 isn’t always a harbinger, but man it just couldn’t have gone any worse for the Devils tonight. Not only blowing a 4-0 lead in craptacular fashion but likely losing Schneider for another extended period. If this team wants to prove it’s not the losing, choking dogs they’ve been for most of the post-2012 era it starts tomorrow night in Buffalo. Nut up, beat a team you’re supposed to beat and stablize things, then you can actually point to three points in two games and try to regain your equilibrium after getting hit with a Mike Tyson-esque punch – whatever happens with Cory will happen but at least you can plan around Blackwood and whoever his backup will be and try to play well enough around them to win, the way the 2017-18 Devils did with Keith Kinkaid.

If that doesn’t happen, then things could get very cloudy in a hurry. Especially vis-a-vis Hall…why would he sign long-term with an organization that can never seem to get out of its own way? A horrible start will mean probably trading Hall then going into rebuilding 2.0 after an offseason where acquiring entities such as Gusev and P.K. Subban meant we were supposed to be past ‘trusting the process’ here. Sooner or later this team is going to have to take the next step or Shero – for all his good intentions this offseason – is eventually going to have to answer (among other things) for why he is going to the wall with a staff that doesn’t seem able to actually improve this team’s mental toughness or defensive capabilities. And these players will have to answer for why they can’t get this team over the hump.

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Video of Day: Blake Coleman with an early goal of the year candidate

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Derek

In a game the Devils are leading the Jets 4-0 in their home opener, Blake Coleman got his second goal of the night. It was how he did it that’s so impressive.

This one will be replayed on highlight reels for quite a while.

How?!?!?!?! With one hand no less to overpower the Winnipeg Jet checking him no less. To get that shot off and embarrass beat Laurent Brossoit is pretty awesome. Though I’m sure the Winnipeg backup would want that back.

Maybe the Jets should high curtail it out of the New York/New Jersey area with their tails between their legs. They gave up 6 goals to the Rangers last night. Now, have followed it up with another four in two periods. They trail the Devils 4-1.

New Jersey has goals from Nikita Gusev and Sami Vatanen too. But Coleman is the story with a pair including the jaw dropping highlight reel goal that made it 4-0. Dmitri Kulikov broke Cory Schneider’s shutout.

Hasan should have plenty more later.

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Quinn tweaks D, Georgiev gets start at Ottawa

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Derek

It didn’t take long for coach David Quinn to make some changes. Following last night’s 6-4 home win, he tweaked the D and made other adjustments in practice.

When the Rangers visit Ottawa tomorrow night, it’ll be Alexandar Georgiev in net for his season debut. We’ll see if the young backup goalie can deliver the same steady netminding as he did in the second half of his rookie year.

That’ll give Henrik Lundqvist a full week off before the next game. After Saturday, the Rangers are off until the following Saturday when they host the Oilers.

Also of note, Quinn made a couple of changes to the lines. In particular, the defense where he broke up Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba in the third period on Thursday night. Skjei spent time with rookie Adam Fox. They’ll be together at the start of tomorrow’s game. He also tried rookie Libor Hajek with number one defenseman Jacob Trouba, who had a great Rangers debut scoring a goal and adding two assists.

The only tandem that will remain the same is Marc Staal with Tony DeAngelo. They’ve been an item since last season. They have chemistry.

By altering the D pairings, DQ probably is looking for more balance. Both Fox and Hajek played slightly over 12 minutes. Fox was the steadier player. Even though Hajek recorded his first NHL point with an assist, he was shaky defensively. Maybe that’s why Trouba will play with him. He’s clearly the team’s best defenseman.

As for the forwards, it looks like the lines will remain intact. That includes Lias Andersson, who only played 8:33 and wound up minus-one on Mark Scheifele’s goal in the first period. A play in which he lost a battle and Nik Ehlers beat Skjei behind the net to center for Scheifele.

Andersson will again center the fourth line with Brendan Lemieux and Brendan Smith, who had an effective night. So, the secret weapon stays in the lineup after scoring an empty netter.

Brett Howden, who got the game-winner, is between Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast. It’s status quo for the top two lines with rookie Kaapo Kakko staying with Ryan Strome, who was excellent on faceoffs winning 10 of 14. Chris Kreider stays on the second line, leaving Mika Zibanejad with Artemiy Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich.

That’s fine. You know what’s crazy. How many people are still complaining. They won! Sure. It wasn’t pretty with Kreider describing the game as “sloppy.” But it was Game 1 of 82.

One thing the Rangers don’t want to make a habit of is defending as much as they did to Winnipeg. They were out attempted by 30 (81-51). That must improve. They can’t ask Lundqvist and Georgiev to face 47 shots a night.

That’s all for now. Hasan will have the Devils season opener much later. They host the same Jets in Newark. It’s the NHL debut of top pick Jack Hughes. Cory Schneider gets the start and PK Subban debuts along with Wayne Simmonds. That should be interesting.

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Two WTF Moments highlight Opening Night

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Derek

Marc Staal scored the first goal of the season during the Rangers 6-4 win over the Jets. AP Photo by Jim McIsaac via Getty Images

The Rangers were 6-4 winners in their home opener over the Winnipeg Jets at MSG. As I noted in the game recap during the previous post, the game was wild and crazy.

Here are two WTF moments that highlighted a wacky night of hockey at 33rd and 7th over Penn Station. The first actually came during player intros. Those are usually fun as each player skates out, acknowledges the cheering crowd and lines up next to their teammates.

For Lias Andersson, his introduction nearly resulted in a disaster. After coming out, he fell to the ice awkwardly. What happened?

As it turned out, Andersson tripped over a wire from a camera. He could’ve been accidentally injured. That is absolutely crazy. Cameramen have a job to do, but they should be more careful. Imagine if the reaction if Lias was hurt. Thankfully, he wasn’t and played over eight minutes on the fourth line.

The second unpredictable moment was more exciting. It came during the first period when notorious offensive defenseman Marc Staal scored the first goal of the season. It was definitely a what in the hell just happened kinda moment. Totally unexpected.

I must say when he took that puck around the net, Staal did his best Brian Leetch impersonation. Number 2 would be proud. Good for Staal, who takes so much abuse from uneducated fans, who can’t appreciate the warrior he’s been for so long.

He wasn’t perfect out there, getting victimized with partner Tony DeAngelo on Blake Wheeler’s goal. But Staal always gives an honest effort. It was nice to see him get rewarded in career game number 841 all spent as a Blueshirt. That deserves respect. Here’s a reminder.

And this in case you forgot.

Who knows? My next post could be devoted to Henrik Lundqvist the way the forgetful few are taking unnecessary shots at him following a victory. Just sad.

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Howden’s goal gives Rangers first win over Jets in wild one

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Derek

Mika Zibanejad celebrates a goal in a nice comeback 6-4 Rangers win over the Jets in a crazy home opener. AP Photo by Adam Hunger via Getty Images

This one was crazy. It felt like a baseball game with home runs being hit and pitchers giving up long balls. That analogy certainly applied to what goalies Henrik Lundqvist and Connor Hellebuyck must’ve felt like.

In the end, Lundqvist prevailed with 43 saves for career victory number 450 in a wild and wacky 6-4 Rangers win over the Jets in the home opener. On a tough night for goaltending and defense, the Blueshirts found a way to get it done to win the season opener.

Brett Howden scored with 4:09 remaining to break a 4-4 tie. It wasn’t a pretty goal like the beauty Mika Zibanejad scored when he took a great Jacob Trouba pass and whipped a backhand past Hellebuyck on a great deke to tie the score. Zibanejad was the game’s best player putting up four points (goal/3 apples) in Game 1 of 82.

In a memorable opener that saw both Trouba and Artemi Panarin score their first goals and combine for five points, it was a young second-year player in a supporting role who got the game-winner. Howden won a offensive draw back to Jesper Fast for a shot that was partially blocked. With Brendan Lemieux creating havoc in front, Howden had an easy put away for his first of the season at 15:51.

They still needed a couple of big stops from Lundqvist, who wasn’t at his best. However, when he needed to come up with the clutch saves, he did to preserve a win. One that was clinched in odd fashion when secret weapon Brendan Smith scored into an empty net with under 17 seconds left. What made it so strange was nobody knew where the puck was. It must’ve gone out. My guess is the four officials missed it. Smith took a Zibanejad pass and sealed it.

What a bizarre game it was. Marc Staal scored the game’s first goal on a nice wraparound at 11:35 of the first thanks to some good sustained pressure from Zibanejad. He definitely surprised Hellebuyck. This is a guy who gets at best, three goals a season. He nearly had another on one of rookie Kaapo Kakko’s best early shifts. But was stopped by Hellebuyck.

A miscue from both Lias Andersson and Brady Skjei led to Mark Scheifele tying it at 17:23. After Andersson lost the puck along the boards, Skjei let Nik Ehlers go past him behind the net and center for a quick Scheifele one-timer past Lundqvist.

Despite getting outplayed and outshot 13-7 by an aggressive Winnipeg forecheck, the Rangers found themselves tied.

The second was even nuttier. On a power play, Panarin was able to find a heavy Zibanejad shot that caromed out for an easy rebound that was his first goal as a Ranger 27 seconds in. Trouba helped set it up the power play goal. That should be a theme to the new season.

Before fans could get into their seats, here came Ehlers and Blake Wheeler two on one. They absolutely dusted Staal and Tony DeAngelo with Ehlers dishing across for an easy Wheeler finish that knotted it 30 seconds later. Eighteen-year old Ville Heinola recorded his first NHL point by getting a secondary assist. He was the first round pick in the Trouba deal that included former Ranger defenseman Neal Pionk, who wore number 4 for his new team.

The game got even wackier when two goals were scored nine seconds apart by each team. First, Trouba got his first as a Blueshirt thanks to some good hustle and patience from Panarin. He went into the corner and retrieved a loose puck passing it to Chris Kreider. With the power play expiring, Kreider got it over for Trouba, who unleashed one through traffic for a 3-2 Rangers lead at 6:03.

Like the groundhog, they couldn’t even celebrate. Nine seconds is all it took for Wheeler to back up the Rangers five skaters and surprise Lundqvist through the wickets at 6:12. Ehlers and Dmitri Kulikov assisted. The D backed in too much. They gave up too many shots (47). But it’s the first game. It’s gonna take time. They are young.

Having been outplayed the first two periods, they remained tied at three. Winnipeg led in shots 33-20. All it was going to take was one good period to squeeze out a win.

The third didn’t start off right. The Jets took advantage of a Skjei delay of game minor by scoring on the power play. It was recently re-signed forward Kyle Connor, who snuck a tricky shot by Lundqvist. He didn’t get enough of it. That made it 4-3 Jets at 2:41 of the period.

There was plenty of time for a comeback. A couple of minutes later, Trouba found a huge seam to thread the needle for Zibanejad. He did the rest by flying in and going forehand, backhand deke and in one motion like he does in the shootout, top shelf. It was the goal of the game.

Even though the game was hanging in the balance, you had to feel good. The Rangers were resilient and never went away. They were up against one of the game’s best offenses. Winnipeg definitely was more attackable without Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers. It’s hard to be the same defense when you lose that kind of quality. They still have Morrisey and Kulikov. But the D is gonna struggle like it will in NYC.

The Rangers right side of Trouba (1-2-3), DeAngelo (🍎) and rookie Adam Fox is way better. In particular, I want to praise Fox for how well he played in his NHL debut. He was poised throughout and didn’t look nervous. Neither did Kakko, who got stronger as the game went on. He is gonna be very exciting.

It was the Blueshirts who got the fifth goal. Coach David Quinn moved up the new Rangers Grate One Lemieux for the big shift. All he did was distract the defense and Hellebuyck, making the Fast rebound an easy one for Howden, who had a good night in front of his family.

All in all, a good win. The right way to start it off.

THREE STARS:

3rd ⭐ Blake Wheeler, Jets (2 goals)

2nd ⭐ Jacob Trouba, Rangers (first goal as NYR, 2 assists)

1st ⭐ Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (goal, 3 🍎)

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A tease that will pump Rangers fans up

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Derek

Let’s be honest. How cool was the old video montage and music MSG once used for the New York Rangers in the 90’s?

If you’re a classic fan of the Blueshirts, there was nothing better than that tease featuring highlights of the championship team in ’93-94. The Garden brought it back for the special 25 Year Anniversary in which they honored that memorable Stanley Cup team.

Nostalgia is fun. Especially for the older generation, who identify with what MSG Network used to be. No disrespect to any of the splendid employees they currently have such as John Giannone, who does a wonderful job of reporting what’s going on between the benches along with other unique stuff.

I’m merely referring to how much CEO James Dolan changed MSG. The classic Sports Desk was one of my favorites. Who didn’t love no nonsense Smirk Meister Bob Page? Was there a better host, who captured the pulse of sports news going on? He was as hard hitting as it got.

You had the old reliable Mike Crispino, who was a pro’s pro in whatever role he had. Knicks games were better with him on the radio. Ditto that funny call of Marek Malik in the wild 15 round shootout against the Caps. Crispino got so excited that he screeched before yelling, “Malik Went Between His Legs!!!!!” We were there for that, but I always smile when I watch the video on YouTube and hear his crazy Rangers call. Plus JD was chuckling too. Oh Baby! It’s good to have him back.

I guess MSG just isn’t the same. Thankfully, we still have Sam Rosen and hopefully Al Trautwig, who’s out right now due to something they haven’t revealed. Hopefully, it’s not too serious. I always joke about Al, but he’s one of the pillars of MSG’s coverage. It’s hard to believe he and Rosen have been there so long.

So, what will pump up Rangers fans for tonight’s home opener against Winnipeg? Try this ultra cool tease with the same awesome production music using the current Blueshirts!

A terrific job of production and editing. If only they kept that music and used the same video montage for the New Era of Rangers hockey. Artemiy Panarin, Kaapo Kakko, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba are ready to produce some new highlights. That includes Henrik Lundqvist, who is still being banked on to deliver the clutch saves when he starts. Ditto for Alexandar Georgiev as long as he’s here before Igor Shesterkin eventually sticks around Manhattan for good.

My family is about to leave now for the game. Let’s root for a win and kickoff the new season the right way.

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Rangers expected lines for tomorrow include Brendan Smith, Kakko understands how to play hockey

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Derek

Tell me if you thought Brendan Smith would be in the starting lineup tomorrow night. That indeed appears to be the case. Cue NYR Twitter panic attacks in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

The Rangers will ice a team that includes the secret weapon on the fourth line against the Jets in Thursday’s home opener. Coach David Quinn revealed why.

Here’s my takeaway. It’s Game 1 of 82. How they start the ’19-20 season won’t be how they finish. A point GM Jeff Gorton made when thoughtfully explaining to the media their roster decisions that saw Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov and Ryan Lindgren all get reassigned to Hartford.

The bottom line is as special as it is to be introduced on Opening Night to the crowd at MSG, it’s only one game. There’ll be plenty of time for those kids to prove they deserve a chance with the big club. As Gorton stated, it could be sooner rather than later ‘if’ they play well.

Nothing is ever etched in stone. That’s what all the negative detractors in other places seem to forget. A rebuild doesn’t mean instant success right away with every young player ready to contribute. It means there’s some thought that goes into it. It’s a process that includes development and progression. Patience must be preached.

Even if I disagree with the decision to start Smith on the fourth line over Greg McKegg tomorrow, it doesn’t mean anything. Unlike other overreactionary fans influenced by NYR bloggers, I don’t panic over one game, or an actual good response from 18-year old rookie Kaapo Kakko on how different he must play.

He’s not talking about strong puck possession in the offensive zone. The second pick is smart enough to realize that he can’t turn over the puck in the neutral zone or the opponent’s blueline. That can cause a quick counterattack and odd man rush the other way. He’s smarter than the judgmental fans who think these guys will be able to hold onto the puck for their entire shift. Have any of them ever played or watched the sport closely?

Ask Artemiy Panarin about his costly mistake not getting the puck deep in Game Five at Boston. It resulted in the Bruins getting the winner to deal his former team Columbus a crushing defeat in the second round. You can’t always be the hero. Especially in a close checking tie game with points on the line.

The same thing applies to Smith starting on a surprising fourth line with Lias Andersson and Brendan Lemieux. Andersson probably deserves to start on the third line. However, it’ll be Brett Howden centering Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast instead for the first game.

That’s okay. What’s important is how Quinn’s staff handles the entire season. With improved depth and more talent, he’s going to try some different combinations. That includes the power play where Kakko got bumped down to the second unit for Pavel Buchnevich.

Right now, it’s gonna be Mika Zibanejad, Panarin, Buchnevich, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba on the first unit. The second unit will feature Kakko, Ryan Strome, Lemieux, Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo. By adding Kakko to the second unit, it gives them more puck possession and skill. Not a bad way to go when they know Buchnevich had success last season by scoring a career high seven power play goals. That tied him with Kreider for second on the club behind Zibanejad, who led them with 11.

No matter what, tomorrow begins a New Era of Rangers hockey. Even if the new catchphrase is cheesy by our standards, #PlayLikeANewYorker is something everyone can get behind. That doesn’t stand for only skill and Corsi puck possession. But grit. Something every New Yorker is familiar with.

Let’s try to embrace what they’re doing. Enjoy the games for a change.

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