Lias Andersson scores in NHL debut and Filip Chytil records first point in Rangers loss to Caps

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Derek

If it were only about wins and losses now, then the tone of this blog would be different. With the Rangers all but eliminated from the playoffs, the kids are getting a chance to show what they got.

Already we’ve seen positives from Neal Pionk, Alexandar Georgiev and John Gilmour. That’s included contributions from deadline pickup Ryan Spooner and Jesper Fast proving that maybe he isn’t just a secondary player by fitting perfectly with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

Monday night was a look into the future with 2017 first round picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil becoming the first pair of teenagers to record a point in a game for the Rangers since Ron Greschner and Dave Maloney some 44 years ago on Dec. 18, 1974. Pretty amazing company. Both Greschner and Maloney were integral parts of the next wave that went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979 and on some more good Rangers teams in the 80’s.

It’s pretty exciting for fans to see the potential these two kids have. Playing in his first NHL game, Andersson made a great first impression by scoring his first career goal in the national when he finished off a nice Jimmy Vesey feed in front to bring cheers at MSG following a dreadful first period that saw the first place Caps erupt for the game’s first four goals. Here’s how it looked and sounded.

Playing for the third time, Chytil showed off his unique talent by registering a team high six shots. He recorded his first NHL point when he was able to pass across a deflected puck to a wide open Mats Zuccarello for a goal early in the third period to cut the deficit to 4-2.

It was a good reward for a gifted young player with a lot of upside. He spoke to reporters about the game and experience in the locker room.

Full marks to the young Blueshirts for making a game out of it. They were so dominated by Alexander Ovechkin (NHL leading 45th goal, assist) and company in the first that it looked like there should be a mercy rule. The Caps skated circles around them and quickly chased poor starter Georgiev for three goals on six shots.

Ondrej Pavelec was terrific in relief only permitting one while making 26 saves on 27 shots faced. The only goal was a bit of bad luck with Evgeny Kuznetsov getting a pass off a odd bounce off Brady Skjei that allowed the Russian to push the puck into a open side for a shorthanded goal. That made it 4-0. Afterwards, he was splendid robbing Ovechkin in his office a couple of times with great glove saves.

Maybe the Caps took their foot off the accelerator. But the Rangers never gave up. A sign of a young rebuilding team that isn’t mailing it in. They play hard. Sure. There are mistakes like the one by Gilmour and Kevin Hayes on one goal and Pionk on another. But they’re learning.

Chris Kreider drew a penalty to give them a late power play. Eventually, Alain Vigneault pulled Pavelec for a six-on-four. The issue was the reluctance to shoot the puck by the six-man unit featuring Pavel Buchnevich. A talented player who had the puck at the right circle with room but did nothing with it. He’s been frustrating. At some point, the second-year Russian needs to be more decisive and not always think pass.

Like Zuccarello, he defers way too much. It’s no wonder he has only three goals in his last 37 games. That’s not a misprint. Over that stretch, he has 16 assists totaling 3-16-19. Hardly the kind of production that warrants first line minutes. He’s far from a finished product. Granted. There’s no rational explanation for Vigneault sticking him and struggling Russian Vladislav Namestnikov with Cody McLeod. At least they got a shift with Andersson in the third which nearly resulted in a third goal. But Namestnikov somehow missed a gimme.

As good as the power play has performed getting all the way up to seventh entering last night, too often they defer to Zibanejad for his patented righty shot. It can’t be so predictable. You need other shooters. The go to plays are either get the puck to Zibanejad for his one-timer on the off wing or fire a point shot hoping for Kreider to either redirect or screen the goalie in front.

With both Buchnevich and Zuccarello unable to do anything in crunch time, I would’ve liked to see Chytil or Andersson at that point. Why the heck not. They definitely earned it. Even Hayes has changed his approach looking shot more.

All in all, a good effort considering how poorly it started. The crazy part is they get to do it all over again tomorrow on Rivalry Night at Washington with the dreaded 8 PM start. Hopefully, they won’t wait till it’s four goals down to start playing.

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Home sweet home (at last)

Posted on March 24, 2018 by hasan4978

Facing potentially the most critical forty-eight hours of the season the last two nights and with other playoff contenders around them refusing to go on a losing streak, the Devils responded the way they needed to after a bad California trip – with a pair of wild, gritty, gutty wins over the Penguins and Lightning on back-to-back nights.  Continuing his rags to riches story, Keith Kinkaid delivered the goods the way no Devils goalie has since a guy named Brodeur in the 2012 Conference Finals, stopping 75 of 79 pucks and winning a pair of one-goal games against arguably the two best teams in the East, if not the entire NHL.  Amazingly the Devils’ 2-1 win at the Rock over Tampa tonight gave them a season sweep of one of the teams tied for the President’s Trophy, a couple weeks after beating the other (Nashville) at the start of their massive six-game road stretch.

Going 5-2 with the six road games plus Tampa on the first game back less than 24 hours after beating the Pens in an emotional OT thriller has to go down as an unqualified success, with the caveat that because other teams around us are still winning at a scary rate the Devils really haven’t gotten in any better playoff position than they were at the start of the trip.  Yet they are in better position just for having gone through this stretch and still having a three-point lead over the Panthers (albeit with them still having two games in hand) and being in striking distance of the Flyers (two points back) and Blue Jackets (three points back, with a game in hand).  With five of their last seven at the Rock facing teams either out of the playoffs or with suspect motivation there’s really no reason the Devils can’t win any game left on their schedule.  Especially with only one back to back and very minimal travel – Montreal on that back to back and the Caps the last scheduled day of the regular season are the only road games left.

I can’t really speak to much of what happened last night in Pittsburgh as I was at a birthday dinner for a friend and only saw some of the game later on replay (plus watching the eight-nine minute condensed game clip on NHL.com) but maybe that was better for my stress level.  Just checking the score periodically I was getting annoyed in the third period when the Devils had blown a 3-1 lead and barely got into OT.  It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest dropping that game in regulation – especially after entering the third period two up – could have been a fatal blow for the season.  Instead it turned into a pulsating OT win when Nico Hischier made a great play to maintain the puck in the defensive zone, then executed a sweet stretch pass to a wide open Taylor Hall.  Doing as he’s done so many times this season Hall put the dagger in with his third OT winner of the year, and his 33rd goal in total, less than a minute into the extra period.

With the win against the Penguins in the bank, it would have been unfathomable just a month ago to assume Kinkaid would have been playing a back to back with the season on the line, but really did coach John Hynes have any other choice?  Especially after Cory Schneider’s nightmare half-game in San Jose and general ineffective play in 2018.  So Hynes did play Kinkaid tonight against Tampa, but also put in fresh legs by restoring Stefan Noesen to the lineup for the mostly ineffectual Drew Stafford, while he somewhat surprisingly put in Mirco Mueller for Ben Lovejoy.  While I was glad to see Mueller get another chance it seemed a bit odd to not only put him in cold against the Lightning but also playing on his off (right) side to boot.

In the end Mueller responded surprisingly well, playing a hair over seventeen minutes and even pinching in an assist on Nico’s first period marker, where the 19-year old cleaned up the garbage in front from a Will Butcher shot and scored on a nifty turnaround move while falling to one knee.  Momentum of play ebbed back and forth throughout the first two periods but the score still remained in favor of the Devils, who added to their lead in the second when Kyle Palmieri blew a slapper past Andrei Vasilevsky.  Hynes deployed his lineup well on this night, with five of the six defensemen playing at least 17 minutes while Will Butcher played a shade under 15 (albeit all at even strength), while every forward played at least 10:55.

Of course in the back of my mind up two I was still thinking ‘oh god, we could still blow another one’, since for us a two-goal lead is the worst in hockey, though I didn’t quite have the feeling of doom I normally might considering how well the team did play in the first two periods.  Even when the Devils finally lost the shutout early in the third period, it was after nearly killing off a full power play.  Although Tampa outshot the Devils 12-7 in the third, for the most part we were able to keep the high-danger chances to a minimum until the final moments when things always get hairy once the other team pulls the goalie.  Maddeningly the Devils blew a couple of chances to put in the empty-net dagger and Ryan McDonaugh put one off the post that looked in real time like a highlight-reel save from Kinkaid, who still made plenty of biggies.

After a final ten minutes that seemed to last forever, the Devils were finally able to bank the critical two points, made even more critical by the Panthers’ own comeback from two goals down in the third period against the pitiful Coyotes, just when a good night looked like it could get orgasmic when both the Devils and Arizona were up two in their respective third periods.  So the Panthers started their own seven game out of eight road stretch 3-1 with only a loss to the equally hot Blue Jackets.  Ironically the Jackets’ ten game winning streak finally ended tonight at the hands of the Blues, still leaving us in striking distance of them as well as the Flyers.

Despite my concerns after the California trip and the maddening efficiency with which our competitors have been winning the Devils came out of this make or break stretch in about as good a shape as could be hoped for.  If 3-3-1 seemed hopeful before the trip, I also didn’t think the Panthers would continue to be this good either so essentially both of us exceeding our ‘projection’ for the last couple of weeks worked out for the moment.  Now the schedule edge for our competition that loomed over our final fifteen games is gone.  Of course schedules are only what you make of them.  There’s no reason this Devil team can’t at least come out of their final seven games with double-digit points, and there’s no reason to expect the Panthers to win out.  Destiny will probably be back in our hands sooner or later but this team needs to respond to all of its competition down the stretch the way they get up for the Lightning and Pens (a combined 6-0 on the season).

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Fast’s career high three points spoiled by Flyers

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Derek

The Flyers are hated for a reason. Aside from the fact they always push the Rangers around, they also are gonna make the playoffs. Unlike ’09-10, it wont come down to a stinking shootout in Game 82 in Philadelphia.

That’s the good news. The Rangers will be eliminated soon enough. Despite being on the verge of missing the postseason for the first time in eight years, they continue to be competitive. They made it tough on the Flyers before falling by a score of 4-3 on the road.

The sad part is since the big trade deadline that officially rang in the rebuild, the tank has not gone as expected. In a way, I’m glad. Professional athletes don’t care about draft position but rather winning. It’s a positive sign that this roster is giving a good effort. They may still have defensive issues as evidenced by the latest fiasco that injured Henrik Lundqvist. But they continue to work hard.

The only drawback is the Islanders are better at tanking. They’ve fallen behind the Rangers into last place in the division. The Hurricanes are also better at this seemingly falling apart after being in the mix for a wildcard. So be it. At least the Blueshirts will be in the lottery with two more late first round picks to dangle along with a surplus of seconds and thirds.

During a stretch in which Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have grabbed all the headlines, overlooked linemate Jesper Fast has been playing the best hockey of his career. Since being moved up to the top line, the pesky Swede who combines good speed with grit and extra effort to match has been on a roll.

He continued to produce last night. In the one goal loss, Fast scored twice and picked up a assist for a new career high three points. Always a secondary player who coach Alain Vigneault could plug anywhere, now Quickie is getting the opportunity to play on the first line with better talent. He has fit in perfectly by playing the same straight forward North American game with edge by outworking opponents.

The three point effort extended Fast’s personal point streak to a career best seven games. Over that span, he’s tallied nine points (3-6-9). The three point night helped him match his previous career high in points for a season. It was 30 (10-20-30) set in ’15-16. With eight games left, Fast has already established a new career mark in goals (13). Now, he can achieve a new best in points.

It’s nice to see him rewarded. He deserves this. Just look at the two goals he scored. The first he got to a loose puck behind the net and wisely flipped a backhand from a bad angle off Alex Lyon and in. The second goal was typical grunt work with Fast parked in front for a tip in of a Rob O’Gara shot that made it a one goal game 1:20 after Oskar Lindblom tallied eight seconds into the third. A nice answer back.

The only disappointment was not seeing Fast out for the final minute. He deserved to be out there with Alexandar Georgiev pulled for a extra attacker. Instead, Vigneault went with Mats Zuccarello, Pavel Buchnevich, Zibanejad, Kreider, Kevin Hayes and Neal Pionk. Ryan Spooner, Brady Skjei, John Gilmour and Ryan Sproul also saw time. It didn’t seem right. Zuccarello always gets preferential treatment. Buchnevich didn’t do anything either. But it was treated like a power play. Fast doesn’t play on it either.

I can’t really complain too much. They played a good second and third. But the Flyers did enough to win.

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How not to play in your 800th game

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Derek

Henrik Lundqvist is a lot of things. For over a decade, the successful 2000 seventh round pick who came over from Frolunda where he won a championship in Sweden has been a rock for this franchise. Already the Rangers’ record holder in wins (430) and shutouts (63) along with total minutes, the King is a future Hall of Famer who’s guided the team to the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons.

That includes three trips to the Eastern Conference Final and the franchise’s only return to the Stanley Cup in 2014. Had they won 20 years after the memorable ’94 championship, it would’ve been storybook. Instead, they fell short of their ultimate goal in the closest five-game series you ever saw. Then came the kick to the groin at home in Game 7 against Tampa a year later.

This will be only the second season a Lundqvist led team will fail to qualify for the postseason. The first that is out of it before the fateful final game of the ’09-10 season losing in a shootout to the hated Flyers. Olli Jokinen still haunts Blueshirts fans.

Even with a early vacation coming this Spring if it ever gets here, the 36-year old Lundqvist has accomplished a lot. With the team about to be eliminated, there’s nothing to play for. However, this is a passionate man with a lot of pride. Following Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the red hot Blue Jackets, who are now winners of nine straight entering a critical match tomorrow against the Panthers, Lundqvist remains at 25 wins in ’17-18. With nine games left, it’s unlikely he’ll reach 30 for the 12th time in 14 seasons.

After seeing him get bowled over on a freakish collision with John Gilmour and Matt Calvert where he landed on his head, what’s the point in playing him? I get that he wants to play and remains as competitive as ever. Similar to Martin Brodeur, Lundqvist has that unique quality of never wanting to miss a start. Of course, you can’t compare him to arguably the all-time greatest. But his desire to win is unquestioned.

At this point with the Rangers playing out the remainder of the schedule, it would be better off giving Alexandar Georgiev the bulk of the starts. He’s shown no reason not to play him. Even with the defense and forwards continuing to struggle in the rebuild, the 22-year old has been unflappable. He’s made plenty of good saves in his seven appearances winning three while posting a identical 2.94 goals-against-average with a .922 save percentage.

They may as well see what they have. Alexandar The Great or Gorgy as I like to call him looks like a keeper. He very well could be the backup next season. He has a calm presence in net and doesn’t seem to lose focus despite facing the same crazy workload Lundqvist has dealt with.

Given how he performed in his return last night in his 800th career game, Lundqvist can use a extended vacation. This isn’t to pin it all on him. We’ve seen this team enough to know they can’t defend to save their life. So, you get easy goals like the one Alexander Wennberg scored in the first with no one covering him and Mats Zuccarello caught in no man’s land trying for a block.

Since acquiring Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole at the trade deadline, Columbus has been a different team. They score goals in bunches. In winning their ninth in a row, they have catapulted from a fringe playoff team to being tied in points (87) with the Pens, who somehow managed to lose in Brooklyn to the Islanders 4-1. They now look like a playoff lock even though they are one up on the Flyers and five clear of the stumbling Devils with the Panthers up to 81 in the race for the wildcard.

It’s no longer just Artemi Panarin that opponents must worry about. Vanek has formed good chemistry with Wennberg and Nick Foligno on the top line allowing Panarin to play second line and get favorable match-ups. He recorded his second hat trick this season along with a helper for a four point night. Both hat tricks have come against the Blueshirts. In eight career games dating back to his days spent in Chicago, the Bread Man now has scored 10 times against the Rangers.

Even though they made mistakes against a good opponent which didn’t help Lundqvist, the Rangers still competed hard. After falling behind 2-0, Kevin Hayes scored a shorthanded goal. Jesper Fast caused a turnover and fed Hayes for a breakaway which the Steven McDonald candidate finished to add to his career high with number 21.

More defensive ineptitude allowed Markus Nutivaara to restore a two-goal lead a few minutes into the third. But the Rangers stayed hot on the power play. Mika Zibanejad continues his brilliant play rifling home his career high 25th from the left circle for his team best 13th power play goal from Neal Pionk and Pavel Buchnevich. Pionk has 10 points (all assists) in his last 10 games. Zibanejad has goals in four of the last five including five tallies in the last three. He’s 6-3-9 over five and 8-4-12 in the last nine.

Trailing 3-2, the Rangers couldn’t get out of their own way. On a odd man rush with only Pionk back, Cam Atkinson got a shot off which Lundqvist thought he had covered at the left side of the crease. Unaware that the puck was loose right in front of him, he watched Panarin sneak in, grab the rebound and flip a backhand into a open net for the game-winner. It was brutal. You also had four other Rangers in the picture puck watching. A sad example of how it’s gone.

There also was a scary moment when Columbus had a shorthanded rush with Lundqvist wandering out to stop Calvert as the Columbus forward, Gilmour and Lundqvist collided with our goalie basically flipping over and taking a hard landing that was scary. He stayed down for a while but got up and didn’t exit the game. Not everyone thought it was a good decision.

I do wonder why even let him continue following that. He admitted to being in pain afterwards. What’s the point? These games don’t matter.

Of course, the team came back again with Chris Kreider parking himself in front of Sergei Bobrovsky to neatly redirect a Brady Skjei wide point shot in for a power play goal that made it 4-3 with 1:52 left. A really skilled play by a improving power forward who’s been terrific since returning from a rib resection due to a blood clot. Ryan Sproul added a secondary helper.

But the last ditch comeback effort was for naught. A turnover at the Columbus blueline allowed Panarin to fire his third into a vacated net as one hat flew onto the ice for his 25th.

Notes: The Rangers held a 32-31 shots edge including outshooting the Blue Jackets 14-7 in the third. Columbus outshot then 12-9 in each of the first two periods. … Columbus blocked 24 shots. … Power Play: CBJ 0-2 NYR 2-4. … Bobrovsky made 29 saves including 25 of 25 at even strength. Lundqvist finished with 26 saves stopping 24 of 28 at even strength. … Vladislav Namestnikov has no points with a minus-four rating in his last three. Ryan Spooner is without a point in three and minus-three. … With nine games left, 2017 ninth overall pick Lias Andersson could come up from Hartford. He can only play in nine games and not burn off a year of his ELC. He could be a possibility for tomorrow’s match in Philly. … NYR signed recently acquired D prospect Ryan Lindgren. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher was part of the Rick Nash deal with Boston. … Former Ranger Brandon Dubinsky was a healthy scratch with no points in his last 17.

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Anatomy of a choke

Posted on March 21, 2018 by hasan4978

What I didn’t want to believe was going to happen but outwardly feared for a while – since the Devils’ nine-point playoff lead went down to three in the matter of four days – is going to happen now.  Let’s face it Devil fans, this team is on its way to being out of the playoffs by this weekend (and probably not getting back there this year), now just one point up on the Panthers with them still having two games in hand after our back-to-back meltdowns in California.  Our 4-2 loss in Anaheim was probably more lopsided than it was on the scoreboard, but at least they had good goaltending that game from Keith Kinkaid.

Last night on the other hand was a total team meltdown starting from the net out.

When I heard Cory Schneider was going to start last night’s game, I winced and with good reason.  Ten straight losses with 3+ goals allowed don’t exactly engender a lot of confidence at this stage in the season.  Last night was Cory’s most important start as a Devil given both the team’s perilous situation and the fact his own legacy and reputation as a goalie was on the line.  Even with the lack of confidence Cory’s earned in fans and the team, I couldn’t have envisioned last night’s total nightmare.  Just thirty seconds into the game when Cory nearly gave away a goal with his usual hideous puckhandling, things had an ominious overtone.

Sure enough before you could blink Eric Fehr scored yet another ‘fluke bounce’ goal that only seems to happen to Cory these days and the rout was on, despite Taylor Hall’s best attempts to thwart the inevitable, with his game-tying goal at 11:19 of the first period.  Yet barely a minute later, Joe Pavelski gave the Sharks back a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and again before you could blink it was 3-1.  Though I already turned off the game after Cory’s first allowed and knew what was coming I just couldn’t bring myself to go to bed.  I would have been better off, but instead I just followed the rest of game on Twitter/message boards which no doubt exacerbated my angst and cost me sleep.  Not exactly a wise move given I’m just getting over a cold where I didn’t sleep great anyway.

I was honestly shocked coach John Hynes didn’t pull Cory at the end of the first and sent him out there to start the second.  If there was any doubt that was an erroneous decision, it was erased minutes into the period where this hideous 5 MPH shortside backhand somehow beat Cory and rang off the post:

https://twitter.com/NJviDs/status/976302996383416320

Honestly that was worse than any of the actual goals allowed last night. and pretty indiciative that Cory is shot for the season.  The only amazement was it took half the period for the Sharks to score a fourth time.  Only THEN did Hynes pull Cory for Kinkaid.  Like really dude, what’s the point then?  If you weren’t going to pull him at 3-1 when it was obvious Cory had nothing might as well leave him in to take a beating and not expose Keith to this hopeless cause of a game, no way we were coming from three down against a quality Sharks team, especially not being able to stop the puck.  Predictably Keith allowed a goal on his first shot coming in cold and the ‘change the goalie momentum’ immediately dissipated.  For a fourth straight time over the last two seasons the Sharks pounded us with a fourth straight blowout.

What makes this end of the season more frustrating is it’s not like the Devils have completely wet the bed down the stretch – the last two games notwithstanding.  Maybe our supposed elite goaltender has wet the bed but really wouldn’t everyone have signed up for 3-2 on the first five games before this trip?  Of course even that’s no longer good enough because the OOT results last night are the same as its been the last three weeks – absolutely, positively zero help from anyone else.  Another Panther win, another Blue Jacket win, another Flyer point coming from two down in the third period and another late deficit to at least get to the skills competition.  We haven’t so much as gotten a loser point since early January, it’s either been win or bust for us and that’s caught up to the team.

As a Met fan I’m seeing ghosts of 2007-2008 where the perfected the art of late-season collapses to somehow miss the playoffs despite all the percentages that 99% said they were getting in.  Just like the Devils were 95% or whatever it was to get in at the beginning of March when they were nine points up on the field.  Now the entire field’s passed them except for the Panthers who’ll no doubt pass them tomorrow when they’re the ones to finally end Columbus’s nine-game winning streak just when we no longer care about Blue Jackets results.  In fact, the Flyers are the only other realistic team to try to catch at this point but that presumes the Devils are even going to psychologically recover from these two beatdowns in California.

We know Cory won’t.  It’s gotten so bad I actually do feel a little for him at this point, despite how annoyed I am with his continuing to come up small when we need him most.  Just IR him with some phony-baloney injury and send him away for the rest of the season, not gonna do him or us any good to continue to bury this team’s playoff hopes.  Nobody knows more than him if the 2017-18 Devils choke away a playoff berth, he’s gonna have to be the one to wear it with eleven…straight…losses allowing three or more goals.  At this point if the team doesn’t make the playoffs, you might actually have to send Cory away for good.  God only knows how, his contract is way too long for a buyout, you’d only be able to trade him for similar long-term contracts of guys also not doing well like Bobby Ryan or retain a ton of salary on the 4 years, $24 million left on his deal.  For now, might as well take your best shot with Keith and Eddie Lack and at least try to get the rest of the team something out of this mess of a season.

Things still don’t get any easier this weekend with our lengthy road trip concluding in Pittsburgh Friday followed by a home matchup with the Lightning that now has a very different feel than it did a week ago.  I was envisioning a hero’s return after the Devils had won the first three games of the trip with a rocking crowd in a meaningful game but instead it’s gonna be an apprehensive, nervous reception for quite possibly the final nail in the Devils’ coffin.  Lordy, even I can’t believe it’s going to end quite like this – and this quickly too.  My prediction is we go on one last surge at some point and then of course the final ending will come in our home finale against the Leafs – Lou Lamoriello’s Leafs for one last karmic screw you by the NHL gods to us this season and once again poor Taylor Hall will be sitting home in April, his best season having come to waste and the Devil franchise will be sitting home for a sixth straight year, ultimately gaining nothing from this season in the end other than more heartbreak and knowing you need an actual starting goaltender next year.

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Random Thoughts: Hart race, Ovechkin, Islanders

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Derek

These are some of observations on the season which is drawing to a close in three weeks. Unless your team is making the playoffs, then this is about what I’ve seen. Some random thoughts:

1.The Hart race remains a hotly debated topic. With leading scorer Nikita Kucherov, Evgeni Malkin battling it out for the Art Ross, Nathan MacKinnon has climbed into the scoring race with a sizzling hot streak. He’s trying to carry the Avalanche into the postseason. Something nobody thought was remotely possible. He has been on such a good run that he now has almost caught up to the elite Russians who have been 1-2 for a while. At this point, it looks like Taylor Hall will be left out despite his impressive run. He is just as valuable to the Devils as MacKinnon is to Colorado. If you define most valuable, then those two are what the award personifies. But my feeling is it’ll come down to Kucherov, Malkin and MacKinnon. MacKinnon has 11 game-winners and has been a beast. I would vote for him. The other two are on much better teams.

2.Recently, Alexander Ovechkin became the fourth fastest player in NHL history to reach 600 career goals. Ovi has been unbelievable since he entered the league with Sidney Crosby in ’05-06. There’s no better finisher than the electrifying Russian with the cannon from the left circle that pulverizes goalies. They know it’s coming and he’s still terrorizing opponents. Tied with super soph Patrik Laine for the league lead with 43 goals, The Great Eight shows no signs of slowing down. In a game where it’s harder to score, he makes it look easy. A few more productive years and he could approach 800 goals. Who would’ve ever believed it? Whether he wins a Cup or not, he doesn’t need it to justify his career.

3.Henrik Lundqvist has taken a back seat to rookie Alexandar Georgiev. The 22-year old Bulgarian has played well winning three of his last four starts. He is very poised in net and hasn’t let the volume of shots bother him. It looks like the Rangers scouting staff did a good job signing the undrafted goalie who seems unflappable. A real positive that can aid the Rangers for ’18-19.

4.You watch the way the Bruins play without Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy and even Zdeno Chara and they still handle the Lightning. They could overtake Tampa for tops in the East and earn home ice advantage which would change the dynamic of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. It looked like a foregone conclusion that Boston would play Toronto in a first round. Not anymore. What if it’s the Bolts and Leafs while the Bruins draw whoever the final wildcard is. Probably the Devils unless the Panthers can recover from a awful home loss to lowly Edmonton. Don’t forget. Third place is up for grabs with the Flyers hanging onto that spot. There’s still enough time for Columbus to move up. They’ve been playing much better since adding Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole. Cam Atkinson is scoring again recently recording a hat trick in a home win. The offense has picked up.

5.It looks like another wasted year for the Islanders. A very disappointing season given the superb rookie season Mathew Barzal has had. The certain Calder winner leads the team in scoring with captain John Tavares a close second. The question is what will Tavares decide this summer. Is he truly loyal to the organization or will another missed postseason result in possibly testing the market. Would the Islanders be open to a sign and trade just in case so they don’t lose their captain for nothing? The thing is Garth Snow did re-sign Tavares favorite Josh Bailey to a good deal worth an average of $5 million. Anders Lee needs five goals for 40. For most of the year, he and Bailey have been perfect linemates for Tavares.

6.What is beleaguered coach Doug Weight thinking shifting Tavares to the wing on a line with Barzal? It’s a organization in dysfunction. Would you keep Snow around along with Weight for another year? How can they improve a weak blueline that’s struggled without Calvin de Haan? At some point, there needs to be a change in philosophy. Especially with Jaro Halak unable to handle the workload due to the league’s worst defense. Even Christopher Gibson can’t. Who can?

7.It would be nice if NHL refs knew what to call. Whether it be on goaltender interference or lengthy reviews along with offside challenges, it remains confusing. The same for fans who are equally frustrated with the process.

8.Top goalie is between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Pekka Rinne. It says here that it’s time for Rinne to win the Vezina. Vasilevskiy should have plenty of more chances.

 

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Game Preview: Georgiev to get a third straight start on St. Patty’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Derek

It is St. Patty’s Day. Happy Irish ☘️ Day to everyone who celebrates. I’ll probably have a brew or two later while enjoying the NCAA Basketball Tournament and Rangers hockey along with the other big games with playoff significance.

It’s already been a unreal 48 hours for my favorite basketball tournament with Buffalo sending Arizona and their lying cheating coach home followed up by UMBC making history in becoming the first 16 seed to upset a 1 seed in the Men’s Division I tourney. An amazing accomplishment that came to fruition Friday night in emphatic fashion with the University of Maryland Baltimore County beating Virginia handily 74-54 in Charlotte. I once played on their campus floor with my Staten Island JCC travel basketball team. Very nice court and place. Congrats to them!

With it being a big sports weekend, you can tell I’m all over the map. The Rangers are playing out the string by continuing to play it straight up. Even if that means winning some games unexpectedly like the feel good comeback home win over the Pens in overtime, so be it. Of course, the more wind and points hurts their lottery chances. They have fallen out of the top 10 with the woeful Islanders continuing to disgrace themselves despite a better roster featuring John Tavares, certain Calder winner Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey. It truly is astonishing to see how bad they are. But without a defense or consistent goaltending, they are truly dysfunctional.

While it may hurt to see the Isles with a better chance to move up in the Dahlin lottery, I like the fact the younger Blueshirts continue to play hard and show improvement for the future. We forget that these are pro athletes who take their job seriously. They want to win. Not tank. So, if any fan is upset by this, then you’re not much of a fan. I can’t root for my teams to lose. It’s not in me. I have pride. So do our players which makes me proud. None more so than Wednesday with the awesome 4-3 overtime stunner over NBC darling Pittsburgh.

A game in which Alexandar Georgiev made 37 saves including a clutch stop on a penalty shot to deny Hart candidate Evgeni Malkin with 10.7 seconds left. He has played well and looks poised in net. So, coach Alain Vigneault is rewarding him with a third straight start to give Henrik Lundqvist another night off. I’ve seen some fans whine over it due to wanting to see Lundqvist get five more wins for 30. That doesn’t matter. Personal achievements aren’t part of team sports when you’re not gonna make the playoffs.

Georgiev has earned the right to play. Let’s continue to see what the 22-year old can do. He has a calm demeanor and challenges players while making good saves. He very well could be the backup next season. I’m not one to celebrate injuries. But Ondrej Pavelec being out is a blessing in disguise because it allowed the organization to see what Gorgy can do. He hasn’t disappointed. He’ll get the start tonight at St. Louis.

There are other positives for Ranger fans with Neal Pionk continuing to improve. He picked up a career high three assists three nights ago and played well. He still must get stronger at boxing out but the skating and ability to find the open man is there. He should very much be a integral part of the back end moving forward.

John Gilmour has explosive skating and offensive instinct. I would like to see him hit the net more. His defense still needs work but his speed is unparalleled.

It’s a shame Tony DeAngelo got hurt. He was starting to improve by showing off his strong skating and playmaking. Now, he won’t be back till next training camp. Hopefully, he can make a full recovery from his injury and prove he belongs to further silence that clown Boomer Esiason. Some advice for Tony D. Don’t take the bait. Stay off social media.

https://twitter.com/tonydee07/status/972299989568380928?s=21

Rob O’Gara is doing alright. He isn’t the best skater but has size and strength. He got a nice primary assist on a goal at Tampa for his first NHL point. It will be a uphill climb for the 24-year old left defenseman who came over from Boston with a third round pick for Nick Holden.

Ryan Sproul is back up in DeAngelo’s place. He will play third pair the rest of the way.

Pavel Buchnevich has 40 points. The 22-year old second-year Russian forward has four assists in the last two games. Both wins. He is a very good skater with a pass first mentality. He nearly set up Jimmy Vesey for another goal. They have chemistry thus far with Vladislav Namestnikov on a good skating, forechecking like. I wanted to see what Buchnevich can do with Namestnikov. It’s been good so far. If he can shoot the puck more in Year 3, there’s no reason to believe the talented right wing can’t put up at least 20 goals and 35 assists.

Buchnevich deserves huge accolades for what he did before Wednesday’s Rivalry Night game. He tossed over a signed stick to a Rangers season ticket member 12-year old Benjamin who got the thrill of his life. Amanda Borges interviewed him. What a positive outlook Benjamin has. He sounds like a coach.

That feel good moment was so cool. It’s one he’ll never forget. It also shows what makes hockey players such great athletes. Buchnevich made the kid’s night. It was very cool that Benjamin was wearing a Buchnevich KHL Cherepovets Severstal jersey that his grandfather bought him. I really enjoyed his story on how he became a Buch fan.

Mika Zibanejad enters playing some of his best hockey. He tallied twice including the game-tying and game-winning goals in the nice win over Pittsburgh. He’s really been flying with Chris Kreider (career high 4 points) and Jesper Fast (11th goal-a point in the last 4 games). They work well off each other. Kreider’s electric speed at a lighter weight since returning from a rib resection has made a huge difference. He looks great. It’s a lot of fun to watch that line.

Ryan Spooner has 13 points (2-11-13) in nine games while playing almost exclusively with Kevin Hayes (5-1-6). Mats Zuccarello now is on that line and back to his normal self with four goals in the last four to hike his team-leading point total to 48 (14-34-48). While it hasn’t been a consistent year for him, Zuccarello is only 11 points off last season’s pace. He has a outside shot at matching that total with 11 games remaining.

If you want to get excited for the team’s future, here’s a couple of highlights of Filip Chytil and Ty Ronning scoring goals.

https://twitter.com/nyrangers/status/975021041926987777?s=21

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California dreamin’

Posted on March 17, 2018 by hasan4978

For the Devils, phase one of their six-game potential nightmare swing was an unqualified success sweeping Nashville and Vegas in a flurry of goals, with new starting goaltender Keith Kinkaid continuing his astonishing run of success.  However, there’s still a long way to go in the next four days with the three California stops looming, all against teams who are also fighting for their playoff bubble lives.  I hadn’t originally planned on being home to watch today’s odd 4 PM start time but an annoying cold is pretty much keeping me indoors for the weekend so I’ll likely be tuned into that game, assuming I don’t nap then or some other big news doesn’t happen to take my attention away like the latest political dumpster fire last night or the football Jets’ big trade this morning.’

With twelve games left and everyone around the Devils playing, today’s another giant day in the playoff chase.  Thanks to the Flyers’ recent slump it’s now a four teams for three spots gauntlet:

  1. Metro (3): Flyers 81 points, 11 GR
  2. Wild Card: Blue Jackets 81 points, 11 GR
  3. Wild Card: Devils 80 points, 12 GR
  4. Outside looking in: Panthers 77 points, 14 GR

Florida’s two games in hand remaining and recent white-hot stretch still loom large but so does their upcoming gauntlet of eight games in thirteen days in eight different cities (seven on the road) after what’s likely to be another home layup against the Oilers today.  If any team is hotter than the Panthers, it’s the Blue Jackets who’ve won six in a row themselves and have a home game today against a struggling but pesky Senators team who did more than play out the string finally tripping up the Panthers on Tuesday.  Columbus also goes on the road for five out of seven games after today.  Lately the only good news from the OOT scoreboard has come from Philly who after finishing February 10-0-1 in an eleven game stretch have fallen to earth with a thud in March (1-6-1) putting them back on the bubble, and they have a tough back-to-back this weekend in Carolina and home against the Caps tomorrow before a five games out of seven stretch on the road.

Of course the OOT results will only serve to mark our demise if the Devils don’t keep up their resurgence on the first two games of this life-and-death trip.  Playing against teams like Vegas and Nashville who have pretty much locked up everything but seeding in March is one thing, but playing against teams also needing wins just to make the playoffs as badly as you do is another story.  New Jersey starts the California portion of this trip in LA, against a Kings team they smoked 5-1 at the Rock earlier this season, ending an eight-game winning streak for LA in the process.  I wouldn’t neccesarily say this is a must win but it’s a pretty vital two points to get before playing a back-to-back in Anaheim tomorrow night against a healthier team than the one we beat at the Rock in December, and then going to San Jose on Tuesday, a team we’ve rarely had success against in recent years.  Although October was a long time ago they smoked us pretty good in NJ when we were still playing consistently well.

You would like to be going into these games with a reasonably healthy lineup but that seems like a fantasy for the Devils these days with Marcus Johansson still out but starting to skate again at least after his second long-term concussion of the year, Pavel Zacha still missing with an upper-body injury of his own and even new acquisition Patrick Maroon who’s provided a spark being a game-time decision due to an undisclosed ailment.  In goal it’s obvious both guys will split these next two games (and the back-to-back next weekend) but after coach John Hynes started Keith Kinkaid in the first two games of the trip it’s also obvious that the net is Kinkaid’s to lose at this point.  Call it hot goalie syndrome or whatever, but the Devils tacitly have acknowledged that with the playoffs on the line the best guy’s gonna play whether it’s up front, on D or in net and there’s no mistaking the fact that – shockingly – right now Keith’s the best guy in net.

Perhaps having a rare three-day break in between the Nashville and Vegas stops was enough to jump-start a struggling offense who hit the jackpot with eight (!) goals against one of the best teams in the NHL on Wednesday.  Despite a 4-0 start to the game I was nervous when the Devils gave up two late second-period goals that it was going to be an unneccesarily hairy finish which had the potential to derail our playoff run.  Maybe a bit overdramatic, but after seeing a bunch of two-goal leads evaporate like it was nothing already this season I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to bed after the second period when I saw the score the next morning.  Seeing it was 8-3 I did a double-take.  Literally the last thing I was expecting was the Devils to score four straight goals and have a rare laugher in the end.  With another two days off before this afternoon’s game in LA, rest and getting enough practice time shouldn’t be an issue right now.

It’s almost easy to forget today’s St. Patrick’s Day, especially considering I went to the parade last Saturday in Morristown.  However there’ve been some good St. Patty’s Day memories for the Devils in the past, specifically in 2009 with Martin Brodeur setting the all-time wins record and Patrik Elias the all-time Devil points record in the same exciting 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.  Whereas once we had Patty with the hat, now we have Kinkaid with…whatever this outfit is

Whatever’s workin’ for ya buddy, just keep stopping those pucks the way you have in the last month and hopefully the offense didn’t completely use up its weekly quota of goals in Vegas.  I’m not in the mood for much in the way of analysis or discussing individual players at this point…just get the two points.

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A electrifying overtime win for these young Rangers over one of league’s best

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Derek

I’ll be honest. When I made the drive with Justin and Michael to The Garden, we weren’t expecting much. The Pens are one of the league’s best teams. The first repeat winners since the Red Wings (’97 and ’98) are all world. Crosby. Malkin. Kessel. Letang. Add in old Ranger playoff hero Derick Brassard and they are scary.

So you had to figure it would be a tough night for these bunch of young Blueshirts. But this wasn’t the nightmare at Tampa. It was something different than expected. That’s why they play the games. To witness the kind of heart exhibited by the new Rangers in a invigorating third period that made MSG rock like it hasn’t all season was something else.

They rallied twice in the third from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to force overtime. In a wild three-on-three, the good guys prevailed thanks to Mika Zibanejad, who was able to beat Pittsburgh backup Casey DeSmith to the glove short side for a hard fought come from behind 4-3 OT win over the Pens in a emotionally charged atmosphere.

It felt like old times. Though it took a while for things to heat up following a quiet first period thanks to rookie Rangers backup Alexandar Georgiev, the game really moved the rest of the way. Two Penguin goals from Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan 55 seconds apart early in the second got the Pens contingent going. I missed both but knew they scored while I was catching up with friends. You can always tell by the fan reaction. I later saw both goals. Neither of which Gorgy was to blame. Brassard set up Rust for a nice wrist shot and Kris Letang’s one-timer was neatly redirected in by Sheahan.

Following those quick tallies, the Rangers picked it up. They used their speed and skating to get in and attack the Pens defense. They did a lot of good work on the forecheck pinning them in to create glorious opportunities. But they had no puck luck around DeSmith’s cage. Zibanejad and Jimmy Vesey had some near misses along with a few other Ranger skaters. It was almost as if they were teasing us.

For the fans who are all in on tanking, it’s understandable why. Getting as high a pick as possible in this June’s NHL Draft is important for the rebuild. However, there’s something to be said for seeing our boys compete against the highest level of competition. It’s the Penguins. A old Patrick Division rival who diehards hate. We may respect them but to beat them in the fashion they did was remarkable. It shows how much the 18 skaters and goalies care.

Make no mistake. Georgiev gave his team a chance to come back. Without the poised 22-year old gem who finished with 37 saves including some huge ones with none bigger than the odd penalty shot Evgeni Malkin had with 10.7 seconds left in regulation, there is no comeback. He was terrific in winning his third straight game. Georgiev also had a little luck with Phil Kessel hitting the near goalpost to keep it a two-goal deficit headed to the third.

For so long, the Rangers got great chance after great chance taking over in the third. But they were unable to capitalize after killing the remainder of a Pittsburgh power play. The real positive was how cohesive the lines continued to look, applying pressure until they got a penalty called that turned the tide.

Momentum is a strange thing in hockey. The Pens had opportunity to increase their lead. But Georgiev wouldn’t allow it. He plays a very relaxed game in net oozing confidence. He was really sharp on a couple of tough deflections which the Pens are known for. That was what impressed me. Those aren’t easy. He saw the plays and aggressively challenged gloving them out of harm’s way.

On a power play, the Blueshirts finally got a break. Off a good pass from Neal Pionk, Pavel Buchnevich had his good low one-timer kick out off DeSmith right to Chris Kreider. Parked directly in front, he was able to push the puck just by DeSmith for number 13 at 8:42. That goal really lifted the team and the building.

It may not have been a full house. But you wouldn’t know it by the noise the fans made. It was the first time in a long time the new Garden sounded like the old place before the renovation. “Let’s Go Rangers” chants echoed throughout the arena and weren’t distant. The fans including us got into it.

It was not long following Kreider’s power play goal that Jesper Fast had a unreal chance in front. Zibanejad made a brilliant move going around a Pen and making a perfect backhand feed across for a wide open Fast in front. He had what looked like the tying goal only to be robbed blind by a lightning quick glove of DeSmith.

Not long after, Fast got just due on a sustained attack. Off a Marc Staal shot, he deflected one home off his backhand for the tying goal at 14:28. It was his 11th from Staal and Kreider. A splendid shift of hard work that was rewarded. Fast is the kind of player who just goes out and does his job no matter who he plays with. His energy and work ethic has rubbed off on Zibanejad, who’s playing his best hockey.

But with the crowd still buzzing, old friend Carl Hagelin was able to sneak a wraparound off Georgiev’s goal stick and in for his ninth at 15:41. It looked like that would be the crusher in another loss.

Instead, a determined bunch of scrappy Blueshirts had other ideas. Jimmy Vesey drew a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. What transpired was probably the prettiest goal of the year for the Rangers. Off a Pionk break out, Kreider took a feed and blew by Pens defenders and then turned Kris Letang into a traffic cone before centering for a cutting Zibanejad, who buried his 21st home on the power play (11th PPG) with 3:17 left in regulation. Kreider leaped over Zibanejad behind the net in celebration.

The crowd went crazy. It may have been a meaningless game compared to other bigger ones versus the Pens in past Springs. None of that mattered. It was the hated rival who seems to be favored at times by the stripes and NBC.

So when Georgiev was called for “intentionally” forcing the net off its moorings with less than 11 seconds left, the refs rewarded Pittsburgh with a penalty shot. A perplexing call given the circumstances. The rule states that if a goalie is thought to knock the net off intentionally in the final two minutes, the refs can give a penalty shot. It’s their discretion. Something Georgiev alluded to after the win.

Not surprisingly, the Pens chose Malkin to take it. A Hart candidate who’s second in the league in scoring trailing only fellow Russian Nikita Kucherov, the lanky and dangerous center made his move on Georgiev. But he stayed patient forcing Malkin to go wide and run out of real estate. That save was awesome.

In the three-on-three, Georgiev stoned Sidney Crosby on a backhand and then for good measure made another point blank save. A great game for such a unproven young netminder who is getting better.

Pionk made a great defensive play in his own end to help start the transition that lead to the game-winner. Eventually, he got the puck to Kreider, who was flying all night. He was able to find Zibanejad open in the slot. His shot eluded DeSmith sending a pumped up crowd into a frenzy and Pens fans to the exits.

It truly was special. Sure. They’re not making the playoffs. But any time you can go toe to toe with the Pens and fight hard for a emotional comeback win, it’s great. This is the kind of win these young kids can build off of.

The most enjoyable game of the year.

Notes: Kreider finished with a goal and three assists for a career high four points. He is flying at the lower weight. He should stay at it. Looks totally different. … Neal Pionk recorded a career high three assists. … With two goals and a helper, Zibanejad reached 100 NHL goals. When asked if he remembered his first, he smiled and said it was at home in Ottawa against Montreal. Here, he spoke a little more about the win:

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Vesey’s first career hat trick leads Blueshirts to victory over Canes

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Derek

It started out not so good. By night’s finish, Jimmy Vesey more than made up for a bad power play shift. His first career NHL hat trick led the Blueshirts to a nice 6-3 home victory over the Hurricanes at MSG.

The win was one that wouldn’t have been possible without the sparkling play of backup Alexandar Georgiev. The Bulgarian faced 44 Carolina shots and stopped 41 to pickup his first home win and second of his career. He easily outplayed curious Canes starter Scott Darling. A odd choice considering how poorly he’s played. He was not good allowing four goals on 21 shots including a stoppable one from Vesey that proved to be the winner.

The Rangers were opportunistic. They may have had less than half the shots but buried their chances. In particular, it was the play of the newly formed line of Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich and Vladislav Namestnikov that did most of the damage. The cohesive trio combined for seven points (4-3-7) and a plus-five rating.

It was also a big game for Mats Zuccarello. He scored for the third consecutive game also adding a empty netter giving him four goals in the last three games after going through one of the worst stretches of his career. The last one which made it 5-3 gags him 100 for his career. It’s always nice to see him contribute. In what may very well be the swan song for Zucc, he’s finishing strong.

Mika Zibanejad also had another strong game. He recorded a season high three assists. He played well centering Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast again. It seems like his overall play has improved since the line adjustment by coach Alain Vigneault. He scored his 20th in a shootout loss to the Panthers. A game the team deserved to win.

Despite the shot discrepancy, there was a lot to like. The top three lines continue to show chemistry and be cohesive. Even though Kevin Hayes didn’t register a point, his line with Ryan Spooner and Zuccarello looked good. Zuccarello’s first goal came on a rebound of a wide carom of a Neal Pionk shot. His second came from Spooner with Darling pulled for a extra man.

Buchnevich played one of his better games. He was very involved throughout tallying three assists. He seems to be fitting in with his Russian comrade Vladdy Daddy and Vesey. They definitely make things happen five-on-five. Namestnikov is a strong even strength player. His most impressive play was in the defensive zone when he spun off a Cane and drew a hooking penalty. A very good play by a 200 foot player who’s a superb skater. His goal was a redirect of a Buchnevich shot on the power play.

Also having good nights were Pionk and Tony DeAngelo. It was a good win that fans could get excited about. Sure. Every win hurts their overall chances at the Rasmus Dahlin sweepstakes. But it wasn’t gonna be that high to begin with.

Let’s enjoy it.

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