Game #55: Sleepy Sunday – Devils 3, Hurricanes 2

Posted on February 10, 2019 by hasan4978
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1094728626518540289?s=20

Welp clearly I went to the wrong weekend game, at least judging by the end result. Of course judging by shots on goal, particuarly in the second period where the Canes dominated play it really wasn’t that much better of a game than yesterday’s snooze-fest other than the actual result. Clearly the goaltending was better, as at least Keith Kinkaid sometimes can make the big saves to hold a lead. Certainly the offense was better, not only given that three goals > two but the two early markers in the first period gave the team a cushion they almost, but couldn’t quite blow.

I actually watched more of this game than I thought, which is to say more than zero. I tuned in long enough late in the first period to see Marcus Johansson’s first goal that made the score 2-0, then next really started watching the last 10-15 minutes of the third long enough to see Johansson’s second goal of the night off a spectacular feed from Jesper Bratt, then a 6-on-4 Canes goal late that gave me some PTSD flashbacks to playoffs past with a frantic finish as the team held onto a one goal lead and their lone win of a four-game homestand.

I’m not even sure why I was as invested in the team winning as I was today. Maybe I was just tired of seeing bad hockey and worse results. Not as if the game meant anything to us though it certainly matters to Carolina being in the thick of the playoff chase. Perhaps that had something to do with it, playing spoiler to a rival. Much like Derek still feels animosity to the Kings for 2014, I and many Devil fans still have a little extra loathing for the Canes who ended our seasons in 2002, 2006 and 2009 – each playoff defeat more excruciating than the last. Even if ghosts of playoffs past like Cam Ward and Eric Staal are long gone, the uniform is still enough to annoy me. Plus Rod Brind’Amour is behind the bench so there’s that too, along with their stupid over the top victory celebration that’s gone from being fun to being contrived.

At least we prevented them from doing their victory celebration at the Rock, beating them in both their games here so far. Even playing spoiler isn’t as important as how the team wins games. Super soph Nico Hischier got the first star without scoring a goal, although he did put up three apples (assists). Pavel Zacha scored the first goal on the power play early in the first period, Bratt’s assist I already documented so the younger guys played well for the most part. Even recent Wild castoff Ryan Murphy played well in his first game as a Devil, getting an assist on the Zacha PP goal. It also doesn’t hurt when guys play up their trade value like Johansson. Some might say Kinkaid as well but I’m dubious of just about any goalie’s trade value at this point, especially one with the ugly splits he has.

Ironically my last home win in attendance was Mackenzie Blackwood’s shutout of the Canes just before the new year. Still waiting for my first live win in 2019, likely I’ll be waiting till March unless they beat the Penguins on ’90’s throwback night. By then, there’ll probably be another few new players on the roster as guys get dealt by the late February deadline. Before then comes a tough three-game roadtrip through St. Louis, Chicago and Minnesota in a four-day span before rolling back into the tri-state area for the rest of the month.

I’ll probably follow from even more of a distance on the trip than I do the home games. After all it’s tough to get motivated for games that mean little. I could say the same thing about the players and the coaches, but hey this is why you get paid the big bucks. Not to mention it’s their jobs and reputations on the line out there, not ours. And I’m not motivated by anti-winning yet either, maybe in the last few games I’ll care about the damn lottery (a la Jets-Packers late in the season where I passed up a chance to go to that game with friends in part cause I was too ambivalent about the actual result by then), but until then there’s still too much time left in the season for that and too many guys need to show they’re worth something either for next year or deadline dealings.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game #54: Sad Sack Saturday – Wild 4, Devils 2

Posted on February 9, 2019 by hasan4978

In an already bad season for the Devils this has been a pure week from hell. As a message board post succinctly put it, we lost to and got a goal scored on us by both Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, and in the middle lost to Lou Lamoriello’s new team who also happens to be an area rival. Lordy. Like most Devil games over the last couple of months, this afternoon was completely unwatchable. I couldn’t tell whether it was us playing the Wild or the 2000 Devils playing the Leafs in that famous six-shot playoff game. Too bad I was contractually obligated to watch.

Honestly the only reason I didn’t sell this pair of tickets is because I’m already passing on a lot of other games this month as it is. Plus Saturday afternoon games are a more likely vehicle to find people to socialize with, as today proved. I ran into one couple who I hadn’t seen in a couple months and sat with them for most of the final two periods and got to meet up with another friend postgame who I hadn’t seen in years. Ironically the latter guy I’d met through adult dodgeball so he got to congratulate me on my team’s win a couple days ago. As usual the best things about going to Devil games no longer have anything to do with the hockey. At least it’s not the gambling lounge for me, though I suspect it might be for a few other people.

Even our early-season home success seems like a distant memory now, as the last home win I was in attendance for was back in 2018, making me 0-3 in the new year with every one of them fairly convincing losses – though the Leafs game and today was illusory close for a while, in neither game did I really feel we had a shot once we got behind given how both teams dominated us. Somewhat fittingly, the one real good stretch we had after the first period when Jesper Bratt scored early in the third period to pull it to within 3-2, Frankencory struck again allowing yet another soft 1980’s style unscreened slapshot goal through the pads to give the Wild back it’s two goal lead which might as well have been twenty.

Coincidentally that’s also the number of consecutive regular season losses for goaltender Cory Schneider. If Thursday’s game was one step forward, today was two steps back as he lost his stick on the Wild’s first goal early in the game, then had that disasterous momentum-killing fourth goal against. Not that this team really deserved to win having just a few good minutes between spurts early in the first and third. Still you would have liked to have seen Cory make Thursday’s game stick from an execution standpoint. Seeing Cory try to get off the schneid was one of the few things that was s keeping my interest in the actual game, especially with our dissapearing lineup.

As Derek posted a few days ago, we did trade Brian Boyle to Nashville, starting the inevitable pre-deadline selloff. I haven’t commented yet in the blog but like I said in the comments section of his post, he had an unusual impact for a guy who was a fourth-liner here less than two years, and not just cause of the whole cancer thing. Although certainly everyone’s reaction to both his disagnosis and the way he handed it bonded him with the fanbase and his teammates at warp speed, people also respected the player and person he is, ask any of his other teammates during his various stops in his career including the Garden. Just like only a handful of players can gain respect from both the Mets and Yankees fanbases (David Cone and Curtis Granderson come to mind), only a handful have universal respect from Ranger and Devil fan alike, Boyle’s certainly one of them.

Starting the selloff isn’t the only factor that’s decimated our lineup though. As the season continues to go further and further down the drain, the injuries continue to mount. Taylor Hall, Sami Vatanen, Stefan Noesen and now Miles Wood all weren’t available due to various injuries. I might even be missing a couple but I don’t really care to look at the moment. Marcus Johansson got hurt in a seemingly scary fashion in the third, but perhaps the only good thing about today’s game is he was able to come back later on. That and the return of rookie Joey Anderson who had a brutal leg injury early in the season. Selfishly that’s part of the reason I was glad we traded Boyle three weeks early, might as well cash out your expendable assets once you get a fair price in case injury hits. Plus in Boyle’s case he gets a deserved chance at a Stanley Cup, so it was a win-win situation there.

Sadly the events of this week pretty much ensure the next game I bother to watch will be the one I attend on the 19th, when they have ’90’s night at the Rock against the Penguins. While I’m not as big on the David Puddy bobblehead as some, at least it’ll make it a hot ticket to go and clearly the Seinfeld bit will be the headliner in spotlighting the ’90’s just like Ghostbusters was for ’80’s night. Maybe the team will even show up since it seems the only times they ever have after the first four games are when they see Penguin jerseys.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Messier Quote on Winning

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Derek

I may as well since Mark Messier knows a lot about winning. The six-time Stanley Cup winner who captained the Rangers to their only Cup since 1940 had this simple, but very truthful quote about what it takes to win.

It also applies to being successful. Listening to him speak is a pleasure. He really should be a motivational speaker. He’s so good at it. Hell. I would probably be too since I’m not shy about speaking in front of people.

I think it’s important for this year’s Blueshirts to take away what they learned from having The Captain speak to them in the locker room. Sure. The game didn’t go the way they envisioned, getting shutout by another hockey God Petr “Weekes” Mrazek. But they didn’t play poorly.

The first two periods were on even terms with both Mrazek and Henrik Lundqvist taking turns making great saves in a old fashioned goaltender duel. The difference was the Canes were determined in the third period, showing off their superior skating and team defense to win the game 3-0. It was closer than the final score with Carolina getting two empty netters in support of Warren Foegle’s game-winner and Mrazek’s 27 saves.

For the young players who’ll be a big part of the future, they must learn from this experience. It’s so rare that you get to meet a championship team as they did on the ice for the ceremony and behind the scenes in the room. This should be a worthwhile lesson moving forward for the franchise that’s headed to a second consecutive playoff miss.

Posted in Battle News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A special night that truly will last a lifetime for legendary ’93-94 Stanley Cup champion Rangers

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Derek

Kovy and The Troll: On a memorable night that honored the 25 Year Anniversary of the ’93-94 Rangers Stanley Cup, Alexei Kovalev is still a kid at heart bringing The Troll with him to celebrate with teammates. AP Photo via NYRangers courtesy Twitter and MSG Networks.

If you were fortunate enough to be at the old building between 33rd and Seventh above Penn Station on what shall forever be a special night, then you witnessed a big part of your sports livelihood at Madison Square Garden. As I stated in a previous piece, the 1993-94 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers were part of the fabric of the city that captivated fans in this town 25 years ago.

It’s still hard to fathom that it’s been so long since captain Mark Messier hoisted the Cup 54 years in the making for a once cursed franchise on a unforgettable New York summer night on June 14, 1994. The anxiety and anticipation leading up to what was a wonderful ceremony anchored by who else but Sam Rosen and John Davidson, with the latter hearing it from the crowd. Those “JD, JD, JD!” chants from what Adam Graves coined the Garden Faithful were overwhelming. It was a warm welcome home indeed for the popular former Rangers netminder who guided the 1979 team to a Stanley Cup Final before losing to the hated Canadiens. The same passionate man who became a fixture in our households for his terrific analysis on the game and classic, “Oh Baby,” call that was the title of the ’93-94 Stanley Cup Championship video.

For all the hoopla surrounding the return of almost the entire roster except Alexander Karpovtsev, who was well represented by his wife and daughter, receiving a nice ovation, it was truly something to behold. I shed some tears when Messier mentioned how much they missed Karpovtsev during a beautiful speech spoken straight from the heart. It was really emotional. It’s hard to believe the solid depth defenseman, who became one of the first Russian players to have his name on the Stanley Cup, has been gone since that tragic plane crash of KHL team Lokomotiv in 2011. Like everyone on that championship roster, he played a key role. Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov are part of NHL history as the first Russian players to have their names engraved on the Cup. In case you’re wondering, Sergei Makarov was a year too late with Calgary.

Being up in Section 419 (formerly 411) for the special ceremony that began at 6:30 sharp, what stood out was how well done it was. Anytime you can have Sam and JD back again emceeing, it invokes memories of my childhood. Between the two voices the Rangers family all know and love, and the classic Rangers intro music and old goal song that didn’t need any dusting off for this lifetime fan, it certainly was moving. I stood for most of it as did our family. I can’t remember cheering like that so much in such a short period. Not even the special run in 2014 compares. Had that team won, we could be talking about something very different.

It doesn’t matter what happened in the past between architect Neil Smith and coach Mike Keenan. They were there along with assistant coach Dick Todd and associate coach Colin Campbell. A former coach I don’t particularly like due to how he handled my favorite player, Kovalev. One of many mistakes that were made during that post Stanley Cup era. It happens sometimes. For one night at least, I found it in my heart to forgive him. Besides, this was way bigger than old skeletons in the closet. This was about honoring a special team that as Messier accurately noted, were a family. Not a group or even a team. A family that came together and rallied around each other to deliver that championship, and march down the Canyon of Heroes forever. A goal Keenan talked about and even showed them during camp.

Even better than seeing all the players introduced except also Brian Noonan, who coaches, I loved how Messier made sure to mention how after 25 years, some things do change. How they all miss Potsie. He also didn’t forget Steven McDonald or Viktor Smith, who took his own life at 21 in September. The son of Neil Smith. It was important for the former Rangers GM to mend fences with current Garden CEO James Dolan at a dinner for the players and coaches commemorating the 25-Year Anniversary. I can’t imagine the pain and grief he’s going through.

The perfect touch following Messier’s speech that really hit home with everyone, was a nice video of that championship team with everyone seated. Even Smith and Keenan. The thing about that family is they persevered to get it done. Like every champion in any sport. Hockey is a team game, which is what makes it great. If the players are not all pulling in the same direction, you can’t win. Just listen to his speech to the current roster before the game.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1094036878637051904?s=19

That team did. From character depth guys like Eddie Olczyk, Mike Hartman, Joey Kocur, Doug Lidster, Craig MacTavish, Noonan, Glenn Anderson, Greg Gilbert, Jay Wells, Mike Hudson, Nick Kypreos, Karpovtsev, and Glenn Healy to core pieces Messier, Graves, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Kovalev, Zubov, Nemchinov, Esa Tikkanen, Jeff Beukeboom, Kevin Lowe, they all knew their roles.

Stephane Matteau will never have to buy a drink ever. That’s how revered the Game Seven hero of the Conference Final is. Was there a smarter player than Steve Larmer? I still say he deserves inclusion into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Who can forget his penalty shot goal against the Blackhawks at old Chicago Stadium in his emotional return? What about Zubov’s huge game-winner at the Islanders in the Nassau Coliseum. A goal that broke a long winless drought against their biggest rival who they swept in the first round. From a psychological standpoint, that was big.

I still find it ironic that Graves broke Vic Hadfield’s single season goal record by notching a pair for numbers 50 and 51 against his former team in Edmonton. Graves’ record of 52 would last 22 years before Jaromir Jagr broke it by scoring a franchise record 54 in ’05-06. That was the kind of season it was.

Even though it didn’t last forever prior to the ’18-19 Rangers getting shutout 3-0 against the playoff chasing Hurricanes, the way the tribute to the team was handled was first class. One thing about MSG. They never get these type of ceremonies wrong. The perfect touch following every current Ranger shaking Messier’s hand while part of the conclusion, was not having anyone sing the national anthem. Indeed, it was done by legendary Garden icon John Amirante from the memorable Game Seven against the Canucks on video. The way it should be! We may have lost him last year. But he’s forever etched in our hearts as a unique part of the Rangers family.

Having the opportunity to salute every player, coach, team staff, broadcaster and executive was what made it special. They didn’t need the Stanley Cup there even if I wondered if it would be. It didn’t have to be. The players were enough. A extended family that truly will last a lifetime.

Posted in Column, NYRangers, Stanley Cup | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game #53: Tired Thursday – Islanders 2, Devils 1 (SO)

Posted on February 8, 2019 by hasan4978

Poor Cory Schneider must feel like he’s caught in his own personal Groundhog Day, doomed to live an endless loop like Phil Connors in the movie about the creature that can supposedly predict an early end of winter by not seeing its shadow. In the movie, no matter what Connors did whether it was good, bad or ugly he couldn’t get out of his timeloop until he finally let go of all his vices and embraced life. Perhaps it’ll take something extraordinary like that for Cory to finally get out of the endless loop of losing he’s in.

Although for most of this season and the end of last year, Cory made his own trouble, last night against the Islanders – upon his return to the lineup after two months on IR and in exile – was a jump from the bad old days of this year to the bad old days of three years ago where Cory would somehow find a way to lose despite terrific play and brilliant stats. There’s literally nothing you could pin on Cory last night. He stopped 27/28 shots in the hockey game and 3/4 in the shootout, only giving up a breakaway goal to Matt Barzal in the first period after Blake Coleman headed to the bench from the box and failed to pick up Barzal lurking. And after a shootout of doom reminiscent of 2013-14, Josh Bailey finally beat Cory with the Isles’ fourth attempt of the skills competition. Since the Devils went 0/4 in the shootout, that was all the Isles needed to get the extra point.

At least Cory can take something positive out of last night even if he’s now 0-16-3 in the regular season since the end of 2017, yes I’m visiting moral victory town for a moment but the last time Cory stepped on Prudentian Center ice he was booed and jeered out of town for two months after a hideous three-goal first half of the first period against Vegas. Last night he was getting his name chanted by fans who were trying to will him over the finish line and finally break his eighteen-game regular season losing streak. Instead, this worthless shell of a team managed to let him down, with plug Kevin Rooney of all people scoring the only goal of the night early in the first period. And while it was obvious coach John Hynes was going to back his player publicly, compare this clip with the last postgame Cory played where a reporter asked if they were considering waiving him.

By all rights this season Cory should have had at least two wins, even with his poor play in the other games – the game in Anaheim where the team scored three ‘own goals’ on him, and last night. As much as I think Cory’s shot and will never again be the goalie people thought he was a couple years ago, it would be nice to see him once the win jinx is finally over. Even actually earning the team’s only playoff win last year didn’t erase it. At least assuming Cory plays against the Wild tomorrow there’ll be something to watch in the Saturday matinee at the Rock, besides the umpteenth chance to watch Zach Parise get booed, several years after his own angst-ridden departure from New Jersey in the wake of the team’s run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.

Maybe on another night I would have been at last night’s game or even done a blog on it afterwards, but given the team’s position in the standings and an expected rout by the Isles it was an easier decision to cash out my tickets for a credit even before it became obvious my rec league dodgeball team would be playing a final last night. Amazingly we won against a better team, and one who had several friends and former teammates on it for my first league win after multiple seasons playing, and just in the nick of time too before our three best players all left us for different reasons.

After that, I thought maybe it was an omen that Cory would finally break his jinx. So I was annoyed when I found out how the game concluded. Results might not mean much to the fans but gosh almighty, it would have been a big boost to Cory. I wasn’t quite as annoyed as my buddy Rudy though, since he actually called me from the arena starting a mini-rant, then hung up after a minute when he said security was looking at him funny. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that, even if last night was no laughing matter for Cory or his teammates who are still desperate to get him off the schneid.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Remembering the ’93-94 New York Rangers 25 Years later

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Derek

I’ll be honest. I have been trying to come up with the words to describe that unforgettable championship team in ’93-94. It’s hard to believe it’s 25 years later. Not officially until June 14 when a special group of New York Rangers delivered a Stanley Cup to this city.

They hung on to defeat those scary Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-2. Something I predicted in my high school class as a senior when my favorite teacher had a fun final score pool on who would win Game Seven. I couldn’t participate. I was too superstitious. Yes, I believed in jinxes even back then.

I’d heard way too many stories from Dad about those classic Emile “Cat” Francis Rangers teams of the 70’s that came so close but never won. Some of the greatest Blueshirts that included the GAG Line of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, and Rod Gilbert, along with Brad Park, Walt Tkaczuk, Pete Stemkowski, Bobby Rousseau and goalies Ed Giacomin and Gilles Villemure. How a injured Ratelle returned for the 1972 Stanley Cup Final a shell of himself due to a broken ankle with Dad watching helplessly as Bobby Orr and the hated Bruins skated around with the Cup at Madison Square Garden.

There was the surprising run in ’79 led by Phil Esposito, Don Maloney, Ron Greschner, Mike McEwen, Don Murdoch, Tkaczuk along with Anders Hedberg, Steve Vickers, Ron Duguay and a goalie named John Davidson,t whose signature call, “Oh Baby,” became the title of the classic ’93-94 Rangers championship video.

Tonight, the one Rangers team that delivered a Cup to New York City parading down the Canyon of Heroes is honored for the 25th Year Anniversary of a special year. One that almost didn’t happen due to all the chaos behind the scenes with coach Mike Keenan, which came to a head in a nerve racking classic Eastern Conference Final against the upstart New Jersey Devils.

Never was the pressure more immense for a team to win than that fateful night in late May when they faced playoff extinction in Game Six at the old Brendan Byrne Arena. If not for some great saves by Mike Richter along with a goalpost, there is no successful Guarantee by captain Mark Messier, who delivered one of the signature moments in NHL history by scoring a natural hat trick in a memorable third period to lead the Rangers back to a 4-2 win. Maybe without that Keenan timeout where nothing was said at the bench, there’s no Messier drop pass to Alexei Kovalev for a momentum changing goal past MartinMATTEAU Brodeur with over two minutes left to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Instead, they came all the way back with a phenomenal third period that saw Conn Smythe winner Brian Leetch instrumental along with Kovalev on Messier’s tying and game-winning goals. Then came the panic move by Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, pulling Brodeur too soon only to see Messier fire a loose puck all the way down into a open net for the hat trick along with a whole lot of noise from the Rangers fans who made the trip across the Lincoln Tunnel.

They still had to win a game of Russian roulette in Game Seven to defeat those Devils. A classic final game that saw Leetch score on an amazing individual effort during the second period. His goal held up until the final tension filled moments of the third when Valeri Zelepukin tied it with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation. I still have no idea what Richter protested. It was probably just frustration from the heat of the moment. They had to go to sudden death to slay the dragon. In fact, it took double overtime and a whole lot of anxiety driven moments that had you on pins and needles just to win a unbelievable game 2-1 over a worthy opponent. That really began the rivalry.

There were some remarkable saves by both Richter and Brodeur that defied logic. Brodeur slid across to rob Messier. Richter came out aggressively to poke check a dangerous Bobby Holik chance on a breakaway. How about the OMG moment with Sam Rosen on a wild Devils sequence where he said, “Where’s the puck!” Richter had foiled another Devils opportunity with the defensively responsible Steve Larmer clearing the puck harmlessly away into the corner. Without the former Blackhawk acquired by GM Neil Smith in a three team deal with Hartford, there’s no Cup. Neither would there have been without him taking Keenan’s advice on two gritty guys he trusted from the Hawks. Brian Noonan and Stephane Matteau were acquired for that memorable run with future star Tony Amonte sacrificed.

Matteau etched his name in playoff lore by scoring for the second time that series in overtime to stun the Devils. It came right after the dangerous sequence where for a brief moment, my 17-year old nervous teenage mind thought it was over. Esa Tikkanen started it innocently enough with a steal and then the puck came to Matteau, who skated around the Devils net and sent a wraparound that banked in off Slava Fetisov and by Brodeur for the emotional winner in double overtime.

The infamous call of former Rangers radio voice, the legendary Howie Rose can still be heard. I don’t need to play it or use audio or YouTube. It just rolls off the tongue, taking me back to that magic moment where Dad didn’t realize the puck was in before I told him in his small office room.

“MATTEAU! MATTEAU! MATTEAU! STEPHANE MATTEAU! AND THE RANGERS HAVE ONE MORE HILL TO CLIMB BABY! THE SMYTHE! VANCOUVER! THE RANGERS ARE HEADED TO THE FINALS “

What followed was a unbelievable celebration. He couldn’t believe they won. He never thought they’d ever play for the Cup ever again. There are many just like him, who if they’re still around today, are thankful for that team. That Cup was for diehards like our Dad. I just never realized how much I’d have to cherish it 25 years later. The Stanley Cup loss to the Kings in 2014 still hurts. So too does Game Seven against the Lightning in 2015. I guess I’ll have to settle for that one championship when I was a senior in high school.

All this time later, having been to so many games since up in the old Section 411 (now 419), now 419 thanks to the renovation, I now understand what Dad was telling us as kids. How hard it is for this franchise to win. Justin and I understand much better. So, if I am sometimes a bit negative, bare with me. Understand why. Even the younger generation who unfortunately we’re either too young, or weren’t even alive for that special 1994 team, should have a good idea of how things work as a Rangers fan. From Cup contenders in ’12, ’14 and ’15 built around Henrik Lundqvist, to a younger rebuilding team about to lose popular figure Mats Zuccarello, and key center Kevin Hayes at the trade deadline.

It’s not easy rooting for this team. Even though that’s the case, my undying loyalty will always remain. I’m a Ranger through and through. I don’t need any of those silly slogans they use on MSG. None of us do. We are the Garden Faithful who remain forever loyal to a franchise that’s won only four Cups, and just one since 1940. Which Adam Graves screamed at the top of his lungs when it was over against Vancouver. A series they once led 3-1 before the pressure started to mount along with the rumors of Keenan leaving.

The bottom line is that team got it done. They executed when they had to. The perfect first period in Game Seven where leading scorer Sergei Zubov (89 points!!!!!) found Leetch wide open for the first goal into a open net. Then Zubov took the hit to make the play to Kovalev, who set up Graves for a power play goal that made it 2-0 Rangers.

Of course, Trevor Linden made it 2-1 with a remarkable effort for a shorthanded goal with one hand. Pavel Bure remained frustrated coming oh so close and slamming his stick at the Canucks bench. Luckily, Messier got a piece of a rebound with Noonan in the same area for a power play goal that made it 3-1. But you could barely breathe when Linden cut it to 3-2 five minutes into the nerve racking third.

Then it was just hold on for dear life. Nathan Lafayette denied by Richter. Cliff Ronning off the post. I thought Lafayette had scored as I’m certain many did when his shot hit the goalpost behind Richter, who may have gotten a piece of it as Rosen screamed, “Save by Richter!” Whether he actually did or not doesn’t matter. The Canucks never found the tying goal.

They protected the lead well after those crazy moments. When Zubov got the puck to Larmer for a key clear out of the zone, the game was over! No it wasn’t. Not so quick. They called an icing. Of course they did. Craig MacTavish won that final face-off against Bure by muscling him off the puck with help from Messier.

“The waiting is over! The New York Rangers are Stanley Cup Champions! And this one will last a lifetime!”

“No more Curses! This is unbelievable!”

It truly was. Seeing our emotional father cry and say he can’t believe it. That was worth everything. That’s why you had a fan with the classic Now I Can Die In Peace sign.

The parade was unreal. From the “Let’s Go Rangers,” chants on the Staten Island Ferry to the sweltering heat, we walked down Broadway as they celebrated and made it to City Hall for the speeches. “One More Year,” was the chant as a grinning Keenan spoke right through it, which should have told us he was gone. But when you’re young, you don’t pay close attention to that.

With the exception of Alexander Karpovtsev, who died tragically in a plane accident in Russia, they’ll all be back. I hope they hold a moment of silence for him, and also remember to honor John Amirante once again with his unbelievable renditions of Oh Canada and The Star Spangled Banner through the chaotic noise at the Old MSG we loved.

If you’re going like us, cheer loudly and take in every moment. And no. It doesn’t all need to be captured on our cell phones. Take a moment to watch what they say and put the phones down. There weren’t any in ’94. I didn’t have one until I was a college freshman that Fall at Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, New Jersey. The classic Motorola flip phone that had the car charger and just was able to make calls on. No texting. No camera. No internet. Thank God!

I’ll be there in the second to last row of 419 with my brother, Dad and Michael enjoying every single moment. Make sure you do the same. There’ll never be another special team like that one.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Game #53: A spirited comeback sparks Rangers past Bruins

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Derek

It was a different game than the other day against the hated Kings. This time, the Rangers showed plenty of resolve in rallying from a 3-1 deficit against the Original Six classic rival Bruins to earn a 4-3 home win in the shootout at MSG.

The spirited comeback was a nice reward for the fans that stayed. Especially following a dismal second period that saw Boston turn it around with three straight goals over a 4:34 span. It would’ve been easy for the lesser talented Blueshirts to give in. Rather than dwell on it, they turned the page.

Playing a enthusiastic, aggressive game in the third, they fought back with two consecutive goals in a 3:17 span to get the game tied. It was a splendid effort from the fresher home team, who had the advantage of not playing the night before as the Bruins had. They were playing the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Islanders at home 3-1.

For a change, the Rangers didn’t solely rely on the red hot top line led by Mika Zibanejad to get back in it. Instead, a few key young players stepped up at the right time to shine. Pavel Buchnevich played a good game overall. In the third, he was directly involved in both goals. He earned two big assists on Kevin Hayes’ goal and rookie Filip Chytil’s 10th on the power play that tied the contest at three.

Coach David Quinn decided to make a change to the second line for the third period. He moved up Jimmy Vesey with Hayes and Buchnevich. It wasn’t necessarily something wrong Chytil did. But more of a sense to change the momentum. Sure enough, Vesey was in the right spot digging out a rebound following a Buchnevich rush before centering for Hayes in front to cut the deficit to one with 10:36 left.

With the crowd suddenly back in it after being very quiet previously, the Rangers continued to apply pressure on the Bruins. Eventually, Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy took a ill advised penalty for boarding Zibanejad directly from behind. It was a foolish move that could’ve been more than a minor. But Zibanejad was okay. A infuriated Tony DeAngelo immediately went after McAvoy after the whistle. Fortunately, he didn’t get a retaliation penalty that could’ve been costly.

Instead, DeAngelo was involved in the tying goal that Chytil scored. The emerging right defenseman, who earlier sent Buchnevich on a rush that resulted in Hayes’ 12th, got the puck to Buchnevich down low. Chytil was able to get to a rebound of a Buchnevich shot off the goalpost to score a huge power play goal with 7:19 remaining in regulation.

For most of the night, the Rangers failed to capitalize on a ineffective power play due to an aggressive Bruins penalty kill along with some sloppy turnovers. However, all they needed was one to force overtime.

Before a hectic and wild three-on-three over five minutes, both backup goalies made key stops to take the game to OT. Alexandar Georgiev had been solid throughout. None of Boston’s three goals were his fault.

Following Zibanejad’s 23rd from Mats Zuccarello in the first, Danton Heinen redirected a Matt Grzelcyk point shot from Brad Marchand to tie the score at 10:37 of the second. A brutal giveaway by defenseman Brendan Smith led to David Pastrnak tipping in a nice David Krejci feed in front for a 2-1 Boston lead 72 seconds later.

Patrice Bergeron got the third B’s goal on a power play. With DeAngelo off for tripping, the terrific number one center who just played in his 1,000th career game, was able to deflect home a Torey Krug shot at 15:11 for a two-goal lead. Marchand set it up for his second assist of the period.

It took a strong third by a refocused Rangers to tie the game. Georgiev made a couple of clutch saves as did counterpart Jaro Halak (36 saves).

The overtime was really something. I’m glad we stayed. To think what I would’ve missed. Three-on-three hockey is as good as it gets. Sure. It’s not five-on-five or four-on-four, but doesn’t have to be. This is how all games should be decided. Especially for the valuable extra points.

There were endless rushes by both sides forcing each goalie to come up with the goods. The best two saves were Georgiev stoning a Bruin on a lacrosse try point blank, followed by a sprawling Halak making a remarkable diving glove save to rob Zibanejad of the winner. The Rangers got six of the seven shots- coming oh so close several times. But Boston also had a couple of glorious opportunities that missed wide.

The shootout needed seven rounds to decide a winner. It was necessary due to Marchand tying it in the bottom of the third in direct response to Zibanejad. Then, it became a goalie show. Neither Halak nor Georgiev would budge. Eventually, Quinn sent out DeAngelo in the seventh round. Having played a very good game logging over 24 minutes, he was able to beat Halak to put the Rangers up 2-1. Georgiev made one final glove save to deny Krejci to seal the victory.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Brad Marchand, Bruins (2 assists in 19:29)

2nd 🌟 Tony DeAngelo, Rangers (assist and shootout winner, 5 shots in 24:06)

1st 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, Rangers (2 assists, +1 in 17:42)

Posted in NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pionk to sit, Vinni Lettieri recalled

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Derek

When the Rangers host the Bruins at 8 PM tonight, there’ll be two changes. Defenseman Neal Pionk will have a seat in the press box. He’s struggled a great deal and looked out of sorts in the previous two games. With coach David Quinn hinting at the 23-year old defenseman not being as confident or decisive with the puck, it makes sense to sit him out.

Given how well Tony DeAngelo has played when he’s paired up with Marc Staal, along with Brendan Smith’s uptick, Pionk will be a healthy scratch for the NBC game. He hasn’t been good for over a month and can use a blow. Maybe watching the game from upstairs can help. Quinn isn’t writing him off. The second-year player certainly has been given a lot of responsibility, mostly playing on the top pair while learning on the job. He still leads all Rangers defensemen in points with 20 (5-15-20) with a majority coming on the power play.

We’ll see what happens with Pionk. The Rangers will face Carolina on Friday when they commemorate the 25-Year Stanley Cup Anniversary before the game. It’ll be a emotional time for the older generation who were fortunate enough to see the ’93-94 team win the franchise’s last Cup. I was a senior in high school. Yes, I did go to the parade. I’ll detail more of that memorable day tomorrow.

One other change for tonight is the return of Vinni Lettieri. With Cody McLeod shipped back to the Predators for a seventh round pick, the Rangers had to recall a forward to play on the fourth line. Lettieri has played well down with Hartford. So, he gets another chance despite never having much success with the big club. He’s a hard working guy. But unless he can produce the occasional goal, I feel like it’s an exercise in futility.

I’d much rather see Lias Andersson even though his plus/minus has suffered with Hartford. I haven’t a clue what the heck the plan is with the Rangers 2017 seventh overall pick. I don’t trust them. Some have even gone as far as to claim the Derek Stepan/Antti Raanta trade is the worst of the Jeff Gorton era. I’m not ready to conclude that in a season where Raanta is out for likely the season with Stepan finding points hard to come by. DeAngelo is finally developing into a good defenseman. If he can stay on the ice, there’s hope.

You know how impatient our fans are. It’s pathetic. That said, I don’t think the organization has handled Andersson right. But it’s worth noting he’s only 20.

Facing a good Bruins club locked in a tight playoff battle with the Leafs and Canadiens in the Atlantic Division, it’ll be a battle of backups. Jaro Halak gets the start for Boston while the Blueshirts counter with Alexandar Georgiev.

One other note. Congrats to Patrice Bergeron on playing in his 1,000th NHL game last night. Not surprisingly, he scored twice in the Bruins 3-1 home win over the Islanders. The best player from the famed ’03 NHL Draft wasn’t taken in the first round. Hard to imagine.

Posted in Game Preview, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Devils trade Boyle to Predators for a second round pick, Rangers deal McLeod to Nashville too

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Derek

Out of playoff contention, the Devils began the process of rebuilding for the future today. They traded Brian Boyle to the Predators in exchange for a Nashville 2019 second round pick.

A popular figure in the locker room and on the ice for his courageous battle with cancer, the 34-year old veteran center has been a true inspiration to many in the hockey world. He successfully fought Leukemia last season after being diagnosed. In his return to the Devils who be signed a two-year contract worth $5.1 million with, it took him nine days to score his first goal against Edmonton. The emotional moment got to him. He cried after the goal, showing how much it meant to adoring fans at The Rock.

There were other special moments during that season like Boyle being called upon by coach John Hynes to beat former Rangers teammate Henrik Lundqvist in a Devils shootout victory. He scored some big goals for the surprising team to help them make the playoffs. That included a career best five power play goals. He finished the ’17-18 season with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 69 games. A year which included a first ever All-Star Game when he replaced Taylor Hall. Even though the team came up short in losing a first round series to the Lightning, they wouldn’t have been there without Boyle’s contributions.

In Year Two after declaring himself cancer free, Boyle’s continued to perform well despite the team’s struggles. In scoring his 13th goal in a road win over the Penguins, he matched last season’s goal total. He’s gotten into 47 games so far producing 13 goals and six assists for 19 points. That’s included a new career high of six power play goals. The breakdown is six at even strength, six on the power play, and one shorthanded. This magic moment won’t soon be forgotten at the Pens.

Now, he’ll relocate to Nashville, who are a Stanley Cup contender out in the wild, wild West. The Predators are a team that’s come close before. They lost in six games to the Penguins two years ago. Last Spring was a disappointing conclusion in a tough second round series to Winnipeg where they lost the deciding seventh game on home ice.

They’re hoping adding a strong character and leader in Boyle can help get them over the top. He’s certainly got a wealth of postseason experience. Boyle has been to two Stanley Cup Finals with the Rangers (’14) and Lightning (’15). He’s also competed in four Conference Finals including two here in New York and two in Tampa.

The kind of gritty player teams need for a run, he gets another chance to go win a Cup. Ironically, he’ll be joined by now former Ranger Cody McLeod. The fourth line energizer was reacquired by the Predators for a seventh round pick.

So, both the Devils and Rangers made deals with Nashville on the same day. Go figure. McLeod got into 15 games during the 2017 Playoffs with the Preds. In parts of two seasons on Broadway, he totaled 56 games with a goal, two assists and 99 penalty minutes. Like Boyle, he’s also 34.

It’ll be interesting to see if these moves will work. Obviously, Boyle is the bigger impact player who’s familiar with the playoffs. Wishing him the very best.

Posted in Devils, NYRangers, Trade Deadline | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Game #52: Terrible Tuesday – Kings 5, Devils 1

Posted on February 5, 2019 by hasan4978

Welp if the Devils want me to pay more attention the last two months of the season, that hideous last twenty minutes tonight wasn’t exactly the best way to sell your product. To be fair, they had two whole decent periods before the collapse this time, usually the meltdowns happen before the third period these days. Still, after a spirited first forty minutes what happened in the last twenty was a letdown, yet fitting for the gutless, spineless 2018-19 Devils. Thankfully, the game went to crap so quickly in the third period I at least peeled out of there before the coup de grace of Ilya Kovalchuk’s salt in the wound late third period goal in his return to the Rock after he snuck out of dodge during the 2013 offseason.

Funny thing is to a degree I actually needed to go to a game at this point. Things have been stressful lately, not life and death stress but super aggravating personal nonsense that’s weighed on me the last few weeks. Honestly being back at a game for the first time in a couple weeks was at least a touch of normalcy for me, even a meaningless game between two bad teams going nowhere. And what helped tonight was seeing my arena buddy Kristi, I wound up sitting and talking with her for two periods so neither of us watched the game alone before she moved down to the lower bowl to sit with the rest of her family in the third period when seats opened up by them. Might as well take little pleasures where you can get them, especially if you have to watch this team at the same time.

Maybe I should have stayed in 126 rather than moved back to 120 before the start of the third. Then again this organization probably deserves to have its faces rubbed in it anyway. Especially given how quickly 1-1 going into the third turned into 4-1. In…under…two…minutes! Tonight went downhill so fast it gave me PTSD reminders of Steve Bernier’s momentum-changing major penalty in Game 6 of 2012, where a scoreless game turned into a 3-0 rout in the making. That game turned out to be the end of nearly two decades of Devils excellence. Unlike Game 6, tonight only saw one power play goal against – at the beginning of the downhill slide, but seemingly it broke this fragile team’s spirit as two more goals quickly went past Keith Kinkaid.

Guess having the organization’s best goalie in Binghamton isn’t such a good idea if you’re still trying to win. Not that I’d blame the Devils for a soft tank at this point, but if you’re going to stop caring about results then why not just play Cory Schneider today? Not that I have any faith in him but he just came off a shootout win in the AHL during his final rehab start, feeling good and instead of playing him against a bad offense they just go with Keith because of his previous record against the Kings going into tonight. Are we playing to win or not here? Instead of giving Cory a (in theory) potential soft landing today they’re either gonna wind up playing him against the Isles on Thursday or in the back-to-back this weekend after sitting out a week.

Then again, with the way the third period turned out it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. As bad as our non-Mackenzie Blackwood goaltending has been, the problems go beyond the goalies. It’s just not even worth getting into. I’d rather just pretend the third period didn’t exist and call it a tie after two periods. Although sure I’ll take the loss in terms of the lotto odds, especially to a team that’s not really a rival – extracurriculars tonight aside.

And yes I will get to the KHL merc – the funny thing is even though I probably loathe him as much as most of the guys who were booing today, I was personally a spectator to the booing. It just doesn’t seem worth investing into at this point, yeah I know it was his first trip back here since skipping town but what’s the point with how bad we all are right now? We suck, the Kings suck, and Kovalsuck is being stuck playing third-line minutes on a rebuilding team. Plus some of the booing was…oddly timed to put it mildly. He touched the puck so little early the crowd took to booing him stepping on and off the ice, even during stoppages which led to a couple of odd moments where they’d flash innocuous fans on the jumbotron and the crowd would boo. At one point the crowd even chanted ‘Kovalsucks’ after the infamous Doc Emrick faux pas one time on a telecast.

Hearing and reading some player quotes about the KHL merc (such as Travis Zajac laughing that you don’t get booed if you suck) really brought into focus the fact that players and fans look at the same thing with a vastly different perspective. Even guys who played with the merc like Zajac and Andy Greene seemingly don’t take his departure anywhere near the emotional way fans do. Which is to be expected on the one hand, but on the other, you’d figure there would at least be some angst over his leaving the way he did skipping out on a twelve year contract, with the hard times that have followed the twin departures of him and Zach Parise – who incidentally is also touring the Rock again this weekend with the Wild.

In the end, the Kovalchuk-Devils marriage and subsequent messy divorce didn’t work for anyone except for a brief, shining moment in 2012. Our contract got us penalized to the tune of a first-round pick drop, he cost himself any shot at the Hall of Fame by leaving and instead cemented his legacy as a selfish flake, and his return to the NHL hasn’t exactly gone as planned joining a Kings team he wanted badly to sign with in 2010 – but they wouldn’t come up with nearly the money we did – and now after finally running his course of collecting KHL money and titles, being stuck in a rebuild on a three-year contract.

Since I did wind up leaving the game before the merc scored, I was a bit bemused at that point. I’m sure the 2000 people left in the building booed as if they were 15000. It did actually look like a decent sized crowd for Tuesday despite it being the first game in a four home game week, and despite the fact I couldn’t sell either a single ticket or a pair for tonight. As loose as I was during the first two periods, momentarily forgetting about both my own struggles and the team’s, the first two minutes of the third reminded me of how dreadful the outlook for the last thirty games is. There may only be thirty games left, but my number countdown is much lower than that, since there’s only about seven or eight games I actually have to pay attention to (the ones I’m currently going to).

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments