Battle Of Hudson covers the Rangers and Devils, who's intense rivalry heated up in the 90's. With fresh faces added, they battle for supremacy in NYC and NJ..
The most important part of tonight’s game was what the Rangers did before and during it to honor cancer survivors. They went out and won a hard fought game on Hockey Fights Cancer night. The Blueshirts ended their skid at two by defeating the Senators 4-2 at MSG.
In improving to 13-10-2, they had to like a few things that came out of the win.
Lias Andersson scored his first goal of the season. A well deserved one on a hardworking shift.
Marc Staal scored his first too. Always nice to see. He earned the Broadway Hat with another solid effort.
Mika Zibanejad ended his goal drought at seven. It had been a while since the team’s leading scorer got one. After having some bad luck with the goalposts, he had an easier time stealing a puck and putting it into an empty net for his first goal since 11/10 at Columbus. He had a goal and assist in the victory.
Henrik Lundqvist had a superb night making 29 saves including some clutch ones in crunch time to pickup his ninth win. It was a better ending than the crazy first that saw a shot hit his mask and then wait helplessly until a official noticed his mask was off with an Ottawa shot thankfully deflected before going into a net as play was whistled dead.
Chris Kreider got his team-leading 13th that proved to be the game-winner on a nice cross ice feed from emerging rookie Filip Chytil. Kreider is tied with Zibanejad for the team lead in points with 21. He continues to lead by example on and off the ice, looking very much like the future captain.
Tim Gettinger had a second straight active game playing on the fourth line with Andersson and Steven Fogarty. His size is a good fit on that line. He added five more hits in eight shifts (7:30), giving him 10 in his first two games.
Brady Skjei had a strong game overall. In 25 shifts (19:00), he skated well recording three shots, two hits, a takeaway and blocked shot while finishing plus-one.
Jesper Fast had an assist, giving him points in two consecutive games. Although he remains stuck on that one goal way back on Opening Night, he continues to work hard. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.
How about that move by Ryan Strome skating to the middle for a dangerous shot that banked off Andersson in front for the go-ahead goal that made it 3-2? That takes skill. Strome has it and looks like a steal for Ryan Spooner. A good trade by Jeff Gorton.
Vladislav Namestnikov showed toughness throughout absorbing a couple of tough hits, including one from Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot late that led to Zibanejad’s goal. David Quinn said he was talking afterwards. Vladdy doesn’t get enough credit for what he brings. You have fools like Boomer Esiason talking trash during games about players he doesn’t like, which is unprofessional for a former star athlete turned morning radio host on WFAN. This is the same clown who took a shot at Pavel Buchnevich for his off-season and Tony DeAngelo last season. Stick to football!
I have never been a fan of Boomer ever since he gave us the cold shoulder entering the old side entrance of MSG for his old show. He’s a fraud. I wish more people had the guts to call him on it. Just because you have a show in the city doesn’t give you the right to be so ignorant. He’s supposed to be a Ranger fan. Root for the team and support everyone.
I would add more on the game, but I’m not feeling well. I’ll just say it was entertaining. Mark Stone is very good, but gets no recognition. He scored both Ottawa goals.
Brady Tkachuk had two assists and was a pest. Still think Ottawa made a mistake there? He will be a dominant power forward in no time. In 13 games, Tkachuk is 7-6-13 with 17 penalty minutes and 37 shots and a 18.9 shooting percentage. I would’ve packaged all three of our first round picks to take Tkachuk at number four.
One last note. The Blueshirts got David Quinn’s message, attempting 62 shots with Ottawa blocking 21. That’s more like it!
Now these losses are starting to run together, figuratively and literally. Back-to-back days in the sunshine state, back-to-back brutal losses, which granted even in our good years is par for the course with this team. This latest loss was particularly diasteriffic though, playing a struggling Panther team without goalie Roberto Luongo, who also recently lost talented pivot Vincent Trocheck to a long-term injury. If yesterday was a typical Cory 2018 special, today illustrated all the other reasons this team is going to crash and burn out of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons, a severe step back for this organization.
Yeah I know we’re still late in November, I know the East is mediocre yadda yadda yadda but when you as a team blow five two-goal leads in twenty-three games, when you blow countless late third-period leads or ties and can’t buy a win in the 3-on-3 OT then you just don’t have what it takes to hang with the better teams in the conference – or really with any team at the moment. What game is an easy win for this team right now? They couldn’t beat an Ottawa team in disarray after Ubergate, they can’t beat a mediocre Panthers team that lost three in a row since the Trocheck injury, playing their backup goalie, they’ve lost to a supposedly hideous Wings team twice and probably saved Jeff Blashill’s job for the time being. Things aren’t getting any easier this weekend when we have the Capitals (road), Jets and Lightning all in a four-day span which are three more likely losses to add to the pile of suck that’s building.
As far as tonight goes, while I didn’t watch the first period, the real action started with the second period anyway when Miles Wood (tipping a Sami Vatanen shot home) and Blake Coleman (with his usual short-handed brilliance) scored to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Would this finally be a time the Devils could put a two-goal lead in the bank? Eh no…Coleman’s shorthanded goal only provided a temporary band-aid which flew off after Travis Zajac took a second penalty giving Florida an extended 5-on-3. Unlike us, they actually know how to convert a 5-on-3 goal, and did just that with mere seconds remaining on the first penalty to add insult to injury. A Jared McCann goal minutes later completed our latest multi-goal lead meltdown, which also seems to be par for the course for our trips to Sunrise. Maybe Adam Henrique’s double-OT goal in the playoffs used up all our good juju there for a generation, we haven’t even won a game there in the last few years since.
Of course it looked like we may actually break that spell in the third period when Jesper Bratt scored off another tip of a Vatanen shot, but there’s nothing quite as scary as the Devils in a tight third-period game – and once again our glass jaw showed itself with an assist from John Hynes’ idiotic lineup decisions, specifically scratching Mirco Mueller again in favor of Egor Yakovlev. It was Yakovlev who not only played the tying goal badly when Johnathan Huberdeau scored 6-on-5 but then compounded it with another screwup, allowing a breakaway that nearly lost it for us in regulation. Are we really jumping the shark looking for puckmoving from every member of the defense at the expense of actually, you know playing defense? Not that Mueller’s great but he’s certainly a better option than Yakovlev at this point in the area where it matters most for a defenseman. Are we a developmental team or a team trying to win? Do we even have a system?
It sure doesn’t seem like we have a system for the 3-on-3 OT which is always a harbinger of doom for this year’s team. For good measure, we actually lost tonight’s game twice, first when an apparent goal went past Keith Kinkaid but it turned out was only like the seventeenth post shot he was saved by in the last two weeks (including that end-of-regulation breakaway). Clearly the magic chipotles are doing their trick. But even the magic chipotles were no match for this team’s defensive inepititude and a subtle pick play on Bratt that Hynes bitterly complained about in the postgame. For his part, Zajac took the responsibility for not stopping the pass on that decisive goal but really that was just the end of a lot of disasters.
One thing I’m starting to wonder is if we have a living, breathing GM right now? It would be nice to hear from Ray Shero at some point – granted I don’t expect a state of the union off every losing streak but we’re past a quarter of the season. It would be nice to if not hear the GM, at least see some evidence from him that this kind of braindead hockey won’t be tolerated around here forever. I might be among the masses calling for Hynes’ dismissal if I had a viable alternative at the moment. If you look to the outside obviously the pipedream is Joel Quenneville, but that’s all it is – a pipedream. He’d have his pick of better jobs where he’ll likely get more say in personnel than he would here. Do we really want Disco Dan: The Sequel after Dan Bylsma arguably cost Shero his job in Pittsburgh and flamed out in Buffalo too?
Just promote an assistant is the common answer you might hear, but what assistant are we promoting? Rick Kowalsky and Mike Grier are literally in their first season as assistant coaches in the NHL, that’s not ideal for an in-season takeover. Defensive ‘coach’ Alain Nasreddine is the only guy with experience on the staff but since the D’s been a huge part of the problem I’d rather stick with the Devil I know over the one I don’t. Promoting the AHL coach is another in-season option that usually gets bantied about but our coach in Binghamton is Mark Dennehy, who’s in his first season at his current level of hockey. Clearly the staff wasn’t exactly put together with a mind we would need a coaching change this year, especially after Hynes did a good job last year but something’s clearly missing now or a lot of somethings.
I do still like Hynes regardless, but something’s gotta change around here and soon unless Shero and ownership are content to let the season go completely off the rails by New Year’s.
Much like a kid who’s scared of the dark, I was actively avoiding tonight’s ‘contest’ in Tampa. Especially after hearing the hopeless Cory Schneider was starting tonight’s game, and for good measure coach John Hynes scratched Mirco Mueller for Egor Yakovlev, restoring the struggling Andy Greene to top-pairing duty in the process. Why would I bother watching this horror show? I already knew what was going to happen. Counting the playoffs and the bloodletting last month, we’d lost four straight times in Tampa by a combined score of 21-9 since April. Struggling team, struggling goalie against a Cup contender (even if they were playing with their backup goalie too) was a recipe for disaster.
Just seeing the reports and scores during the first period tonight was cringeworthy enough. This game managed to meet my below-average expectations and turned into yet another romp by the guys in white and blue. Arguably it was even worse than the 5-2 score suggested, but after Tampa got up 4-1 inside the first twenty minutes and 5-1 during the second period the Lightning hardly needed to do anything but turn on cruise control from that point forward. I hardly expected a team that’s come up small against Tampa and in general away from Prudential Center this season (now 2-9 on the road) to suddenly come up big tonight.
A big part of the reason I refused to watch is Cory himself, and not because of anger although I’m sure some fans are angry that he played well when it cost us draft position and now is a shell of himself when the team’s a playoff contender. It’s just become pitiful at this point to watch him, and sad – however you feel about Cory, it’s just sad to watch a career go down the drain. I don’t even want to cite the regular season record. Even if you include the playoff win it’s bad enough, but being 0-for almost twenty games on a team over .500 otherwise is astounding. It’s always tough replacing a legend and Cory unfortunately is another statistic in that hypothesis.
It’s doubtful whether Cory’s even an NHL goalie at this point. Considering there’s another three years left on his contract after this year, it’s not a problem that’s easily rectifiable. He needs to play but he needs to play in a no-pressure environment. Sadly waiving him and having him play in the AHL might be the only way left to get his game into gear, but even counting on that is dicey considering the first time something goes wrong at the NHL level all that progress gets thrown out. God forbid we ever played Cory at home, the boobirds would really come out of the woodwork. It will probably take a change of scenery for Cory at this point, but considering his contract that also isn’t an easy fix.
Not that our expensive backup goalie is the only issue with this team right now (you need only look at Friday’s disaster against the Isles for proof of that), but having a backup that wins zero games isn’t going to help. For goodness sakes even looking at these highlights annoy me, we were outshooting the Lightning at every point while falling behind 5-1, not that shots on goal is everything but still. It’s gotta be demoralizing for both player and team alike that always, always something seems to go wrong.
I just have no interest in talking about it anymore, or this lousy team. Tomorrow’s game in Florida is basically a must-win. You have to beat a Panthers team that’s also struggling with key players Roberto Luongo and Vincent Trocheck both hurt, otherwise this could turn into a long losing streak in a hurry with the Caps, Jets and Lightning (this time at home) in a three-game in four day stretch. Whoopee.
Sometimes, you run into the wrong opponent. Saturday’s home matinee was a clear case of that with the younger Rangers giving the defending champs a good game, but like the first meeting, they lost to the better team. The Capitals defeated the Rangers 5-3 at a less than capacity MSG. James Dolan is paying for the ridiculous tier pricing that’s way too expensive for most fans, who want to go see hockey at the Garden.
As for the entertainment, it was a much better game than the crap fest we got in Philly where they were beaten to a pulp by Gritty literally speaking. To be clear, the team that took the ice 24 hours later was much better. They skated and competed hard in the second of a back-to-back against a quality foe. However, it was clearly a case of the more experienced and talented Caps doing enough to get the win.
As well as they played in taking a 1-0 lead to the locker room after one period of play on a wonderfully constructed three way play started by Kevin Hayes with Jesper Fast feeding Jimmy Vesey for a beauty, the Rangers forgot to play the second with the same passion. When coach David Quinn says afterwards, that they didn’t skate and didn’t hit in an “alarming” second period, he isn’t kidding.
Even following Brady Skjei’s first goal since an exciting home win over Colorado in overtime, the Caps began to take over. They didn’t need Evgeny Kuznetsov or T.J. Oshie. They still had better supporting pieces in Jakub Vrana and Brett Connolly, who I warned about in the game preview. Both played big roles in the Capitals coming from behind to prevail. They also had that Alexander Ovechkin guy and one of the game’s premier blueliners in John Carlson. They factored in as did Tom Wilson.
Blowing a two-goal lead happens a lot in hockey. These days, not even three or four goals are enough sometimes now that scoring is way up. The first problem was the Caps came right back following Skjei’s goal from Brendan Smith and Hayes, who had another terrific game. I wish I could say the same for Mika Zibanejad. He had plenty of company. Both Fredrik Claesson and Kevin Shattenkirk struggled mightily. Even the new third line that produced one goal had a tough day in their end, victimized on three Washington goals.
It would be easy to criticize the players for not stepping on the throat of a very capable team. But this was a rare moment where four skaters wearing Rangers colors were 20-years old or younger. Brett Howden, Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil and Tim Gettinger are the answer to a future trivia question. That doesn’t even include 22-year old rookie backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev, or 23-year old rookie defenseman Neal Pionk.
The vast majority of the team is young. Don’t forget that Pavel Buchnevich is only 23 and Skjei is 24. Even Hayes and Vesey are 25. Steven Fogarty is a 25-year old rookie getting a chance due to injuries on the fourth line. If you totaled up the amount of rookies in Saturday’s game, the Rangers had seven. That’s pretty hard to imagine. It’s never happened like this before. More and more teams are going younger to build for the future. We have to remind ourselves that it’s not about this year. But rather, what is ahead.
I can’t lie. When Carlson perfectly set up Connolly for what proved to be the game-winner with 6:24 remaining in regulation, it was frustrating. Up till that point, the Blueshirts had played a pretty good period. They showed some resolve after a dismal second that saw the Caps score three straight goals in a 9:20 span to rally from 2-0 down to a 3-2 lead. They didn’t hang their heads. Instead, a terrific shift by Vesey, Howden and Strome resulted in the former Islanders’ fifth overall pick getting his first as a Ranger to tie the game.
But a long shift for veterans Smith and Marc Staal in which they got caught out resulted in a smooth Caps transition from Vrana to Carlson across to a wide open Connolly for the dagger. It was that quick. A great skill play by Carlson, who is tremendous. He destroyed us with three primary assists and a plus-four rating. Imagine what it would be like to have a dynamic first pair defenseman with his talent. Right now, Pionk has become that guy for us with a primary assist on Strome’s wraparound goal giving him 15 points to pace all Rangers defensemen. He’s still learning on the job.
Pionk took a tough tumble in the corner on a Ovechkin hit from behind that led directly to the Great Eight tipping in a Carlson shot pass for a 3-2 Washington lead. A play that Zibanejad sleep walked on along with the other three skaters with Pionk recovering late due to the hit. The other four skaters didn’t do the job. Whether or not it was a penalty on Ovechkin doesn’t matter. That was the refs’ discretion. On a emotional day with former ref Mick McGeough passing away at age 62 due to a stroke, it wasn’t the officials who were to blame for the loss.
On Nov.23, at 11:39 p.m., we peacefully said goodbye to Mick McGeough. An amazing father, brother, uncle and friend. He was larger than life but not his head. Truly one of the greatest characters around. Your reach went beyond borders Micky. You loved and were loved. pic.twitter.com/yfTsNh2Z1G
Sending my thoughts and prayers to his family. He sounded like a great guy. Most officials are. I know one. He’s my hero better known as my Dad. :).
#CBJ John Tortorella waited toward the end of his pre-game presser to speak on the passing of #NHL official Mick McGeough, who suffered a stroke on Sunday and passed away Friday. McGeough refereed 1,083 regular-season games and 63 playoff contests from 1987 thru 2008. pic.twitter.com/IE9ACs2ejH
The Ovechkin goal was similar to Nic Dowd’s that answered Skjei’s tally. On that one, Claesson lost Dowd in coverage for one of those uncovered freebies on a tip in from Carlson. It was like that Isles’ nightmare in Brooklyn. They left the front of the net wide open on both the Dowd and Ovechkin tallies. The tying goal from Vrana was just a world class play by an extremely skilled forward. He blew past a flat footed Howden and then went backhand top on Georgiev. A Vesey back pass started it. That can’t happen up a goal. Especially in a period you haven’t been good in.
I think the most frustrating aspect is the game was there for the taking. Once Strome tied it, anything was possible. The Caps finished with two fewer shots on goal. However, they attempted more shots. Forty-seven for the home team isn’t enough. Washington out-attempted them 54-47. They outskilled them. That’ll happen over the course of the season.
I can deal with this loss a lot better due to the response in the third. But you can’t give away periods. Something Quinn touched on in the postgame. Especially against the champs. That won’t cut it.
Hayes nearly had Chytil for the tying goal, but he missed wide. It was all set up for him. Chytil shows so much promise for a 19-year old first-year player. He’s getting more confident with the puck, trying different things. There was one instance where he had time and space, but didn’t shoot the puck. He should have. Hayes did the same thing once. But he also made a nice pass down low for a Kreider redirect try that Pheonix Copley swallowed. It was a good read, but a better save by Copley.
Wilson salted it away with a empty netter from distance. He continues to pile up points since returning earlier than expected after his 20-game suspension was reduced to 14. He served 16 games. He should’ve had to wait.
Some More Takeaways:
I disagree with Quinn continuing to use Fast with Zibanejad and Vladislav Namestnikov. It’s not that Fast doesn’t give them the yeoman effort. He sure does. That pass for Vesey’s eighth was a beauty. He finishes checks and is solid defensively. A very good penalty killer too. But for as much grit as he brings to the lineup, he can’t be in the top six. I would prefer Strome get a look. He has more skill and is solid along the boards. It probably won’t matter. They rested Mats Zuccarello due to the back-to-back with a third game over four days Monday against Ottawa. They finish November with a home-and-home series against the Senators Monday and Thursday.
I would like to see Lias Andersson get more of a look now that he’s gonna be here most of the season. He played his tenth game, meaning the first year of his entry level contract will be completed. I’m not making a big deal out of that like some hypocrites, who complain even when the organization is committed to the prospects. They don’t have to keep Andersson up for every game. If he needs to go back down, I’m good with that. They wheeled Gettinger back down following his NHL debut, which wasn’t bad for the seven minutes he played. He had five hits and nearly had his first NHL point when he took a good Andersson feed and just missed connecting down low with Skjei on the doorstep.
Skjei btw was much better throughout, playing the kind of active game he needs to to become the man. I really liked what I saw. While I didn’t get the Tony DeAngelo benching, I understood why Quinn got Smith back in. He had a decent game as did Staal, who had some good old clean physical takeouts to deny Ovechkin. He doesn’t get any credit for how honest a game he plays. Nobody gives a better defensive effort. For all the gripes about his speed due to the contract Glen Sather gave him, they quickly forget what kind of defenseman Staal was before the injuries. Remember this goal? I sure do. I was there downstairs when it happened!
Staal is still a valuable player to this group, who leads by example. He’s overcome a lot and fits Quinn’s system a lot better than the one Alain Vigneault employed. Speaking of AV, I think he could be getting a phone call pretty soon from the St. Louis Blues following the ridiculous five goal game Patrik Laine had in a Winnipeg 8-4 humiliation of the Blues. I can’t imagine Craig Berube is gonna last much longer as the interim coach.
The Rangers look for a quick turnaround thus afternoon when they host the Capitals at MSG. The game begins at 2 PM on MSG and NHL Network for those without blackout restrictions.
They were shutout 4-0 by the Flyers yesterday afternoon. Calvin Pickard stopped all 31 shots as Philadelphia took it to a lethargic Blueshirts, who never were in sync on Black Friday. They were a step slow and made more puck decisions that forced Henrik Lundqvist (42 saves) to come up with big stops on odd-man rushes. He kept them in the game as long as possible until Sean Couturier scored the key insurance marker to put it away.
Coach David Quinn refered to the game as a stinker. Like he said, you’re going to have your stinkers. This was one to forget. In losing, they dropped to 12-9-2 in 23 games. With both the Blue Jackets and Caps winning last night, they’re third in the Metro Division with 26 points. Columbus leads it with 28 while Washington is second with 27 following a third consecutive win. In fact, seven total points separates the entire division. All eight teams are NHL .500.
Since Tom Wilson returned, the Caps have been playing better. He is becoming a good scorer while being the complement on Alexander Ovechkin’s line. So far, the controversial winger has eight points (3-5-8) in six games with seven penalty minutes. Even minus top center Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie, the Caps are a better team with Wilson in the lineup. He brings that missing edge.
Nicklas Backstrom must still be accounted for. He scored an overtime winner in a recent win over Colorado on a four-on-three power play. Trailing only Ovechkin in points with 25, the playmaking pivot is having another good season. His 19 assists lead the team. Ovechkin paces them in goals (16), power play goals (7) and points (26).
John Carlson is over a point-per-game with 22 points (5-17-22) in 21 contests. Always dangerous, the New Jersey native can do damage from the point at even strength and the power play. He has a superb shot and can switch spots with Ovechkin on the man-advantage. But most of the time, beware of Ovechkin in his office. Time and space must be taken away. He and Lundqvist have a unique rivalry that’s lasted since both entered the league as rookies in ’05-06. It’s always fun to watch them.
However, that’s on the back burner with Quinn going back to rookie backup Alexandar Georgiev in the back-to-back today. Hopefully, he’s up to the difficult challenge. He recorded his first career shutout in a win over the Islanders on Wednesday with 29 saves.
Rookie Tim Gettinger makes his NHL debut today for the Blueshirts. He was recalled from Hartford last night. In 20 games with the Wolf Pack, he has seven goals and four assists. It’s the first pro season for the 20-year old from Cleveland. A former fifth round pick taken number 141 in 2016, thus is a big day for him. A huge deal too because they think he can contribute on the fourth line in place of Mats Zuccarello, who is getting the day off following his return yesterday. You wonder how healthy he is. This will be the seventh game he’s missed in nine.
Even though they’re without two of their best players in Kuznetsov and Oshie, Washington has been getting contributions throughout their lineup from secondary scorers Lars Eller, Devante Smith-Pelly and Dmitry Orlov. They aren’t as deep obviously, but are finding ways to win lately. In spite of inconsistent goaltending from starter Braden Holtby and backup Pheonix Copley, they’re 12-7-3 with a goal differential of plus-five. The Rangers have a goal differential of minus-one.
Keep an eye on Jakub Vrana. A slippery player, he’s capable of contributing. He and Brett Connolly are key depth scorers on the Caps. Michael Kempny can also step up from the blueline.
On paper, this is a winnable game. Even with the Caps playing better, they’re thin minus Kuznetsov and Oshie. Contain the top line and keep them off the power play, and you have a good chance of winning. It’s easier said than done against the ever dangerous Ovechkin with Backstrom and Wilson along with rover Carlson.
The Rangers need a much better effort. Better puck management for starters. There were way too many turnovers that fueled a relentless Flyers attack. A sustained forecheck that keeps Washington on the defensive. That’s the best way to limit their star talent. Playing them five-on-five helps too as long as they don’t get pinned in.
I’ll be interested to see how they respond. Mika Zibanejad has not been as effective since Pavel Buchnevich went down. He lost Chris Kreider to the Kevin Hayes unit which right now is the team’s most effective. Filip Chytil gives them a dynamic trio that can all skate, make plays and create chances. Zibanejad is left with interchangeable parts Jesper Fast and Vladislav Namestnikov, who’s been an effective player.
Does Quinn adjust anything on the Zibanejad or Brett Howden line? The fourth line is likely to be Lias Andersson, Steven Fogarty and Gettinger. I guess that depends on who’s going well between Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Strome, Fast and Namestnikov. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Strome can do with Zibanejad, shifting Fast back to Howden and Vesey. That would give Zibanejad better skill typed in Namestnikov and Strome.
As for the D, I’m not sure that gets changed off one bad game. I guess it depends on Quinn.
Sometimes it’s hard to title a recap and it only adds one more pratfall to writer’s block, that’s why I hadn’t been doing it this year. Days like today, the title writes itself though. Of course while most of the country was running all over each other for post-Thanksgiving discounts (maybe I’ll try to Wikipedia when Black Friday first became a thing out of curiosity), today’s retail nickname took on another meaning for the Devils and their fans after a predictable yet gutting loss to the rival Islanders in an unusual weekday afternoon game. My only salvation was that the timing was too tight for me to consider going from work and foregoing leftover turkey dinner. I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing the Islanders kick us in the teeth yet again.
I couldn’t even bring myself to watch – usually I don’t like to watch home games I can’t go to anyway – so it was back to the radio again for this game. From the way it sounded I would have been better off not even bothering to listen on the radio for the first period and a half. With the Isles coming off two blowout losses you knew they would come out ready to play, but once again our own effort level was…inconsistent at best. Really the Devils were lucky to only be down 1-0 halfway through the game, especially when the Islanders scored again in the second period but for once a goal review went our way when the play was judged to have been offside, overturning the on-ice goal call.
Despite catching that break, you could tell right away this wasn’t going to be our afternoon when the Devils’ powerless play botched a whole minute and fifty-one seconds with a two-man advantage. Over the last few weeks the power play in general has been useless (when the refs have actually deigned to give us power plays) and this one actually turned momentum the wrong way when Jordan Eberle took advantage of a Sami Vatanen turnover and scored a couple minutes after our failure with the two-man advantage. Ironically the goal review that went our way proved to be the spark to turn momentum back the other way and Taylor Hall put home his own rebound from just outside the crease to tie the game midway through the second period.
Yet even after getting that spark from the reigning MVP, it didn’t stick since less than three minutes later the Isles got their lead back, after Anders Lee outfoxed Travis Zajac to get position in front of the net for one of his typical dirty goals. Even that wasn’t as annoying as what was to come later on, though. At least the team finally found its compete level from the middle of the game on, and once again the Devils tied the game early in the third, this time through Brian Boyle who (like Vatanen) returned to the lineup this afternoon. Boyle’s goal was a nice redirection in front, and since this was our home Hockey Fights Cancer game, of course Boyle had to score again. You would think something like that might spark the Devils to the finish.
Last year it would have, not so much this year. There’s nothing quite as scary as the Devils trying to hold a third period lead or tie. In fact this year the team’s 0-4-3 when tied up in the third period with under ten minutes left. That’s just frightening incompetence, crystalized by how the Devils blew this tie in the third when we somehow made the immortal Nick Leddy look like Scott Niedermayer circa the 1995 SCF on a coast-to-coast rush past our forwards and right between hapless defensemen Andy Greene and Damon Severson. It’s one thing when guys like Egor Yakovlev are the ones making critical mistakes but when it’s vets like Greene, Vatanen, Zajac and Kyle Palmieri that’s just indiciative of larger problems. Palmieri? I’ll get to him in a minute.
As if blowing yet another game to the Isles wouldn’t have been bad enough we got teased with a dramatic finish to a regulation that for a brief moment made me think maybe we do have some of last year’s mojo back, or rather a MoJo we haven’t seen much of yet as a Devil. Indeed it was a suddenly revived Marcus Johansson who tied the game after taking a shanked shot from Hall, and putting home his own rebound past Thomas Greiss with just ten seconds remaining. You would have thought that would have sparked the Devils over the finish line. Of course that would have entailed actually playing well in the 3-on-3 OT, which this team has not done this season (among their many ills so far). Maybe it’s missing John Moore that’s been the difference. I wish I was kidding but Moore did excel in the 3-on-3.
This year? We’ve been outshot 14-4 in the 3-on-3 and lost our third straight OT game when it was the guy who is arguably the team MVP this season (Palmieri) that turned the puck over, giving Matt Barzal a full head of steam to turbo-boost his way past Severson and to the net for a breakaway OT winner past poor Keith Kinkaid, who really deserved a better fate this afternoon. Sure Kinkaid did get the team a point yippidee doo dah, we still went -1 for the afternoon against one of the 53432 teams we’re going to have to pass to make the playoffs this season. Some loser points truly feel like loser points, this was one of them. As usual things don’t get any easier this weekend with a trip to Florida which is generally a barrel of laughs – if you’re a masochist.
Sometimes, you can just tell when your team doesn’t have it. That was evident early in a disappointing Rangers’ 4-0 shutout loss to the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center this afternoon. The Thanksgiving Showdown was a dud for David Quinn’s club, who were completely out of sync on Black Friday.
It was one of those games. How bad was it? The Flyers played a straight forward game and made Travis Konecny’s first period goal that banked in off Brady Skjei stand up. They outshot the Rangers 15-8 and out-attempted them 28-10 in a lopsided first period.
The amazing thing is how long Henrik Lundqvist kept his team in it. That’s how well the Flyers played. To quote my brother following the dismal first, “It looked like they were skating in quicksand.”
There are going to be days like this. Credit the Flyers for showing urgency with their coach Dave Hakstol getting too much blame. They easily could’ve had four or five goals in the first two periods. But a very sharp Lundqvist wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t until the bitter end when the Flyers got three goals within a 3:44 span to put a stamp on a convincing win. They deserved it.
Just listening to Quinn speak to NBC rover Pierre McGuire during the second, he was all over what was wrong. He emphasized how they weren’t making good decisions with the puck. They were sloppy throughout and turned too many pucks over. The Flyers had quite a few great chances on two-on-one’s they worked to create. But they butchered most by refusing to shoot. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have took a Sean Couturier finish off a great passing play from Konecny and Claude Giroux, to put the game away.
Konecny played a excellent game. With Mark Howe in the building as Doc Emrick referenced, the third-year forward had a Gordie Howe hat trick. He stood up for a teammate who took a late hit from Ryan Strome that went undetected. The scrap was entertaining at least with bow lightweights exchanging good punches. Strome may not have contributed any offense, but he was one of the more noticeable Rangers. I liked that he accepted Konecny’s challenge and was accountable for his actions.
The problem was they’re were too many passengers. Mika Zibanejad had a bad game. Even with Quinn mixing up his combos on the other three lines, nothing seemed to spark the center, who’s clearly struggling without Pavel Buchnevich. Sure. He’s still leading the team in assists and putting up points. But there’s been something missing. They need more goal production from Zibanejad, who remains stuck on seven.
I don’t think keeping Jesper Fast on that line is helping. Mats Zuccarello also got a chance in his return. The effort was there from Zuccarello, whose hustle back resulted in him blocking a Flyers shot to deny a odd-man rush. Unfortunately, he didn’t create much offense. He also had a silly pass for a turnover that allowed the Flyers to get an empty netter from Jordan Weal with 2:02 left.
One Ranger who was going was rookie Lias Andersson. He saw more shifts in crunch time, and nearly tied it. Some great hustle from Jimmy Vesey kept the puck in. Steven Fogarty found Andersson alone in front. He was one-on-one with Calvin Pickard. But Pickard stayed with him by getting his pad across to deny Andersson in tight on a forehand deke, leaving him frustrated.
Frustrating is a good way to describe the game. To their credit, the Blueshirts played a better third. They finally created chances and tested Pickard. But he never had to face any rebounds. His defense did a nice job clearing the garbage.
The Rangers top line of Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and Filip Chytil were by far their best. However, they couldn’t get one by Pickard. Chytil was dangerous again with a nice rebound opportunity off a Kreider shot, which Pickard swallowed up. Chytil’s confidence is way up. He really has been visible and continues to make plays with the puck. There was one bad moment where he got out-muscled by James van Riemsdyk, forcing Lundqvist to make a pair of saves. But there’s a lot to like about Chytil’s game. So, his goal streak ended at five.
I thought Kevin Shattenkirk also had a good game. He was good defensively and jumped into the rush offensively to create chances. So too was Tony DeAngelo, who’s open right point shot hit the post. Unfortunately, the Flyers scored right after.
How bad was the shot discrepancy? The Flyers had 46 shots including Couturier’s second from Konecny and Giroux that made it 4-0 with 1:37 remaining. By then, I wasn’t paying attention. I was getting ready to leave to have another turkey dinner at my Mom’s.
The Flyers outshot the Rangers 46-31 and out-attempted them by a ridiculous 77-49 margin. They also dominated on face-offs going 37-and-26. They were the better team.
For the Rangers, who fell to 12-9-2, there’s no time for the weary. They visit the Capitals tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM. Considering how well Lundqvist played making 42 saves, does he get a second straight game? I’m inclined to think so.
We shall see. As far as today’s game, burn the DVD. Move on to Washington next.
The new traditional Black Friday game on NBC is here again. It’s the Rangers and Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love this afternoon at 1 PM. Tied in points (26) with the first place Blue Jackets, the Rangers bring the league’s hottest record (9-1-1 in last 11 games) into play at Wells Fargo Center.
A Thanksgiving Showdown has the classic Patrick Division rivals in a role reversal so far this year. While the Blueshirts have surprised many with their play, it’s been a struggle for the Flyers, who are 0-3-1 over the last four and 9-10-2 overall with their 20 points putting them in last place. They’re tied with the Devils and Penguins in points, but by virtue of one more game played, sit eighth in the Metro Division.
For the Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist returns to the net following a rare game off with backup Alexandar Georgiev making 29 saves for his first career shutout in 5-0 win over the Islanders on Turkey Eve. So far this season, the 36-year old Lundqvist has performed well, bringing a 8-6-2 record into play with a 2.61 GAA and .919 save percentage in 17 games played.
Coach David Quinn hasn’t decided if Lundqvist will make both starts this weekend with another matinee in Washington tomorrow at 2 PM. Let’s see how today goes first.
In Wednesday’s victory, the team lost Cody McLeod to a fractured left hand sustained in a second period fight with Isles’ tough guy Ross Johnston. He was seen holding it as he left the rink. Ironically, the game in which he scored his first goal as a Ranger he got injured in. Bad luck. The team has fared well when he’s played. With McLeod in the lineup, their record is 11-5-0.
Without him, the lineup should look different. Quinn is hoping Mats Zuccarello can return from a groin strain so they don’t have to call up anyone from Hartford. Zuccarello has missed six of the last seven games due to the injury. For the season, he has three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 16 games.
If he can’t go, the likely candidates to come up are Cristoval “Boo” Nieves, Matt Beleskey, or Tim Gettinger. Ville Meskanen could be another option. It would depend on what the organization prefers. Beleskey could fill the same role as McLeod. He’s tough and physical. However, Nieves, Gettinger and Meskanen can skate, giving the fourth line more versatility.
Assuming Zuccarello is ready, Quinn could just slide Jesper Fast down to the fourth line. A move that makes sense given his offensive struggles. He’s better suited in a secondary role anyway. It’s my belief that having Fast with Lias Andersson would be a good combination because both are good skaters who can forecheck.
With Tony DeAngelo picking up a primary helper on McLeod’s goal, he should stay in the lineup on a defense that got Brady Skjei back after a two-game absence. Brendan Smith is likely the odd man out for now despite doing nothing wrong in his recent two games.
Here is a projected lineup with Zuccarello:
Namestnikov-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Kreider-Hayes-Chytil
Vesey-Howden-Strome
Fogarty-Andersson-Fast
Staal-Pionk
Skjei-DeAngelo
Claesson-Shattenkirk
Lundqvist
Georgiev
A couple of other notes. Filip Chytil looks to extend his goal streak. The 19-year old teenager is currently at five, joining some exclusive company.
Ryan Strome picked up his first point as a Ranger when he tallied an assist on McLeod’s goal. He has been fine on the new third line with Brett Howden and Jimmy Vesey. What I like so far is his attention to detail. He came back hard defensively to break up a play against his former team that drafted him. Maybe the change of scenery will spark Strome.
Chris Kreider continues to play the best hockey of his career. His goal and assist on Wednesday gave him six goals and five assists in the last eight games. He currently leads the Rangers in goals (12), points (20) and power play goals (5).
With a goal that made it 4-0, Kevin Hayes is up to 14 points (5-9-14). While that may not seem like much, the two-way pivot has tallied nine points (2-7-9) over the past eight games. He’s a plus-eight over that span. If you stretch it back to Oct. 30, he is 3-8-11 in the past 11. That coincides with the team’s 9-1-1 run. It’s not a coincidence.
Neal Pionk scored a power play goal against the Isles. It was his second PPG and 11th power play point. His 11 PPP place him in a tie for third in the league. Eleven of his 14 points (4-10-14) have come on the man-advantage.
With a helper on Pionk’s goal, Vladislav Namestnikov has three points (1-2-3) over the past four games. He’s found his game since sitting out once. He’s got two goals with five helpers entering today’s match.
On the Flyers’ side, Calvin Pickard gets the start. Without starting goalie Brian Elliott, it’s been a real struggle. Before an injury sidelined him in a loss to the Devils on Nov. 15, Elliott had allowed two goals or less in his last seven appearances (six starts). Following a slow start by the team, the 33-year old veteran had performed well by posting a 6-7-0 record with a 2.59 GAA and .911 save percentage over 14 games.
Without backup Michal Neuvirth, Pickard is the third string goalie filling in. Despite a 4.13 GAA and .858 save percentage, he’s 3-1-2 in nine games (six starts). In a ugly 5-2 loss to Buffalo on Wednesday, he relieved an ineffective Alex Lyon (4 GA on 12 shots) finishing with eight saves. In his last start against Tampa Bay, he allowed six goals on 26 shots in a blowout loss.
Claude Giroux leads the Flyers in scoring with 25 points (9-16-25). A terrific player, he just surpassed 700 points for his career. The former 2006 Philadelphia first round pick taken 22nd overall, has 222 goals and 480 assists for 702 points in 759 games. Particularly dangerous in transition and at making plays for teammates, he plays on the top line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny.
Wayne Simmonds has scored in his last two games. Always a tough player to move away from the net, he’s given the Rangers fits. The defense will have to do a good job boxing out and lifting his stick. Here are the Flyers projected lines:
Giroux-Couturier-Konecny
Lindblom-Patrick-Voracek
van Riemsdyk-Weal-Simmonds
Weise-Laughton-Lehtera
Provorov-Hagg
Sanheim-Gudas
Pickard
Lyon
Gostisbehere-Frolin
A couple of quick notes. The Flyers are clearly underperforming. Jakub Voracek has 17 points (5-12-17) and is a minus-eight. Konecny only has five goals and six assists. Shayne Gostisbehere is a minus-13 with 11 points (3-8-11). Ivan Provorov has been a huge disappointment with only seven points (2-5-7) so far. No wonder my the current state of my fantasy hockey team sucks. Nolan Patrick has five goals and none have come on the power play.
These are all key performers who at any moment, can turn it around. Dale Weise usually shows up in these games against the team that drafted him. Former players always get up for these games.
The point is the Flyers shouldn’t be taken lightly. As poorly as they’ve played, they’re fully capable of getting hot. James van Riemsdyk recently returned. He has a goal and three assists in five games.
It’s advisable for the Rangers not to get in a track meet. They also must stay disciplined. The Flyers have one of the worst penalty kills. The key is to skate and attack their D. Draw penalties. Make them work. If they do that, they’ll win.
Through the season’s first quarter there’s been very little to be thankful for as a Devils fan, at least in terms of overall results. A 4-0 start got buried with just four wins in their next fifteen games before last night’s pre-Thanksgiving showdown with the Habs. Our bad start has been compounded by our New York-area rivals both having surprisingly good starts to their season. Even Montreal, which was also supposed to be in full rebuild mode also came into the Prudential Center off to a hot start under former Devils coach Claude Julien. For a non-division game there used to be something pretty special about a Devils-Habs game with HOF goalie Martin Brodeur’s hometown connection and how he usually rose to the occasion against his boyhood team throughout his career.
With Marty back in the organzation now, perhaps the team channeled his spirit for one night, giving one of their most dominant performances of the season against Montreal and finally giving everyone – themselves and fans alike – a slight reprieve after a month of general angst. Of course there won’t be much of a chance to savor the turkey today before the Devils have to take on a hungry Islanders team tomorrow afternoon, coming off of two blowout losses of their own. That game will show whether last night was an outlier or hopefully the start of climbing out of a hole we’ve created through the last month plus.
Last night may well have been just one of those games where everything works. Or almost everything anyway. Kyle Palmieri’s masterful tip goal in the first period was followed almost immediately by an equalizer by Johnathan Drouin, who beat Keith Kinkaid with a knuckle-puck type shot shortside. It’s never good when the PA announcer can’t even read off the scoring on the Devils goal before the opposition takes the air out of the building tying it up. At least there would be a lot more highlights from the team in red to come, starting with a familiar combination giving the Devils back the lead late in the first when Taylor Hall spun around behind the net and found Nico Hischier on the doorstep for an easy goal. Hischier’s return clearly made a difference last night and seemed to revitalize the first line.
Even up 2-1 after the first period didn’t put me at ease all that much. With the way this season’s gone being up one feels like being tied since you know a late blown lead is likely. Clearly the only solution is to get a lead big enough even this team can’t blow. Which is exactly what happened last night. First, Hall extended the lead in the second period off a nice tic-tac-toe passing play started by Marcus Johansson and Egor Yakovlev. Then the mostly dormant second line continued its recent surge back to life with not one, but two Pavel Zacha goals. After only recently getting off the schneid scoringwise Zacha suddenly has four goals following his two-goal outburst in the second period last night. Even Johansson finally showed signs of life, while granted his two assists weren’t primary he could also have easily gotten assists on a couple of other plays. For one of the few times as a Devil, he was noticeable in a good way.
Now up 5-1 late in the second period, this game was actually going to be a laugher for a change. Last night’s near-sellout had fun in the stands sing-songing CAREY! for Carey Price in the Habs’ net. Sure he wasn’t really at fault on the goal barrage but who cares? Even with the Devils’ good home record it hasn’t been a lot of fun watching this team lately, might as well get our pre-holiday jollies in. My only moment of consternation last night came in the third period, shortly after Max Domi’s fluke goal made the game 5-2, Yakovlev gave up another breakaway that could have made it 5-3 but again the posts intervened for Keith. How much exactly is Keith bribing the posts with anyway? It was only dissapointing that Joey Anderson left last night’s game early with an undisclosed lower body injury, playing with eleven forwards last night made it important to have an easy third period and keep the game put away. Off ice, I was also slightly annoyed that the Devil oven mitts promo they were running wasn’t an actual giveaway but one you had to pay for in advance, not that I really wanted them for myself but it would have been nice to be able to give them away.
Part of me wishes I could be at the game tomorrow because it’ll be an electric atmosphere no doubt, likely a sellout since most of the world has the day off (not me, though I probably could have swung going from work to the game if I really wanted to). And part of me is dreading getting thumped by the Isles again the way we usually are when they actually want to play. We did manage to beat the clueless Doug Weight Isles a couple times down the stretch last year when they’d long since shut it off, but the new Barry Trotz Isles have been stellar for most of the season save the last two games, and they snuffed us out in a 3-0 shutout at Brooklyn during our road trip of doom. Payback’s in order and it would be nice to not roll over to Lou’s team at home, it’s almost been a sick joke how they’ve managed to thrive this season without John Tavares much the way the pre-2004 lockout Devil teams would excel when we lost a key FA.
Of course it’d be nice just to get back over NHL .500 again, irrespective of the opponent. We need wins no matter who they’re against, but getting one against a team we’re now likely competing with for a playoff spot would be doubly satisfying.
I was thinking about a good way to start this post. By now, you’re all home following the first Rangers win over the Islanders since Oct. 13, 2016. They snapped an eight-game losing streak by shutting out their blood rivals, 5-0 at a less than sold out MSG. They drew 17,297 on the night before Thanksgiving.
Alexandar Georgiev recorded his first career NHL shutout with 29 saves. Most were easy due to a total team effort. He got plenty of support with big nights from Chris Kreider (goal, assist), Neal Pionk (power play goal, assist), Kevin Shattenkirk (2 assists), Cody McLeod (goal, fight), Filip Chytil (5th consecutive game with a goal) and Kevin Hayes (goal).
In searching for a movie reference that reminded me of what had been a one-sided rivalry with the Isles entering winners of eight straight and 11 of 12, I chose this short clip from one of my favorite films, The Devil’s Advocate. I think you’ll see the cruel irony in what happened to the Islanders much like Keanu Reeves’ character Neil Lomax at the epic conclusion.
He screams at the top of his lungs like a maniac at Al Pacino’s evil sinister John Milton, “Lose? I don’t lose! I win! I win! I’m a lawyer! That’s my job! That’s what I do!”
That quote sticks out for me. In many aspects, it applied to the Isles in Wednesday’s game. They’re so used to winning against the Rangers that maybe they were due for a bad night. It was time. The Rangers brought them and Islanders fans back to reality by methodically beating them 5-0. Adding insult to injury, they did it with their backup goalie, who’s good.
I really believe coach David Quinn knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to start Georgiev over Henrik Lundqvist. The message was simple. Do whatever it takes to get a win over this damn team. It worked like a charm. They never allowed the Islanders to get a clean chance until the third period. By then, it was 4-0 and Georgiev was locked in. He made a few good saves to earn the shutout, and then got chest bumped by a pumped up Kreider as they entered the locker room.
Before I even put it on due to catching the end of a great game won by a point by Gonzaga over Duke in Maui, Chytil had already scored in his fifth consecutive game. He had a pass come back to him for an easy finish past Robin Lehner only 29 seconds in.
Having flipped to MSG-Plus which had the Isles telecast with Brendan Burke and Butch Goring, once McLeod scored his first as a Ranger on a nice tip in front of a Tong DeAngelo shot, I decided not to change the channel. Sure. I could’ve easily switched to the Rangers feed on MSG 3, but I figured since they already led 2-0, maybe I’d be better off sticking with the Isles feed. Why not? Nothing else seemed to work whenever they played. A little reverse psychology did the trick.
Of course, listening to the rival broadcast can be annoying. But I found Goring’s commentary amusing. At first, he talked about how the Rangers were getting the bounces. While that was especially true after a bogus phantom slash on Leo Komarov resulted in a loose puck coming to Pionk, he absolutely wired his fourth past Lehner from Vladislav Namestnikov and Mika Zibanejad. That made it 3-0 at 8:04.
The Islanders spent the rest of the period getting back in it with a good forecheck. However, none of their 11 shots were good enough to beat Georgiev, who got help from both his defense and forwards. They were committed throughout, which by the third drew praise from Goring. Funny how a strong work ethic and attention to detail can result in well earned victories that the Rangers are getting. Even the doubters are taking notice.
When they did create some opportunities, they either hit the crossbar or missed the net completely. It was almost as if the Isles had turkey and gravy before tomorrow. They couldn’t shoot straight. But when they did, most of the shots went right into the bread basket of Georgiev.
There were only 10 total shots in the second with five apiece. The Rangers blocked a few and the Isles missed the net. It was eerie. Almost as if it were meant for them to finally win and send fans home happy for the holidays. You couldn’t have drawn it up any better.
When Hayes turned a Shattenkirk feed into an easy backhand tuck off a nice deke for his fifth goal at 17:17, that made it 4-0. For all intents and purposes, the game was over.
Islander frustration had already begun to boil over when tough guy Ross Johnston kept trying to goad McLeod into a fight. When it was 2-0 in the first, their paths crossed in front of the net during a scrum. McLeod turned down his initial challenge due to the score. Why would he fight with the Rangers up early? But by the halfway mark in the second, a clean McLeod hit that caught Johnston drew his ire. He chased him around until McLeod finally obliged. After McLeod took some hard shots from an aggravated Johnston, the refs somehow didn’t give him an instigator. Not that I care. But it’s in the rule book.
As for McLeod, he was the worse for wear with his left hand banged up enough to exit the contest for repairs. It didn’t look good. He was grabbing the side of it in some pain as he skated off to the locker room. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing him for a while. It’s too bad because the team has played well when he’s in, feeding off his energy. I guess someone will be called up for Friday’s match at Philadelphia unless Mats Zuccarello (groin strain) can go. He’s missed six of the last seven games.
Even though the shots were higher in the third, the Isles were clearly frustrated. Mathew Barzal took a good hit and looked upset. That’s how the Rangers played. They were tough. It resulted in a nice win.
Kreider finished it off in style with what’s becoming his signature goal. He skates out of the defensive zone with blazing speed and then pulls the trigger from the left circle and snaps a perfect shot short side, top shelf. Oops. He did it again like the Britney Spears hit. Off a Zibanejad clear, he flew down and blew his team-leading 12th past Lehner. That’s the third consecutive time he’s scored from that spot on that shot. It’s remarkable to see Kreider blossom in front of our eyes.
All that was left was the shutout, which Georgiev earned with 13 saves in the final period. Even better, his parents saw it, making the game extra special. For his trouble, he was named the game’s first star and donned the fancy dancy Broadway Hat in the winners room. Plus got a fist bump from Lundqvist after Kreider’s emphatic chest bump.
It’s a happy locker room. It should be. They gave Rangers fans the best Thanksgiving present of all.
Three Rangers Stars
3rd 🌟 Cody McLeod goal (1st as a Ranger), plus a fight
2nd 🌟 Chris Kreider goal (team best 12th), assist
1st 🌟 Alexandar Georgiev 29 saves for first career shutout
"These guys have worked hard every day, they're great kids, they've got great attitudes and they're really good players." – #NYR Coach Quinn https://t.co/5J3WgrPfYy
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Battle Of Hudson 
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