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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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).

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Game #52: Rangers see shadow in frustrating 4-3 overtime loss to Kings

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Derek

Groundhog Day just passed. The good news is Chuck didn’t see his shadow, which means an early Spring. Given how nice the weather is, maybe there’s some truth to that. If only that were true when it comes to the annoying Kings. Once again, the Rangers saw their shadow in a frustrating 4-3 overtime loss that looked all too familiar.

I don’t have the words to describe how I feel about that team. It’s not fit for this blog. So, it’s better left unsaid. It’s strange. But I can take losing to almost anyone. Not that team. Never ever. Even if both rosters have gone through major overhauls since that 2014 Stanley Cup, I can’t stand them.

How much have the two rosters changed? Try this on for size. Fourteen players are left who participated in tonight’s game. I put the trivia up on my Twitter page. It stumped many. The Rangers had six players left over. Five were pretty easy to get. Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, and Jesper Fast. The sixth actually played for the opposing side. He wore his trademark number 62. Carl Hagelin. As for the Kings, they still have eight. Even after Jake Muzzin was dealt to the Maple Leafs last week, the holdovers include Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Alec Martinez and Kyle Clifford.

It’s funny, but my trivia was more interesting than the game. Who wants to read about an all too predictable loss to the team we can’t stand? Neither do I. Besides, I saw what coach David Quinn said about how this team often acts like they’re up 5-1 instead of 2-1. He’s right. They didn’t play for 60 minutes, blowing three different one goal leads in the process while only winding up with three shots in a disappointing third period.

When you only have one line going, you’re not gonna win most nights. Even if for a majority of the game, the Rangers were the better skating team. It doesn’t matter if Quinn dressed seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Relying on Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello can only get you so far. They were on for two of the three goals.

Zibanejad continued his torrid pace scoring his 21st goal and recording assist number 31 to give him a new career high in points with 52. He’s been unbelievable. It couldn’t happen to a nicer player, who still has three years remaining on that bargain of a contract that pays him an average of $5.35 million through 2022. It’s obvious that he shouldn’t go anywhere. Neither should Kreider unless they think power forwards with his skill set grow on trees. You can’t trade everyone.

As for Zuccarello, he picked up a primary assist on Zibanejad’s goal that made it 2-1. Zuccarello has played some exceptional hockey. He extended his point streak to eight giving him 14 points (5-9-14) over that span. Since Jan. 8 when he tallied a helper against Vegas, Zuccarello has 15 points in the last 10 games. That’s more than half his point total of 29 in 38 games. A very popular player, the 31-year old veteran will be moved before the Feb. 25 trade deadline. Maybe he decides to return on a short term deal this summer. We’ll see. He loves it here.

Kevin Hayes knows his days are also numbered. The smart two-way pivot has continued to play well. With 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points over 43 contests, the 26-year old forward is in high demand by contenders with Winnipeg and Boston at the top of the list. A big payday is ahead for Hayes, who’ll turn 27 on May 8.

It’s ironic that Adam McQuaid scored his first goal as a Blueshirt to put them up 3-2 in the third. He’s played some gritty and tough hockey on a blueline that needs it. Unfortunately, it looks like the popular character veteran will likely go as well. The former Bruin could find a new home soon. Toronto is said to have interest even after adding Muzzin, who recorded three points in a 6-1 Leafs blowout win over the woeful Ducks.

There could be other candidates on the Rangers current roster that could get traded. There aren’t many untouchables. With the exception of Filip Chytil and Henrik Lundqvist, anything is possible. Marc Staal has a limited no trade clause that includes eight teams he won’t accept a deal to. It would take something extraordinary for the veteran leader of a young D to go this season. He’s signed through 2021 making $6 million with a cap hit of $5.7 million.

Kevin Shattenkirk also has two years left with an even higher cap hit of $6.65 million. Yikes. To the recently turned 30-year old’s credit, he has played better. But the lack of production is alarming. He only has two goals and 12 assists in 45 games. A good skating and offensive defenseman, it hasn’t worked out for Shattenkirk playing for the hometown team he rooted for that won the Cup in 1994. He’ll at least get to experience what that era was like when the ’93-94 championship team is celebrated 25 years later on Friday.

It’s disappointing that no one has stepped up to contribute on the other three lines. Pavel Buchnevich had that one assist on Zibanejad’s hat trick last week. But he’s been fairly quiet since being elevated to the Hayes line with Fast, who’s been taking too many unnecessary penalties. The Ryan Strome unit with Chytil and the ever snake bit Vladislav Namestnikov continues to cycle effectively and generate opportunities, but has gone cold.

On the fourth line with Boo Nieves, Jimmy Vesey played better in his nine-plus minutes, but remains stuck on 11 goals.

The only player who did something was Tony DeAngelo. In his return after missing two games, he made a great pass to set up Kreider’s team-leading 24th for a 1-0 lead. DeAngelo looks like the best young defenseman they have. He continues to improve at making good plays and get better overall.

There’s not much else to add. Especially when Adrian Kempe ties the game with 59 seconds left on a blown coverage. Then, he assists on Toffoli’s overtime winner following Zibanejad hitting the far goalpost. That’s the way it always goes versus that team.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Tyler Toffoli, Kings (overtime winner plus a helper)

2nd 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (goal and assist giving him career best 52 points)

1st 🌟 Adrian Kempe, Kings (2 goals and an assist)

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Game #51: Strong third not enough for Rangers in tough 3-2 loss to Lightning

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Derek

Sometimes, the effort is good enough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always net the end result. Ask the Rangers following a tough 3-2 home loss to the Lightning tonight.

Considering how they also played in a 1-0 shutout defeat to the Flyers earlier this week, you can make the argument that they could be 3-0-0 since the break. Instead, their only win came on Thursday over the Devils by a count of 4-3- highlighted by Mika Zibanejad’s hat trick. All three games have been decided by a goal. The Rangers only have two points out of six to show for it.

That’s how it goes. Playing for the second time in two nights without top finisher Brayden Point (lower body injury), the Lightning used a good spurt in the second period to pull ahead of the Rangers by three. They got goals from Erik Cernak (first of career) and Steven Stamkos 4:52 apart to turn a one goal lead into three before the halfway point of the contest.

Yanni Gourde scored the lone goal in a even first. It came on a broken play with former Ranger Ryan McDonagh setting it up. A bad bounce came right to Gourde for his 13th at 6:51. Tampa Bay only had six shots while the Blueshirts had eight. It didn’t matter. They held the 1-0 lead.

A bad stretch for the Rangers allowed the number one overall Bolts to score twice. Cernak got his first NHL goal off a feed from ex-Ranger Ryan Callahan. It was a well executed odd man rush by the Lightning checking unit. After taking a Cedric Paquette feed, Callahan found the open trailer Cernak for a good shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist for a 2-0 lead. Filip Chytil was late on the coverage which allowed Cernak to celebrate his first goal.

The third Lightning tally was a terrific all around play from three of the game’s best players. With the Rangers’ fourth line caught out, leading scorer Nikita Kucherov flew through the zone before finding Victor Hedman up top. With the Rangers scrambling, Hedman passed for a open Stamkos, who wasted no time releasing his 28th high to the short side past Lundqvist’s glove at 8:33.

Despite trailing by three, there was zero quit from the Blueshirts. They started to come back thanks to the sizzling top line that continues to shine. Having entered play with 36 points in their last six games, the cohesive trio of Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello connected again with 3:43 left to cut the deficit to two. Zibanejad dropped for Zuccarello, who took his time before firing a laser past Tampa backup Louis Domingue for his ninth.

From that point, it was up to Domingue to carry the Bolts to victory. Similar to Flyers journeyman Anthony Stolarz on Tuesday, he faced a ton of shots and scoring chances the rest of the way. The veteran was up to the challenge stopping 31 of 33 Rangers shots including 15 of 16 in a busy third period.

The only goal that got the Garden hosts within one came on a very good transition play scored by Kevin Hayes (first in seven games). On a power play, Zuccarello’s back pass went out of the zone to Lundqvist, who wisely pushed the puck back up to Zibanejad, catching the Lightning in a change. Not known for his stick handling, the good pass by Lundqvist allowed Zibanejad to come in and draw two Bolts. He then made a excellent backhand saucer pass across for Hayes’ 11th at 6:49. It was Lundqvist’s 26th assist. For some reason, NBC seemed to think he passed all-time leader John Vanbiesbrouck. But I just checked Hockey-Reference.Com. They have Beezer for 28 assists as a Ranger. Did MSG make a mistake along with NBC?

In any event, they had plenty of opportunities to tie the game. They outshot the weary Lightning 16-4. But Domingue wouldn’t allow another one to get past him. His best save came when he robbed Kreider point blank with Lundqvist pulled. I’m not sure how he got it. Kreider looked like he had the tying goal only to watch helplessly as Domingue was able to get a piece of it with his shoulder.

Lundqvist may not have been too busy, but did rob former teammate Callahan on a mini break. After Marc Staal lost an edge, Callahan retrieved a loose puck and went to his bread and butter move. He looked to have Lundqvist dead to rights, but somehow Henrik got just enough of Callahan’s forehand tuck to kick it out on the goal line for a whistle.

It’s too bad it didn’t result in at least a point. The Rangers deserved better in this one. But that’s how the cookie crumbles. They’re going to need some secondary scoring to help out the Zibanejad line. It didn’t happen on Saturday.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Steven Stamkos, Lightning (28th goal for game-winner)

2nd 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (2 primary assists to continue his roll)

1st 🌟 Louis Domingue, Lightning (31 saves including 15 of 16 in 3rd)

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Buchnevich to start on second line for Blueshirts against Rangers South

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Derek

With a later start than usual at the world’s most busiest arena, the Blueshirts will play host to Rangers South tonight. Game time isn’t until 8 PM. I have no idea why. It’s not like St. John’s lost badly to Duke at the Garden. But rather at Cameron Indoor Stadium where the woeful Knicks are praying they win the NBA Lottery and land Zion Williamson.

Whatever the reason, it’s the Rangers and Lightning an hour later than normal from 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue over Penn Station. Rangers South as I like to call them, are playing for a second consecutive night. In a well played game between first place teams, they needed a Victor Hedman goal in a shootout to edge the Islanders 1-0 behind Andrei Vasilevskiy.

When they come to town, there’ll be a lot of familiar faces to both the Rangers bench, fans and media. Former captains Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh are two of five former Rangers who play for the Bolts. There’s also Dan Girardi, J.T. Miller and Anton Stralman. The last time I wrote about the ex-Blueshirts, I forgot to include Stralman, who was out injured. It’s hard to remember everyone. Even harder to believe these guys were a big part of those very good teams that made three Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup over a four-year period.

Those days are long gone. Now, the new look Rangers scratch and claw for every point. They enter winners of four of the last five, including Thursday’s 4-3 victory over the Devils that was highlighted by Mika Zibanejad’s second career hat trick and four-point game. Mats Zuccarello kicked in three primary assists and Chris Kreider scored his team-leading 23rd goal. Henrik Lundqvist finished with 19 saves for his fourth consecutive win. He’s in net again later.

Most notably, Pavel Buchnevich gets to stay on the second line at the start due to his inspired play the other night. Coach David Quinn moved him up in place of a struggling Jimmy Vesey. Buchnevich rewarded Quinn’s faith by jumping on the ice for a changing Kreider and keeping a play alive to record a secondary helper on Zibanejad’s game-winner set up by Zuccarello.

This is a chance for the 23-year old right wing to prove himself to the coach. He wants consistent effort from the talented third-year forward entering restricted free agency this summer. It’s up to Buchnevich to prove he should be part of the team’s future moving forward. We’ll see how it goes with Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast.

Filip Chytil will start with Ryan Strome and Vladislav Namestnikov on the third line. Vesey will be on the fourth line in purgatory with Boo Nieves and Cody McLeod.

As for the defense, I’m not sure we’ll see the return of Tony DeAngelo. Whatever happened during the Flyers game on Tuesday on the bench, is why he didn’t play in Newark. It’s not related to his play. He has dealt with off ice issues before. I can’t reveal anything else.

If DeAngelo is a healthy scratch again, that means more of the struggling Neal Pionk with Marc Staal. Brady Skjei with Adam McQuaid, and Brendan Smith with Kevin Shattenkirk.

The Lightning boast the league’s leading scorer Nikita Kucherov (22-57-79), lethal finisher Brayden Point (30 goals) and top center Steven Stamkos (58 points). They also have Hedman and McDonagh on their top two pairs with vets Girardi and Stralman in the top six even though it’s been a struggle for the latter. Tyler Johnson remains a key secondary scorer along with Yanni Gourde, Miller, Alex Killorn and rookie Anthony Cirelli, who must be watched shorthanded. Ondrej Palat is rarely healthy.

This is a deep roster that’s expected to compete for a Cup. It’s Cup or bust for them. A lot of pressure for Jon Cooper’s club. Especially in the same division as the Maple Leafs with a potential heavyweight second round match up in the Spring. It shouldn’t be. But that’s how flawed the current divisional playoff system is. Last year, Winnipeg eliminated Nashville in seven hard fought games in the same round while Vegas cruised through Los Angeles and San Jose before ousting the Jets.

It should be a interesting game. The Lightning couldn’t beat Isles goalie Thomas Greiss on Friday night. You know they’ll be itching to take their best shots on Lundqvist.

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Game #51: Satisfying Saturday – Devils 3, Canadiens 2 (OT)

Posted on February 2, 2019 by hasan4978

In a season full of dissapointments, today’s 3-2 OT win in Montreal was a rare bright spot, mainly because it saw younger players play a starring role in a comeback win on the road. All three goals were scored by sophomores Will Butcher and Nico Hischier, with rookie Mackenzie Blackwood turning in another starling 37-save performance in net. This afternoon’s win was rather unlikely given the mounting injuries of the lineup. In addition to Taylor Hall, Sami Vatanen and Ben Lovejoy all being on IR, crack center Travis Zajac also didn’t make the trip north with an undisclosed injury. With a season reduced to finding moral victories over meaningful ones, this win was at least momentarily satisfying.

By my count seven players in today’s lineup weren’t on the ice for Opening Day in October including Blackwood. Among the others only Steven Santini and Drew Stafford were even on the roster (or at least I think Stafford was on the roster then, he may have been formally signed a couple of games into the season). With some of our few better players out of the lineup guys like Nico took a step up today, wearing the A on his chest and responding with a two-goal game, first scoring late in the third to tie the game then in OT to win it.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1091808960754139136?s=20

Ironically enough Nico’s winner came after fellow draftmate Nolan Patrick scored his own OT winner for the Flyers against Edmonton. So much for the 2017 draft being underwhelming. Of course while Nico’s been better individually, Nolan’s team is much closer to the playoffs after their current seven-game winning streak. So it goes, likely we’ll have another top 5-10 pick this year, but who else other than Nico will still be here remains up in the air.

Of more immediate concern than even the deadline is the fact Cory Schneider’s rehab assignment concludes this weekend and the organization will have to decide which goalie goes. Will Cory get waived, or Keith Kinkaid traded (if that’s even possible)? Or would they even send Blackwood down? Though it seems unlikely given the way he’s played to this point especially with his return to the lineup today after playing one AHL game plus All-Star weekend during the Devils’ bye week and sitting while Kinkaid played the Devils’ first two post-break games.

Also of concern is the injury situation. Mystery surrounds the severity of Hall’s injury plus Vatanen having a second major concussion inside a year isn’t exactly ideal. As it is, Vat may not have fully recovered from the playoff concussion he sustained in April, given how his play has gone down a notch from last season. And who really knows what the deal is with Zajac at this point? Having guys like that out of the lineup would only make the lineup look more scary once guys presumably get traded closer to the deadline.

Of course the dissapearing lineup makes it easier for me to dissapear from watching games, although I will be at the Tuesday and Saturday home games this week – yay me. At least my only other game in attendance this month is a promo (’90’s night) with a friend, and it looks like there’ll be decent weather Tuesday so at least there’s that. I can get away with a t-shirt and jacket as opposed to wearing a sweater and a jersey for my second home game of 2019.

And making his return to the Prudential Center for the first time in six years on Tuesday is none other than Ilya Kovalchuk, who left the organization high and dry a season after the most recent lockout by trekking back to Russia. Sure they wound up saving a bit on the recapture cap hit but everyone knows that wasn’t his primary motivation for going back home. Simply amazing how much things have changed since his departure in April 2013. Then we were less than a season off of having met the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals, now both organizations have fallen on hard times with Kovalchuk not getting his accustomed icetime anymore.

At least the Kovalchuk return with what should be about 10-12,000 mostly booing souls should provide enough of a distraction to keep me interested in a game between two teams going nowhere. Assuming we don’t fall behind 3-0 in the first period at least.

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Game #50: Ticket Thursday – Rangers 4, Devils 3

Posted on February 1, 2019 by hasan4978

While I couldn’t watch most of last night’s latest disaster, getting the first update of 2-0 in the first period then all the subsequent updates after that – Rangers score with seconds remaining in the first, then come back to win 4-3 with Mika Zibanejad (sidenote: I’m surprised I got the spelling right the first time before looking lol) getting a hat trick was annoying enough. Seeing the blurb on the MSG postgame that Zibanejad’s hat trick was the first in NJ by a Ranger player since THE GUARANTEE was just icing on top of another crap cake.

I’m sure Derek’s done the recap of the game itself, maybe I’ll get around to watching the condensed game clip later during an unexpected off day. Then again why waste the nine minutes? For all I paid attention to this game I actually thought this ended in OT and not in regulation. Just as well since it’s one less useless point now that this season’s all about lotto balls and the trade deadline. With the state of this team while the Islanders and the Rangers have rebuilt in warp speed – could things be any worse for a Devils fan right now? I suppose we haven’t gotten into New York Knick territory just yet but we could very well this offseason.

Since I’m not going to talk about the game now it’s time to vent about season tickets, of which we did get our notices the other day about the 2019-20 membership details. As I bitterly predicted weeks ago, this franchise’s sales department is totally tone deaf. A 10% ticket increase after one of the most dissapointing seasons in recent memory with the team now having missed the playoffs seven of eight years with very little in the way of perks is shameful. Missing the playoffs is such a fait accompli this year they didn’t even bother to give opt-in privildges for the postseason. The crappy rewards program which gives you a certain amount of points for stuff like club seats, souvenirs and other PruCenter events was already a bit weak and now it’s only an optional perk, of which most of those choices are lame as well. Of course no food and beverage credit again which was at least a nice perk while it lasted.

Pretty much the only good thing about the season tickets compared to getting single-game tickets on the secondary market at this point is a player event or two and the eight-game buyback option that allows you to roll credit from games for this season you’re not using towards next season’s tickets. Which more or less took my $38 seats next season down to $32 for the games I’m using them on the next few weeks of this season, but really it’s embarassing the prices are that high to begin with since the last time tickets in the 100’s were in the high 30’s it was a ghost town – hence the Nordique fan invasion at the end of 2011 where blue filled up almost the entire 100’s behind the defending net among other areas and the slashing of those seats to $22 and $27 the next year, of which I had one of the $22’s. Of course they’ve been steadily jumping back up since.

As much as I like my seat and going to Devils games literally the buyback was the only thing that kept me from of opting out of season tickets next year. Why? Simple, there’s a ton of useless games over the next several weeks I’ll never be able to sell so rather than get $10 cash at most for any of them and/or probably go to a bunch of games I don’t want to, I might as well get $30-40 credit and defray the cost of next year’s season tickets so it doesn’t seem quite as onerous. I would rather take my chances on next year the season not being over by the end of December, and actually having games I want to go to. As it stands I’m only going to about 7 or 8 the rest of the season which seems high until you realize there’s still 17 home games left. Two of them I’m going to with a friend, a couple of them including the home finale against the Rangers I’ll probably wind up selling as well.

Maybe part of me is foolish for thinking this team can possibly turn things around next year but really at this point they have little choice. It’s either sign Taylor Hall, Sami Vatanen and go all-in on winning now, or trade both in the offseason and start yet another 3-4 year rebuild that isn’t exactly guaranteed to work any more than the first one did considering we have one maybe future goalie, very little defense and not enough top six forwards to play the John Hynes system of man-to-man all-out attack with no thought given to defense anyway. What a life. Things have been stressful enough lately personally, at least I can block out the Devil fan stress for the moment.

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