Hajek a bright spot in helping Lundqvist get a rare win last night

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Derek

Ryan Strome’s locker has a nice surprise following a three-point effort. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NYRangers.

These days, there really isn’t much to write home about if you’re a Rangers or Devils fan. Even a third rivalry game of four didn’t have much juice last night. With both teams headed for playoff misses, these games don’t feel as important.

Unless you’re a tank nerd hoping for the losses to pile up in some desperate hopes to improve your team’s chances at punching the lottery ticket to Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko, there isn’t much to get excited about. At this point, the Devils are closer to that race than the Rangers, who came back to post a 4-2 home win on Saturday night. Their third straight victory in the season series with one game left on April Fool’s Day in Newark.

With the Devils icing a depleted roster minus several regulars including last year’s MVP Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha, Jesper Bratt, Sami Vatanen and Miles Wood, they gave it the old college try. First period goals from Damon Severson and Blake Coleman (redirect of a Will Butcher shot) put them in front by two. But it didn’t hold up.

The healthier Rangers responded with a dominant second period by outshooting their Hudson rival 14-2. Due in large part to strong goaltending from Cory Schneider, they only snuck one past him with hard working forward Ryan Strome able to get a stick on a Kevin Shattenkirk point shot to deflect home his 12th as a Blueshirt at 18:22 to cut the deficit in half entering the third. Strome continues to be a effective player. He was the game’s number one star with two goals and an assist.

Despite Schneider’s best, the Devils couldn’t quite hang on. A nice passing play between demoted top left wing Chris Kreider and Strome led directly to rookie defenseman Libor Hajek scoring his first career NHL goal to tie the score at 1:29 of the third. Taking a nice pass from Kreider, the pinching D let go of a superb wrist shot that beat Schneider high glove. A great moment for the young player they acquired last year in the blockbuster deadline trade that sent former captain Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Lightning for a package that also included Brett Howden, a first round pick and conditional first this year if the NHL leading Bolts can win the Cup.

It was well deserved for the young player, who’s acquitted himself well since coming up from Hartford. So much for those quiet statistics with the lowly Wolf Pack. If a player is good enough to be an NHL player at Hajek’s age, then you can throw out what he did in the AHL. Not many of the team’s prospects have fared well there. But when you see them come up, they look like they belong.

That includes the under utilized Lias Andersson, who played less than seven minutes while centering the fourth line. The seventh overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft got some penalty kill time. He works hard and looks more confident since returning. Baby steps for the young Swede who will continue to improve. Hopefully, he’ll see an increased role down the stretch.

As for Hajek, he suffered a separated shoulder on a hit following the goal. Unfortunately, it looks like we may not see him again in the remaining 14 games. At least he showed why GM Jeff Gorton was so high on him. The skating, reads and capability to jump into the rush are good signs.

Hajek’s first NHL goal sparked the Ranger comeback in the third. Another player who’s played well recently is Vladislav Namestnikov. The once hexed forward continues to put up points. On a shift with Mika Zibanejad, he took a perfect centering pass and beat Schneider with s good one-timer for his 10th with 6:35 left in the contest. Brady Skjei helped set the winning play up to get a secondary helper. He’s been more active offensively in the second half. It’s all about finding consistency defensively for the emerging team leader.

Prior to that goal, a sprawling Schneider got across to rob Tony DeAngelo. The Devils veteran netminder gave his team every opportunity finishing with 37 saves. He wasn’t helped out by teammates, who took some undisciplined penalties. Ironically, the Devils killed off all five Ranger power plays while going an opportunistic 1-for-2.

But in a game they once led by two, they were never able to beat Lundqvist again. When both your goals come on half your shot total in a good first period, that’s not a winning formula. Sure. The Devils turned it up in the third by getting 10 shots on Lundqvist. But he was up to the task to wind up with 22 saves for only his second victory since the All-Star break. To be fair, he hasn’t been starting every night with coach David Quinn making sure to give rookie Alexandar Georgiev half the starts to take a further look at the 22-year old Bulgarian.

With Adam Huska signing after three years with the University of Connecticut, and the likelihood of Igor Shestyorkin coming over for 2019-20, Georgiev is about to get some stiff competition. It’ll be interesting to see what the Rangers organization decides. I like Georgiev and think he has proven himself as a capable backup. But the goalie picture is about to get crowded. Especially if Shestyorkin is all he’s cracked up to be.

Strome put the exclamation on the third period turnaround by scoring into an open net for his 13th at 19:50 from Namestnikov (1-2-3) and Zibanejad (2 assists). Strome earned first star honors with two goals and an assist while Namestnikov got number two star with 1-2-3, followed by Hajek with goal number one. Too bad the injury prevented him from coming out.

All in support of Lundqvist, who had to make one last save to deny a good try from Devils defenseman Egor Yakovlev. A tricky high riser that Lundqvist safely grabbed out of harm’s way. It had to feel good for the recently turned 37-year old franchise goalie to remember what it’s like to get a win. They’ve been hard to come by. He sounded at ease in the postgame.

At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for. Sure. The playoffs are not a realistic possibility. But in raising their record to 28-28-12 with 70 points, the Blueshirts continue to work hard for the most part. The thing that is noticable is that Quinn hasn’t been shy about making examples out of vets Kreider and Shattenkirk. He wants the team to get it. No matter who you are, nobody is above the team. There are no shortcuts in this league.

It’s why there is hope for the future. The notable improvements of Pavel Buchnevich (career high 15 goals and six power play goals), Namestnikov, DeAngelo (career best 21 assists and 25 points), Jimmy Vesey (new high 18 assists and 34 points) and leading scorer Zibanejad (27-38-65) bode well.

There’s still plenty of work to be done. Even with 2018 first round pick Vitali Kravtsov not coming until next Fall, there’s reason for optimism. The coach has instilled it. We’ll see who the Rangers wind up with in June. Even if it’s not a Hughes, Kakko or Vasili Podkolzin, they have a chance to improve.

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Game #69: Stupid Saturday – Rangers 4, Devils 2

Posted on March 10, 2019 by hasan4978

Guess Derek’s finally as apathetic as me about both our teams’ meaningless late-season games. This is the gamble schedule makers take when you bunch four-five games with a team’s biggest rival from the last day of January on, if one team’s out of it, that’s bad enough – when both teams are out of it? Forget it, we might as well be playing Anaheim and they might as well be playing Vancouver. Even on a Saturday night. Being home on Saturday is the only reason I even had on the latter part of the third period when OF COURSE the Devils blew it in the end, turning a surprise 2-0 lead into another stupid 4-2 loss.

The sad part is I should be happy, each loss slightly ups our lotto odds and as a bonus their win slightly decreases theirs. Of course I don’t actually want to see my team lose every single game the rest of the season (right now our losing streak is at six in a row with another four straight road games looming), and you always want to beat your rivals even if the game means zilch. I’ve always said this, and it’s especially true when you do have nothing but younger guys and depth guys playing but when you have extended losing that doesn’t help anyone learn. That only promotes a culture of losing and shows you don’t really have as many in-house solutions as you thought.

At least the goaltending’s held up for whatever that’s worth. Cory Schneider certainly turned back the clock to 2016 last night, do just well enough to look good losing. The sad part about games where you really have no chance to win is that you can’t even take joy out of the little things all hockey fans should smile at, like a kid’s NHL debut. Last night it was Brandon Gignac who played his first game, and fortunately with less than twelve hours’ notice his family somehow made it from Quebec to see him play.

Of course it would be nice if in a meaningless game, the kids actually got to play. Gignac played just 9:04 last night, unfortunately for him it was long enough to register a -2. At least that wasn’t as pointless as Mike McLeod’s NHL debut where he played just under five minutes. What’s the point of having a guy come up here and go through all the butterflies only to play sparingly once you’re here? That’s not a cup of coffee, that’s a sip.

I get that coach John Hynes doesn’t want to lose games 8-1 or 10-1 but this is glorified preseason anyway, and the team’s still not winning despite playing your few NHL players (Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman) 20-minute nights and having Andy Greene play nearly ten minutes shorthanded yesterday. Cory quipped that Greene was the Alex Ovechkin of penalty killing. He’s certainly getting treated as such by the staff but if the Devils are going to move forward next year, Greene can’t have as big a role on the team.

You would think with thirteen games left in the season the Devils would find a way to get at least a couple of random wins, even with their depleted lineup. I can’t picture losing nineteen in a row to end the season, even with the roster as decimated as it is. Problem is you look at each game individually and there really isn’t a single game you would favor the Devils in at this point. I thought last night would be one of those random wins when the Devils jumped out in front late in the first period with goals from Damon Severson and Coleman.

Even with the Rangers’ own rebuliding and lineup issues, their roster is still miles better than what we’re icing and it showed in a dominant second period that turned the tide completely. Despite being outshot 14-2 somehow the Devils still led 2-1 after forty minutes but it was just a matter of time before the roof fell in and sure enough two more third-period goals would follow, then an empty-netter to seal the Rangers’ third straight win over us in the most meaningless season series at least since the glory days when the Devils curbstomped a hapless Rangers team during the regular season for 4-5 straight years, if not before then.

Honestly the Rangers should have been embarassed if they lost this game with no fewer than ten injured players – including eight Opening Night regulars out of the lineup for the Devils, not counting the four others that were traded in February. That’s what things have come to now, we’re every other team’s get-well marker. Except maybe Ottawa, who we’re finished playing this season. I’m not even going to the last home game of the season against the Rangers…what’s the point? At least the Devils smartened up and made ‘Fan Appreciation Night’ the next to last home game in years they play the Rangers in the last home game, which happens too frequently to be honest.

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Game #68: Frustrating Friday – Caps 3, Devils 0

Posted on March 9, 2019 by hasan4978

This season’s gotten to the point where I’m actually surprised after hearing about a Caps three-goal win over the Devils that things weren’t worse. After all, with our AHL lineup I figured Alex Ovechkin and company could pretty much name their score. Ovechkin didn’t even get a point against the valiant Mackenzie Blackwood who again held up well tonight with 33 saves, only allowing two goals – one a third-period power-play marker from Nicklas Backstrom, and the other an early tap-in goal from Andre Burakovsky that gave Washington the only goal it actually needed.

You can paper around a bad defense with good goaltending and system hockey, but there’s no way to invent offense when it wasn’t great to begin with, and you’re missing almost all of your biggest scorers. Since the trade deadline the Devils have scored seven goals in their last six games, and that ratio really shouldn’t improve all that much at this point considering the lineup is basically Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, a slumping Blake Coleman and a bunch of AHL’ers who either aren’t ready or can’t play.

Pretty much the only reason to watch down the stretch is Blackwood, who’s giving more and more hope by the game that our goaltending issue will be solved in the near future. Not just with his play but the mental toughness he’s exhibited in trying circumstances this season. Just don’t expect many goals in support of him or Cory Schneider (starting at MSG today) the rest of the season. Schneider can empathize with his younger teammate on that score, when he was actually playing above average on a consistent basis Cory got a similar amount of goal support. Going forward though, he probably should be the thing 2 to Blackwood’s thing 1 – see iconic photo below of Cory and former comrade Roberto Luongo:


If it’s tough getting into a normal Devils game, it’s doubly tough when there’s really nothing on the line for the team they’re playing. Washington’s basically playing for playoff seeding on top of the Atlantic and ten points clear of a playoff spot, while today’s opponent the Rangers are just as out of the playoff picture as we are, albeit seven points ‘behind’ us in tank-a-thon. Then come three late Western Canada games, which also fall in the zero motivation to watch category. If I’m going to watch meaningless hockey I’m not staying up past midnight to do it. I’ve had enough trouble sleeping the last couple nights as it is.

I could bother to recap the game later today but one of the good things about it being Devils-Rangers is I can let Derek handle that one. Especially if as expected the hungrier, healthier Rangers win again. I want to do some form of thoughts after every game but what’s the point on a meaningless back-to-back? If the Devils somehow win I may have to recap the game too out of pure hilarity. Probably will have the game on in some capacity but can’t say I’m that emotionally invested in it. Maybe we’ll actually score a goal at least, that’d be nice.

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Game #67: Athanasiou beats Lundqvist in the shootout to deal Rangers another tough loss

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Derek

When the Rangers and Red Wings get together, there’s always one guarantee. Henrik Lundqvist and Jimmy Howard will have a goalie duel that is decided by a goal. It also usually requires extras.

That was the case tonight with Howard getting the better of Lundqvist in the shootout. He stopped all three shooters and had a bit of luck when Pavel Buchnevich hit the goalpost. That allowed the host Red Wings to prevail over the Rangers 3-2 at Little Caesars Arena.

The Red Wings honored Ted Lindsay with the Number 7 on their jerseys and seats. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NYRangers.

The story before the game was Detroit honoring legend Ted Lindsay, who passed away at age 93 earlier this week. A big part of the famed Production Line that included Sid Abel and Gordie Howe, Lindsay was a terrific player who helped the Red Wings win four Stanley Cups between 1950 to 1955. He won the Art Ross once and was a NHL First All-Star a remarkable eight times.

The Red Wings all wore a special No. 7 patch on their jerseys during the game. Here is a nice video tribute they put up on their Twitter account.

On a emotional night, maybe it was fitting that they got a big performance from one of their young players. Andreas Anathasiou was their best player. A streaky scorer, the talented forward with the game breaking speed and world class shot recorded a goal, assist and the shootout winner for the Red Wings.

The Rangers had trouble dealing with his speed in transition. With the game tied in the third period, a near miss at one end by Brett Howden lead to Athanasiou coming on a two-on-one the other way and sniping his 23rd high glove on Lundqvist at 6:15. On the play, Tony DeAngelo got caught after having his rebound blocked. That left only Brady Skjei back. He gave Lundqvist the shot, but Athanasiou has a excellent one and flat out didn’t miss.

In a back and forth game that saw Lundqvist have to stop 40 shots in regulation (43 of 45 overall), Buchnevich was flying all night. Having already gotten the Rangers’ first goal thanks to a great effort for a second and third rebound past Howard, he took a good Brendan Lemieux feed and broke in on the Detroit netminder and threw a backhand upstairs that Howard only got a piece of for his career high 15th goal with 5:31 left.

It was a great scoring play. Both DeAngelo and Lemieux got assists with the former Winnipeg Jet recording his first career two assist game. He’s fit in nicely since coming over as part of the Kevin Hayes trade that netted the Rangers a first round pick. Lemieux seems to have some chemistry with Buchnevich. Two totally different players in terms of skill and style, the Rangers’ Odd Couple work well together. They definitely looked good on a third line with Howden, who just cannot catch a break.

Speaking of which, Howden had another good opportunity to win the game in overtime. However, he couldn’t finish. There’s no questioning the effort the rookie center puts in. At some point, he needs to score a goal. Hopefully, before the season runs out. There’s still 15 games remaining including a MSG rematch versus the Winged Wheel.

Of note, coach David Quinn didn’t play Chris Kreider much at all in the third. Unsatisfied with the alternate captain, he sent him out for a four-on-four shift, and gave Kreider a turn with little used 2017 first round pick Lias Andersson on a make shift fourth line with Jimmy Vesey. Why Andersson received less than nine minutes of ice-time is beyond me. It’s puzzling. What’s the point if he’s barely gonna play?

The three-on-three was unbelievable. Both teams created chances. Buchnevich made a bid for his first career hat trick, but Howard closed the door on a five-hole try. Athanasiou had another great rush, but was denied by Lundqvist, who also stoned Bertuzzi with his team still trailing at a crucial point of the third prior to Buchnevich tying matters.

Without Kevin Shattenkirk, who was a healthy scratch, Quinn went with Mika Zibanejad, DeAngelo and Buchnevich in the shootout. No one was able to solve Howard, who got the lone goal he needed from who else but Athanasiou on a good shot that beat Lundqvist five-hole in the top of the second.

Following DeAngelo getting stopped by Howard, Lundqvist made a last ditch diving pad save to rob a grinning Tyler Bertuzzi, who couldn’t believe it. That left it up to Buchnevich. The Rangers’ best player on the night moved in and had Howard beaten, but his wrist shot rang off the post to give the Red Wings the victory.

The best part of the game was listening to an aggravated Zibanejad, who’s sick of losing. That’s six straight losses (0-2-4). Listen to the frustration. He’s not having it.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers (43 saves to take another hard luck defeat in shootout)

2nd 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, Rangers (two goals for career best 14 &15 with 5 shots)

1st 🌟 Andreas Anathasiou, Red Wings (goal for 23rd, assist, plus shootout winner)

Notes: Shattenkirk, Fredrik Claesson and Connor Brickley sat out. … Red Wings were without leading scorer Dylan Larkin and top D Mike Green, who’s out for the remainder of the season with a virus. … Howard finished with 32 saves and went 3-for-3 in the skill competition to pick up his first win since Valentine’s Day. … In a eye popping statistic that won’t make the coaching staff happy, NYR got killed on face-offs losing 67 percent of them to the Wings (43-and-21). The combination of Athanasiou and Luke Glendening went 31-and-8. How bad was it? Zibanejad won 7 and lost 13. Ryan Strome lost 11 of 16. Andersson went 3-and-6. … Shots were 45-34 Detroit and shot attempts were 84-50. Way too many with the loss of so many draws contributing. Until they address this key area, it’ll continue to be problematic going forward. … Next up for the Rangers (27-27-13) are the Devils on Saturday night at MSG. I won’t be around for that.

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Why even bother rescinding the major call on Zibanejad?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Derek

A day following the unfortunate circumstance that went against the Rangers’ leading scorer Mika Zibanejad in a 1-0 loss to the Stars on Tuesday night, the league predictably rescinded the five minute boarding major penalty and game misconduct on the top center.

It doesn’t matter. The NHL admitting that the incorrect call was made by a linesman for an incidental Zibanejad hit on Radek Faksa, just confirms the obvious. That sometimes, accidents do happen. It didn’t help the Blueshirts overcome kryptonite Ben Bishop, who improved to 11-2-0 against them for his career.

Regarding the controversial penalty that cost him 15 penalty minutes and the rest of the game, Zibanejad had a couple of interesting thoughts on the call being reversed.

“I was just trying to get in front of him and get the puck since it was right there,” Zibanejad told Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “Just unfortunate. The way he went down, I thought he hit his head on the ice, that’s why I kind of stayed. I just wanted to make sure he was OK. I didn’t think it was from the bump.”

Dallas coach Jim Montgomery revealed that Faksa passed concussion protocol and has a neck strain. So, that is encouraging news for Faksa and the Stars, who remain in the first wildcard out West.

Rangers coach David Quinn had one brief statement on how things have gone for his team when it comes to having calls go against them. “Unfortunately, we lead the league in apologies,” he told reporters following practice at American Airlines Center.

The Rangers finish a brief two game road trip in Detroit Thursday night with face-off scheduled for 7:38 PM. Neither Jesper Fast or Marc Staal (flu) practiced. Fast has been playing hurt. With nothing to play for, it would make sense to have him sit out. Both Lias Andersson and Connor Brickley were healthy scratches on Tuesday.

As far as who’s been playing together, Zibanejad has centered Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich the past two games. Ryan Strome has anchored Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast. Brett Howden has worked between Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil. Boo Nieves centered the fourth line the other day with Brendan Smith and Brendan Lemieux.

With no Staal at practice, Fredrik Claesson took rushes with Tony DeAngelo. Rookie Libor Hajek worked with Neal Pionk, and Brady Skjei partnered up with Kevin Shattenkirk.

Henrik Lundqvist returns to the net where he’ll likely face Jimmy Howard. Whenever they meet, the games are normally low scoring with overtime likely. If that is the match-up, it would be nice if there were more goals. 2018 Detroit top pick Filip Zadina got his first career NHL goal on the power play the other night. A wicked one-timer. Keep an eye on him.

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Refs ineptness doesn’t help Rangers in 1-0 shutout loss to Stars

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Derek

Zucc! Mats Zuccarello answers questions before the Stars faced his former team. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy Dallas Stars.

Screw the recap. I’m just going to post this gif from The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman. Let it sink in. Watch closely. Mika Zibanejad tries to avoid hitting Radek Faksa. He sees a vulnerable Faksa in a tough spot after taking a Chris Kreider check from the side. The puck is there.

Zibanejad even turns away but the momentum carries his butt into Faksa, who stayed down for a few minutes before getting up. That they could deem this a major and game misconduct shows the total incompetence of the programmed officials due to the league mandate.

I’m not gonna bother with the names of the two refs or two linesmen. There’s no point. This kind of stuff happens all the time during games. They even got together and discussed the play and completely got it wrong. I don’t even think it was a minor penalty. The puck was there. All you have to do is look at Zibanejad’s reaction following the unfortunate play. He just stands there and signals for help.

The Rangers lost the game to the Stars 1-0 on a John Klingberg goal in the second period. That was it. Unfortunately, the story became the poorly officiated third period, which also included a sadly predictable hook on Kevin Shattenkirk for a meaningless play in the neutral zone. Yes. He did hook into Mattias Janmark with 2:44 left. It had no affect on the play.

In a close one goal game, that shouldn’t be called. Disappointing doesn’t even begin to describe the way these contests are reffed. Basically, they handed the desperate Stars the two points. They’re battling the Wild and a few other teams for playoff positioning.

I have no issue with Dallas winning the game. Ben Bishop did what he usually does against the Rangers. He made 28 saves to pick up the shutout. Hopefully, he’s okay following the chaos that ensued with two seconds remaining in regulation. Ryan Strome was pushed into him following a last second try by Filip Chytil around the net.

The rough conclusion resulted in some matching roughing minors to Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo, Jamie Benn and Roman Polak. Somehow, they gave Strome an extra for cross-checking and a misconduct. They couldn’t even get that right.

It’s embarrassing. When you have games that are well played and hard fought by the Rangers and Stars, the NHL officials should get out of the way. For the most part, they did in Newark where the Binghamton Devils kinda deserved a better fate than the 2-1 shootout loss to a lackluster Blue Jackets. In that one, they let the players decide it.

It’s very telling when you have Rangers players carefully choosing their words on what originally was no penalty to Zibanejad. Brendan Lemieux told John Giannone that he didn’t want to get in trouble, but also noted that those are tough calls because the refs didn’t see the play. It winds up being called by a linesman, who’s not in the best position.

There’s way too much inconsistency from game to game. Take the goal they counted for Ottawa that forced the Islanders to overtime.

https://twitter.com/NJviDs/status/1103118662851006464?s=19

Yes. Brady Tkachuk was pushed into Robin Lehner, who didn’t finish that game. But how is Lehner supposed to stop the puck? The Isles took it in a shootout, 5-4.

I want to comment on Mats Zuccarello for the way he handled the questions prior to the game. Obviously, he didn’t play due to still recovering from surgery for a broken arm. What really shined was Zucc’s personality in the eight-plus minutes he spoke.

Asked about close friend Henrik Lundqvist’s reaction to the trade, he deadpanned, “He’s a good actor,” to laughter from reporters.

On his relationship with former linemate Zibanejad, he told the press Mika FaceTimes him every day. “Mika, he misses me like I was his boyfriend.”

The personality on Zuccarello is why he’s so beloved by teammates, coach David Quinn, fans and media. What a great person. I hope he is able to get back and help the Stars make their playoff push this Spring. He’s so likable and easy to root for.

Finally, Alexandar Georgiev made 31 saves in his second consecutive start. He becomes the first Rangers rookie goalie to appear in at least 25 games since Dan Blackburn. Talk about a blast from the past. Poor guy was so unlucky.

Quinn wasn’t pleased with quite a few players from tonight’s game. Why Lias Andersson didn’t play while Brendan Smith gets a regular turn on the fourth line is a real head scratcher. I get that they’re evaluating the young kids. Boo Nieves played well.

The team has a lot of center depth. Chytil is still a center even though he is being used on the wing. Ryan Strome is centering the second line. He has enough versatility to play both center and wing. It’s clear that Quinn views Andersson as a center based on his answers yesterday. It looks like the same for Brett Howden, who centered the third line in his 50th game.

The organization has some tough decisions ahead. That includes whether to sign top prospect Vitali Kravtsov to an entry level contract. His KHL team Traktor got eliminated in the playoffs. As far as I know, the ELC won’t slide if he plays. That includes the AHL. I say get him signed and let him get a taste of the NHL. Why not? That’s what it’s all about. Let’s see what he can do.

That’s gonna do it. I don’t have anything else to say on that game. No three stars. The next game is at Detroit on Thursday. Another team playing for lottery position.

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Game #67: Thankless Tuesday – Blue Jackets 2, Devils 1 (SO)

Posted on March 5, 2019 by hasan4978

In the debate of win versus tank within every fanbase during losing seasons, one thing pretty much every fan on both sides can agree on…the useless loser point doesn’t help jack for the Devils at this point. It would have been one thing if our AHL lineup could have somehow played spoiler against a reeling Blue Jackets team, for whom things haven’t gone according to plan since Jarmo Kekalainen’s deadline orgy. However tonight’s game was literally the worst possible result all things considered (especially adding in yet another injury – this one to Jesper Bratt, who left early in the second period after blocking a shot), except maybe for coach John Hynes – who’s been getting a team of AHL’ers and retreads to compete harder than the fully healthy outfit did earlier this season.

And to Cory Schneider’s credit, he was much better tonight than in the Friday fiasco against the Flyers. Of course in the end it’s just another useless good Cory game that I don’t witness. If a tree falls in the forest and you don’t see it, did it actually fall? So I guess that’s one good thing at least, although for once the Binghamton Devils actually were able to outshoot an opponent by a wide margin (30-18), and Cory was a non-entity in the skills competition, going 0-2. If Columbus is this bad they’re getting outshot by double digits against our motley crew, I don’t see how they make the playoffs at all much less do anything in them.

Which brings to mind, since we’re going to be spectators after April, who do we root for in the playoffs? Thinking about it, the answer is plain and simple…whoever wins the West. It’s not that every single team in the East is a rival but there are reasons to not root for every team currently in a playoff position. With Tampa and Boston there’s clearly bad blood between last year’s playoffs (Tampa) and the various cheap shots from Brad Marchand (Boston). Of course who can really root for the Penguins ever, outside of Penguin fans? While the Islanders haven’t always been a rival per se, the fact that former GM Lou Lamoriello is there has certainly spiced up not only the Isles-Devils rivalry but the rivalry between old-school and new-age Devil fans who’ll forever be divided on our former GM.

Can’t say the other playoff teams really excite me either. In a normal year I’d be all in on the Caps but they did just win a Cup, and booted out Barry Trotz practically from the parade float. Don’t really want to see them get rewarded on that. Toronto and Montreal? They have tradition in their corner but are also perennially overhyped and ridiculously over-the-top fanbases you kind of like to see suffer in a schadenfreude type way. Carolina? 2002, 2006 and 2009…nuff said. And finally there’s tonight’s opponent in Columbus. I admit to alternately hate-loving John Tortorella (especially now that he’s out of MSG), sometimes I can’t stand him and other times I find his cantankerousness endearing. And I can’t help but feel for their loyal fanbase who still hasn’t seen a playoff series win yet. Still, it’d be kind of hilarious if after their over-the-top desperation deadline spending they fell flat. Plus let’s be honest it’s not like they’re really going anywhere this postseason regardless, especially with their post-deadline play.

Sure the action will be entertaining and the playoffs are always exciting. That said, I just can’t remember another April where I was this apathetic about who wins the East and we’ve had plenty of Aprils sitting at home this decade. Maybe I’ll just nap through the East playoffs and watch the West series.

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HARD HITS: Make Hockey Great Again

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Derek

Four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield put the gloves on in a playful celebration KO of Jordan Martinook of the Hurricanes. AP Photo via Getty Images

Okay. Before you stop and cringe at the cheesy title, let me just point out that it was the easiest thing I could come up with. Basically, the first thing that entered my mind, I used.

Why do we need to Make Hockey Great Again? For a variety of reasons. Look. This isn’t so much a criticism of everything we’ve seen this season. Scoring is up. Games are more unpredictable. That’s a good trend.

If only it were that simple. While it’s a lot of fun to watch exciting teams like the league best Lightning, Maple Leafs, Flames, Sharks, Jets, Penguins, and Blackhawks play the game with world class skill that some area locals would die for (wink wink Devils and Rangers), the issue is that not every city gets to see that kind of special talent.

So, if they’re going to be quick to celebrate Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, etc., then what about the NHL’s lower scoring teams that must play differently just to be competitive each night?

I look at what Barry Trotz is doing with the Islanders and what Rick Tocchet is accomplishing in Arizona with amazement. Neither team have the firepower to win 6-5 games such as the teams we listed above. They play systems and rely largely on the goalies.

For the Isles, it’s been both Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss while scoring has dried up for Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey. That’s why they were outscored 7-2 this weekend by the Caps and Flyers at Nassau Coliseum following a 6-1 coronation of the Tavares pajama Leafs on Thursday. A couple of more slip ups and suddenly, the feel good season could be in jeopardy.

If you think goals are hard to come by on Long Island, imagine being a Coyotes fan. Their leading point getter is struggling sophomore Clayton Keller with 41, and a team worst minus-20 rating. Alex Galchenyuk is second with 36 in 55 games. They’re followed by Oliver Ekman-Larsson with 35, and ex-Blueshirt Derek Stepan, who’s only at 13-19-32 despite missing only one game. If not for the brilliant play of backup Darcy Kuemper (20 Wins, 2.54, .918), they would be long out of the wildcard race. Instead, they’ve reeled off six straight wins and trail both the Stars and Wild by two points with 17 games remaining.

It’s interesting to note that those teams don’t score much either. They also rely heavily on the goalies. In Minnesota, it’s largely dependent on Devan Dubnyk with Ryan Donato (2-5-7 in 6 GP) making a immediate impact since coming over from Boston for Charlie Coyle (0 Pts in 4 GP). For Dallas, they’ve had to do it mostly with backup Anton Khudobin due to injuries limiting starter Ben Bishop. Without Mats Zuccarello, they’re finding ways to win aided by a huge hat trick from returning captain Jamie Benn.

Teams like the Avalanche are top heavy due to Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog scoring the bulk. The only consistent secondary scoring comes from Carl Soderberg, Tyson Barrie and J.T. Compher. They can hang around as long as their dominant top line score goals and Semyon Varlamov is healthy.

You have the messy Oilers, who boast the great Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. That’s it though. They have virtually nothing else. With so little balance, it’s no wonder they are where they are in the standings. How many more prime years of McDavid can they waste? Draisaitl meanwhile has 40 goals.

If you don’t have semi decent goaltending or a competent defense, you’ll never succeed. The Golden Knights are proof. Even after adding Mark Stone at the trade deadline to Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny, they run on Marc-Andre Fleury, who leads the league with eight shutouts. Without him, they’d be cooked. The same can be echoed of the Blues turnaround thanks to rookie sensation Jordan Billington. Even with Vladimir Tarasenko rediscovering his scoring touch and Alex Pietrangelo picking it up, Binnington is the main reason they’re third in the Central Division.

Some teams fighting for a playoff spot have magic. It’s happening for the Hurricanes thanks to the combination of Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Williams, ex-Wild Nino Niederreiter, Dougie Hamilton, along with the unlikely tandem of Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek. Dem Bunch Of Jerks don’t care what hockey purists like Don Cherry say about their fun postgame celebrations following home wins. Even if you disapprove of the random wackiness, it’s not hurting anyone. Evander Holyfield celebrated with them!

If you can get the four-time heavyweight champion on board, that’s winning. Sports are supposed to be fun. Not only have they embraced Cherry’s criticism, but they’ve adopted it as their nickname. The Carolina Hurricanes Twitter account is a must follow on social media. They have also honored tradition by having a Hartford Whalers Night which included wearing the classic green jerseys and playing the memorable Brass Bonanza following goals. The latest big event was an alumni game featuring former Canes including coach Rod Brind’Amour suiting up.

If more teams were that creative, hockey would be more fun. I don’t know about anyone else. But I kinda get sick of the same boring answers during interviews from established stars like Crosby. Give me some personality. P.K. Subban probably is the best that I can think of. He recently gave a couple of sticks away to a lucky fan. Crosby is known for his generosity off the ice. Carey Price got it right the other day for this poor kid who recently lost his Mom to cancer. 😦

There are no classier athletes than hockey players. Think of how much more they should be marketed by the league and networks. They could generate a lot more buzz if they wanted to. It sure beats all the fan gripes over the inconsistency from referees due to league mandates. At least they’re disciplining more guilty players for stick fouls.

https://www.nhl.com/video/lowry-suspended-two-games/t-277440360/c-66513603

Hockey can be great. Especially when there aren’t many whistles with stricter enforcement on more egregious penalties that are too often missed.

It would also be much better without the shootout deciding extra points. Even if I believe the three-on-three is another artificial way to end overtimes, it’s way better than playing an exciting five minutes only to go to a skill competition. Enter Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella.

https://twitter.com/HockeyWebCast/status/1101914487727292417?s=19

He’s loosened up a lot from his days where he coached on Broadway with the forgettable pit stop in Vancouver. He even took a phone call for a reporter during a press conference.

The pressure is on his team with 17 games remaining after an awful weekend that included a horrible shutout loss to Edmonton, followed by Wheeler scoring four times in a 5-2 home defeat to Winnipeg. With 75 points, they trail the Pens by two points with a crucial home-and-home series against their kryptonite later this week. Both Pittsburgh and Montreal are clinging onto the final two wildcards, up two points on the Blue Jackets, who hold the tiebreaker with three more ROW (36-33). If Columbus were to miss after going all in with key additions Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Adam McQuaid, it could spell the end for Torts.

How else can we make the game better? Oh. Maybe by being a little more honest about player injuries. The silly secretive nature teams use for describing injuries is a joke. LBI and UBI shouldn’t be familiar abbreviations to press trying to do their jobs and fans. The dishonesty hurts the sport. Especially if you have a fantasy hockey team and don’t know how long a player will be out. Taylor Hall, anybody? Real bang up job by the Devils. Now, we know that last year’s Hart winner had arthroscopic surgery. Geez.

Tanking. This is a term I absolutely loathe. Even with both the NHL and NBA making it harder to land the first overall pick in drafts, it’s still relevant. They need to level the playing field. No tanks should be allowed. If it looks like a franchise is, they should be subject to investigation and possible forfeiture of their first round pick. No exceptions!

Bad management. There are two clear examples taking place in Ottawa and Edmonton. The way those teams have been run this season is a total disgrace. I don’t get what the Senators are thinking. They’re losing regularly and don’t have the lottery pick that can potentially turn into Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko. It’s Colorado’s. They opted to use last year’s pick on future star Brady Tkachuk. While he’ll be a good player, there’s a big difference between good and great. Both Hughes and Kakko have the potential to be franchise players.

The Ducks aren’t much better. With Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry declining, they’re a doomed franchise unless kids like Rickard Rakell and Troy Terry can bring them back. John Gibson has finally succumbed to a poor roster assembled by Bob Murray. Randy Carlyle was finally put out of his misery. They gave up on defenseman Brandon Montour, sending him to the Sabres for a package that included a first round pick. That’s okay. But Montour might’ve had the most upside of a current blueline that features oft injured Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and disappointing Josh Manson. Shea Theodore stars for Vegas. Max Comtois is the key to the future along with career underachiever Nick Ritchie. I would’ve traded Jakob Silfverberg instead of keeping him.

When you’re bad, you don’t always make the smartest decisions. So, what should Devils and Rangers fans be looking forward to?

Well, New Jersey is closer to the bottom which could mean another lottery ticket punched. Mackenzie Blackwood is the goalie of the future. Cory Schneider looks like he’ll remain in Newark due to his contract. It’ll be interesting to see how that’s handled by GM Ray Shero, who has a very tough decision coming soon on Hall. His contract expires in 2020. The defense remains the Achilles heel. Shero recouped a pair of second round picks for Brian Boyle and Marcus Johansson. They’re waiting on last year’s first round pick Ty Smith to make the roster. Aside from Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri and possibly Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt, there’s not much else, which is why re-signing Hall becomes imperative. What about the injury?

The Rangers continue to pick up points by remaining competitive under David Quinn following the trades of Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes. Their lottery hopes are dim. There’s too many teams worse like the Kings and even the Blackhawks, who still boast Kane, Toews, and second round steal Alex DeBrincat. Imagine if they win the lottery. Yikes.

The first full year of the rebuild has seen Quinn unafraid to bench young players. Most encouraging is how they’ve responded. Under the first-year coach, who’s a strong communicator, Pavel Buchnevich, Tony DeAngelo and Brady Skjei have improved. Their strong responses to being sat out along with improvement from Vladislav Namestnikov, Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Strome bodes well. Filip Chytil was the latest Quinn Bin victim to return on Sunday, picking up a great primary helper to set up a Buchnevich goal. With other rookies Lias Andersson, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren getting a taste of the bigs, it looks like the Blueshirts are on the right track.

BODY CHECKS

-Even in a better year thanks to key additions Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary, the Sabres remain a team that isn’t ready to return to the playoffs. After a great December that even saw them pass both Boston and Toronto for second in the Atlantic, the second half has been a big disappointment. Carter Hutton’s play has leveled off, which only shows that he can’t be counted on a starter. Linus Ullmark has also fallen victim to a poor defense that only boasts one true shining star in 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin. Still only a teenager, the smooth skating Swede is the future.

In a season where captain Jack Eichel is over a point-per-game and Skinner is increasing his value this summer with every goal, while Sam Reinhardt adds onto a new career high in points, 2017 first round pick Casey Mittlestadt isn’t ready to play a top six role. Tage Thompson has promise along with Mittlestadt. But their time hasn’t come yet. Rasmus Ristolainen should change his name to Mr. Minus.

The jury is out on coach Phil Housley.

-If the Sabres don’t pay Skinner, then what do they do? Would they kick the tires on ex-defenseman Tyler Myers or maybe look at another center that’s cheaper than Duchene?

-It is good to hear that Kyle Okposo is doing better after he was knocked out by one Tony DeAngelo punch. Given his recent injury history, you have to wonder if he should consider hanging the skates up. Better to be safe than sorry.

-Thursday was exactly what was expected from Long Island to Tavares at the madhouse of nearly 14,000 screaming Islander fans. I don’t think him going home to Toronto makes him a snake or traitor. Free agency means you get to choose. I don’t feel ownership has taken enough blame for refusing to consider trading Tavares with Garth Snow last year. You can’t really say the player controlled the situation. That doesn’t fly. Ultimately, it was a faulty management who decided to keep him.

-Just in case you thought it was over for some fans, they acted like a bunch of nuts due to the Maple Leafs introducing Tavares in the starting lineup prior to Saturday’s game to a standing ovation. That drew the ire of still a few bitter pills, who can’t seem to realize that once he returned and handled everything like a professional, it was over.

It’s interesting to see all the different takes. I think this is my favorite one.

-I’m pulling for the Sharks to win it all. They’re a likeable team that’s exciting to watch and still possess one of the most deserving superstars who’s never won a Cup. Jumbo Joe Thornton. He’s back at 39 playing great while moving up the scoring list, even recording a hat trick. The big bearded playmaking center remains one of the game’s best passers, who gets it. Here’s hoping he finally gets one.

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Game #65: Strange ending gives Caps shootout win over Rangers

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Derek

For 65 minutes, the Rangers and Caps played to a 2-2 tie. Nothing separated them. Alexandar Georgiev made 37 saves including stonewalling lethal sniper Alexander Ovechkin on a breakaway in the three-on-three overtime.

Unfortunately, it was a big mistake by Georgiev against Ovechkin that turned into a strange ending. Facing the NHL’s leading goal scorer in the shootout, he threw his stick at Ovechkin as he was into his move. The league rule clearly states that in such a situation, the player is awarded a goal.

So, Toronto justifiably called down to MSG and overruled the confused refs that thought it shouldn’t count. Ovechkin’s odd goal gave the Caps a bizarre 3-2 win in the shootout over the Rangers.

It was a tough way to lose. I’m in agreement with John Tortorella. Play the three-on-three until someone dies. Of course, the current Blue Jackets coach was kidding. Shootouts shouldn’t decide these games. Too many valuable extra points wind up being awarded by the skill competition. Why not have another two minutes of three-on-three if nothing’s decided?

One thing the Rangers need to do is figure out how to win in overtime. Brady Skjei scored the lone winner way back on Oct. 11, 2018 to beat San Jose. Since then, it’s been nothing but disappointment in three-on-three. They did have a 6-2 shootout record prior to Ovechkin being credited with the winner due to Georgiev’s toss.

He needed one more save to make Tony DeAngelo’s third goal in the shootout stand up. Nicklas Backstrom had other ideas. Georgiev gave him too much room. Backstrom was able to beat him on the short side, high glove to take it to the fourth round.

Playing his first game since being scratched, Filip Chytil came out for Round Four. Having already made a terrific play with a diving primary assist on Pavel Buchnevich’s 13th goal in regulation, the rookie was unable to beat Washington starter Braden Holtby. He tried to go forehand deke, but Holtby patiently outwaited him by getting a pad on the low shot.

That led to the confusing conclusion. Ovechkin didn’t try to go high glove with his big shot. Perhaps he was influenced by a pair of earlier stops from Georgiev, including a weird blocker one with an Ovechkin one-timer sticking like Velcro late in regulation. Instead, he decided to move in and go for the forehand deke, only to have Georgiev throw his stick to stop the attempt.

In regulation, three goals were scored in the first period. Ryan Strome got the first just 45 seconds in when he was able to beat Holtby thanks to a Chris Kreider feed in front off a Dmitry Orlov turnover. Jesper Fast forced the mistake, and Kreider quickly threw a backhand pass to Strome for his 11th. Ten have come as a Blueshirt since being stolen from Edmonton by GM Jeff Gorton for Ryan Spooner.

The early lead was short-lived. Former Ranger Carl Hagelin was able to take advantage of a bounce back to him for his first as a Capital. He took a Lars Eller pass and got a step on Lias Andersson and then tried to center a pass. But the puck went off Libor Hajek and back to him for the finish at 2:03.

Andre Burakovsky put the Caps ahead when he was able to skate around Marc Staal and get off a good shot from the circle that beat a screened Georgiev at 10:02. Washington defenseman Nick Jensen jumped up and set a perfect screen that allowed Burakovsky to get his ninth for a 2-1 lead.

Georgiev was the story in the second period. He stopped all 20 Capital shots to give his team a chance. Ironically, it was the Rangers who got the only goal. On a good low DeAngelo shot that caromed off Holtby, a diving Chytil somehow made a great backhand pass for a quick Buchnevich one-timer that tied the game with 5:40 left.

A splendid hustle play from the 19-year old rookie that had to make coach David Quinn smile. Chytil missed the last two games due to not playing up to par. He was rewarded with a shift in overtime.

Today’s game was also the return of Brett Howden. It was his first game since 1/29. He centered a interesting line with Chytil and Kreider in the third period.

Quinn moved around a few players including Buchnevich, who was elevated to the Mika Zibanejad line with Jimmy Vesey. Strome played with Fast and Vladislav Namestnikov. Andersson centered the fourth line with Brendan Smith and Brendan Lemieux. Lemieux mixed it up with Tom Wilson at the end of an active shift in the third. Wilson wasn’t pleased with a Fast hit on John Carlson. Lemieux didn’t back down.

There was definitely some edge in the third. Wilson went back at Fast during another shift. Even Buchnevich got in Wilson’s face. It was the kind of animosity you’d expect in the final game between the old rivals this season. Especially with time running out on the Rangers’ playoff hopes.

The three-on-three overtime was very entertaining. Both teams went for it. The best opportunity for the Blueshirts came on a terrific centering feed from DeAngelo to a wide open Buchnevich in the slot. But his hard shot hit Holtby in the chest to stay out. It was a great chance.

A little later, Ovechkin was hit with a perfect outlet for a breakaway on Georgiev. He tried to go five-hole, but the 22-year old goalie shut the door to earn a nice ovation from an appreciative crowd.

Kevin Shattenkirk scored in Round One of the shootout when he beat Holtby with a good forehand shot top shelf off a backhand deke. But T.J. Oshie was money as usual, going right between the wickets on Georgiev to even it up. After Holtby denied Zibanejad with a glove save, Georgiev poke checked Evgeny Kuznetsov’s forehand deke away.

In the top of the third, Quinn sent out DeAngelo. Having gone 2-for-2 previously with two shootout winners, he nearly had another when he beat Holtby with a good forehand finish off a deke. But Georgiev couldn’t seal the deal, allowing Backstrom to force a fourth round with a perfect laser top shelf.

Following Holtby denying Chytil, the bizarre finish allowed a grinning Ovechkin to celebrate with happy teammates. The two points put the Caps in first place over the Islanders, who are currently trailing the Flyers 3-0.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Filip Chytil, NYR (a beautiful primary assist on Buchnevich goal in his return)

2nd 🌟 Alexander Ovechkin, WSH (bizarre shootout winner in a rare game he didn’t score)

1st 🌟 Alexandar Georgiev, NYR (37 saves including 20 of 20 in 2nd)

Notes: Boo Nieves and Connor Brickley were healthy scratches with both Chytil and Howden returning. Fredrik Claesson sat out a second consecutive game for Hajek, who had one shot in 12:10. … After celebrating his 37th birthday yesterday, Henrik Lundqvist got the day off. Expect him back for Dallas on Tuesday. Since Mats Zuccarello went down, the Stars are winning games. A Jamie Benn hat trick gave them a 5-2 win over the Blues on Saturday. Dallas is in the first wildcard with 71 points out West. One up on second wildcard Minnesota. Arizona and Colorado are in the hunt. … NYR (27-27-11) are up to 65 points in 65 games. The over/under was 77.5 before the season.

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Game #66: Shutout Saturday – Bruins 1, Devils 0

Posted on March 2, 2019 by hasan4978

Obviously playing on a road back-to-back against one of the best teams in the league with points in fifteen straight games coming into tonight, little was expected from the Devils given their ever-mounting injury list – which saw another big name added to it during the contest when Nico Hischier went out with a suspected wrist injury (no update was given in the postgame). Even just losing by a single goal and holding the Bruins to one in their own building was a moral victory of sorts for a lineup that was mostly AHL-caliber.

Of course things could have been a lot worse if Mackenzie Blackwood wasn’t stellar in net again with a 29-save performance that earned him a third star. Among Blackwood’s saves was stopping a penalty shot from many Devil fans’ most loathed player Brad Marchand in the first period. Of course, as usual Marchand got the last laugh by scoring the game’s only goal on the power play within the first three minutes, and also attempted to injure another Devil (Sami Vatanen) with a crosscheck to the back in the final moments that went unpunished. Maybe because he knows the league isn’t going to punish a golden boy anyway, coach John Hynes demurred on saying that cross-check was a penalty, unlike last night when he was much harsher judging Nolan Patrick’s retaliation penalty to Kurtis Gabriel.

Thankfully Vatanen (apparently) escaped serious injury this time though it didn’t look good initially when he was shaking his arm. Seems like only a matter of time before every Devil will make a visit to IR at some point though. Even from afar this is getting depressing, I actually have to credit the players at this point for grinding through and trying to get results from these recent games, however meaningless they are. Of course, it’s easier to get max effort when most of your roster either is trying to prove they should be in the NHL or should have a bigger role but still the way this season’s gone in the toilet with injury after injury has to get depressing even to them.

With the Devils’ upcoming six-game nightmare of a road trip coming up I almost forgot they have one more home game Tuesday before that point. I have no plans to go and watch us get killed with Columbus. Thankfully my next home game isn’t for another three weeks, I’ll probably only be at two or three max. If coach John Tortorella has a morbid sense of humor he’ll take recent acquisition Keith Kinkaid out of mothballs to play us. I’d put down a few bucks on him getting a shutout too. Columbus has looked bad lately since going all-in with their deadline deals but I’m sure we’ll be a nice get-well tonic for them, especially given how bad we’ve played against them when we had much better rosters.

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