Gabriel Perreault Signs his ELC with Rangers

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Derek

Earlier this afternoon, the Rangers signed Gabriel Perreault to a three-year entry-level contract (ELC). The former first round pick was selected 23rd overall in the 2023 Draft. In two years with Boston College, Perreault totaled 35 goals and 73 assists for 108 points over 73 games.

After putting up 19 goals and 41 assists for 60 points in his freshman season, Perreault finished with 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points as a sophomore. Featured on the potent top line that included former Capitals first round pick Ryan Leonard and potential 2025 top pick James Hagens, the 19-year-old forward teamed up with both Leonard and Hagens to help Team USA repeat as gold medal winners at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Both Perreault and Leonard each finished second in the tournament in scoring with 10 points.

Despite being ranked number 1 in the NCAA, Boston College had their season end last night when they lost to defending champion Denver 3-1 in the Regional Final. They fell short of their goal of winning the Frozen Four. It was a rematch of last year’s championship game, which Denver also won 2-0. The Pioneers shut down the Eagles to go back to the Frozen Four. They’ll try to repeat under coach David Carle.

For both Leonard and Perreault, that spelled the end of their collegiate careers. As expected, Leonard signed his ELC with the Caps earlier today. A dominant power forward who won Hockey East Player of the Year, he’ll join the first place Caps in Boston.

As for Perreault, it circulated that he wanted to sign with the Rangers. By signing him, Perreault will burn Year 1 of his ELC. The Rangers have eight games remaining in the regular season. Perreault is expected to join them in Tarrytown tomorrow to prepare for the Wild this Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

It’ll be interesting to see how coach Peter Laviolette uses Perreault in the lineup. A good offensive player with excellent vision, he should be able to make linemates better with his passing. How well will he adjust to the pro game? He isn’t a big player, going five-foot ten, 179 pounds. Perreault has good instincts, which could be a plus when he makes his NHL debut. Assuming he plays on Wednesday, Nicholas Aube-Kubel is likely to come out of the lineup. He filled in for the injured Matt Rempe on the fourth line.

Unlike Brennan Othmann, who Laviolette was reluctant to use in a top six role until recently, Perreault can’t be babied. He has to play on a scoring line. Considering that they have Othmann with Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, that means either J.T. Miller or Mika Zibanejad. As well as Jonny Brodzinski has played, he should be shifted to the checking line to make room for Perreault. Lately, Zibanejad has worked with Will Cuylle and Chris Kreider. Miller has teamed with Alexis Lafreniere and Brodzinski. The most likely spot would be on the right side.

Given their recent track record with former first round picks, who knows what to expect. Laviolette likes to lean on his more experience players in close games. Considering that they’re competing for the final wild card, I wouldn’t expect Perreault to see too much ice time in the third period against the Wild if it’s tight. The Rangers currently are ninth in the Eastern Conference with 77 points. The Canadiens also have 77 points but sit in eighth place due to having a game in hand. They’ll make it up on Tuesday when they host the Panthers. The Blue Jackets will also be in action hosting the Predators. The Islanders and Red Wings also have games tomorrow.

As far as making the playoffs goes, if they can win five of their last eight games, that would take the Rangers to 87 points. Given how mediocre the competition is, that should be enough to squeak in. With more regulation wins than the rest of the field, they hold the number one tiebreaker. I’ll delve more into what is a challenging schedule in the next post.

Let’s hope Perreault gets a fair shake.

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Quit In NY: Why It’s Easy to Hate These Blueshirts

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Derek

As a diehard fan of this team, it isn’t easy to enjoy the 2024-25 New York Rangers. Every time you think they reach a new low, they find a way to top it by sinking even further.

Apparently, there is Quit In NY. These Blueshirts have made it easy for fans to hate them. I could easily refer to them as the Booshirts because they’ve certainly heard it from the crowd at Madison Square Garden this season. And why not. They’re under .500 at home with a mediocre 17-17-3 record. Of the nine games that remain, four will be played at 33rd and 7th, including the final one against the Lightning on April 17. Whether or not that game carries any weight remains to be seen.

On Friday night, the Rangers lost in crushing fashion to the Ducks 5-4 in overtime. Facing a much younger opponent who were faster, they restored a two-goal lead when Mika Zibanejad scored on the power play to make it 4-2 with less than 16 minutes left in the third period.

The Ducks kept handing them chances by taking penalties. Following the rare power-play goal scored by Zibanejad, Anaheim took a pair of minor penalties 24 seconds apart to put the Rangers on a two-man advantage. Instead of capitalizing on the golden opportunity to put the game away, the five-man unit kept passing and passing the puck without taking any shots. The worst sequence had to be when Zibanejad refused to shoot from the left circle, instead opting for a lousy forced pass that was broken up by the Ducks penalty kill. What made it more mind-numbing is that he’d just scored his 16th of the season on a five-on-four.

Following yet another Rangers power failure, Cutter Gauthier put in a rebound to make it 4-3 with less than six minutes remaining. Many fans knew what to expect. A Leo Carlsson goal 2:22 into the period had prepared them for what was coming. Even with Zibanejad temporarily restoring order, you knew it was only a matter of time before the blown power play chances came back to haunt them. Once Gauthier scored to cut the lead to one, it was painfully obvious what would happen.

Making matters worse, the Blueshirts wasted a late power play that could have finished the Ducks off. Instead, as it concluded the second unit cost them a win in regulation. After Alexis Lafreniere sent the puck around the boards, both Will Cuylle and J.T. Miller managed to get trapped up ice.

Will Cuylle (#50) below and J.T. Miller (#8) below get trapped up ice leading to the Ducks getting the tying goal with 1:45 remaining.

Once the Ducks came out with the puck, it spelled doom. Somehow, with less than two minutes left, they executed a four-on-two with Olen Zellweger taking a Pavel Mintyukov drop pass and beating Igor Shesterkin high blocker to tie the game with 1:45 remaining.

Once that happened, the end was predictable. It took the Ducks 59 seconds to win the game in overtime. Following a Gauthier drop pass for Jackson LaCombe, he found Mason McTavish alone in front for the overtime winner. Both Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck got burned on the play.

If you’ve followed the Blueshirts, this is who they are. They’re a fundamentally flawed team that doesn’t know how to defend properly. Carlsson scored his goal by catching K’Andre Miller out of position – blowing by him and then beating Shesterkin with a wrist shot. Once Carlsson skated into the slot, he used Miller’s defensive partner Will Borgen as a screen to get off a good shot that Shesterkin couldn’t pick up.

Aside from choking away a two-goal lead, the Rangers prevented themselves from passing the Canadiens, who lost 4-1 to the Hurricanes last night. By only getting a point, the Blueshirts entered Saturday still out of the second wild card due to the Blue Jackets coming back to beat the Canucks 7-6 in a shootout. Both teams have 75 points, but Columbus has two games at hand. The Habs also have 75 points but have played one more game than the Blue Jackets.

How frustrating is this team? They’re probably the most fundamentally flawed one since before the lockout. Despite having established stars who get paid top dollar, they continue to leave fans in disbelief.

Rock bottom never seems to end. There was the Christmas game from hell against the Devils, crushing one-goal losses to the Avalanche and Canadiens, getting blown out at home by the Blue Jackets, and more recently the no-show against the Flames. Even a 5-3 come from behind win over the Canucks wasn’t overly impressive. They played a bad first period but overcame it by beating Kevin Lankinen four times on just 11 shots. If they’d faced a better goalie like Thatcher Demko, they’d probably be entering tonight’s game versus the Sharks on a three-game losing streak.

In fact, they have only one win in their last six games. Somehow, despite earning just three of a possible 12 points, they still remain alive for the final wild card. But with nine games left on the schedule, they’re at a disadvantage. The teams they’re competing with all have extra games left. That includes the Islanders, who also lost earlier today 5-3 to the Lightning. Even the woeful Red Wings are only three out despite losing four of their last five.

Here’s the reality. The Rangers are the most undeserving team of making the playoffs out of all the teams they’re competing with. Since Nov. 14-19, they haven’t won three in a row. In a year, they went from having the NHL’s best record and making the Eastern Conference Finals to being a mediocre team without an identity. At 34-32-7, they’re lucky the competition is so bad. If you looked up the Rangers in a dictionary, here are two words that sum them up. Backchecking Optional.

When you’re so bad that your fans begin to doubt you, there isn’t much cause for excitement. There have been too many games when I’ve tuned out. The team isn’t very likable due to how they play. They are a mentally fragile group who say the right things following losses but make the same mistakes over and over. They’re easy to hate. If you don’t believe me, take a look at what’s been said about them.

There is no reason to watch anymore. If you do, there’s one thing left to add. Misery loves company.

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Sam Rosen Day A Success for Rangers

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Derek

On Saturday, Mar. 22, longtime television voice Sam Rosen was honored by the Rangers before they took on the Canucks. For 40 years, Rosen has been calling Rangers games on MSG Network.

A Brooklyn native who was the captain of the baseball team at City College, it was his childhood dream to one day become the play-by-play voice of the Rangers. That dream was fulfilled when he took over broadcasting duties for mentor Jim Gordon in 1984. Previously, Rosen was a studio host for Rangers pregame.

In a brilliant career that’s spanned four decades, the affable Rosen has been front and center for everything involving the Rangers. That was highlighted by him getting to call the memorable Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Rangers won 3-2 over the Canucks to finally end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought. When it was finally over, an excited Rosen said, “The waiting is over. The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions! And this one will last a lifetime!”

Back then, little did anyone know that Rosen’s call would prove prophetic. Unfortunately, despite some very good teams, the Rangers haven’t won a Cup since that memorable hot summer night on June 14, 1994. The closest the Rangers came was 20 years later when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Kings in five games. Despite having the lead in all three games at Staples Center, they were unable to hang on and lost each in overtime. That included the Stanley Cup clinching goal in the second overtime of Game 5.

One of the things that made 1994 so special was that Rosen got to call every single game with fan favorite John Davidson. They became affectionately known as Sam and JD due to how well they played off each other during broadcasts. It was made all the better with Al Trautwig hosting each game in studio. As the MSG slogan used to say, they were the best in the game. Between Rosen’s signature “It’s a power play goal!” and Davidson’s “Oh, Baby!” you had to be there for it. Nobody had more fun than Sam and JD during games. They made you feel like you were a part of it.

Davidson was the goalie in 1979 when the Rangers upset the Islanders and went to the Finals before falling to the Canadiens dynasty. A popular player, he made a seamless transition to the broadcast booth. Prior to him becoming the color analyst of the Rangers, Rosen was partnered with hockey legend Phil Esposito. Esposito remained with Rosen until he took over as coach and general manager of the Rangers in 1986. Davidson replaced Esposito in 1986-87, teaming with Rosen through 2005-06.

When he left to become the team president of the St. Louis Blues, Davidson was replaced by Joe Micheletti. Since 2006-07, Micheletti has been Rosen’s partner up in the booth. As hard as it is to believe, he’s lasted almost as long as Davidson. While they don’t have the same chemistry as Sam and JD, they’ve been a good team for two decades.

At 77, Rosen is the longest tenured broadcaster in the NHL. A very nice person who has a great personality, he always tries to keep things light during games. However, if the team isn’t playing well, Rosen will call them out. In what’s been a down season, he’s had to be more vocal along with Micheletti due to the team’s play. When he decided to retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Rosen wanted to spend more time with his family. As he told reporters, packing for road trips isn’t fun anymore. Rosen also enjoys golf.

Prior to being honored during the pregame that included a video tribute of Rosen’s best moments, he had a funny remark. When discussing his final season, he said, “I’m trying to drag this team into the playoffs with me. I walk around the locker room at practice giving them encouragement, ‘Come on, guys, you can do it.’ They’re not listening to me, but hopefully that’ll change in the next couple of weeks.”

His good nature drew laughter from the media who attended the press conference. During the on ice ceremony, Rosen was joined by wife Jill, Esposito, Davidson and Micheletti. They presented him with a gold microphone and a Rangers jersey with the number 40 to recognize the 40 years of dedication.

Not one who likes being the center of attention, he kept his speech to approximately 90 seconds. During that time, Rosen spoke eloquently and with great appreciation. He was sure to thank his wife and family first for allowing him to do this for so long. He thanked the Rangers and the fans for the overwhelming support he’s received over the years. Having met him, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Rosen has always handled himself with class off the ice. That’s what made him a fan favorite.

“I’m the little kid from Brooklyn and here I am being honored by you and by Madison Square Garden and by the New York Rangers,” Rosen told the crowd last Saturday before the Rangers came back to defeat the Canucks 5-3. “I have truly lived the dream.”

In 2008, he was inducted into National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Rosen also called New York Cosmos games, boxing, and NFL games on Fox. When he wasn’t doing Rangers games, he could be heard on NHL Radio calling the Stanley Cup Playoffs for Westwood One. That included 12 Stanley Cup Finals between 1996 and 2008.

It’s hard to put into words what he’s meant. Rosen is the voice we grew up with watching Rangers games. He’s made them enjoyable even during disappointing seasons such as this one, which can’t end soon enough. I only can think of one reason for it to continue. If they somehow get into the playoffs, it should be for Sam. He deserves to call postseason games one final time. Even if they don’t deserve the playoffs, the legendary Rangers voice does.

Some fans have suggested that Rosen win the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. While that’s a kind sentiment, he isn’t a Rangers player. Besides, he probably wouldn’t accept it. It’s not who he is as a person. He doesn’t like the attention. That much has been obvious during his final season. That hasn’t stopped teams from presenting Rosen with wonderful gifts and video tributes on the road. In a game the Rangers lost 3-1, he received a celebratory cake from and an autographed jersey from the Kings on Tuesday night.

It’s hard to believe that there are only 10 games remaining in the season. Unless the Rangers start winning games, there won’t be any more after April 17. The team is the most unlikable since the Dark Ages. They find ways to lose. I can’t imagine what Rosen must think calling them. You can feel the frustration from both Sam and Joe during the losses. Is this really the way they’re going to send him out?

At least there’s a couple of days off before the next game at Anaheim. The off days are now a relief for fans. That’s how embarrassing this team is. I wish Rosen could call one more period with Davidson. With the Rangers having wrapped up the season series with the Blue Jackets, that scenario remains unlikely. In my heart, I wish MSG would try to get JD to be a guest in the booth for one last time. They probably haven’t considered it.

We’ll see how things wind up. Congrats to Sam on an outstanding career. One that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Sam Rosen for making Rangers games so much fun.

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Stick a Fork In Lifeless Rangers

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Derek

Two days after hardly competing in a one-goal loss to the Flames, the Rangers made too many mistakes in a 4-3 defeat to the Maple Leafs at 33rd and 7th. A more rested team playing at home again lost to an opponent who had to travel for the second game of a back-to-back.

This is who they are. A lifeless bunch who, more often than not, leaves fans frustrated due to how disjointed they play. Even with teams that they’re battling with continuing to lose to keep them in the wild card race, the Rangers can’t take advantage. They simply refuse to play the way they’re supposed to at this crucial part of the season.

A boring team that is tough to watch, the Rangers are about as exciting as watching paint dry. They’re the antithesis of last year’s team that never were out of a game. There was no quit in New York. Many fans have mocked that team slogan by changing it to quit in New York. It seems very appropriate.

This has been an embarrassing season for many reasons. They went from being one of the league’s best teams to becoming one of its biggest underachievers. After the Predators, you can put the Rangers right next to them. Despite being given every chance due to mediocre competition, they refuse to win consistently. This is a team that hasn’t won three in a row since Nov. 14-19.

Even with the Islanders passing them in the standings, the Rangers remain two points out of the final wild card. The Canadiens have 74 points with 14 games remaining. Both the Islanders and Rangers have 72. The difference is that the Islanders have two more games left. They are finding ways to win since Brock Nelson was traded to the Avalanche. They’re doing it without Mat Barzal.

Even J.T. Miller has gone ice cold in crunch time. After coming in hot, he has no goals and four assists in the last nine games. Perhaps he’s suffering from a bad case of Rangeritis. Something that seems to spread quickly with this sad sack roster. The energy Miller provided is gone. He isn’t making any difference in the biggest games of the year.

It’s looking more and more likely that the Penguins will have the Rangers first round pick. That was the worst-case scenario when Chris Drury made the deal with the Canucks. They included that first round pick in a separate deal to land Marcus Pettersson. It’s worked out much better for them than the veteran defensemen Drury added. For reasons only known to Peter Laviolette, Calvin de Haan doesn’t play. Carson Soucy made his fifth appearance last night, recording an assist in place of Urho Vaakanainen.

Nothing Laviolette does makes much sense. In many ways, it feels eerily similar to Gerard Gallant in his second year. The magic is gone. Laviolette’s overreliance on the veterans has come at the expense of younger players who hardly see the ice. Juuso Parssinen, Brett Berard, and Brennan Othmann played less than seven minutes.

Othmann returned to the lineup due to Matt Rempe, who was out sick. By continuing to use him sparingly, they’re not helping the development of the former first round pick. He remains without an NHL point while wasting away. They may as well send him back down to Hartford, where he’ll at least receive top minutes.

K’Andre Miller had one of his worst games. He turned pucks over and was victimized on two Leafs goals. Miller finished with a minus-3 rating, an undisciplined penalty for tripping, and a game worst four giveaways. It was about as poorly as he could play. A polarizing player due to his talent, he remains a question mark for the foreseeable future. He hasn’t shown any improvement since putting up a career-high 43 points in 2022-23. A restricted free agent this summer, the Rangers have an interesting decision ahead.

On the Leafs’ first goal scored by John Tavares in transition, Miller got caught pinching in and couldn’t recover in time. Tavares buried a one-timer off a Jake McCabe feed.

Despite failing to score early on Anthony Stolarz, the Rangers finally drew even in the final minute of the opening period. Will Borgen supplied the offense when he took a Carson Soucy pass and fired a shot off the goalpost and in. However, that was short-lived.

Following a Borgen icing, Tavares won a draw back for a Jake McCabe shot that an unmarked Bobby McMann tipped in front past Igor Shesterkin to put the Leafs back ahead with 10 seconds remaining. The culprit was Miller, who failed to pick up McMann. It was inexcusable. That more than anything typifies this team. They give up the most crushing goals, which usually come after they score or in the final minute of a period.

Artemi Panarin again scored to tie the game when he put home a rebound of a Vincent Trocheck shot early in the second period. If anyone deserves some credit for showing up, it’s Panarin. Even in what’s been a down year, he’s been scoring regularly during this tumultuous stretch. Since Mar. 2, he has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, recording at least a point in every game7 this month for an 11-game point streak. He’s been the only player who’s providing consistent offense.

Less than three minutes later, Tavares scored his second of the game when he rebounded home a deflected McCabe shot for the 1,100th point of his career. Adam Fox stayed with William Nylander while Soucy was occupied with McMann, who got a piece of the McCabe shot that Shesterkin couldn’t control. Will Cuylle didn’t rotate down in time to pick up Tavares. Cuylle has been one of the few bright spots, but he got caught watching on what proved to be the deciding goal.

Over 10 minutes later, with the Rangers still trailing the Leafs by one, Nylander circled around the net and found Matthew Knies open in the slot for his 25th to make it 4-2. On the play, there was a lot of puck watching from the five skaters wearing the  blue jerseys. That included Chris Kreider, who was beaten badly by Knies on the goal.

It’s been a nightmarish season for Kreider. Injuries have limited his effectiveness, which still doesn’t excuse his inconsistency. There have been too many empty nights for Kreider, who likely will be traded in the off-season. He has two years remaining on a contract that pays him a $6.5 million cap hit. He’ll celebrate his 34th birthday at the end of next month. By which time the Rangers will be on the golf course.

In the third period, the Rangers finally got a power play. It was earlier in the game that an incensed Kreider was upset after getting tackled by Leafs pest Simon Benoit. This time, the refs caught Knies for slashing Zac Jones. It didn’t matter. The Leafs won some key faceoffs to kill time. Stolarz only had to come up with a pair of stops on J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad.

By that point, Laviolette had cut down to three lines. His best players couldn’t find a way to beat Stolarz, who finished with 27 saves. Both Fox and Zibanejad came close but drew iron.

With Shesterkin on the bench, a Panarin shot was tipped in by Kreider with under 35 seconds left. It was his first goal in six games, giving him 19 for the season. Somehow, in an off year, his 19 goals rank third on the team, trailing only Panarin (31) and Vincent Trocheck (20). It doesn’t say much for the rest of the roster. At least Cuylle has 18 goals. He should only get better.

What’s Alexis Lafreniere’s excuse? It’s inexplicable how far he’s fallen. Now, the contract extension looks like a massive overpay. It’s absurd that he and Zibanejad have the same number of goals (15) at this point of the season. For all the crap Kreider gets from our fan base, how can anyone excuse Lafreniere or Zibanejad, who’s considered a team leader. He has two goals this month. So much for Mika March. Lafreniere has one goal, which was a gift into an open net. The lack of production has been problematic. With J.T. Miller going ice cold without a goal in nine straight. It’s’s basically Panarin trying to beat opponents by himself.

You get the idea. Anyway, Kreider’s goal came too late. The Leafs closed it out to win for the third straight time and keep pace with the Panthers and Lightning in a tight race for first in the Atlantic Division. Two total points separate first from third.

Somehow, with the Islanders winning in overtime over the Canadiens, the Rangers remain a point out of the second wild card. But they only have 12 games remaining. The Islanders have caught them in the standings and technically are now ahead due to having two games at hand. They’re doing it without Mat Barzal, and after selling off Brock Nelson. Why? Because unlike the Rangers, they have heart.

On Saturday, they’ll honor longtime TV voice Sam Rosen before they take on the Canucks. Rosen has been calling games on MSG Network for 40 years. “This one will last a lifetime!” remains a memorable call when the 1993-94 New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup. It has to pain Rosen to see the state the current team is in. They play without any intensity or passion. It’s a far cry from a year ago when they were a resilient group who played for each other.

Even with more regulation wins, they keep losing games. It won’t matter if that continues. They’re looking at a long off-season. For Rosen, if there isn’t any playoffs, what a sad way to go out.

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Rangers’ No Show Sums Up Season

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Derek

On Tuesday, Mar. 18, the schedule said that the Rangers were taking on the Flames at Madison Square Garden. Someone forgot to tell them. In what can be best summed up as a no show, they suffered a 2-1 humiliation to the Flames before less than a capacity crowd that let them hear it throughout the game.

The game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. Following Artemi Panarin getting his 30th goal just 73 seconds in, the Rangers got severely outplayed and outskated by a more determined opponent who were playing the second game of a back-to-back. You would have thought the Flames were the more rested team despite having to travel from Toronto after a 6-2 shellacking on St. Patrick’s Day. They won all the battles and outhustled a lethargic Blueshirts who looked like they were hungover.

It was the Flames who took advantage of sloppy turnovers to get dangerous chances on Igor Shesterkin, who did his best by making some big saves. Despite stoning Jonathan Huberdeau, he had no chance on a rebound Nazem Kadri converted with the Rangers scrambling around. Urho Vaakanainen was beaten on the tying goal.

Calgary continued to expose the Rangers, who had 11 giveaways and no takeaways in a lackluster first period that saw them muster only four more shots after Panarin’s first one went in. The lack of cohesiveness was mind numbing. For a team that’s fighting for the postseason, there wasn’t any effort.

“No execution. I thought we were slow. I think we got away from the things that we did well in the previous games. We were just slow executing, slow moving the puck, slow getting open. We’re just standing still in the neutral zone, we get pucks deep, we have one guy going. Just break it out, very, very easy. We can’t get anything going and that’s on us,” Mika Zibanejad told reporters in the locker room.

There also was a loss of discipline from Matt Rempe that led to Matt Coronato scoring on the power play to put the Flames ahead with 1:57 left in the period. Rempe took an ill-advised elbowing minor when it came up on Jake Bean, catching his chin with 2:14 remaining. Rempe has been the victim of some bad calls going against him, including one at Winnipeg in a tough 2-1 loss on Mar. 11. The penalty he took last night was atrocious. It cost the Rangers dearly.

The disturbing part is that after getting lambasted by Steve Valiquette during the first intermission on MSG Networks, they were even worse in the second period. Instead of responding, it was more of the same. After outshooting them 9-4 in the first, the Flames held a 10-3 edge in the second. For a long time, the Rangers were stuck on six shots. They didn’t establish anything. There was as Joe Micheletti pointed out to Sam Rosen on the broadcast, no forecheck.

Undisciplined penalties continued to plague the Rangers. Braden Schneider airmailed a clearing attempt for a delay of game less than two minutes into the period. As usual, the best chance came while on the penalty kill. Zibanejad got a tough one-handed shot on Flames backup Dan Vladar, which he turned away. That was the only opportunity of the period.

It basically was all about Shesterkin who kept coming up with difficult stops to keep his team down a goal. They couldn’t or wouldn’t be bothered. After having 11 giveaways in the opening stanza, they had six more in the woeful second.

Alexis Lafreniere took a bad tripping minor to put the Flames back on the power play. Following a successful penalty kill, Chris Kreider replaced him on the second line with Zibanejad and J.T. Miller. Speaking of Miller, he took a slash to the midsection at the conclusion of the first that went undetected. A furious Zibanejad had some choice words for the refs mouthing, “That’s your fault.” Miller didn’t miss a shift. However, it was another frustrating game for him. He’s now gone eight games without a goal.

Since being acquired on Jan. 31 for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first round pick that now belongs to the Penguins (Canucks traded it for Marcus Pettersson), Miller has still performed at near a point-per-game clip with 18 points in 19 games. But he has a penchant for taking bad penalties that affect his play. When Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury made the trade for the recently turned 32-year-old center, it came with a risk. Miller’s signed through 2030. As good as he is, you do have to worry about when he’ll decline. Even if they fail to qualify for the postseason, the Rangers made the move to improve the roster moving forward. Miller will be front and center along with Panarin next season. They’ll need the good version.

Still trailing the Flames by a goal, the Rangers finally got a call when Martin Pospisil interfered with Vaakanainen. Instead of taking advantage, they didn’t do anything. The Flames penalty kill took away the blue line and kept clearing the zone. Disgusted fans who pay a lot of money to watch this pathetic team promptly booed. It was well-deserved. They stunk it up.

After the penalty expired, Pospisil was sent in on a breakaway. He had Shesterkin down but sent his backhand wide of an open net. The puck was then put back in front in a wild sequence, which somehow the Rangers survived. If any play typified their lack of effort, it was that one. Had the Flames scored on that folly, it would have been replayed all over social media.

The third period was unwatchable. With the lone exception of Miller setting up a Kreider shot that Vladar stopped, the Rangers managed to do nothing. It was so bad that I put the Senators and Canadiens on my laptop. While our team’s game was on the TV, I was more locked in on two Canadian rivals battling it out in a big game that had playoff implications. The Canadiens rallied from a one-goal deficit by scoring four straight to earn a huge 6-3 win on home ice that vaulted them into the second wild card ahead of the Rangers.

Montreal has 73 points and are one up on the Rangers. But the Habs have 15 games left while the Rangers have 13 remaining. Combined with the Islanders rallying for four goals in the third period to defeat the Pens 4-2, they’re locked in a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets and Red Wings. All three teams have 70 points. Both the Islanders and Jackets have 15 games remaining while the Wings have 14 left. If you want to include the Bruins, they have 69 points with 13 games left. Even the Pens aren’t out of it yet. But they only have 66 points with just a dozen games to go. It’s a longshot that Sidney Crosby can drag them into the playoffs.

If you’re wondering about the Rangers, where do they go from here? K’Andre Miller, who struggled with turnovers yesterday, admitted that they didn’t show up in the biggest game of the season to date.

That’s a damning statement. While I appreciate his honesty, it begs one question that wasn’t asked. Why weren’t they ready to play? If coach Peter Laviolette acknowledged that the compete wasn’t there and that the Flames were more ready, how does he still have a job? They’ve played 69 games. Even now, there doesn’t seem to be an identity. How did they go from winning the Presidents’ Trophy to this in a year?

A harder look must be taken at both the general manager and coach. Drury went out and got two experienced defensemen. Calvin de Haan was effective when he played with Zac Jones. Once they acquired Carson Soucy, de Haan came out of the lineup. Soucy has struggled immensely. Laviolette isn’t playing either. He’s been using Vaakanainen with Adam Fox. Jones remains in the lineup with Schneider despite some issues.

The coach also reinserted Juuso Parssinen so he could play a whopping seven-plus minutes on the mismatched third line centered by Sam Carrick. Brennan Othmann was a healthy scratch. Brett Berard played on the fourth line with Rempe and Jonny Brodzinski, who eventually was moved up in the third period. Brodzinski with Carrick and the demoted Lafreniere made up the third line. Parssinen was with Berard and Rempe before Laviolette predictably cut down his rotation. These were the final ice times for those three:

Berard 6:21

Rempe 7:29

Parssinen 7:44

How does that help? It’s bad enough that Laviolette buried Kreider with Carrick, who as honest an effort as he gives isn’t a third line center. He hardly used Arthur Kaliyev before his season ended with an upper-body injury due to absorbing a big hit from Luke Schenn on Mar. 11. Kaliyev was in and out of the lineup. That was another move by Drury, who claimed Kaliyev off waivers from the Kings. He finished with three goals and one assist in 14 games. His appearance last week was his first since Feb. 23.

When he opted to load up by moving Zibanejad off center to play with Miller, Laviolette weakened the third line. Neither Carrick nor Brodzinski are top nine forwards. Zibanejad should be centering a line. Even if his production came back due to having less responsibility. He makes $8.5 million. A top three lines that have Trocheck, Miller, and Zibanejad would have more balance. The real issue has to do with Laviolette who doesn’t show enough trust in a few of the younger forwards to play in the top nine.

Will Cuylle has replaced Lafreniere on the Panarin line centered by Trocheck. Zibanejad knows Kreider well with them forming a dynamic duo while shorthanded. Their struggles at five-on-five led to Laviolette splitting them up and prompted Drury to make the trade for Miller. The underachieving Lafreniere only having 15 goals has really hurt the offense. Following the contract extension, he was being counted on for consistent production. There was no reason to believe he wouldn’t perform. He spent most of the year with Panarin and Trocheck, who’s also struggled with consistency.

Kreider is a big part of the problem. He went from scoring close to 40 goals last season to 18 in 55 games due to injuries being a factor. The all-time franchise record holder in power-play goals (116) still is tied for third in goal scoring with Cuylle. Trocheck ranks second with 20 goals. Zibanejad and Lafreniere are tied for fifth with 15. Sadly, Chytil would still place seventh with 11. His career is now in jeopardy following the latest concussion he suffered due to a dirty hit from behind from Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson. Of course, he wasn’t suspended.

Even after adding Miller, the offense is lacking. The power play remains an issue. Even since Adam Fox returned, they’re 0-for-5 dropping all the way down to 25th (18.5 percent) in the league. Similar to his predecessor, Laviolette has leaned heavily on his top unit. Perhaps it’s too easy to give in due to the personnel that features Panarin, Fox, Zibanejad, Miller, and Kreider. There’s still an overreliance on the Rangers’ best players on the power play. This isn’t the Oilers, who are led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The same applies to the offense. By continuing to play Zibanejad and Miller together, it limits the bottom six. To their credit, both Brodzinski and Carrick have chipped in. Usually, when either is cast in a fourth line role. Most recently, Brodzinski had some success with Othmann and Rempe. Carrick had similar success when he played with Rempe and Adam Edstrom, who’s been missed since sustaining a lower-body injury on Feb. 1. If he returned now, he’d likely play on the third line.

Gabe Perreault a Possibility

If they’re looking for a spark, perhaps the Rangers can find it by signing Gabe Perreault. The 2023 first round pick’s sophomore season ended for Boston College. He tied for the team lead in scoring with 47 points (15-32-47). Perreault will turn 20 in May. A playmaking pivot who has excellent vision, he certainly would be an upgrade over Carrick on the third line. That assumes a lot. Would they consider it? That remains to be seen.

The organization signed former fourth round pick Noah Laba. He tied for the team lead with 10 goals for Colorado College. In 29 games, Laba totaled 26 points and was a plus-10. The 21-year-old forward will make his pro debut soon for the Hartford Wolf Pack.

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Two steps forward, one step back for the Devils last week

Posted on March 17, 2025 by hasan4978

I really did mean to do a blog after last Thursday’s win against the Oilers, which ensured the Devils’ first three-game winning streak since December and was a nice bounceback from the rock bottom that was deadline day and a 6-1 loss to the Jets in the immediate aftermath. At that point, I was a little bit more optimistic about the team, at least to the extent it looked as if they were energized by some of the new additions and the team’s other key players stepped up to fill the void of the absence of Jack Hughes and friends. Maybe I never fully bought in because in the back of my mind, I feel like even if we avoid disaster and make the playoffs, it’s still unlikely we’ll do anything in them…but that’s a problem for another day. Just get there first.

While we were probably due to finally lose a clunker to the Penguins (figures we’ve actually split with them this year, in one of their worst years in decades when we dominated them for years while we were the rubbish team), probably the most concerning thing about that 7-3 loss was Jacob Markstrom’s performance. I said I thought perhaps he was playing tight on deadline night, but his game really hasn’t clicked in since he came back off of injury. Mercifully, I saw little of yesterday’s game apart from turning it on when it got to 4-3 in the third period only for Erik Karlsson to put the dagger in our comeback, but from what I heard it was a poor showing for Markstrom, who’s had a streaky season. If the Devils were in more of a bind, the calls to give in-form Jake Allen more gametime would be louder but at the moment the Devils are still seven points up on the Canadiens for the last wild card spot (albeit they, and tonight’s opponent Columbus who are eight points back both have two games in hand).

Imagine if the Devils didn’t finally put together three in a row. Four in a row seems like too much of an ask at the moment, and to be fair I’m not expecting any long winning streaks from this team as presently constituted – they just have to keep bringing it every night, and their best players have to play like their best players and there should still be enough here to make the playoffs. Despite my pessimism about actually doing anything in the playoffs this year, it’s not like we’re a bad team per se, or at least shouldn’t be hopelessly bad. Not with guys like Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier and even sophomore Luke Hughes with a defense/goaltending combo that’s remained in the top 3-5 places of the league for much of the season.

To be fair, if deadline Friday was the low point of the season in terms of my home game experiences this year, last Tuesday actually wound up being one of the most fun games of the season. In spite of our win in Philly Sunday – which felt more like a stay of execution as we barely hung onto a one goal lead late, only after Travis Sandheim took a stupid penalty in the final two minutes as the Flyers were pressing for the tying goal. I was never more blase for a big game than I was on Tuesday, with us still barely hanging onto a semi-comfortable lead against the Blue Jackets I feared their heart and determination would overcome our supposed skill and lack of the former.

Much to my relief, the Devils matched the Blue Jackets’ effort, and the big names all showed up for a big game for the first time in months, with Nico, Timo, Bratt and Luke all scoring goals in a 5-3 win that (for the most part) was slightly more comfortable than the score suggests, although I’m not going to lie after we got 3-0 up and gave up two quick goals in the second I went from chilling back to fearing the worst. Unlike other instances however, this team didn’t panic and Timo’s late second period goal restored a degree of control to the game. After Luke scored early in the third, the Devils coasted to the finish line despite giving up a third with just over nine minutes to go.

Oh and yes, the cookie finally won a race!

I’ve mostly chuckled at the internet meme this year that our intermission snack giveaways have become – Mrs. Fields, Auntie Anne’s and Welsh Farms all do a ‘race’ during a stoppage of play at home games, whoever wins a section I guess gets vouchers for that particular brand at the arena. I don’t even know what specifically they win, although my section was one of the ones up for it on Tuesday ironically enough, I didn’t see any cameras or stuff out of the ordinary around so I figured I wasn’t getting anything. Anyway, the fact Mrs. Fields never ‘won’ a race in close to thirty home games had become a cause celebre on and offline with signs around the arena saying ‘FREE THE COOKIE’. All along I figured the cookie was going to win the home finale and there’d be some sick promo around it lol

The fact it happened Tuesday…maybe some higher power sensed the crowd needed a bit of a boost in a big game, although to be fair we were already 2-0 up at the point where IT happened. I’m still half rolling my eyes at the fact I’m now spending two paragraphs talking about a contrived snack race…but then again as my Yankee fan friend (ironically) pointed out, maybe Mrs. Fields can become the Devils version of a Grimace meme. I mean if I believe in the mythical power of a fictional purple blob, why not a cookie? Can’t really argue with two big home wins since it happened (and not-so-surprisingly the cookie win again and the Devils immediately scored two goals against the Oilers on Thursday in a 3-2 comeback win that again showed mettle I wasn’t sure this team still had two weeks ago.

Although it felt better to leave the arena after a win last Tuesday, I’m not going back to the arena Saturday – just didn’t feel like trekking out for the Calgary game this week so I used a buyback, but I’ll be there for what could be a four-point game against Ottawa on Saturday (as Travis Green’s crew is just one point behind us now, although they don’t directly impact us as long as we remain third in the Metro). Still plenty of work to do before then, starting with tonight’s matchup against those same Blue Jackets – now barely hanging in the playoff hunt after a three-game losing streak of their own. It was nice the key players showed up for two straight home games, but they need to bring it pretty much every night to make sure this team finds their way into the postseason.

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Blueshirts Clinging Onto Wild Card by a Thread

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Derek

Following a weekend in which they split by shutting out the Blue Jackets and losing to the Oilers, the Rangers are clinging onto the second wild card by a thread. With a day off, they lead the Canadiens by a point, and the Blue Jackets by two points on St. Patrick’s Day.

After taking care of business on Saturday by defeating the slumping Blue Jackets 4-0 led by a pair of Artemi Panarin goals in Adam Fox’s return to the lineup, the Blueshirts lost a tough game to the Oilers, 3-1 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. It prevented them from putting some distance between the rest of the pack, which includes the Red Wings, Islanders, and Bruins. Detroit won yesterday to pull within two points. The Islanders and Bruins are four back. Despite winning four in a row, the Penguins remain a longshot sitting six out with 13 games left.

After falling behind on a Corey Perry power-play goal late in the first period due to K’Andre Miller taking the third straight penalty against the Oilers, the Rangers tied the game five minutes into the second period when Will Cuylle converted his 18th from Panarin and Vincent Trocheck on a play Braden Schneider helped set up. The leading candidate for the Steven McDonald Award has points in three straight games. Cuylle continues to improve in his second year. He’s up to 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points with a plus-10 rating while playing in every game.  It’s been the play of the former 2020 second round pick that’s been a constant.

To their credit, they played a very responsible tight checking game to limit the high-powered Edmonton offense led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. In fact, defense was the theme throughout the game. Both sides kept the chances to a minimum. The Rangers outshot the Oilers 8-6 in the second period.

With the game tied, the third was tightly contested. The Rangers opted to sit back to prevent the Oilers from getting much in transition. It was an understandable strategy employed by Peter Laviolette, with McDavid and Draisaitl dangerous due to their game-breaking speed. It worked for most of the game.

The Oilers went ahead when Viktor Arvidsson had his shot tick off Zac Jones’ stick past Igor Shesterkin upstairs. The play started when Brennan Othmann had a back pass off the boards that didn’t work. Arvidsson forced a turnover to start a quick transition with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After Nugent-Hopkins gained the zone and moved the puck across for Arvidsson, he let go of a high wrist shot that beat Shesterkin to make it 2-1. It was a tough goal due to the puck changing direction.

Trailing by one, the Rangers desperately tried to tie the game. Their best chance came on the power play. With Jeff Skinner off for cross-checking Will Borgen, the top unit stayed on for the entirety of the five-on-four. But despite getting some good chances, they were unable to beat Stuart Skinner. J.T. Miller had a good look at a one-timer that went wide. His frustration was noticeable. He’s gone seven games without a goal. Miller has also taken some bad penalties. He’ll need to be better over the final 14 games for the Rangers to make the playoffs.

The failed opportunity on the power play turned out to be their last chance. The Oilers were committed defensively. Even with the Rangers applying forecheck pressure, they had a lot of their attempts blocked. The Oilers blocked 19 shots, with many coming in the deciding period. It was their attention to detail that earned them two points. Skinner turned aside seven shots en route to 22 saves on the night.

Another area that the Oilers did well was win crucial faceoffs. Although the battle in the dots was close with Edmonton holding a slight 24-23 advantage, they won the big ones.

That included McDavid beating Vincent Trocheck on a defensive draw that led to him taking a Nugent-Hopkins feed in transition and beating Shesterkin for his 25th to make it 3-1 with 3;25 remaining. He skated in and used K’Andre Miller as a screen to score his 25th goal. That made it nine consecutive seasons with at least 25 goals or more. If he can get five more, then it’ll be 30 or more since 2016-17. A once in a lifetime superstar, McDavid has 86 points in 61 games. He won’t get the Hart, which is between teammate Draisaitl (49-52-101), Nathan MacKinnon, and maybe Zach Werenski. That depends on if he can get the Blue Jackets into the playoffs.

Speaking of which, the Blue Jackets host the Devils on Monday night. If they win, they move past the Rangers back into the second wild card. Columbus enters play with two games at hand. Montreal also has two extra games left. That puts the Rangers at a disadvantage. They still hold the first tiebreaker with 30 regulation wins. None of the teams battling with them are close. If they finish the season in a tie for points, they’d get in.

The most important thing for the Blueshirts is to control what’s in front of them. They have the Flames on Tuesday and Maple Leafs on Thursday. Both are on home ice. Each is fighting for the postseason. Calgary trails Vancouver and surging St. Louis by two points. Toronto hasn’t played well lately. They are only four up on the red hot Senators for third in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs have 81 points with 16 games left. They’re still nine clear of the Rangers. But their recent struggles haven’t gone unnoticed.

Had they won last night, the Rangers could’ve pulled within four points of the Devils. New Jersey is trying to get in without Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Jonas Siegenthaler. They had a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday in a bad 7-3 loss to the Pens. The game against the Blue Jackets is a big one for both teams. Columbus is looking to end a three-game skid.

The race remains an intriguing one with a month left in the regular season. The amount of parity is why the Rangers can still squeak in. Their 33-29-6 record is mediocre. The teams they’re competing with aren’t any better. If only the NHL put more emphasis on winning in regulation. There isn’t enough value for regulation wins. The Rangers are six clear of the Red Wings and Islanders. Their 30 RW are seven more than the Canadiens and Blue Jackets. It’s an area the league needs to reconsider in the off-season.

Be that as it may, the Rangers remain inconsistent. They can put together a complete performance like the one at Columbus. Then, they can follow it up with a frustrating loss to Edmonton. It wasn’t as if they played badly. It was similar to the one-goal loss at Winnipeg. Defensively, they’ve played better to limit high danger chances. That’s how they must play.

However, the offense isn’t great. Outside of Panarin, who’s scored a lot lately, there isn’t one consistent performer. After a hot month, Mika Zibanejad has one point over his last three games. He continues to get chances. Playing with J.T. Miller has been good for him.

Alexis Lafreniere was recently moved onto that line. He scored a goal against the Blue Jackets but only had one shot last night. He’s looked more confident playing on his natural side. But they need him to produce. He’s been the biggest disappointment. Since the calendar year, Lafreniere has six goals. Dating back to Dec. 8, he only has totaled seven since. There’s still enough time for him to flip the script.

If there’s a frustrating aspect, both Matt Rempe and Brennan Othmann have been more noticeable during shifts. They play on the fourth line. Laviolette hardly used them in the third period, cutting down the rotation after his team fell behind. If Rempe and Othmann are creating chances, they shouldn’t sit. Laviolette needs to roll four lines. He should keep Jonny Brodzinski on the third line. He’s the better offensive player than Sam Carrick, who slid down to the fourth line. Brodzinski has a good shot.

The problem is that neither Brodzinski nor Carrick are third line centers, which hurts Chris Kreider, who’s looked lost in the shuffle. By loading up with Miller and Zibanejad on one line, it hurts the team. Maybe it’s time for Laviolette to move Zibanejad back to center. That would create more balance.

It doesn’t help matters that Zac Jones is struggling. He’s taken too many unnecessary penalties. Jones has remained in the lineup due to his skating and skill, which Laviolette suddenly favors over the size and strength of Calvin de Haan and Carson Soucy. If he were to make a change for tomorrow, it would be subbing de Haan in for Jones. De Haan is a good defensive defenseman. He became the odd man out following the Soucy acquisition. De Haan worked well with Jones. He could be the best option to play with Fox, who looks much better since returning over the weekend.

They aren’t breaking up Miller and Will Borgen. They have good chemistry as a shutdown pair. Urho Vaakanainen worked with Fox on Sunday night. That probably is too much of an ask. Even with a healthy Fox, the blue line remains problematic due to Chris Drury not supplying Fox with a real defense partner. Even if Laviolette changes his mind and decides to give either Soucy or De Haan a shot, there are no long-term solutions. It will have to be addressed in the off-season.

The Rangers continue to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-4 since Fox came back. They continue to misfire and look out of sync. Laviolette acknowledged that they practice it every chance they get. At some point, it has to click.

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The Rempe Bias Hurting Rangers

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Derek

Truth be told, Matt Rempe hasn’t been around for that long. A 2020 sixth round pick, he’s played 48 career games for the New York Rangers. When they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets later tonight in what amounts to a big game due to the wild card race, the 22-year-old Rempe will again take his place on the fourth line.

A big, physical forward who towers over most opponents due to being listed at six-foot nine, 255 pounds, Rempe has finally established himself as an NHL regular. It took a while due to him serving an eight-game suspension for elbowing and boarding Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars on Dec. 20. The stiff punishment came due to Rempe being a repeat offender. He previously served four games for elbowing and concussing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on Mar. 11, 2024.

Since he returned to the lineup back on Jan. 9, the rookie has cleaned up his act. Most noticeable has been his improvement in skating. For a player of his size and stature, he’s come a long way over a short time. In fact, he’s gained the trust of Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. More effective on the forecheck and making better reads in the neutral zone, Rempe has been a positive contributor on an underachieving roster that’s fighting for the postseason.

In 25 games since the suspension, he’s scored two goals and added three assists for five points while finding chemistry with either Jonny Brodzinski or Sam Carrick on the fourth line, which now features fellow freshman Brennan Othmann. Lately, it’s been with Brodzinski centering the line that provides energy and a consistent cycle. Something that wasn’t all too common earlier this season. With Brodzinski continuing to prove that he’s capable of providing secondary scoring due to a shoot first mentality, the fourth line has been getting it done. Othmann brings more speed and skill along with the willingness to battle in the corners. It won’t be long before he records his first NHL point.

Despite his improvement, Rempe isn’t getting the benefit of the doubt from the stripes. In the last two games, a pair of calls went against him that cost the Rangers goals. On Tuesday, Mar. 11 with the game tied at one in the second period against the Winnipeg Jets, Rempe was assessed a two-minute minor for interference on Connor Hellebuyck. The replays clearly indicated that he was shoved from behind by a Jets player when he collided with Hellebuyck.

As the penalty was nearing its conclusion, Gabe Vilardi scored on the power play to put the Jets ahead 2-1. Unfortunately, despite playing the number one team in the league well, the Rangers were unable to tie the game, falling 2-1 in regulation. Afterward, Laviolette took the high road on the controversial call that went against his player.

Two nights later when the Rangers faced the Minnesota Wild, Rempe was sent off for interference on Devin Shore. However, it was another clear case of a reputation call going against him. On the play in question, Rempe didn’t even see Shore when he accidentally collided with him at the blue line. With him set to return from the penalty box, Marcus Johansson converted on the man-advantage to tie the score at two in the third period. When he returned to the Rangers bench, a visibly upset Rempe was seen showing frustration over the call.

Eventually, the Rangers pulled out the game 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal from Braden Schneider. It was a big two points to give them 70 on the season – putting them in a tie with the Blue Jackets, who still hold the second wild card due to one fewer game played. For the Rangers, they overcame a bad call against Rempe to get the win.

Most eye-opening is that referee Brandon Blandina who made the call apologized to Rempe after the game. Ironically, he also called Rempe for interference against Hellebuyck. While it’s nice that he was accountable for the second interference minor, it cost the Rangers a goal. Unlike the game against the Jets when they didn’t earn any points, it didn’t cost the Rangers versus the Wild.

With points at a premium in a playoff race with the schedule dwindling down, the NHL can ill afford to have such poor officiating helping decide games. It definitely puts Rempe under the microscope during each shift. He was already being watched closely due to his reputation. In a close game, does it impact how Laviolette coaches? He hasn’t deviated lately from sending Rempe over the boards.

What happens when Adam Edstrom returns? He’s missed significant time due to suffering a lower-body injury against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1. He isn’t expected back until April. When the games are even more significant this spring, who comes out of the lineup? If you base it on effectiveness, Rempe should remain in. Much will depend on how he’s officiated. As long as he continues to play his game within the boundaries, Rempe is an effective player who supplies energy. Can he play without the officials making a crucial mistake? That remains to be seen.

Fox Expected to Return to Lineup

Entering Saturday, the Rangers have 16 games remaining. They need to probably win at least 10 to have a realistic chance at making the playoffs. If we’re being fair, 92 points is probably the magic number. So. They can’t afford any more slipups.

Adam Fox is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last eight games. The Rangers went 3-3-2 without him. It’ll be interesting to see how Fox looks. He should be able to help a power play that’s gone 2-for-25 since he went down. Fox will likely replace Carson Soucy, who stayed on late during practice. It’ll be interesting to see who plays with him on the top pair.

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The Lost Weekend: Rangers Fall Back instead of Springing Forward

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Derek

Early Sunday morning, clocks sprang forward. Someone forgot to tell the Rangers, who fell back in what was a lost weekend.

In what felt like two must have games, they blew up literally by losing both to teams they’re competing with for the playoffs. Instead of taking care of business, they only got one of four total points against the Senators and Blue Jackets on back-to-back days.

For most of Saturday, the Rangers looked like they were in control at Ottawa. Deadline pickup Carson Soucy put them up when his shot trickled through Linus Ullmark. The Senators came close to tying it on a power play late in the first period. Despite Brady Tkachuk thinking he scored, the puck never crossed the goal line. Unfortunately, Tkachuk would get the last laugh.

Mika Zibanejad put the Blueshirts ahead 2-0 when he took a J.T. Miller feed and beat Ullmark with a good wrist shot from the right circle. Will Cuylle made a nice pass to Miller, who then found Zibanejad for his 14th. It’s absolutely absurd that at this point of the season, Zibanejad only has 14 goals. At least he’s been playing much better.

If there’s been a common theme with this team, it’s that you can never get too comfortable. Whether it’s allowing opponents to score the first goal a dozen times in the first two minutes, or giving up a goal after scoring, the Rangers continue to shoot themselves in the foot. It took only 11 seconds for Tkachuk to tip in a Nick Jensen shot that pulled the Senators within one following the Zibanejad goal. That should have been a warning that trouble was brewing.

With the Sens pushing hard for the tying goal in the frantic third, K’Andre Miller made a good defensive play that led to Jonny Brodzinski quickly finding Artemi Panarin behind the Ottawa defense for a beautiful goal that gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with 12:52 left. It was a heads-up play from Brodzinski, who continues to play well in whatever role coach Peter Laviolette has him in. Enough can’t be said about how Brodzinski continues to contribute when he’s in the lineup. More often than not, he makes things happen.

For much of the third period, it was relentless pressure from the Sens, who seemed hungrier than our side. They kept coming at the Rangers in waves, which was eerily similar to what the Caps did in a come from behind win in overtime last Wednesday. What was so frustrating is that it felt like the Sens did whatever they wanted in the Rangers’ zone. Particularly directly in front of Igor Shesterkin, who didn’t have his best period.

Juuso Parssinen took a bad hooking penalty that put the Senators on their fifth power play. Although they had trouble executing, eventually taking that many penalties came back to bite the Rangers. Just as Parssinen exited the penalty box, Dylan Cozens got off a backhand in front that hit the goalpost. Ridly Creig then put home the rebound to cut the deficit to one with 9:44 remaining.

The Senators continued to dominate most of the play. Eventually, their strategy of getting traffic in front paid off, which led to them tying the game late in regulation. It was the Shane Pinto line that wreaked havoc, with Michael Amadio getting to a juicy rebound of a David Perron shot and slamming it home with 2:52 left. Neither Braden Schneider nor Urho Vaakanainen were in the right position on the game-tying goal. Vincent Trocheck was in the vicinity along with Panarin. There was a lot of stick checking. Nobody took either Perron or Amadio.

It was inexcusable. Once again, the Rangers blew a third period lead against a feistier opponent who wanted it more. Before it even got to overtime, the Panarin line came very close to winning it. The trio of Panarin, Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere had the puck on a string with the Senators chasing. But they couldn’t deliver the knockout blow, with Panarin sending a shot wide.

Overtime didn’t last long. K’Andre Miller was the culprit on Tkachuk’s overtime winner just 33 seconds in. After playing extremely well with partner Will Borgen, Miller rushed a pass to J.T. Miller that handcuffed him. It was a bad pass that went behind Miller, who couldn’t handle the puck. That turnover led to Tim Stutzle retrieving the loose puck and finding a wide open Tkachuk for a wrist shot that went through Shesterkin to help the Senators complete a 4-3 comeback win.

While Miller got roasted for the turnover, he wasn’t to blame for what happened in the third period. Vaakanainen and Schneider struggled mightily. Parssinen’s ill-advised penalty opened the door. Since coming over from Colorado in the Ryan Lindgren trade, he’s been ineffective. Laviolette finally sat him out against the Blue Jackets in favor of Brett Berard, who brings more to the table.

In falling to the Senators, the Rangers blew a golden opportunity to vault ahead of idle Columbus and into the first wild card position. Instead, they entered Sunday trailing the Sens by a point and were on the outside looking in with the Blue Jackets having played one fewer game despite being tied in points. That made tonight’s game at 33rd and 7th pretty important.

On home ice facing a division rival they will be battling with until the final day of the season, they embarrassed themselves by losing 7-3 to fall two in back of the Blue Jackets with 18 games remaining. It didn’t have to be this way. But defense and checking were both optional at Madison Square Garden.

With the game still scoreless, Zach Werenski set up Justin Danforth to give the Blue Jackets the lead. The play started due to a bad turnover by Cuylle inside the Columbus zone. Normally a smarter player who plays north/south, he made an East/West pass inside the blue line that led to Werenski taking a Danforth drop pass and passing the puck back to Danforth for an easy finish. The defense pair of Soucy and Zac Jones got victimized. Soucy had trouble with Werenski’s speed, which led to Jones overcompensating for his partner. He went to Werenski, who had an easy passing lane for Danforth’s goal. To put it mildly, the third pair had a tough night.

Despite falling behind, the Rangers played a pretty good first period. They had more puck possession and outshot the Blue Jackets 9-4. In fact, it was the fourth line of Brodzinski, Berard, and Matt Rempe who dominated most of their shifts by spending time in the Jackets’ end. In particular, Rempe used his size and strength to create opportunities. His rapid improvement over the past month has been noticeable. He’s making more plays with the puck and doing a better job on the forecheck. Rempe now resembles an effective hockey player who the coaching staff trusts enough to play him more consistently.

Back in the lineup for Parssinen, Berard was a thorn in the side of the Jackets. He drew a pair of interference penalties. The first came on Kent Johnson, who delivered a hit that sent Berard into the Blue Jackets door. It really wasn’t interference due to Berard having the puck. It was more of a boarding, which is how Sam Rosen described it on the MSG broadcast.

If there’s been a bugaboo since Adam Fox went down, it’s been on the power play. The Rangers haven’t been able to get much going on it. Even with Laviolette finally coming to his senses by sticking Chris Kreider back on the top unit, they went 0-for-4. Kreider came the closest on one, but Daniil Tarasov denied him twice, including on a juicy rebound. Kreider just returned yesterday after missing six games due to an upper-body injury. He’s looked better and seems to be skating with more speed and is finishing checks. If he’s healthier, that could bode well for the team down the stretch.

The Rangers drew even thanks to executing on an offensive draw that was created by Rempe forcing Dante Fabbro to take an icing late in the period. With a chance to take advantage, Laviolette wisely got the Panarin unit out. Following a Trocheck faceoff win, Lafreniere had his shot pass tipped in by Panarin to give him goals in five straight games. It was an excellent play by all three to get the game tied headed to the locker room. Panarin is up to 28 goals. He’s back to playing like the star he is.

Following the goal, Berard drew a second interference minor. It didn’t matter because of how ineffective the man-advantage has been. To paraphrase what Laviolette said in the postgame, they are getting shots. But they’re either not connecting, going wide, or being saved. It’s not like they didn’t have chances. Tarasov made 10 saves when his team was shorthanded. That included robbing Zibanejad from in tight. He got stronger as the game went on.

At the start of the second period, the Rangers looked like they took a nap. With the Blue Jackets coming in with more speed, they took advantage quickly to suddenly grab a 3-1 lead. Adam Fantilli tallied twice within a 26-second span. On the first one, he took advantage of Borgen falling down inside the Blue Jackets’ blue line to start a two-on-one. Fantilli’s wrist shot fooled Jonathan Quick to put the Jackets ahead. On the next shift, Dmitri Voronkov found Fantilli left alone in front for his second of the game. Both Vaakanainen and Schneider were victimized on the goal.

For a while, it looked like the Jackets would run the Rangers out of the building. But they couldn’t handle prosperity. With Cuylle off for holding, it was the Rangers who then turned the tables by scoring a pair of shorthanded goals 42 seconds apart to tie the score. With Columbus getting sloppy in their own end, Zibanejad and Trocheck combined to set up Schneider for a shorthanded goal. Trocheck made a good pass across that Schneider drove upstairs for his fourth.

Some more follies allowed the Rangers to tie it. A turnover from Ivan Provorov was forced by Kreider, who poked the puck loose. He then worked a give and go with Zibanejad on a two on none rush. The passing was perfect with Zibanejad sliding it across for Kreider’s fourth shorthanded goal of the season. Despite missing time, he’s tied for second in shorthanded goals. Only Sam Reinhart has more with five. Most astonishing is that even though he’s not a good defensive player, Kreider has good hockey instincts on the penalty kill which make him dangerous shorthanded. No player has scored more shorthanded goals (13) since 2021-22.

With the Garden rocking, the Rangers had all the momentum but couldn’t get the next goal. If they had, it might have been a different headline. When he was called upon, Tarasov made the timely stops to keep the game tied. That included a save on Panarin, who was firing the puck from everywhere. He tied with Brodzinski for the team lead with five shots and had nine attempts.

As the second wore on, it was the Blue Jackets who got the better chances. Eventually, they went back ahead. On a brilliant play from Werenski, who should win the Norris and get some votes for the Hart, he found Mathieu Olivier in front with a great pass that he tipped in to put the Jackets up 4-3 with 2:57 remaining. While most of the ink goes to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes when he’s healthy, Werenski deserves all the accolades for a special season. With two assists, he’s up to 68 points on the season. There isn’t a better defenseman in 2024-25 than him.

Trailing by one, the Rangers gave up a back breaking goal with 73 seconds remaining in the period. Another Cuylle turnover led to some more Blue Jackets transition. Fabbro scored to make it 5-3. On a late shift, Panarin had a good scoring opportunity stopped by Tarasov. He was instrumental in the third making 17 saves to prevent the Rangers from making it interesting.

Despite the Rangers piling up the shots in an inspired third, they couldn’t beat Tarasov. At even strength, it was the fourth line that generated the best looks. Laviolette made a switch by shifting Brennan Othmann onto the line and moving Berard onto the third line. Reunited with Brodzinski and Rempe, who he has good chemistry with, Othmann was more effective than he was with Sam Carrick and Kreider. Right now, the third line has become a problem. The Rangers lack a true third line center. It doesn’t matter if it’s Carrick or Brodzinski centering it. Parssinen isn’t the solution, either.

After some more strong work from Rempe down low that led to cheers, Brodzinski had two shots stopped by Tarasov, who finished with 32 saves. He was the story of the third, making more than half his stops.

The roof caved in on a bit of fluky goal from Johnson. On a good counter started by Olivier, who is an effective player, he had his initial shot stopped by Quick. But with the puck taking a funny hop in mid-air, Johnson went to bat it in. However, the puck was accidentally put in by Jones. It was a mess. Jones had the puck go off his glove and past a helpless Quick to make it 6-3 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Fantilli then completed the hat trick less than two minutes later to put the game out of reach. A young power forward, it was his second career hat trick, with his first coming versus the Maple Leafs on Jan. 22. The 2023 third overall selection is starting to blossom into an emerging star. He doesn’t even turn 21 until October.

Less than a couple of minutes later, Borgen responded to a dirty hit from Luke Kunin on Trocheck. He boarded Trocheck from behind, leading to Borgen dropping the gloves and knocking down Kunin. Kunin received both boarding and roughing along with fighting for nine penalty minutes. Of course, Borgen got the instigator and a misconduct to go with fighting for 17 penalty minutes. So, that was it for him.

Laviolette then lifted Quick for a six-on-four advantage. It didn’t matter. Tarasov made a pair of stops on Kreider and Zibanejad. For a below average backup goalie, he played extremely well. On the flip side, it was a tough one for Quick, who allowed a season high seven goals on 28 shots. While it wasn’t his best effort, this isn’t on him. It’s on how badly the Rangers broke down in their end. Combined with some really bad decision making, with Cuylle having his worst game, it wasn’t their night.

It’s easy to be aggravated about what transpired. But if you’ve followed this team closely, you already know who they are. When the going gets tough, they fold. Whether it’s blowing leads like against the Avalanche twice, the Caps, and Senators. Or it’s falling apart like they did tonight against the Blue Jackets. This team doesn’t deserve to make the playoffs. They’re lucky the competition is so mediocre. I guess they’ll be rooting for Detroit to beat Ottawa on Monday night.

The Blue Jackets visit the Devils on Tuesday night. I fully expect them to win. The Rangers now must go on the road and visit the Jets on the same night. They will then visit the Wild this Thursday and conclude the three-game road trip in Columbus this Saturday. That will be the final regular season meeting between the Rangers and Jackets.

As good as he’s been, J.T. Miller’s disappeared lately. He was a minus-three and ineffective against the Blue Jackets. He only has one assist over the last three games. The Rangers need much more from Miller if they want to squeak in. Ditto for Lafreniere and Trocheck, with neither scoring any goals lately. Even though he’s putting up assists, Lafreniere hasn’t scored a goal since Feb. 2, going 12 consecutive games without one. That’s brutal. For the season, he has 14 goals. So, basically, he and Zibanejad have killed this team in the scoring department.

I don’t get the thinking with sitting out Calvin de Haan. He’s a better skating defenseman than Soucy, who struggled in his second game finishing minus-2. I’m not suggesting that he sit out. But Vaakanainen hasn’t exactly looked good defensively. But he plays with Schneider on the second pair. They really are a third pair getting second pair minutes. I preferred seeing de Haan with Jones, who didn’t have a good weekend, either. There’s no telling what Laviolette will do with the defense.

It’s disappointing to see the Rangers give such a disjointed effort. They must get back to defending better and playing responsibly. The schedule doesn’t get any better.

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Devils’ team and GM have both failed the fans in 2025

Posted on March 8, 2025 by hasan4978

In many ways, the Devils’ disappointing 2025 came to a head yesterday after what can be charitably described as a puzzling, incomplete trade deadline by our joke of a general manager, which was capped off by yet another predictably dreadful performance in front of the home fans with a 6-1 loss to Winnipeg team that barely broke a sweat in their third game in four nights. We are now past merely a crisis point, this is full out panic city time.

Don’t bother telling me the Devils are still five points up on a playoff spot (though the teams behind us all have at least a game or two in hand), that they just cleared the hardest part of their schedule, and the rest of the East is basically trying to make sure our rotted corpse gets in the playoffs. Does it even matter at this point if this team makes the postseason? I thought it would matter to our arrogant, clueless GM but evidently not by enough since Fitz was in hibernation for months before yesterday and basically settled for playing the deadline halfway. Overpay for a middle-pairing defenseman in Brian Dumoulin by having the Ducks retain on the contract just to tease everyone thinking a bigger move was coming, then coming out of deadline day with the likes of Cody Glass and Daniel Sprong, offering nothing but politically charged excuses and loser rationalizations for why he didn’t do more.

If you’re going to not do anything that makes a difference, then don’t insult our intelligence by giving off the illusion of competing and just do nothing at all. Or even perhaps sell minor pieces and admit this just isn’t going to be your year, even I’ve pretty much accepted that at this point. Replacing Jonas Siegenthaler – confirmed out for the season by our brilliant GM – with Dumoulin while doing nothing to fix the offensive issues that were a problem ‘before’ Jack Hughes was ruled out for the season with a separated shoulder and Dougie Hamilton was confirmed out for the next several weeks is putting a band-aid on a paper cut while letting a gaping wound go unattended. I don’t want to hear about Fitz letting down the room when the room has been putting in disappointing performances one after another the last two months though, he mostly let down the fans this season by his inaction throughout. Go big or go home, but trying to go halfway is politically charged junk.

Giving up a second rounder and one of the Devils’ few forward prospects (2024 3rd rounder Herman Traff) that looked like he had a pulse for twenty games of Dumoulin, while getting the Ducks to retain heavily on his contract suggested a bigger move was in play for yesterday. Of course, one never materialized in what was perhaps a fitting coda to the Devils’ embarrassing 2025, a season that’s now at best giving off shades of 2009-10 where the team had a 31-win first half, followed by a dismal, unhappy second half where they muddled around .500 and then got humiliated in a five-game first round loss to the Flyers. At this point I’d take that ending, cause the alternative is a 2007 Mets-like flameout of the playoffs. Maybe Fitz and the players truly deserve the latter though, perhaps that’s the only way meaningful change happens here.

Although I’ve slagged the players a lot in recent weeks, I really didn’t expect more from last night with us playing one of the three best teams in hockey accounting for all the players now missing from the lineup. If you don’t think injuries matter, just look at the Devils’ second power play unit last night with four guys who shouldn’t be anywhere near a power play. My prediction to a friend at puck drop was they get down 3-0 and are booed off the ice after the first, I was only off by one period on that one. Yesterday was mostly an indictment of the GM though, with everything from the actual deadline (including failed picks like Chase Stillman getting dealt off, in another reminder of Fitz’s horrible drafting in recent years) to the strange timing on an extension for Jonathan Kovacevic – who hasn’t looked like the same player since the injury to Siegenthaler – to the Simon Nemec situation, which clearly has come to a head.

In many ways, Nemec’s arc mirrors that of the entire organization the last three seasons – so much promise for most of last year followed up by so much disappointment this year. It’s a pointless parlor game at this point to assign blame or even assess why that’s happened, you could point to any number of things starting with learning a new system, his shoulder injury in Olympic qualifying over the summer followed by Kovacevic beating Nemec out for a spot on the roster in the early part of the season and getting him sent down to Utica. Our own player development hasn’t exactly been infallible in recent years – just look at other high picks who’ve washed out, or in the case of Dawson Mercer regressed from two years ago.

That said, Nemec needs to take responsibility for his own season too. I knew the minute I heard that quote in a Slovakian newspaper a few weeks ago to the effect of (paraphrasing) ‘I’m not happy I’m in the minors but I’m not asking for a trade yet‘, then you know he’s already at least thought in those terms, which is incredibly entitled. Just because you were a high pick who was an NHL regular last year, doesn’t mean you’re above getting sent to the minors now. Plenty of guys have been sent back down after playing as a young rookie, it’s what you do with adversity that’ll define you. Nemec did nothing to earn a roster spot early, he was dreadful then and was even worse when he came back up before being benched and ostensibly having a good road trip once he got back in the lineup.

Then came last night.

While the highlights themselves aren’t exactly great viewing, focus on the last two and a half minutes from about 7:30 on. One mistake after another from Nemec in a performance so bad you’d think he had a Fan Duel bet on Winnipeg goals and was point shaving. Lazily and mindlessly giving away the puck on the fourth goal, getting deked out of his skates on the fifth and outworked on the sixth all suggest a guy who is either bad, or just doesn’t want to be here. Even the broadcasters were struggling to polish up that turd of a game. The first one was enough to get me to storm out of the arena last night, I winced when I heard about the two more that happened after it. Even coach Sheldon Keefe dispensed some hard truths about Nemec’s game in the postgame presser:

https://twitter.com/amandacstein/status/1898213179181744499

Maybe he was better on the road trip because he thought he was getting traded, then after not getting traded and having his main competition Kovacevic sign a five-year deal, he decided to sulk around now that the writing is seemingly on the wall for at least one of Nemec or Seamus Casey to eventually be traded with all the money the Devils have committed to the right side.

I’ve cooled down a little from some of my off-blog ranting on Nemec last night but I’ll reiterate this…if that kid didn’t at least apologize to the room last night and take ownership of his horrible effort both in front of them and in front of the media, then I don’t want to ever see him in a Devils uniform again. Sure they were gonna lose last night anyway even before Nemec decided to seemingly shave points, but the guys in the room who at least tried in the game deserved better than to be railroaded by a sulking 20-year old from mere defeat against a good team into an utter embarrassment of a loss in front of the home fans.

As far as the rest of the game, I don’t really want to bother commenting much on it except to say Jacob Markstrom was also lost last night, giving up a soft goal at the end of the second period, having a couple of puck handling mishaps including one that caused the power play which led to the second goal against and overall playing like a guy that knows he’s gotta hold the opposition to one goal at most every game now with the state of this offense. Our goaltending is our main hope of survival the last few weeks of the regular season, if that even starts to go south forget it.

Things are so depressing at this point I’m past ranting territory, at least for the moment. I’m sure I’ll have more of it if – when? – this collapse becomes official, but for now the less time I waste on this joke of an organization the better. Even if I’m currently scheduled to go to about 7-9 of the remaining home games left including Tuesday’s four-pointer against Columbus, which is likely to be another disaster. They’re the inverse of us, a team with no expectations and less talent finding a way to win on grit and perseverance. I already feel like the result of this playoff ‘push’ is preordained. It’s up to the core in the room to prove me wrong. Nico, Timo, Jesper…time to lead and prove that the Devils aren’t a one-man show a la the Atlanta Thrashers in the days of Ilya Kovalchuk.

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