No Crosby, No Problem for Pens

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Derek
c-9ardxwsaaf9zc

The Pens celebrate a goal with Braden Holtby looking on. Is it another Caps early exit at the hands of Pittsburgh who now lead the second round rematch 3-1? It could be even minus Sidney Crosby. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy Pittsburgh Penguins.

Who needs Sidney Crosby? Not the Pens. They beat the Caps without him defeating hockey’s biggest chokers 3-2 to take Game 4 and go up 3-1 in the Metropolitan Division Final series.

Marc-Andre Fleury was again the story stopping 36 of 38 shots sent his way. He’s continued to outplay a listless Braden Holtby, who allowed three goals on 18 shots. It’s been the steady play of the 32-year old Fleury who backstopped the Pens to a Stanley Cup in 2009 that’s been the difference. He’s made all the big saves while Holtby hasn’t.

If it is indeed Fleury’s last run with Pittsburgh, he’s going out in style. In all three Pens wins against the Caps, they’ve been outshot by a lot. You can make the argument that Washington could be at least tied if they got better goaltending. They haven’t nor have they gotten an inspired performance from Alexander Ovechkin. The Great Eight was MIA tonight. It was his worst game of the playoffs. Two days after his controversial slash to Crosby which put him in a prone position for Matt Niskanen’s cross check which concussed the Pens captain, the Caps’ leader only had two shots and took two undisciplined penalties.

Trailing by a goal in a big third, Ovechkin was nowhere to be found. Neither were line-mates Nicklas Backstrom or T.J. Oshie. Something that didn’t sit well with Washington coach Barry Trotz, who called out his best players afterwards. Oshie had an assist but got nabbed for a phantom high-sticking penalty with under two minutes left which Nick Bonino sold. Backstrom didn’t have a shot while Oshie had only two. That’s four total shots for the Caps’ top line. Not enough.

The Pens made the most of their chances. In a scoreless game, Patric Hornqvist got behind Caps D pair Brooks Orpik and Karl Alzner to beat Holtby on a breakaway at 4:39 of the first period. Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta led him with a perfect pass. It was the only goal in the first 20 minutes with Fleury stopping all 12 shots sent his way. Holtby turned aside eight of nine.

From that point, the Caps held a 26-9 advantage in shots the final two periods. But they fell behind a pair when Pens rookie Jake Guentzel continued his amazing run by having the good fortune of having a shot go right off Washington’s Dmitry Orlov’s skate and in for a 2-0 lead at 3:51 of the second. It was his eighth goal of the playoffs.

That’s when Washington woke up from its malaise. Showing more urgency, they tilted the ice. The end result was scoring two goals in a span of 1:12 to tie it at two. First, Justin Williams made a great backhand feed across to set up Evgeny Kuznetsov for his fourth of the postseason. A wire of a wrist shot past Fleury at 7:21. Marcus Johansson started it with a key secondary assist.

Then off some sustained pressure, Washington defenseman Nate Schmidt’s one-timer off a Oshie feed beat Fleury high glove to tie the score. Kevin Shattenkirk drew the secondary helper.

Just like that, the game was tied. The Caps had all the momentum when John Carlson took an undisciplined minor penalty for roughing. Sure enough, the opportunistic Pens made him pay. It was Evgeni Malkin who drew plenty of attention. The Caps weren’t gonna allow him to get his lethal shot off from the circle. Instead, Malkin patiently waited before finding an open Justin Schultz at the point for a one-time blast high to the stick side past a crouching Holtby with 8:36 left to give the Pens a 3-2 lead. It was Schultz’ second goal in as many games.

That was the extent of the Pens’ offense. The rest was just defend and depend on Fleury. He was awfully good turning aside 15 of 17 second period shots. One highlight included a two pad stack job to plenty of cheers from the home crowd.

There was also some rough stuff. As expected between two rivals following Game 3, you had players exchanging pleasantries. There was Caps’ pest Tom Wilson almost going knee on knee with Chris Kunitz, who is no stranger to mixing it up. As play continued, Kunitz went after Wilson with the two going off during a scrum in which Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole got called for closing his hand on the puck. But the Caps didn’t get enough good looks on the power play. Instead, they wasted it with Shattenkirk firing a deflected shot over the net.

They were given another golden opportunity when Matt Cullen went off for high-sticking Williams, drawing blood. That meant a four-minute power play. The Pens killed off the first half to end the period with the lead. At the start of the third, it was again a focused Pittsburgh who out-executed Washington’s power play which may as well have been related to the Rangers. That’s how poorly they failed misfiring in four chances. The Pens went 1-for-5 with the one Schultz’ game-winner.

In defensive mode, the Pens sacrificed their bodies to get the win. Under coach Mike Sullivan who was a top assistant of John Tortorella with the Rangers, Pittsburgh played a similar style in the third. They blocked shots and made it tough on the Caps. Even though they got nine shots through on Fleury, they never gave any indication they could tie it.

As a team, the Pens blocked 24 shots and let Fleury see the other nine. They protected the lead by flustering the Caps. One such shift saw Phil Kessel forecheck by outmaneuvering Backstrom along the boards before dumping the puck behind the Caps net to kill off precious time.

Then came the fake out by Bonino. Oshie got his stick up on him. Initially, it looked like the right call. But NBC replays clearly showed that Oshie’s stick only contacted Bonino’s chest. The veteran pulled a move Crosby’s done before as well as other players. He moved his head up and got the call. That severely hurt the Caps’ chances.

They still were able to pull Holtby and get an offensive draw following an icing with 36 seconds remaining. But the Pens killed off the time to preserve the one-goal win and go up 3-1 in the second round series rematch.

When the buzzer sounded, the Caps didn’t engage the Pens. Instead, they went quietly skating off. There was no message sent. Their body language read like a defeated team. You wonder if psychologically, they believe they can come back. Even with Crosby’s status uncertain along with Conor Sheary with each having concussions, it looks like the Pens are in their heads. Fleury is a big reason why. He’s been spectacular.

The one Cap with experience coming back is Williams. He won’t be intimidated. He has won with the Kings twice and once with the Hurricanes. He was part of that Kings team that came back from a 3-0 deficit to stun the Sharks. His experience can help. But what about the rest of a fragile team that’s never been past the second round? Are they beaten?

They’ll have the benefit of an extra day off to prepare for a do or die Game 5 on Saturday. They can either go quietly or pull off what the ’14-15 Rangers did to them in the same round. Either be labeled playoff chokers or show some character for a change and fight back. It’s their choice.

In the other game, it’s the Ducks led by a gigantic second period from who else but Ryan Getzlaf (2 goals, assist) leading Connor McDavid and the Oilers 3-2 with five and a half minutes left. If Anaheim holds on, they tie the series, meaning all four games would be won by the road team. Edmonton needs it more.

Posted in Battle News, NHL Playoffs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Complete Effort gets Rangers back in it, Take Game Three 4-1, Sens lead series 2-1

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Derek
c-3fhr4xyaar7oj

A proud Mika Zibanejad dons the Broadway Hat after a dominant effort in which he set up Mats Zuccarello early and led by example in a big 4-1 win for the Rangers who took Game 3 against the Senators to get back in the series. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NYRangers.

All it takes a little push back. The Rangers were successful in Game 3 due to that. They came out and took it to the Senators prevailing in a must have game 4-1 at a loud MSG. They now trail the Atlantic Division second round series 2-1 with a pivotal Game 4 Thursday. Win and the series is all tied. That will be the tough one to get. Figure the Sens to play with more urgency.

From the outset, the Rangers were hungrier to the puck and made crisp tape to tape passes getting through the neutral zone with ease. It resulted in an early goal from Mats Zuccarello. On a smart second effort play by defenseman Dan Girardi, he pushed the puck off the wall to an on rushing Mika Zibanejad. Flying all night, the former Senator went around the net beating Ben Harpur before coming out and catching the Sens puck watching. That allowed him to find a trailing Zuccarello for an easy one-timer past Craig Anderson to set the tone at 5:31.

Playing with a lot of purpose, the Blueshirts continued to swarm the Senators. They kept them pinned in their end for long stretches. The ice was indeed tilted. With Ottawa having issues with a relentless forecheck, it was only a matter of time before they fell behind by two. Anderson had made some big stops. He was particularly good at denying Zibanejad, who was easily the Rangers’ best player. He could’ve had a hat trick but settled for a primary assist with six shots, 10 attempts and three hits all in what was likely his best night as a Ranger.

In the series, Anderson has struggled at playing pucks when he’s come out of the net. He nearly cost his team Game 2 when his turnover almost resulted in Rick Nash winning it in overtime, only to be saved by Kyle Turris. In Game 3, another Anderson miscue wasn’t as fortunate. On a great keep by Zuccarello with his team changing, he moved the puck behind the net past the Ottawa D. Michael Grabner pounced on it and stuffed home a wrap around at 13:24 for a two-goal lead. It was Grabner’s fourth of the postseason, tying him for the team lead with Brady Skjei. Playing on a third line with Jesper Fast and Kevin Hayes, he was effective making good defensive reads and getting a big goal which proved to be the game-winner.

A big part of the Rangers win was their willingness to play physical. They didn’t back down delivering a few big hits along the way. One such instance came when Tanner Glass combined with J.T. Miller to to cleanly take out Zack Smith, who landed awkwardly into the boards. The gritty Ottawa forward never returned taking just three shifts (1:50). That put Ottawa down a center who’s an effective player who wins draws and plays that physical style.

In a game where Rangers coach Alain Vigneault reinserted Glass for Pavel Buchnevich playing him on a fourth line with Miller and Oscar Lindberg, it worked out well.  They were effective at getting pucks in and recovering to cycle and generate chances. It allowed Vigneault to comfortably roll four lines without any concern.

He also got the hint and played cohesive D pair Skjei and Brendan Smith more than struggling tandem Marc Staal and Nick Holden. It worked out well with the blue line more effective. Ryan McDonagh and partner Girardi had strong games with the captain logging a team high 26:52 in 32 shifts. Girardi was splendid with an assist and a few big hits with a plus-one in 29 big shifts logging 20:00.

The Rangers could easily have been up more after the first period after out-shooting the Senators 15-5. It was 15-3 before a silly Derek Stepan back pass to no one resulted in Erik Karlsson getting one last shot on a sharp Henrik Lundqvist, who didn’t have to stand on his head in finishing with 26 saves.

As expected, the second was choppier. The Sens made more of an effort to get pucks in and step up their forecheck. But despite more pressure, they were unable to get anything by Lundqvist when they needed to. Defensively, the Rangers stuck with it by boxing out in front allowing their goalie to see the shots unlike a disastrous Game 2. In particular, Girardi did a better job in this area as did teammates. Forwards also came back harder. There wasn’t the looseness we got on Saturday.

They knew what was at stake. They also was opportunistic. With Karlsson caught on a pinch colliding with a teammate, it resulted in Stepan passing for Rick Nash on a two-on-one. Using Stepan as a decoy, Nash fired a laser past Anderson short side high glove for a huge third goal with 7:49 remaining. It was his first of the series and got him into it. Stepan recorded his second point also notching a shorthanded goal last game. A positive sign.

In a period where the Sens got more opportunities, Lundqvist was there stopping 11 of 12 shots. Prior to Ottawa scoring from guess who, a great shift by the fourth line resulted in a Lindberg goal. The play was made by Glass in the neutral zone with an attacking Miller using his superb skating to undress Ottawa’s defense and then center for a wide open Lindberg in front for an easy put away that made it 4-0 with 1:43 left.

But before you could relax, there was that man Jean-Gabriel Pageau once again being a thorn in the side by getting to a great no look Bobby Ryan feed and scoring his fifth in two games just 32 seconds later to cut it to 4-1 with 1:11 remaining. Ryan made the whole play by catching McDonagh puck watching behind the net and making a great pass for an open Pageau, who finished in front. He really is a gnat. He’s been the Sens’ best forward by far.

That was it for the scoring. Despite some great individual efforts from Zibanejad, who used his speed and elusiveness during a couple of instances to get by stationary Ottawa D and force Anderson into some tough saves. Honestly, Anderson kept it from being a blowout. He was really good. He faced the higher quality chances and made some big stops to finish with 26 saves. The Rangers out-shot the Senators 30-27.

Even though they held a 10-6 edge in the third, the Sens never did get any great looks on Lundqvist, who saw the puck and stopped it. That included a couple on dangerous shooter Kyle Turris and one on Karlsson from way out which he easily covered. One such Karlsson blast never made it. He ripped on from the point that caught Ryan flush in the hip where there’s no padding. He limped off to the locker room and didn’t return.

So, Ottawa lost two forwards. Smith and Ryan. It’ll be interesting to see what Ottawa coach Guy Boucher has to say about their status. Don’t expect anything until tomorrow at the soonest. Ryan didn’t look good. Smith didn’t return after being hobbled. So, it’s possible the Sens might have to use reinforcements. Does that mean Tom Pyatt or even Chris Neil? Would they consider talented first round pick Colin White, who helped Team USA win gold at the World Juniors? We’ll see.

For the Rangers, they stuck to the game plan making it harder on the Sens. It resulted in them protecting home ice. The home team has won all three games in the series. Now, the Rangers need to repeat it on Thursday. Do it and it becomes a best two-of-three with the pressure shifting to the Senators.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-J.T. Miller, Rangers (primary assist on Lindberg goal, 2 attempts, +1 in 18 shifts-12:02-more like the player we’ve seen before)

2nd Star-Mats Zuccarello, Rangers (goal-4th to also tie for team lead, assist, in beast mode after a quiet first 2 games, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, +2 in 23 shifts-18:16)

1st Star-Mika Zibanejad, Rangers (primary assist on Zuccarello goal, 6 shots, 10 attempts, +2 in 25 shifts-17:14)

Notes: Attempts were 56-54 Rangers. In the first, it was a dominant 26-12 setting the tone. … The hits went in favor of the Senatoes 34-31 with four apiece from Tommy Wingels and a invisible Derick Brassard, who remains without a point in the series. Girardi and Staal paced the Blueshirts with four each. Both were better. Staal in less ice-time (16:17) went plus-two. Outside of his failure to take Pageau, McDonagh was fantastic finishing with three shots in six attempts with two blocked shots while going plus-one in 32 shifts-26:52. … On the flip side, Karlsson had an off night finishing minus-three in 26 shifts-23:42 despite four shots in 12 attempts. Ottawa shooter Mike Hoffman was also minus-three. … Rangers blocked 19 shots compared to the Senators’ 11. Smith paced them with three while Cody Ceci had five for Ottawa. … Rangers held an edge in face-offs 29-28 with Stepan a more effective 7-and-3. Pageau paced the Sens going 14-and-6.

Kovy Returns to MSG and hears the cheers. 🙂

Posted in Battle News, NHL Playoffs, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game 3 Rangers must win and Glass is in for Buchnevich

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Derek

Game 3 will start in 10 minutes. For the Rangers, it’s do or die. Not literally. But if they don’t win on home ice at MSG tonight, then they may as well book tee times for the rest of the month.

Here they are trailing the Senators 2-0 with both losses in excruciating fashion. Game 1 on Erik Karlsson’s sharp angle goal that stunned Henrik Lundqvist. Game 2 on Jean-Gabriel Druce Pageau scoring twice in the final 3:19 and then bombing one past Lundqvist in double overtime for a four goal night in an improbable Ottawa 6-5 win in sudden death. One in which Nick Holden got caught pinching on the winner leaving Marc Staal to defend a two-on-one. He gave Pageau the shot and he hit the top corner with a bullet.

So, now the Blueshirts must dig deep at MSG. Win tonight and they’re back in it. So, what is Alain Vigneault’s response? Naturally, to bench Pavel Buchnevich for Tanner Glass. Nothing against Glass, who’ll work hard on a fourth line with Oscar Lindberg and whipping boy J.T. Miller. But how can Vigneault justify rolling four lines? It’s gonna be hard against Ottawa, who can play four and have proven fully capable unlike Montreal.

Miller looked better in the last game and what’s his reward. On a mismatched fourth line that probably will get on the score sheet. Isn’t that how it always works? Miller should be on one of the top two lines. Enough of this crap. Sure. His postseason has been miserable. But he was one of the most dangerous Rangers in the third period and the overtimes after Vigneault cut down to 10 forwards and moved him up.

With AV, he is stubborn to a fault. Loyal to the mismatched Staal/Holden pair that has been a nightmare. Unwilling to play Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith enough. If he doesn’t tonight, it’s his funeral.

For the 18 skaters including Lundqvist, who better deliver after an awful Game 2, they know what’s at stake. I’m guaranteeing a Rangers victory. I believe in this experienced group and their character. Now, it’s time for them to show it!

Posted in NHL Playoffs, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Niskanen injures Crosby in Caps win, biased Pens reporter, total chaos

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Derek

c-zzxuhxsaagvph

In case you missed it, the other Eastern Conference Semifinal series continued last night in Pittsburgh. After losing the first two games at home, the top seeded Caps defeated the Pens 3-2 in overtime on Kevin Shattenkirk’s power play goal at 3:13.

It really was a wild and chaotic game that had a bit of everything. That included ex-Pens defenseman Matt Niskanen being assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for crosschecking Sidney Crosby in the head. A controversial play that occurred after Crosby was engaged in front of Braden Holtby while trying to score. He took a slash from behind from Alexander Ovechkin and lost his footing as Niskanen closed in. There was no intent but the Washington defenseman did make contact with Crosby up high injuring him. He left the game and didn’t return. Here’s the play in question:

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/859193969900744705

Originally, I felt it should only be a minor penalty for cross checking. But as NBC’s Mike Milbury and Keith Jones analyzed during intermission, Niskanen did make contact with Crosby’s head. You are responsible for your stick. Of course, my timeline didn’t agree. Some even felt it wasn’t even a penalty which was insanity. Sure. Crosby gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to some of his stick work. But come on.

As for how it impacted the game, the Caps were able to take a 2-0 lead on the Pens. Nicklas Backstrom was able to bank a puck in off Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole past Marc-Andre Fleury during a five-on-three in the first period. That was about the only way they could beat Fleury, who was outstanding. In the third, Evgeny Kuznetsov patiently waited for Fleury to go down before shooting over his outstretched pad to finish off a three-on-two on a great pass from Marcus Johansson giving Washington a two-goal lead.

The way they played, it looked like it was a foregone conclusion they would win without a problem. But they are the Caps and the Pens are the Pens. With Fleury pulled for an extra attacker and the Pens down two players (Crosby and Conor Sheary), Evgeni Malkin beat Holtby with a wicked one-timer short side high glove to make it 2-1 with 1:53 left. It was a ridiculous shot off a great feed from Phil Kessel.

I joked about how funny it would be if the Caps blew it. With the Rangers Game 2 debacle still fresh, Washington made it look tame. Indeed, they collapsed even worse by allowing Justin Schultz to tie the game 48 seconds later when his one-timer from Malkin deflected off T.J. Oshie and past Holtby with 1:05 remaining.

It really was astonishing. Here were the Caps who needed this game in the worst way. They couldn’t close out the Pens, who were without two forwards including the world’s best player. That hurt Pittsburgh tremendously with their power play 0-for-5. In fact, they hadn’t mustered much in the third until Fleury went off. They were able to score the two goals despite only having six shots. That’s how well the Caps defended 5-on-5.

Needless to say, another great Pens comeback forced the game into sudden death. Could the Caps recover? They were helped out when Johansson split Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley forcing Daley to go off for holding 2:40 into overtime. Off a good rush and entry from Kuznetsov, Backstrom worked the puck to an open Shattenkirk at the point. A player who had struggled mightily throughout, he did the one thing he’s good at. Shattenkirk unleashed a perfect wrist shot through traffic that beat Fleury at 3:13 of OT to give the Caps a huge win.

In doing so, they saved their season. Now, it’s a series. Also, there was a lot more physicality and scrums which led to the teams going at it. That stuff favors the Caps because the Pens aren’t the kind of team who likes to do that. They got sucked into some bad penalties. In particular, Malkin who boarded Tom Wilson from behind to hand Washington a power play.

More interesting was the post game press conference of Washington coach Barry Trotz. He discussed the Niskanen play and called it a hockey play. It was more of a reaction than anything. For his part, Niskanen said he didn’t mean for Crosby to get hurt and hoped he’d be back. The question is what is his status. He looked to have turned an ankle prior to Niskanen’s hit. Is that the injury or should fans be concerned about a possible concussion? Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan provided no update on either Crosby or Sheary while refusing to discuss the Niskanen cross check. He was fuming.

There was a heated exchange between Trotz and Pittsburgh troll Rob Rossi. A biased Pens beat reporter who frequently crosses the line with garbage columns that are an insult to hockey fans. He accused Ovechkin of causing Crosby’s injury due to the uncalled slash which made him prone to the Niskanen high hit.

The article is pure trash from someone who isn’t objective. That Trotz barked back at him when he tried to goad him during a question and answer segment showed a lack of professionalism. Trotz handled it well. Rossi basically tried to bully the Caps coach.

It is what it is. This is who Rossi is. A tool who somehow gets paid to cover the sport. He wants Ovechkin tossed from the series for an uncalled minor penalty for slashing. Of course, he also wants Niskanen given the gate and accused the Caps of planning to deliberately injure Crosby. All cause Backstrom called a team meeting following Game 2.

This isn’t the old days. That stuff doesn’t happen anymore. Especially during a playoff series of a game of utmost significance. The Caps needed to focus on the scoreboard. Winning was the only option. That they were able to escape with a victory after the late third period collapse showed a lot of character.

It’s an absurd accusation by a clueless writer who has a clear bias. I don’t even think Pittsburgh fans can defend this nonsense.

Game 4 should be a real treat. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

Posted in NHL Playoffs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ticket costs for Rangers second round are expensive

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Derek

c9bukwdv0aeicct

I received this email from TicketIQ on the cost of the second round for Rangers games. Not surprisingly, they are one of the most expensive tickets on the secondary market. Read it and weep.

Posted in Battle News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Alain Vigneault is the gift that keeps on giving

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Derek
c-nbgxtxuaanak_

Perplexing decisions by coach Alain Vigneault didn’t help the Rangers win Game 2. Neither did the play of some of his players. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy NYRangers.

Just when you think he’s finally figured it out, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault does something that makes no sense at all. The prevailing thought on his successful stint here is that he’s a very good coach who’s guided the team to its only Stanley Cup trip since ’94 and within a period of consecutive appearances.

In the fourth year of an original five-year contract that pays him $2 million per season, Vigneault has done a very good job. It’s hard to argue with his success behind the Ranger bench. In four years, he’s won 192 games leading the Rangers to four straight postseasons. They’ve had a lot of success making deep runs while winning a President’s Trophy. His .628 winning percentage is almost on par with his success in Vancouver where he also reached a Stanley Cup Final.

In many ways, his time with the Rangers is mirroring what happened in Vancouver. He lasted seven years with the Canucks featuring a talented team that included Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Sami Salo, Dan Hamhuis, Mikael Samuelsson and Roberto Luongo. After losing in a heartbreaking seven games to the Bruins on for the Cup in ‘2010-11, the Canucks won the President’s Trophy the following year only to get upset by Jonathan Quick and the Kings in five games. A year later, they were swept by San Jose leading to Vigneault’s dismissal.

When he was hired to replace John Tortorella, it was a good fit. The Rangers wanted to emphasize a more exciting offensive style which is exactly what Vigneault brought. The personnel changed. In his first year, he didn’t utilize captain Ryan Callahan right on the power play. It was painfully obvious Callahan’s straight line game wasn’t what he preferred. Vigneault wanted speed and transition. At the time, then GM Glen Sather made the tough decision to trade Callahan to the Lightning for Martin St. Louis. The first ever captain for captain deadline deal cost him two first round picks.

Even though he struggled to adjust scoring just one goal in 19 games, St. Louis became the emotional leader of the locker room following the tragic death of Mom France. After they defeated the Flyers in seven games, the Rangers learned of St. Louis’ Mom while in a 3-1 series deficit after laying two eggs at home. St. Louis called a team meeting along with veteran Brad Richards. Knowing his Mom would want him to play, he did in Game 5. A Rangers resounding victory in Pittsburgh that gave them hope. It was a emotional Mother’s Day win where St. Louis scored the first goal that you started to feel some magic. The Rangers would win the series in seven.

Buoyed by St. Louis who scored a dramatic overtime goal to beat the Canadiens in a huge Game 4, the Rangers rallied around him to make the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. Even though they fell short in a closely fought five games with all three games needing overtime, it was a great run. A winnable series versus the Kings in which they blew leads in all three road games. There was the controversial non-call on Dwight King for goalie interference. But also Vigneault opting to sit back rather than attack. Even Henrik Lundqvist couldn’t prevent the Kings’ overwhelming dominance.

The ’14-15 year was one of great promise. With Lundqvist suffering a sprained blood vessel in his neck that forced him out of action, backup Cam Talbot rallied the team to the league’s best record. Lundqvist returned to form and helped that team rally from another 3-1 series deficit in the second round in dramatic fashion against the Caps. A series they were 90 seconds away from elimination in Game 5 before Derek Stepan set up Chris Kreider’s tying goal at a rocking Garden. Eventually, Stepan dropped for Ryan McDonagh’s amazing overtime winner. They held on in Game 6 thanks to Lundqvist and needed sudden death before Stepan rebounded home a shot past Braden Holtby for the series clincher.

But in an oddly played Eastern Conference Final, they were unable to win in the final three games at MSG. In fact, the road team won five of the seven games. The Rangers were shutout in Games 5 and 7 sandwiched around a convincing blowout win in Game 6 over the Lightning featuring a hat trick from Derick Brassard and two assists. But there was no carryover. That’s the kind of series it was. Vigneault got outcoached by Jon Cooper in Game 7. He had his team stand up at the blue line and take away the stretch pass along with the Rangers’ biggest weapon. Speed. They never really threatened Ben Bishop. Alex Killorn’s tie-breaking goal in the third led to a Lightning 2-0 shutout. A gut wrenching conclusion to a series they should’ve won.

At that point, some started to question Vigneault’s lack of adjustments. A fair critique. When the Rangers moved on from reliable right defenseman Anton Stralman allowing him to walk to Tampa and help them defeat them along with ex-Rangers Boyle and Callahan, it changed things dramatically. Dan Boyle never worked out. He was so inconsistent that Sather coughed up more draft picks and Anthony Duclair to Arizona for Keith Yandle. He became a two-year rental. Even though he was very effective, Vigneault refused to take full advantage of the offensive skating D. He kept Yandle on the third pair while continuing to roll out Marc Staal and Boyle.

It made no sense. Even last year when Yandle paired well with former Blueshirt Dylan McIlrath, Vigneault went against logic. He also played a banged up Dan Girardi, who had a cracked right knee and needed time off. Not with the loyal coach who handles vets he trusts very differently. Maybe if he had taken a different approach with Girardi and Staal, they might have been fresher for last year’s short lived postseason. They got dismantled by the Pens in five. Pittsburgh was way too good for anyone rolling to the Stanley Cup. Something they could repeat this year minus Kris Letang and number one goalie Matt Murray.

When it comes to deployment, it’s not one of Vigneault’s strong suits. In the first round after blowing Game 2, he was clearly overplaying Staal and fragile partner Nick Holden too much. Kevin Klein subbed for him but was ineffective in a flat Game 3 loss. He eventually went back to Holden with Staal but managed their minutes better while effectively utilizing cohesive third pair Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith.

Fast forward to an exasperating blown Game Two loss to the Senators falling 6-5 in double overtime on Saturday. A game which saw the Rangers blow three separate two-goal leads including up 5-3 before two goals from Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the final 3:19 forced sudden death. Somehow, Vigneault refused to give Skjei or Smith a single shift in the last five minutes. They have been steady and deserve more ice-time than they’re getting. It was inexplicable that they received 10-11 fewer shifts than an ineffective Staal and Holden with the latter’s bad pinch costing them in OT.

Neither did Vigneault refusing to give youngsters Pavel Buchnevich and Oscar Lindberg any shifts in sudden death. Somehow, he shot himself in the foot by hurting his biggest strength. The team’s depth. Instead, a stubborn Vigneault went with a 10 forward rotation which eventually taxed them. Buchnevich and Lindberg wound up each with less than six minutes played in a game that wasn’t decided until 82:54 when Pageau drove a perfect laser past Lundqvist on a odd-man rush.

It wasn’t a good game for the coach. He stuck with Staal and Holden too much. There also was an odd shift where Holden was paired with Skjei, who was beaten badly by Ottawa speed demon Mike Hoffman during a four-on-four leading to a rebound goal from Marc Methot. Methot had no problem scoring due to Holden not taking him. It wasn’t just Holden or Staal yesterday. Holden though was badly exposed with an inopportune pinch trapping teammates Stepan and Jesper Fast as Pageau went two-on-one before scoring his fourth goal in a memorable game.

Even though he had two assists and delivered 11 huge hits in over 34 minutes of work, it wasn’t McDonagh’s best game either. He got beat by Pageau twice for two redirects which rallied the Senators into extras. He delivered a big hit on Dion Phaneuf but lost inside position allowing Pageau to deflect a Zack Smith shot by Lundqvist that made it 5-4. Then McDonagh got caught napping on Pageau’s neat redirect of a Kyle Turris one-timer with 62 seconds left. Partner Girardi had his own hiccup when his bad turnover in the neutral zone turned into Pageau’s first when he beat Lundqvist short side from a bad angle.

To be honest, only Skjei and Smith were consistent yet somehow wound up with the short end of the stick. Skjei received 22:18 even after his two goals including one that reminded of former Rangers legend Brian Leetch with the poised rookie recovering to break up a three-on-one and then take a Smith pass, drag and curl before beating Craig Anderson for a 5-3 lead. Smith somehow only got 20:44 in 29 shifts while playing his usual physical style.

So, what were Vigneault’s answers to the press? Oh boy. They were about as out of touch as possible.

https://twitter.com/HartnettHockey/status/858733708257488896

Okay. This I can buy. Obviously, you don’t break up McDonagh/Girardi or Skjei/Smith. But the way he under utilizes Skjei and Smith is absurd. There was also this explanation on Skjei’s usage which is just mind numbing.

https://twitter.com/HartnettHockey/status/858732527485366274

So, wait. Skjei recovered from getting beat by Hoffman on Methot’s four-on-four goal by getting it back the same period. Then scored a dazzling goal after a great defensive play which again restored a two-goal lead with under 15 minutes left in regulation. So, he didn’t earn more ice-time after that? He didn’t deserve one shift in the final five when the Rangers blew it by the coach shortening up, which also shafted a good defensive player in Smith. I don’t get it. Does anyone?

https://twitter.com/HartnettHockey/status/858728233629515777

I don’t get this at all. Smith is one of those blood and guts guys who gets the jersey dirty and knows how to defend. He is tough in front of the net. What in the world is the thinking? Is this on assistant Jeff Beukeboom or is it just Vigneault again being set in his old ways like he was with former assistant Ulf Samuelsson?

https://twitter.com/HartnettHockey/status/858729481070096385

In limiting Buchnevich and Lindberg, Vigneault hurt his team’s chances. They could’ve still recovered and won the game. Why not give Buchnevich a shift on the power play which stunk it up in the first OT? Or stick out Lindberg, who has been more consistent than either Stepan or Kevin Hayes overall? Lindberg makes things happen. Forget the fact he only has one assist. He can win draws and is a good forechecker who isn’t afraid to take his shot while being responsible. Jimmy Vesey also got penalized unfairly hardly seeing the ice in sudden death. He was more noticeable than either Rick Nash or saint Mats Zuccarello.

The Rangers have one more day off before Game 4 on Tuesday. It’s a must win. How Vigneault handles the pressure packed situation could determine if they remain alive. He’ll need much better goaltending from Lundqvist, who admittedly wasn’t good enough in allowing six goals on 34 shots. His worst effort of this postseason. He can’t get outplayed by Anderson, who wasn’t good himself but made some big saves to give his team a chance.

When it comes down to it, Vigneault has to do a better job with the match-ups when the series shifts to MSG. He also has to manage his players better. Use all 18 skaters. Reward the ones who are going. It’s not about loyalty anymore. But about winning. There is no excuse.

Posted in NHL Playoffs, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Non-Sens! Rangers choke in awful fashion in 6-5 double overtime loss, Ottawa leads 2-0

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Derek
c-n9auaumaa3tiu

The Ottawa Senators mob hero Jean-Gabriel Pageau after his fourth goal was the winner in double overtime past Henrik Lundqvist for a 6-5 win in Game 2 over the Rangers, who choked away a two-goal lead with over three minutes left to fall in a 2-0 hole in the second round series. AP Photo via Getty Images courtesy Ottawa Senators.

It was a choke of epic proportions. Plain and simple. After a drive following the predictable frustrating conclusion, I can’t think of anything else to call it. How can any Ranger explain away blowing three two-goal leads including a 5-3 lead with over three minutes left? They somehow managed the unthinkable. In giving up two goals to new Ranger killer Jean-Gabriel Pageau over the last 3:19 of regulation, they choked in awful fashion.

That it would be Pageau who had already completed a hat trick by tying it on a great redirection with 62 seconds left- winning the wild game with goal number four at 82:54 of the second overtime- summed up a wasted Saturday. The Senators rallied to stun the Rangers 6-5 in sudden death taking Game 2 and holding serve in the best-of-seven second round Atlantic Division series. They now lead 2-0 with a must have Game 3 at MSG for the Blueshirts Tuesday. In fact, they probably need to win both home games to have any realistic chance of winning the series.

Through no fault but their own, they now are in a deep 0-2 hole against a much better offensive opponent. The Sens proved it by scoring six goals on 34 shots past Henrik Lundqvist, who picked the wrong time for his worst effort of the postseason. At least two of the six goals were ones he’d like back. Of course, both came against Pageau, who turned into John Druce. His speed and grit along with uncanny ability to finish undid a two-goal effort from Brady Skjei along with a pair of shorthanded goals from Michael Grabner and Derek Stepan.

In the NHL Playoffs, the unpredictable can happen. It did. Now, the Rangers must dig deep to get back in it or face the prospect of being sent packing sooner than anyone anticipated when this series started.

Where did it go wrong? For starters, they couldn’t handle prosperity. I can’t think of another playoff game where this group blew a two-goal lead that late with Lundqvist the goalie. Give the Sens full marks for never giving up. They showed a lot of confidence and kept coming. But this isn’t about what they did. Rather what the Rangers didn’t.

The perplexing thing is it’s not like they sat back. They had nine shots in the third to the Sens’ eight. Even after Skjei scored a highlight reel goal by curling, dragging and then going five-hole to make it 5-3 with 14:50 remaining, they didn’t stop attacking. That’s what makes it so shocking.

Following Pageau’s brilliant redirect of a Zack Smith shot that made it 5-4 with 3:19 remaining, a hustling Jesper Fast kept a puck in at the Ottawa blue line allowing Grabner to get a great chance. But his shot was easily gloved by Craig Anderson with 1:52 left. That gave the Sens the shot they needed. Following an icing, Pageau beat Kevin Hayes on a offensive draw. Before you knew it, Erik Karlsson dished across for a Kyle Turris shot from a sharp angle that Pageau neatly deflected home to tie the score with 1:02 remaining sending the fans at Canadian Tire Centre into bedlam. You hope for their sake it was a sellout. They didn’t reach capacity in Game 1.

Pageau beat Ryan McDonagh to the spot due to a mix up on coverage with partner Dan Girardi. Culpable on Pageau’s first of the day when he made a blind pass in the neutral zone which resulted in Pageau beating an unscreened Lundqvist from a very bad angle short side.

Before regulation ended, Chris Kreider dropped for Mats Zuccarello, who threw a shot pass in front to an open Mika Zibanejad, who got a backhand redirect on the puck. But the luck wasn’t there with the shot going over Anderson and the net. That meant overtime. If you were reaching for a oxygen mask, it wouldn’t have helped. You had that sinking feeling. How could a team recover from that? They didn’t.

Even in the first OT when they were able to manage 10 shots on Anderson with the Ottawa netminder nearly costing himself on a turnover only to be bailed out by Turris, the Rangers never gave you the sense they could win. J.T. Miller had the best chance but was stoned by Anderson, who outplayed Lundqvist despite allowing five goals on 48 shots. He made bigger saves. If Anderson outplays our goalie, they have no shot at a comeback.

It’s not even like he was great. Anderson gave up a couple of bad ones. Most notably, the five-hole shot to Skjei with a small screen on a great curl and drag by a player who saved the Rangers’ bacon on a three-on-one. Then scored on the other end a la Brian Leetch. Skjei is special. He was bad for the first four periods of the series, getting beaten badly by Mike Hoffman outside and in during a four-on-four resulting in a Marc Methot goal that made it 3-2. But Skjei stayed poised. You’ll have to ask the coach why the rookie and partner Brendan Smith played 10-11 shifts less than Nick Holden and Marc Staal.

It was Holden who got trapped on an awful Grabner cross-ice pass resulting in a turnover that led to Pageau cruising down on a two-on-one against Staal before picking high glove on a vulnerable Lundqvist for his fourth goal of the game at 2:54. It was just a really bad play. A very poor choice by Grabner, who had been very effective even finishing off the game’s first goal from Jesper Fast shorthanded. Once Holden was caught, Pageau had the hot hand and got it high and hard for a beauty of a double OT winner. Here’s how it looked and sounded courtesy CBC:

For the Rangers, it was a missed opportunity. A game in which they had 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 leads resulted in one of the worst playoff losses this group has ever endured. For starters, they weren’t disciplined continuing to take foolish penalties. But the penalty kill came through killing off all four Ottawa power plays while scoring two shorthanded goals.

The first came from Grabner. Following the hustling Fast getting to a loose puck in the neutral zone, the speedy Swede came in two-on-one on Dion Phaneuf and passed across for a sweet Grabner finish at 4:16 of the first. But the Rangers continued to take penalties. After killing off Staal’s interference minor, they were forced to kill off two more on a ill advised Miller hook and a Chris Kreider elbow.

Unlike Game 1, the Sens power play was out of sync. The only quality chance was a howitzer from Karlsson off the inside of the goalpost from way out. They didn’t do anything else. Ottawa did their damage 4-on-4 scoring twice on three shots. Brutal if you’re the Rangers.

It was with the teams back to even strength that Girardi made a terrible puck decision. Thinking he had McDonagh on the other side, he made a low percentage pass behind his partner that allowed Pageau to come the other way. He took McDonagh deep and then fired a wrist shot that eluded Lundqvist short side high glove for an unassisted tally at 13:59 to tie the game. Girardi should’ve gotten the puck deep. It was a brutal mistake by a veteran player to make who’s otherwise been consistent this postseason. Naturally, everyone got on him for it. But what about the goalie? He has to come up with that save.

Despite lazy penalties and turnovers, the Rangers came out of the first tied 1-1 with a 9-6 shots edge. That’s how odd the game was. The second was exasperating for a while. They controlled play by a wide margin but were unable to beat Anderson in the first half of the period. He was making timely stops. That included the first Rangers power play which got five shots including a couple of good looks.

After it expired, Kreider made a strong individual effort to finally score his first of the postseason. On a keep by McDonagh with Mika Zibanejad in on the play, Kreider escaped with the puck from two Sens and then unleashed a bomb past a surprised Anderson for a 2-1 lead at 10:39. It was a great play by a very skilled player with the size and strength to impose his will. Kreider was dangerous throughout using his speed to create two break ins for near misses. He had Anderson on one with a forehand deke but lost control. He was going all game. A shame that it was wasted.

Stepan also got off the snide. Sure. He had an empty netter that sealed a first round win over Montreal. But he still was struggling to find his game, admitting that he’s stunk thus far. With Smith off for a slash, out came Stepan on a Nash lead for a two-on-one. With a lazy back check from former teammate Derick Brassard, Stepan moved in and went top shelf on Anderson for a shorthanded goal that made it 3-1 with 6:50 left in the second.

But just when things were going well, Ottawa pest Smith got nabbed for roughing. Earlier, he had plowed into Lundqvist during a Rangers power play with no call. This time, he went to the box setting up a four-on-four situation. The one concern was Ottawa’s team speed with two less skaters out. Sure enough, after taking a feed from rookie defenseman Ben Harpur, Hoffman blew past Skjei forcing Lundqvist into a tough kick save which went right to Methot, who beat Holden to the spot for his first coming at the 14-minute mark only 50 seconds after Stepan’s shorty. That cannot happen.

But after I was all over Skjei on Twitter, he responded by getting it back 1:51 later with his first of the game from McDonagh and Zibanejad. On the play, he was able to shoot through a Kreider screen and beat Anderson thru the wickets to restore a two-goal lead. Matching hi-sticking minors from Brassard and Rick Nash with 23 seconds left in the period resulted in another <gasp> four-on-four.

Once again, the Rangers let their guard down. At the start of the third, a defensive draw loss from Stepan led directly to an odd Mark Stone goal. A Phaneuf wide carom came back to an open Stone in the slot with both Staal and Holden scrambling. Nobody was in the right position allowing Stone to bury his first of the series (2nd of playoffs) past Lundqvist which made it 4-3 at 1:28 of the third. Ottawa rookie Fredrik Claesson drew the other helper on what can be called a lucky bounce. But one Stone took advantage of.

Then came Skjei’s spectacular moment. With partner Smith trapped and the Sens coming three-on-one, it looked like they would tie the game. Instead, Skjei patiently waited before blocking a pass across which allowed him to send Smith the other way. Smith led a four-on-two rush. After gaining the blue line, he passed across for Skjei, who showed so much poise curling and dragging before going five-hole on a stunned Anderson for a 5-3 lead with 14:50 remaining. A remarkable play by a very talented player.

For a long stretch of the third, it looked like the Rangers would win and even the series headed back home. They got plenty of praise from former Flyers goalie Brian Boucher on the NBC telecast. But just when things were looking promising, McDonagh went for a big hit leveling Phaneuf along the boards. He didn’t recover in time to pick up a wide open Pageau for his first redirect of a Smith shot past Lundqvist that cut the deficit to one with 3:19 left.

They still seemed in good shape after Grabner forced Anderson into a tough glove stop with 1:52 remaining. But the second consecutive icing proved costly. Hayes was unable to beat Pageau on a defensive draw. With Anderson pulled for an extra attacker, the Sens calmly worked the puck around. After a Karlsson wide shot, they again moved it around until Karlsson fed an open Turris for a one-timer that Pageau managed to get a piece of sending it by a stunned Lundqvist to tie the score at 5-5 with 62 seconds left.

It happened that quickly and astonishingly. Just like that, they had given up two Pageau brilliant deflection goals in a 2:17 span blowing a 5-3 lead. To their credit, the Rangers tried to get it back. Nash had his best shift applying pressure. Then came the final frantic seconds with Kreider making a smart play for Zuccarello, who made a nice touch pass in front for Zibanejad. The Ottawa crowd held its collective breath. But Zibanejad’s backhand redirect attempt sailed over the top allowing the buzzer to sound.

In the first overtime, an undisciplined Brassard went off for high-sticking Zibanejad. But the Rangers did absolutely nothing on the power play. It was abysmal. They had only one shot and basically helped the Senators kill off the penalty. Yet Boucher gave them credit. They hardly did anything other than take easy Rangers mistakes and send them down the ice.

By that point, Alain Vigneault came to the strange decision not to play rookie Pavel Buchnevich. He had one turnover in the first period. Somehow, he went from playing with Zibanejad and Kreider to the fourth line with Oscar Lindberg and a struggling Miller. Vigneault did change the lines with moderate success by sticking Mats Zuccarello with Zibanejad and Kreider. He also rewarded both Grabner and Fast moving them up to the third unit with Hayes, who had one of their best chances in sudden death. But his pointblank chance was gloved by Anderson.

Buchnevich never saw the ice in sudden death only receiving nine shifts in 5:46. Lindberg was unfairly punished winding up with a miniscule 5:07 in 11 shifts. Why? It didn’t make any sense. Vigneault shorted his own bench in overtime by going with 10 forwards. In a game where it went long, it was not a smart move. It’s not like the skilled Buchnevich and the gritty and smart Lindberg couldn’t have helped.

The Rangers also got lucky in the first OT when Stone had Lundqvist dead to rights. He managed a desperation pad save from down on his back and then could only thank Fast for getting a skate on a Stone shot ticketed for the back of the net. Instead, Fast’s block kept it alive leaving Stone only to look skyward and shake his head in total disbelief.

They also had a close call when Anderson had a brutal giveaway behind the net. With him out of position, Turris denied a Nash wraparound attempt. If he doesn’t, the Rangers win. Then, Anderson was ready for a Miller one-timer from the slot off a good Stepan pass from behind the net. Miller had to be frustrated. He came very close to finally ending his offensive struggles. One such chance saw him slam his stick in frustration during the second with the game still tied at one. He was moved up by Vigneault after responding.

What didn’t make a lot of sense was the mysterious disappearance of Nash, who’s been awfully quiet the first two games. Despite getting the lone assist on Stepan’s shorthanded goal and attempting seven shots, he wasn’t good enough. He’s totaled seven shots so far with 13 attempts but has no goals and hasn’t taken the puck as hard to the net like he did against the Canadiens. Nash must be better when the series shifts to MSG Tuesday.

The second overtime was short. When Grabner sent a low percentage backhand centering feed across to no one, it trapped not only Holden but Stepan and Fast leading to Pageau’s clutch money shot past Lundqvist high glove for the game-winner. It was a great shot. But one we’ve seen Lundqvist stop before on better shooters. Staal gave him the shot taking away the pass. That’s all you can ask for. Simply put, Pageau made the shot. Lundqvist didn’t stop it.

Now, it’s nitty gritty time. With an extra day off before Tuesday’s Game 2, it’s up to the Rangers to pick themselves up. They’ve been in this unenviable position before. They did it to the Caps in 2013 of the first round after losing the first two in Washington. That team was coached by John Tortorella. So, a lot of different personnel. But there are six players left from that team who were part of it. They include Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Staal, Stepan and Zuccarello. Kreider too even though he didn’t play every game. So, technically seven.

What they have to do is forget Game 2. They lost. End of story. The focus must be on just getting the next one. Protect home ice. Win Game 3 and it’s a series. If they take that approach, they can come back. But they must play better overall and give a total complete effort. There can’t be lapses from anyone.

I’ve seen plenty of blame going around. It’s the usual suspects Girardi, Staal and Holden. Last I checked, there were a lot more skaters who were part of this collapse. You had a lot of miscues with even Lundqvist not at his best. Funny. I haven’t seen anyone get on Zuccarello. He hasn’t distinguished himself in this series yet either.

Lucky for us, the Rangers are a team. They don’t panic. They stick together. We’ll see what they’re made of.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Guy Boucher, Senators (for going with the hot hand playing Pageau more than an ineffective Brassard-outfoxed Vigneault, who hurt his team by shortening bench)

2nd Star-Brady Skjei, Rangers (2 goals-team best 4 in postseason including highlight reel goal that made it 5-3, 4 shots, +1 in 29 shifts-22:18)

1st Star-Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Senators (four goals including two redirects in final 3:19 of regulation along with a perfect GWG on a laser at 82:54 of overtime-magnificent performance, +3 in 28:44-37 shifts)

Notes: The teams combined for 82 shots with the Rangers holding a 48-34 advantage. Shot attempts favored the Blueshirts 83-79 with the Sens picking it up in crunch time. … Rangers had 43 hits compared to 38 for the Senators led by a feisty McDonagh, who finished with 11. A lot for him. All 18 skaters for Ottawa registered at least one with the gritty Methot leading them with five including a heavy one on Miller. In fact, only two skaters didn’t have a hit. Girardi and Zibanejad. … Key Stat: Giveaways NYR 15 (Miller 4) OTT 28 (Turris 4) and they won! Gave up two shorthanded goals too and they still won! Trailed by two three times and they still won! Unbelievable.

… If there was a key area Ottawa was better at, it was on face-offs where they dominated going 52-and-37 (58 percent). Brassard went 18-and-10 while Turris was 14-and-9. But Pageau won the critical one beating Hayes. He went 13-and-14 and dominated with a memorable performance. Zibanejad had a good day in the circle going 16-and-11 against his former team while recording two assists. He’s been fine. Sadly, Lindberg was the Rangers’ second best winning 4-of-6 before his benching. On a day where Stepan got brutalized losing 17-of-25 with Hayes a brutal 8-and-15. … The Rangers blocked 24 shots with the tandem of McDonagh and Girardi each having five, including four from number 5 in sudden death. At least one prevented a sure goal. The Sens blocked 19 led by Phaneuf’s five.

… In other playoff action, the Caps are doing their usual fold job against the Pens losing 5-2 as time winds down. Braden Holtby should change his last name to Holteby. That’s how bad he’s been. Sidney Crosby is dominating the series so far and Marc-Andre Fleury has turned back the clock to 2009. He’s looking like a Conn Smythe candidate. It’s gonna be 2-0 Pens headed back to Pittsburgh.

… In other hockey related news, the Devils had the ping pong balls fall their way for a change winning the NHL Draft Lottery. They moved up all the way to 1 and now will decide between Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick. If I were them, I’d take Hischier. He looks like he’ll be a big scorer. Exactly what the Devs need. The Flyers are picking second followed by the Stars with the laughable Avalanche dropping all the way to four. Good. It serves them right.

Posted in NHL Playoffs, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Devils win lottery that shocks the NHL

Posted on April 29, 2017 by hasan4978

Well I can safely say I didn’t see THIS coming.

In the most unpredictable draft lottery in history, none of the bottom three teams stayed in the top three draft slots after the NHL’s trio of lotteries and it was none other than the New Jersey Devils who wound up being gifted the #1 pick in a stunning fifteen minutes that saw the the top three spots go to the Devils (fifth worst out of fifteen in odds), Flyers (thirteenth in odds) and Stars (eighth worst).  I’m of two minds about this lottery, part of me thinks it’s stupid that the team with the worst record could easily get bumped down to fourth – and in the case of the Colorado Avalanche that’s exactly what happened, and that everyone has practically an equal chance to win it and more of a chance to get screwed and move down than to benefit.  On the other hand, the fact that it’s clearly going to discourage tanking is almost enough for me to warm up to the new lottery system.

Certainly now none of the cynics who whined about our great 3-17-4 record down the stretch being ‘too good’ and that we should have been slotted 2 instead of 5 can exit stage right and start eating crow now.  I said it before the draft and it was proved to the world now, it really doesn’t matter where you finish anymore in the NHL just like it doesn’t in the NBA (ask the Magic with Penny Hardaway or the Bulls with Derrick Rose).  All it does is marginally increase or decrease the odds, but clearly that’s not even a big issue given the three teams that rocketed up to the top of the draft tonight.

What made tonight a win from an entertainment standpoint for the NHL as a Devils fan was when the teams started to come off the board and you saw PHILLY move up to the top three (aargh!) and then Dallas move to the top three I was so sure we were getting screwed and picking #7 or #8, until the time our card was supposed to be drawn and it was Arizona instead being bumped down further, my disbelieving ecstacy at that moment was Yote/Avs/Canucks’ fans misery.  Then when Dallas’s card was drawn after a commercial break in the 3 slot I was laughing at the hilarity of it coming down to us and the Flyers for the top slot.  When the final card came out to signify the top slot and it was our logo, I almost literally didn’t stop laughing for an hour.

Whether we stick with the pre-draft speculation and pick Nolan Patrick or go with the late surge of momentum and pick Nico Hischler is tomorrow’s problem, or more accurately one for two months down the road and one I’m not going to spend a lot of time analyzing tonight.  Personally though at this particular moment I’d rather have Patrick and take the big centerman over a C/W hybrid, I’ll ultimately trust GM Ray Shero and head scout Paul Castron to make the right pick given his success in Columbus at the draft table before coming here.  Certainly the Devils already know a lot about Patrick since he’s played on the same team with farmhand John Quenneville.

As the saying goes, it’s a heck of a problem to have…and even worth the aggravation of the Flyers joining us in the top two.  An already brutally tough Metro division just got a whole lot tougher in one night.

Posted in Devils, NHL Draft | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Game 2 Rangers at Senators, Cam Talbot and that idiot Milbury

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Derek
c-jqkrcwaaa71d8

AP Photo courtesy Getty Images via NHL.Com. 

In about 15 minutes, the Rangers will look to even the best-of-seven second round series against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Yet another arena where naming rights change too much. It used to be Scotiabank. And god knows what else.

Be that as it may, the keys to a Rangers Game 2 win are simple:

1.Play Ottawa 5-on-5. In Game 1, they were dead even in shots 28-28 and generated quality chances against Craig Anderson, who was good.

2.Stay disciplined. They took four penalties in the 2-1 loss Thursday. Too many. The Senators power play is more dangerous than Montreal with Erik Karlsson lethal. Plus Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan and even Dion Phaneuf. It wasn’t even that unit that scored the tying goal. That came from Kyle Turris’ rebound right to Ryan Dzingel with Alex Burrows in front. The Sens generated a dozen shots on the man-advantage and plenty of momentum. That can’t happen today.

3.The big players must Step up. That means you Derek Stepan. His costly gaffe in Game 1 on what should’ve been an icing was inexcusable. As poor as the officiating was in somehow missing an easy icing, Stepan relaxed and it resulted in more attack time for Ottawa. Rick Nash was outhustled by Marc Methot, who made the key keep leading to Karlsson’s miraculous goal which deflected off Stepan and off Henrik Lundqvist’s mask and in. A play that could’ve been avoided. It’s time for Stepan to play like it’s the second round. Ditto for ghosts J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes. At least Chris Kreider showed a pulse screening Anderson perfectly on Ryan McDonagh’s power play goal.

4.Keep the shots down. In Game 1, Lundqvist had to do too much. He faced way too many breakaways and second and third chances. He was outstanding in stopping 41 of 43 shots. But that recipe won’t work against the countering and speedy Sens. The Rangers must do a better job limiting the shots and danger chances.

5.McDonagh and Dan Girardi can’t be pinned in their end. They were a combined minus-32 in Corsi. Some of it wasn’t their fault. Guy Boucher got the match-ups getting Karlsson out with the Jean-Gabriel Pageau line with Ryan and Clarke MacArthur dominating the Mika Zibanejad, Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich unit. A momentum turning shift that eventually led to a bad Brady Skjei penalty which allowed the Sens to tie it before the second ended. Speaking of Skjei, he needs to be better. He struggled in Game 1. In fact, it was the much maligned pair of Marc Staal and Nick Holden who were the standouts. They can’t be the Rangers’ best. McDonagh and Girardi have to be along with Skjei and Brendan Smith.

6.Get more traffic on Anderson. He was very good in finishing with 34 saves to net the game’s first star. But he also didn’t have much traffic. Sure. He stoned McDonagh and Smith in tight. And stopped Zibanejad’s backhand wrap try. But Anderson didn’t have to work as hard as Lundqvist. Kreider did his job getting to the net. More Blueshirts must spend time there and make it harder on Anderson. Don’t let him get comfortable. Move him around and screen. Find the rebounds. They’ll be there.

7.More forecheck pressure. When the Rangers do it, they are very tough to contain. That means better efforts from Miller, Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, who was far too quiet. That line is probably the team’s best at cycling the puck. They need a good game. Stepan and Nash also were quiet. Only Jimmy Vesey was effective. It can’t just be the fourth line of Oscar Lindberg, Michael Grabner and Jesper Fast. The best players must show up.

That’s pretty much it. The Rangers will win if they manage the puck better and do these steps. They don’t want to come back home down 2-0. Earning a split is important. It would give them momentum headed into a Game 3 at MSG. We’ll see if they can get it done.

In other playoff related stuff, Cam Talbot is locked in so far against Anaheim. He was spectacular in Edmonton’s 2-1 win in Game 2 last night finishing with 39 saves. His rebound control was superb. Talbot and the speedier Oilers took both games against the Ducks at The Pond and are now headed home for the next two. The biggest surprise is their poise. I might’ve overlooked the Oilers’ speed. Connor McDavid is flying. So is Leon Draisaitl. And Adam Larsson has looked the best he has all year. Remember how much we laughed at that trade with the Devils for Taylor Hall. It’s no laughing matter anymore. Larsson and Swedish countryman Oscar Klefbom have formed a potent top tandem. But it’s Talbot who has outplayed John Gibson to put the Oilers in the driver’s seat. I didn’t think they were ready. But so far, so good.

I wouldn’t count out Anaheim. Ryan Getzlaf is flying. They are relentless. They played a very good Game 2 outshooting the Oilers 40-23. But they obviously need more production. Game 3 should be interesting.

As far as Nashville and St. Louis go, they split the first two games. The Blues got a late goal from Vladimir Tarasenko with 3:36 left. His second of the game. The Russian also made a huge block on P.K. Subban protecting a one-goal lead. He’s looked much more engaged this postseason. It’s amazing they held on. Nashville applied so much pressure in that final minute. A Roman Josi shot was redirected by Viktor Arvidsson right off the goalpost with 35 seconds remaining. The Preds look like the better team. But the Blues have Jake Allen and he made some huge stops late to preserve the win.

I thought for as good as he was in Game 1 posting a goal and two assists, that’s how bad Subban was. He’s such a polarizing player. In Game 2, he had a great chance to put his team ahead on a 4-on-4. But missed wildly from the right slot high and over the top. Naturally, St. Louis came down and scored with a Tarasenko one-time rocket past Pekka Rinne for the game-winner. And Subban was awful in the final minute twice missing easy keeps that cost his team. Something you don’t expect from a player of his stature. Where are all the biased media today after that? Oh wait. Silent.

Finally, Mike Milbury was at it again taking a shot at Subban for having fun during warm ups dancing to music. What is wrong with this guy? He’s such a clown. Milbury at times can be a good analyst. Controversial for sure. But when he makes such petty comments, he comes off as an out of touch bully who needs to go.

The Pens and Caps are later tonight. Any chance Washington can eek out a win in Game 2 at home and tie the series or is that too much to ask? They need it.

That’s gonna do it. I’ll have a full review of the Rangers/Senators afterwards.

Posted in Battle News, NHL Playoffs, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Draft lottery and other Devils thoughts

Posted on April 29, 2017 by hasan4978

For all the non-playoff teams including the Devils, as well as expansion newbie Vegas, tonight’s the first big night of their offseason with the draft lottery being held at 7:30 in Toronto.  This year’s top selection is expected to be the WHL’s Nolan Patrick (above).  Despite previous injuries and coming off a sports hernia last offseason, Patrick still put up 20 goals and 46 points in just 33 games.  Only time will tell if Patrick can have a similar impact to recent #1 overalls such as Auston Mathews and Connor McDavid – now just two wins away from reaching the Conference Finals with a resurgent Edmonton team.  Either way, the draft is a lot more about hope than certainty.  Tonight fifteen teams will finally know where they pick and can in some cases shape their offseason plans around it.  Maybe teams at the back in the teens who don’t win the lottery consider trading their first round, or teams farther up consider a little extra jump forward or backward.

While I’m glad the lottery now isn’t a straight reward for tanking, I do think it’s pretty craven if the Colorado Avalanche actually have more of a chance to pick #4 than they do of winning the top overall selection (18% odds).  In fact the lottery is three lotteries for the top three selections, so every team will have three chances to win the rights to pick a top three prospect.  Almost all of these guys are names on a computer screen to me at the moment though.  As little as I care about mock drafts – just ask all the NFL guys whose mocks totally blew up in the first round on Thursday night – and perceived ranking, it will be good to have some closure and know exactly where we’re picking.

Obviously the worst-case scenario for the Devils is if one or two teams behind them jump into the top three, particularly if it’s a division rival.  Almost as bad from my point of view would be if #2 Vancouver or #3 Arizona got one of the top three picks, since the self-loathing Devil fans would complain about why we had to get that one extra point to cost us three spots in the lottery (despite having a horrid 3-17-4 record in their last 24 games after the season-torpedoing loss to the Isles at Barclays in mid-February).  Clearly not everyone’s gotten the memo that this is a true lottery, and all places in the standings do are marginally increase or decrease the odds.  It would serve them right in a sense if a team behind us did jump the line to get a higher pick, although the best way to quiet the cynics would be to win the lottery ourselves.   Our odds are at 8.5% to win the top pick and increase proportionally for picks #2 and #3 depending on who wins the top slot, if not us.

There is other Devils ‘news’ at the moment if you’re one of the lemmings that lives and dies with every tease from Russian diva Ilya Kovalchuk.  Insiders like Darren Dreger are reporting there’s been discussion about Kovalchuk returning to the NHL after four years overseas, stop me if you’ve heard this before.  While the sojourn’s proven profitable for SKA with two Gagarin Cups, it’s been less so for the player himself as the value of the ruble tanked, and with that the big money the KHL All-Star skipped out on his twelve remaining contract years for.  Part of me thinks he’s obviously considering returning after doing all he wanted to do with SKA to get one or two more big paydays in the NHL, and part of me thinks his interest in returning is a cynical negotiaton ploy to get more money out of Russia.  Especially in an Olympic year, hard for me to believe he wants to leave Russia now that the NHL players aren’t going to be competing in the 2018 Olympics.  Plus if Kovalchuk doesn’t want to be here for a rebuliding team his best move is to wait another year in Russia then come back when the Devils no longer have the right of first negotiation (though conversely it’ll be harder for him to negotiate a long-term deal as a 35+ player). Guess time will tell on that, especially since we’re unlikely to sign him before the expansion draft if that’s even an option.

One option being discussed is a sign-and-trade a la recent years in the NBA.  While I’d be in favor of ridding ourselves of the drama once and for all I don’t even know what you could get for the player in a trade, coming off four years abroad and with more scuttlebutt he’s having knee surgery this offseason.  If you want to get max value for Kovalchuk you might have to sign and play him for a while, assuming he actually shows enough early in the season to be worth it for a contending team.  Any contract he signs likely won’t be long-term anyway so you could conceivably flip him at the deadline if the Devils are out of the running yet again.  It’s really unlikely GM Ray Shero signs a 34-year old Kovalchuk to more than a one or two-year deal at most, so either way I’m not getting hyped up over a short-term patch with a bigger name than other short-term patches like Lee Stempniak.

Other than speculation all’s still quiet on the Devils front with only a prospect watch as AHL/OHL/WHL playoffs are still ongoing.  For the good news, 2016 top pick Mike McLeod has been lighting it up for Mississauga as they’ve swept through the first three rounds of theh OHL playoffs going 12-2 to the Finals, with the winner of the Finals playing in the Memorial Cup.  By all accounts McLeod’s been beastly in the second half of the season plus playoffs, showing he may well be ready to play a contributing role on the 2017-18 Devils.  On the more melancholy end, Albany’s final AHL playoffs ended with a whimper, losing to Toronto (again), this time in a four-game first round though at least 2015 second-rounder Mackenzie Blackwood ended on a high note with a good terrific second half of the season – and a fine showing in a 3OT elimination game where Albany was outplayed by a wide margin.

Next year the Devils’ AHL affiliate will be located in Binghamton, with Albany’s future uncertain after 24 years of AHL hockey.  I liked going to Albany the few times I was there, though I never saw a Devils win at least it was easy enough to get to, practically a straight shot on the highway 2 1/2 hours from North Jersey.  My first memories of hockey were in the mid ’90’s when both the Devils and Albany won their respective championships in the same year (1995).  Back then Albany churned out prospects for the Devils and was a winner until the early 2000’s when then-GM Lou Lamoriello started neglecting the AHL and Albany fell on hard times, at one point switching affiliations from the Devils to Hurricanes before the Devils moved back briefly.  2015-16 was one of the best years Albany had in fifteen seasons but it ended in the second round in a classic seven-game series from the same Marlies team that eliminated them this year.  This year Albany struggled to make the playoffs amidst the news the team was moving beginning next season, and injuries to Joseph Blandisi and Miles Wood didn’t help the playoff push either.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment