Game #48: Snowy Saturday – Ducks 3, Devils 2

Posted on January 19, 2019 by hasan4978

Despite selling my tickets off for today’s game I had planned on watching this afternoon, or at least having the game on while I was doing other things but an utter lack of sleep on Thursday caught up with me and I needed a nap, figuring if there was anything worth watching on the replay I had nine days to do it till the Devils’ next game. As it turned out today’s game was a rarity of late – one where the team played well…but the result still stayed the same in the end. Another regulation defeat, and our miserable record stands at eighteen wins in the season’s first 48 games.

So in the end it was a good thing I decided to avoid the possible snow on the drive home and the hilariously early state of emergency declared in NJ from noon on. Would have been okay with going to hopefully see a couple of arena friends but it wouldn’t have been surprising if all of them failed to show as well with the forecast and the team’s current plight. Truth be told, this is definitely a game I’m at if the team was in a better situation since the forecast wasn’t that bad until a bit ‘after’ the game at least.

As it worked out I was better off taking a nap than watching.

That’s not to say there wasn’t good things about today’s game, it just didn’t really matter in the end because our popgun offense had little chance against John Gibson in the Ducks net. 1.5 goals would have been about the over-under for the night, and after an early Marcus Johansson goal we would have still barely hit the over when Jesper Bratt scored late. It’s easy to rip your own goaltending when you get outshot 31-14 and lose but really I can’t describe any of the goals against Mackenzie Blackwood as bad. Maybe the third one he wasn’t giving up earlier in the season, but it was still a bang-bang one-timer from the slot after a turnover behind the net. To his credit poor Nathan Bastian (in his first NHL game no less) took the responsibility for that goal:


My first thought reading that was ‘we have a system?!’

Seriously though, while self-accountability is nice there hasn’t been a lot of collective accountability around here the whole season. Sad that it took a fourth-line vet in Drew Stafford to be the one to call an on-ice team meeting after practice yesterday, following two straight desultory road losses. When guys like Stafford and Brian Boyle are your bad cops and (no offense guys) not among your better players, the message isn’t going to get through as easily. To their credit the team did at least respond for a game, but it was kind of odd timing for a butt-kicking meeting in the first place considering there was always going to be the long break after this game.

To continue the bad news, Taylor Hall remains out through All-Star weekend so for the second straight season he’ll miss the 3-on-3 classic. At least Kyle Palmieri’s a deserving stand-in, one of the few left on the roster. Not that I really care to watch it other than maybe the hardest shot competition for a few seconds, assuming that’s the skills event K-Palm is entered in. Plus I’ve seen enough bad three-on-three this season to not want to run to watch it next Sunday anyway.

I could bother with an All-Star wrapup post but what’s the point? I’m just glad to have the break from even the long-distance angst this team is giving me.

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Game #47: Two straight wins for Rangers as Lundqvist ties Sawchuk for sixth all-time in 4-3 triumph over Blackhawks

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Derek

Make it two in a row. The winning has returned for the Rangers as the All-Star break approaches. In defeating the Blackhawks 4-3 at home, they made sure Henrik Lundqvist made some history. He tied hockey legend Terry Sawchuk for sixth all-time on the NHL wins list with number 445. Lundqvist’s 24 saves were enough to pick up his 14th victory of the season to tie Sawchuk.

Even if he allowed a bad goal with under two seconds left to Dominik Kahun for my correct score prediction to my brother Justin, he did more than enough to earn the win along with the game puck. He may not have faced a ton of shots, but when called upon, Lundqvist was there like he’s been often for this franchise since his rookie season in ’05-06. That feels like another lifetime ago. His best save was a late reflex glove stop on a Brent Seabrook shot that he admitted he didn’t pick up right away.

There were several good saves throughout in his second straight win. His last two game win streak came 12/29-31 when he stoned Nashville and St. Louis. After a tough three-game losing streak that saw him pulled twice, he’s stopped 58 of 63 shots. Maybe Alexandar Georgiev giving him some time off helped even if it took a Columbus humiliation for the team to play better.

They got off to a slow start tonight. The Blackhawks were sharper from the outset by using their speed and skating to generate early chances on Lundqvist. Following a missed high-sticking call on Erik Gustafsson that clipped countryman Jesper Fast, Cody McLeod got nailed for a high-sticking minor penalty. The Rangers entered better on the penalty kill having been successful in three straight games (15-for-15). But Brandon Saad scored on a rebound of a Seabrook shot that Artem Anisimov deflected off the post with eight seconds remaining for a power play goal at 5:41.

Maybe Saad’s 14th woke up the Rangers from the doldrums. They got back in the game as the first period rolled along. It was a breathtaking individual effort from emerging 19-year old rookie Filip Chytil that tied the game when he blew past a Chicago defender to score his eighth unassisted. A terrific play where he used his wheels and then skill to complete the beautiful rush by finishing with a great shot top shelf by Chicago netminder Collin Delia at 13:20.

The more you watch him, the more you start to realize how talented he is. The 2017 first round pick taken by GM Jeff Gorton 21st overall, isn’t one dimensional. He gets back defensively and competes every shift in all three zones. It’s not only flash and dash with Chytil. He has a chance to be special. A rare thing when it comes to Rangers draft picks, especially in the first round.

What if Lias Andersson works out too? It’s easy to forget he’s basically the same age. Don’t be so quick to write him off. That trade is turning around thanks to coach David Quinn’s patience and discipline with emerging defenseman Tony DeAngelo. He nearly had a great primary assist on a Mika Zibanejad goal that got wiped out by a Chicago offside challenge that was hard to tell. DeAngelo is showing more confidence since returning to the lineup with Neal Pionk out. Maybe the former Tampa first round pick will finally stick. Stay tuned.

Mats Zuccarello continued his turnaround when he was in the right place for his eighth on a good play by Chris Kreider that put the Rangers ahead 2-1 at 17:38. Marc Staal added a secondary assist. He also did a outstanding job neutralizing dangerous Blackhawks leading scorer Patrick Kane. Staal teamed with Adam McQuaid to keep both Kane and Jonathan Toews off the score sheet at even strength. The tandem finished plus-five while the Toews unit all were minus-two.

Even better, the Zibanejad line with Kreider and Zuccarello had a great night. They dominated the match-up with all three players lighting the lamp. Both Zibanejad and Zuccarello finished plus-three. In the second, Kreider got the only goal unassisted for his team-leading 22nd at 13:09. Zuccarello made the whole play happen by driving hard to the net to force a save by Delia. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith fumbled the rebound that allowed Kreider to strip the puck and send a quick backhand past Delia for a 3-1 lead.

The third saw Jesper Fast get into penalty trouble. Having already taken a bad penalty in the offensive zone, he tripped up a Hawk only 19 seconds into the period to hand them a third power play. Alex DeBrincat capitalized in timely order at 1:40 when he buried a one-timer off a good Gustafsson feed from Kane for his 24th. He’s a good player already in his second year who should only improve. A scary thing if the Hawks ever can become competitive again. Especially with Kane still in his prime, and Toews remaining a good two-way player.

The Rangers did a good job protecting a one-goal lead by only allowing five more Chicago shots. Lundqvist made the timely stops when he had to. Zibanejad salted it away with a well deserved unassisted empty netter for his third goal and fifth point in two games with under 18 seconds remaining.

In some crazy aspect, it may have been a costly win. The Blackhawks remain behind us in the standings with only 41 points. They’re tied with the Senators for the fewest points in the league. It’s hard to believe how far they’ve fallen since winning three Stanley Cups this decade. That’s the cost of winning in the salary cap era. Don’t forget they lost one of the game’s best players in Marian Hossa to retirement. With both Keith and Seabrook showing their age while locked into long-term deals, and another concussion threatening Corey Crawford’s career, things have changed.

Imagine if they wind up with Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko. Colorado has Ottawa’s pick due to the Matt Duchene blockbuster trade last year that also netted the Senators Brady Tkachuk. He will be a very good power forward over the next decade. But they really sacrificed the opportunity of a lifetime. They better hope Duchene re-signs.

With 47 points in 47 games with one more game in Boston on Saturday before the bye week and break, the Rangers are nine points out of the playoffs. It’s crazy to think it’s now the Penguins who are the second wildcard with 56 points due to the surprising Islanders, who keep winning. As a rational fan of this team, I know the playoffs aren’t happening here. Gorton will do right by the team by trading both Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, who sat out an eighth consecutive game. He will not return until Jan. 29 after the All-Star Game. The team wisely being cautious with the very valuable Hayes, who hits the open market this summer.

By winning the last two, the Blueshirts are 22nd out of 31. Six total points separates them from both 30th ranked Ottawa and 31st overall Chicago. Standing in between are three Blues and Coyotes (45), Devils and Red Wings (43), Panthers, Flyers and Kings (42). Just ahead are the Canucks (48), Ducks, Oilers, Wild and Hurricanes (49), who made a move to improve by acquiring Nino Niederreiter from Minnesota for Victor Rask.

There’s so much mediocrity that it’s not a good product. Sure. Scoring is way up and there are some elite teams like the Lightning, Maple Leafs, the surprising Flames, Jets, Predators, Sharks and Capitals. But when half the league doesn’t know if they’re buying or selling at nearly the 50-game mark, it’s bad, mad and sad all at the same time.

Truly the land of confusion. A favorite Genesis song with Phil Collins. Nobody can accurately predict what will happen. I know one thing. The Rangers won’t be tanking. I wouldn’t want them to anyway. If they lose games over the remainder, it’ll be due to the opposition being better.

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Game #47: Tired Thursday – Islanders 4, Devils 1

Posted on January 17, 2019 by hasan4978

My last few recaps have been the definition of mailing them in considering I only watched the horror show against Toronto last Thursday of the last handful of games. Not that mailing it in makes me any different from the team itself with all of their mail-in performances on the road. In my defense, even if I wanted to watch tonight’s latest crapfest I couldn’t have. By the time me and my friends even got to the bar it was already 0-3 after the first period in another typical slow start, so there wasn’t exactly a lot of urgency from anyone to get them to change a channel over to the game. Ironically enough the Ranger game was still on a couple of TV’s despite it being even less meaningful than ours since the only relevant team in town right now IS the Islanders, sadly.

Yet even with this sorry team in a lost season I do want to continue at least giving my own thoughts on each game, even when I don’t watch or don’t exactly feel like commenting. Only 35 more to go I suppose…the All-Star break/bye week couldn’t come soon enough. I would have gone to Saturday’s game against the Ducks but with the snow in store for the weekend I wanted no part of the travel, so I sold those tickets too. While recently the Ducks have been just as bad as us they did actually show some signs of holding their roster to account with recent trades and demotions/promotions from the minor leagues. So far the changes seem to have sparked a better effort against the Wild, maybe at least their long losing streak will be over before they limp into the Rock on Saturday.

Speaking of tickets there is something (sort of) to comment on, as season ticket holders got the notice that everything about next season’s pricing and benefits will go out on the 30th this month. Good timing for me before I have to officially decide on renewing – and thus using my buyback credits for several games the next two months – or not. Despite my protesting I probably will renew, I do love my seats even if I’m not wild about the organ-eye-zation right now but a big price hike coming off this crapola season with no real promise of things getting any better in the offseason would be a bit offensive, even leaving out the financial disincentives to renew considering you can get tickets on the secondary market for almost every game at sth or below prices. Of course they won’t be aisle seats directly behind the net so I am spoiled in that sense.

Let’s see, is there anything else to comment on without commenting on the game? Well, there is the matter of the schadenfreude certain pockets of the fanbase are now feeling with Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders rolling with a real structure in place for the first time since…when Peter Laviolette was there? Sure they’ve made the playoffs in certain seasons but have never looked as solid or disciplined as now, and the big joke of it is, is it came after losing John Tavares. Classic Lou, lose your franchise player and keep on keeping on* (*except for Parise and Kovalchuk). Although to be fair, I’m not sure how things would have turned out if they didn’t luck out with Barry Trotz suddenly becoming available after a historic Stanley Cup win in Washington. Trotz is a good enough coach to gloss over a lot of things, while our coaches only seem to exacerbate the team’s issues.

I have to admit going back and forth on the schadenfreude part. Yes I did criticize Lou in his later years for bad drafting plus an arrogant decision keeping our first-round pick in 2013 instead of surrendering the 29th overall pick (who turned out to be an attempted troll pick in Stefan Matteau that backfired), which would have given us a top twelve pick in 2014 instead of another bust in John Quenneville at #30 OA. Also for chasing ghosts trying to contend with a rotted husk of a team after Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk left and other guys like Martin Brodeur and Patrik Elias got old. It was time for a change, things had gotten stale here.

That said as much as people mocked things like the lack of social media presence and marketing under Lou, what good is all that stuff going to do now when the team’s terrible anyway? I miss having discipline and structure over mottos and marketing. I hoped making the playoffs last year would finally allow us as a fanbase to move beyond the Lou era but this year has provided even more fodder to revive the comparisons. As annoyed as I was at Lou for chasing ghosts from 2013 on, I’d prefer that extreme to the overtly cautious one now where we’ve wasted cap space galore for years, not even attempting to get better in the short term but instead settling for a celing of mediocrity and hoping for more Taylor Hall lotto luck. Whether you want to blame ownership or just make the case Ray Shero’s being ‘patient’, either way Shero owns this mess now both with the lack of use of our cap space and the recent extension coach John Hynes got.

I feel like I’m going to repeat myself five hundred times between now and July 1 but this is an absolutely vital, crucial moment for this organization. Not just for the fact Hall can be extended (or refuse to sign one), but other key guys like Nico Hischier, Will Butcher and Sami Vatanen have to be extended or in Vatanen’s case traded if he’s not in the team’s long-term plans. I could see an offseason where everyone re-signs and pieces are added both via FA and trade. I could also see an offseason where Hall and Vatanen don’t re-sign, we are compelled to trade them and start the ‘process’ all over again. This thing could really go either way and having a bad year with a questionable (at best) staff is starting to give me chicken little syndrome.

As far as tonight’s actual game went…certainly a predictable result with Lou’s hot and structured Isles team rolling over our pathetic un-structured team. Part of me wanted to laugh when I heard the Isles were up 3-0 with Mackenzie Blackwood giving up goals on three of his first five shots, but because it’s Blackwood I don’t take much pleasure in him getting lit up. Even if I was glad I started Robin Lehner over him in a fantasy league. Fortunately it sounded like this was more bad D (as usual) and he was able to straighten out the rest of the night, not allowing another goal – but with this popgun offense the usual road no-show in the first period was more than enough to condemn us to a 4-1 defeat. We even did coach Trotz a favor by possibly allowing him to play his #1 goalie (Lehner) back to back nights.

Your 2018-19 Devils, everyone’s favorite houseguest!

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Game #46: Rangers respond with excellent 6-2 win over Hurricanes

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Derek

It’s been a while since this team gave a complete 60-minute effort. The Rangers responded to coach David Quinn’s criticism by flat out dominating the Hurricanes with a resounding 6-2 home win at The Garden. This was their best game since that 4-0 shutout of the Islanders way back on Nov. 21 before Thanksgiving.

You never know how a team is going to respond to such brutal honesty that a fired up Quinn laid out after that debacle in Columbus on Sunday. They passed with flying colors. This was a total team effort. The kind we haven’t seen since that 9-1-1 stretch. Everyone played a part. It was the total opposite of Sunday when the 18 skaters couldn’t be bothered to help out Alexandar Georgiev. It was Carolina, who entered winners of seven of their last eight, that got completely outworked and lost every battle.

How good was tonight’s game? Three Blueshirts had two goals. Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Tony DeAngelo combined for all six. Zibanejad had his best game in a while recording two goals and two assists for a four-point effort. Buchnevich scored a pair of power play goals on the top unit despite continuing to play on the fourth line. Listening to Quinn and understanding how he thinks, it’s by design. He’s trying to change Buchnevich’s work habits at five-on-five. So far, it seems to be working. He earned the power play duty and paid the demanding coach back with his eighth and ninth goals.

Mats Zuccarello continued his turnaround by picking up three assists. None better than the brilliant no look backhand feed from behind the net to a cutting Zibanejad for his second of the game. A great play by the tenacious Zuccarello we all have come to love and appreciate. It started with a relentless Zuccarello outworking Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin to a puck and skating by him. He worked a give and go with Chris Kreider and then centered perfectly for Zibanejad’s second consecutive goal that made it 3-1 in a three-goal first period.

That’s not a misprint. That’s how well they played. It started early when off a Boo Nieves face-off win, DeAngelo took a Jimmy Vesey pass and fired a wrist shot through traffic that got past Carolina goalie Curtis McElhinney at 1:16. It was a tough night for the Hurricanes backup. He allowed six goals on 28 shots.

That included a terrible misplay on a smart Kevin Shattenkirk dump in from behind the red line for a attacking Kreider, who beat McElhinney to the puck and fed Zibanejad for a power play goal into a vacated net for a 2-1 lead. A textbook response to a Brett Howden turnover that allowed Saku Maenlanen to tie it 3:17 earlier. Howden couldn’t handle a Marc Staal pass, fumbling it right to Maenlanen, who cashed it in. He was the Canes offense scoring both their goals. I can’t think of too many NHL players named Saku since Canadiens inspirational captain Saku Koivu retired.

It was important for the Rangers to come back on the power play. They had controlled play. They tried the same set play with Shattenkirk dumping the puck from just outside his own blueline for Kreider on a even strength shift earlier. But linesman Jonny Murray said it was icing even though it looked like Kreider got there for the tie that would’ve negated it. During a stoppage, John Giannone reported that Kreider discussed the close play with Murray. Even though it didn’t work there, the second time was the charm. Shattenkirk made the nice bank pass at the perfect angle for the speedy Kreider to beat McElhinney and set up Zibanejad’s 13th at 12:41.

Less than two minutes later, Zuccarello made the excellent feed for Zibanejad to bury for number 14. It’s his first two-goal game of the season. Goals have been a little harder to come by with the top center taking on more responsibility. He’s been racking up more assists. He came in with 25, which was just five off his career high of 30 established with Ottawa in ’15-16. That was also the year he achieved a career best with 51 points by playing 81 games. The Senators traded him during that summer to the Rangers in exchange for Derick Brassard, who since has moved to Pittsburgh. He could be on the move again if you believe TSN’s latest report. That deal worked out quite well for Rangers GM Jeff Gorton.

In adding two helpers with his two markers, it was Zibanejad’s third four-point game of the season. He’s the first Ranger to do that since Marian Gaborik in ’10-11. The good old days. Gaborik isn’t retired. He hasn’t played a game this season with Ottawa. He’s recovering still from offseason surgery on a herniated disc. What a shame. A similar player to just recently retired Rick Nash, the 36-year old Gaborik is stuck on 407 goals and 815 points in 1,035 games. Like Nash, he scored over 40 as a Ranger, doing it twice. It’s too bad his career is probably coming to an end.

Buchnevich scored his first goal on the power play during a good second. Even though he played with Howden and Cody McLeod on the fourth line, Quinn stuck him back on the top power play unit. It worked out well with Buchnevich finishing a good Zibanejad feed for his first goal in seven games since Jan. 2 against Pittsburgh. Zuccarello started the play for a secondary assist.

Despite having the much better work habits than the Canes, who never win here, the Rangers still gave up some good scoring chances. There was another remarkable sequence where Adam McQuaid left his feet to block a shot. He stayed down for a while. I thought he was hurt and we wouldn’t see him for quite a bit. Somehow, he got up and stayed in the game. He sat out the last one due to a similar block against the Isles. It’s astonishing what a tough player like the former Bruin will put himself through. He’s a warrior. No wonder fans and teammates love him. He’ll literally do anything to win a game. Someone I’m friendly with on Twitter compared him to Dan Girardi. It’s a good comp. The only difference is McQuaid can fight.

There also were some good saves from Henrik Lundqvist. He made a couple of beauties including a highway robbery point blank that earned cheers from the crowd. There also was a groovy glove save that’s always crowd pleasing. He made 34 saves altogether in his first start since last Thursday.

The thing I liked most was how hard the players worked during their shifts. Not only offensively, but most notably defensively. They won the puck battles. DeAngelo had a very solid night paired with Staal for a third straight game. Neal Pionk got the night off due to being banged up. He’s been playing hurt. Maybe that helps explain the drop-off.

With Brendan Smith a healthy scratch, rookie Ryan Lindgren made his NHL debut. Acquired last year as part of the Nash deal with Boston, he did well with Hartford posting a plus-seven rating with 41 penalty minutes and five assists in 35 games. Wearing number 55, the 20-year old from Burnsville, Minnesota was okay in his first game. He definitely likes to play physical. He finished a couple of good checks. He did take a penalty that negated a good Carolina opportunity. He also was caught on for both Hurricanes goals, but it’s all about getting necessary experience. He will learn. Lindgren received 20 shifts logging 15:22 with a minus-one. He had three hits and three blocked shots. As a team, the Rangers blocked 21 Carolina shots.

Even though they didn’t hit the score sheet, the line of Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil and Jesper Fast continued to play well at even strength. They have good cohesiveness and forecheck well. In particular, Chytil was very active during his shifts. He plays hard in all three zones. A very good sign for the 2017 first round pick Gorton stole at number 21.

I also liked the play of Nieves with Vladislav Namestnikov and Vesey. Nieves had two assists continuing his strong run. He is now up to the third line with Howden centering the fourth line. Speaking of Howden, he can’t catch a break. He made a great read defensively to break in on McElhinney, but didn’t quite have the angle to break his 27-game goal drought. Between him and Namestnikov, I don’t know who will get their fifth goal first. At least Namestnikov picked up a primary assist on DeAngelo’s second of the game in the third. A very good all around play from the third line with Namestnikov missing a goal. But the rebound caromed right to DeAngelo for a perfect follow up that concluded the scoring.

The other goal was Buchnevich’s second on the power play on a juicy rebound from Zibanejad and Zuccarello at 4:19. The same combo as his first PPG. Maenlanen redirected a Victor Rask shot for his second to make it 5-2.

Great job by the Rangers stopping to shake veteran referee Brad Watson’s hand after thanking the crowd. It was Watson’s final game at MSG. He’s retiring at the end of the season. One of the better refs.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Pavel Buchnevich, NYR (2 power play goals for #’s 8, 9, much more noticeable during his shifts on the 4th line)

2nd 🌟 Mats Zuccarello, NYR (3 assists including the beautiful primary helper to set up Zibanejad’s second of the first period)

1st 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, NYR (2 goals for #’s 13, 14, 2 assists for #’s 26, 27, up to 41 points)

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Game #46: Terrible Tuesday – Blue Jackets 4, Devils 1

Posted on January 15, 2019 by hasan4978

Even after the Devils won two in a row heading into Columbus, I had zero confidence they would do any better than they’ve done in almost all of their recent games against the Blue Jackets, especially on a road back to back. When I saw the score after the first period was 3-0 Columbus, I sighed and knew I wouldn’t be turning it on the rest of the night. Honestly my only fear – especially early in the second when it got to 4-0 – was that the game would get so out of hand that coach John Hynes would have to remove Keith Kinkaid to prevent him from giving up a ten-spot. Or as I call it, getting Valiquetted.

Pretty much the only good thing is that prized rookie Mackenzie Blackwood did get the entire night off after coach Hynes came to his senses and decided not to play him a third game in four days coming off of IR. And Blake Coleman somehow hasn’t been touched by the vortex of suck that’s affecting almost everyone else here. On a team full of soft players and dissapointments, Coleman’s a glaring exception. He’s made himself from a role player to a bona fide scorer (getting his seventeenth tonight to avert the shutout late in the second) with role player/grinder chops, and he’s under a ridiculously team-friendly contract for the next two years.

Speaking of soft dissapointments, if I was giving the three duds of the night (as opposed to three stars), Damon Severson might be the first and second dud. Bad enough his turnover led to the Blue Jackets’ first goal, and horrible defensive coverage led to the second one, in his first two shifts of the game but what happened early in the second period was far worse. Already down 3-0 by that point, Severson took a dumb holding penalty and follows it with a selfish unsportsmanlike conduct resulting in a double minor penalty, that eventually led to the Blue Jackets’ fourth goal and a well-deserved benching for the rest of the second period.

In a way it’s a borderline miracle the game didn’t get worse after it was 4-0 less than twenty-two minutes in. Maybe the Blue Jackets wanted to conserve their powder (literally and figuratively, since they didn’t want to use up all their dopey cannon fire for the rest of the season tonight). Clearly they wanted to get the game over with as badly as we did. Ergo another desultory blowout road loss is in the books. No doubt to be followed by another at the hands of the white-hot Isles Thursday, as one time czar Lou Lamoriello will probably look on with rare laughter at our plight. Deservedly so too, whatever you want to say about his personnel choices at the end of his tenure at least unlike the current regime he still values defense in defensemen.

Given I didn’t watch tonight, I am at least curious in the coming days to see who the coach was talking about with one of his parting salvos here (well besides Severson, who the staff already had to ‘talk to’ after some hideous defensive breakdowns in Buffalo):

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Game #45: Monday Madness – Devils 8, Hawks 5

Posted on January 14, 2019 by hasan4978

Nope that score’s not a misprint…the 12000 or however many souls showed up on a Monday night to see two teams going nowhere might have expected an NHL hockey game, but instead pond hockey broke out. Which I suppose was inevitable when you have two bad defenses, one bad goalie (the corpse of Cam Ward) and another goalie having a bad night (Mackenzie Blackwood). Still even with bad teams, 8-5 games are pretty rare. Maybe not as much with these two teams considering they played a 7-5 extravaganza in Chicago just last fall though. Both teams have fallen on harder times since then, and both teams’ third goalies going into the season are likely their best goalies now. Thank goodness the Hawks started Ward over Colin Delia, who’s actually been their best goalie as an undrafted FA getting his big chance this year with Corey Crawford injured and the aformentioned Ward struggling.

You may think I’ve spent too much time on the Blackhawks goaltending but really their goaltending decision, and the fact coach Jeremy Colliton waited forever to finally hook Ward for Delia was probably the deciding factor tonight (and yes, I had to look up who their faceless bench guy was after the dismissal of Joel Quenneville earlier this year). I like Ward despite the fact he’s stuck it to us in the playoffs more than once, but he’s had a bit of an Eli Manning-like career. Known more for a couple of playoff runs – including 2009 where they won two Game 7’s on the road before finally imploding against a superior Pens team in the Conference Finals – than for any kind of elite play in the regular season, and he certainly isn’t the goalie he once was…the fact he’s in Chicago now instead of Carolina is proof of that.

Somewhat surprisingly, a Devils team still without Taylor Hall was able to take full advantage of Ward and the Hawks’ D tonight, pounding their way to a 6-1 lead at one point in the second period before things got hairier than they should have late as the Hawks cut the lead to 7-5 with a couple minutes left before Blake Coleman’s empty netter sealed it. Coleman probably deserved first star tonight with two goals and an assist in 18:57 of icetime (second most among forwards behind Travis Zajac who played an insane five plus minutes shorthanded among his 20:14 of icetime. Zajac also had three points on the night with a goal and two assists. Kyle Palmieri actually did get first star with a couple of goals, and now has 22 on the season which is still not quite at the All-Star break yet. Probably he’ll wind up getting Hall’s spot on the All-Star roster since it doesn’t seem like he’s anywhere close to playing yet.

Tonight wasn’t just about the stars though – seemingly everyone contributed, including a couple of fourth liners who had their day in the sun. Plugger Kevin Rooney finally scored his first NHL goal (and his first NHL point to boot!) in his eleventh game between three or four different callups, while mighty mite Brett Seney had a goal and an assist in less than ten minutes of icetime. His goal came with bragging rights over buddy and former college teammate Delia, though it was the only goal the Hawks’ netminder gave up after relieving Ward late in the second period. I almost feel sorry in a sense for Brian Boyle and Marcus Johansson, the only two forwards not to get on the scoresheet tonight. Of course both will probably be elsewhere soon enough anyway as FA’s to be, barring some miracle run back into the playoff race.

Leading 6-1 after scoring five unanswered goals in the second (including TWO on the powerless play!), the Devils seemingly let up with twenty-two minutes left, allowing Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook to score in the final two minutes of the middle frame to cut the seemingly insurmountable 6-1 lead to a suddenly scary 6-3. Only the Devils could make me roll my eyes upon seeing the score late in the second when I saw the sequence of the goals and that they’d given up the last two. From reports it sounded like a rare off night for Blackwood to this point, that can happen – especially playing two games in three nights coming off IR.

Which makes coach John Hynes floating out the possibility of Blackwood playing tomorrow in Columbus clinically insane for doing so. Three games in four days just off the IR and continually extended by this defense, really? But that’s possibly why Cory Schneider got run into the ground last year and why Keith Kinkaid got used up earlier this year. Hynes takes this whole playing the best goaltender thing a wee bit too far – even with a clearcut #1, you still have to use the other goalie on your roster. Especially now while we’re still a thousand points out of a playoff spot. I get you want to give the kid a chance to rebound off an bad night but still, there are two other games before the break.

If the Devils got sloppy though, the Blackhawks didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory either after a performance like tonight. Listening to the radio broadcast on my way home from a brief trip to the city, Chico Resch was unusually critical of guys like Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith (a -5 on the night) – who didn’t play well or set an example befitting their status as winners and veteran leaders. I suppose it’s hard after you’ve been playing on winners essentially your whole career to suck it up as a vet and shine in meaningless games, but that’s what leaders getting paid big money are supposed to do. It’s actually a bit jarring to hear anything critical from Chico but he does know his stuff, all kidding aside about his malaprops and idiosyncrascies.

Of course that’s their problem. I’m just glad my friend got to see a Devils win and some actual goals, after having to sit through that embarassment on Thursday with me. I did accurately predict to her before the Thursday game that Monday was going to be her better chance at seeing a win. Not that it makes me Nostradamus given how good the Leafs are and how bad the Hawks have been this year. I’m not even that annoyed I missed both wins during this home week while having to suffer through Thursday, amazingly enough the team’s home record this year pretty much ensures I’ve at least seen some good games though after the Leafs game it’s a bit mehish 6-4-1 in the games I have been at this year.

I will see them play the Ducks on Saturday (and they’re one of the few teams struggling more than us in the last month, with a now-eleven game losing streak) but that’s my last home game for the month, having just sold my Ranger tickets on the 31st. Just as well not having to deal with possible winter weather the next couple weeks although other than the big snowstorm in October it’s been a bit mild so far (knock on wood). Before then of course they have tough division road games at Columbus tomorrow and at Long Island on Thursday. Considering how poorly we tend to play against both I’m certainly not expecting much in either game.

At least for a couple nights the Devils looked more like last year’s team than this year’s corpse.

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Game #45: A furious Quinn blasts Rangers in 7-5 loss to Blue Jackets, Rick Nash Appreciation Night in Columbus the real Highlight

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Derek

I had it all typed out until I didn’t. Damn copy and paste along with quick auto save drafts. I’m not gonna redo it. I’ll just be quick.

In regards to Sunday’s game, coach David Quinn summed it up best.

He was upset with his team for coming out with that as he put it following three more inspired games, including the 2-1 win over the Islanders in the rematch at Brooklyn. I’ve never seen him that angry. He reminds me of John Tortorella, who fittingly was on the other side of the bench, getting his Blue Jackets to overcome a uneven Sergei Bobrovsky in a ugly 7-5 win over the Rangers at Nationwide Arena.

Tortorella has always been fiery. Quinn has many of the same characteristics. It’s not easy to come over from the college ranks where he ran a successful program with Boston University, and take over a rebuilding NHL team like the Rangers. By Game 45, it should be clear to the players how they’re expected to perform. Sunday night was unacceptable. It was like they just forgot how to play. Particularly in the defensive zone where Quinn chastised them.

https://twitter.com/BrettCyrgalis/status/1084632837138071552?s=19

He really didn’t like the lack of compete. In his words, “They [Blue Jackets] won every battle and came out with every puck.” He also added that he wouldn’t burn the tape. “Absolutely not. I want them to watch and learn from it. … We’re gonna get after it.”

It’s amazing I can even remember the details following the accidental erasing of my game review. But the Quinn presser was memorable. He is no nonsense and will not tolerate any crap. He proved it by benching Chris Kreider for the rest of the second period on Saturday following a unnecessary interference minor penalty in the offensive zone. He leads the team with 21 goals, getting number 21 in last night’s yuck fest. Boo Nieves was a bright spot, getting the assist on sheer hustle that led to Kreider undressing Bobrovsky, who returned to the Columbus net following a one-game suspension due to a off ice incident. Buyer beware. He was very beatable. Think Ilya Bryzgalov. That’s who he reminds me of.

For the 18 skaters to do that in front of Alexandar Georgiev, who got a very different team on Saturday, in a back-to-back, was insulting. He said it isn’t fun to be in net for five or six goals. He was in for all seven and played well. What does that exactly say?

There wasn’t much going on. Mats Zuccarello continued to play like his old self scoring twice (6, 7) on the top line. Many of the players on this roster will be long gone in two years. For Zuccarello, it’ll be very soon with the February 25 trade deadline six weeks away.

Kevin Hayes missed his sixth consecutive game with the mysterious upper body injury he sustained against the Penguins. It’s too bad because he was having his best season with 32 points in 39 games. It’s almost a certainty GM Jeff Gorton will trade him next month. The sad aspect is how important Hayes has become to the team. It’s no coincidence that they’ve lost six of seven since he left the Pittsburgh game. Five of the last six.

The Rangers continue to take too many ill advised penalties. The penalty kill was up to the challenge for a second game in a row. In fact, Columbus fans booed their hideous power play, which only seems to show up in overtime with one less skater. They got Tortorella his 600th career NHL win a few days ago in a 4-3 overtime win over Nashville on a Artemi Panarin game-winner. Tortorella got a nice video tribute from some coaches including former assistant Mike Sullivan, who gave him credit for the coach he is. Of course, Tortorella deflected the attention after captain Nick Foligno got him the game puck. Instead, he pointed to it being a big two points that gave them 53. They’re now up to 57.

I hope some day, Quinn becomes successful using a similar style. He obviously is dead serious after games like last night. He indicated to reporters that he wished he could hold a practice and throw pucks in the corner to see who would come out with them. When the coach says they lost everything battle and refers to it as a “freaking joke,” you know it’s bad.

No more was it evident than following Jimmy Vesey getting his 11th on a rebound for his first goal in eight. On the next shift, Vesey and Mika Zibanejad both watched Foligno come around the net and bank in a wraparound for his second of the game to seal the deal. At the moment, Georgiev was hoping to come off for an extra skater. Instead, another lost battle cost them.

The Rangers were without Fredrik Claesson and Adam McQuaid. Claesson left Saturday’s game with a injury due to a tough Matt Martin hit into the boards. McQuaid couldn’t go following his astonishing blocked shot in the win he stayed in. So, that meant Brendan Smith and Neal Pionk.

Predictably, Smith was lousy paired up with the woeful Kevin Shattenkirk. They each got turned around on a couple of Columbus goals. I’m not bothering with a breakdown. Some losses just aren’t worth it. It’s bad enough have to rewrite this. As our resident New Jersey blogger Hasan knows all too well from some of his Devils write ups, it’s not worth the time when it’s that bad. The score speaks for itself. All seven Blue Jackets goals came at even strength. Yikes.

Regarding Shattenkirk, I can’t think of a good player who suddenly took such a downturn after signing at a still young age. He’s broken down. I never wanted him here like most of the Corsica crowd. They must not have watched him with the Capitals as a rental in the 2017 NHL Playoffs. Barry Trotz was right. There’s a reason he played third pair and was featured on the power play.

The sad aspect is Shattenkirk was good with the Blues before the trade. He just isn’t the same player. It’s not because he doesn’t care. He signed with the Rangers to come home where he idolized the franchise’s best player, Brian Leetch. It just hasn’t worked out. Some fairytales don’t end well. He’d be better off elsewhere. On a contender that can use a capable offensive defenseman who can play power play. As long as his shifts at even strength are micromanaged, he should be more successful. Once the Rangers became sellers last year, it hasn’t been the right situation. He has two years left on his deal.

The one positive I like is Quinn recognizing that Ryan Strome deserved more minutes. By moving him up to center the second line with Filip Chytil and Jesper Fast, it’s worked well so far. Strome scored his sixth as a Blueshirt and fourth since the New Year. Chytil made a good centering feed that Strome finished. Strome has earned the promotion with better play. He is even playing shorthanded without Hayes.

While he’s worked harder consistently, Pavel Buchnevich continues to find himself on the fourth line. He got less than 10 minutes on Sunday and again didn’t have a shot on goal. He will need to work harder to get back the ice-time he was receiving not long ago.

Pionk has really struggled over the past month. He’s been victimized quite a bit with partner Marc Staal. It’s easy to forget Pionk’s only 23. Don’t forget he was miscast on the top pair. That’s not his fault. He does compete hard and sacrifice the body for a undersized D. But he needs work. He can play power play and is a good skater. In a different role, he could do better.

Pionk worked with Brady Skjei, whose play has steadied since he got paired with McQuaid. Tony DeAngelo worked with Staal for the second straight game.

There’s not much else to add on the game portion. No 3 Stars. Only 1 Giant 🌟. That goes to now retired former Ranger and Blue Jacket Rick Nash. Over the weekend, he announced his retirement through his agent citing the advice of doctors due to still experiencing symptoms from Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS). It’s both haunting and sad. But also speaks to the harsh reality of the risks of playing the sport. One that blind commissioner Gary Bettman continues to ignore as long as the cash is rolling in. Shameful.

Nash retires at only 34. He wasn’t willing to risk the long-term effects of his head injuries to play. Long-term health is more important with a family that includes by his wife and three children. A smart decision.

When I think of Rick Nash, I think of the outstanding hockey player he was who excited fans with his endless rushes and array of moves that resulted in highlight reel goals. In a word that certainly Garden Faithful associated with him, Nashty.

Selected number one overall in the 2002 NHL Draft by the Blue Jackets, he became the face of the franchise. A special player with unique talent, he could get people out of their seats. A three-time 40-goal scorer who had 30-or-more eight times in a 15-year All-Star career, Nash won one Rocket Richard and still wound up with 437 goals in 1,060 games. He finished with 437 goals, 368 assists and 805 points with mostly the Blue Jackets and Rangers before finishing with the Bruins last year as a rental.

I’m glad Nash had one more special moment with the team that he meant so much to. Prior to the game, he came out with his family and dropped the ceremonial first puck between Foligno and Staal to well deserved cheers from the Columbus crowd. He still resides there.

Nash never was that successful in the postseason after coming over on July 23, 2012 for a package that included Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky. Not every player is in the playoffs. I don’t think of his struggle in the 2014 run when he scored three goals on 83 shots. Sometimes, that’s how it goes. It’s not his near miss that I remember in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final versus the Kings. It’s Kreider missing a breakaway I thought he was scoring on in sudden death. But Jonathan Quick stoned him. The rest is painful history.

Nash was better in a excellent ’14-15 that saw him set a career best with 42 goals while leading the league with 32 even strength goals. In a season he put up 69 points, Nash also had four shorthanded goals and eight game-winners. Don’t forget before a slow finish, some felt he was a Hart candidate. In the postseason, he went 5-9-14 with a plus-eight rating in 19 games. It’s unfortunate that the Conference Final is best remembered for what didn’t happen in Games 5 and 7 versus Tampa Bay. Nash was very good for that team that year at 30.

It’s hard to believe four years later, he’s gone for good. He’ll never play another game or experience the rush of the MSG crowd for a playoff game as he put it to MSG reporter John Giannone. It sucks. But it’s for the best. Now, Nash can have some peace and move on to the second phase of his life. What a first chapter it was.

For the Blue Jackets, he had 289 goals with 258 assists for a total of 547 points in 674 games. That included two seasons of 40-or-more goals, a career best 19 power play goals at 19 in ’03-04, and a career high 79 points (40-39-79) at 24 in ’08-09.

In 375 games as a Ranger, he scored 145 goals and 107 assists for 252 points with a plus-64 rating. Of his 145 goals, 111 came at even strength with another eight shorthanded. He was a complete player who could be counted on to play five-on-five, power play and penalty kill. He was a good shorthanded player totaling 22 shorthanded goals with 14 coming as a Blue Jacket.

Had injuries not impacted him, he would’ve scored 600 and been a Hall of Fame lock. Unfortunately, he’ll probably fall short. He’ll always be a great team guy with a terrific attitude. Nash was well liked. Without hesitation, I do the trade again. Stick taps to No. 61!

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Game #44: Zuccarello late goal gives Rangers hard fought 2-1 win over Islanders to earn split

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Derek

Not every game is a Picasso or Renoir. When it comes to The Rivalry, sometimes it’s going to be a battle for every square inch of real estate. That was the case in the rematch won by the Rangers over the Islanders 2-1 in what may have been the last meeting at Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn this afternoon.

The difference was a gritty goal from Mats Zuccarello with 5:05 left in regulation. It’s been well documented about the emotional 31-year old veteran’s struggles due to the potential of a trade that’s coming. His honesty in a recent interview with New York Post columnist Larry Brooks was refreshing. It probably was the best thing he could’ve done. Since then, Zuccarello has gotten back to playing the hard nosed hockey that’s made him a very popular Ranger.

If indeed his career as a Blueshirt is winding down, it was nice to see him rewarded on a odd deflection off his skate from a even offer Tony DeAngelo pass that came due to a Mika Zibanejad face-off win. It was only Zuccarello’s fifth goal in his 31st game this season. He doesn’t get many. So, it was fitting that he wound up with the game-winner on a hard working play in front with the DeAngelo shot pass taking a favorable bounce off him and then going through a maze that included Chris Kreider to sneak past Isles starter Robin Lehner. It snapped a personal best eight-game winning streak for Lehner, who again was tough to beat. He finished with 24 saves.

I was a bit hard on Henrik Lundqvist the other night following the crushing 4-3 home loss that saw Josh Bailey get the winner for the Islanders’ only shot with 1:26 left in the third period. It was somewhat understandable. Especially given how Lundqvist has fared versus the Isles recently. When I said I’d skip today’s game if he got the start, I was half kidding. Low and behold, Rangers coach David Quinn gave him the day off in favor of backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev. It proved to be the right decision. The Rangers played well in front of him and he delivered 24 saves on 25 Islander shots to improve to 2-0-0 against them. The rookie has allowed only one goal in two starts with the other being his first career shutout on Turkey Eve.

Maybe I was right when I said Georgiev should play the rematch. It allowed Lundqvist to rest up for tomorrow when the Rangers visit Columbus. Hopefully, that cannon won’t be going bonkers.

Whatever the reason, the team plays differently in most of Georgiev’s starts. He credited the defense for doing a good job in front. They also blocked a lot of shots. None were bigger and gutsier than Adam McQuaid selling out during a key Isles power play. The gritty right defenseman only knows one way to play. Balls out. That can be taken literally with the enormous block he had of a dangerous Islanders shot that had him down for a couple of minutes. Astonishingly, he got up and skated off to the bench. Not surprisingly, he returned for the next shift to finish a successful penalty kill because he’s a hockey player.

We all know about the Rangers’ struggles on the kill. They gave up two Islander power play goals in the 4-3 loss the other night. Today, they again took too many penalties. The Isles had six power plays including an abbreviated five-on-three. The difference was our penalty killers were more aggressive. They pressured the Islanders more not giving them as much time and space to make plays. That included the lethal Mathew Barzal, who was held off the score sheet with three shots.

The Isles’ only goal came from noted Rangers killer Anthony Beauvillier, who scored his seventh career goal in nine games against them. It came as time expired on a very undisciplined Chris Kreider minor penalty for holding Jordan Eberle in the offensive zone. The penalty came at 6:40 of the second period, allowing the Isles to take a 1-0 lead. Kreider didn’t take another shift the rest of the period. Quinn made a good decision to bench his leading goalscorer- making a example out of him. He’s taken too many of those. It was the right message to send.

On a power play, Pavel Buchnevich replaced Kreider on the top unit. Something Sam Rosen noted right away. The bottom line is this team needs Kreider out for regular shifts. Not in the penalty box watching due to lack of discipline. He knows it.

It’s interesting that both teams failed to score on two-man advantages. The Islanders’ came in the first while the Rangers’ came midway through the contest. Their lengthier five-on-three was awful. The extent of it was Ryan Strome being set up for a one-timer that missed the net. The rest of the power play including five-on-four was a comedy of errors. They made it was too easy for the Isles penalty killers.

Oddly enough, the blown opportunity didn’t cost them. Instead, some great hustle from improving rookie Boo Nieves saw him get the puck to Filip Chytil in front for a sweet finish to tie the game at 14:09. A excellent play all around that saw Chytil get his third goal in four games versus the Islanders. Imagine that. A young player with upside who buries chances against the Rangers’ number one rival.

There really wasn’t much separating the two teams throughout. You had a lot of hotly contested battles during shifts. In the third, Georgiev made a couple of clutch saves on tough deflections. Of course, Anders Lee was front and center. He makes a living on those. He had a tricky one off a right point shot from Ryan Pulock that Georgiev swallowed up. He told MSG’s John Giannone he expected them due to the Isles’ style.

To be honest, I think they outworked the Islanders in the latter stages to get the win. They were a bit better in crunch time. All it took was a face-off win by Zibanejad and a seeing eye DeAngelo shot that was a pass more than anything. The puck banked in off Zuccarello for a redirection. He was in the right place at the right time. Oh. And Kreider came back well from sitting the rest of the second with a stronger third. That was a good response.

Following Zuccarello’s goal, it was the Blueshirts that dominated play. They forechecked the Islanders. That included a big shift from DeAngelo, who replaced Neal Pionk (lower body injury?) to pair up well with Marc Staal. This was more like it. Staal also drew a very poor hooking minor on Valtteri Filppula with 2:17 left.

Quinn went more conventional with the power play using both DeAngelo and Kevin Shattenkirk with Zibanejad, Kreider and Zuccarello. They did a good job of playing keep away.

It was a good win even if it came a bit ugly according to my Dad, who met a buddy and went to his first game in Brooklyn. That’s how it had to be. Winning ugly can be an art form.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 Adam McQuaid, Rangers (5 hits, 2 blocks including the play of the game)

2nd 🌟 Boo Nieves, Rangers (primary assist on Chytil’s tying goal, continues progression)

1st 🌟 Mats Zuccarello, Rangers (game-winning goal for 5th of season at 14:55 of 3rd)

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Game #44: Showcase Saturday – Devils 3, Flyers 2

Posted on January 12, 2019 by hasan4978

Who would have thought on a Saturday afternoon in mid-January that matchups involving the Devils playing the Flyers and the Rangers playing the Islanders would be a complete afterthought for three of the four teams involved? Honestly even with it being Devils-Flyers on a weekend afternoon, I had no interest in going (or even in watching the game) so I sold my tickets, though I did figure on a better performance against a lesser team. Still, I’ve seen far bigger wins over the Flyers at the Rock anyway. As is the case when results become irrelevant it’s all about the process and who’s playing well.

In that, the Devils’ 3-2 win this afternoon was a success as many of the young guns factored in with Damon Severson, Nico Hischier and Miles Wood getting the goals while Mackenzie Blackwood returned between the pipes off of his groin injury and won his third straight home start. Although they were outshot 34-26 and had their usual foibles (including 0-6 on the power play and a comically stupid second goal allowed late), against an even bigger underachiever in the Flyers it was still a game good enough for the win.

Ironically enough last year this game would have been hyped up as a showdown between the #1 and #2 overall picks, but the Nico-Nolan Patrick rivalry took second billing today compared to the young gun showdown in net between Blackwood and the Flyers’ own boy wonder Carter Hart – who’s also gotten off to a strong start since his callup. Round one went to Blackwood, who kept up his solid pre-injury play while Hart allowed a shortside goal to Severson in the first period, and a soft rebound goal to Wood early in the third. Still, Hart has a bright future in front of him as well and I admit I was with former GM Ron Hextall in thinking it was too soon to call him up. Then again I also thought it was too soon for Blackwood as well. I didn’t even realize how intertwined Blackwood and Hart were till I saw this Tweet from Chris Ryan just now:

While Blackwood and Hart have been almost equally scintillating in their brief debuts, the Nico-Nolan race is a runaway so far – in favor of Nico. If he wasn’t a Flyer I’d feel bad for Patrick, who seems like a nice enough kid and was the consensus #1 pick in the 2017 draft for almost two years before being usurped by the fast-rising Nico. Not only did Patrick ‘fall’ to #2, but he got picked by a team for whom center was a luxury since picking Patrick led the Flyers to trade Brayden Schenn to St. Louis. Oops. While Schenn had 70 points in St. Louis last year, Nico’s outscored Nolan 31-11 in points this year, including a scintillating breakaway goal in the second period after stripping the puck from Travis Sandheim.

Although Wood’s early third-period goal restored the Devils’ two-goal cushion it was by no means an easy finish with the Flyers outshooting New Jersey 13-4 in the final twenty minutes, aided by a late penalty on Severson that led to extended 6-on-4 time. Not to mention a shift earlier in the period where the Devils were trapped in their zone for at least two minutes, with two players losing their sticks, but somehow still not giving up a goal. It took frightening incompetence to finally dent Blackwood again in the dying moments of the game, when an ill-timed line change with under ten seconds remaining led to a breakaway goal by Sean Couturier. Seemingly only the Devils would be braindead enough to actually line change with under ten seconds left. I’m just glad it didn’t actually happen in a one-goal game, which I wouldn’t put past us.

Still, against the Flyers a win is a win – even now. Don’t even talk to me about the stupid lottery till March. It’s way way too early to just root for 0-38 the rest of the season. Although to be fair, as much as I like the fact the rival Flyers are struggling as well (call it the curse of Gritty lol), getting a win over a hapless Flyers team isn’t nearly as satisfying as playing spoiler to one in the playoff hunt would be. Generally that’s when I’ll be more into the games going forward – when we actually can play spoiler to a team like the Isles, Columbus and maybe a couple of other conference rivals. Games like Monday against a Blackhawk team falling on its own hard times or even today, not so much.

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Game #43: Tortorous Thursday – Leafs 4, Devils 2

Posted on January 11, 2019 by hasan4978

After our previous two meetings with the Leafs this season resulted in 6-1 and 7-2 losses, I knew what was coming last night. I still had to attend the game to experience ’80’s night with a friend, but I warned her the actual game might get out of hand early. Sure enough being down 3-0 after the opening twenty minutes set off the boos from the crowd and my own sarcastic laughter, especially as I was thinking how we were actually lucky to be only down 2-0 before one more fatal breakdown with 6.6 seconds to go in the period resulted in goal #3. It definitely looked like a worst-case scenario after twenty minutes.

The fact the Devils actually got the game to 3-2 and kept it there until Mitchell Marner’s empty-netter, spoke only to the Leafs dialing down the intensity in the second period, and Keith Kinkaid’s best game in a month if not longer – making 40 saves in defeat – rather than any actual sustained competence by the Devils that actually put the result in doubt for a time. Of course John Tavares ran riot against us with two goals in the first – including his 300th career tally, but honestly there could have been five or six goals in that opening twenty minutes. Even as someone agnostic about results at this point I was annoyed. I don’t really want to deal with this crap when I have to watch.

Briefly things picked up after that, but after our 12-15 minutes of life in the second period that culminated in quick goals from Blake Coleman and Brian Boyle late in the period came one of the worst down by a goal third periods I can ever remember. Toronto outshot us 15-3 in the third and really those three shots really weren’t all that threatening. I had forgotten how bad Toronto’s goalie situation had gotten due to injuries so when I saw Michael Hutchinson in net with even worse split numbers than Kinkaid my response was ‘when did they get him?!”. I only had remembered him being a Winnipeg reject. I had hoped at least we could get a few goals and somehow win a scoreathon.

Truth be told however, a high school goalie could have played against us in the first and third periods. Even against a waiver-wire goalie we had no chance, without Taylor Hall and Marcus Johansson we couldn’t sustain any offensive push – again. Which is actually underselling things. When we were still trying to figure out a way to tie the game late, coach John Hynes didn’t pull Kinkaid till there was about a minute left. The crowd was screaming for the earlier pull but honestly both the coach and I knew it was pointless anyway. We weren’t even sustaining any kind of possession, once Hynes pulled the goalie it was gonna be over. Of course by the time it got to a minute left I just bitterly remarked just pull the goalie and end this, I was tired of watching a monkey screw a football the entire third period, to quote a famous line from the late Herb Brooks. Sure enough, about half a minute later it was over.

Let’s face it, the Leafs are a lot better team than us – with or without Hall and Johansson. Last April seems a long time away now, when we beat them in front of a sellout at the Rock in the penultimate game of the season to clinch our first playoff spot in six years. Since then of course, they added Tavares while we’ve either subtracted players or production from most of the players still remaining. GM Ray Shero extending coach Hynes a couple weeks ago smacked of the Jets giving Todd Bowles an extension after last year when he’d put up two straight 5-11 seasons. Sometimes it’s the overt lack of accountability that’s more upsetting than the actual losing and incompetence. While former team czar Lou Lamoriello could get a bit trigger-happy on coaches, at least you knew there was accountability present. I’m still waiting for it under the new regime. Getting rid of an over-the-hill schlep like Mike Cammalleri and marginal players like Devante Smith-Pelly two years ago don’t count all that much, sorry.

At least ’80’s night was cute, even if the idea of theming the Ken Daneyko bobblehead with a Ghostbusters suit was a little odd on its face, you could conceive of Dano wearing that outfit at a costume party during the decade. He’d have to actually have some form of hair for it to be an accurate era look…just a little though. They could have done far worse for a central theme though. Clearly the ambiance was there if you grew up in the ’80’s from the music choices, to some of the graphics like the Meadowlands-ish type scoreboard and the montages like NJayDevil popping into a lot of ’80’s movie scenes like Back to the Future before the game. The white and green throwbacks were nice again, though I joked to my friend after the first period this season would be the last we’d see of them after the team got smoked by the Blue Jackets 3-0 in the first of our four throwback jersey games this year.

In many ways last night was a perfect prism for how things have changed all around the organization since the glory days. It’s almost like a curse, for ages and ages under Lou people complained the team wasn’t marketed enough. You would never see the social media stuff, the Internet extras or an attempt to reach out to the fanbase. Now it’s there, and we’ve been losing for the most part. If we only had to have one or the other give me the boring winning over the ‘exciting’ losing anyday. Ideally it wouldn’t be only one or the other, god knows teams like the Caps and Blackhawks market fine and they’ve been successful organizations on-ice in the last decade.

It’s just sort of fitting that it’s worked out that way for us since people went overboard complaining about the lack of extras as if they were the most important thing. No, the most important thing is actually enjoying the product. And enjoying the product shouldn’t be about how much action there was, but whether the team is winning. Not having to say well everything around the game was nice, it’s just the game itself sucked like last night. Although it would be nice if those off-ice extras didn’t include increased ticket prices for a losing team or decreasing season ticket benefits by the season. But that’s a seperate rant for when we get our renewal invovices for next year and they’ll almost inevitably go up.

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