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 first piece is gone. Though I wouldn’t call trading Nick Holden to Boston that. He was always going to be the easiest player to move due to being cheap.
So, the Rangers sent the puck moving Holden to the Bruins in exchange for 24-year old minor league defenseman Rob O’Gara and a 2018 third round pick. A easy transaction by GM Jeff Gorton to his former team who looks to be the favorite to come out of the East.
While Rangers Twitter rejoices, a third round pick is what I expected for Holden. For all the criticism he received for not being strong defensively, he was good in his first year offensively scoring 11 goals and adding 23 assists for 34 points. Solid production for a skating D who only cost a fourth round pick. He struggled last postseason with Marc Staal. But they were far from alone. Hint hint. Ryan McDonagh and former partner Dan Girardi in blowing leads to Ottawa.
There’s also this reality fans and bloggers will ignore. Holden won’t be misused by Boston. Under Jack Adams candidate Bruce Cassidy, they have a good system in place and a actual legit top pair with ageless captain Zdeno Chara partnering with gifted rookie Charlie McAvoy.
The Bruins also have offensive minded Torey Krug and second-year right D Brandon Carlo. Basically, Holden won’t be miscast there. He can play third pair and not be overused like Alain Vigneault did by having him with McDonagh on the top pair.
It’s a good start for Gorton. The selloff has begun. Getting a third round pick and player even if its likely only a depth defenseman for Hartford is good asset management. Holden is lucky to go to such a good team. Boston is challenging Tampa for the Atlantic Division and top seed. Along with the red hot Pens, those three teams have separated themselves from a pack that includes the confusing Caps. A team I don’t buy into.
For the Blueshirts, who is the next domino to fall? Is it Rick Nash with Nashville said to be very interested? Or is it Michael Grabner, who is too sick to attend Casino Night? Probably Nash if the rumors are true. As for Grabner, he wished his former teammate well.
That’s the difference between players and fans. They respect the work their teammates put in. That should be remembered.
As far as the on ice product, don’t expect it to get any better until the coaching staff is gone. With young players from Hartford including the struggling Tony DeAngelo, there will continue to be growing pains. Does Ryan Graves finally get a chance or is that not allowed? Don’t answer.
Until the next trade is made. Less than a week left.
When you’re bad, losing becomes a constant. It never is something you get used to as a player. Listening to a downcast Henrik Lundqvist on the postgame in my car courtesy MSG radio on ESPN 98.7 FM, you can feel the frustration boiling over. In his 10th straight start due to Alexandar Georgiev still not fully recovered from the flu, it was another long day as he allowed all seven goals in a 7-4 home loss to the Flyers.
It was the fourth consecutive defeat for the Rangers, who also dropped one yesterday 6-3 at the Senators. A game that saw Alain Vigneault pull Lundqvist a fee minutes into the third period following the fifth Ottawa goal. A decision which resulted in a death stare from a furious Lundqvist, who never returned to the bench. He definitely isn’t in the right frame of mind. The soon to be 36-year old looks mentally and physically exhausted. His inconsistent play is showing that by permitting goals he normally doesn’t. Is it overwork or the combination of losing with a younger less experienced roster?
The Rangers are a bad team. Without much rumored D anchor Ryan McDonagh and veteran leader Marc Staal, the blueline is comprised of young players up from Hartford. With the notable exception of sophomore Brady Skjei and vet Nick Holden, it’s a new experience for Neal Pionk, John Gilmour, Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Sproul. The quartet are fairly new to the NHL. So what you get is a mixed bag from shift to shift. Pionk has stood out the most followed by Gilmour while DeAngelo has been disappointing.
It doesn’t help that the forwards haven’t been consistent. With the exception of top sniper Michael Grabner, who scored two more to raise his Cy Young campaign to 25-6 on Saturday, along with soon to be dealt Rick Nash (goal today), there isn’t much positive. Kevin Hayes also gets a lot of credit for playing through injury and continuing to be effective. He scored his 14th in the latest loss.
There are too many mistakes being made. Top pivot Mika Zibanejad was very quiet a day after scoring his ninth power play goal against his former team. He went minus-two with one shot on goal. He and second-year man Pavel Buchnevich had tough days defensively. Some miscues led to goals against. Buchnevich just returned on Saturday and picked up a assist for a second straight day. He also got into a rare fight 15 seconds in beating Shayne Gostisbehere. He still needs work defensively.
Unlike the despicable 4-0 shutout loss at the Islanders on Thursday against Jaro “Hasek” Halak, offense wasn’t a problem this weekend. If you score three goals and then four on back-to-back days, you usually should get a split. But not this dismal team who is sinking further and further away from the playoffs like the Titanic.
The Ottawa game was seesaw for two periods until the better skilled Sens found enough holes in the defense. It was a miserable game for the David Desharnais line that included Jimmy Vesey and Jesper Fast. They were victimized often with Vesey caught on for four goals against in under 12 minutes of ice-time. The defensemen were just as culpable.
It resulted in some easy goals with old pal Derick Brassard recovering from taking a deflected puck to the face to score a goal and assist on a pair of others. His name has been rumored to be possibly going back to Columbus, who can use center help.
There was a easy goal for Mark Stone, who easily finished off a Brassard centering pass in the slot. Matt Duchene stayed hot deflecting home a shot while setting up another. If there was a tell tale sign for a struggling team who like Bill Murray’s classic Phil character in Groundhog Day keeps living the same day over and over again, it was Brassard replying a few minutes following a Zibanejad tally with 67 seconds left for a 4-2 Ottawa lead in the second.
It was a play by rookie Senator defenseman Thomas Chabot that resulted in Lundqvist parting but not without a few words for his coach. Chabot skated around the entire D and threw a wraparound off Holden’s skate and in for a 5-2 lead with 12:33 left in the third. At that point, Vigneault sent in emergency recall Brandon Halverson for a incepnsed Lundqvist.
Following Grabner’s second, Ottawa had a controversial goal from Magnus Paajarvi count despite most believing Halverson was interfered with. What else is new with the NHL who often confuses players, coaches and fans with its decisions on reviews?
It didn’t matter as it was just for bookkeeping. I don’t count it as a full goal. In my mind, Ottawa got five and a half goals. Even though I gave up watching after two periods, I heard it via my brother’s phone. He gets the MSG app.
The Rangers are so mistake prone that they can play well offensively and outshoot opponents and it doesn’t matter. They got 50 shots through on Halak Thursday. But he did what he always does morphing into Hasek by not allowing anything to get by him legally. Only a Desharnais kick went in with it being overturned.
In the Ottawa loss, they had 38 shots. On Sunday afternoon back at MSG, they got 39 on two Flyers goalies. Michal Neuvirth left after the first due to a “lower body” injury. He gave up three on 13 shots in a wild and wacky first that featured six goals and three scraps. Old style hockey.
There was a lot of skating through the neutral zone with players unchecked. So, the end result was each side scoring three times. Hayes got it started when he was able to tip in a long Sproul shot from the right point at 1:30.
But following Hayes’ goal, J.T. Miller failed to clear the zone. It led to a Andrew MacDonald goal at 4:53 set up by Valtteri Filppula and Jori Lehtera. It was a odd goal due to a harmless looking shot going just past Lehtera’s stick and past Lundqvist, who never seemed to pick it up.
Nash continued his strong push before the trade deadline when he outmuscled Flyers top center Sean Couturier in front to get to a loose puck of a Brady Skjei rebound and backhand it past Neuvirth for a 2-1 lead. It was his 18th goal and ninth since the new calendar year. Whoever gets him is getting a very motivated and complete player. He never takes any shifts off and would probably be around 25 goals surrounded by better talent.
For the second time in the period, the Flyers and Rangers threw down. Even though the style of play has changed, the rivalry came out. DeAngelo didn’t like a Wayne Simmonds elbow and dropped the gloves with the tough Flyers power forward. He lost easily before going off for five minutes each with Simmonds, who exchanged words in the penalty box. It seemed more like some friendly advice after he had DeAngelo in a prone position but showed class by not hitting him with a right.
The scrap sparked the Flyers with Scott Laughton redirecting a Ivan Provorov shot through Lundqvist’s wickets for a tie score. It was another goal he could’ve had. Even though it was deflected, he didn’t close up the five-hole.
A little over two and a half minutes later, the Flyers had a beautiful rush that turned into a four-on-three with Claude Giroux finding the trailer Brandon Manning wide open for a sweet finish and their first lead. Buchnevich got lost in the offensive zone and never hustled back. The other three Blueshirts had their man including Zibanejad. A case of a young player thinking offense and forgetting his responsibility.
Three seconds after the goal, the third and final fight took place with heavies Dale Weise going up against Cody McLeod. It was closely fought with McLeod doing damage with a few rights that bloodied Weise’s nose.
Following a successful penalty kill of a Gilmour hi-stick, Peter Holland combined with Mats Zuccarello for a nice goal off a well executed two-on-one. He waited before drawing the Flyer defender down which allowed him to get the pass across for Zuccarello, who one-timed the puck past Neuvirth for a 3-3 tie.
At the start of period two, Alex Lyon replaced a injured Neuvirth. For a unproven guy, he came in and made a huge difference for the guests, who scored four of the last five goals to move over the Devils back into third place in the Metro Division with 70 points. He faced 26 shots and made 25 saves to earn the victory.
The second had a similar start with the old Patrick Division rivals trading goals 3:46 apart. First, improving second overall pick Nolan Patrick was able to beat Lundqvist for his sixth at 2:01 from Simmonds and Manning.
Trailing by a goal, the Rangers got a strong shift from the fourth line. A Miller one-timer wasn’t controlled by Lyon with first McLeod getting a rebound before both Holden and Holland got their sticks on another rebound with the final one from Holland going in to make it 4-4.
The game settled down. Neither team was called for another penalty in the last two periods. But with Lyon making some key stops, it was the brilliant play of the Flyers unknown that won out.
Off some sustained pressure from the Philadelphia top line, Travis Konecny camr out and took a harmless looking wrist shot that eluded a motionless Lundqvist for a crushing go-ahead tally at 15:40. Giroux and Couturier assisted. Since being moved onto that line in late December, Konecny has been red hot putting up nearly a point-per-game. He’s scored a lot of clutch goals. This was his sixth game-winner since being moved up.
The Rangers never recovered. Even though they got chances against Lyon, he made the big stops. Off a two-on-one, Giroux converted his 20th from Konecny for a 6-4 lead at 9:23 of the third. It was Giroux’s 200th career NHL goal. He’s had a huge bounce back season since coach Dave Hakstol decided to shift him to wing and turn former shutdown center Couturier into the first line pivot. If they continue to win without starter Brian Elliott, he should get some votes for the Jack Adams. An award that’ll be won by Gerard Gallant for the unreal job he’s done with Vegas.
Lehtera made it seven past Lundqvist with his first in 41 games to conclude the scoring.
There really is nothing left to add. Things won’t change until everyone is on the same page. They talk about the same thing before every game according to Nash. Playing better defensively by protecting the inside. But talking and doing are two different things entirely.
It won’t get exciting until a week from now. I’m glad I have some time off from work. I can follow the rumors as the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaches. Other than that, I watch what I can until I can’t anymore. That’s how hard it’s become to watch this team. Thank god for the radio.
As you probably have noticed, I’ve done less recaps by design. There’s no point breaking down every single game when it’s the same broken record. At least I have my new turntable to play classic vinyls on.
I would be remiss if I didn’t make it a point to pay my respect to the 17 victims in Parkland, Florida. The high school of Gostisbehere and Cubs star first baseman Anthony Rizzo. It’s a very difficult time for our country. I’m not going to use this blog to make this political. But only to say it’s not just guns that must be restricted. But a much bigger focus on mental health and pharmaceutical companies. A underlying factor in most of these senseless tragedies. That along with the irresponsible FBI should not be neglected.
I can only imagine what it’s been like for parents of their sons and daughters at this trying time. It makes me angry and sad. Unlike some outspoken athletes, I don’t have the perfect solution. There isn’t one. Try telling both parties and members of Congress.
i also was sickened by last night’s despicable behavior by a Blackhawks fan towards Devante Smith-Pelly in the penalty box. Racial taunts and harassment don’t belong in any forum. It was embarrassing. The Blackhawks apologized for those prejudiced fools. The NHL released a statement which was fine unless you can’t stay on topic.
It should be about treating each other the way we want to be treated. What ever happened to discipline and respect? It seems like social media has brought out the worst in people. As a substitute teacher, I wouldn’t allow any student to have their mobile phones on unless after class or in emergency situations only.
Much must change moving forward. Coexisting with your peers who share different opinions is a big part of it. Unity. Wishing all the best to everyone out there.
Four nights ago things looked as dire as they could for a team still holding a playoff spot, with the Devils on their way to losing in Philly and landing squarely on the borderline of being out of the playoffs. Since their late comeback and shootout win in the city of Brotherly Love however, the outlook’s significantly improved in five days. After three straight wins in that time, suddenly the Devils have a five-point cushion back on the playoff bubble with twenty-four games remaining. Welcome to the NHL and the 2017-18 Devils season where momentum and positioning can change on a dime.
Even now I’m loath to get completely back on the optomism train, but I’ll say this – if the Devils do find a way to beat the Canes tomorrow a playoff berth is again ours to lose. Especially with the momentum a four-game winning streak would bring going into Patrik Elias week (his number retirement is one week away, on next Saturday). Even a loss on a fourth game in six nights wouldn’t be dire but you’d love to see them rip off a few more of these games with four division matchups in five upcoming games the rest of February. Beating the Canes, Columbus and the Isles in particular would provide that much more of a stranglehold on a playoff berth.
I’m not entirely convinced we’re out of the woods simply because you can’t be a hundred percent confident in our current goaltenders. However, both Keith Kinkaid and Eddie Lack have done what they needed to this week – in Kinkaid’s case, playing well enough in the clutch on Tuesday and Thursday to bring home big division wins. While in Lack’s case, he threw up a spectacular game out of nowhere with 48 saves in Tampa Bay against one of the best teams in the NHL. In fact, Tampa had only five regulation losses at home all season before tonight. Although the 51 shots on net Tampa got in a track meet of a game suggest there are still very serious defensive issues, getting even competent goaltending has stopped the team bleeding this week.
Obviously Taylor Hall’s goal late against the Flyers on Tuesday changed the momentum of the week, if not of the entire season. Thankfully the secondary scorers have finally started to step up again the last two games, the way they did earlier in the season – grinder Stefan Noesen pinched in two of the team’s five goals against the Hurricanes on Thursday, with Damon Severson also scoring a big one late in the first period to tie the game at one. As usual, I had to miss out on a Thursday tilt but I did wind up seeing most of the third period, including a sweet goal by prodigy in the making Nico Hischier on a two-on-one, and Noesen’s second that helped removed the drama (for once) from a close third period game.
Tonight in Tampa the goals came from some even more unlikely places, with a Ben Lovejoy seeing-eye shot from the boards opening the scoring after just three minutes. Later on, third-year player Pavel Zacha broke through with a key shorthanded goal (just his fifth total of the season) to restore a lead the Devils wouldn’t relinquish, with Zacha finally getting some reward for improved play lately. Hischier’s second in two games was the biggest of the night though, with the Lightning having seized all the momentum up 2-1 and already having put 20+ shots on net early in the second period. Ironically it was almost an instant replay of his goal against Carolina – Hischier and Hall on a two-on-one and Hischier confidently took a shot that went in. Ironically enough, the duo got yet another two-on-one in the game, this time there was more room to pass so Nico passed but the play didn’t quite connect. Still, Hischier’s continued improvement has been a welcome sight for not only the present but the future of Devils hockey.
Nico Hischier last three games: 3 goals, 3 assists, +8. Getting stronger as we get deeper into season and importance of the games are magnified.
Also making an impact was Miles Wood – in more ways than one, arguably being lucky to be whistled for only a minor after a bad hit on Vladislav Namestnikov that could have been a major or match penalty, and may still earn the feisty winger a suspension. Showing a little bit of Claude Lemieux in his game, after annoying the Lightning with that hit and bloddying up Andrej Sustr in the ensuing roughing penalties, Wood trolled the Lightning to score a neccesary insurance goal early in the third period – his sixteenth of the season. For all the talk about Hischier and fellow teenage rookie Jesper Bratt, Wood’s development as a second-year player has been key to the Devils’ overall improvement as well.
With the Devils being the Devils, and playing a dangerous team such as Tampa they weren’t going to get out of a second straight game with a drama-free third period. Sure enough, special teams continue to be the bugaboo that bites us over and over again – both with our ineffectual power play and with taking too many dumb penalties. Finally the Lightning made us pay in decisive fashion, with a patented Steven Stamkos one-timer just eleven seconds into a power play at 5:15 of the third, cutting the Devils’ lead to one and leading to fifteen anxious minutes where I was fairly certain we were going to blow it and at best get to OT. However it was the unheralded journeyman Lack who saved the day time and again, despite one scary play late in the third where he somehow lost a loose puck that was right next to him, but somehow that play didn’t lead to disaster.
During the postgame after Tuesday’s dramatic win over the Flyers, Hall was being interviewed wearing a shirt that said Devils vs. Everybody on the front (and it turned out had Devils vs. The World on the back), reflecting in part the atitude that nobody believed in them coming into the season. Obviously nobody was believing in the team when they were losing games for six straight weeks during the winter. To a degree there probably still aren’t many believers now, at least in terms of the Devils being anything other than a one-and-done team. However this team continues to defy the odds. Despite being without their starting goalie for the forseeable future and the bad defense, despite mounting injuries up front and the sheer amount of league incompetence in terms of reffing decisions they’ve had to deal with this team continues to find ways to succeed.
Sometimes, things don’t always go according to plan. For the 2017-18 New York Rangers, that’s been the case. More was expected out of the revamped roster GM Jeff Gorton put together. However, the lack of center depth and a strong blueline has put them on the outside of the wildcard in a mediocre Metro Division.
Injuries to key players contributed to their inconsistent play. But they weren’t exactly lighting the world on fire. With Chris Kreider indicating he’s ready to go, the team is taking their time with him. He’s skating as is Pavel Buchnevich. That’s two-thirds of the top line which had performed well with Mika Zibanejad. It could be weeks before Kreider returns while Buchnevich could be a little closer. However, Kevin Shattenkirk remains out along with Marc Staal. Jimmy Vesey returned two games ago and notched the winner in a gutsy win at Winnipeg.
Given the state of the present situation, Gorton and Team President Glen Sather were right in holding a joint press conference exactly a week ago to announce that they would look towards the future instead. Indeed, the Blueshirts are gonna rebuild. When they were blown out of MSG by a very good Bruins team 6-1 which was a game I left following the sixth goal, the amount of dissatisfaction from loyal paying customers was heard. Boos rained down along with a few “Fire AV!” chants in my section.
It’s hard to pin it all on the coach who’s had a whirlwind of success both here and Vancouver where he guided teams to the Stanley Cup Finals. He hasn’t been known as a very patient guy with young players. So, now he’s put in a unique situation with plenty of reinforcements from Hartford comprising the back end. After reeling off two consecutive wins over Calgary and Winnipeg following the announcement, the Rangers fell short in the third game falling to Minnesota.
A four-minute stretch in the first period doomed them. They made some costly mistakes leading to three Wild goals. The third a giveaway by Brady Skjei that Marcus Foligno one-timed past Henrik Lundqvist for a 3-0 deficit. Skjei has been playing major minutes with Ryan McDonagh sidelined. The target of interested suitors, the captain could be moved by next week’s Feb. 26 trade deadline. If he is, it will be for a very good package. Both Boston and Tampa are very interested. But it should be on Gorton’s terms. Particularly with McDonagh having another year remaining on his deal before hitting the open market in 2019. He doesn’t have to trade the valuable top defenseman unless the timing is right. There’s also the summer and even next year’s deadline if it comes down to that.
Skjei logged over 26 minutes on Tuesday but his misplay was enough to lose the game. He hasn’t blossomed into that top pair defenseman yet. He’s only in his second year. It takes time. This isn’t a perfect situation. Especially when he doesn’t know daily who he’ll be paired with. Right now, Brendan Smith is in the minors after clearing waivers trying to find his game. Nick Holden remains for now but could be on the move.
Indeed, it’s a bunch of unknowns that comprise most of the Rangers defense. From Tony DeAngelo, Neal Pionk, John Gilmour and Ryan Sproul, all are part of the six-man rotation under Vigneault. Gilmour and Pionk have impressed thus far with their speed and skating which has aided the transition along with breakouts. Gilmour was the forgotten man in the 2017 training camp. After nearly making the roster in 2016, he struggled last year in Hartford. But here he is finally up scoring his first career NHL goal on an assist from Pionk. His first NHL point as well. It’s nice to see what they can do.
DeAngelo remains a work in progress. On his third organization, he certainly has the speed and ability to move the puck effectively and contribute offensively. It’s about finding that consistency defensively. He’s had a few tough games. However, he has picked up assists in two of his last three contests. Since being recalled, DeAngelo has four helpers with 25 shots and a minus-six rating in 11 games. Unlike the first part of the season in October, he’s receiving more ice-time. This will give the organization a better idea of what the 22-year old former Lightning ’14 first round pick is capable of.
When Steven Kampfer went down for four to six weeks, it gave Sproul an opportunity. The former Red Wings ’11 second round pick had only played in 28 NHL games prior to Tuesday. He totaled a goal and six helpers in those 28 for Detroit. Having put up a decent showing with the Wolf Pack that includes nine goals and nine assists, he was given the chance over Ryan Graves. While I disagree with not recalling Graves, he hasn’t had as good a third pro year with the Pack. He’s 4-7-11 with 60 penalty minutes and a minus-12 rating. After starting out with promise his first two seasons in the AHL, it remains to be seen if the former ’13 fourth round pick has a future on Broadway. He has been passed on the depth chart by DeAngelo, Pionk and Gilmour. That Sproul is up over him is indicative of how the organization feels.
Even though they’re going with younger players both out of necessity and soon due to trades in less than two weeks, the Rangers have to be pleased with the effort the kids have given them. It’s true that some rookie mistakes have put them behind in each game. But they dug deep to rally back twice against two good Western opponents. That bodes well. When you bring up prospects, they are hungry to prove they belong. We’ve seen it with Vinni Lettieri, who is always noticeable during shifts. He is a shoot first forward who has been rewarded with power play time. He needs to stop hitting posts and hit pay dirt. That would boost his confidence and prove he should be part of the solution over the long term.
It can’t be easy for the veterans who are so used to the team having better results and being considered a contender. Henrik Lundqvist continues to start a lot of games. He’s given up goals on the first shot more than anyone. But hasn’t allowed it to become a negative. While the franchise netminder isn’t going anywhere, the same can’t be said for Rick Nash. He’s open to some Canadian teams (Leafs) if that’s what it comes down to. The Bruins are interested and the Predators and Stars seem to be top contenders. Nash has continued to perform well raising his value. A team first guy who likes it here, there’s a chance he could re-sign. But that will largely depend on the organizational plans this summer.
Michael Grabner leads the club with 23 goals. He definitely has increased his value as a reliable five-on-five threat who is dangerous shorthanded and superb defensively at the end of games. His seven empty net goals are proof. Twenty-two of the 23 markers have come at even strength. He has been terrific in two seasons totaling 50 goals. The most for a Ranger over that span. If he does go, he’ll definitely be missed. The unique defensive awareness, speed and transition he brings are reasons to want to keep him. Who knows about what he decides on July 1.
It remains up in the air if McDonagh will go. It’ll depend on the type of package being offered. As noted above, Gorton holds all the cards. Do what’s best for the team. Keeping McDonagh around for now isn’t a drawback. Not when he can help the younger D develop. Despite criticism, he’s been a leader and is always accountable. Replacing a player who can play any situation and match up against opponents’ best scoring lines isn’t easy. Let’s cross that bridge when they get there.
They’ll visit Brooklyn later tonight against a inconsistent Islanders team who loves playing them. The humiliation at MSG should still be fresh in their minds. As uncompetitive a game as they’ve played with the Bruins one right up there. This is a chance for redemption. The Isles are facing the pressure with GM Garth Snow coming under fire along with coach Doug Weight. We’ll see if some of those newer faces can change the end result.
It’s been a good news-bad news week for the Devils – the good news is they’re still in a playoff spot, two points and a game in hand up on the sixth place Blue Jackets, while they play the fifth-place Hurricanes tonight at the Rock in the first of four monumental head-to-head games down the stretch. The bad news is you can add Brian Boyle and recent callup John Quenneville to the walking wounded now, as both missed Tuesday’s dramatic comeback in Philly due to different ailments. Plus, the margin for error’s even slimmer after a lost weekend where they inexcusably no-showed in Columbus, followed by yet another maddening ‘find a way to lose’ game against the Bruins at the Rock on Sunday.
I was at my low ebb on Sunday for the season, already mad at the 6-1 no-show against another bubble team in Columbus on Saturday (that wasn’t even that close), I was not in the mood for the self-inflicted nonsense which torpedoed us against the Bruins. A powerless play that literally went -2 for 7 – failing to score in seven power play chances and giving up two shorthanded goals on top of it! Two own goals conceded and another clunker at the end of the first period that might as well have been an own goal where all backup goalie Eddie Lack had to do was paddle the puck over to Taylor Hall and the period would have been over.
Eddie Lack made a mess of that 2nd SHG. He had Hall wide open to his right and tossed a bouncer behind the net instead. pic.twitter.com/UI7UU9C23T
But he hesitated, spin-o-ramaed the puck in back of the net and a streaking Tim Schaller took advantage – taking the puck and beating the hapless goaltender with a craparound goal that wasn’t even called a goal on the ice at first, yet somehow it went to review with the call on the ice a goal after Bruin players celebrating sold the goal call. While I admit I wasn’t looking closely at the one replay they did show at the arena, I was too annoyed at Lack for botching the play to really care that we were once again getting screwed on a review. Of course any review where this league has a chance to screw us they do, and if you want transparency then show the angle of the play that caused you to uphold the goal call (and they did specify that ‘replays showed the puck in the net’). Even if one exists, no TV replays on the local telecast shows that. Which just feeds into the narrative the league’s out to get us.
Especially when you consider all the injuries and attempted injuries against the Devils where fouls are committed that somehow get missed, yet we get thumbed on either retaliation or some other stupid crap the refs always seem to miss when the other team does it – with the Brad Marchand hit on Marcus Johansson a few weeks ago tops on that list. Or a couple of different instances in the Flyers game on Tuesday – Travis Zajac gets clipped with a Flyers stick but we can’t call a double minor penalty cause the Devils stick allegedly lifted the Flyers stick (it didn’t) and caused the cut. Miles Wood gets slashed on the ankle without the puck in open-ice and three blind mice are officiating, not making a call. Which looks even worse considering Chris Rooney was the ref on Tuesday, he alone has been involved in a number of contreversial games where a ton of big calls all seem to go against the Devils.
Still, most of my ire over the last week has been directed solely at the Devils. In spite of the league’s contreversial review (the refs themselves actually called a fair game for once on Sunday), the Devils had their own opportunities to beat one of the beasts of the East and squelched them all. Starting with Mirco Mueller having a dumpster fire of a first period – culminating in the first own goal – that immediately sent him back to the scratch box after one game and the Lack goal that put us behind again at the end of the first period. Not to mention giving up a power play goal after a mere three seconds while we couldn’t score in over ten minutes on the man advantage, or Drew Stafford’s beautiful deflection past Lack in the third period for the second own-goal of the night, Sunday was just a not very enjoyable night from start to finish. I was as angry at the team as I’ve been since the hideous blown three-goal lead in Game 3 of the 2012 playoffs against the Panthers.
I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the start of Tuesday’s game in Philly against another team we’re fighting with for a playoff spot/seeding. After fifteen minutes it looked like a sound decision as the Devils were outshot 13-4 and behind again, with another hideous early Keith Kinkaid goal allowed. In fact the first time I even bothered to tune on the game was shortly after Hall’s tying goal in the second period that inexplicably needed to be reviewed – clearly in the net, clearly without goaltender interference or offside, even this goal somehow became unneeded drama. My reaction was incredulous on the very first replay…THIS is what they’re reviewing?! Of course soon after the goal counted we gave it right back anyway when a 5 MPH deflection somehow slithered past Kinkaid, and I turned it off again. Not quite for good, though when I did turn it on in the third period we were still behind a goal – only it was 4-3 instead of 2-1 in what turned out to be a wild second period.
Seeing that we scored three goals in the second period and were still behind, then watching us fail to score for most of the third period just increased my ire that much more. I wasn’t interested in excuses, posts, Corsi, none of that was going to matter with yet another regulation loss to a bubble team which would have left us tied for the final wild card spot. Our powerless play again petered out in the clutch failing on a late third period chance, and it seemed just a matter of time for the coup de grace when we emptied the net, since these empty-net situations never really pan out for us and always seem to pan out for other teams against us. I was readying the knives for the rant to end all rants, after being too beside myself to bother last weekend.
Then finally, the worm turned thanks to should-be (but won’t be) Hart candidate Hall, who scored off a rebound with 81 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 4. Despite some anxious moments, and another monumental brain cramp from John Moore when he skated out the overtime in the offensive zone without putting a shot on net, the comeback would not be in vein this time. After another hideous start Kinkaid finally settled down late and stopped all three Flyer attempts in the shootout, while Stafford of all people scored the winner. He’s basically become our modern-day Viktor Kozlov, useless everywhere else except the shootout.
Even now I’m a bit bemused and worried the momentum swing we got from Tuesday’s game won’t stick tonight against a hot Hurricanes team. After all we’ve seen false flags in terms of breaking our spiral of doom before. Just two weeks ago we had a three-game winning streak that was promptly buried with four straight ugly losses. With five of the next seven and six of the next nine against division foes (and all of whom we’re fighting for playoff spots/seeding), this would be a good time to finally make a good streak stick for a change in 2018.
Vesey Returns: Jimmy Vesey celebrates his game-winner with teammates Brady Skjei and Steven Kampfer in a second consecutive win for the rebuilding Rangers by a count of 3-1 at Winnipeg. AP Photo via Getty Images
Since making the announcement that they were officially rebuilding last week following last Wednesday’s Boston Massacre, the Rangers are 2-0.
After Brendan Smith cleared waivers, Neal Pionk was recalled from Hartford along with John Gilmour due to captain Ryan McDonagh being injured. Both young defensemen have paired together to help provide a spark in wins over the Flames and Jets. Each are good skating, puck moving blueliners which helps team speed and transition. Areas coach Alain Vigneault emphasizes.
While it’s nice to see a couple of prospects rewarded under a coach who hasn’t always been patient with kids, the truth is the Blueshirts don’t win either game without improved play from Henrik Lundqvist. Prior to Friday’s 4-3 victory on home ice over Calgary, Vigneault critiqued his franchise goalie for the team’s slide. He made one comment indicating that the goaltending had to be better. When it has, they’ve been competitive.
He told the truth. However, it was utterly ridiculous to place the blame on Lundqvist for the team’s struggles. He had stood on his head to get them back in the playoff race before the team slumped with seven regulation losses in eight games to fall to last place in the Metro Division. Even backup Ondrej Pavelec had been stellar stealing a few games.
The reason for that is how bad the defense had played. Between the forwards and D, there was a lack of communication that led to odd-man breaks and goals against. A goalie can only bail you out so many times. With a decrease in scoring since Chris Kreider went down along with Kevin Shattenkirk, it put more pressure on Lundqvist primarily to be near perfect. When he admitted following the 6-1 Bruins loss that allowing two goals in the first period affected his confidence, he acknowledged that he became too passive on the ne r two goals in the second leading to Pavelec replacing him.
Mental affects physical. So much of sports is mental. When things aren’t going right, athletes tend to overthink leading to prolonged slumps. This is especially true in baseball. When a hitter goes cold, they fall out of their comfort zone and try different things. It usually is mechanical. The same for basketball when a good shooter goes cold from the outside. Sometimes, just a slight adjustment or a mental break can fix it.
Garden Faithful have been blessed to have such a great athlete over the past decade. Lundqvist is a perfectionist. Most goalies are. Well, the special ones especially. There’s a reason this franchise has only missed the playoffs once since the Swede took over the number one reigns from Kevin Weekes his rookie year in ‘05-06. He is a extremely focused player who makes no excuses. Win or lose, he’s at his locker answering questions.
In the close wins over the Flames and at Winnipeg yesterday with Michael Grabner adding a empty net goal for a 3-1 win over one of the West’s best in a very tough building to win, Lundqvist showed up off his best stuff.
The 4-3 victory over Calgary was a come from behind at MSG. Rick Nash scored the tying goal on a rebound for his eighth goal since the new calendar year. That gave him 17 continuing to boost his trade value. J.T. Miller made a brilliant pass across for a Mika Zibanejad power play goal that proved to be the winner. It was a gutsy comeback. But not without Lundqvist saving their bacon with a remarkable sliding save on a dive across to deny a two-on-one. In relief of a injured Pavelec (out 2-3 weeks), he stopped 28 of 30 shots to pick up the victory.
It was a similar story on Sunday. Only 24 seconds in, Winnipeg thought they scored the game’s first goal on a Tyler Myers blast. But a offside challenge proved it was offside with a skate in the air instead of on the blueline. It was close but the right call.
Undeterred, the Jets came right back on a legal goal from Nikolaj Ehlers on a open one-timer at 1:06 past Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead. Winnipeg took it to the Rangers early outshooting them 11-6 in the first period. But Lundqvist never allowed anything else to get by him legally.
The Rangers responded well. A Ehlers giveaway allowed Mats Zuccarello to break a long scoring slump when he was able to sneak a wrist shot past Connor Hellebuyck late in the first. It was a momentum turning goal. His team was much better in the second getting 18 shots on Hellebuyck, who kept the game tied.
With the game still tied at one with under four minutes to go, Jimmy Vesey picked a good time to score his 11th in his first game back after missing the past three due to a concussion sustained on a dirty Filip Forsberg elbow. On the winning play, David Desharnais got the puck to Brady Skjei at the point. His long shot was headed wide until Vesey got a piece of it for a big goal at 16:07. It was a nice moment for a player who too often has found himself outside the top nine.
Lundqvist came up big again with under two minutes remaining when he slid across to rob Mark Scheifele on a one-timer. Just a great read by a laser focused goalie whose competitive fire remains intact following the team’s plans. The thing is he can steal games. With the Metro the way it is, the last place Rangers sit only two out of the final wildcard due to the recent Devils’ struggles and the unpredictable Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Islanders.
In the win, Lundqvist finished with 36 saves. So, after replacing Pavelec, he’s turned aside 65 of 68 shots recording two wins. That included 17 of 17 in the third period with the ice tilted. Winnipeg had another goal taken away due to a high stick. The correct call by the refs which video review confirmed.
So, the Rangers find themselves in a odd position. Still very much alive in the wildcard chase with 59 points in 56 games, they know a few players will be relocating in the next two weeks. Nash is the most likely candidate with at least a dozen teams interested. Grabner could also go along with Nick Holden.
So too could McDonagh with the Lightning involved. The Rangers reportedly want 19-year old rookie Mikhail Sergachev. Highly unlikely. Tampa is rumored to be offering 2017 first round pick Cal Foote, a first round pick and another piece. The Bruins and Wild are also interested. If they really can get a top prospect, a first and either a second prospect or second round pick, I would do it. McDonagh has been a very good Ranger who has been a big reason for the deep runs in ‘12, ‘14 and ‘15. But he’s signed through 2019 and will command upwards of $7 million. That makes him likely a goner.
The Rangers have to do what’s best for the team moving forward. They must build towards the future. Whatever happens these final 26 games of the regular season, so be it.
At arguably the Devils’ high water mark of the season just after Christmas, the team was sitting pretty at 22-9-5, two points up on the Caps for first place in the Metro with two games in hand and also eight points up on a playoff spot nearing the halfway point of the season. However, their post-holiday swoon has now been extended for a month and a half after dissapointing losses at Ottawa and home against the Flames this week. Things have now changed with the Devils having gone 5-9-3 since December 27. At seven points behind the Caps the division is a pipedream as it should be, but their once firm grip on a playoff spot is also slowly evaporating, with just a three point cushion on Carolina (two games in hand) and four points on Columbus (one game in hand) with a huge head-to-head game this evening.
Our last two weeks have been a perfect prism for how the entire season’s gone. Following the All-Star break the Devils put up a nice three-game winning streak including beating the Penguins and Flyers that had many including me hopeful they’d finally busted out of their January doldrums. Guess again! A dissapointing loss in Ottawa where foolish penalties and bad goaltending put them hopelessly behind the ball against a team that’s been a dumpster fire all season followed by a frustrating loss at home against the Flames where the team dominated late but couldn’t quite make the same late-game comeback this team frequently is the victim of put the Devils right back on the griddle.
As is the case with teams in a prolonged skid, there’s obviously more than one cause but right now the focus (for me) is squarely on the goaltending, in part because after playing just one and a half games in a month’s time, there’s still no timetable for the return of Cory Schnieder to the Devils’ net. With Schneider out the Devils’ goaltending has been sub-optimal to put it mildly, and almost entirely with Keith Kinkaid in net. Although Kinkaid played decently during the three-game winning streak, his stretches of good play have been few and far between with a 3.12 GAA and .893 save percentage. It’s a wonder Kinkaid’s won ten of his seventeen starts with numbers like that but make no mistake about it, this also isn’t the same team of the first half that could compensate for bad goaltending with an offense hitting on all cylinders – more on that later.
One way or another they’re going to need better goaltending and if they’re not going to get it from Kinkaid, GM Ray Shero needs to think about bringing someone in or coach John Hynes needs to be willing to give the other in-house options a chance. Granted, Eddie Lack hasn’t been anything great his last couple years either and Ken Appelby is struggling in the AHL but the definition of insanity is doing the same failed thing and expecting different results – plus sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle. Just ask Brent Sutter, whose best moment as a Devils coach was when he quickly shelved Kevin Weekes and gave Scott Clemmensen a chance in 2009 when the Devils were faced with a four-month absence for Martin Brodeur. Hynes hasn’t been nearly that bold, giving Kinkaid his sixth straight start in the huge road tilt at Columbus this evening.
Obviously goaltending’s not the only issue right now but it seems the most pressing (and correctable) one with the defense continuing to struggle, and the staff now defaulting to playing vets – re: Ben Lovejoy – thus leaving Mirco Mueller and Steven Santini on the outside looking in. Although Lovejoy’s been okay in his third pairing role, the team’s periperhals and record have suffered with him in the lineup. Not to mention Mueller seemed to be improving after getting off of IR, but he and Santini have fallen victim to a numbers’ game, especially Santini who went from the penthouse (first pairing) to the outhouse (playing for a bad AHL team). You would think at some point coach Hynes would want to shuffle the deck a little bit and at least give the other youngsters the same soft landing role he’s given Lovejoy.
Not that it really matters when your #1 defenseman (Andy Greene) is more or less playing like he should be a #6 defenseman, but still eventually you need to find someone besides Damon Severson or in-season acquisition Sami Vatanen to play at a legit top four D level. Despite his impending free agency John Moore still seems to have immunity from the accountability hammer for bad mistakes but at some point the Devils are going to have to choose between Moore and Mueller since Greene’s not going anywhere through the end of next year at least, and rookie Will Butcher shouldn’t go anywhere among our LD options.
Of course, Butcher (like the other rookies on offense) does seem to be hitting a wall offensively, which isn’t a terribly big surprise to this blogger and why I never truly felt a playoff spot was a given, even at our high water mark in December. When a big chunk of your offense is dependent on two teenagers and a college D all playing their first pro seasons, a downturn in production was inevitable. At that high water mark on December 27, the Devils had 116 goals in their first 36 games, but have scored just 43 in the 17 since. Along with the rookies you also had guys like Brian Boyle and Brian Gibbons playing over their head offensively early on, but both their goal-scoring binges eventually ran dry and now Gibbons – a key penalty killer – is on the shelf for multiple weeks, which partly facilitated our weeklong fascination with an 11-7 lineup configuration.
As a result, you now have an offense with an enormous gap between Taylor Hall and everyone else not named Taylor Hall. To wit:
Hall 54 points – 48 GP
Hischier 31 points – 53 GP
Bratt 31 points – 52 GP
Butcher 29 points – 53 GP
Not to mention Hall’s 20 goals leads the team by a healthy margin over Miles Wood’s 14 in second. Those numbers show not only how important Hall is (and perfectly illustrate why the offense was hopeless in the games Hall missed before the break) but how much of the load the rookies have taken on.
Two names missing on those lists are Kyle Palmieri and Marcus Johansson, both were expected to be top six forwards and big contributors to the offense but injuries and inconsistency have slowed both with Palmieri mostly struggling (and having missed 19 games due to various ailments) after the first month of the season, while Johansson was having a poor season (Fourteen points and a -11 in 29 GP) even before Brad Marchand cruelly took him out with his second long-term concussion of the season, and without being too fatalist both his struggles and his concussion issues might put his future as a Devil in peril given he’s only signed through next year. Clearly this team could at least use a return to form from Palmieri and perhaps someone else to step up whether it’s Johnasson returning or an in-season callup like John Quenneville or Nick Lappin being given a chance to make a splash.
Writing all this out only tells me that Shero shouldn’t be going nuts trying to improve the team at the deadline unless a long-term solution on D is found and Shero indicated as much lately. Not quite the theatrical display or headline grabber that the Rangers’ white flag letter is, but prudent nonethless. They have too many internal options on D they need to evaluate as is, though certainly an improvement there would be welcome. Up front it doesn’t make sense to expend assets for a big acquisition given the Devils’ youth already on the team and in the pipeline. Could another goalie be brought in assuming this injury to Cory keeps him out for a long period? Perhaps though even with the state of mediocrity at the goaltending position it’s hard to envision us spending to get someone better than our internal options for approximately 15-20 starts (if that).
Besides, the only realistic goal this season should be to make the playoffs. Doing anything in them is gravy. That said, after the team was in such good position it would be a bitter dissapointment to not make the postseason, especially with the rest of the Metro inconsistent or struggling outside of the Caps and a woken-up Pens team. It would be especially bitter for Hall, who still hasn’t made the postseason in his NHL career between his time in Edmonton and last season here, and for a fanbase looking to get rejuvanated after five straight years in the wilderness.
Rangers GM Jeff Gorton was joined by Team President Glen Sather at a press conference Thursday to announce the team’s plans to rebuild. The right move for the future. AP Photo via Getty Inages courtesy NY Daily News
By now, we’ve seen the joint press conference where GM Jeff Gorton did most of the talking with Team President Glen Sather standing in support of the Rangers future. Even if the rare announcement which the team also tweeted as a press release to disenchanted fans was clearly for PR purposes following Jim Dolan’s latest fiasco that upset many season ticket holders, it was still refreshing to see the organization acknowledge the obvious.
The 2017-18 New York Rangers aren’t good enough to compete in the playoffs for a championship. Injuries aside to key players Chris Kreider, Kevin Shattenkirk, Pavel Buchnevich, Marc Staal and Jimmy Vesey, the writing has been on the wall for a while. With three losses on a four-game road trip, it was a hint of what was to come.
Since the break, they haven’t won a single game in regulation dropping four straight with two on home ice in ugly fashion. After getting beat badly by Toronto a week ago, they were blown out by a superior Boston club on Rivalry Night. The 6-1 drubbing may as well have been one of its worst installments beckoning to a darker time in Rangerstown.
This team isn’t easy to watch. There are moments where I barely pay attention to what’s happening on the TV. It’s depressing. A team that’s easy to play against without emotion isn’t what fans want to see. The product they’ve put out is the worst since the Dark Ages (‘98-04) Error. Yes. I misspelled it intentionally.
I went to last night’s game. It was the third time we left early. The first came way back in October against the Devils. There was another time they played so poorly, we went home after the second period. My family did last week as well. Could you blame them? When you’re bad, the opponent doesn’t take you seriously. Hence Boston played backup Anton Khudobin in the second of a back-to-back. The Rangers don’t have much firepower and are so inept defensively, it doesn’t take a lot to beat them.
Truthfully, they were fine in the first period playing the Bruins on mostly even terms except the scoreboard. Following a pretty Rick Nash goal in which he abused Zdeno Chara and scored his 16th to further raise his value for the trade deadline, the B’s took advantage of two Ranger mistakes. The first came from lost defenseman Brendan Smith. A awful turnover at the blueline resulted in a 3-on-1 rush that resulted in the tying goal on a rebound with Tony DeAngelo, J.T. Miller and David Desharnais all passengers.
The second was simply overmatched defenseman Steven Kampfer losing a battle that allowed Boston to keep the puck in. They got it to Chara for a bomb right through a Mats Zuccarello screen for a 2-1 lead.
Shots at the end of one were 11-11. The Blueshirts only totaled 11 more the rest of the game. The Bruins seized control by dominating the final two periods. They scored six unanswered en route to a easy rout for another win. They don’t lose games anymore. It’s easy to see why.
Henrik Lundqvist allowed a rare soft goal to Patrice Bergeron right through the wickets. He was anticipating a better shot high glove. But Bergeron missed with it deflecting softly off Nick Holden and rolled past Lundqvist like the Mookie Wilson ground ball through Bill Buckner. He admitted that the first two goals effected his psyche. He said he wasn’t aggressive enough on goals three and four before giving way to Ondrej Pavelec. That’s a pretty good indicator of how much pressure he feels.
Ryan McDonagh called it embarrassing and the worst game he can remember playing as a Ranger. He sounded depressed on the ride home. Who can blame him? He has to do too much for this team to win. He has no top pair partner with Holden coach Alain Vigneault’s choice by default. Holden likely will also go in the final year of his contract. So too should leading finisher Michael Grabner. But what about McDonagh, whose name has been mentioned with Tampa a likely destination? If they’re willing to pay the price, why not. He can reunite with Dan Girardi and play second pair with Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman top pair.
Mats Zuccarello is also available. But the market might not be as strong for the playmaking gritty forward who remains stuck on eight goals despite leading the team in scoring. Like McDonagh, his contract runs through 2019.
With Lundqvist all in, the Rangers can do what’s best for the future. That includes waiving Smith, who was a disaster in the first year of a four-year contract of over $4 million per season. He’s not been close to the same player they acquired last year from Detroit.
Smith got his new contract last summer and got married. He also attended seven weddings. Management was said to be furious with him. He came into camp out of shape and never recovered. They sat him out a bunch of times. Nothing worked. Now, he’ll clear waivers and go down to Hartford. Gorton teemed it “shock treatment.” If he rediscovers his game, he could still be part of the team next season. It’s not like someone is going to take their hands off the remaining three years.
For now, another young defenseman gets a chance to play. Neal Pionk was recalled from Hartford. He turned his season around. Hopefully, he can make a good impression with the big club. That should mean making his NHL debut Friday night at MSG against another tough opponent in Calgary. They defeated the Devils last night. They can score goals and are more physical than the Bruins, who could be the East’s best. But they’ll still have to go through Toronto, Tampa and likely Pittsburgh or Washington.
The thing about rebuilds is this. You can be successful if you promote young talent and give it a chance. Something Vigneault has been unwilling to do. Is he the right coach moving forward? Listening to Gorton in a interview with ESPN’s Michael Kay and Don LaGreca, it sounded like probably no. He hinted at Vigneault having to decide what’s best for his future. Even though he praised the coach for the good job he’s done in five years, it sounds like they might be overhauling the coaching staff following the season.
That’s also assuming the team doesn’t make the playoffs. It’s crazy to think they can given how bad they’re playing. They have only two points out of a possible 16 over the past eight games. Yet remain three behind second wildcard Columbus, who stayed there due to a Islanders’ 4-3 loss to the Sabres. The Flyers are up to 61 points and only one behind the Devils for third place in the division.
Somehow, the Blueshirts with 55 points and none since a crazy win at San Jose before the break, remain in play despite falling to last place in the Metro. It’s absurd. Nobody can put together a good stretch to create distance. The Devils have 62 points and are third. The Flyers have 61 and in the first wildcard. The Blue Jackets despite some awful losses including a brutal one to the Caps late in regulation remain in the last wildcard with 58. Then the Isles with 58 and Hurricanes with 57 followed by the Rangers. With 52 points, the Panthers are coming. They’re making a push.
None of this matters. Management isn’t fooled by it. They know the team cannot continue as it is. That’s why they’re willing to reverse course and sacrifice the present for the future. The days of throwing away first or second round picks are over. It’s now about recouping as many assets as possible.
No matter how difficult this might be, it’s for the best. I’ve been through the tough times before. Wednesday night was very familiar. It’s been a long season. Even Gorton admitted that.
For the younger generation who bleed blue, it’ll be harder. They haven’t been through this before. Not every rebuild happens right away. It’s gonna require patience. Let’s hope for the best.
It’s bad enough this team is hard on the eyes. Following Thursday’s 4-0 humiliation at the hands of the superior Maple Leafs, the Rangers were brutalized literally in their latest loss to Nashville 5-2 in Music City. The fifth defeat in the last six games spanning the All-Star break dropped them to last place in the Metro Division.
Forget the playoffs. With injuries continuing to mount, the Wolf Pack may as well be the new team name. It’s bad enough Peter Holland is centering the third line. David Desharnais is the fourth line center. Without Chris Kreider (rib resection surgery) and Pavel Buchnevich (concussion), the lineup is already bad. Now, they could be without Jimmy Vesey and Marc Staal. Both took cheap shots from Predators and left the game in the second period. Of course, no penalty was called. Why would there be from a league with its head so far up its ass, it insults the intelligence of every hockey fan.
Maybe the Predators should be renamed the cheapshot artists. What they were allowed to get away with is unconscionable. They’re a much better team and showed why by playing a straight forward North/South game shooting pucks and creating chances while finishing every check. There’s no reason for them to need the blind refs to bend the rules. They missed blatant calls on Alexei Emelin and Filip Forsberg. It overshadowed a game they controlled.
Everyone who follows our team knows they aren’t tough by any stretch. When they start hitting back as Brady Skjei did stepping up for a bloodied Vesey following a Forsberg late cheap shot that stunned him, you know just how ugly it was. Vesey will never be a fan favorite in Nashville after spurning them to sign here. But it was totally uncalled for by Forsberg.
Prior to his shoulder with the elbow coming up on a unsuspecting Vesey with the puck gone, you had Emelin going up high on a prone Staal in the corner. The end result was a nasty hit that could’ve concussed Staal. He got up and skated off. But he would eventually leave the game. Hopefully, it’s just precautionary. With his injury history, there’s obvious concern.
When I first saw the hit, I thought it should’ve been five and a game misconduct. The question is did Emelin leave his feet launching himself into Staal. That is a better one for the Department of Player Safety. A inconsistent mess who nobody can figure out. Staal’s head was down due to his positioning. The impact was scary. It had to be something. Not in this league where the stripes would rather call hooks and holds than more dangerous hits. It was a head shot. Emelin should be suspended.
I actually was more angry with Forsberg than Emelin. He’s a offensive player who you don’t expect it from. This isn’t Brad Marchand, who got a much deserved five-game suspension for his elbow that concussed Marcus Johansson. Forsberg went out of his way to deliver a unnecessary cheapshot on Vesey. He deserves at least a fine. It will be up to the idiocy who run the bureaucracy. Don’t expect much.
As for the final score, it was indictative of the two teams. The Preds outshot the Rangers 12-5 in the first without any scoring. They got a goal from P.K. Subban in the first minute of the second with his 13th deflecting off Vesey passed Henrik Lundqvist, who was blameless a day after indicating that he is all in regardless whether the Rangers sell. He’s a classy athlete who’s the polar opposite of the selfish NBA superstars LeBron “LeFraud” James, Chris “CPKNEE” Paul and Kevin Durant. If only there were more loyal athletes like Lundqvist.
Before the conclusion of a aggravating second, Kevin Fiala scored off another Ranger mistake. Think of it as a tradition. It doesn’t matter who it is. It’s inflicted the entire roster. They only had eight total shots after 40 minutes compared to the Preds’ 23. That’s embarrassing. At least they had a excuse. They were down two skaters.
Of course, they remembered to show up for the third. J.T. Miller had a nice redirection of a Mats Zuccarello shot pass for a power play goal that cut it to 2-1. Ryan McDonagh continued to produce since replacing injured Kevin Shattenkirk on the top power play unit. He set up the goal and finished with two assists while doing all he can in over 25 minutes. I feel sorry for him. He takes his lumps while being relied on too much. He doesn’t have a true first pair partner. Nick Holden is who he is. I’ll leave it at that.
Brendan Smith has played so poorly that I wish they could designate him for assignment. It would be a admission that giving him a four-year contract in excess of $4 million AAV was a huge mistake. He took his usual bad penalty and was caught out of position on a Preds goal that came in direct response to a Ranger one. That’s who this team is. Smith is a huge part of the problem.
Mika Zibanejad scored on the power play with his great one-timer beating Pekka Rinne. McDonagh and Miller assisted. I like Zibanejad but the idea that he’s a number one center is foolish. He finished the game minus-three. I’ll discount the last minus on Fiala’s empty netter. But his play at five-on-five isn’t good. He floats during shifts and never goes up against the opponent’s top line. He’s not that guy. So you can cite whatever offensive stats you want. The Rangers remain weak in the middle. Good thing Jeff Gorton took Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil.
I have more respect for Kevin Hayes, who in Year 4 is learning to become a better overall player. The one positive from soon to be fired coach Alain Vigneault is he turned Hayes into a responsible two-way center who can match up against top scoring lines. His scoring has suffered but he’s a more complete player drawing the tough assignments while being a strong penalty killer and improved in the face-off dot.
There isn’t much else to say. Tony DeAngelo had another solid game. He is a lot more decisive and is making good reads. He should never play in the AHL ever again.
Credit Cody McLeod for shoving Austin Watson down during a scrum. Yes. It was late. But the way his former team played, it was good to see him do it. That’s what it’s come to.
Finally, expect the Rangers to ask Rick Nash to make his list of teams of who he would accept a deal to. As reported on Hockey Night In Canada during the second intermission Hot Stove segment. Winnipeg could be interested despite their offensive talent. We’ll see.
As far as Michael Grabner goes, I really wish they could keep him. He nearly set up Holland’s first which would’ve tied it at two. But the play was correctly ruled offside on a successful challenge from Nashville coach Peter Laviolette. Grabner is a gamer who is tops in goals on this team for a reason. But they must do what’s best for business.
Just a week ago at the All-Star break things looked bleak for the Devils, with the team in a death spiral of losing combined with some key injuries, it seemed as if this season was going to go the way of the last two where early promise gave way to late-season collapse. Perhaps Brian Boyle’s All-Star weekend helped overall team morale, or maybe the team just needed this break at the right time (unlike the couple of other long ones they’ve had this season). Whatever happened last weekend, this week the Devils looked more like the pre-holidays version of the team that opened eyes around the league and picked up three big wins, each more crucial than the last.
First, the Devils scratched out a win in Buffalo on Tuesday with Taylor Hall making a triumphant return to the lineup, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal in the second period of a 3-1 game that wasn’t settled till Kyle Palmieri’s empty-netter in the final moments. Then came Thursday’s home tilt with the Flyers, a team that owned us in the first two matchups of the season. Due to a scheduling conflict I couldn’t attend or even watch the game, but knew I was missing something really juicy when I saw that Travis Zajac of all people beat down Radko Gudas in one of the few fights of the veteran centerman’s career. Later I found out Gudas had taken a careless if not outright cheap shot, jumping up and hitting Palmieri in the head. Of course not only did Gudas not get suspended or even a major penalty for the hit on Palms, but it was Zajac who got the extra penalty for instigating a fight after Gudas left the box. Just par for the course this season, especially when Wayne Simmonds scored to tie the game and the Flyers took the lead in the second period.
Still trailing in the third, the Devils rallied for perhaps their biggest win of the season, starting when Damon Severson scored to tie the game with nine minutes left. Then with less than ninety seconds remaining in regulation, Blake Coleman’s pass went around defenseman Ivan Provorov and right to a falling Nico Hischier – who managed to deflect the puck through backup goaltender Alex Lyon – giving the Devils a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and a win that showed they weren’t going to back down. Yet, even after this win I was still wary. For one, it was non-confirmation bias since I hadn’t been able to see the Flyer game and went back and forth between the Sabres game and the State of the Union nonsense on Tuesday, but more importantly the Devils had two-game spasm of a winning streak against the Isles and Caps a couple weeks ago before getting blown out of the water in Philly and resuming their losing ways. Facing a hot Pittsburgh team (even one without key winger Patric Hornqvist) tonight didn’t seem to be an optimum time for our first matchup of the season after the Pens had sleptwalked through the first half of the season they’ve been playing like the two-time champs more recently.
Before getting to the game tonight, I got to take advantage of a season ticket perk last night and attend a ‘meet the young Devils’ fan event at the Prudential Center where basically half the team including all of the star rookies (like Nico and Jesper Bratt) made the rounds for two hours between picture lines and mock pressers with Matt Loughlin. Honestly the pressers and hearing the players answer fan questions – and some from Matt – while interacting with each other appealed to me more than waiting in photo lines for long stretches – and hopefully I’ll get other chances at photos down the road anyway -so I just sat through the four different half-hour mini pressers. You do get to see a hint of the different personality of the players between Miles Wood giving Severson the needle about his footwear or Severson and Bratt busting on Nico for his ‘varied’ taste in locker room music, not to mention Coleman despite being a rookie himself coming off like the older big brother to the teenage rookies…after all, Coleman IS 26 and barely qualifies as a young Devil. Some fan questions were awkward and Nico had a charming flub when asked who he would dream of facing in the Stanley Cup Finals he said the Rangers – obviously a current impossibility under the playoff format – but most did a good job and the fan events are always a nice add-on for season ticket holders.
Ironically that was my first good trip to the Prudential Center since the losing started just after Christmas but getting a win out of tonight was infinitely more important for everyone involved. Right from the hop the Devils came out as if still energized from the Flyer game and skated downhill for much of the night. If not for some inspired goaltending from rookie Casey DeSmith (who I never heard of until tonight) the game could well have been 5 or 6-0 after two periods but it took two dominant periods just to get a two-goal lead, both with the newly minted checking like of Coleman-Zajac and Stefan Noesen in the middle of the offensive action with Zajac and Coleman each getting a goal and an assist in a three-minute span while Noesen assisted on both goals as well. While the Devils were dominating and outshooting the Pens 29-10 after 40 minutes I’d seen too many multi-goal leads blown to relax.
Sure enough things started to get tense again when Evgeni Malkin did Evgeni Malkin things dancing through defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Mirco Mueller before going around Keith Kinkaid for a typically spectactular goal to make it 2-1 and send the visions of blown leads past dancing in my head again. Then out of nowhere it was Zajac, continuing his unlikely breakout with a tip-in of a Severson shot that restored the Devils’ two goal lead midway through the third. Consider that Zajac had seven points in just thirty-three games this season before tonight returning from injury and looked washed up, certainly offensively. Perhaps the fight with Gudas gave him a little extra adrenaline carryover. Certainly it inspired his peers.
Stefan Noesen on Travis Zajac: "He’s an unbelievable two-way player. He’s shutting down Sidney Crosby. Any guy that can do that and then put up three points, I want him on my team. He stood up for Palms the last game. You want that guy on your team."#NJDevils
Ah yes Crosby…the only times I wound up noticing 87 at all are when he uncharacteristically missed an open net late in the second period, and on the game’s most contreversial play in the third when Kinkaid caught a stick up high and while struggling to get back to his feat got conked again on the head – from a Crosby shot that went into the net. However, for once we finally caught a break on the whistle when the refs correctly ruled goalie interference and this time even the dreaded video review couldn’t change that.
Perhaps it was fitting after our cycle of death started with the bad offside review against the Sabres that one finally going our way helped put the memories of our January losing behind us. Also tonight’s game was uplifting in that two players that struggled for much of the season in Zajac and goalie Kinkaid (despite his good record) led the way in a big win that bumped us back into second place and restored a little more of the playoff cushion that got lost in January. One other meaningful component of the win was that the Devils went 0-for-5 against the Pens last year. Not that it meant anything considering this year’s team is clearly much different but it’s definitely nice to show the big boys we can play with them too.
With 31 games left in the regular season the Devils are back in reasonably good position, five points up on a playoff spot with still a game or two in hand but now’s not the time to take a break, especially with a potential trap game coming up against Ottawa on Tuesday. While the Sens have had a dissapointing season they’re still capable of playing us well and did in two barnburner games earlier this year. While goalie Cory Schneider still seems a ways away from returning at least Kinkaid’s improved play has quelled the urgency of finding a solution at the goaltender position. In fact, coach John Hynes challenged all of his goalies to play better after the last poor game against Nashville before the break. Keith, like the rest of the Devils have risen to the challenge so far since the break.
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Derek
Battle Of Hudson 
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