One Win The King Deserved: Lundqvist stops 37 in Rangers 2-1 shootout win over Coyotes

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Derek
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The King Gets Step: Henrik Lundqvist kicks away Derek Stepan’s slapshot in the third round of the shootout to carry the Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Coyotes. AP Photo via Getty Images

The last couple of times he went to a shootout, it hadn’t treated Henrik Lundqvist too kindly. The King made certain that didn’t happen again in a scintillating performance to carry the Rangers past the Coyotes 2-1 in Arizona.

On a night he passed Tony Esposito to move into eighth place on the all-time wins list with career victory number 424, Lundqvist made 37 saves and then stopped all three Coyotes shooters including former buddy Derek Stepan to clinch an important second point for his struggling team. Goals have been tough to come by lately. So have complete efforts with the Rangers having one more game against surprising first in the West Vegas Golden Knights later tonight in a back to back before a much needed bye week.

With points number 48 and 49, the Rangers remain in good position in the Metro Division. One behind the Devils, who visit the desperate Islanders at 1 PM Sunday while the Bills visit the Jaguars in the NFL’s second slate of wildcard games. The NHL schedule maker did them no favors. No wonder they’re leaving Brooklyn for Yonkers.

After learning that top left wing Chris Kreider had a procedure done on his arm to repair a blood clot which might finish him for the season, the Rangers didn’t exactly respond the way they should have against the lowly Coyotes. Arizona was the aggressor in a lopsided first period. At one point, they turned Lundqvist’s net into a shooting gallery. He had to deal with multiple breakaways the first couple of minutes. It looked like the Coyotes were on a extended power play.

The one goal they scored was on a actual power play even though it shouldn’t have been. It was another mind numbing call by the blind mice. Just as the refs screwed the pooch on the Blackhawks second goal where Ryan Hartman clearly shoved Marc Staal from behind into the net with the puck which somehow was missed, they ignored Anthony Duclair doing the same to Kevin Shattenkirk. Instead, he got a ridiculous delay of game minor penalty.

As fate would have it, the much rumored former Ranger scored his 10th by following up a Stepan rebound for his second consecutive game with a goal. Doesn’t it always work out that way? Well, you knew Duclair would have a big game. He was all over the Rangers net and could’ve had a hat trick if not for Lundqvist, who bailed out his sleepless teammates.

The thing about it is for as hard as the Coyotes now play under Rick Tocchet, there’s a reason they only have 10 wins and sit 31st overall with 26 points. They aren’t consistent enough to score goals. If they were, they’d win more frequently as they had in a 3-2 upset of last year’s Stanley Cup runner up Nashville a couple of nights ago.

The Rangers didn’t have many skaters going. Alain Vigneault mixed up his lines. After starting J.T. Miller with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, he saw enough to start tinkering. His favorite scapegoat Buchnevich went from the top line to the fourth line with Boo Nieves and Paul Carey while Jesper Fast got bumped up from the third line to the first line. Of course, this didn’t sit well with #NYR Twitter. The amount of complaints over Buchnevich has become annoying. Should he be on the fourth line? Of course not. Is he a top six forward with probably the most skill on the roster? Absolutely. But I’m not gonna speculate as to why he always gets the Miller treatment. Remember Vigneault has always done the same to our gritty American forward moving him around. He’s mature enough to handle it. Buchnevich is in Year 2. There are still things he can improve on despite the gripes about why he ranks so low in average even strength ice time.

The most important part is that they win. Even if it wasn’t a Picasso. Vigneault’s exact words following the game. They can’t all be. It’s bad that this team can’t even beat the Coyotes without a fight. They’re not able to string together consistent 60-minute hockey to win in regulation. The defensive flaws are well documented. So are the lack of shots from the Anti-Corsis. Ironically my fantasy team name. They rank near the bottom in the fancy stats. When you don’t shoot the puck enough and turn it over, it leads to chaotic shifts where the opponent is dictating possession and skating circles around our five man unit in the Rangers zone. So they continue to give up over 30 shots and get out-attempted. They never seem to play well in front of Lundqvist. Why is that? I have no idea. It’s probably why I suggested Ondrej Pavelec for the start giving Lundqvist just the much better Golden Knights before the break.

Let’s also give credit to Antti Raanta. Facing his former team for the first time, he was excellent throughout. Sure. He saw less rubber. But he still made some absolute dandies to keep the Rangers to only one goal in 65 minutes.

The one came from suddenly reemerging sophomore Jimmy Vesey. Remember him? The other second-year forward who’s been jerked around much worse than Buchnevich but never is discussed by the charts. Vesey isn’t as talented but gives a honest effort daily. He’s also played a lot more on the third and fourth line. But we never hear much about that. His game is coming at the right time.

With emotional leader Mats Zuccarello out due to illness, rookie Vinni Lettieri got back in the lineup for the first time since scoring in his NHL debut at Detroit. He went from the fourth line to the second with Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner. Lettieri brings a quality most Blueshirts refuse to do. An aggressive mindset by finding open space and shooting the puck without hesitation. He twice was robbed by a sliding Raanta on good set ups. It wasn’t all roses for Lettieri, who made a bad drop to no one during the three on three causing a Clayton Keller breakaway in overtime, which forced Brady Skjei into a hooking penalty. The Rangers were able to kill it off thanks to a great diving block from who else but Marc Staal. Another target who gets unfair treatment from the blind masses despite having a good bounceback season at the halfway point. He was also stoned twice by Raanta on one shift during regulation and gave a honest assessment of the team’s game and well documented struggles.

The Rangers woke up in the second period. Vesey made a nice solo effort out of the corner to move in and beat Raanta with a sweet finish for his ninth. A play MSG announcer Sam Rosen had high praise for. Sam knows good hockey when he sees it. More than once he and partner Joe Micheletti paid homage to a focused Vesey, who nearly had another on a great individual end to end rush. He came back to make a defensive play and then reset before flying around the Coyotes and in on Raanta but his stick side attempt went wide. A terrific effort from a player whose confidence is high. They’ll need him to continue performing without Kreider.

That was it for the scoring. The student versus the teacher turned into a old fashioned goalie duel. Both Lundqvist and Raanta taking turns making big saves. Lundqvist proving the doubters wrong. At 35 going on 36, he’s having his best year since he won his only Vezina in ‘11-12 under John Tortorella. In a more wide open league where his team isn’t as good defensively, he’s stood on his head most nights and performed extremely well.

He might not have the numbers that Andrei Vasilevskiy does in Tampa or even Sergei Bobrovsky or Tuukka Rask. But has anyone done more than Lundqvist for his team? Maybe Cory Schneider with the Devils. But I can’t say he’s been as consistent. Jonathan Quick is also in the mix. So should Corey Crawford with the Blackhawks not the same. It’s a fun debate for another day.

The overtime was mostly Arizona controlling the puck and keeping it away from the Rangers. It was infuriating if you root for this team. Vesey had the only good chance. So another skill competition was needed.

In it, a patient Zibanejad outwaited Raanta to make a perfect high shot glove side off the goalpost and in for the only goal. Lundqvist did the rest stopping Duclair, Keller and Stepan in succession. With Henrik knowing what he likes to do following a Buchnevich miss, Stepan tried a rare slap shot which Lundqvist calmly kicked away for the win with that bright smile lit up like Broadway.

Such a well deserved win for a great player and better man. Another victory on his march to 500.

BONY 3 Stars ✨

3rd Star ⭐️ Jimmy Vesey, NYR goal-9th of season, easily Rangers best forward

2nd Star ⭐️ Anthony Duclair, ARI goal-10th of season, has played well since returning to lineup

1st Star ⭐️ Henrik Lundqvist, NYR 37 saves including some highlight reel to move into eighth place all-time with his 424th career win

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Sweden the better team in semifinal 4-2 win over USA

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Derek

In the first semifinal, it was Sweden that was the better team. There won’t be a repeat. USA fell to Sweden 4-2 at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Buoyed by a stellar 29 save performance from goalie Filip Gustavsson, the Swedes were able to settle in and play their game following a unimpressive first period in which the Americans outshot and outchanced them. Gustavsson (Penguins) was there to make key stops keeping it scoreless.

One of the biggest differences was special teams. Time and again, Sweden took undisciplined penalties to give USA looks. Unlike the previous games, they were unable to take advantage. The Swedes did a good job getting sticks in passing and shooting lanes. When USA got shots through, Gustavsson made the saves.

With it a tight checking contest that turned more into a neutral zone battle as it progressed, it was a USA penalty that tilted the game in Sweden’s direction. Having killed off the previous two, they were unable to be successful on number three. A nice Alexander Nylander pass across to Elias Pettersson resulted in the Canucks 2016 fifth overall pick wiring one top shelf far post by Joseph Woll (Maple Leafs). That was the lone goal through two periods.

https://twitter.com/ryanbiech/status/949044515431591936

Despite a strong pushback from USA, they were unable to get the game tied. They certainly had their chances. There was a 3-on-0 break in which the dangerous trio of Casey Mittlestadt, Brady Tkachuk and Kieffer Bellows came in on Gustavsson. But Mittlestadt decided to take the shot which Gustavsson kicked out with Bellows crashing into him for goaltender interference. It was a pivotal moment.

There was also a great shift where the Americans had sustained pressure in the Sweden zone for over a minute. But despite the opportunity, they never could beat Gustavsson, who was a brick wall. He also denied a Bellows shot point blank with a great skate save. Bellows was USA’s top scoring threat due to his combination of speed, shot and skating ability. The Islanders prospect looks like a good one.

Still trailing in the third, USA began to take risks to get the game tied. As often happens against a stingy opponent getting great goaltending, they made some costly mistakes.

A bad pinch led to a two-on-one for Sweden with Rangers 2017 first round pick Lias Andersson tapping one home for a 2-0 lead. A well executed play by a patient team who was very methodical.

They could afford to be protecting a lead. At some point, the Americans got frustrated by the Swedes. It showed in a ugly third that saw Sweden score not one but two shorthanded goals on one power play.

USA defenseman Adam Fox got caught at the Sweden blue line causing a odd man rush. On it, Oskar Steen made no mistake blowing a shorthanded goal past Woll for a 3-0 lead.

Any thoughts of a American comeback got dashed when Axel Jonsson Fjallby took advantage of soft USA play in the neutral zone. His high shot chased Woll to put Sweden comfortably up 4-0 only 38 seconds later. Jake Oettinger replaced him. It was his first appearance since the epic 4-3 shootout comeback win over Canada outdoors in the snow.

With 10 minutes left, the game was realistically over. But to their credit, USA never gave up. It’s not in their DNA.

Instead, Bellows finally tallied his tournament best seventh when he took a pass in front and beat Gustavsson with a nice move and shot top shelf to get USA on the board.

Before you knew it, Brady Tkachuk made it 4-2 when he was set up in front to suddenly make it a close contest with still over three minutes to go.

Even crazier, Sweden took a penalty to hand them a power play. Ultimately, they weren’t able to get any closer. Mittlestadt had a great opportunity in the slot but was somehow robbed by Gustavsson, who got just enough of a high labeler to keep it out.

For seemingly no reason with the game decided, Steen cheap shotted Oilers prospect Kailer Yamamoto by giving him a chop to the leg with just over four seconds left. It was despicable. Yamamoto was in real pain and needed help getting off the ice.

Steen is a Bruins draft pick. I guess it makes a little sense. He won’t win any new fans with that dirty display.

When the game concluded, they had the cool postgame ceremony on the ice. USA’s top three players were selected. To the surprise of no one, they were Bellows, Mittlestadt and Fox. A good offensive defenseman who plays similarly to Brian Rafalski. I could’ve made a case for Tkachuk, who should definitely go in the top 10 in the 2018 NHL Draft. He maybe better than older brother Matthew, who stars for the Flames.

Here is my favorite Bellows moment from this tournament. None other than a celly with him celebrating a goal while a fan is wearing his Dad’s Classic North Stars Jersey.

Sweden’s top three are Andersson, Nylander and projected top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin was a beast in this game with his unreal skating creating plenty of chances while playing superb defensively. He might be better than Victor Hedman. The last big name Swedish defenseman who went in the top three in the famed 2009 Draft.

Sweden will play for the gold medal tomorrow. They’ll await the winner between underdog Czech Republic and Canada. That gets underway at 8 EST on NHL Network, who again have done a outstanding job covering the top prospects.

I liked what USA Hockey coach Bob Motzko said afterwards. When discussing what went wrong with Jill Savage, he indicated that his team didn’t have the same jump. But he also was quick to point out that they have to move on because there’s another game Friday. They play for bronze. Something he wants his players to focus on making American fans proud.

Sure. It’s disappointing they won’t have the chance to repeat. A potential USA-Canada rematch for gold would’ve been priceless. But it wasn’t to be. Sometimes, you get beat.

Full credit to Sweden. They earned it. I won’t be surprised if they win gold. They’re a frustrating team to play. They should be a handful for whoever they face tomorrow night.

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A Winter Classic Hangover

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Derek

The Winter Classic had the Broadway script ending on New Year’s Day with J.T. Miller playing the role of hero by doing the dirty work in front to beat the Sabres on a power play rebound from Kevin Shattenkirk at Citi Field. That was a very good game with the Rangers prevailing in overtime before freezing cold screaming fans on the backdrop of classic New York taxis and subway.

I’m sure the Buffalo fan was confused as to why our goalhorn played when it was a Sabres “home game.” To be fair, they couldn’t play it in Buffalo due to the IIHF Under 20 World Junior Championship being played there along with a memorable outdoor game on Dec. 29 won by USA over Canada in the snow at Ralph Wilson Stadium 4-3 in a shootout.

Two days later, the Rangers were back in a more familiar setting playing in front of the home crowd at MSG for the late 8 PM start on Rivalry Night over on NBCSN against the Original Six rival Blackhawks. These days, they’re not a true rival anymore due to overexpansion. Though the appeal of seeing those threads and cool logo still makes it fun, it would be nice if the start time were moved up to 7:30. But with Chicago in the central time zone, I can see why it was a 8 start on the East Coast. Now had it been say the Caps, Devils, Flyers, Islanders or Pens, it should be a half hour earlier.

As for tonight’s game, it was a disappointing result. The Rangers were never sharp and often two steps behind the skilled Blackhawks. It ended up in a bitter 5-2 loss in home game 25. Yes, they’ve only got 16 games left at The Garden due to ridiculous award shows. So, if they want to make the playoffs, they’ll have to do well on the road. With 42 games remaining, they have to play 26 road games. The first two at Arizona and Vegas this weekend following a winter storm that’s gonna make it feel like hell froze over.

Sitting third in the Metropolitan Division with a 21-14-5 record and 47 points, this was a missed opportunity. Especially with the Islanders fading and Penguins inconsistent. Even the Blue Jackets and Devils haven’t been lighting the world on fire although the latter has run into some ridiculous bad luck due to the dopey offside challenge and other NHL absurdity.

Even though they didn’t have much time following Monday’s emotional win, it’s inexcusable to play as incomplete a game as they did. The Blueshirts teased us by again blowing scoring chances and missing too many shots against winning Chicago emergency starter Jeff Glass. If you can’t get more than two past a backup  who’s been thrust into a starting role with the Rodney Dangerfield of number one’s Corey Crawford out due to injury, you get exactly what the Rangers deserved. A ugly loss in which they gave up more shots and left too many skilled Hawks unchecked. They played a lousy third period after Mika Zibanejad tied it. All that was required was a better third than the first two when they didn’t get enough rubber on Glass. Shocking nobody.

Whatever it is, this is the norm for the Rangers. They aren’t good enough defensively to keep forcing Henrik Lundqvist to bail them out with miraculous saves facing 30-plus shots a night. He can only do so much. Even he couldn’t stop Patrick Sharp from scoring the winner at 2:24 of the third. At which point I shouted, “Of course they’d give up a goal to a guy who has one goal in his last 30!”

It may have been exaggeration. But Sharp has struggled so much that he’s now in a secondary role in his second stint with the team that made him a star and key contributor to their Stanley Cup winning teams. It was only his fourth goal.

The bottom line is the Hawks were sharper from the outset outplaying, outshooting and outskating the Rangers. They still rallied twice from one goal deficits. The first coming from Nick Holden, who two minutes following Vinnie Hinostroza’s tally, was able to beat Glass with a wrist shot through a Jesper Fast screen at 18:09 of the first. It was again strong work from the fourth line with Boo Nieves and Paul Carey combining to set up Holden’s third.

Despite only registering six shots to their opponent’s 14, they were tied after one. The second played out similarly. At one point, the Hawks took four straight minor penalties. Shortly after Nick Schmaltz took a Patrick Kane feed and was stopped by Lundqvist only to have the good fortune of the loose rebound deflecting off a falling Marc Staal and in for his eighth, Brent Seabrook and Glass took consecutive minors 1:36 apart. The Blueshirts made it work thanks to some sparkling passing. On a play started by Mats Zuccarello, Zibanejad converted a five on three power play goal thanks to blasting home a perfect Pavel Buchnevich cross ice feed for his 12th at 11:32. It was Zibanejad’s first point since returning. Earlier, he came close on another power play firing a laser off the far goalpost. Maybe that will get him going. His timing was better throughout. He was one of the few Rangers skaters with jump. He played with Zuccarello and Miller, who Alain Vigneault bumped up to the first line while sliding Rick Nash down to the Kevin Hayes-Michael Grabner unit.

On a night they didn’t play consistently, the Rangers were disciplined with Miller taking the only minor when he got nabbed for hi-sticking Connor Murphy to end the rest of a five on four. After some four on four, the Rangers killed off a abbreviated Chicago man-advantage.

The best chance to take the lead came with Jimmy Vesey on a breakaway. He came in on Glass and tried for high stickside but just missed due to some back pressure.

Vesey was tripped from behind by Lance Bouma with 1:22 left in the second. But the Rangers were unable to capitalize with the Blackhawks able to kill the remainder at the start of the third. It was a letdown due to the opprtunities they were handed. One for six isn’t good enough when you’re facing a talented team.

The Hawks were the better team five on five using their speed and forecheck to give the Rangers fits. They forced them into way too many sloppy turnovers. The Rangers had 22 giveaways.

Early in the final stanza, a good Chicago breakout led to Sharp striking off a rush. Alex DeBrincat led David Kampf in the Ranger zone. With Staal giving Sharp enough room, he took a Kampf pass and let go of a laser that beat Lundqvist high glove off the bar and in at 2:24. A great shot by a former 30 goalscorer.

The Rangers picked it up by outshooting the Blackhawks 11-9 after getting outshot 26-14 the first 40 minutes. But every time they looked on the verge of tying it, Glass made a good save or a Hawk made a good defensive play. If there was a noticeable difference, it was Chicago’s attention to detail. They blocked 17 shots and the Rangers missed another 16.

They had three good chances. One coming with Hayes passing for a cutting Grabner tip try that just missed. Another when Zibanejad was denied in tight. Fast had a point blank chance blocked. The final one came when Nash took a Brendan Smith feed off a offensive draw and couldn’t stuff the puck past a sliding Glass.

Eventually, jonathan Toews was the recipient of a empty netter on a hustling defensive play by Tommy Wingels. He intercepted a Zuccarello pass and led Brandon Saad, who got the puck over to Toews for the goal with under 54 seconds left that sealed it. Kane added a empty with five seconds left.

BONY 3 Stars ✨

3rd Star ⭐️ Jeff Glass, Blackhawks 23 saves including 11/11 in 3rd

2nd Star ⭐️ Mika Zibanejad PPG 12th to end a scoring drought, 5 SOG, 9 attempts

1st Star ⭐️ Patrick Sharp GWG 4th at 2:24 of 3rd

WJC Semifinals on NHL Network Later Today: With it being a snow day for some like myself, there’s a perfect opportunity to catch the wave of the future.

Two good match ups in Buffalo take place Thursday at KeyBank Center at the IIHF U20 WJC semifinals. The first coming at 4 EST with defending champion USA taking on Sweden.

Sabres 2017 first round pick Casey Mittlestadt has been superb along with Islanders prospect Kieffer Bellows while playing with 2018 Draft Eligible Brady Tkachuk. Actually, Devils prospect Joey Anderson rounds out the top line having scored three goals in the last two American victories. Joseph Woll (Maple Leafs) will be in net.

Sweden hasn’t lost yet and enter having won 44 straight games in Group play. They were one of the tournament favorites entering play with potential first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin highlighting a group that includes Rangers 2017 first round pick Lias Andersson. He was limited in their quarterfinal win over Slovakia due to injury.

The winner faces the winner of the second semifinal between Canada and Czech Republic. Canada has been strong throughout led by Dillon Dube, Taylor Raddysh and Carter Hart. They’re deep as usual and the only blemish was a shootout loss to USA in the snow outdoors at Ralph Wilson. They easily defeated Switzerland in the quarters 8-2.

The Czechs are a pleasant surprise making it this far for the first time in over a decade. Rangers prospect Filip Chytil is one player who has had a good tournament. They can score goals. But the question is defensively. We’ll see if they’re up to the challenge at 8 EST.

The winners advance to the gold medal game while the losers play for the bronze. NHL Network’s extensive coverage is superb. It really is terrific and gives hockey fans a lot of insight. Kudos to them and TSN.

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Upon further review, the NHL still sucks

Posted on January 3, 2018 by hasan4978

As a die-hard Devils fan I love hockey as a sport, I love the NHL playoffs and think the Stanley Cup championship is the best sports championship out there, both in terms of symbolism and in terms of the two month physical, mental and emotional war it takes to get it.  Yet, more and more as a sports fan these days we have to divorce our feelings for the sport and entertainment it provides for our feelings toward the entities running it.  Just like with football where diehards are getting turned off by the continual what is a catch and what isn’t a catch debate (and as a Jet fan I got the short end of THAT stick twice this season), this last week of Devils games has been especially hard on me as a hockey fan.

Call me salty over the Devils’ three-game losing streak if you must, but I’m tired of watching my favorite sports and now having to hesitate celebrating a touchdown because of the review bogeyman, or celebrate a goal because it might have been offsides fifteen seconds earlier or be overturned by some other hairline infraction that gets challenged.  Couple that with my bitterness over the tilted playing field we continually have played on all season thanks to the men in stripes and you have a very angry fan, and fanbase.

This whole week of officiating hell started last Friday against the Sabres.  While a sloppy game to be sure, it was still a game the Devils had a 3-1 lead in and could have easily won in regulation – but after blowing the 3-1 lead it looked like Taylor Hall had struck to put the Devils back in front, intercepting a pass and scoring on a breakaway with just several minutes left, the very kind of skill play the NHL would want to promote.  But…hold the phone, Buffalo challenged the goal for offsides which is a risky (or so it appeared) challenge given that the NHL tacks on a two-minute minor if you’re incorrect on an offsides challenge.  Sure enough, after a semi-lengthy review it was ruled a no-goal.  If you were judging it on a 50-50 scale it was probably closer to being offsides than not, but I’d hardly call it conclusive either way.

Which brings me to my main beef with these overturned TD’s and goals in both sports – does any sports league know what conclusive actually means?  It means without any doubt.  Both the NFL and the NHL say you need conclusive proof to overturn the call on the field.  Yet neither league has held to this standard.  Or if they have, they haven’t shared their technology with the rest of the world who ostensibly sees the same replays they do.  The standard now seems to be if it even LOOKS like it can be reversed, reverse it so it looks like we’re serving a purpose.  Perhaps there’s also a little bit of reluctance to NOT reverse an offsides given the minor penalty consequence – call that an unintended side effect of what I actually thought was a decent compromise (curbe the offsides reviews by attaching a penalty to a failed challenge).

After that Hall goal got taken off the board the Devils got sloppy and lost in overtime to a lousy Sabres team.  A rough point to drop, but considering that was the only point they lost on a six-game homestand it was hard to be too upset even with the annoyance of an offsides call that doesn’t happen too often.  Little did I know we were just a few nights away from deja vu.  But even before that the refs decided to play three blind mice on Saturday, both missing an obvious hold on Marcus Johansson before a Caps goal in the second period, and even more embarassingly missing an extended too many men on the ice (see above graphic) when the Caps scored to make it 4-2 in the third period.  If THAT could be reviewed that certainly would have met any definition of conclusive, the goal would have not only been off the board but the Devils would have had a power play at 3-2 with a chance to tie the game.

Of course, the NHL in its infinite wisdom says you can’t challenge for too many men on the ice, so coach John Hynes’ indignance during and after the game went for naught.  At this point I was ready for him to go all Robbie Ftorek and start throwing a bench.  So a millimeter offsides is challengeable but a clear penalty is not.  A true miscarriage of justice, made more embarassing by the fact the NHL posted highlights of the goal where you can clearly see six Caps celebrating on-ice.  So that’s loss number two in this string.

Amazingly enough loss number three last night was the most infuriating of all, and admittedly a game I thought we had no chance of winning beforehand against a team (the Blues) that’s been a nemesis for us in recent years.  Especially with struggling backup Keith Kinkaid in net.  Yet Kinkaid played well during the hockey game and the Devils not only fought back through two deficits to tie the game twice, but also an early disallowed goal on a high sticking by Brian Gibbons which was probably caused by the Blues player lifting his stick, but let’s not review that either.  Why bother when you can just disallow another goal against the Devils without needing a review?  So that brings our count to two chintzy disallowed goals against us, and one hideous allowed goal that should have been overturned.  And that was BEFORE offsides 2.0 in the third period.

Despite everything else it didn’t occur to me to hesitate celebrating when Nico Hischier found fellow baby Devil Jesper Bratt for a sick one-timer goal that apparently gave the Devils the lead.  Yet after what seemed like an inordinate delay (definitely longer than the thirty seconds supposedly allowed) the Blues finally challenged for…wait for it…OFFSIDES!  What made this offsides even more galling than the Hall one was it was an offsides on Johansson, who wasn’t even on the ice when the goal was scored.  Add to that the Devils lost possession in the offensive zone and changed lines so whatever offsides there ‘might’ have been obviously had nothing to do with the goal.  And if Johansson was only offsides because his skate was in the air, that’s also lame.  If your skate is over the line it shouldn’t matter whether it was in the air or on the ground.

Bottom line, once again there wasn’t conclusive proof to overturn it judging by the several minutes it took to actually review the goal.  My rule of thumb is if you can’t find an obvious error in two minutes it’s not conclusive and let the call stand.  Yet we have to ‘get it right’ despite the fact there wasn’t exactly an epidemic of offside goals being allowed before and despite the fact that other things clearly aren’t gotten right including the NHL’s own rules on how long you have to challenge a play.  According to this clip on the NHL’s own website it took about a minute twenty seconds to challenge the goal.

https://www.nhl.com/video/c-56348903

Long story short, again the goal was disallowed, again the Devils had to settle for one point (this time losing the shootout) where they should have had two and many fans are left to wonder what the Devils did to anger both the hockey gods and the refs given the fact we frequently play by two sets of rules – our opponents get to play 1990’s clutch and grab hockey while we’re graded on the 2006 call everything and then some curve.  Are we paying the piper for winning the Nico lottery?  Someone tell me, because I’m just wondering when I can watch the Devils again and not see the officials or the NHL offices in NY stick their beak in the middle of entertaining hockey.

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World Juniors rolls on with dramatic USA shootout win over Canada outdoors

Posted on December 30, 2017 by Derek

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The 2018 World Junior Championship is underway in host city Buffalo at KeyBank Center. As usual, it consists of two groups comprising of five countries totaling 10. In round robin play, the top four in each group advance to the elimination format. The group winners earn the top two seeds in opposite brackets with them drawing the fourth place team of the other group in the quarterfinals.

At the moment, Canada and Sweden are sitting pretty leading their respective groups. The Canadians are looking to go a step further than last year’s bitter disappointment to USA in a memorable shootout won by American hero Troy Terry. He also did it to Russia with some shootout mastery in the semifinals.

The real intriguing story so far has been Canada and USA taking part in the first ever outdoor game on Friday at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the snow before over 44,000 screaming fans representing both sides. The big North American rivalry lived up to its billing in the elements. In worse conditions than the inaugural Winter Classic also played at the home of the Buffalo Bills won by Sidney Crosby, Team USA showed tremendous heart in rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period to come back and beat Canada 4-3 in another shootout.

It was a spectacle for hockey fans and viewers to behold. Even with some legitimate gripes from a Canadian contingent about playing such a game in tough wintry conditions, the game didn’t disappoint. Canada took advantage of some undisciplined play from the Americans. They capitalized on two power plays with Cale Makar and Dillon Dube scoring a pair of power play goals to give the Canadians the upper hand.

But a loss of discipline from Canada led to a full two-minute USA five-on-three. Though it took a while, Islanders prospect Kiefer Bellows beat Carter Hart top shelf for a big power play goal that cut the deficit to one. Casey Mittlestadt picked up the primary helper. The future Sabre has been brilliant so far in the tournament. His playmaking ability and sweet finish in a upset loss to Slovakia has been on display. He is tied for the lead in scoring with six points (3-3-6). In the comeback win yesterday, He recorded three assists with some superb passing to set up teammates.

Equally impressive was American starting goalie Jake Oettinger, who overcame a tough start making timely saves to help his team stay afloat. He made two crucial stops to deny Canadian breakaways that likely would’ve put it out of reach. Even though he finished with only 19 saves, Oettinger maintained his poise throughout. It was his quick outlet to Mittlestadt that caught Canada in a change for Bellows’ power play tally.

Following the Bellows goal, Oettinger denied one Canadian who was in. But with all five skaters scrambling around, a giveaway went right to Jake Bean whose quick turnaround shot was redirected in by Boris Katchouk for a 3-1 Canadian lead. At that point with the snow intensifying making life very difficult for the ice workers, it looked like it would be too much to ask the Americans with a period left.

With bigger snowflakes falling and bad patches in the ice that took extra time to fix during stoppages, it was hard for players to make plays with the puck. It was going to take something special. Even NHL Network analyst Ryan Whitney cast his doubts due to the special Bills themed USA jersey they wore.

USA got help thanks to a bad penalty on Maxime Comtois for foolishly boarding a prone American player from behind. It was flat out dangerous and stupid. Somehow, the IIHF officials only called it a minor. That was all Team USA needed to get back in the contest.

Mittlestadt made a nice pass for a open Scott Perunovich, who buried a one-timer into a open side that cut it to 3-2 with 13:51 left in regulation. That got the American side back in it. With the energy in the stadium shifting to familiar “USA! USA! USA!” chants, Team USA responded right away by tying the game just 34 seconds later.

On a strong cycle behind the net, out came Mittlestadt with the puck where the smart Buffalo 2017 first round pick passed in front for 2018 Draft Eligible Brady Tkachuk. He drove to the net and tapped the puck in past Hart to get it tied at three to loud cheers from the American contingent.

In a crazy game where you had delays due to the ice workers shoveling snow and doing a great job cleaning the surface, it was destined for overtime. In the three on three, Canada controlled most of the action. They even changed sides at the 2:30 mark to make it fair. But Canada blew a three on one which as it turned out, was their best opportunity to still get a win over their nemesis.

Following a scoreless five minutes, they prepared the ice the best they could for the shootout. I figured it would be advantage Canada with the more experienced Hart back from last year’s gold medal game. How wrong was I.

It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out the strategy. With the ice tough for each skater to make moves such as dekes, it was obvious that they would try to maintain control of the puck before taking a shot.

In Round 1, Bellows followed that strategy to a tee. He skated in on Hart and patiently waited before firing a low wrist shot thru the five-hole for a 1-0 USA lead after Sam Steel missed. Canada’s second shooter Robert Thomas moved in and tried to go glove but a calm Oettinger was ready for him to easily make the glove save.

Riding the momentum, out came Tkachuk. A legit American prospect who probably will go in the top 10 of the 2018 NHL Draft like his brother Matthew who stars for Calgary, he made Dad Keith proud. He skated in and looked like he was thinking similar to Bellows. But at the last moment, he got Hart to bite and picked high glove inside the bar for a 2-0 American lead.

Unlike the NHL, international shootouts are five rounds. So, Canada still had a chance to come back. However, a laser focused Oettinger wouldn’t allow it. Between a Mittlestadt deke try that missed, he stopped Canada’s third and fourth shooters by denying Taylor Raddysh and Drake Batherson. That touched off a celebration with a pumped up Tkachuk screaming to the crowd, “Two Bills Mafia!” while pumping his fists. When asked about the game, he said it was the most fun he ever had playing a game.

Leave it to a smart 18-year old freshman who plays for Boston University to perfectly explain what it meant to play in the first ever outdoor game in World Junior Championship history.

I think the thing that some critics are forgetting is this game didn’t have that much significance. Sure. The conditions were bad. But it’s round robin group format. It was game three of four for each side. I wonder had Canada prevailed if a few of the sourpusses would still be upset. All they had to do was protect a two-goal lead with one period left in unfavorable conditions for their opponent. They opened the door with the dumb penalty and USA obliged.

Would I do another outdoor game under such snowy and wild conditions? Probably not. I get the point. I doubt any of the participants were upset. It’s always the fans or expert bloggers who can’t enjoy such games. Where were they in 2008 when Crosby beat Ryan Miller in the Pens’ amazing win over the Sabres in a shootout? Probably ecstatic.

In regards to where the two rivals are in Group A, Canada finds itself needing just a win over Denmark to wrap up first place. They’re 2-0-1-0 with seven points. Finland is second with a 2-0-0-1 with six points. USA is 1-1-0-1 with five points sitting third. What they do tomorrow against Finland at 4 EST on New Year’s Eve will determine if they are gonna finish second or wind up on the opposite side of the bracket with either Sweden or Russia.

It should be noted that with a wild 6-5 win over Belarus in which Rangers prospect Filip Chytil had a goal and assist, the Czech Republic are tied with Russia for second in Group B. They’re actually in front due to beating them head to head on Tuesday 5-4.

The most exciting hockey tournament continues Sunday. Four more games and group play concludes. In another big match up, Russia takes on Sweden in the late game at 8 PM. I’ll probably be around. I should also mention that Rangers prospect Lias Andersson is having a good showing. He scored twice in Sweden’s 7-2 win over Switzerland. He’s up to four goals and a assist. The Devils have some prospects playing too with Joey Anderson captaining USA while Mike McLeod is playing on Canada.

There are plenty of good prospects to follow including projected 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin on Sweden. The defenseman doesn’t turn 18 until April 13. He has six assists in three games.

How unique is this tournament? It matters. Former American star Brian Gionta visited Team USA before practice today. Amazing stuff.

 

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Devils complete week of happy returns with shootout thriller over Rangers

Posted on December 22, 2017 by hasan4978

Although the Devils and Rangers have already played twice at the Garden this season with a split, last night’s wild shootout win at the Rock felt more meaningful somehow.  In fact, you could argue it was the biggest game the Devils have played since 2012.  Hyperbole perhaps, but I’m still recovering from last night’s game emotionally – I might need the entire holiday to do so.  As a fan, rivalry games feel that much bigger when it’s at home and you’re part of the action, albeit in an anciliary way.  Even if the result was ultimately achieved in a skills competition last night, it was a just result after a game the Devils dominated from pillar to post other than the 3-on-3 OT and one fateful five-minute stretch in the first period that put us behind the eight-ball.

In a way it was fitting during a week that saw the return of Adam Henrique to the Rock with the Ducks earn a mid-game standing ovation and chants (and Henrique’s signature moment coming against the Rangers) that both games were ultimately decided by former players.  On Monday against the Ducks, it was Stefan Noesen sticking the knife in his former team with the final two goals in a 5-3 win, after the team roared back from a late second period 3-1 deficit.  Last night, it wasn’t just one but two former Rangers who put another stamp on this great rivalry.  Starting with John Moore, who opened the scoring midway through the first period after an absolutely dominant first ten minutes by the Devils amidst a particularly jaw-dropping sequence that started with a Taylor Hall hit on Mats Zuccarello that gained possession in the offensive zone and ended with a sweet Nico Hischier feed to Moore, who made a well-timed pinch and beat Henrik Lundqvist up high to send the building rocking.

Yet, despite what would wind up being a 48-28 shot advantage (including an unreal 38-18 in the first two periods) it was a frustrating game for most of the night.  After Moore’s goal, the Devils turned the off switch for a few minutes and gave up two quick goals – first on a netmouth scramble in front that seemingly lasted forever where Jimmy Vesey finally poked the puck underneath Cory Schnieder, then even more annoyingly just two minutes later Nick Holden scored off a weak rebound, not only giving the Rangers the lead but completing the shift in momentum.  I’ve seen this game so many times and at that point I thought we were headed for a sure and frustrating loss.

From then on it was all Devils in terms of momentum for the rest of the first period and through the second but between Lundqvist goaltending, some hilariously poor finishing and a disallowed goal after a phantom penalty on Kyle Palmieri, the Devils still couldn’t make a dent in the scoreboard.  Ironically enough, while the disallowed goal was maddening – in an odd way it even jacked up the fans that much more if that was possible.  The sense of injustice was keyed up in the crowd to a boiling point where I couldn’t even hear what the ref had called on Palmieri, the booing was so loud it drowned out the ref with a mic on.

Yet it was just after this sequence where the Devils finally tied the game, showing the mental toughness that’s characterized our season – instead of crumbling with the back-to-back body blows of a disallowed goal and a penalty on top of it, the Devils bucked up and got that goal back shorthanded when Steven Santini sprung Blake Coleman (a.k.a. Madden junior) on a two-on-one and he beat Lundqvist to the same spot Moore did, up high glove side to tie the game.  At that point I yelled something to the effect of ‘TAKE THAT ONE OFF THE BOARD REFS!’ with maybe a choice word or two thrown in.  Of course with the way last night went there was still more adversity to come, as a Hall penalty canceled out a potentially roof-raising power play at the end of the period.

Instead of us taking the lead back it was the Rangers who took the lead early in the third period when Kevin Hayes banked in a puck off Damon Severson (who had a rough night with a -3), giving the Rangers back the lead again.  I had that bad feeling back, especially knowing the Devils couldn’t possibly dominate the third the way they had the first two periods and there was some market correction coming in terms of play.  Maybe so, but after a horrible first period where I was ranting to the sky on him, Schnieder straightened out the rest of the night keeping the team in the game with some key saves.  Still it looked like it would be a frustrating end as the minutes sped off the clock early in the third period.

Earlier I referred to two former Rangers who put a stamp on the rivalry last night, welp after Moore’s first period goal, it was a now white hot Brian Boyle who scored the biggest of the night with just eight minutes left in the game on a power play.  It wasn’t just that Boyle scored that pumped me up but HOW he scored – firing a turnaround backhand in the slot, ironically also beating Lundqvist high gloveside with a skill goal that if I didn’t know better I’d swear was from Mario Lemieux, not Brian Boyle.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/944032608404561920

After that goal, there was no escaping that this game was headed for extra time.  Which indeed it was.  Once play shifted to three-on-three the Rangers got the better of play during that five-minute period but a couple of big saves from Cory, a hustling backcheck from Moore and a shot from Hayes that just whistled wide ensured the skills competition, despite also having to kill off a power play for the final minute of OT.  Not that I felt much better about our chances in the shootout.  Though I did accurately predict to my friend the shootout lineup, albeit a slight variation on the order (Hall-Stafford-Palmieri) with one caveat, that I’d have been tempted to throw in Boyle because of how hot he’s been lately.

Maybe somewhere John Hynes heard me, because after Palmieri and Mika Zibanejad traded goals and the Devils made it to the sudden death rounds of the shootout, Boyle WAS the next shooter.  And I ‘called it’…Boyle did beat Lundqvist, this time through the five-hole with a deceptively quick shot after lumbering up the ice at 33 RPM speed.  If there was any hockey justice at all that would stand up as the winner, and indeed it was with one final irony I didn’t even notice at the time – Kevin Shattenkirk was the last shooter for the Rangers.  He could easily have been a Devil this offseason but instead chose to sign with his boyhood team, and after a poor game overall he got stopped at the end of the shootout to seal yet another wild and wacky game for the Devils.  Once again, Boyle was first star and once again got the postgame interview on the ice with Deb Placey, in what’s becoming deja vu.

Yes, the Devils have one more game before the holiday break.  It’ll be a challenge for coach Hynes to get his team geared up to play the Blackhawks after what’s been a series of emotionally draining games, each one more than the last.  Of course it helps the game will be at home but still when even fans like me are feeling like they won’t be able to get into the game on Saturday – and I’m kind of glad I’m taking a home game off anyway after attending three rousing wins in six days – the players and coaches need to be doubly on guard for it.  That’s tomorrow’s problem though.  At least the team can look forward to a healthy lineup (sans Mirco Mueller) for Christmas, assuming Jesper Bratt isn’t out long-term with a foot injury or nobody else gets hurt tomorrow.

Good health is just one of the many things to be thankful for as a Devil fan over the holidays.

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Game Preview: Rangers and Devils renew rivalry in a big game

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Derek

Since 2012, you can count on one hand how many important games the Rangers and Devils played. The Battle of Hudson Rivalry has been lacking for a while due to the Devils missing the playoffs every season since hockey legend Martin Brodeur got the better of Henrik Lundqvist in a six-game Eastern Conference Final victory that avenged ‘94.

Tonight at least that changes. When the two teams meet for the third time at The Rock in Newark, there will be something at stake. Even though we’re not even at the halfway point yet, you have a ultra competitive Metro Division with the Devils two points up on the Rangers. They sit in second place with a 19-9-5 record with 43 points. Columbus is tied with them in points but have played two more games. First place Washington has 45 points but also have played two more games.

The Rangers enter in the top wildcard with 41 points. Two ahead of the Islanders. They enter play having won three in a row to come in at 19-12-3. Lundqvist has turned his year around after a poor start. He and Cory Schneider will go head to head unlike the last meeting when the Rangers outclassed the Devils at MSG by taking advantage of poor defense and backup Keith Kinkaid.

It should be a exciting game before the holidays. With New Jersey a pleasant surprise due to the youth movement featuring rookies Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier, they’re proving they belong in the conversation. Every time they have a bad loss, they respond with a big win. With Schneider bouncing back and leading scorer Taylor Hall having a much better second year after coming over from Edmonton, the Devils can’t be taken lightly.

Kyle Palmieri is healthy and Marcus Johansson could be back. Mixed in is well respected veteran Brian Boyle, whose inspirational battle with leukemia has been unreal. He has scored eight goals and is coming off a three assist game in a home win over Anaheim. Enough can’t be said about #BoyleStrong.

The Devs have also gotten improved play from Pavel Zacha. He’s definitely showing more confidence since being reinserted. Stefan Noesen and Miles Wood Are also key contributors who can’t be forgotten about. Wood makes his living in front of the net. Noesen is a gritty forward who fits well with Boyle. Brian Gibbons has cooled since his hot start.

Confurmed: Johansson is in the Devils lineup.

For the Rangers, it’s a opportunity to tie the Devils in points if they prevail in regulation. They’ll look to ride the hot play of Lundqvist along with the surging Mats Zuccarello, who after a poor start leads the team in scoring again. This time, he’s got great chemistry with J.T. Miller on the third line. Rick Nash drives possession and plays well in all three zones. He only has nine goals despite leading the team in shots.

Michael Grabner enters with a team high 17 goals while playing on the second line with Kevin Hayes and gritty Jesper Fast. A strong match up unit.

Pavel Buchnevich has cooled off considerably. He gets chances every game and is a excellent offensive player. Maybe the second game back with Mika Zibanejad will be better for the cohesive top line with Chris Kreider.

David Desharnais continues to play well recording two assists on a pair of Paul Carey goals in a home win over the Ducks. Jimmy Vesey remains stuck on the fourth line. He has to make the most of his chances.

It should be a good one.

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Desharnais and Carey lead Rangers to third straight win

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Derek
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Marc Staal and Jimmy Vesey congratulate Paul Carey on his second goal of the game highlighting a Rangers 4-1 home win over the Ducks as they stayed hot at The Garden. AP Photo via Getty Images 

It’s all falling into place for the Blueshirts. They won their third in a row to move into a tie for third place with idle Columbus in the crowded Metro Division. Following a impressive weekend sweep over Los Angeles and Boston, the Rangers got big contributions from the fourth line and Henrik Lundqvist in a resounding 4-1 win at MSG.

In improving to 14-5-3 at home, they played a good overall game. Even though Anaheim outshot them 40-32 and out-attempted them 64-49, it was the Rangers who buried their chances while getting spectacular goaltending from Lundqvist (39 saves).

They did it with the impressive play of a new fourth line. In Mika Zibanejad’s return after missing nine games due to a concussion, it was David Desharnais and Paul Carey who were the story offensively. Playing with Jimmy Vesey, they combined on a pair of pretty goals to highlight the team’s victory.

With Zibanejad back centering Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich, Alain Vigneault made a decision to keep Desharnais in over solid rookie Boo Nieves. It wasn’t anything Nieves did wrong. He formed a solid chemistry with Carey and Vesey. But Vigneault recognized that Desharnais played well offensively filling in for Zibanejad on the top line. So, he chose the vet with the better skill set over the kid.

It certainly worked out well with the playmaking Desharnais having a pair of primary assists on beautiful Carey finishes. His first came in the final minute of the first period. Nick Holden worked the puck over to Desharnais who skated down the wing and drew defenders before finding a wide open Carey for a nice finish at 19:14 for a 1-0 lead.

The Rangers started the second the same way. This time, it was Holden leading Mats Zuccarello, who made a superb pass across for Kevin Hayes. He made no mistake whistling a perfect wrist shot top shelf past Anaheim starter John Gibson at 38 seconds for a two-goal lead. It was Hayes’ eighth. If he shows more confidence with his shot, it could lead to a big second half for the two-way center.

In between Carey recording his first career two-goal game, there was Lundqvist going full beast mode. He turned away the Ducks in their tracks. Following a 16 save first, he followed it up with 15 big more in the second. Anaheim generates quality chances but were unable to get one past the King, who was a brick wall in another start. He’s really got into a good rhythm and is back on track. That’s why he was tabbed as the game’s number one star.

 

There was that new combo connecting again with seven minutes left to increase to a 3-0 lead. Vesey started it by getting the puck to Desharnais who once again had Carey all alone in the slot where he used a perfect wrist shot for his fourth at the 13-minute mark. He got plenty of ribbing at the bench from happy teammates. Something be discussed between periods with Al Trautwig.

To its credit, the Ducks didn’t give up. A night removed from blowing a game to the Devils, they kept coming. A remarkable Lundqvist stop on a Rickard Rakell deflection in front got the crowd to its feet. It was that good.

Anaheim would end the shutout bid when Ondrej Kase used Brady Skjei as a screen to beat Lundqvist at 14:43 from Getzlaf and Josh Manson. But that’s as close as they got.

Michael Grabner put the game away with his team-leading 17th. With Anaheim pinching, Jesper Fast forced a turnover at the Rangers blueline and started a two on one with the speedy Grabner. He got the puck over to Grabner, who was first robbed by Gibson and then had a put back go off a hustling Rakell and clang the goalpost.

At first, it looked like a miraculous save by Rakell. But it did look like it caromed in over the goal line. After a stoppage and video review, referee Wes McCauley confirmed it in comical fashion. With a delayed reaction which drew laughter from Vigneault and the bench before calling it a good goal.

Notes: In his return, Zibanejad had one shot and took 18 shifts logging 13:32 of ice-time including 11:14 even strength and 2:18 on the power play. As he gets into more games, figure that to increase along with Kreider (13:35) and Buchnevich (13:04). Vigneault rolled all four lines with everyone hitting double digits. … With two assists, Holden hit 100 career points. He’s 1-5-6 for the season and 33-68-101 for his career. … Faceoffs were dead even 25-25. J.T. Miller paced the Blueshirts going 7-and-4 while Hayes was 9-and-9. For the Ducks, Antoine Vermette was 10-and-6. …

With the Islanders 6-3 losers to Detroit, the Rangers moved ahead of them into third place with 41 points. By virtue of one more ROW (18), they’re ahead of Columbus who sit in the first wildcard with 41 points in a identical amount of games (34). Blueshirts take a 19-12-3 mark into Newark Thursday in a big showdown at the second place Devils (19-9-5). They have 43 points. The Hudson rivals split the first two. It’ll be the third of five meetings. The Caps remain in first with 45 points. The Islanders hold the second wildcard with 39. Two up on the struggling Pens and four ahead of the Flyers and Hurricanes.

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Rangers show grit in big 3-2 overtime win over Bruins

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Derek
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Chris Kreider has a little fun with OT hero Mats Zuccarello lifting him up after his power play goal gave the Rangers a huge 3-2 win over Boston to sweep a tough back to back. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy Newsday.com 

Grit is something that hockey fans appreciate. The Rangers don’t have your classic guys in that department. They make up for it with heart and determination along with resiliency.

In a back to back situation on short rest with a 5 PM start at TD Garden, they scrapped and clawed their way to a emotional 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins in Beantown. It was by any definition a gritty win by a tired team who traveled after a hard fought 4-2 home win over the Kings less than 24 hours earlier.

In a crazy Metro Division, every point matters. You lose a couple and teams jump over you. You put together two straight good efforts and come out with tough victories as the Rangers did this weekend and you have to feel good about things.

By winning the back to back, the Rangers remained in the first wildcard over the Islanders (OT winners over LA) by virtue of one more ROW. In 33 games, the blood rivals have identical records of 18-12-3 with 39 points. They are two up on the Pens, who got a huge road win at Arizona on a late Olli Maatta goal with 14 seconds remaining. You have the resurgent Flyers winning now and even the Hurricanes have picked it up. Both won Saturday. The Caps lead the division with 43 points on Alex Ovechkin’s 22nd career overtime goal. Then Columbus has 41 due to a 2-1 regulation loss to Carolina. The Devils have 41 too.

Every game counts. While the Atlantic Division is weaker, all eight teams in the Metro believe they have a chance. Only five can make the playoffs. We’re not even at the halfway mark and they’re jockeying for position. It’s insanity.

So when Mats Zuccarello finally shot thru a perfect Chris Kreider screen for a huge OT winner, it was that exciting. A exhausted team found a way to earn the valuable extra point. As I was about to tweet my astonishment at no Rick Nash or Pavel Buchnevich on a four on three power play due to the second Flyers’ bench minor, Zuccarello made it moot by scoring his eighth and then leaping into Kreider’s arms for one great celebration.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/942196907086053376

Credit to Shayna for the nice gif. She gets all the gifs and posts them. It’s great to have many good contributors from Rangers blogs.

There was no doubt the Rangers were tired during points of yesterday’s game. Why wouldn’t they be? Boston was well rested. They were much sharper in the first period. The Rangers had trouble getting out of their end. It wasn’t surprising.

Alain Vigneault made the wise decision going back to Henrik Lundqvist in a back to back. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s come through. Saturday was no exception with King Henrik delivering the clutch saves (33 overall) including 15 of 16 in a third period onslaught to pick up the victory.

As often is the case, when a team can’t take advantage early of their chances, it’s the opponent who scores first. That being the Rangers. Michael Grabner scored his team-leading 16th from Kevin Hayes and Brady Skjei for the only goal of the first period. He improved his Cy Young campaign to 16-2. If you follow baseball and look at Grabner’s line, you know what I’m talking about. 😜

Where would they be without him? Grabner is gonna make himself a lot of money next summer. Can they keep him at say between $3.5 to $4 million? I don’t know. They’re gonna have to ante up for Hayes and J.T. Miller. Both valuable players who bring a lot to the table. Hayes with his evolvement as a shutdown center and top penalty killer while Miller with a seamless transition from wing to second scoring line pivot who plays power play and wins face offs.

With the salary cap rumored to be going up between $75-80 million, hopefully there’s enough space to keep both. Grabner could wind up elsewhere. With the race so tight, I doubt they’ll trade him. Unless things change drastically in two months, he will remain with the team in a versatile checking role. Still no shorthanded goals for the Blueshirts despite a penalty kill that’s now ranked in the top 10. It’s coming soon. They get a bundle of chances due to diligent work from Hayes, Grabner, Zuccarello, Rick Nash, Jesper Fast and right now Miller, who really is a better penalty killer than injured top center Mika Zibanejad. He continues to recover from a concussion.

The Rangers were better in the second on Saturday. They created more and got a beautiful breakaway goal from the aforementioned Miller. It was a terrific Ryan McDonagh outlet that led a blazing Miller through the neutral zone around the Boston D. He did the rest patiently outwaiting Tuukka Rask by going to a backhand upstairs off a great deke for a 2-0 lead.

But as the period wore on, they started taking ill advised penalties. By the time the night was out, the Rangers killed off six of seven Boston power plays. Most of the calls justifiable even if some were ticky tac. They were lazy. But the penalty kill was big time. McDonagh and Marc Staal in particular did some yeoman’s work. McDonagh was outstanding throughout playing one of his best games of the season. Vigneault heaped praise on the captain.

Skjei was equally impressive recording two assists while playing strong overall despite partner Kevin Shattenkirk’s continued inconsistency. He gets beat a lot outside. He is a excellent puck possession offensive D who runs the power play efficiently. He picked up the primary helper on Zuccarello’s winner.

Up 2-0, Nash had a great chance to make it three but his shorthanded break in failed with one too many moves allowing Rask to make the save as he went way wide. If only he had scored there.

Instead, Boston finally got back in it. Following a Rangers penalty kill, Zdeno Chara had a wide shot redirected in by Danton Heinen to make it 2-1 with 2:48 left in the period. David Krejci helped set it up.

The problem was the Rangers kept taking penalties. They killed off a Miller interference minor at the beginning of the third. But a Skjei hold of Brad Marchand was too much to ask. Marchand converted a perfect David Pastrnak feed from around the net for his 13th to tie the score at 5:38. Ryan Spooner started it and Pastrnak went around Staal and centered for Marchand, who beat Lundqvist. Even though he missed time, the Boston pest is one of the game’s best players. He’s way over a point-per-game.

Of course, I got two underwhelming offers for Marchand in fantasy hockey that I turned down. In a rebuilding year with Marchand not just a rental due to having one more year left on his contract, no way I’m not getting a high draft pick back for him. Draft picks become available at midnight of the New Year. With plenty of good players who can help contenders despite being dead last, I’m open for business on New Year’s Day. With plenty of younger options as keeper assets including Calder candidates Mathew Barzal, Will Butcher and future star Nico Hischier as well as Norris hopeful Zach Werenski in Year 1 and a resurgent Nathan MacKinnon I stole late, I am in good shape for the future.

As far as the rest of the game, the Rangers found their way into overtime. Boston took two ill advised bench minors. How do you take one during three on three in OT on home ice? They did.

With Zuccarello going, Vigneault used his timeout to rest him. When he sent Zucc back out with Kreider, Shattenkirk and somewhat curiously David Desharnais, I was confused why no Nash or Buchnevich. But just as I was about to tweet my complaint on Buchnevich, Zuccarello waited and waited for Kreider to move in front of Rask before finding the hole to surprise Rask at 1:56 to touch off a celebration in front of plenty of Ranger fans who made the trip. They were heard with plenty of “Let’s Go Rangers” chants in enemy territory. Embarrassing for Boston.

Such is how it’s become in most arenas these days. MSG doesn’t even sellout anymore. You can find tickets for any game. The NHL maybe making a lot of revenue due to the outdoor games with the Winter Classic between the Rangers and Sabres coming to Citi Field along with the big centennial game they had Saturday between Ottawa and Montreal. But they’ve priced a lot of fans out.

If we do go, it’ll be fun. I’ll bundle up. Citi Field is nice. I’ve been there once for a Mets game with my buddy Jonathan. I still haven’t been to the new Yankee Stadium. That might change in 2018. Not due to Giancarlo Stanton but Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Luis Severino and my favorite current Yankee, Didi Gregorius. We’ll see.

Baseball feels like a long way away. Especially as we get snow that made my trip home a nightmare on Friday. That’s Staten Island for ya. ❄️

In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy every Ranger game in such a competitive and unpredictable division. I had trouble ranking the eight teams in my season preview. Now you know why. It’s sure to be a fun ride.

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Banged-up Devils rebound with gritty week

Posted on December 16, 2017 by hasan4978

I admit it, after the team sloughed their way through two horrible division losses against the Blue Jackets and the Rangers last weekend I was getting a bit concerned the Devils’ good start was going to get buried in the avalanche of a tougher schedule starting this month and reality was setting in.  While I was glad coach John Hynes deservedly called out the team after last Saturday’s dreadful 5-2 loss at the Garden, I was so annoyed after the back-to-back no-shows that I basically took Tuesday ‘off’ and didn’t attend or even watch the first two periods of the Kings game.

Just my luck it somehow turned out to be one of the best games of the season, against a hot Kings team that had won eight in a row with forwards Marcus Johansson (LBI after a shot block) and Kyle Palmieri (LBI) already on the shelf, the team’s hodgepodge group of fowards somehow rose up for a dominant 5-1 win.  Unfortunately Taylor Hall also joined the walking wounded after a borderline dirty knee-on-knee collision in the third period of that game and missed the next two games.  I could only watch part of Thursday’s game, but both from what I saw the team played well enough to win but…Carey Price.  That and a horrible mistake in OT when Sami Vatanen double-teamed a guy along the boards without taking away the pass, leaving Tomas Plekanec wide open in front for the game-winning goal.

Three points in two games was certainly a good start to the week but playing Dallas on a travel back-to-back with three top six forwards still on the shelf was always going to be tough.  Coach Hynes acknowledged as much, playing Cory Schneider on a back-to-back for the first time all season last night, something that was mildly contreversial when he did not do it last weekend with a no travel back-to-back.  Of course in the category of sometimes the coach knows more than the fans after all, Hynes disclosed Cory was dealing with a minor injury last weekend and that was a reason he didn’t play the back-to-back then.  Could be a cover story or could be plausible but either way Cory was in there last night and as things worked out it was a good thing he was, in what turned out to be one of the most contentious (and longest) games of the season – where the Devils were dominated for long stretches early but still managed to come out with a critical 5-2 win.

Not only did the team have to overcome adversity last night, but the fans had to overcome a mild yet ill-timed snowstorm which made for a really, really slow commute to the Rock.  How slow?  Even during rush hour on a normal Friday it takes me an hour tops to get from Morristown to the lot a few blocks away from the Prudential Center that I park at for $7.  Rush hour on the Friday right before the last pre-holiday weekend in the middle of a mini-storm?  Well, last night I left at 5:40…did not even park at the lot till 7:10.  An hour and a half all told as traffic was basically at a walking pace from the time I got onto the highway just outside of Chatham.  I was so annoyed by the time I got to Broad Street I somehow missed my turn to go to the lot despite the snail’s pace, and instead of wasting another 15 minutes trying to find the right road back I took a u-turn (likely illegal) at a busy intersection, sighed when I saw a cop car with lights blaring coming up beside me, then relieved when I saw it was going elsewhere.  Perhaps that near-miss was a harbinger that this commute would be worth it after all.

Getting to the arena late is pretty rare for me as it is, the only other time me I can remember getting there late was quasi-intentional late in a lost season a couple years back, where I wanted to make reservations at a restaurant and just check out the surrounding area for potential parking lots for a friend’s birthday dinner later that week.  I also cut it close for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals of all times, when I figured I’d take advantage of the late start and multi-task but wound up rushing in just in time for the intro to start – couldn’t have planned that timing any better if I tried!  Enough digressing though, onto the game/night recap itself.

Of course being late I missed the Devils’ first goal from Steven Santini, so it was already 1-0 by the time I walked into the building.  Figured I’d at least go to the bathroom while there was no foot traffic since I was already late anyway – which turned out to be a good decision, given how crowded the concourse was during the first intermission from people just getting in and people who rushed in during the period and didn’t have a chance to eat or go to the john yet.  Getting out of there I heard the groan and usual score when the opposition scores a goal so figured it was tied, and it was.  I finally got to my seat just in time for play to resume after the first stoppage of the period with the shots 5-2, but from the time Dallas scored they really dominated play till deep into the second period.  Despite the territorial advantage they didn’t score off a suddenly hot Cory and surprisingly, it was the Devils themselves that scored toward the end of the period when Blake Coleman scored the way he plays – a gritty, hustle goal in the paint to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.  He’s really shutting me up on the whole ‘yeah he’s a great grinder but is a net negative offensively’ line I’ve said about him for most of the season, as his offensive game is starting to improve as well.

In fact, the Devils could have easily had a 3-1 lead going into the locker room, but a beautiful feed from Drew Stafford and slick wrister from Pavel Zacha got nullified when a review showed Zacha’s shot only crossed the goal line milliseconds after the clock expired.  I was alternately pumped over the Coleman goal and shaking my head over the near-miss for poor Zacha (who’d also hit a post earlier in the period, the part I didn’t see till this morning when I decided to watch some of the replay), but at least he’s finally starting to play better now – ever since his turnover that led to a crucial goal against in the second period against the Rangers seemed to be rock bottom.  Unfortunately the Stars continued to dominate early in the second period and finally tied the game when Alexander Radulov turned on the turbo jets past Will Butcher and snuck a shot through Cory’s five-hole.

Soon after that, John Klingberg got called for cross-checking Brian Boyle – in what little did we know turned out to be a critical moment of the game – but I’ll elaborate in a moment.  That penalty combined with a Stephen Johns high-sticking double minor (which potentially knocked out some of Miles Wood’s teeth) led to nearly six straight minutes of power play time for the Devils.  However, the power kill looked on its way to an epic failure, being so impotent at just getting the puck into and keeping it into the offensive zone that the boos started raining down after the first two penalties expired.  It took nearly the entire six minutes for the Devils to FINALLY get a goal when Boyle knocked a rebound from a Zacha shot home, in front of Klingberg no less.  Boyle’s reaction after the play?  Let’s just say it went viral and according to lip-readers is….unsuitable for a family blog.  For now I’ll just post a link to said reaction:

Supposedly Boyle was mad at Klingberg suggesting Boyle embelished on his earlier penalty.  After Boyle’s ‘colorful’ trash-talk in return, a scrum ensued with matching minors and Boyle himself getting a ten-minute misconduct, something Boyle called himself out on after the game once the adrenaline wore off.

Gross could have also added it was universally loved by the fans too.  Even the ones like me who didn’t know what Boyle said till later on, just for the fight and fire it showed.  Boyle got a standing ovation when he left the box midway through the third period, to the tune of ‘How You Like Me Now’…if it was intentional, that was pure genius from the audio department.  From that point on, it became such a contentious game I thought I was watching a Flyers matchup with scrums after just about every whistle (though somehow no actual fight).  It would be Boyle who got the last laugh in the end, with two goals and an assist, finishing off the feisty 5-2 win with a late empty-netter.  In another inspired audio moment, Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye started playing during the final stoppage with just several seconds left.  Then there was one more stoppage after Antoine Roussel started one final sore loser scrum for good measure.

All in all a fun night, though obviously a long night between the travel and the game itself, which didn’t end till 9:50 – without an OT/SO.  At least the travel home was smooth – barely 35 minutes compared to my 90-minute ride up!  More uplifting from a team standpoint is the news potentially all the walking wounded could be back as soon as Monday, which will create some interesting lineup decisions.  Nick Lappin’s one-game callup will likely end to make room for the injured returnees but at least he goes back to Binghamton with a goal and a third star in his game, and solidified his status as one of the top AHL options in case of another injury.  Likely two of Jimmy Hayes, Stefan Noesen (who’s played fairly well recently) and Stafford (who played well last night) will also make way for the returnees.  Despite being at home it isn’t an easy rest of the homestand with the Ducks, Rangers and Blackhawks all on tap next week but the return of both injured players and the team’s early season resilience and fight are encouraging signs going forward.

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