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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HARD HITS: A Chaotic Return for Tavares, Sean Avery, and the Islanders

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Derek

Unless you were living in a cave or on vacation without WiFi, Thursday night marked the long anticipated return of John Tavares to Long Island. The former Islanders captain got what was expected from irate fans when the Maple Leafs visited Nassau Coliseum for the game of the week off the Meadowbrook Parkway.

While the end result of the game wasn’t too surprising considering the circumstances- an Islanders 6-1 laugher over the Leafs, who played for the second time in two days, the real laughs began prior to the opening face-off in Uniondale. The festivities included several Islander fans marking the special occasion by burning Tavares number 91 jerseys outside.

Considering how his ninth and final season ended with Tavares taking some time before choosing to come home and play for the home town Maple Leafs, who he grew up idolizing in pajamas, you knew the reaction would be catastrophic for the big game on Feb. 28. Even though I was actually out that way with my Dad not too far from the game to see a terrific show by Procol Harum at the Theatre in Westbury, we still had time to listen to the beginning of the game on Hofstra radio. It didn’t disappoint.

I thought the radio voice of the Islanders, Chris King did a good job of explaining what was going on before and once Tavares stepped on the ice for his first shift at the 18-second mark. It didn’t take long for the boo birds to rain down for Tavares, who said all the right things about his return. Obviously, he didn’t want it to be about him, but it was. The delirious fans made it personal due to feeling the once idolized former 2009 number one overall pick, strung them along before breaking their hearts by choosing Toronto.

For someone like me, it’s a bit different. I have no personal attachment to the team or the player, who’s performed very well in his first year as a Leaf. However, I can see both sides of the heated debate that continues in bars, arenas and on social media. No matter who you root for, everyone has weighed in.

I’ll be perfectly honest. In all my years rooting for the Rangers, I’ve never experienced the kind of hurt Islander and Devil fans have gone through. At least not when it comes to drafting and developing a player who became a fan favorite, only to leave via free agency for another team. As much as losing Mark Messier hurt following ’97, it wasn’t that bad. He wasn’t hated, but revered by the Garden Faithful for delivering a Stanley Cup. He was cheered loudly in his return as a Canuck and cried during a video tribute prior to scoring on close buddy Mike Richter on a breakaway.

The same can be echoed for Brian Leetch and Adam Graves. Both traded with Leetch treated like crap by former GM Glen Sather. He didn’t even have the courage to ask Leetch if he would be open to a deal and then traded him to Toronto on his birthday. He still doesn’t have much of a relationship with Sather, who old school fans like me hate for such disrespect. It should’ve been handled better.

You can’t even compare the recent trades of Mats Zuccarello or Kevin Hayes to that of Tavares leaving the Islanders high and dry. Trades are different. Especially when you know it’s coming. When a star player signs with another team, all bets are off.

I feel strongly that former Islanders Team President and GM Garth Snow is largely responsible for why Tavares decided to leave for a new chapter. Had the organization been run better over the near decade he was there, he could’ve stayed. Without his heroics against the Panthers in an emotional first round win during the 2016 NHL Playoffs, the Islanders would still be without a series victory since their feel good run to the Eastern Conference Final in ’93. He was clutch scoring the game-tying goal and double overtime winner to lead the Isles to the second round.

This is the franchise’s best player since Pierre Turgeon. Sadly, he was never the same following that disgraceful cheap shot by Dale Hunter after he scored. Turgeon didn’t last long eventually winding up in Montreal for Kirk Muller, who held out during a dark era of Islanders hockey that featured some mind boggling decisions by the front office.

At least Tavares was a New York Islander for nine years. In 669 games spent between Long Island and Brooklyn, he produced 272 goals with 349 assists for a total of 621 points as an Islander. The center finished third for the Hart Trophy twice in the MVP race. He was a great player, who scored 30-or-more goals three times while eclipsing 80 points twice. Over a point-per-game in three seasons, he averaged a shade under that (0.93 PPG) for his Islanders career.

Unfortunately, the team didn’t have great success with Tavares, only making the postseason three times. That couldn’t have helped. Even with new boss Lou Lamoriello naming himself the GM and hiring Stanley Cup winning coach Barry Trotz away from the Capitals, it was too late.

Did Tavares lie when he told the media that he wanted to stay? Was he lying to the reporters that covered him and the fans? I don’t think it was intentional. Sometimes, things change. Once you let a player get to unrestricted free agency, anything can happen. Just ask Devils resident Hasan about turncoats Bobby Holik or Scott Gomez deciding to switch allegiances and cross the Hudson rivalry to the Rangers. They certainly heard it from the crowd. Particularly Holik, who was never shy about opening his mouth. Ultimately, the Devils had the last laugh winning the franchise’s third Cup in ’03 while Holik and the Rangers missed the playoffs. He didn’t last long on Broadway, bought out following the lockout.

Scott Niedermayer won three Cups with the Devils. A core piece who eventually replaced Scott Stevens as team captain, the former Norris winner left New Jersey to play with younger brother Rob Niedermayer and the Ducks. That also didn’t sit well with Devil fans due to the 2003 Stanley Cup their team won in seven games, where Jean-Sebastien Giguere was chosen as the Conn Smythe winner despite being from the losing Mighty Ducks. Many Devils fans felt Niedermayer deserved it for an outstanding playoffs. But they had a few candidates, which is probably why Giguere was chosen by the media. It was more a tribute to the team coached by Pat Burns (gone too soon). Zach Parise is just as hated as Tavares in Newark.

I think when you look at it without any bias, you can certainly understand why fans get frustrated when their team loses a special player. My brother was 13 when Messier left. He cried when our father told him he was gone. I was more numb and resigned to the fact he left due to Garden President Dave Checketts, who showed Patrick Ewing the money. When it came to Messier, they weren’t willing to keep paying for past performance. Then GM Neil Smith had a plan all along to sign Joe Sakic by front loading an offer sheet he signed. But the Avalanche matched. The rest is history.

https://twitter.com/JedidahJXH/status/1101781961801154560?s=19

Did Islander fans go too far the other night in how they treated Tavares? When it comes down to a silly few who tossed snakes and even a Tavares Islanders jersey at him as he was coming off following warmups, yes. That’s sheer lunacy. As far as the fans who burned Tavares jerseys on a grill outside, angry Cleveland fans did the same the first time LeBron James left to “take his talents” to South Beach in Miami. He played them, Bulls and Knicks fans for suckers. That was pretty low. I understood the animosity. At least he returned and delivered a championship to the Cavaliers before departing again to destroy the Lakers.

I think most of the Islander fans who came up with creative chants such as, “We Don’t Need You,” and “Past Your Bedtime,” made the atmosphere unique. As for the video tribute the Isles did for Tavares at the first stoppage, it was done in good taste. Unfortunately, while former teammates showed respect with stick taps to salute him, boos overwhelmed NYCB Live as the scoreboard showed Tavares’ first NHL goal, 500th career point and dramatic series clincher in sudden death. The highlights included some of Tavares’ community work for local charities.

It was a nice touch by Lamoriello and the organization. He didn’t want it to be personal. When it comes to fandom, that’s out the window. Fans are going to do what they’re going to do. At the end of the day, it is what it is.

The Isles remain a first place hockey club even following a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Caps on Friday night. They have one game at hand while both teams have an identical 81 points. Trotz has done a wonderful job establishing a winning culture on the Island.

A defensive system has resulted in great numbers for both Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss. One could wind up in the running for the Vezina awarded to the game’s top goalie. Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is the favorite with Montreal netminder Carey Price and possibly Golden Knight Marc-Andre Fleury in the mix.

The Islanders win games with tenacious checking and timely scoring. They don’t rely on one star player the way they used to with Tavares, who needs three points to set a new career high on the higher scoring Leafs. Mathew Barzal remains the leading scorer despite some inconsistency in his second season. Anders Lee still finishes around the net, but might not even reach 30 goals. Josh Bailey isn’t piling up assists or points the way he did with Tavares last year.

It’s the role of the supporting cast that has made the difference in the standings. Casey Cizikas continues to perform at a high level, getting a shorthanded goal in the 6-1 blowout. Brock Nelson and Valtteri Filppula have supplied center depth with all four pivots scoring in double digits. Matt Martin has been the same effective Islander he was with Cizikas and old Tavares buddy Cal Clutterbuck.

The interesting part is Lamoriello didn’t make a deal at the deadline. Obviously, he didn’t feel there was anyone worth acquiring. The Isles could use some help on the power play. A dicey area. Instead, Lou will go with the roster that’s got them here. Andrew Ladd just returned on Thursday, but missed Friday’s game. Scott Mayfield is back to help a blueline that includes emerging Ryan Pulock along with proven vets Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk. Newcomer Devon Toews has fit into the top six along with Adam Pelech.

It’s the depth players such as Jordan Eberle and the streaky Anthony Beauvillier that’ll help determine how far the Islanders go. Grizzled vets like Thomas Hickey and Leo Komarov are just as important. That’s how Lamoriello built the team. It’s how Trotz coaches it. They trust everyone.

That’s what the season is all about. Not the chaos that ensued on Thursday before nearly 14,000 strong full of hatred for a former star player. Should they be that upset with a first place club? Maybe not. However, the reaction was predictable. Even if controversial former Ranger Sean Avery weighed in with some very strong words.

In a way, he’s right. Tavares isn’t a bad guy. He never said or did anything wrong in his nine years as an Islander. I don’t mind Avery sticking up for Tavares. However, let’s be honest. When it comes to the Grate One as Larry Brooks coined in his Blueshirt days, it’s all about Sean Avery. So, while I do agree that the fans who called Tavares a snake and tossed stuff at him were wrong, that wasn’t every Islander fan. I didn’t care for the Dear John video either that was taped last summer. But I understand how upset they were.

I don’t know what Avery’s been up to. But what’s the deal with that hat? He also doesn’t look like the same guy. It looks like he had a facelift. Is he channeling Axl Rose? As much as I love Axl, come on. Come back to us Sean.

I can only imagine what haters are thinking. Avery defending Tavares when we all know he was no angel. As effective as of player as he was in the Big Apple, he was a locker room divider in other places including Hartford after John Tortorella banished him. There’s no love lost between them. I’ll never know the truth on what really happened. But I’ve heard some not so good things about Avery, which includes his strange marriage to model Hilary Rhoda. His relationship with his mother-in-law is estranged, which typifies Avery. That’s my final word on him.

Pro or con, everyone will remain with the same opinion on Thursday night. I actually felt sorry for Tavares. He handled all of it with class and true professionalism, which is what you expect from a well raised Canadian kid from Mississauga, Ontario.

Even if the game turned into a complete dud, it only makes things more interesting for the Spring. Imagine if the Islanders and Leafs were to meet. As it stands, it looks unrealistic with no such chance until the Conference Finals. Unless one of the two teams dropped out of the top three in their division, then they can’t face each other until the weather is nice and warm.

They’ll have one final act on April Fool’s Day at The Coliseum. That might not be as hostile. But can’t you just feel the love.

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Game #64: Bad bounces, Armia’s hat trick overshadow Lemieux’s first goal in 4-2 loss to Canadiens

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Derek

Home ice is supposed to be friendly. Not so much for the Rangers, who had two bad bounces go against them in a 4-2 loss to the Canadiens. Those two bounces resulted in Montreal goals to turn around a second period that once saw the Blueshirts lead in shots 8-0. Carey Price was le magnifique (magnificent) and Joel Armia recorded his first NHL hat trick to get the Habs a huge win. They’re battling the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Flyers for the playoffs.

It’s amazing how bad luck can change a game. The Rangers were in control leading by a goal while dominating play. Vladislav Namestnikov extended his point streak to four straight by redirecting a Brady Skjei point shot for his ninth back in a good first period. He easily could’ve had a hat trick if not for some splendid netminding by Price, who finished with 28 saves to earn the game’s second star. He robbed Namestnikov point blank on a one-timer and didn’t allow a rebound. Namestnikov was the best skater for the Garden hosts, who probably wish they played on better ice.

The game sure turned around. The first bad bounce saw a innocent looking Jordie Benn dump in take a crazy carom off the back boards right to Tomas Tatar, who quickly centered for a Brendan Gallagher deflection to tie the game. There wasn’t much Henrik Lundqvist could’ve done. The same for his defense.

With the game tied, Montreal used the weird goal and swung the momentum by using their speed to get the puck in deep and create a ton of scoring chances. In fact, they took 18 of the next 19 shots. Lundqvist came up with a couple of dandies on Gallagher in tight. Unfortunately, he couldn’t handle a Christian Folin dump in that took a wacky hop just by his paddle right to Armia. He easily beat Lundqvist, who was down for a 2-1 Habs lead.

The Rangers only wound up with four more shots in the period they once led 8-0 with Price standing on his head. The best shifts came from the new third line of Lias Andersson, Pavel Buchnevich and Brendan Lemieux, who was very active throughout. I’m sure he regrets not shooting the puck on a two-on-one. Instead, he opted for a low percentage pass that missed connection.

Playing his first game since being recalled from Hartford, Libor Hajek was fine. Wearing number 43, the 21-year old left defenseman skated well in taking 23 shifts (17:35). He finished with two shots, two takeaways, a hit and a tacky minor penalty for holding the stick. I liked what I saw. He played poised and looked calm. Exactly the advice veteran Kevin Shattenkirk said he’d give him.

The Rangers didn’t give up following Armia tallying his second by taking advantage of a Skjei turnover to power through the Ranger defenseman’s back check, to beat Lundqvist high glove side for a 3-1 Montreal lead. Skjei looked like he’d recovered by getting back, but was too weak to prevent the unscreened Armia shot. One I felt Lundqvist should’ve had. He played well making 32 saves, but got outplayed by Price. It was another frustrating night for him.

After a TV timeout, coach David Quinn could be seen encouraging the bench. MSG reporter John Giannone informed viewers that the coach told his players they were too slow. It was true. The Habs were outskating them.

They responded as usual. There is no quit in these guys. Even with some good former Rangers gone, they continue to battle hard for Quinn. A good characteristic that wasn’t part of their DNA last year under Alain Vigneault. Some of Mika Zibanejad’s comments following Wednesday’s overtime loss to Tampa were pretty telling. He said if that game was last year, they would’ve lost 6-1. Instead, they played the Lightning tough and took it to the three-on-three garbage.

Zibanejad’s line was shut down by the Habs. Jimmy Vesey had some close calls, but was unable to keep his hot streak going. Tony DeAngelo also had his assist streak end at eight.

I thought the other lines were better. The Andersson line, Ryan Strome line and Boo Nieves line worked hard. The unit of Andersson, Lemieux and Buchnevich mixed it up. Lemieux was certainly running his mouth with Max Domi, who’s no stranger to that stuff. Domi’s line with Jonathan Drouin and Andrew Shaw were a pain in the neck all night. During a scrum, Buchnevich actually chatted with Domi. Did he speak Russian? Buchnevich has played with more of a edge lately. I’d keep him with Andersson and Lemieux for now.

I’m not sure where Filip Chytil will play when he returns. Maybe he can slide into the second line for Fast eventually. Fast did finally get a point when he had a Skjei pass bounce off him right to Lemieux for his first goal as a Blueshirt. That came with 2:32 left. They got the puck for him.

Quinn pulled Lundqvist with over two minutes remaining. But Nate Thompson pushed Buchnevich off the puck leading to Paul Byron passing it to Armia for the hat trick into a open net at 19:23. Lemieux exchanged pleasantries with Domi causing a mini dust up with Frolin, who he had a run in with earlier. It earned Lemieux a misconduct. He’s going to be a popular player in record time.

All in all, a tolerable loss against a better opponent competing for the postseason. But with very competitive players like Lemieux, who doesn’t believe in mailing it in, this team won’t accept defeats. They’ll continue to play hard and try to win as many of the remaining 18 games left.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Vladislav Namestnikov, NYR (scored his 9th and easily could’ve had more if not for Price)

2nd 🌟 Carey Price, MTL (terrific throughout making 28 saves)

1st 🌟 Joel Armia, MTL (first career hat trick for #’s 8, 9 & 10)

Notes: With two apples, that gives Skjei five points (3-2-5) over the last four. … Shattenkirk recorded an assist for the fourth straight game. His play has quietly steadied. Tonight, he paired up with Skjei. … The top line of Zibanejad, Kreider and Vesey were a combined minus-eight with five shots. … Namestnikov is 5-3-8 in the last eight. … Chytil was a healthy scratch for a second consecutive game. Fredrik Claesson also sat out. … Rangers (27-27-10) remain at 64 points with 18 games left. They’re seventh in the Metro Division and six points ahead of the Devils, who dropped a 6-3 decision to the Flyers on Friday night. … NYR host the Caps on Sunday at 12:30 PM. … With the victory, the Habs are up to 77 points with 17 left. They’re currently in the first wildcard with a big game tomorrow night versus the Penguins.

EAST PLAYOFF RACE

Atlantic

+1.Lightning 65 GP 102 Pts 43 ROW

*2.Bruins 64 GP 85 Pts 36 ROW

*3.Maple Leafs 64 GP 82 Pts 39 ROW

Metro

+1.Islanders 64 GP 81 Pts 34 ROW

*2.Capitals 65 GP 81 Pts 34 ROW

*3.Hurricanes 64 GP 76 Pts 34 ROW

Wildcard

*1.Canadiens 65 GP 77 Pts 33 ROW

*2.Blue Jackets 63 GP 75 Pts 36 ROW

3.Penguins 64 GP 75 Pts 32 ROW

4.Flyers 65 GP 70 Pts 29 ROW

5.Sabres 64 GP 68 Pts 26 ROW

+division leader

*playoffs

ROW is the first tiebreaker.

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Game #65: Fickle Friday – Flyers 6, Devils 3

Posted on March 1, 2019 by hasan4978

Perhaps the only good thing about tonight’s latest Devils disaster is that it’s over. If you’re going to lose, might as well lose by a lot so at least the fans who waste their time and money going to games can peel out early. Many of us did when a 2-2 game late in the second period turned into 5-2 just like that early in the third period thanks to bad bounces, and bad goaltending from Cory Schneider. Maybe I’m the problem…I still haven’t seen a good Cory performance live or even on TV since last year in the playoffs. Of course, I haven’t seen a good Devil performance period at the Rock since the calendar turned to 2019 (the count now is 0-5 for my games attended, being outscored 23-11). So forgive me if I just become less and less willing to not only attend and watch games, but comment on them as well.

This was certainly a one step forward, two steps back game for Cory who’d been better lately in his last few games but reverted back to 2018 form tonight, especially with his (usually) hideous puckhandling on both the second and third goals of the night, followed by a horribly soft goal early in the third period that brought back visions of the Vegas game in December. Even before Cory rode into action the start of the game was frustrating when that annoying clown Kurtis Gabriel made his presence known with a stupid, unneccesary boarding penalty that cost us a five-minute major early in the first period.

Amazingly enough, the Devils managed to kill off the entire five-minute penalty clean. That should have been enough to gain momentum for quite some time…until Drew Stafford struck taking another minor penalty and finally the PK’ers cracked allowing a goal. I almost blame myself in the sense that I usually don’t leave my seat during the game – but because there was no commercial for the first fourteen minutes of play I figured I’d be safe going over to the boardwalk stand to try the funnel cake fries cause there’d be a lot of stoppages coming up, of course I was in the hall when the Flyers did break the deadlock. From there, the rest of the first period was awful and Cory’s pathetic attempt to stickhandle the puck led to him shoveling the puck towards an onrushing Flyer leading to a breakdown in front of the net for goal #2.

However, just when it looked like it was going to be another one of those games, the Devils showed a pulse in the second period and had one of the best twenty minutes I’ve seen from them in weeks – getting rewarded for their good play with two goals from Damon Severson and Jesper Bratt, both off rebounds in front. At least we got to see Bratt again this season, which is probably more than I can say for Taylor Hall at the moment after word came down earlier this week he had arthroscopic knee surgery. Guess that was his ‘day-to-day’ injury for the last two months going on three, eh?

Anyway, the Devils looked to be in good shape – game tied, momentum turning and I didn’t think much of things toward the end of the second period when a nice lady in our section started passing around little mass-produced Devils bags, I guess they’re called drawstring bags. So I was paying attention to the bag and putting my season ticket t-shirt giveaways in them when the crowd roared…for a Flyers goal. Yep there was a definite Flyer fan invasion at the Rock tonight, more than I’ve ever heard here. I never even saw the play until just now. This one seemed a bit more fluky as Cory had to play the puck woth Tomas Konecny bearing down on him and it took multiple deflections before winding up in the net, but it’s the kinds of things that just happen way too often to this star-crossed goaltender.

What a momentum killer that turned out to be. Seemed that Cory was shot for the night after that, as he allowed a Charmin-soft fourth goal and the rout was on, especially after Ivan Provorov’s deflection made it 5-2 and sent many of the Devil fan contingent including me toward the exits. I missed the unneccesary and needless goonery afterward, but a goonfest is the last thing we need right now with our current injury list, which only grew by a handful tonight. Gabriel left after going to the concussion protocol when Nolan Patrick ostensibly cheap-shotted him. I obviously didn’t see that but when you yourself start running people early in the game, you have to expect it’ll come around the other way eventually. Blake Pietila and Nathan Bastian also left with injuries, Bastian’s the most annoying since it came in a collision with teammate Nick Lappin. If that’s not indiciative of the way things have been going lately, nothing is.

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Game #63: Grittier Blueshirts are winners even if refs handed Bolts extra point

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Derek

Sometimes, this game can be very strange. Rare is the occasion where you can feel like your team won even they the end result says they lost. Such was the case during tonight’s match against the league best Lightning.

Even in defeat, it was the grittier Blueshirts who are the true winners. The Bolts might have profited off a terrible missed call for an extra point. But make no mistake that they were outplayed and out hustled by the new look Rangers, who fell to 1-8 in overtime on a controversial Victor Hedman goal in a 4-3 home defeat.

How different are these Blueshirts under coach David Quinn after playing their 63rd game? Let’s just say they gave the league darlings all they could handle in coming back from a 3-1 deficit to battle their way into a competitive three-on-three. One that was taken away from them due to an illegal pick play by the NHL’s leading scorer Nikita Kucherov to free up Hedman for his winner. It certainly drew the ire of several Rangers including Vladislav Namestnikov, who was fouled on the play.

Fans weren’t happy. They were into it. A Bolts trio that included Steven Stamkos, Hedman and a changing Kucherov couldn’t get the look they wanted against a tired Namestnikov, Neal Pionk and newest Ranger Brendan Lemieux, who was very active in his debut. So, a talented team that hasn’t proven they can get over the hump cheated to steal a extra point.

In the regular season where the Bettman system allows artificial hockey such as three-on-three to decide these meaningless games, they can get away with it. When the real season begins in mid-April, there will be no shortcuts for Tampa Bay. They’ll have to beat opponents without the aid of incompetent refs in a format that decides valuable points in OT along with the shootout.

Let’s focus on the positives for the rebuilding club who had the home crowd into it tonight. Following a disappointing first period that saw them outscored 2-0 on goals by Tyler Johnson and old friend J.T. Miller (PPG), the Rangers responded with three goals in a excellent second that saw them outshoot the Lightning 17-8.

It wasn’t only that they outscored the more talented Bolts 3-1. They clawed and scrapped literally. Following a wonderful rush and great pass from Jimmy Vesey to set up leading scorer Mika Zibanejad’s 27th at 56 seconds, Lemieux spiced things up during a scrum that lead to Pavel Buchnevich fighting for just the second time in his career against Yanni Gourde. Buchnevich even landed a couple of punches in the lightweight bout. Lemieux wound up with the extra for roughing. Interestingly, they played well together with a more active Lias Andersson, who is looking more confident.

A Miller slash of that more effective forward Brendan Smith gave Tampa the edge during a four-on-four. Stamkos made a great read to find another ex-Blueshirt Dan Girardi for a short side goal that Alexandar Georgiev should’ve had. It’s ironic that all this time later, the soul of those good Rangers teams remains an effective defenseman with the Lightning despite his age. Funny how that works.

Trailing by two, the Rangers showed a lot of character coming back. Thirty seconds later, a innocent looking Fredrik Claesson pass found a streaking Vesey in the neutral zone for a strong rush. He warded off Hedman to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy for his 16th to make it a one goal game. Just great determination and skill by Vesey, who has continued to excel since replacing Mats Zuccarello on the top line. With a third straight game of a goal and assist, he has six points with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He needs four more goals for 20.

The penalties continued. The Lightning gave the Blueshirts some opportunities they were unable to cash in on. Instead, it was another gritty shift from a secondary line that produced the game’s last legit goal. On some good sustained pressure from Namestnikov behind the net, Ryan Strome was able to find an open Boo Nieves for a shot that beat Vasilevskiy for the tying goal at 14:14. It was his fourth goal.

Nieves has been a good player since returning from Hartford. The organization rewarded him for his honest effort with a new one-year contract to prevent him from becoming unrestricted this summer. He deserves it. He should be the fourth line center next season. I wonder where Brett Howden slides in when he returns. Maybe for Connor Brickley, who hasn’t been bad. Unless Smith comes out.

Don’t forget Filip Chytil will be back soon. Nobody wants to see Quinn bench the promising 19-year old rookie. However, the no nonsense coach wasn’t happy with Chytil’s game at Washington. Despite a crazy 6-5 score, he wasn’t noticable. It’s a similar reason Buchnevich and others have wound up in the Quinn Bin. Hopefully, he’ll respond the same way Buchnevich, Namestnikov and Tony DeAngelo have.

The third period was evenly played. It felt like a playoff game. For a young team like the Rangers, who won’t see the second season, the dramatic improvement demonstrated that they can play with anyone. They outshot the Bolts 9-6 and gave them fits on the forecheck. That included a great shift from Andersson, Buchnevich and Lemieux where they had the puck deep, creating a few chances. There also was a similar shift from the top line late in regulation. That strong work ethic is what you want to see for the remaining 19 games.

In the three-on-three, Georgiev flat out robbed Hedman on a clean breakaway with a great save. He may not have gotten the win, but the backup continues to be good on breakaways and give the team a chance.

After being unable to penetrate the Rangers defense on a long shift, Kucherov got dirty by picking Namestnikov after setting up Hedman for the open shot that beat Georgiev. It should’ve been a penalty. But the good teams have a way of getting away with that stuff.

That doesn’t matter. The Blueshirts played very well and deserved the two points. The Lightning needed to bend the rules to win. We all know who the real winners were.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Victor Hedman, TBL (goal and assist in superb performance)

2nd 🌟 Frederick L’Ecuyer and Tim Peel (a bang up job by the refs at the end)

1st 🌟 Jimmy Vesey, NYR (third consecutive game with a goal and assist giving him 16 G and 18 A)

Notes: Georgiev finished with 26 saves for the hard luck OTL. Vasilevskiy made 33 saves to help the Lightning win a franchise record 10th game in a row. … In his Broadway debut, Lemieux finished with seven hits, two blocks, and a minus-one in 18 shifts (15:24) including 5:07 PP while wearing trademark number 48. … DeAngelo increased his point streak to eight adding a ninth assist over that stretch. … Both teams finished their checks with a combined 64 hits (34-30 TBL). Lemieux led everyone with seven while old hat Girardi had five along with Erik Cernak. … Total shots were 36-30 NYR with them leading the Bolts in attempts, 70-64. … NYR won face-offs 33-29 paced by Zibanejad (16-and-11) followed by Strome (12-and-6). Anthony Cirelli went 9-and-1 for Tampa. … Rangers (27-26-10) host the Canadiens on Friday, March 1st.

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Game #64: Weary Wednesday – Flames 2, Devils 1

Posted on February 27, 2019 by hasan4978

In one sense, today’s result was a best-case scenario for the Devils, lose but don’t lose by such a overwhelming margin that it destroys the confidence of your goaltender – tonight being Mackenzie Blackwood, playing for the first time since his post-deadline recall. However, this whole week has been straight out of the Twilight Zone as far as guys getting hurt. Even with the good news of Sami Vatanen returning to the lineup tonight after missing the last several weeks, he was replaced on the injured list by multiple players. To wit:

All within the last few days, all forwards. And that doesn’t include the continued absence of MVP Taylor Hall. Small wonder this forward group has become preseason level bad, especially after dealing off Brian Boyle and Marcus Johansson earlier this month. In theory with Vatanen back the defense was the best on paper it could possibly be, for whatever that’s worth. Predictably for the second straight game the Devils were outshot by a wide margin against a better team (30-10 in the first two periods alone). This time even great goaltending couldn’t save them, as they came out on the short end of a 2-1 score.

To add even more injury to insult, Mirco Mueller fell awkwardly into the boards during the third period, providing a scary few minutes as he lay apparently motionless on the ice before coming to and giving the ol’ thumbs up while being stretchered off. Thankfully it’s nothing more serious than having a second straight season go south after an awkward spill into the boards for Mueller – last year it was his collarbone. Even coach John Hynes narrowly escaped going on IR when he got hit with a puck in the head on the bench later that period.

Overall I can’t even think of much else to say, honestly. I had the game on background noise but can’t say I was really watching, especially fearing a blowout. With all the injuries and trades, is there really a single game left on the schedule where the Devils will be favored to win at this point? Since we’re done playing Ottawa and the Kings (who did just spank us a few weeks back at the Rock themselves), I’d say no.

I’d love to say yeah it’ll be fun, give me some no-pressure hockey to watch the kids but really all it is, is one long, extended preseason. This isn’t exactly the best environment right now for kids to develop. Ironically the most compelling aspect of the season going forward is the one that most worries me because of the state of the team – the goaltenders. Right now it’d just be best to split the workload between Blackwood and Cory, so one doesn’t have to take the brunt of this mess going forward. Especially if you have to see the kids play ‘the system’ and aren’t just going to go with some low-event hockey to protect your goalies.

It’s a good thing the team has a lot of road games coming up, I still won’t have to worry about going to meaningless games for another couple weeks – except Friday. When the Flyers on the fringe of the playoff race come to the Rock to goon it up…oh joy.

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