Mats Zuccarello on the significance of tonight and how much he means to Rangers fans

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Derek

Listening to Mats Zuccarello speak above makes me want to hug him. He is one of the easiest guys to root for. A prideful player with a giant size heart, the pint sized Norwegian expressed his thoughts on tonight’s final home game.

If you are a fan of the Rangers, this is the one guy who gives you everything. Zuccarello has one year remaining on his contract which means he might not be here for very long given the direction the organization is taking. But if he stays, he has to be considered a favorite for the captaincy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Every True Blueshirt knows tonight will be emotional. With former players Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller visiting along with Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, Anton Stralman and the rest of the Tampa Bay Blueshirts Lightning, it will be emotional. On a day the club will honor the Ranger who goes above and beyond the call of duty in recognition of former NYPD officer Steven McDonald, it’s sure to give fans, players and coaches chills. His son Conor will do the honors for the second consecutive year since his amazing Dad passed. There won’t be a dry eye.

No matter what happens with Zuccarello, he will always remain beloved by the diehards who chant “Zucc,” in tribute to the effort he puts out daily. Even if it has been a down year, he likely will lead them in team scoring for a third straight season.

Hearing and seeing the passion on his face in the locker room is why he’s so well respected. We love the underdog. You get it with the cerebral number 36 who has never backed down from anyone. He’s a miracle having made a full recovery from that McDonagh shot that ended his playoffs a few years ago. It’s amazing he returned to form after sustaining a fractured skull and brain contusion in Game 5 of the 2015 first round versus the Penguins. He temporarily lost his ability to talk and had to relearn from a speech therapist.

Zucc is inspiring to so many. He is a three time Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner. Though he likely won’t win it later, he embodies what it means to be a New York Ranger. If you go to the game tonight, please make sure to cheer and salute Zuccarello extra hard during his shifts. There’s no guarantee he’ll be back. He deserves it. Let him know how we feel.

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Devils gain ground in tense week

Posted on March 30, 2018 by hasan4978

Perhaps it’s best I missed Thursday’s OT loss against the Penguins – which thankfully will either be the last or next to last Thursday game I miss this year.  After all, Tuesday’s game with the Hurricanes had about two or three games’ worth of angst and a dramatic finish worthy of the playoff atmosphere it was in the building, and I probably still needed a slight blow from that and from other stupid drama in my life.  Certainly missing such a critical game wasn’t by choice though, not at this point in the season.  Of course I will be at the arena next Thursday if their home game with the Leafs means anything, which odds are it will cause with this roller-coaster season it only seems to make sense that it would come down to the wire.

Still there are signs the Devils are finally doing enough to crack the Panthers.  After Florida lost in Toronto on Wednesday just missing a comeback from spotting the Leafs three first-period goals, they suffered their second shock loss to Ottawa in the last month – this one in OT in the most unlikely fashion, on a penalty shot from Jean-Gabriel Pageau (a name I’m sure still makes Derek cringe) with less than twenty seconds remaining.  Florida’s OT loss to the Senators on Thursday was a net gain for us even though we both got the same result from the night, it knocked a critical game off the schedule.  Florida is three points back, still with a game in hand they’ll maintain until they finally make up their snowout at Boston the day after the regular season ends but the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly getting brighter.

Saturday could be the most important day remaining in the playoff race.  If the Devils beat a dysfunctional Islanders team at home and the Panthers lose a tough road game at Boston (who’s suddenly in the driver’s seat for the top spot in the East), the Devils will be five points up and have a decent shot to end this by Tuesday.   At this point I’ve pretty well memorized the remaining schedules of both the Devils and Panthers, who it’ll almost certainly come down with to a mano-a-mano showdown for the final wild card.  It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to catch the Flyers or Blue Jackets given both teams’ consistent winning of late – especially with both teams holding tiebreakers – and the Pens beating us in OT ended all talk of us somehow passing them.  Yes, the Panthers get the Bruins three times down the stretch but Saturday’s game could be the only one with anything on the line for Boston given the warp speed with which they’ve passed Tampa of late.  Of course we could also benefit from the Leafs and Capitals resting their players in the last two games of the season.

Both teams’ schedules are home-heavy in the final week with the Devils only going on the road for Montreal on Sunday and the Caps next Saturday sprinkled around our rivalry home games with the Isles tomorrow, the Rangers next Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday while the Panthers finally finish their seven road-game (out of eight) marathon over the last two weeks in Boston, then bunch up five games in the last week starting with a back-to-back against Carolina and Nashville – who will also have questionable motivation having locked up the top seed out West, followed by home games against the Bruins Thursday, the Sabres Saturday and finally a last trip to Boston on Sunday.  A realistic best-case scenario for the Devils is they win their next three while the Panthers lose in regulation to the Bruins and Predators, and this baby’s over on Tuesday night with a celebration at the Rock after Devils-Rangers.  But does anyone really believe it will be that easy?

It’s been six long years since the Devils’ last playoff game, the meltdown in LA to end our feel-good Stanley Cup Finals run in 2012.  Since then, the team’s had five years of losing games and losing players to home (including the Kovalchuk mess and the July 4 Parise downer) as well as everywhere else, a complete on and off-ice overhaul with new ownership and regime changes cleaning house of everything a generation of Devils fans knew including the departure of franchise legends Lou Lamoriello, Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens and Patrik Elias and a lot of uncertainty over what lay ahead.  Throughout the five years in the wilderness, the Devils only had two serious playoff runs and one of them more or less ended in late February once reality finally set in on an overachieving 2015-16 team in the first year of the new regime.  Our other playoff run was really the only semi-close down the stretch race this generation of Devil fans has known and of course it ended with our historic 0-13 futility in the shootout and a hideous late season home loss against the Flames where Karri Ramo did his best prime Mike Vernon impression.

Perhaps the lack of close races is why I and other fans are struggling to handle the tension of this late-season run.  In the glory days, playoff appearances were taken for granted with the team only missing the playoffs once in two decades from 1989 to 2010, and that was in the only other close playoff race I can remember when the Devils embarassingly missed the playoffs in 1996 as defending Cup champs on the last day of the season, the first team to do so since the Habs in the early ’70’s.  Usually the Devils either clinched a berth by March or in more recent years have been out of it by late February.  Florida’s late season surge has extended the Devils to the limit but to this point a young, hungry team has responded to the challenge down the stretch going 6-2-1 in their last nine games which included a West Coast swing, trips to division leaders Nashville and Vegas as well as home and road tilts with the defending Cup champs.  And oh yes playing Tampa on a back-to-back coming home from a long six-game trip.

Of course there was angst on Tuesday when the Devils gave a skittish effort against the Hurricanes and there were definitely moments where things looked dire, especially at the end of the first period when the Devils completely broke down over the latter half and gave up two goals to fall behind 2-1, and also early in the third period when the team came out flat again and watched (that is the right word) Carolina take another lead at 3-2.  I was beside myself thinking we would lose this game – and in regulation no less – against a non-playoff team, albeit one gamely trying for a last-ditch miracle run.  After Florida’s fattened up on a string of cream of the crap teams it would have been doubly devastating to lose Tuesday when the Devils finally got a non-playoff team after running their gauntlet.

But once again this team fought back from adversity, with Kyle Palmieri almost single-handedly saving the Devils season with goals in both the second and third period to tie the game, then making a diving save on an empty-net chance midway through the third period after a breakdown led to a two-on-one that elicited a collective gasp from the 15,521 in attendance.  After Palmieri saved the game on more than one occasion, grinder Stefan Noesen won it dramatically with less than ninety seconds remaining in regulation and despite more hair-raising moments with our empty-net defense (as usual) I got to celebrate a second straight home win in attendance for the first time since December.  It was actually the team’s first winning streak at home since early February, which has been another bone of contention with me.  As dominant as this team’s been on the road at times, they haven’t done enough fattening up at home to get distance in the playoff hunt.

I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting to sweep the Penguins outright but would have been content with a point out of Thursday’s game to at least keep a modest distance from the Panthers after their expected win.  However, the Panthers finally showed signs of tiring out both from their long trip and their long drive back into contention and rendered the night better than I could have hoped for.  Ironically enough, with my low speed Internet during the last few days of my billing period I wasn’t getting the scores updated as quickly as I liked so I relied on a friend to tell me the Panthers lost in OT.  I thought he meant the shootout since there was only about twenty seconds remaining in OT the last update I did get but only found out later about that dramatic ending, which made up for the other kind of dramatic ending at the Rock with Sidney Crosby finally giving the champs a win over us this season with an OT goal after an exciting back and forth game that went to OT at 3-3.

Still this team can’t rest now.  Everything that’s happened this season and the surge this team’s made the last couple weeks won’t mean very much if they crap out now with a favorable schedule to close out and make it a sixth straight excruciating season out of the postseason.  Yeah I know the cliches about there being no easy games and rivals will be out to play spoiler, but if you want to make the playoffs you’ll win at least three of the next four games against the Islanders, Montreal, the Rangers and a questionably motivated Leafs team.  Especially with Florida having its own batch of home games against non-playoff and unmotivated teams to finish up next week.  It’s all right there for them, destiny is back in their hands and they have an opportunity to drop the hammer over the next few days.

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Andersson records first NHL assist in overtime loss

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Derek

The first meaningless regular season game in the Henrik Lundqvist Era took place last night in D.C. Previously, the Rangers had never played a game in which the playoffs weren’t a possibility since ’05-06. So Game 76 of 82 was different.

In a rematch on Rivalry Night, they gave a better effort. Probably deserved to win. But you have to play till the final buzzer. That’s something rookie defenseman Neal Pionk learned in a tough 3-2 overtime defeat at Washington.

Ryan Spooner scored his first goal in nine games to put the Rangers ahead with 9:25 remaining in the third period. He finished off a nice pass from rookie Lias Andersson on a play started by Brady Skjei. For Andersson, it was his first NHL assist. In two games, he has a goal and a helper. Not a bad start for the active 2017 first round pick.

If the first two games are any indication, Andersson plays with the edge that’s been missing most of the season. He brings it during shifts not shying away from physicality and uses his speed well. It might be early for the 19-year old Swede but you have to like what we’ve seen so far.

Henrik Lundqvist was back in net after recovering from a injury on a collision last week. He was splendid throughout making acrobatic saves en route to 30 on Wednesday. Unfortunately, he’s still without a win since turning 36 on March 2. Even with nothing on the line, the veteran expressed frustration. He’s a competitor.

They were real close to getting him a victory until Lars Eller was left alone in front by Pionk for a easy put away with 65 seconds left. Pionk went down and was concerned with taking away the backdoor from Alexander Ovechkin. He admitted that he didn’t realize Jesper Fast had it covered. That allowed Nicklas Backstrom to thread the needle for Eller’s 18th.

He’ll learn. Pionk is a tremendous skater who’s proven he belongs. He had one great rush that forced Braden Holtby into a difficult save. He looks like he has the ability to become a 30-point defenseman in a full season. He still needs to get stronger. But Pionk has played well alongside Marc Staal. That wouldn’t be a bad second pairing in the rebuild assuming Staal stays. They work well off each other.

The two old Patrick Division rivals exchanged goals in a good first period. Kevin Hayes got a nice reward when he went to the net and was able to get a piece of a loose puck and bank it just over the goal line with help from Holtby. Originally, it was waved off but they horned downstairs stopping play immediately to overturn it. It was Hayes’ career best 22nd at 12:42 from Jimmy Vesey and Skjei on the power play. His fifth PPG despite not being used most of the year before the deadline sell off. The five on the power play are also a new high.

A Rob O’Gara slash on a Evgeny Kuznetsov breakaway was determined to be a penalty shot. On it, the dangerous Russian made a good move going for a deke and backhand but his try was read perfectly by Lundqvist, who robbed him with a great glove save to deny the chance.

The Caps struck back late in the period. Following a successful penalty kill of a Skjei slashing minor, the Rangers gave one up with 33 seconds remaining. Backstrom was able to move the puck across to a open Andre Burakovsky for a quick one-timer past Lundqvist. It ruined a very good period for the guests. They outshot the Caps 18-8 and largely outplayed them.

There was no scoring in the second. The two goalies did their job with Lundqvist making 13 stops and Holtby nine. There was a little bit of nastiness which I liked. What you expect from two rivals.

With the game still tied, Skjei made a good play in the neutral zone to start a nice passing play that Spooner finished from Andersson for his 12th. But after Holtby came off for a extra attacker, the Caps tied it on a good play down low with Kuznetsov working the puck to Backstrom, who did his magic with Eller forcing overtime.

Prior to the tying goal, Holtby wasn’t even off the ice when the extra attacker came on. The refs missed a obvious bench minor for too many men. It was so bad that they discussed the play after a whistle before a face off. That didn’t help the Rangers.

In the 3-on-3, Kuznetsov made a great solo effort by skating just around Mika Zibanejad to launch a good wrist shot that beat Lundqvist far side off the goalpost at 38 seconds of extras. It was a smart play by a very good player.

The Caps are closing in on another division title. They’ve pulled away from the Pens with 99 points and five games left. They lead Pittsburgh by seven. The Pens are battling Philadelphia and Columbus for second and home ice in the first round.

As for the Rangers, they can hold their heads high. They deserved better. Call it a valuable lesson. They will play their final home game tomorrow on Good Friday. It’ll be the return of Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller. It’s sure to be emotional with the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award being presented before puck drop.

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Moving Forward: After being eliminated by the Devils, Rangers continue the process

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Derek

It finally happened. The Rangers were officially eliminated from the postseason due to the Devils winning 4-3 over the Hurricanes. That made it the first time since 2010 there will be no playoffs.

Unlike that painful ending which went to Game 82 and a silly shootout in Philadelphia, this one was much easier to take. We knew it was coming. So, I don’t feel the least bit upset over it. It’s been inevitable for a month since GM Jeff Gorton made the smart decision to sell at the deadline by acquiring both prospects and draft picks for Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Michael Grabner, Rick Nash and Nick Holden.

With an eye towards the future, the Blueshirts have three first round picks including their own along with Boston’s and Tampa’s. So, they get one shot at the NHL Lottery. Even if it’s not good odds, it at least gives fans something to watch during the playoffs. It’s usually in the second round or third round.

Already we’ve seen a few young players come up from Hartford or via trade and show what they can do. Defenseman Neal Pionk has stood out. In 22 games, the right skating D has posted a goal and 13 assists and minus-one rating. He had a recent seven-game point streak (1-9-10) snapped in a 4-2 home loss to the Caps. At the very least, he looks like a second pair defenseman who should be in the top four. Though he’ll need to get stronger in the summer.

Before a injury ended his season, Tony DeAngelo was starting to come around. The minus-18 not withstanding, the smooth skating right defenseman has the puck skills to be a solid contributor offensively. He finished with eight assists in 32 contests. Not the biggest in stature, the former Lightning 2014 first round pick is still trying to figure it out. Having come over as part of the trade that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the Coyotes that also landed first round pick Lias Andersson, the 22-year old will have a chance to prove he belongs next training camp.

Other candidates for next season’s revamped blueline are speedy lefty John Gilmour, stay at home type Rob O’Gara and former Boston prospect Ryan Lindgren who recently signed and already had a goal and assist in his first two pro games with Hartford. He’s only 20 and was taken in the second round 49th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Assuming Marc Staal is back for veteran leadership following a bounce back year, he and Kevin Shattenkirk would be the experienced players on the back end unless Brendan Smith resurfaces. Brady Skjei is due a raise this summer and will help anchor the D. He’s still learning in what’s been a more challenging second season with coach Alain Vigneault giving him more ice-time since McDonagh departed.

Up front, Mika Zibanejad has proven he’s capable of becoming a 30-goal top center. The chemistry he has with emerging power wing Chris Kreider is undeniable. Fourteen of Zibanejad’s team-leading 27 goals have come on the power play. His 46 points rank second behind Mats Zuccarello in team scoring despite missing time due to a concussion. It took him a while to get on track following his return.

Kreider, who was recently nominated by the Rangers for the Bill Masterton Trophy due to coming back from a blood clot in his right arm that required a rib resection which caused him to miss 24 games. He’s been superb since coming back tallying four goals and 10 assists in 15 games. He’s become a leader on the team and is a candidate for the ‘A’ next Fall.

Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast have both performed well. Hayes sacrificed offense to go head to head with the league’s top lines. He has improved his face off percentage and become a better shooter posting a career best 21 goals with a plus-one rating and 18 helpers. Fast has proven he can play a bigger role fitting in well with Zibanejad and Kreider on the first line. He recently (3-7-10) had a career best eight-game point streak snapped that featured a career high three-point outing (2-1-3). His 13 goals and 31 points are career highs.

Sophomores Pavel Buchnevich (14-28-42) and Jimmy Vesey (17-9-26) are building blocks who each can improve. Buchnevich with shooting the puck and Vesey with finding consistency and passing the puck. The latter is one of five crucial restricted free agents this summer. The others include Hayes, Skjei, ex-Bruin Ryan Spooner and former Bolt Vladislav Namestnikov if he isn’t rerouted.

With both first round picks Andersson and Filip Chytil each recording their first NHL points on Monday, there’s a lot to look forward to in the final six games. The two teenagers should both play the remainder including tonight’s Rivalry Night rematch in D.C. and a emotional final home game Friday versus Tampa with ex-Rangers McDonagh and Miller returning on Steven McDonald night. It should be quite a evening.

With top goalie prospect Igor Shestyorkin at least a year away playing for SKA St. Petersburg in Russia and Alexandar Georgiev making a nice cameo which could lead to the backup position, there’s plenty for our fans to like moving forward. Get ready for more fireworks in June and July.

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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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