Game #35: Christmas blah shootout Flyers 3 Rangers 2

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Derek

Chris Kreider celebrated his 17th goal of the season in the first period past Michal Neuvirth. Ultimately, the Rangers lost to the Flyers 3-2 in a shootout before the Christmas break. AP Photo courtesy Getty Images

The shootout is such a crummy way to decide these games. Especially following an exciting five-minute three-on-three. So, the Rangers were victimized in the skill competition by the Flyers to drop the final game before Christmas, 3-2.

It’s a flip of the coin. Only I wish it were one-sided like the evil Two Face. I know he usually used both sides as Harvey Dent. But the shootout is blah at this point. There are still quite a few games that go to it for the extra point. Too much for my liking. Nothing against the shooters or goalies. I would prefer continuous three-on-three until someone wins. It’s too exhilarating not to. Fans love it.

I wonder if Hasan agrees with me. Any time you lose in the shootout, it feels like a real loss. It’s annoying. If we took a poll, how many would agree? Shootouts are fine as a last option for tournaments. Even the World Junior Championship, which went there for Team USA’s gold medal victory over Canada a couple of years ago.

When push comes to shove, most hockey purists want these games to get decided in regulation before the artificial part. Even three-on-three is like watching pond hockey. But at least it’s up and down. Some of the crazy line changes off resets tonight were interesting. Marc Staal got a shift in it as a reward because he’s been noticeably more confident at jumping into the rush. Similar to what he once was in 2012 before all the injuries. He had another assist in the actual game, boosting his point total to nine.

I know it seems crazy. But Staal is back to playing the 200 foot game under David Quinn that made him such a good player. There’s even a chance he’s raised his stock. Could he be an option for a high scoring team that could use some grit and experience like the Maple Leafs? Only if the Rangers could pick up a nice portion of the remaining years. Armageddon is coming for Toronto next summer with key restricted free agents Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. They will have some very tough decisions with other supporting cast players.

Staal is no longer the useless player he was in the awful Alain Vigneault days. A system that too often broke down due to all the switching between D and forwards. It helps that the defunct Rangers captain is healthy again. His skating is better, and he’s more confident. Sure. He got caught for the first Flyers goal from Rangers killer Michael Raffl. That doesn’t happen too often. There’s a reason Staal remains the team’s best defenseman with a plus-four rating. He is usually in the right position.

I wonder if a contender would consider acquiring the 31-year old defenseman for a run. His average cap hit is $5.7 million, and is owed $9.2 million for the final two years of the contract. If you put Staal on Toronto, he wouldn’t have to play top pair like here. He can be plugged in on the second pair or even third pair in another situation. If there is interest, the Rangers would be nuts not to explore it.

As for Mats Zuccarello, he looks like a broken player. He isn’t much of a factor at five-on-five and is way too predictable on the power play. I don’t see the point of force feeding him on the top unit over the more explosive Filip Chytil, who looks dangerous during most shifts. I love seeing him play with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. I want to see more following the break. Zuccarello is with Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider. Both are carrying him. The more I watch Zuccarello, the sadder I get because he’s breaking down from the gritty style he played. Especially for his Theo Fleury frame. Unless he has a good spurt, his value is decreasing. They aren’t gonna get as much for this watered down version.

Both teams looked like they were playing the second of a back-to-back before the mini vacation. It was Henrik Lundqvist versus Michal Neuvirth in net. Honestly, Neuvirth was better throughout making the tougher stops to garner the game’s number one star. He finished with 32 saves and stopped all four Rangers shooters to earn the victory.

Kreider got the scoring started halfway through the first period. On a good defensive play by Staal, he moved the puck up the wall to Kevin Hayes, who trapped a Flyer to create a two-on-one. He patiently protected the puck along the wall in the neutral zone and made a perfect pass for the trailer Kreider, who skated in and shot low to the blocker to beat Neuvirth for his team-leading 17th. It was his second consecutive game with a goal and third over the last four. He enters the break with 25 points (17-8-25) and is on track for over 30 goals and 50-plus points.

The primary assist increased Hayes’ point streak to seven. Over that span, he’s been dominant posting five multiple point games to go 5-8-13 with a plus-six rating. He’s now tied with Zibanejad for the team scoring lead with 30 points (10-20-30). It’s no fluke either as Hayes had become the team’s best player. He can be trusted in any situation by the coaching staff. The big question is what will the organization decide by the trade deadline. As much as I’d love to keep him, I think you have to make the move because his value continues to increase exponentially. If a team is going to offer a blue chip prospect and a first round pick with a conditional pick (2nd), they have to do it. It’s what is best for the long-term. I can’t predict what they’re thinking. They’re gonna be in the exact same situation with Kreider next year.

Philadelphia evened it up on a goal by who else but Raffl. He can’t score against anyone else. So, of course he got his first of the season since last scoring against us because we can’t have good things this holiday season. You cannot make it up. Staal pinched which left only Neal Pionk back. He gave Raffl the shot and to his credit, he did the old Messier lift of the leg and snapped one past Lundqvist high glove side.

This team dominated most of the third. However, they have had issues with line changes. Another ho hum bench minor handed the 31st ranked power play a chance. I can’t believe the Flyers with their personnel could be that bad. Of course, they took full advantage of the Rangers’ seventh too many men on the ice minor penalty. Old nemesis Wayne Simmonds cashed in his 11th by following up a Sean Couturier shot off the post to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead at 5:01.

But the Rangers had a great response from the improving fourth line. Only 22 seconds later, rookie Lias Andersson took a Flyer off the puck behind the net with a good hit. He then set up a wide open Boo Nieves for his first goal to tie the score at 5:23. Just a well executed play that came out of hard work. The last two games from Andersson have been good. He seems to finally be getting it. That line with him, Nieves and Ryan Strome have good cohesion. They still need work defensively. But I like what I see.

That was it for the scoring. Despite outshooting the Flyers 13-5 in the third, the Blueshirts couldn’t put another one past Neuvirth. The three-on-three overtime was cool. You had the Rangers pinning the Flyers in for a while with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere caught out forever with the long change. Chytil and Hayes with Brady Skjei, who had a better game, couldn’t take advantage.

Lundqvist shutdown Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (primary assist) from a tricky angle. Shots were 3-2 Rangers in the OT. Overall, they held a 34-31 edge in the game portion.

Interestingly, they opted to shoot second. A preference Lundqvist likes that has had good success on the road. He did his part stopping the Flyers first three shooters, Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk. The trouble was old reliable shooters Zuccarello and Zibanejad couldn’t solve Neuvirth. Neither did Buchnevich after a series of moves. That left it up to Nolan Patrick. He had a nice snipe, coming in fast and picking high glove on Lundqvist.

Out stepped Hayes in the bottom of the fourth. He made a great move and had Neuvirth dead to rights. But his backhand tuck just missed wide to hand the Flyers their fifth straight win against the Rangers. Yep. We now can’t beat them. Even on a night when they deserved a better fate.

It’s break time. I’ll be doing some write ups on the WJC that begins on Boxing Day (12/26). Keep an eye out for it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd 🌟 Michael Raffl, Flyers (goal-1st of season, even in 15:22)

2nd 🌟 Kevin Hayes, Rangers (primary assist on Kreider goal, +1 in 23:15)

1st 🌟 Michal Neuvirth, Flyers (32 saves including 4 for 4 in shootout)

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Game #34: Sinking Sunday – Blue Jackets 3, Devils 0

Posted on December 23, 2018 by hasan4978
Image result for sink ship titanic

Today is time to hit the soapbox on another pet peeve topic – scheduling NHL games for the exact same time as when not one but BOTH local NFL teams are playing on a Sunday afternoon (and a holiday weekend no less). I just don’t really get the logic – the NFL is king in sporting America, you’re obviously not going to max out your attendance going directly across from the NFL games in the same market. You want to put a game up at 5 PM that’s another thing, but having the Devils play at 12:30 while the Jets and Giants both play at 1 is suicidal in terms of attendance and ratings – sure enough it was more or less a weekday-type crowd for a Sunday afternoon game at the Rock today. Yes, as it worked out the Jets and Giants were playing meaningless games in the standings since both are out of the playoff hunt but still, in a vaccum I’d rather watch Sam Darnold and Aaron Rodgers in a no-pressure game than watch this Devils team. Plus at this point these Devil games are veering into meaningless territory already double digits out of a playoff spot and sinking further by the minute.

Yet I decided to go to the Devils game and opt for that meaningless game over the Jet one, in part because I had missed the going to the previous two recovering from being sick, plus I figure at the rate it’s going the games will only be more unwatchable in a month or two anyway. Of course right when I was all set to go I got a last-minute offer to go with a few of my friends TO the Jet game. I demurred saying I was on my way to the Devils game, mostly because while I’d rather have watched the Jets and spent some time with a group of people I like, doing it while sitting outside for three and a half hours in a meaningless game is another story. In a sense, I was alternately relieved I had an excuse to avoid being in the cold and annoyed I had to make that choice in the first place.

Needless to say, watching the Devils for any amount of time was the wrong choice today.

Oh, they didn’t play that bad early in the first period except for the small matter of ‘defensive’ pairing Sami Vatanen and Steven Santini being burned not once but TWICE by cross-ice passes through the front of the net for goals early on. Which is the perfect example of how low-IQ the team and staff is. So now after Santini was sitting on IR and in the scratch box until…this week, now he’s suddenly good enough to play first defensive pairing and on his off side to boot? I just seldom understand coach John Hynes and assistant Alain Nasreddine’s usage (rather misuse) of their players. Perhaps showing just how on edge everyone is, the crowd bronx cheered Keith Kinkaid after finally making a save with a couple minutes left in the first – yes those two goals wound up being the only shots on net for a long time!

I rolled my eyes at the bronx cheers but perhaps it was a harbinger for a far worse goal against Kinkaid in the second period, coming after the Devils’ first sustained pressure of the afternoon – of course, coming up empty but at least leading to some positive crowd reinforcement – when Kinkaid allowed a soft shortside backhander that both ended his time in the crease and the game as a contest. For the coup de grace late in the second period the Devils somehow managed to botch a nearly two-minute five-on-three, really a 5-on-2.5 for a while after one of their defensemen had to play without a stick. I proclaimed to my friend via text that if they didn’t score here I was outta there at the end of the period. Sure enough, they didn’t and I was. What was the point of sticking with a game that was at least 99.9% chance of being a loser while the Jets were rolling early against the Packers?

Of course I could have just gone down to the new William Hill Sports Lounge (a.k.a new in-arena gambling room and mini sports bar) to watch the Jets game for a while but that’s hardly the kind of outing at a hockey game I have in mind. That might be great for the owners’ bottom line but it’s going to be hell on the in-arena atmosphere when other sporting events are going on. I can only imagine how many people went down there just to watch the small TV screens with both football teams playing and make a bet on the dopey app. I did want to get home in time for the second half, regardless. Sure enough, I missed the Jets’ domination in the first half but did at least get home for a classic finish, albeit as usual one marred by dumb NFL officiating.

Thankfully there’s a holiday break from the Devils at this point. If the fans need it then sure as shooting the players and staff need it too.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1076949176213213186

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Game #34 Marner’s three points the difference despite good effort in 5-3 Rangers loss to Maple Leafs

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Derek

Mitch Marner celebrates a goal in the Leafs 5-3 win over the Rangers as Alexandar Georgiev looks on. Photo courtesy Getty Images via CBC.ca.

Sometimes, you’re gonna be outscored by more talented opponents. The will was there along with the compete level. There was no quit in this one. Simply put, the Rangers were out-skilled by the Maple Leafs in a 5-3 loss up north.

There is nothing to be upset over. Toronto is one of the league’s highest scoring teams for a reason. They showed why in a dazzling display of world class talent during a entertaining third period. After the Rangers outplayed the Leafs in a excellent second to tie the score at one, the third featured six goals from the classic Original Six rivals. The more supremely skilled Leafs won the score fest 4-2 to pick up their 24th win. They’re 24-10-2, ranking second behind Tampa Bay in the East.

Toronto’s biggest star might be Mitch Marner. He was all over the ice tonight. One of the game’s premier playmakers, he recorded what was believed to be a hat trick. However, they changed his first goal to Andreas Johnsson, making it a two goal and assist night. He is a terrific young player, who never gives up on any shifts. It’s hard to believe Dylan Strome went ahead of him.

As good as Marner is, John Tavares certainly was a factor. He finished with two assists, including a highlight reel no look feed to Marner, who completed a two-on-one by deking Alexandar Georgiev for his 11th. It was a jaw dropping play by two great players with only Brady Skjei back. I saw many get on his case for it, but there was nothing he could do. As critical as I am on Skjei, cut him some slack.

The Blueshirts showed me a lot in this game. To be honest, I didn’t expect much. In fact, my score prediction was, Leafs 6 Rangers 2. The fact that it wasn’t a blowout is credit to how hard our team plays for David Quinn. With the notable exception of a couple of games, they compete hard for him. What they did tonight should be an example of a game they can learn from. As Quinn noted, there were some mistakes. But there also were positives.

Patrick Marleau scored the only goal in the opening stanza. His 10th from Morgan Rielly on a deflection and rebound. Mats Zuccarello tried a backhand clear off the glass that didn’t work. Rielly shot and Marleau did the rest.

Following a first largely controlled by the Maple Leafs puck possession, the Rangers came back with a superb second period. Even following a ridiculous call (what else is new) on Adam McQuaid for four minutes when he stuck up for Georgiev, due to some shenanigans from Nazem Kadri (of course got nothing because he’s a MAPLE LEAF), the penalty kill did a great job. They outnumbered the Leafs players despite being a man down. It was splendid work by the whole unit. Georgiev didn’t have to make too many big saves.

In particular, it was the supporting cast that had strong games. Lias Andersson was noticeable during a few shifts, generating a couple of good chances. Ryan Strome had bad luck missing on two from in tight. Boo Nieves has fit in well on that fourth line. He always hustles.

It was also a good game for the third line of Jimmy Vesey, Brett Howden and Vladislav Namestnikov. The trio were around the puck a lot during the second. It was their concerted effort that led to the tying goal by Neal Pionk. Vesey took a Skjei pass and skated into the Toronto zone. He found a open Pionk at the point. His shot caromed off a Leaf body and in for his first goal in 12 games. The second-year defenseman has struggled lately. Maybe this can be a confidence boost. The assist for Vesey was his 10th, matching a career high in only the team’s 34th game.

A Tavares minor penalty gave the Rangers a chance to go ahead. They certainly had some looks with Mika Zibanejad getting his one-timer through at the point. But Frederik Andersen made the saves. Shots were 10-10 in the second. One other point. The Rangers did a good job neutralizing Auston Matthews. He was covered tight throughout and held without a point.

Before you could even get comfortable and feel good about the team, the real Maple Leafs showed up for the third. And what a third it was. In the classic words of legendary Hockey Night In Canada broadcaster Bob Cole, “Holy mackerel!”

On a face-off win by Tavares, who beat Howden, the Leafs took the lead quickly. Originally credited to Marner, it was later changed to Johnsson at 1:37. Before you could turn your head, the Leafs’ quick transition resulted in Rielly finishing off a nice Johnsson pass to increase to 3-1 less than four minutes later.

But the Rangers never quit. Only 68 seconds later, Filip Chytil undressed Rielly with a series of moves to go around him and set up Kevin Hayes at the doorstep for his 10th. The skill Chytil displayed on that goal was remarkable. He has a chance to be a good one. The Rangers sure need it.

A turnover by McQuaid allowed the Maple Leafs to go two-on-one. The defenseman fell down, leaving poor partner Skjei to deal with Tavares and Marner. This is how it looked and sounded on CBC.

Insane. Johnsson added a important secondary helper, which started the play. It was his third point of the game.

Back down by a pair, the Rangers again didn’t give up. Off some hard work, they got within one when Chris Kreider notched his team best 16th from Hayes and Marc Staal with 3:41 remaining. Up to that point, Kreider had been quiet. So had Pavel Buchnevich. Both improved in the third after Quinn tinkered with the top two lines. In games like this, both Buchnevich and Kreider must be more consistent.

They got nothing out of Zuccarello, who was minus-two continuing to struggle at even strength. It’s definitely a concern. His time is almost up. Hopefully, he improves before the trade deadline.

The Rangers came oh so close to tying the game. With Georgiev off with two minutes left, Kreider had a shot ring off the goalpost. They gave a great effort. It just wasn’t enough.

A Hayes poor pass to Pionk handcuffed him, causing Marner to strip the puck and skate away and score his 12th into a vacated net with 20 seconds remaining. I think if Hayes had to do it all over again, he would’ve shot.

There is no reason to be down after this one. The team played hard and gave the Leafs a game. Let’s see how they come back on no rest tomorrow against the Flyers. Both will be in the second game of back-to-backs. But the Flyers played earlier, losing to Columbus in rookie Carter Hart’s third start.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd 🌟 Kevin Hayes, Rangers (goal-10th, assist for another two-point game)

2nd 🌟 Andreas Johnsson, Leafs (goal-8th, 2 assists)

1st 🌟 Mitch Marner, Leafs (2 goals-11th, 12th, assist)

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Game #33: Fun Friday – Devils 5, Senators 2

Posted on December 22, 2018 by hasan4978

One of the reasons hockey is such an exciting game is that momentum can take just seconds to swing wildly from one bench to the other. Sometimes a single sequence can tell the entire story of a game. Such was the case last night in what turned out to be a rare laugher in the Devils’ favor, although it could have been a far different story if Ottawa had scored on this goalmouth scramble in the second period to cut the Devils’ lead to 3-2. Instead Sami Vatanen made one of the best saves you’ll see all year – goalie or non-goalie – while Nico Hischier and Steven Santini also kept their poise despite losing their feet in the crease they didn’t close their hands on the puck or fall on it, which would have been a penalty shot.

Saving that goal was remarkable enough, but within several seconds Kyle Palmieri had cleared the puck out of the zone and fed Taylor Hall to finish a gorgeous two-on-one and give the Devils a 4-1 lead. A literal two-goal swing in the matter of fifteen seconds is the very definition of momentum shift and enough to turn a close game into a borderline rout. Truthfully we owed the Sens one after they embarassed us 7-3 up in Ottawa earlier this year during our road trip of doom. At least that score is even and other than the Toronto fiasco on Tuesday this team continues to at least be competitive on home ice.

For once I’m actually considering the TV replay appointment viewing, or at least the first two periods. God knows we haven’t had enough games this year as a Devils fan to enjoy (despite my in-arena record still being a respectable 5-2-1). I’m not sorry I missed it though, my friend’s birthday gathering at an uptown bar was fun especially considering I’m not a bar person in general and I saw a few people I hadn’t in a couple months. I’ll have more than enough home games still to get angst over the next few weeks until the All-Star break – at least I assume that’s the next to last week in January anyway, could just be our ‘bye week’ assuming that is also on the docket at some point. Don’t really care enough about the All-Star game or the bye week to look it up.

If any Devils actually deserved to be in the All-Star game it’s the two guys who finished the above two-on-one. Though not quite as dominant as he was in his Hart-clinching second half last year, Hall still has 37 points in 32 games (including four last night) and is arguably the most impactful offensive player the franchise has ever had. Underrated sidekick Palmieri has 18 goals and 34 points in 33 games, continuing his own breakout season after being a solid 55-60 point 25-30 goal scorer his first few years as a Devil, he might just be getting to another level this year as one of the few bright spots still on the team during this dreary first half.

With this season being what it has been so far, even last night didn’t come without its letdowns as before the game Marcus Johansson got put on IR – again – with upper-body injury just as he was finally starting to put things together as a Devil for the first time. While there’s no evidence of the dreaded C word just yet it’s not like Johansson hasn’t had other injuries too. Unfortunately his worst ability is availability, and that’s ultimately a big reason why the Devils will likely move on from MarJo after the trade deadline assuming he gets dealt as a rental. When we did trade for him from Washington it was with the idea that he would be a long-term solution but it hasn’t worked out that way.

Still you have to look for the bright spots, especially from guys who you hope are part of the long-term solution. One of them finally got taken out of witness protection as the coaching staff followed my wishes and Santini’s played the last two games. While I don’t like that Mirco Mueller has taken Santini’s place in witness protection if forced to choose only one between Santini, Mueller and Egor Yakovlev, I’d rather Santini be in the lineup both because of his physical element and because he just comes off more poised than the other two and he by all accounts had a strong game last night with a +2 in fifteen minutes. Another younger guy who really hasn’t been showing much in Pavel Zacha showed some signs of life early with a shorthanded goal in the first period. Still doesn’t have a single assist on the season but hey, a Brandon Pirri-type season from a few years back would be an improvement offensively for Zacha at this point.

While his overall 2.96 GAA and .903 save percentage aren’t pretty (and likely going to cost him in free agency this offseason), Keith Kinkaid’s done about as much as can be expected given he’s really not an everyday starter and playing in front of a leaky defense on a nightly basis. Maybe against the odds, young Mackenzie Blackwood can finally give Kinkaid enough rest to not wear out although it’s a fair question to wonder at what point continuing to develop as a starter in the AHL trumps getting backup games in the NHL. At this point it’s a moot point since Cory Schneider is not going to be back anytime soon. I assume coach John Hynes will stick with Kinkaid through tomorrow’s matinee and not play Blackwood twice in a row against the division rival Blue Jackets, but it’s no coincidence the team is playing a little better – whatever happened Tuesday notwithstanding – now that the goaltending isn’t a nightly issue.

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Game #32: Tankjob Thursday – Blue Jackets 2, Devils 1

Posted on December 20, 2018 by hasan4978

Pretty much the best thing that can be said about tonight’s 2-1 loss in Columbus is just two words – Mackenzie Blackwood. Making his first NHL start tonight, the 2015 second-round pick exceeded expectations in a strong 36-save debut that actually earned him a third star from the Columbus media in defeat. It might not be too much of a stretch to say this was the best performance by any Devils goaltender this year, with of course the only black mark on it being that this joke of a team couldn’t get the kid a better, more deserved result out of tonight. Considering he only gave up two goals (one on a penalty shot!) AND made the ridiculous save below in the third period, he certainly did all he could to win the game.

https://twitter.com/NJviDs/status/1075937143883776000

Of course our lone goal came from Taylor Hall in another dissapointing night for Devils fans. At least if you still care about getting wins. I recognize this stretch of a bad season all too well as a fan, when talk goes from how this team can make the playoffs to how they can better their draft position. Personally I think it’s a waste of time, although in a craven sense nights like tonight in theory are only going to help long-term cause you get both a piece of the future playing well and the team ‘improving’ its draft odds by losing.

The problem I have with that mindset – and tonight’s as good a night as any to get on this soapbox, hence my theme title – is when fans root for tanking it leaves out two very important things. One, when the team loses it’s less likely players you have on your current roster that matter (re: younger guys who are in theory part of the future) are playing well. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, you generally don’t get to have both the younger players on the roster playing well and simultaneously the team losing. Most of the time it doesn’t work that way and hasn’t so far this season for the most part although in a way it did tonight, and also with my Jets last Sunday given Sam Darnold’s performance in a loss there. I have rooted for ‘meaningless’ wins when it shows growth from younger players already on the roster, sometimes we can lose the forest for the trees as fans worrying about the almighty draft pick.

My second problem with the tank talk is more practical, you’re only improving your draft odds, not as much your draft position. The best pick you can absolutely assure yourself of is four given the recent triple lottery that the NHL’s recently introduced – in one of the rare things the suits have gotten right. Just ask the Colorado Avalanche who had a hideous 48-point season two years ago, the worst non-expansion one in quite some time and yet got bumped all the way down to fourth because they didn’t win a single lottery despite the best odds. With a lottery being a lot more of a tank-proof lottery, it’s an exercise in futility to root against the team hoping for a better pick only to find the pick isn’t quite what you’d hoped for. This isn’t the NFL or MLB where where you finish is actually where you draft. Even when you do get a lottery win that doesn’t guarantee anything unless it’s a draft with a pure generational talent like Sidney Crosby.

You need look no further than the Devils, who supposedly ruined their draft position dropping from 3rd to 5th worst a couple years ago with a ‘meaningless’ John Moore OT goal against the Flyers. So what happened? Winning the lottery out of the 5-hole and getting Nico Hischier, that’s what happened. Sometimes fate will throw you a bone. It’s gonna be hard to watch this team with fifty semi-meaningless games left but there are still things to look for as a fan – performances like Blackwood tonight chief among them. You want to see things from guys you hope will be part of the solution in future years. If seeing growth from guys like Nico, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, etc ‘costs’ us a couple of spots in the lottery down the stretch, so be it. Of course if we’re not even getting that…then our problems go way beyond what one draft pick would solve anyway.

In terms of Blackwood himself, his story is pretty redeeming after a horrible AHL season last year that got him briefly demoted to the ECHL. Usually when guys have an .882 save percentage and a 3.41 GAA in the AHL, that doesn’t portend future success in the NHL. For whatever reason – development, a rumored eye issue last year? – Blackwood’s done a 180 degree turnaround this season with a solid AHL campaign (2.69 GAA, .911 save percentage) for another mediocre Binghamton team. It took a spectacular confluence of events to get him his first NHL start so soon after he finished his last year in the ECHL – starting with Keith Kinkaid shouldering too much of the load already, supposed starter Cory Schneider’s meltdown and emergency fill-in Eddie Lack also hurt in Binghamton.

In a sense I with they had waited till tomorrow’s home game against Ottawa to give Blackwood his first start at home, then again I’m not going anyway since meeting a friend for his birthday drinks uptown tomorrow night is a more satisfactory use of my time than watching this team right now. Besides, I already sold my pair of tickets long ago, figuring I could just use a free voucher ticket but now that this has come up I’m not even gonna use the voucher. I’ll be back at the Rock soon enough on Sunday anyway – trading off a throwaway Jets game on TV for a throwaway Devils game in person.

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Game #33: Comeback Kids as Rangers rally with big third in 3-1 win over Ducks

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Derek

Let me start off this post by saying last night’s game won’t go down as a NHL classic. It set back hockey to the dull period when scoring was hard to come by. However, it would be doing this team a disservice not to give them a lot of credit for the third period comeback they had.

After only getting 10 shots in the first two periods, the Rangers responded with a huge third to rally from a goal down and defeat the Ducks 3-1 on home ice. A good character builder for this young group. Even if it took advantage of a weary Anaheim team playing for the second straight night, it was the kind of effort first-year coach David Quinn has been preaching. That key element had been missing since Thanksgiving.

I figured the game would not be easy on the eyes. Being a little out of it, I chose to listen to the radio instead. Besides, Kenny Albert is one of the best at describing the action. Plus it’s always a treat to hear what former captain Dave Maloney has to say. On a night the refs were hideous, he didn’t pull any punches.

Things got a little crazy. By that, I mean following a save by Anaheim backup Chad Johnson, who was claimed due to a injury that will sideline veteran Ryan Miller for a while, Vladislav Namestnikov tried to poke in a loose rebound. After a second attempt, he got clocked from behind by Ryan Getzlaf. One of the game’s toughest stars, the gritty Ducks captain didn’t take kindly to seeing Namestnikov poke at Johnson. I understand that. I would want the same from our side. Fortunately, they respond quicker to that now under Quinn.

What I didn’t like was the fact Getzlaf got away with a couple of cross checks on a defenseless Namestnikov during the scrum that followed. Maloney went ballistic about it on the radio. At the time, the Ducks were on a power play when the chaos happened. Somehow, refs Frederick L’Ecuyer and Jean Hebert gave both Getzlaf and Namestnikov four minutes apiece for roughing. Ryan Kesler received an extra two for cross-checking. So, it still cancelled out the Anaheim power play. But it was ridiculous that Getzlaf got away with those cheap shots. Listen to what Quinn said afterwards.

I love what his response was to both the Filip Chytil “goaltender interference” minor penalty they had to kill late and the sarcastic remark on what Getzlaf did. “I guess the instigator fighting rule is just to take up ink in the rulebook, apparently.”

There wasn’t much else going on the first 40 minutes. The two teams combined for only 24 shots. That’s insane. But the Ducks led 1-0 thanks to a lucky bounce. Pontus Aberg got credit for his 11th of the season when his pass banked in off poor Mika Zibanejad at 14:09 of the second. I felt bad for him and rookie starter Alexandar Georgiev. It looked like that break against them would be enough to lose.

The third period was a different story. They carried the play and took it to the Ducks, who tried to win the game 1-0. Eventually, the Rangers got the game tied thanks to ironically, Namestnikov. In a twist of fate, he buried a beautiful feed from rookie Brett Howden for his fourth to tie it up with 10:08 left. Jimmy Vesey started the play by getting the puck to Howden, who skated into open space and made a great pass that Namestnikov finished. Poetic justice.

The fun part about listening to Albert call the action is I can usually tell when a goal is about to happen. I’ve listened to enough games to know. It’s different from watching. Unless you’re there live as both my Dad and Justin were last night, the radio call is ahead of the TV feed. That brief delay is something I’ve always found unique.

After tying it up, the Blueshirts didn’t let up. As Quinn noted in the video above, there was more pace from his team in the third. All they had to do was play a good third to turn it around. Especially true against a tired opponent playing their sixth period in two nights. They outshot the Ducks 14-1 the rest of the way, holding a playoff team to 15 total shots. That was a welcome change with Georgiev (14 saves) back in net. He only had to make one big stop, doing so earlier in the match with the team trailing by one in the second.

The Chytil penalty with 2:35 remaining. He was shoved from behind into Johnson. Instead, it gave the Ducks a chance to late. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Kevin Hayes is playing the best hockey of his career. A good two-way player who plays in every situation, he scored his second shorthanded goal with 40 seconds remaining for the game-winner. A Namestnikov lead pass sent Hayes in. His shot snuck past Johnson for a 2-1 Rangers lead.

Fittingly, Namestnikov recorded his third point of the period by picking up the primary assist on Chytil’s empty netter at 19:41. Zibanejad also added a secondary assist.

BONY 3 STARS:

3rd 🌟 David Quinn, NYR (self explanatory)

2nd 🌟 Kevin Hayes, NYR (game-winning shorthanded goal with 40 seconds remaining)

1st 🌟 Vladislav Namestnikov, NYR (tying goal-4th, 2 assists)

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Game #31 – Terrible Tuesday: Leafs 7, Devils 2

Posted on December 18, 2018 by hasan4978

First, let’s start out with the good news – if you want to call it that. My cold compelled me to sell my ticket to tonight’s game online at the last minute for a pittance of $15. Truth be told I probably could have gutted it out but sometimes going to games while sick only exacerbates my virus. Maybe if things were different I’d have done it anyway, but a trek to a late December game against a superior foe with the team going nowhere was an easy one to pass on. I didn’t even watch the game since I usually don’t watch home games when I can’t or don’t go.

Turned out to be the best game-related decisions I made all year.

I mean what’s to say at this point? Clearly whatever happened this weekend was only a short-term mirage and this team just won’t be able to sustain enough of a run to even get back in the playoff race. If tonight’s game proved one thing, it’s that this is a lost season. In late December. Sure things have looked bleak for a while but I didn’t want to look at the standings at all, figuring it wouldn’t matter if the team didn’t get going anyway. Clearly this team is going nowhere, it’s just a matter of how bad things are going to get and how much they affect our chances of re-signing Taylor Hall this offseason.

It’s also useless to engage in the parlor game speculation of whether the team should change coaches, it’s past the point where it’ll matter for 2018-19 anyway. If Ray Shero wants to make a change (and odds are he won’t), might as well make it in the offseason. Not as if you’re going to get a real head coach in here before then anyway. Quite frankly though it’s Shero himself who’s gotta take the hit for this team’s regression. He failed to do enough this offseason to even maintain status quo on a team that was always going to be a bubble team in a best-case scenario. And don’t give me the line about how it’s great he didn’t get involved with overpaying free agents. What good is all our cap space going to do if it’s never used? Even the head coach’s catty comment about the Lightning a while back alluded to this fact.

I really don’t want to do fifty-one more games of just annoyed posts speculating about next year but at this point I just don’t know what else is going to be worth talking about from this season. This team manages to take what should be uplifting moments and just takes a dump all over them, case in point Mackenzie Blackwood’s NHL debut just days after being called up in the wake of the ‘injury’ to Cory Schneider. No, Blackwood didn’t actually start the game but Keith Kinkaid surrendering five goals in the first two periods provided as good an excuse as any to get the rookie some immediate action. And Blackwood did well early by all accounts but of course the tire fire defense let Tyler Ennis (he’s still in the league?!) score two goals in the third including this beauty where defenseman Sami Vatanen trips over Blackwood taking them both out of the play.

A little Buttfumble-esque if you will…football Jets fans will know the reference.

Really nobody on this team can defend or stop the puck anymore. And nobody on the staff can coach defense. So you have fiascoes like tonight become all too common. It’s not quite as bad as the darkest days of the MacLean season or the end of Lou’s tenure where Ranger fans were booing the Devils out of the building, but Leaf fans chanting ‘Go Leafs Go’ at the end of tonight’s game was a pretty stark reminder of the latter. We’re practically back in the same place we were four years ago, an embarassment mocked by visiting fans.

Oh and one more parting shot…if this defense is going to be an unmitigated tire fire, can you at least play Steven Santini for a few games here? What’s the point of having the poor guy play one period the entire season? Guess the coaching staff doesn’t want to deprive itself of the merriment of watching guys like Damon Severson and Egor Yakovlev play ‘defense’, or Vatanen and Ben Lovejoy both colliding with their own goalies. Or all the own goals the defense – led by Andy Greene – has scored over the last few weeks.

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Why not let Chytil play in the World Junior Championship?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Derek

As the Rangers prepare for the Coyotes in Game #33 of 82 later at MSG, I can’t help but wonder if Filip Chytil would be better served playing in the upcoming World Junior Championship.

The IIHF Under-20 WJC is a marquis event which begins on Boxing Day. Call it a late Christmas present for hockey fans. It’s honestly the most exciting prospect tournament to watch. Every winter, we are lucky to see the world’s best young prospects compete against each other between the final exciting week of December and the beginning of the New Year. It’s awesome!

Maybe it’s because I’m partial to this wonderful tournament. Or perhaps it’s due to how bad the Rangers really are. If not for Henrik Lundqvist, they’d have a lot less wins and be right where they should be. In other words, competing with the Blackhawks, Kings, Blues, Canucks (yes) and startling Flyers for the Jack Hughes Draft Lottery. That btw also features Kaapo Kakko (try pronouncing it five times), Dylan Cozens and Vasily Podkolzin. Notice I included Vancouver despite Calder shoe in Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, and excluded the Devils. I also don’t believe the Flyers will remain in the cellar. I’m skeptical on the underachieving Panthers, who probably need a coaching change.

Which brings me back to the Rangers. What’s best for Chytil’s development? He could play all 82 games and continue to remain in the top six in his rookie year. Currently, he has five goals and six assists for 11 points in the first 32. Still just 19, there’s no denying his talent. The skating and ability to make plays with the puck are cause for excitement on Broadway. He also is showing better effort to come back defensively unlike some of his older teammates. When he puts it altogether, it should be fun to see.

With the Blueshirts bringing a 14-13-5 record into play, they do have 33 points. A decent number considering how few players will be here in two years. Three tops. But as the last 10 games have proven since Thanksgiving, it’s fools gold. The 9-1-1 stretch is long gone. So is the hard work they put in to overachieve, infuriating coach David Quinn and Lundqvist. I’m glad he gets the night off. Alexandar Georgiev is finally back for tonight.

As much as I’d love to see Chytil get assigned to his home country, the Czech Republic for the WJC, he will probably stay due to the Rangers. The roster is paper thin right now. Particularly up front. Outside of Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider, it’s not good. At least Pavel Buchnevich is continuing to show improvement after returning.

Mats Zuccarello looks stale. I have no clue what they’ll get for him in February. The wear and tear is showing. Jimmy Vesey has performed well, but now is back on the third line with the ice cold Brett Howden and Vladislav Namestnikov (also freezing). The fourth line is not good right now. Ryan Strome is wasted when he’s not with skill types. He was good after the trade for Ryan Spooner. But he isn’t a fourth liner. Lias Andersson needs more ice time. They seem to think he should stay up. I hope he can find some consistency.

Without Jesper Fast, the Rangers are weakened. He will never blow you away with skill, but his second and third effort is why he’s well respected. Quinn already loves him. Just like Alain Vigneault did. He wasn’t wrong about Fast. His energy rubs off. I notice some of the same qualities in Vesey this season. That’s because this coach utilizes him the right way.

I believe if they had more numbers, the Rangers would send Chytil to the WJC. Missing a few games to play in such a prestigious tournament competing against his peers would be more beneficial. It would be a great experience for him. Instead, he’s likely stuck here, which means more losing the next two weeks.

At the very least, Garden Faithful can be excited about what they see from Chytil. He is learning on the job. I’m glad he’s playing in the top six. He gets to play with more experienced players like Zibanejad, Zuccarello, Hayes and Kreider (power play). If Hayes goes in two months, at least Chytil will be a replacement. That bodes well for the future.

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Islanders continue to be a surprise

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Derek

When John Tavares chose the hometown Maple Leafs, whose pajamas he wore as a kid, the Islanders were supposed to be not too good. Even in the new era of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, they were not expected to challenge for the playoffs.

It maybe early. We are still before the Christmas break. The Islanders have played 32 games so far. Like many teams in the Metro Division, they have had ups and downs. But after putting together one of their more impressive games to defeat the Avalanche 4-1 in Colorado on Monday night, you have to say they belong in the playoff conversation.

In the first of a four-game road swing that stops at Arizona later tonight with Vegas and Dallas still to come, they controlled play against one of the West’s best in enemy territory. The Avalanche boast the best line in the game. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog are a dynamic trio that are very difficult to contain. Rantanen leads the league with 56 points. MacKinnon ranks second with 53, and Landeskog’s 22 goals are fourth best. The Isles held them in check at five-on-five. Only a Landeskog redirect for a power play goal that MacKinnon helped set up, prevented Thomas Greiss from getting a shutout.

The Isles played well following Saturday’s shootout win over the pesky Red Wings at Nassau Coliseum. They might not have generated a ton of shots on Avalanche starter Semyon Varlamov, but were opportunistic. A power play that’s struggled much of this year without Tavares went two-for-four last night. They converted twice in the second period on goals from Johnny Boychuk (first of season) and captain Anders Lee (12th).

Lee’s power play goal was important because it came in direct response to a dirty kneeing minor on Colorado defenseman Ian Cole that injured Brock Nelson. It also came late in the period, restoring a two-goal lead versus a tough opponent. Colorado can score with the best of them. They are capable of exploding at home in the third like they did in a comeback win over the Stars this past weekend. So, Lee’s goal definitely was a big one. It was also his first in five games. A streaky scorer, maybe he gets hot. He’s been a good replacement as captain for Tavares. The kind of gritty player, who leads by example. Fittingly, his goal came on a deflection of a Nick Leddy shot. That’s who he is.

Trotz’ club isn’t gonna blow you away in the scoring department. Their 93 goals in 32 games are a 2.84 GF per night. That ranks in the bottom third. Their goals-against-average is 2.78. So, there’s not much margin for error. They boast one unique talent in sophomore Mathew Barzal. Year Two has been a struggle for the playmaking pivot. There haven’t been many nights such as Saturday when he was the best player, tallying a goal, assist along with the shootout winner. He leads them in assists (23) and points (27). However, he’s still a minus-nine. That’s second worst to Jordan Eberle, who got just his seventh yesterday. There’s room for improvement.

The best Islander has been Josh Bailey. His production is still there without Tavares. He’s 7-19-26 with a plus-10 rating. A good skater who is superb at finding open teammates, the former first round pick plays in all situations. Of his seven goals, two have come on the power play and one shorthanded. He’s just a good player who’s solid all around. The 26 points rank second behind Barzal. Lee is third with 25 followed by Nelson (21). Hopefully, his injury isn’t too serious. Valtteri Filppula would move up. He’s been a nice addition adding eight markers including a empty netter on Monday. Filppula has 17 points, ranking fifth.

A key part of their success is the supporting cast. That includes streaky third-year man Anthony Beauvillier (10 goals) along with the fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. The cohesive trio are still getting it done. Though Clutterbuck isn’t the same player he was a couple of years ago. Cizikas remains a reliable two-way player under Trotz as his eight goals, dozen points, shorthanded goal and plus-eight attest. He got over 16 minutes in the win over Colorado.

Greiss had a good night finishing with 30 saves. He’s bounced back with a good year so far. He improved to 12-6-1 with a 2.50 GAA and .919 save percentage in 21 games. More like the dependable goalie he was a couple of years ago as 1B to former starter Jaro Halak. In the second of a back-to-back, it remains to be seen if Trotz will go back to him. Robin Lehner is likely to get the nod. He’s only got four wins with a 2.66 GAA and .912 save percentage in 14 appearances. However, he was a hard luck loser in his last three starts. He hasn’t gotten in the win column since Oct. 30 versus Pittsburgh. So, he’s overdue.

The defense isn’t great. Scott Mayfield leads the team from the blueline in points (13) and penalty minutes (26) with a solid plus-seven rating. Ryan Pulock has been solid with his two helpers giving him 10 for the season with a pair of goals. Pulock boasts a big shot from the point. Only two have gone in on 70 shots. At some point, that’ll change. He’s got a accurate one-timer that can do damage a man up. Boychuk finally got one to go on the man-advantage last night. The good news is he hasn’t missed a game.

Nick Leddy no longer is putting up points. Maybe he’s playing safer under Trotz following last year’s nightmare. A goal and eight assists is passable for the veteran as long as he’s not taking too many chances. Adam Pelech quietly leads all Isles defensemen with a plus-nine in 29 games. Thomas Hickey continues to be reliable.

When they enter play against the Coyotes, the Islanders will bring a respectable 16-12-4 record in which is good for third place in the division. They have an identical amount of points ROW (14) and points (36) to the Penguins, who lost to the Ducks 4-2. But Pittsburgh has played one more game.

The Isles are very much looking like a team who’ll compete for the postseason. Especially in a mediocre division. Even the Pens and Blue Jackets haven’t hit their stride. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are hit or miss due to inconsistency in net and a not so great D even with the additions of Dougie Hamilton and former Islander Calvin de Haan. The Rangers are not ready to compete and will be sellers at the deadline. Unless the Devils or Flyers, who fired Dave Hakstol, get their act together, the Isles look like they’ll be vying for at least a wildcard with the surprising Canadiens.

The Atlantic is much stronger. The Lightning are by far the most balanced in the East. The Maple Leafs are going to continue to score a pile of goals. I wonder if Frederik Andersen will keep it up. The Sabres just passed them in the standings due to MVP caliber play by emerging star Jack Eichel. They’ve gotten surprisingly steady goaltending from the combination of Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark. Jeff Skinner is second in the NHL with 24 goals, forming a lethal 1-2 punch with Eichel. Rasmus Dahlin is as good as advertised. Buffalo is a year ahead of schedule.

What the Isles lack in talent they make up for in battle level under the demanding Trotz, who’s instilled a harder work ethic. Losing is no longer tolerated. A welcome sight for their loyal fans.

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Game #32: Quinn and Lundqvist blast team’s embarrassing effort in 4-3 overtime loss to Golden Knights

Posted on December 16, 2018 by Derek

This one was totally embarrassing. Sure. The Rangers got a point, but it was only due to their determined goalie. Henrik Lundqvist was brilliant in the first two periods when for some reason, the rest of the team was either asleep or watching the woeful Giants play even worse football in a winter of discontent. Well, unofficially. We still got a few days left of Fall.

I know they’re not a good team. But when you give the kind of weak effort they did the first 40 minutes in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Golden Knights at home, you don’t deserve any breaks. There are no excuses. I don’t care how young they are, or how many rookies play. It’s unacceptable to be that lazy while Lundqvist is busting his butt. How many breakaways and two-on-ones did he face stop?

Both the goalie and coach blasted the way they played. So, they got a undeserved point thanks to remembering to show for the third. Chris Kreider scored the only goal. His team-leading 15th to force overtime. Like most of the 18 skaters, he was invisible in the first and second periods. There were only a handful of players who did something positive. Kevin Hayes (3 assists) because he always shows up ready to play. Something Lundqvist didn’t think they were at the start. I’ll add Pavel Buchnevich (primary assist), Filip Chytil, Mats Zuccarello (power play assist), Mika Zibanejad (power play goal) and Adam McQuaid, who returned after missing 21 games.

There really isn’t much to add. I think both Quinn and Lundqvist summed it up pretty well. They didn’t compete for two periods. Vegas is a much better team despite not being as good as last year. Call it a expansion hangover. But they skated circles around our guys. They ‘out-everything’d’ the Rangers. Quinn’s accurate description in a brief postgame.

The odd part is Buchnevich set up Brady Skjei for the game’s first goal early on. I don’t know if getting on the board gave them a false sense of security. But lately when they play at MSG, the Rangers go ahead and then fall apart. It happened against Winnipeg, who was way better. It happened on Friday in that discouraging overtime loss up three goals on the Coyotes. At least those losses waited until the third period for the implosion.

Maybe Lundqvist has spoiled them. Some of the saves he came up with including a two sequence dive and stone job to deny Wild Bill Karlsson, were ridiculous. He finished the game with 37 saves, again seeing over 40 shots. The cold truth is the game should’ve been over. The Golden Knights could’ve had 7-8 goals after two. The goalie is why they were only up 3-2.

Some games, you remember everything. Honestly, I don’t recall the goals they scored except Alex Tuch’s OT winner because that’s still fresh. That’s how poorly the Rangers played. At one point, Lundqvist let his teammates know about it during a stoppage. To say he was animated would be a understatement. I’ve never seen him so mad after a game. Justifiably so!

It’s one thing to lose. Quite another to not give all you can like they did for far too long. Nobody said it would be easy. I don’t know about anyone else. I’m done saying the ‘R’ word. That’s an easy excuse. There are enough veterans who know better. With a leadership that still includes 2015 holdovers Hayes, Kreider, Zuccarello, Lundqvist, Marc Staal, and the injured Jesper Fast, whose effort you never have to question, they should be able to provide enough experience for the younger players. Zibanejad included. He never makes excuses. He’s very good at assessing things, becoming more of a leader.

Forget the highlights. I don’t feel like digging them up. It’s not worth discussing. There were far too many breakdowns. I’m not gonna single anyone out. Even easy targets.

But they got a point. Yay! Whoopdy damn do!

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd 🌟 Kevin Hayes, NYR (3 assists as he continues to pile up points and boost his value)

2nd 🌟 Alex Tuch, VGK (overtime winner from a impossible angle, assist, real good player who will only get better)

1st 🌟 Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (37 saves and many highlight reel due to his team’s ineptitude)

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