Is signing Adam Fox the right move?

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Derek

Hobey Baker finalist Adam Fox plans not to sign with Carolina and become a free agent this summer. Will the Rangers go for it? AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy USA Today

There’s been a lot of talk lately about Adam Fox. A 21-year old defenseman who won’t be signing with Carolina after being a throw in as part of a good trade between the Hurricanes and Flames. Basically, it was two for two with Micheal Ferland and Dougie Hamilton going to Carolina while Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin went to Calgary.

Originally a Flames third round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft taken 66th overall, the right defenseman represented Team USA at the 2017 and 2018 IIHF Under 20 World Junior Championship. A good skater with offensive potential, he posted nine points (1-8-9) in 14 total games for America.

Not the biggest in stature, Fox is 5-11, 185. However, his speed and skill are big reasons why there will be interest this summer. He’s played at Harvard University for three years. In his Junior year, Fox had 48 points (9-39-48) with 14 penalty minutes and a plus-23 rating in 33 games for the Crimson.

One of 10 players nominated for the Hobey Baker handed out to college hockey’s best player, the Jericho, New York native is one of six defensemen to be included. Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar are two of the top D that were recognized. Both were lottery picks the past two drafts with Hughes going number seven overall to Vancouver and Makar fourth overall to Colorado.

I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Fox isn’t those guys. He won’t be a top pair defenseman who can make a major impact. However, he could be a top four who should be effective on the power play. He’s a playmaker first as evidenced by the 39 assists he tallied this season.

As someone who remembers him from those two tournaments, he was a good offensive player for USA. Whenever it comes to these guys who don’t sign, I’m skeptical. Fox is about to go through his second organization to become unrestricted this summer.

It’s one of those loopholes I never liked dating back to the days of Mike Van Ryn, who spurned the Devils to sign with the Blues. He never became the player most envisioned, faring better in Florida. Ironically, he now serves as an assistant coach for St. Louis, who turned its year around.

When Fox was included in the Calgary deal with Carolina, most observers knew he would not sign with Carolina. That’s his choice. It’s one many players have used including former Hobey winner Jimmy Vesey. Vesey also starred for Harvard and decided against signing with Nashville. He chose the Rangers over the Sabres. It hasn’t worked out the way anyone thought. A third liner who tops out at 17 goals despite his size of 6-3, 199 is disappointing. Especially when coach David Quinn gave him more of an opportunity. I’m still uncertain how he won the Hobey over Kyle Connor.

Given their track record, the Rangers aren’t the best team to sign with. Use former Hobey winners Mike Mottau and Matt Gilroy for further reference. This isn’t to say Fox won’t have a good NHL career. I’m only pointing out the facts, and they’re not good. The Rangers stink when it comes to getting the most out of former top college players. Unless you want to go all the way back to Brian Leetch and Tony Granato, count me as someone with cautionary concern.

For a closer look on former Hobey winners, please use the link to see the full history of the prestigious award. It also lists the other finalists. It’s interesting to note that there have been more busts who won while quite a number of runners up became household names. For every Paul Kariya or Johnny Gaudreau, there’s a Tony Hrkac or Kip Miller. Who the heck is Bill Watson? Like the NHL Draft, it’s hit or miss.

If you want Fox, don’t forget Tony DeAngelo does everything that Fox can. It took the former Lightning 2014 first round pick a few years and coincidentally his third organization to fulfill potential. He doesn’t turn 24 until next season on Oct. 24. With a secondary assist on Monday night at New Jersey, he reached 30 points for the first time in his career. He’s also under six feet tall like Fox, but brings an edge most Rangers haven’t had in recent years. He beat Devils rookie Nathan Bastian in a scrap. DeAngelo is a key player moving forward.

Here’s the truth. If the Blueshirts sign Adam Fox, it would give them another young defenseman to look at in training camp. Given the state of the blueline, I’m fine with that. Especially when one watches Kevin Shattenkirk lose battles in his end while paired with Brady Skjei. The veteran is an offensive defenseman who must perform more consistently in ’19-20 assuming he’s kept. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be.

If one figures Skjei, Shattenkirk, DeAngelo and Marc Staal are the Rangers’ top four to start next season, that leaves three spots open for competition. I don’t expect Fredrik Claesson to return. Brendan Smith should be after giving a good showing as a part time forward who can still play on the third pair when called upon. His contract makes him immovable. He’s a good character guy. Just not a full timer.

Maybe Libor Hajek wins the job on the third pair. He looked capable in his brief cameo before a separated shoulder ended his season. The 21-year old Czech scored his first NHL goal in five games after being recalled from Hartford. The 6-2, 204 pound left defenseman has the right combo of size, skating and skill to become a good player. He came over with Brett Howden and Vladislav Namestnikov in the blockbuster trade with Tampa involving Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller. A deal that also netted top D prospect K’Andre Miller.

If the Lightning win the Cup this year, the Rangers also receive another first round pick. With the two they already have, that would be the same three they had last year. Maybe even four if Mats Zuccarello can pull off some magic with the playoff bound Stars.

Neal Pionk is a Group II free agent this summer. Even though he’s struggled in the second half since an injury, the organization likes him. In his first full season, the 23-year old right defenseman has achieved career bests in goals (6), assists (19) and points (25). He still turns over the puck too much and isn’t strong enough in front of his net. Areas he must clean up to stick. I’m not sure he’s more than a seventh defenseman. Time will tell.

Ryan Lindgren is the other forgotten young defenseman. Acquired from Boston as part of the Rick Nash deal, the 21-year old has the look of a defensive D who can clear out the front of the net. More physical than Hajek, he’s a former Bruins second round pick selected number 49 overall in 2016. He got into three games with the Blueshirts. He also played for Team USA at the U-20 WJC in ’17 and ’18.

Other young D to keep a close eye on are Nils Lundkvist, Yegor Rykov, Nico Gross, Joey Keane and Brandon Crawley.

Once the season concludes on Saturday, the Rangers can tend to the next order of business. That includes next Tuesday’s NHL Draft Lottery. Even if they’re in the middle of the pack, you never know how the ball will bounce. As far as this June in Vancouver, it’s a deep draft that isn’t only about 1A Jack Hughes and 1B Kaapo Kakko. There are other quality prospects to choose from including Vasili Podkolzin, Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras, Bowen Byram, Peyton Krebs, Alex Turcotte, Kirby Dach.

Between now, April 9, June 20-21 and July, we’ll learn a lot about the direction of the Rangers. Don’t jump the gun just yet. Be patient.

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Video of Day: Rangers and Devils fans come together

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Derek

It’s rare that two fan bases that hate each other due a heated rivalry can agree on something. However, a rare occurrence took place during last night’s final regular season meeting between the Rangers and Devils.

Fans from both sides of the bitter Hudson rivalry came together. The reality of our teams is they’re both out of the playoffs in the same year for the first time in the history of the rivalry. That dates back to 1982 when the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils. Even during the Dark Ages, the Devils carried the torch from ’97 thru ’04 until the Rangers returned to the postseason in ’06.

It’s a odd thing when fans who have had arguments over everything and even the occasional fight in the stands, can agree on one thing. Both teams suck. Here is the highlight from Monday night:

If you cannot share a good laugh and see the humor in our current situation, then you might need a good therapist. Losing sucks. That much has been made clear from all players whose teams didn’t qualify for the playoffs. Connor McDavid will once again be staying home despite a third straight 100 point season. The game’s best player must feel jinxed. Imagine having two superstars in the class of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who both eclipsed 40 goals and 100 points, and still aren’t in the postseason.

Exactly. The Devils have been without Taylor Hall the whole second half. Last year’s Hart winner hasn’t played since before Christmas. He had 37 points in 33 games. Basically, their season ended before the New Year. A bitter pill to swallow off their surprising postseason appearance in 2018.

The Rangers are where most expected they’d be. Fully committed to a rebuild, they traded Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes for draft picks. Brendan Lemieux also was acquired from Winnipeg in the Hayes transaction. With 75 points and three games left, they continue to play hard for David Quinn. The league’s youngest roster has given a good effort.

Both Hudson rivals will be in the April 9 NHL Draft Lottery. That’s in exactly a week on NBCSN. The Devils have 70 points and should be higher in terms of the odds. We’ll see what happens.

At least for one night, both Rangers and Devils fans agreed on one common thing. “We Both Suck!!!!!”

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Game 79: When actual predictions come true

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Derek

Rangers 2 Devils 4

So, I was on my FB messenger earlier during the second period with my Devils buddy. We were rousing each other on who would win the final meeting of the season. He said 4-2 Rangers. My response:

“Not tonight. The New Jersey Devils prevail 5-2.”

Okay. Maybe I was off by a goal. But at least I had the right side. In a rare emotionally charged game between the old Hudson rivals playing for pride, it was the Devils who prevailed by a score of 4-2 in Newark. They salvaged the final meeting to avoid losing all four games.

Not that it means much. It doesn’t. But even though I skipped the first half, I got down just in time to see Filip Chytil tie it up. Once again, the Rangers rallied from a 2-0 deficit against their blood rivals. However, they couldn’t complete the comeback for Henrik Lundqvist, who must feel like he’s eternally jinxed. Every time he starts, he loses. Even when he plays well.

It can’t be easy for the Rangers franchise leader in essentially every goalie category to lose regularly. Sure. It started last year. But now, he’s barely playing with David Quinn giving rookie Alexandar Georgiev a good look to see what they’ve got. Georgiev has played very well over the final part of the season. He will make the decision on Igor Shestyorkin tough next training camp.

As for Lundqvist, following a brutal goal allowed to Devils forward Miles Wood, he turned in a good performance. He faced 40 shots with the fresher Devils peppering him throughout. It isn’t surprising considering the Rangers sorta played yesterday in that easy 3-0 shutout victory of the lifeless Flyers. New Jersey had better legs. It showed with the game tied in the latter stages of the third.

Connor Carrick’s second goal as a Devil proved to be the winner coming at 15:50. There was little Lundqvist could do. Drew Stafford continued his drive to be re-signed by taking back a puck from Vladislav Namestnikov and then passing for a wide open Carrick, who had all night to fire one past a frustrated Lundqvist due to Kevin Shattenkirk falling asleep. It is what it is.

Joey Anderson added a empty netter right after Lundqvist was pulled to seal the Devils victory. The former Team USA captain of the 2018 World Junior Championship bronze medal roster got to celebrate his fourth NHL goal.

Honestly, this was more about what happened during a hard fought contest that harkened back to glory days. Think 2012. No. It wasn’t quite as insane as the infamous Line Brawl I ran out of the bathroom to see. But it was refreshing to see some emotion back in a rivalry that’s been dead for a while. Look at what Lundqvist said after the game.

He’s 💯 percent right. This is professional sports. No matter what, you gotta find a way to compete even if there’s no playoffs for either team. It was hard fought in more ways than one. You had scrums, edge and heated exchanges followed by three fights. When is the last time that happened? Maybe Hasan knows the answer. I know he probably didn’t watch. He must’ve been locked in on the Mets big ninth inning highlighted by Pete Alonso’s first career home run. Your hockey team might be a bit away, but I have a sneaky feeling Alonso is the goods and the Mets will be good.

You had Brendan Lemieux right in the middle of the fireworks. Reinserted by Quinn, who felt his game had slipped, the son of popular former Devils playoff hero Claude Lemieux, was back to his ornery self. He was dishing it out and taking it all game. That included being on the receiving end of a Stefan Noesen cross check which led to Tony DeAngelo mixing it up with Nathan Bastian.

I like DeAngelo because he plays the game the right way. It’s interesting that he’s basically my height just under six feet and doesn’t back down from no one. He is more than just the skating and offensive skill he brings to the rink. I rather enjoyed his back and forth discussion with Bastian in the penalty boxes. You could tell it was good natured. Lemieux then battered Wood in a quick dust up, bloodying his nose. It was a mismatch. Wood simply picked the wrong guy.

Wow. That’s a little after I put it on. I picked the right time to watch. Lemieux is tough as nails and someone this club has lacked dating back to the good old days when Brandon Prust was standing up for teammates. Someone has to do it. The final sad days of the Alain Vigneault Era lacked that type of passion. All they ever did was skate away and infuriate the fans. It was passionless hockey. No wonder they went out with such a wimper against Ottawa. Can you believe that series was two years ago?

I really like Lemieux’s honesty here with John Giannone. He talked about both teams being frustrated and showed respect for Wood, who asked him to go. Something the replay clearly showed. I said it at the time that Wood was trying to change the momentum. It worked for his team even though he took some punishment. Like Canes play by play man John Forslund often says, “That’s hockey baby!”

Lias Andersson also had his first scrap against Blake Coleman. Let’s just say he needs work. Welcome to the NHL!

Travis Zajac got the other Devils goal on the power play. He has 18 goals on a bad team. That’s a proud veteran who is still around on the Jersey side. Not a bad season for the former top center of ZZ Pop.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves while Lundqvist stopped 37 of 40. Brett Howden got the first Rangers tally giving him three points in a two day span. Nice to see him regaining his confidence.

Given how the game finished with Chytil taking a slash, maybe we will actually have something to look forward to next season.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Miles Wood, Devils (10th of season and game changing fight)

2nd 🌟 Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers (37 saves including some good ones in a busy 3rd)

1st 🌟 Connor Carrick, Devils (game winner for 2nd goal as a Devil with 4:10 left in regulation)

Notes: DeAngelo picked up a secondary assist for his 30th point. The first time he’s hit that mark. … Pavel Buchnevich sat out due to precaution after leaving Sunday’s game for concussion protocol. I hope we get to see him again before it ends. … Fredrik Claesson played for Brendan Smith, who got the night off. … The teams combined for 40 penalty minutes in the heated second.

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The Hughes/Kakko Lottery Race

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Derek

As I’ve stated repeatedly on this blog, I’m not a fan of tanking. That’s for losers. Sure. It helps your team’s odds in a highly anticipated NHL Draft Lottery like this year’s crop which features Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. But it doesn’t guarantee anything.

When the Devils won the 2017 Lottery, they finished 26th out of 30 teams- tying in points (70) with the Coyotes, who had one less regulation and overtime win. The Canucks had 69 and the Avalanche were the worst team in the league with only 48. Colorado had the highest odds and it didn’t matter.

With the Devils winning it and selecting Nico Hischier first overall, Colorado fell to number four and still drafted a good player in defense prospect Cale Makar. He’s a Hobey Baker finalist after his second year at UMass-Amherst.

It’s also the same lottery that saw Vancouver drop to fifth and wind up with Calder lock Elias Pettersson. That proved two things.

A.That was a deep draft.

B.You can still get a good player even if you slip.

It boils down to good scouting and luck. Look at Flyers center Nolan Patrick. He and Hischier were neck and neck as the top two draft picks. In Year 2 after Philly moved all the way up to second overall, Patrick has the identical 13-17-30 line with only a few games remaining. Meanwhile, the Stars wound up grabbing a good defenseman in Miro Heiskanen, who’s 12-21-33 as a rookie at number three.

If you’re keeping track, I get it. The Rangers were two picks away from landing primary target Pettersson that draft following the trade of former playoff hero Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta for Tony DeAngelo and the seventh overall pick that turned into Lias Andersson. However, it’s too soon to write off the 20-year old Swede the way some ultra negative fans are already doing. They finally have the right coach in David Quinn, who’s done a good job developing young players this season.

Fast forward to April 9. It’s only eight days away. The anticipation is building in these parts with both the Devils and Rangers two of 15 participants for next week’s lottery. The other 16 will be busy in the playoffs. That includes the Islanders, who are to be congratulated on a great year by surprising everyone thanks to the hires of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz. They face you know who in a rematch at NYCB Live Nassau Coliseum tonight with the Maple Leafs needing one point to clinch. John Tavares will get cheered. April Fool’s. 🙂

Right now, this is how the bottom of the NHL standings look entering tonight’s meaningless exhibition between the Rangers and Devils in Newark.

31.Senators 78 GP 62 Pts 28 ROW

30.Kings 78 GP 67 Pts 26 ROW

29.Devils 79 GP 68 Pts 26 ROW

28.Sabres 79 GP 72 Pts 26 ROW 😐

27.Red Wings 79 GP 72 Pts 28 ROW

26.Rangers 78 GP 75 Pts 25 ROW

25.Ducks 80 GP 76 Pts 30 ROW

24.Oilers 78 GP 77 Pts 31 ROW

23.Canucks 79 GP 78 Pts 28 ROW

22.Blackhawks 78 GP 79 Pts 32 ROW

Note: ROW is included because it determines first tiebreaker. In this crazy scenario, you want your team to have less so your team finishes lower. Even with the odds not as favorable as before, you never know.

The fact Buffalo has fallen so dramatically with last year’s prize in rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin along with Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhardt and Jeff Skinner is absurd. What do they have? Thirteen wins since late November?!?! If ever a team doesn’t deserve to win the Jack Hughes/Kaapo Kakko Lottery, it’s them. Ditto Edmonton with them basically done. They already boast Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is good too.

The one point I want to raise is that the bottom feeders have been playing better lately. Even Ottawa and the Kings are winning games. Don’t forget by opting to accept Colorado’s number one pick last year (Brady Tkachuk) in the Matt Duchene disaster, the Senators don’t have their pick. It belongs to the Avalanche, who are in the second wildcard with 85 points. One up on the miracle Coyotes. I didn’t include either along with the fading Wild due to all three still in contention. The Blackhawks can still make it if they run the table and get help. The Flyers and Panthers are already eliminated and in play.

What will happen next Tuesday? Nobody knows. With the odds more weighted like the NBA to be fair to everyone, it’s no guarantee the worst team will win. Of course, the runner up won’t be too upset with either Hughes or Kakko as their consolation prize. However, this is a deep draft. So, that’s good news for the teams that finish behind the top two. So is next year’s class.

NHL 2019 LOTTERY ODDS

There really isn’t anything else to add. Even with the Rangers having won two in a row for the first time since January, I don’t care either way. If they lose, it can’t hurt their chances. However, I’m kinda hoping the honest approach Quinn’s team has taken will earn them a reward. Like Hasan noted when John Moore scored an overtime winner in 2017, it actually worked out for the Devils.

We’ll see what happens.

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Game #78: A Georgie Special as Buchnevich and Strome stay hot in win at Flyers

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Derek

Some might say, ‘What’s the point in winning these games?’ I think Marc Staal said it best the other day. You don’t teach losing at any level. It’s about competing every game no matter what. Or in hockey terms, every shift.

The Rangers continue to play hard for coach David Quinn. Today, they easily shutout the lifeless Flyers 3-0 in the City of Brotherly Love to earn a win in the final game of the season series. Philly had dominated the series by taking the first three. But a day after getting eliminated by the Canes, they clearly were not into the early NBC matinee.

Even if Gritty was rolled out and later shown on the scoreboard with Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg, who had about as much excitement for the popular Flyers rookie mascot as the team had in playing. I agree with what Eddie Olczyk said during the telecast to Kenny Albert. It’s hard to get up for a game a day following playoff elimination. Sean Couturier told Pierre McGuire “it sucks,” before the game.

Be that as it may, the Rangers did what they were supposed to. No. They didn’t tank like some of our fans want. I understand that a worse position in the final standings would give them a higher percentage for winning the April 9 NHL Draft Lottery. However, it’s not an exact science. There’s no guarantee. We saw the Devils win the lottery two years ago to move up to first overall and land Nico Hischier. Sometimes, you get rewarded for honest play. Interestingly, nobody is tanking. Hasan cited the tweet by Devils play by play man Steve Cangialosi last night.

It’s funny. But if you compare our team to the other bottom feeders, their record is worse. Yet fans are still complaining because of course. The 3-0 victory gave the Rangers their first two game winning streak since mid-January when they reeled off three in a row over Carolina, Chicago and Boston from 1/15-19. So, the fans that are upset are wrong. Shocking as usual. For the month of March, they went 4-8-3. I’ll repeat. They were 4-8-3.

You can never satisfy everyone. Especially Debbie downers who have forgotten the most important part of rebuilding. Building a winning culture. Thank God for Quinn, who’s instilled a real work ethic that’s resulted in big improvements from a few young players including Pavel Buchnevich, Alexandar Georgiev and Ryan Strome.

Buchnevich scored number 20 in the win to continue his hot streak. That’s a seven-game point streak (4-4-8). Since March 3 versus Washington, he has eight goals and four assists. How has he done it? With the kind of hard work combined with unique skill the maturing 23-year old forward has. He’s a different player. It bodes well for the future.

Georgiev continues his evolvement in net by stopping all 29 Flyers shots for his second career shutout. Both coming this season. He’s been impressive since the All-Star break. He made 55 saves against Toronto on his 23rd birthday last month. He stoned the Leafs again last week with 44 stops in a win up north, and was superb in making 44 to highlight Friday’s home win over the Blues. So, Quinn stuck with him. He rewarded his faith by evening up his record at 13-13-3. Okay. So technically, it’s not .500. But Georgie is improving. Not so fast Igor Shestyorkin. It’s a good problem to have moving forward with Henrik Lundqvist here for at least two more years.

Strome has been just as hot as Buchnevich. He continued his strong play by scoring another goal and assisting on one to give him two multi-point games in the last three. He’s up to 17 goals as a Ranger. In fact, it matches his best output that he accomplished with the Islanders in ’14-15. That’s still his best season. He posted a career high 50 points (17-33-50) over 81 contests. In 59 games with the Blueshirts, the 25-year old forward has 31 points (17-14-31). Solid production that’s become more consistent recently. That’s the key.

Brady Skjei also got his seventh goal from Strome and Brett Howden in the third to put it away. That leads all Ranger defensemen. The seven markers are a career high. He’s quietly made strides in his third season following a poor start. The just turned 25-year old is becoming more of a leader. Something that’s necessary with the Rangers the league’s youngest roster. Their average age is a shade over 25.

As poorly as Philadelphia played, they got plenty of power play time in the second due to Brendan Smith repeatedly taking minor penalties. He took all four of the Rangers’ penalties including two in succession. That included a weird sequence where as he was coming out of the penalty box, he touched the puck before stepping on to the ice. A no no. It is interference. He could only shake his head.

But Georgiev was sharp throughout. His rebound control was excellent. The Flyers created opportunities on their power plays. However, Georgiev saw everything and ate up a couple of low offerings from Shayne Gostisbehere. No Flyer screened him. They definitely missed Wayne Simmonds, who’s now a Predator. He was great at getting in front and tipping shots or making life difficult. Georgiev’s best save came on James van Riemsdyk when he stoned him on a breakaway. He stayed calm and patient to thwart a good finisher.

Buchnevich’s goal was nice. It came in the first from Mika Zibanejad and a grinning Chris Kreider, who created the play. He gave Buchnevich the business on the bench for getting that 20th goal. The KZB Line is much better than last year. All three players are harder on the puck and it makes them tougher to stop given their skill.

Strome had a nice finish past rookie Carter Hart on a good pass from Howden with only three seconds left in the period. Just a nice all around play. Smith got the secondary assist. He played with them up front.

Skjei put the Flyers out of their misery on a good play by Howden that Strome was involved in. Overall, it was a well played game by the Rangers. They got the deserved reward.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, Rangers (notched career best 20th goal)

2nd 🌟 Alexandar Georgiev, Rangers (29 save shutout for 2nd of career)

1st 🌟 Ryan Strome, Rangers (17th as a NYR, and a helper)

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Game #79: Skimpy Saturday – Blues 3, Devils 2 (OT)

Posted on March 31, 2019 by hasan4978

Thank goodness me and my friend had the club seats for last night’s home game, since nothing else about ‘Fan Appreciation’ night quite measured up.  From the game itself – the worst possible result that satisfies neither the Lose for Hughes contingent or the screw the lottery odds contingent – to the utter lack of giveaways or general fan perks, it was the second worst Fan Appreciation game I’ve been to surpassed only by the Rangers clowning us during Lou Lamoriello’s final days and getting that dopey team picture of an empty locker, perfectly symbolizing the Devils as a franchise at that time.  Not that things are much better now…oh sure the team has a direction, but whether that direction is going to lead forward or just to spinning our wheels eternally like other perennial loser franchises will be determined in the next season or two.

Before I go off further, I might as well start with the positive first – the club seats were as usual terrific.  Somehow I didn’t remember actually being in them late last season but last night me and my friend were there again.  Other than our odd seating location right behind the Blues bench just a handful of rows back which was too close to the ice for me but my friend loved it, overall that part of the game was spectacular – we sampled tons of good and delicious food from pizza burgers to steak slices with mac and cheese flavored mashed potatoes to carrot cake dessert and a ton of other things that were a good aggregate dinner.  So at least the Devils’ season ticket holder rewards program did something for me and my friend on Fan Appreciation Night.

There’s not really much else to say about the game or the team, it was at least a more entertaining game than I figured with us playing the superior Blues coming off a bleh game at the Garden on Friday night.  Drew Stafford continued his late-season contract drive with a second-period power play goal and Joey Anderson scored on a masterful deflection, also in the second period.  However, in this game the Devils never held a lead and only went to OT after a strange late-game power play by the Blues could have ended it with a more lottery-friendly zero point game, it almost looked as if they were running out the clock to ensure their own point with a ton of cautious overpassing.  I doubt they were literally doing that since they had clinched a playoff spot already, but as it turned out it only set up a fitting coda for our season at the tail end of OT when defenseman Vince Dunn turned on the jets and blew past Nico Hischier and Will Butcher to power home a goal past the star-crossed Cory Schneider for yet another useless defeat.

Cory may not want to hear this but I still haven’t seen a home victory from him since 2017, other than the playoff game last year which looks like a minor miracle now.  Not that last night was his fault, it was an even game and his worst mistake (a horrible puckhandling gaffe) he skirted away from without any damage.  Not that I’ve seen many home victories period since December – a mere one to be exact.  I was still conflicted last night whether I even wanted to see another one, most of the time I was silently just rooting for the loss but did stand up and clap in a rote way for the goals and had brief periods where I was like ‘screw it, let’s just win and go out on a good note’.  At least nobody can accuse us, or any of the other teams in the lotto for tanking.

Detroit’s domination over us since, and the Kings’ mildly surprising win last night were just the latest examples of how teams out of it are still playing hard in spite of the lotto odds, or perhaps in part because there isn’t enough of a tangible difference in them to care.  That’s where I vacilate too.  Is the 13.5% chance of winning the top pick from the 2-hole really all that much different from the 9.5% chance from the 4-hole?  Still you’d rather have better odds than not, and even our improved results lately don’t augur much hope for next season other than in the play of the goalies.  I mean really, Stafford scoring three goals down the stretch helps us how?  So we sign him as opposed to some other old, slow fourth-line plug?  Like former NBA player (and New Jersey Net) Derrick Coleman once famously cracked, ‘whoopdie damn doo’.

My real source of annoyance last night even above the lousy loser point was the utter lack of pomp around the supposed Fan Appreciation Night.  A team poster giveaway?  Hah, we got purple Pepsi sugarless soda cans with a Devils logo on it.  Prize giveaways during play stoppages?  Not yesterday.  The only real indicator of it being ‘Fan Appreciation’ night was the 40% discount at an overly crowded Devils Den which would be more meaningful to me if prices weren’t marked up by 40-50% in the first place.  Maybe they’ll have the actual giveaways during Monday’s home finale which would be utterly stupid.  Last night you had 17000 fans in the building willing to be there and chant for the team, Monday you’ll be lucky to get half that many Devil fans and most will be largely apathetic and looking to peel out early from a weeknight game.

To wit, literally a ton of our friends were also at the Saturday game – a lot more people I know than were at maybe the last ten games combined I’ve been to – but since we had the club seats we didn’t want to venture out to see any of them, particularly since we were in the lower bowl and they were all in the upper deck.  Most of them we’d already seen the previous week anyway.  Fortunately the game itself was at least a quick execution, even with the OT we got out of there and home by 10:15.

For the first time maybe ever (or other than the aformentioned 2015 game against the Rangers), I had no feeling of too bad I don’t get to come back here again till October.  I was just glad to get it all over with.

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Game #78: Fickle Friday – Red Wings 4, Devils 0

Posted on March 30, 2019 by hasan4978

Last weekend it felt like an empty win when the Devils beat Arizona, because of how it negatively impacted draft positioning and didn’t really mean anything for us this season.  After last night I felt much the same – empty – after the Devils got their ‘needed’ loss to Detroit for draft positioning.  Empty because what, exactly about last night’s game would give anyone hope things could be different in the immediate future for a Devils team who may finish with its lowest point total since the relocated team in the early ’80’s (and these teams have the loser point, to boot)?

Sure it was another decent game for Mackenzie Blackwood, who only allowed three goals including this junktime goal by Andreas Athanasiou where he sped past Mirco Mueller as if he was standing still to get his 30th for the season.   However, getting shut out by a mediocre Wings team at home with two mediocre goalies doesn’t exactly speak well for our younger offensive players, nor does getting outplayed – again – to the extent they did speak well for coaching or the defense, most of whom will be here next year.

Moral of the story: Meaningless hockey stinks all around.

Of course last night was a good one for Tankathon month, since the Rangers’ surprise comeback and upset of the Blues kept them safely in front of us while losing to the Wings in regulation obviously helped our position the other way around.  I don’t feel like making too much light of it though, just in case the joke is on us in the end.  It’s eminently possible we do get higher odds than the Wings for the lottos but they wind up winning a top three pick and we don’t.  As Devil fans we’ve only seen the good side of the lottery in recent years, perhaps a small penance for 1984 (which is a seperate story itself) so odds are many in the fanbase need a reminder this stuff is truly random.

Tonight will be my most divided home game yet, going with my friend to Fan Appreciation Night against the Blues.  I honestly don’t remember feeling this conflicted in 2011, 2015 or 2017 – other ends of long, meaningless seasons.  Of course in 2011 the lotto didn’t exist in its current form, and quite honestly that season’s finish helped in 2011-12, if we kept going the way we were in the historically bad first half, nobody will ever confince me it wouldn’t have been near impossible for the franchise to recover from that.  In 2015 we were so far above the bottom teams it wasn’t exactly an issue since we were more or less trapped in the 6th spot.  Clearly two years ago was the closest I’ve gotten to this kind of lotto angst when a mere point seperated 2nd from 5th in the odds, but things worked out for us in the end anyway by actually winning the lotto, so John Moore’s OT goal which knocked us down two spots in the lotto odds wound up not mattering.

Maybe the constant losing and the fact there’s been no hope since Thanksgiving has just beaten me down.  Not to mention this season’s been the biggest of all letdowns after the promise of 2017-18.  Nothing else I’ve experienced as a hockey fan has come close to that.  To a degree maybe missing the playoffs in 1995-96 off of being defending champs, but at least that season had meaningful hockey throughout and there was still light at the end of the tunnel despite the trolls mocking our ‘half-a-Cup’ the year before attempting to de-legitimizing our lockout win the way no other team’s lockout win in the NHL or NBA has gotten scrutinized since.

Am I actively going to root against the team?  Not really, once you’re in the arena it’s trollish to cheer for the tank.  It’s fan nature to want to see wins live and really if you’re there, that’s what you care about.  Would I be lying if I said I wasn’t silently cheering against the team tonight?  Yes.  Of course without Blackwood in net it’s a bit easier (sorry Cory), but now that we’re almost at the end I just want this season to be over with and to have the best odds possible for the lotto.  T-10 days to the drawing and counting.  The Fan Depreciation Recap may be my final true recap of the season since I don’t plan on watching the last three games to be honest.  I’ll obviously do some form of season wrapup next weekend after the end of the regular season and a special Draft Lotto thoughts post, then go into hiding until the draft at least.

For me, emotionally the season ends today, not counting the lotto itself.  Even if there are three more games left to be played and it could be a big deal in lotto positioning, or in the Hurricanes’ case for a playoff spot.  Even playing spoiler to Carolina holds no charms for me since we’d only benefit Columbus and Montreal though, big deal.  Not that I’d be able to watch that game Thursday regardless.  And what’s the point in watching Monday when we play the Rangers or next Saturday at Florida in games meaningless to all other than for draft positioning?  That’s part of my reason for not watching lately and avoiding going to games as much as possible…it’s easier to hope for the 2-1, 3-2 loss when you’re more detached from it.

It does help tonight that me and my friend will be in the club seats – a pre-planned season ticket points upgrade I would rather not have chanced using in the winter.  How was I to know I’d lose interest in going to games for the whole last three months?  So if we miss action getting something or maybe spend too much time outside the club seeing someone during an intermission that won’t exactly bother me.  It wouldn’t even bother me if the game was 5-1 after two periods and we decided to leave early or just find an excuse at the arena to ignore the rest of the game.  Other than the fact they do have prize drawings on Fan Appreciation Night.  I’m not exactly expecting to win anything in the drawings though that’s certainly possible so I guess I should stick it out tonight, especially with it being the final time I have to deal with going to a game this season.

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Game #77: Reunited KZB Line and Georgie spark Rangers to satisfying victory over Blues

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Derek

Thank You! A victorious Blueshirts salute the fans following the 4-2 victory over the Blues. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NYRangers.

It was Fan Appreciation night at The Garden. Even though they won’t participate in the playoffs a second consecutive year, these Blueshirts don’t know the word quit. It’s not in their vocabulary under coach David Quinn.

They fell behind the playoff bound Blues 2-0 in the first period, but recovered strong by scoring four unanswered goals for a satisfying 4-2 victory over a good St. Louis team. It was a good night for the reunited KZB Line and rookie Alexandar Georgiev.

With Chris Kreider deeming himself ready to go, he wanted to get back in. That’s commendable. With nothing but pride on the line, it sets a good example. Despite what NY Post columnist Larry Brooks says, Kreider has proven he should stay. He entered with just two goals over his last 21 games. But we know he hasn’t been 100 percent. The combination of size, strength and speed are areas this team lacks without the valuable alternate captain. That’s why I’d extend him this summer.

Even though the cohesive trio only combined for two goals, they easily could’ve had more. A wonderful play started by Kreider with Buchnevich passing for Zibanejad for a beautiful finish was negated by a tacky goalie interference challenge. Despite Brendan Smith making contact with St. Louis rookie goalie Jordan Binnington outside the crease before the Zibanejad shot, they overturned his goal. Of course they did. The NHL seems to have it out for our team. I like conspiracies, but rarely in sports. Let’s just say I’ve had it with the league screwing the Rangers.

What should’ve been a 2-1 game instead was 2-0 after one period. The Blues able to score their two goals 27 seconds apart. On a innocent looking play near the net, Vladimir Tarasenko caught Georgiev off his post to squeeze his 30th in. It was one he wanted back. On the next shift, Jaden Schwartz set up David Perron for his 21st for a two goal St. Louis lead.

Despite playing well by outshooting the Blues 11-10, the Rangers found themselves in a undeserved hole. The top line created some chances aside from the negated Zibanejad goal. Buchnevich had a good backhand sail wide. The second line was also involved.

In the same game Kreider returned, Marc Staal also was back replacing a ineffective Fredrik Claesson. Fourth line secret weapon Brendan Smith shifted back to defense. He paired with Neal Pionk while Staal reunited with cohesive partner Tony DeAngelo. Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk have been working together for a while with mixed results. It’ll be interesting to follow what they do with the blueline moving forward.

It’s funny how things turn out. The first was very competitive and the Rangers trailed by two. The second was mostly Blues, who held a 20-9 edge in shots. It didn’t matter due to Georgiev, who recovered well by making 20 of his 44 saves, earning the game’s number one star. With the poised 23-year old dialed in, his teammates responded.

Ryan Strome continues to play very well down the stretch. He scored his 17th goal on a net mouth scramble to cut the deficit in half. It was his fourth goal over the last five. He’s now up to 16 as a Blueshirt since being stolen by GM Jeff Gorton from the Oilers for Ryan Spooner (LMAO!!!!!). Since posting 2-1-3 in a home win over the Devils on March 9, Strome has nine points (6-3-9) over 10 games. He’s proving to be a good top nine player who can play center or right wing.

Eighty seconds later, Kreider lifted the stick of a Blue to keep a play alive for Zibanejad. He then perfectly set up a Buchnevich one-timer for his 19th to tie the score. A very unselfish play by the team’s leading scorer, who is looking like the next captain with his actions on and off the ice. Kreider didn’t get a point, but it was his smart play that led to the goal. They missed what he brings when he was out. I’d love to see what that line is capable of now that Buchnevich is a much better player. Let’s hope!

The reason the game was tied was Georgiev, who answered the bell. If he wasn’t as sharp in the loss to the Penguins last time out, he more than made up for it. It shows a lot of character and proves that he should be the backup again behind Henrik Lundqvist next year. That’s even if they sign Igor Shestyorkin. He can be developed at Hartford. There’s no rush.

So, the Blues got 16 of the 21 total shots in the third. Like a broken record, it didn’t matter. Georgiev made the key stops and the Rangers did the rest.

It was the supporting cast that worked hard for the game decider. On a gritty shift, Vinni Lettieri and Brett Howden combined to set up Jimmy Vesey’s 17th at 5:47. Vesey had gone 13 straight games without a point. He got off the schneid.

After missing what seemed to be a easy empty netter, Buchnevich got the puck over to Kreider for his 27th with eight seconds left. Both grinned and for good reason. Kreider because it had to feel good to score after his slump. Buchnevich probably due to Kreider giving him the business on the missed chance for number 20.

It was nice to see. A good night for a team that hadn’t beaten any quality competition since the deadline. It had to feel good to also get the home crowd a win.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (primary assist on Buchnevich tally, goal taken away for tacky challenge, first NYR center 25 or younger with 30 goals since Darren Turcotte)

2nd 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, Rangers (19th goal and assist to give him points in six straight)

1st 🌟 Alexandar Georgiev, Rangers (44 saves including 36 the final 2 periods)

Funny stuff with Staal during his interview. 😂

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Game #76: Big Bad Bruins humiliate Andersson and Rangers

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Derek

David Pastrnak torched Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers for a hat trick and five points in a 6-3 humiliation at Boston. AP Photo via Getty Images

I don’t often start off recaps like this. But I’m pretty ticked off at how that game ended. By that, I mean the way the big bad Bruins had to avenge Patrice Bergeron for a questionable hit by Lias Andersson that from my vantage point, didn’t look intentional.

Of course, after the awful refs handed them a gift 5-on-3 on a phantom high stick they made up on Brendan Smith, the Bruins turned a close game into a 6-2 laugher. They scored on both ends with David Pastrnak completing his fourth career hat trick and then setting up a Bergeron tip in that poor Henrik Lundqvist had no chance on.

The final wound up being 6-3 due to Mika Zibanejad scoring number 30 with four seconds left from Vladislav Namestnikov. His 30th goal was also his 70th point, making him the first Ranger to reach 70 points since Marian Gaborik did it in ’11-12 with 76. Zibanejad had two goals to get there in defeat.

My biggest issue was how ridiculous the Bruins acted. But you just knew they would seek retribution even if the odd Andersson hit where he wound up with his back turned to catch Bergeron upstairs, wasn’t intentional. Bergeron jumped on top of him and let go of a few punches. Somehow, Boston got a power play out of that BECAUSE of bleeping course they did! God forbid the league officials have a brain. Not when it comes to the Rangers. The most penalized team in the league. Some of it self inflicted with two more mind boggling bench minors turning David Quinn into Wily E. Coyote on the bench.

If you think sending out an overpaid experienced veteran like David Backes is justified to go after our 20-year old rookie, you’re either delusional or a drunken idiot from Boston. BTW the “Yankees Suck,” chants make you look self absorbed. God. I hope a bird craps all over the field when they have their World Series ceremony. They’re such a joke. Either that or sleet. It’s the idiot fans who I can’t stand. I respect the Red Sox except their trashy manager. I guess I’m ready for Opening Day.

I’m ticked off at the garbage the Bruins pulled. It’s not like Backes has the guts to face Brendan Lemieux, who actually had some interesting words for Zdeno Chara late in the second period when the chaos began.

At the end of the day, it’s a 6-3 loss for the Rangers. One I’m sure Andersson won’t soon forget. He plays the game hard. There’s an edge to the 2017 first round pick that’s already been written off by the pundits. Some, you can really tell a lot about someone’s character by how quick they are to judge a first-year player at the beginning of their career. These are the same clowns who never went through 1997-2004. Poor judgment and impatience are showing.

It’s too bad the team was so undisciplined because Lundqvist played great the first two periods. He looked as sharp as he’s been since the All-Star break. It was a shooting gallery highlighted by six Bruins power plays. They went a ridiculous 4-for-6. That should tell you everything.

It’s sad that Lundqvist only wound up with 26 saves on 32 shots. Most were created off the man-advantage. When they weren’t, he made point blank stops like this one to rob Chris Wagner during a wild sequence in the first.

Truthfully, he had no chance on five of the six they scored. They were great set ups. That included Pastrnak’s hat trick goal that was a one-timer he saw. But it was struck with such velocity that Lundqvist had the puck take a weird hop and go through him.

It’s a shame Zibanejad had his two goals to reach 30 and make 70 points feel so out of place. That’s what happens when you lose.

That is number 29 which I described in the earlier post on the wonderful conception of a power play goal from Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich.

This is number 30 which also came on the power play due to the Boston idiocy on Andersson. Tony DeAngelo’s point shot rebounds off Jaro Halak and Namestnikov digs it out to set up Zibanejad for his first career 30 goal season.

At the end, it’s just book keeping. I’m sure Zibanejad wished it came in a win. He’s your next captain. Number 93 has been exemplary for this younger team. He continues to put in the work and it’s nice to see him get rewarded. He’s done it without Chris Kreider, who missed another game. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s shut down. There are five games left.

There’s nothing else to say about that game. I have two particular words in mind. But I can’t do it. You can figure it out. 😉

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Ryan Strome, Rangers (goal, number 15 as a NYR, primary assist)

2nd 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (2 goals for 30 and hits 70 points)

1st 🌟 David Pastrnak, Bruins (4th career hat trick, 2 assists, dominant)

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Lias Andersson hit on Bergeron

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Derek

Late in the second period of a one goal game, rookie center Lias Andersson caught Bruins star center Patrice Bergeron with this hit. It’s interesting. Of course, he got a double minor for it while Bergeron got only two minutes for jumping him.

At this point, I don’t know what to say. It’s iffy. The hit is eerily similar to the Mika Zibanejad one that somehow was called a major and game misconduct, which was later rescinded by the NHL.

I think Andersson plays a hard nosed game. He’s a young player who’s quietly making progress now that David Quinn has him centering the third line. You see subtle plays where he’s involved. I hope he doesn’t get suspended for that hit. It’s not worth it.

There was also this between Brendan Lemieux and Zdeno Chara.

The Bruins lead 2-1 on a pair of David Pastrnak goals. There could be some fireworks in the third.

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