Battle Of Hudson

Costly Mistakes Adding Up for Rangers

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Derek

Costly mistakes doomed the Rangers in a 6-3 loss to the Jets on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Facing a good opponent with the league’s best record, they certainly were ready to play. The trouble was that they committed turnovers at the wrong time. The Jets took full advantage to improve to 15-1-0. They made NHL history by becoming the first team to win 15 of its first 16 games to start a season.

Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor scored twice for the visitors. Will Cuylle had a goal and assist in a losing effort for the Rangers. Connor Hellebuyck outplayed Igor Shesterkin, finishing with 33 saves. Shesterkin allowed five goals on 32 shots. Both teams scored on the power play. Winnipeg went 1-for-2. The Rangers were 1-for-4.

A big headline from the game was the deficient play of Mika Zibanejad. He turned over pucks three different times. All wound up in the back of the net. Zibanejad finished with a -4 rating along with linemates Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. K’Andre Miller was also culpable. He made some mistakes in coverage. Miller was a minus-four. Jacob Trouba was a minus-three.

The continued defensive issues that have plagued this team remain problematic. They can’t keep leaving hanging goalies out to dry. When he got off to a hot start, Shesterkin covered up those mistakes. Jonathan Quick also did in a recent shutout of the Red Wings on Nov. 9. When they don’t make the clutch stops, it’s a problem. The Rangers have relied heavily on each to start 9-4-1.

“We need to help our goalies more. Because five goals or six goals is still a lot. We just have to work on it every day now until it’s going to be – not perfect – but at least way better than right now,” a concerned Filip Chytil told Mollie Walker of the New York Post after the game.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1856540634510705019

Chytil’s line was one of the few bright spots. They produced two of the Rangers’ three goals. Cuylle scored his fifth to tie the score at one in the first period. Kaapo Kakko cut the Jets’ lead to one early in the third period. Both have formed a strong third line with Chytil. Their five-on-five play remains superb. As a line, they’ve outscored opponents 11-0 this season. The Rangers need to take a cue from how that line plays. There hasn’t been enough consistency at even strength.

Ever since Rangers coach Peter Laviolette changed his top two lines, it hasn’t worked out. Vincent Trocheck has struggled since being put with Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith. He’s more comfortable playing with Panarin and Lafreniere. It never made any sense to break them up. Laviolette tried to accommodate Zibanejad by bumping up Panarin and Lafreniere. At Wednesday’s morning skate, they were back together with Trocheck. Zibanejad was between Kreider and Smith. That’s how they’ll likely line up for tomorrow night’s game against the Sharks.

On the game’s opening shift, Kreider came close to putting the Rangers ahead. But his shot hit the goalpost. Trocheck also rang one off the post. A promising start was tarnished by a Zibanejad misplay. His errant clear led directly to Scheifele taking a Josh Morrissey feed and beating Shesterkin 57 seconds in. Neither Miller nor Adam Fox could do anything about that one. It was on Zibanejad to make a stronger play with the puck. Instead, Morrissey kept it in and found Scheifele open in front for his eighth.

A few shifts later, Cuylle had a good scoring chance. But Hellebuyck made the save. Following a stop on Adam Edstrom, there was a scrum. Morrissey was sent off for high-sticking Jimmy Vesey.

On the power play, the top unit generated very little. With the exception of a Zibanejad shot that Hellebuyck got over and stopped, they were unable to gain any momentum. Instead, they were on too long before the second unit changed. It’s been a recurring theme over the past few years. It doesn’t seem to matter who coaches them.

With less than seven minutes left in the period, a strong shift from the third line led to Cuylle tying the game. On a good cycle, Chytil moved the puck up for a pinching Braden Schneider, who let go of a wrist shot that came right to Cuylle. He was able to put in the rebound past Hellebuyck for his fifth at 13:07.

Following the goal, Trocheck took an ill-advised penalty when he held Cole Perfetti. In the first matchup between the number one ranked power play against the top-rated penalty kill, the edge went to the Rangers. In fact, Sam Carrick made a nice pass to lead Fox in for a shorthanded chance. But his backhand was foiled by Hellebuyck.

After each goalie took turns making saves, Lafreniere had his shot hit the goalpost in the final minute. Despite being on for four goals against, he was very active along with Panarin. Unfortunately, the center wasn’t. Following an even period, the game remained tied.

The second was controlled by the Rangers. They outshot the Jets 16-11 and generated better chances but were only able to beat Hellebuyck once. He made several critical saves, stopping 15 of 16.

On an early defensive draw, Zibanejad went to the bench in some discomfort. Whatever was ailing him, he only missed one shift. Trocheck took his place with Panarin and Lafreniere. Right away, he got a shot right on Hellebuyck. A bit later, Trocheck was on with Panarin and Smith. Hellebuyck turned away Panarin and Smith, who was denied on a backhand.

Still without Zibanejad, Laviolette had Chytil with Lafreniere and Panarin. Panarin tested Hellebuyck with a backhand that he handled. The trio spent some time in the offensive zone against Scheifele, Connor, and Gabe Vilardi.

The Jets’ top line got a favorable matchup against the Rangers’ fourth line. Connor had his shot stopped by Shesterkin. If there’s an area they need to fix, it’s improving the defensive coverage. There are too many instances when opponents get wide open chances in the slot. The structure they had under Laviolette last season has disappeared. Is assistant coach Phil Housley working on it?

Nearly halfway through the contest, Cuylle grabbed onto Connor to go to the penalty box for holding. After a near miss from Smith shorthanded, it was advantage Jets on special teams. On a good keep in by Neal Pionk, he created a two-on-one down low. Vilardi then dusted Miller to work a give and go with Nik Ehlers for an easy put away that made it 2-1 Jets.

Following a key Shesterkin save on Vladislav Namestnikov, Panarin was taken down by Connor. This time, the Rangers went to work on the power play. After Zibanejad fanned on a one-timer, the Jets cleared the zone. Lafreniere replaced Zibanejad on the top unit. On some good work from Panarin and Fox, they combined to find a wide open Lafreniere up top. He skated in and fired a snapshot past Hellebuyck to tie the score. It was his sixth of the season. The confidence he showed on the goal is a reason why he deserves to play on the top unit over Zibanejad. Of course, nothing changed.

On another effective shift from the third line, Zac Jones got a good backhand off that Hellebuyck denied. Along with Schneider, Jones continues to impress. He’s played very well since rejoining the lineup in place of Victor Mancini. With Jones and Schneider looking like the third defensive pair, how much longer will Mancini stay up? If he’s not going to play, they should send him down to Hartford. That way he plays in all situations. Perhaps they’ll consider it soon.

UPDATE: Apparently, they listened to me. Mancini has been sent down to the Wolf Pack. Chad Ruhwedel was recalled. It’s for the best. Mancini needs to play.

https://twitter.com/WolfPackAHL/status/1856823397197484313

Hellebuyck continued to be the story. On another good shift, Trocheck got a good scoring chance in the slot only to be stopped by Hellebuyck. That proved to a crucial moment. Less than a minute later, the Jets retook the lead with less than four minutes left.

Zibanejad fanned on a pass in the middle of the ice. That fueled the Jets’ quick transition. Pionk then sent Connor flying out of the zone. On a two-on-two with Miller back, he beat Shesterkin with a wrist shot blocker side to make it 3-2 with 3:57 remaining. It was one Shesterkin would want back. If he wants to get paid the big bucks, he needs to make that save.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1856511472408367435

Following the go-ahead tally, Winnipeg got caught with too many men. That put the Rangers back on the power play. Zibanejad came close but hit the goalpost. After the top unit again overstayed their shift, the second unit had basically the final 25 seconds to do something. Lafreniere created an opportunity by finding Kakko open in front for a shot that Hellebuyck stopped. Why can’t they get more power play time? Ask the coach.

With time to spare, Hellebuyck made a big save on Carrick. Vesey made a good play behind the net and had him open in front. Carrick had his one-timer denied by Hellebuyck with only 17 seconds remaining. That’s as close as they came to tying it again.

At the start of the third period, each side exchanged goals 32 seconds apart. Following a Zibanejad neutral zone turnover, Lafreniere had a clear attempt go off the skate of Connor. He then moved the puck across for Dylan DeMelo, who fed an open Scheifele in front for his second of the game to increase the Jets’ lead to 4-2 at 1:08. Trouba was too late on the switch.

On the next shift, Laviolette sent his best line back out. They delivered in quick fashion. Schneider took another shot from the point that Cuylle deflected off Hellebuyck. The rebound came to Kakko, who was able to steer in a backhand for his second of the season at 1:40. It snapped a seven-game drought. Although he went the previous four games without a point, Kakko continues to play well. He’s been more assertive during shifts. There’s more of a comfort level playing with Chytil and Cuylle. It’s nice to see.

Trailing by one, the Rangers didn’t generate as many scoring chances as they did in the second. The Jets were much better in the third – limiting the Blueshirts to eight shots. They held a 12-8 edge.

Shesterkin was called upon to make a few key saves. He was up to the task against Namestnikov, who had two point-blank chances denied. Shesterkin also would stop Vilardi to keep the deficit at one with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.

The closest the Rangers came to tying it was when Zibanejad got a good shot right on Hellebuyck, who handled it with ease. It was that kind of night for Zibanejad. He’s had too many of them. His last goal came against the Canadiens on Oct. 22. He’ll look to end an eight-game drought when the Sharks visit the Garden tomorrow night.

Winnipeg was able to extend the lead to two with 6:52 remaining. Initially, the Rangers fourth line spent some time in the Jets’ zone. Trouba pinched to try to keep the play alive. Instead, Namestnikov came out with the puck to start a two-on-one rush with Ehlers. He passed across for Ehlers, who sent a shot over the net. The puck took a carom off the back boards right back to Namestnikov, who tucked it in before Shesterkin could recover. On the goal, Miller took himself out of the play by going down. He didn’t get back up in time to prevent Namestnikov from scoring.

The Rangers had one more opportunity on the man-advantage. Instead, they failed miserably. In particular, Zibanejad flubbed a one-timer from the left circle. It was frustrating to watch. How many more chances will he get on the first unit? He isn’t doing enough to justify occupying a spot over Lafreniere. In limited duty, Lafreniere has two power-play goals. That’s two more than Zibanejad. It was only two years ago that he scored a career high 20 power-play goals. He had 12 last season. If he continues not to produce, a change should be made. They can’t keep catering to him.

With the teams back at full strength, Kakko gained the Winnipeg zone and had a wrist shot go off the goalpost. Cuylle then just missed on the same shift. With less than three minutes left in the game, Shesterkin came up with a pair of saves on Jets captain Adam Lowry. He was lifted with less than two minutes to go.

In their final push, the Rangers did everything but score. Hellebuyck stacked the pads to rob Lafreniere in tight. He then kicked out a long Panarin wrist shot through traffic. Panarin teed up another but went wide. Hellebuyck then denied Zibanejad from close range. He delivered the clutch saves when his team needed it most. At this point, he’s the best regular season goalie – surpassing Andrei Vasilevskiy. Hellebuyck is every bit as valuable to the Jets because they don’t have a great backup. Eric Comrie is in his second stint with Winnipeg after a failed two-year existence in Buffalo.

Connor scored into an empty net from his own zone to close it out. It was a disappointing but expected. The fact is that the Rangers aren’t on the Jets’ level. They played well enough offensively. Defensively, they were a mess. That was enough to lose.

Laviolette Goes Back to Old Lines

As I noted earlier, Laviolette decided to go back to the old lines. It looks like they’ll have a familiar look to them when the Sharks visit 33rd and 7th on Thursday night. The game marks the return of Barclay Goodrow. He could find himself on their first line with Macklin Celebrini. He still isn’t happy with how his departure happened. We’ll see what happens.

With Mancini reassigned, the defensive pairs were also changed back. No more Miller and Trouba for now. Miller is with Fox. Lindgren is with Trouba. Jones and Schneider remain intact.

FORWARDS

Kreider-Zibanejad-Smith

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere

Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko

Edstrom-Carrick-Vesey

DEFENSE

Miller-Fox

Lindgren-Trouba

Jones-Schneider

Shesterkin Going the Wrong Way

In allowing five goals for a second straight start, Shesterkin has seen his save percentage dwindle. It went from over .930 to .913 rather quickly. His goals-against-average climbed to 2.85.

Any time a goalie gets chased the way Shesterkin did when he gave up five goals on 12 shots against the Sabres on 11/7, the numbers can get out of whack. Thursday wasn’t about him as much as it was about how the Rangers play. They’re careless. That must change.

If there’s an eye-opening statistic, it’s Shesterkin’s save percentage at even strength. It’s declining. When he won the Vezina in 2021-22, he posted an incredible .933 even strength save percentage. It went down to .925 in 2022-23. Last season, it fell to .918. Due in large part to his last two starts, it’s dropped to .906. The raw numbers are 27 goals on 288 shots.

Obviously, it’s a trend that has to change. There is little doubt that the Rangers will go as far as Shesterkin takes them. He needs help. Chytil touched on it. They have been far too sloppy. We’ll see if they can lock down against a younger and faster opponent that doesn’t mind trading chances.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider, Chris Kreider, Connor Hellebuyck, Filip Chytil, Gabe Vilardi, Igor Shesterkin, Jets, Josh Morrissey, K'Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Mika Zibanejad, Neal Pionk, Nik Ehlers, Peter Laviolette, Rangers, Ryan Lindgren, Vladislav Namestnikov, Will Cuylle, Zac Jones | Leave a comment

Rangers Must Play Up to Jets’ Level

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Derek

When the puck drops this evening at 33rd and 7th, the New York Rangers step up in competition when they host the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets boast a league best 14-1-0 record. It isn’t by accident.

Under former Rangers assistant Scott Arniel, they enter play with the top ranked offense. The Jets have outscored opponents 67-31. That includes 48-25 at even strength and 35-24 at five-on-five. Nobody has more comeback wins than the Jets. Half of the 14 wins have come when trailing. Five from two goals behind and two from a goal down. They’re outscoring opponents 25-9 in the third period. They’ve won all three games that have gone to overtime.

The Jets are also good in the first period, where they’ve outscored opponents 18-10. Starts have been an issue for the Rangers in recent games. They don’t want to fall behind early against a dangerous opponent. To their credit, they’ve done a good job by outscoring opponents 17-9 in the first period. The second has been problematic. The Buffalo Sabres exploded for four goals in a 6-1 blowout on Nov. 7.

The Rangers hold a slight 16-14 edge in goals during second periods. However, anyone that’s paid close attention knows that they’ve struggled mightily. Too often, goalies have bailed them out. On most nights, it’s Igor Shesterkin. When they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-0, it was Jonathan Quick who stifled 19 Red Wing shots in a lopsided second enroute to the 61st shutout of his career. Late in the period, Jimmy Vesey and Artemi Panarin provided crucial goals to help the Rangers pull away.

In that particular game last Saturday night, only two skaters finished with a Corsica rating of at least 50.0 or better. They were Panarin (50.0 CF) and Adam Fox (61.8 CF), who had arguably his best game of the season. Fox picked up two assists and saved a goal with a key stick check to deny Alex DeBrincat with a gaping net. Fox’s play has been uneven up to this point. Maybe his strong play will carry over. The Blueshirts need him to be the Adam Fox who’s been one of the game’s best defensemen. He enters tonight with 11 assists. The breakdown is six on the power play and five at even strength. Obviously, five-on-five is a key area they need more from the anchor of the defense.

Zibanejad’s Issues at Five on Five

Of all the Rangers’ stars, Mika Zibanejad hasn’t performed up to expectations. The 31-year-old first line center is being counted on by coach Peter Laviolette to provide consistent play at five-on-five. It hasn’t been there yet. Laviolette broke up his best scoring line to try to get Zibanejad going. He’ll again play with the Rangers’ top two forwards when Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere join him on the top line. It’s an experiment the coach is willing to see through. Zibanejad picked up a nice primary assist on Panarin’s team-leading ninth goal against the Red Wings. That’s a start. The trio have been on for one goal against. So, they’re even so far.

Prior to that assist, Zibanejad went the previous six games without a point at five-on-five. He tallied three assists in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Nov. 3. One came early when he set up Chris Kreider for a shorthanded goal. The second came on a Panarin power-play goal. The third came when Panarin scored into an empty net. Prior to setting up Panarin this past Saturday, his last point at five-on-five came on Oct. 22. in a 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

If there’s an area he continues to excel at, it’s on the penalty kill where the Rangers rank first in the NHL at 91.1 percent. They’ve only allowed four power-play goals in 45 attempts. The tandem of Zibanejad and Kreider remain one of the league’s best shorthanded. As usual, Kreider leads the Blueshirts with two shorthanded goals. Nobody has scored more shorthanded than him since 2021-22. His 11 are the most in that span. He and Zibanejad have great chemistry together. It’s similar on the power play, with Zibanejad often finding Kreider in front for tip-ins. That’s probably why Zibanejad remains on the top unit.

From a five-on-five standpoint, Zibanejad and Kreider have been the weakest links. Laviolette stuck with them along with Reilly Smith for a while. The metrics were too hard to ignore. Although they were only outscored 4-3, that line was getting pinned in by opponents. According to Natural Stat Trick, they were outshot 62-44 for a 43.08 CF percentage (111-84). They were spending too much time in their zone. Something needed to change. Laviolette broke up Zibanejad and Kreider.

Trocheck’s Recent Struggles

Right now, Vincent Trocheck is playing with Kreider and Smith on the second line. Trocheck’s struggled recently. He had a team high five giveaways against Detroit a few days ago. His 28 are the most on the Rangers. To put it into perspective, he only totaled 36 all of last season. He’s still been good on faceoffs, winning 53.5 percent. Zibanejad has improved by winning 53.9. A welcome change from the 49.3 he posted in 2023-24. Sam Carrick actually leads the team with a 56.6 winning percentage (60-46). Filip Chytil still struggles on draws, going 54-and-81 (40.0 percent).

Miller and Trouba Not Working

There are other concerns. By reteaming Fox with Lindgren, Laviolette is once again relying on K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba as the shutdown pair. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see that whenever they’re teamed up, bad things tend to happen. Miller has a hard time skating backwards while Trouba is slow getting back. They also leave too many gaps in the middle of the ice, which allows for breakaways. Miller struggles at taking the right angles. On odd man rushes, Trouba will go down to the ice taking himself out of the play. A snow angel. Many players do it. It’s ineffective.

Given how much better he worked with Braden Schneider, who’s been the Rangers’ best defenseman, it would be wiser to have Trouba play with Schneider. Schneider proved that he’s capable of shifting over to the left side to play bigger minutes. He and Zac Jones have been the most consistent duo since Jones returned to the lineup. With Ryan Lindgren struggling thus far, what’s more important? Having a good third pair or improving the top four by moving up Schneider. There’s no reason for Laviolette to stick with the old pairs. They were better defensively before that.

Miller remains a frustrating player to watch. He’ll have active shifts where he plays more aggressively by using his size and strength to take players off the puck. Then, there’ll be shifts when he makes mistakes in coverage and on bad pinches. He is a strong puck possession player. However, he remains inconsistent. It also doesn’t help that his offense has disappeared. In the Rangers’ 14th game, he comes in with a goal and assist. For a defenseman with his skill, that shouldn’t be the case. Rookie Victor Mancini has four points in nine games. Jones has four assists in eight.

It wasn’t long ago that Miller established career bests in goals (9), assists (34), and points (43) in 2022-23 under former coach Gerard Gallant. That was only his third season. Miller produced 38 of his 43 points at even strength. In his first year under Laviolette, he finished with eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points. Twenty-eight of the 30 came at even strength. A disappointing second half has carried over. Miller is in a contract year. The 24-year-old remains a key to the season. It’s up to him to elevate his play.

Handling the Jets’ Offense

If they’re to be successful tonight, the Rangers will want to avoid the penalty box. The Jets’ offense ranks first on the power play. They’ve gone 18-for-43 for a league best 41.9 percent. That includes seven-for-14 on the road. Kyle Connor leads them with four power-play goals. Nik Ehlers and Cole Perfetti each have three. Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo have two apiece.

The Jets have a very balanced attack. Eleven different skaters have at least 10 points. Connor and Mark Scheifele are tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points. Ehlers has 16, followed by defenseman Josh Morrissey (16), and Pionk (14). With both Morrissey and Pionk contributing regularly, the Jets are getting plenty of offense from the blue line.

Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi are tied with 13 points. They’re part of a strong supporting cast which includes Nino Niederreiter, captain Adam Lowry, and Vladislav Namestnikov. Even former Ranger Morgan Barron plays a key defensive role for Winnipeg. He averages over 11 minutes per game.

The Blueshirts will need to defend well and come out of the neutral zone. They must establish a consistent forecheck. Something that’s been mostly absent from the current top six. It’s usually the bottom six that provide more offense. Chytil, Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko are coming off a rare bad game. They have good chemistry and should play a role in the outcome. Cuylle remains a strong forechecker due to his north-south physical style. He makes a difference.

If there was a bright spot in the win over the Red Wings, it was the play of Carrick, Vesey, and Adam Edstrom. They put together a strong shift that resulted in Carrick setting up Vesey for his first of the season. Since they’ve been together, there’s been a lot to like. They’re all good skaters who can get in on the cycle and make things happen.

Shesterkin Versus Hellebuyck

It looks like Igor Shesterkin will oppose Connor Hellebuyck. Despite Quick being the first goalie off at Monday’s practice, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported that it will be Shesterkin.

https://twitter.com/Peter_Baugh/status/1856364867784966153

If that’s the case, Shesterkin will look to bounce back from allowing five goals on 12 shots in a 6-1 loss to the Sabres. He enters play with a 6-3-1 record with a 2.62 GAA and .920 save percentage. That goals against went way up from getting chased. Ditto for the save percentage, which fell way down.

Hellebuyck is the rating Vezina winner. He’s off to another great start. With an 11-1-0 record, he has a 1.83 GAA and .935 save percentage. His three shutouts lead the league. With 286 career wins, he’s 14 away from 300. The 31-year-old American is the best regular season goalie, winning two Vezinas. He’d like to improve on the postseason where he hasn’t gotten out of the first round since 2021. The last two years were colossal disappointments.

Unlike Hellebuyck, Shesterkin has performed well in recent postseasons by taking the Rangers to two Conference Finals appearances over the last three years. Hellebuyck did that for Winnipeg in 2018 as a 24-year-old.

It’s a matchup that pits the two best goalies against each other. The only difference is Hellebuyck took a discount to stay with the Jets. He has an $8.5 million cap hit. Shesterkin is looking to break the bank in a contract year. It looks like it’s $12 million or bust if the Rangers plan to keep him.

Hopefully, Shesterkin gets more support from his teammates. If he doesn’t, it could be a long night.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, Adam Lowry, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider, Chris Kreider, Cole Perfetti, Connor Hellebuyck, Filip Chytil, Gabe Villardi, Igor Shesterkin, Jacob Trouba, Jets, Jimmy Vesey, Jonathan Quick, Josh Morrissey, K'Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Mika Zibanejad, Neal Pionk, Nik Ehlers, Peter Laviolette, Rangers, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Carrick, Scott Arniel, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Zac Jones | Leave a comment

Rangers Shutout Red Wings Thanks to Quick

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Derek

The Rangers keep winning hockey games. The recipe continues to be the same. Strong goaltending has carried them to nine wins in their first thirteen games. On Saturday night, it was Jonathan Quick who stopped all 37 shots to highlight a 4-0 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. His brilliance in the net allowed him to record the 61st shutout of his career – tying Turk Broda for 18th on the all-time list. He’s three shy of tying Henrik Lundqvist (64).

It might have helped that they faced one of the league’s worst offenses. Detroit entered the game ranked 29th. After getting shutout, they now sit 30th out of 32 teams in goals per game (2.43) through Saturday, Nov. 9. The Red Wings also rank 30th in five-on-five goals with only 18.

Facing a defense that continues to struggle, they generated plenty of scoring chances in the first two periods. The Rangers gave up 12 high danger chances over the first 40 minutes according to Natural Stat Trick. It didn’t matter. Quick was there to bail out his teammates. He was on his game.

In his third start of the season and second versus the Red Wings, he turned them away repeatedly. In fact, he was at his best during the second period when Detroit fired away. He stopped all 19 shots, including seven high danger chances. When he wasn’t making acrobatic saves, the Red Wings were either missing the net or getting their shots blocked. As a team, they blocked 20 led by captain Jacob Trouba (7). It was a tough night for Trouba and defensive partner K’Andre Miller. They were hemmed in a lot. They were far from alone.

The Rangers had all sorts of trouble with Detroit’s speed. Almost immediately, Alex DeBrincat got an open shot right on Quick. In fact, the Red Wings got the game’s first three shots without much resistance. Patrick Kane also had a dangerous attempt go high and wide. Miller and Trouba were on for that shift. It wasn’t a strong night for Vincent Trocheck. Mika Zibanejad was no better. At least he finally recorded an even strength point, assisting on an Artemi Panarin goal late in the second period. Panarin scored his team-leading 10th from a near impossible angle. He remains the one constant. The Bread Man had a goal and assist in the victory.

There wasn’t a lot happening early on. The Rangers seemed to be a half step behind again. With Quick sharp, that allowed them to do what they do best. Take advantage of special teams. After Zibanejad drew a tripping minor on Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson, it took them only seven seconds to convert on the power play. On a set play, Panarin got the puck over for Adam Fox, who had his shot pass tipped in by Chris Kreider for his eighth of the season with 6:47 remaining. When Edvinsson left Kreider to shift over to Zibanejad, Ben Chiarot didn’t switch. That left Kreider to again burn another opponent with his great hand-eye coordination. Nobody is better at redirecting pucks for goals than him.

Office hours with Chris Kreider. pic.twitter.com/a7NU7WeFfe
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 10, 2024

After failing to capitalize on a second man-advantage, they survived a couple of more Detroit opportunities. Marco Kasper’s tying bid was denied by Quick in the final minute to preserve a one-goal lead to the locker room.

The second was so lopsided, it made you wonder how the Red Wings didn’t break through. They either couldn’t or wouldn’t. If you watched each shift, it looked like an extended power play for the Winged Wheel. Leading scorer Lucas Raymond just missed on the opening shift. He has only one goal in the Red Wings’ first 14 games. Of course, that would happen the year I took him in our fantasy hockey league. After watching Detroit closely, I now understand why he isn’t scoring. At least he leads them in assists (12) and points (13).

For most of the period, the Red Wings applied so much pressure that it looked like it was a matter of time before they tied the game. On one extended shift, Mo Seider missed wide. With Zibanejad in no man’s land after failing to get the puck out, Edvinsson was all set up. But he didn’t get all of his shot, allowing Quick to make the clutch stop. He’d later shut the door on Vladimir Tarasenko. Talk about a declining player. He came in with only two goals. What’s happened to him? He still is five goals shy of 300. A player with his talent should be approaching 400 by now.

37-save performance for JQ32. pic.twitter.com/ytKzJ8FTw8
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 10, 2024

In between Quick making big save after big save, both teams were sloppy. There were a lot of turnovers. Each side finished with 20 giveaways. If anything was indicative of how bad the game was, Trocheck led all skaters with five. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin had four. If they play similarly on Tuesday against the NHL best Winnipeg Jets, it’ll be a long night. The Jets improved to 14-1 by defeating the Stars 4-1 yesterday.

Detroit’s best opportunity came on the power play. With Ryan Lindgren off for high-sticking Christian Fischer, they kept the puck in for the entirety. That led to some excellent chances. After he stopped Raymond, Quick made big saves on Kane and Larkin. With the penalty killers tiring, Larkin was left alone in the right circle when he fired a pea that rang off the far goalpost. That close to tying it.

As usually happens when a team can’t score at one end, they get burned. DeBrincat was turned away on another point-blank chance at five-on-five. Quick also stopped Raymond again. He was the story. In three starts (all wins), he’s made 98 saves on 101 shots. If you include a relief appearance for Igor Shesterkin when he stopped nine of 10 shots against the Sabres, Quick has a miniscule 1.17 goals-against average (GAA), and .964 save percentage. He’s the best backup in the league for a reason.

Following all the near misses by the Red Wings, the Rangers got huge insurance from the fourth line. After a good offensive shift from the third line, Zac Jones pinched down to keep the play moving. He got the puck behind the net to Sam Carrick, who centered in front for an easy Jimmy Vesey finish past Ville Husso. That made it 2-0 with 3:08 left. It was Vesey’s first of the season. Since returning to the lineup, Jones continues to excel. He’s proving that he belongs. Coach Peter Laviolette has expanded his role to include manning the point on the second power play unit. It’s well deserved.

Sam sets up Jimmy’s first of the season! pic.twitter.com/DN5Lnn91gE
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 10, 2024

On the next shift, Zibanejad finally did something at five-on-five. On a forecheck, Alexis Lafreniere got the puck over to Zibanejad behind the net. He made a great feed across for an open Panarin, who somehow beat Husso from a sharp angle to make it 3-0. There wasn’t much wiggle room. Panarin made a great shot to give the Blueshirts two goals within a 48-second span.

SHORT SIDE BREAD. pic.twitter.com/KVy41KIoWj
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 10, 2024

But before the period concluded, the Red Wings kept coming. Desperate to get back in the game, they nearly pulled within two. But Seider had his shot go wide. Detroit missed 23 shots. They were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

After being outplayed by a wide margin, the Rangers were much better in the third period. They were able to forecheck more and force Husso to make some stops. Through 40 minutes, they managed only 14 shots. In the final 20, they had 10. It was a better effort.

In what became one of the most bizarre moments of the game, Trouba came out of the penalty box and got a clean breakaway. The Rochester, Michigan native opted for a slapshot. Husso made a good stick save to keep it out.

With Detroit still trailing 3-0, coach Derek Lalonde lifted Husso with over four minutes left in regulation. Of course, it backfired. Following a Trouba block, Fox moved the puck to Reilly Smith, whose long shot hit the empty net with 3:43 remaining to put the game out of reach.

Quick turned aside 10 more shots in the final period to get the shutout. He sure deserved it. Without him, there’s no victory.

The only other point to add is that the Red Wings are bad. They still don’t resemble a playoff team. They came close to making it last season. If they miss again, it might be time for Steve Yzerman to come under criticism. How much longer does he get? Not surprisingly, the Rangers swept the regular season series.

Now, it’s onto some real competition. If they don’t come out fast in two days, they’ll get blown out of Madison Square Garden. The Jets are explosive. Get ready for Shesterkin against rating Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, Alex DeBrincat, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider, Chris Kreider, Dylan Larkin, Filip Chytil, Jacob Trouba, Jimmy Vesey, Jonathan Quick, K'Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, Mika Zibanejad, Mo Seider, Patrick Kane, Rangers, Red Wings, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Carrick, Simon Edvinsson, Ville Husso, Vincent Trocheck, Vladimir Tarasenko, Will Cuylle, Zac Jones | Leave a comment

Bad Trend Can’t Continue for Rangers

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Derek

When the New York Rangers visit the Detroit Red Wings later tonight, they’ll bring an 8-3-1 record into the match. For the most part, there isn’t much to complain about. They’ve banked 17 of a possible 24 points through the first dozen games. However, it hasn’t been all positive.

In the 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 7, the defense struggled mightily. Combined with substandard goaltending from the normally unflappable Igor Shesterkin (5 GA on 12 shots) and it was a predictable result. With Kevin Weekes tweaking followers on Twitter with an $11.5 million question mark in a post, fans wondered if a new deal was imminent. It doesn’t appear so. Instead, Shesterkin gave up a bad goal to Rasmus Dahlin 26 seconds in on Thursday night. He also couldn’t stop Dylan Cozens’ shot from distance in the second period.

While it was his worst performance of the season, he didn’t get much help from his defense. A much-maligned blue line that’s been underperforming.

K’Andre Miller tops the list. For a player who’s trusted by the coaching staff to play important minutes at five-on-five, he hasn’t gotten off to a good start. There’s been too many instances when he’s made the wrong decision. Whether it’s making an overaggressive pinch that causes an odd man rush or taken the wrong route defensively, he hasn’t performed up to expectations.

Despite positive metrics that include a 54.46 Corsi rating, Miller has been on for nine goals against at five-on-five. The Rangers have scored seven goals at five-on-five with him on. A fifth-year player, the 24-year-old from Saint Paul, Minnesota is playing for a new contract. He’s earning $4.65 million on the final year of a bridge deal. His current cap hit is $3.87 million. He’ll turn 25 in January.

When they started the season without Ryan Lindgren, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette decided to try Miller on the top pair with Adam Fox. They produced mixed results. Miller and Fox spent more time in the offensive zone, which was a plus. But there were also some mix-ups in coverage that led to opponents scoring goals. While you could make the argument that they’ve created more offense together, neither has played up to expectations.

Fox has been a little better. According to Natural Stat Trick, he’s been on for 10 goals for and 8 goals against at five-on-five. Similar to Miller, he’s made some mistakes defensively. He’s looked a half-step behind compared to last season. With nine assists in 12 games, he’s still the Rangers’ best offensive defenseman. However, five of the nine apples have come on the power play. That means Fox has only produced four points at even strength. That won’t get it done. He must be better in that area.

Laviolette went back to the old pairs when the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 on Nov. 3. Lindgren was back with Fox and Miller was reunited with Jacob Trouba. In that game, Lindgren and Fox were on for one goal for and one goal against with a negative CF rating. They gave up three more shots against and three high danger chances. They also generated three high danger chances for.

Miller and Trouba struggled. They allowed one goal against and were pinned in their end. Miller had a 33.33 CF and Trouba had a 32.35 CF. The only pair who held their own was Zac Jones and Braden Schneider. They were on for one goal for and each were right around 50.0 CF. Long story short, Shesterkin bailed the Blueshirts out by making 35 saves.

Unlike the previous two games, including a lopsided 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov.1, the one against the Sabres was a bit different. The Rangers only gave up three high danger chances and played on even terms through two periods despite trailing 5-0. Shesterkin had a bad game. There also were defensive breakdowns. Especially in the Sabres’ four-goal second period that all but sealed the victory.

Both Fox and Lindgren were effective at five-on-five, finishing with CF ratings better than 70 percent. However, they were on for two Sabres’ goals. The first came when Dahlin beat Shesterkin with an unscreened wrist shot five-hole. Neither was at fault. The second came when Lindgren lost a battle in the corner, with Jason Zucker finding Jordan Greenway for a tap-in that made it 4-0. That was mostly on Lindgren, who looked slow. Fox was late to Greenway.

It was a rough game for Miller and Trouba. Despite only being outshot 8-6 while together, they each finished a minus-three. On Cozens’ goal that made it 2-0, Miller failed to win a board battle. He then lost his stick, which led to Zach Benson feeding Cozens for a shot from the left circle that went high glove on Shesterkin. Mika Zibanejad didn’t provide any help either. He stood and watched instead of switching back onto Cozens.

On the next goal scored by Tage Thompson, that was a simple case of Reilly Smith not marking Thompson. It was a play in transition with both Miller and Trouba back in coverage. Smith was a step behind. That allowed J.J. Peterka to pass the puck over for Thompson for a blast upstairs that made it 3-0.

Following Greenway’s tally, Sam Lafferty finished off a Beck Malenstyn dish across to make it 5-0. The real issue started in the neutral zone. Rookie Adam Edstrom was beaten badly by Peyton Krebs to create an odd man rush. Krebs then fed Malenstyn, who had a two-on-one down low. A sliding Trouba took himself out of the play, leading to Malenstyn’s pass for Lafferty, who patiently tucked a backhand in to chase Shesterkin from the game.

It’s these types of glaring mistakes that the Rangers must cut down on. They’ve won eight games mostly due to the brilliant play of Shesterkin. Jonathan Quick has also performed well by winning two games. He’s stopped 70 of 74 shots. That’s too many allowed. In Shesterkin’s 10 starts, the Rangers are giving up 31.1 shots per game. They need to tighten up defensively.

When Laviolette’s heaping praise on Jones and Schneider on an off day, that speaks volumes. He isn’t getting enough consistency from his top defensemen. It’s also worth noting that when Trouba was paired with Schneider at the beginning of the season, they were better together. Schneider proved that he could effectively play his off side. He deserves a top four role.

While most critics believe it should be at the expense of Trouba, I’m not one of them. I think Miller’s been the worst defenseman. With only a goal and assist with a disappointing -1 rating, he hasn’t played up to capability. You can cite any metrics you want. It is lazy. Watch each shift. Miller dragged Fox down when they were together. It didn’t take long for Trouba to revert once Laviolette put Miller back on the second pair. Miller has been the common denominator. If he struggles again tonight, he deserves a seat in the press box.

In seven games so far, Lindgren has had issues. There’s no question he’s still trying to find his timing. He isn’t the best skater. He’s known for winning battles due to his grit and physicality. He usually makes smart pinches to keep plays alive. It’s the lack of footspeed that’s a growing concern. We saw him get beaten badly by Zucker in the corner for a goal on Thursday night. That can’t happen.

Nobody will ever question Lindgren’s battle level. He always brings it. No. 55 is similar to a popular former No. 5. Dan Girardi played the same taxing style. Eventually, he wore down. Belligerent fans targeted him. He was unfairly blamed for the Rangers losing to the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup in 2014. All they see is that giveaway in overtime which led to Justin Williams’ Game 1 winner. It doesn’t work that way. That was a very winnable series. Former coach Alain Vigneault chose to sit back in the third periods of both Games 1 and 2. It proved costly.

I don’t want to see Lindgren get the same irrational hate that Girardi received. It’s approaching that level. He’s on a one-year deal that pays him $4.5 million. It remains uncertain what his future is. Lindgren can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he continues to struggle, then he probably won’t be back. The guy is a warrior. That deserves respect. The Rangers don’t make two Conference Finals without him.

Mancini To Sit Out Again

Victor Mancini is expected to sit out a third consecutive game. He’s been a nice story. With a goal and three assists in nine games, the 22-year-old defenseman has proven that he has a bright future. If he isn’t going to play, it would be wise if the organization sent him down to the Hartford Wolf Pack. But who would come up? Matthew Robertson is off to a good start. Do they consider it or wait? We’ll see.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Fox, Braden Schneider, Column, Jacob Trouba, K'Andre Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Peter Laviolette, Rangers, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Victor Mancini, Zac Jones | Leave a comment

Devils starting to hit their stride?

Posted on November 8, 2024 by hasan4978

It’s taken me a while to write, in part because I need to find my motivation back for blogging November game or week recaps, and in part because I just haven’t watched much lately for one reason or another – after attending our get-well 6-2 win against the Ducks which ended a four game losing streak almost two weeks ago, I actually missed most of the Hughes showdown last Wednesday being compelled to watch the end of the World Series, even though it wasn’t my team involved and I clicked the channel immediately after the final out. By that time, the Devils were up 5-0 and the rout was already on anyway.

I could have watched Friday and did see the latter part of the game – but I figured the letdown was coming since we haven’t handled prosperity well in recent years. Sure enough, a flat performance could only be masked by a strong game by Jacob Markstrom so long before the dam finally broke late in the third with three Flames goals, spoiling what could have been an increasingly rare 0-0 regulation tie. Of course, the Devils were outshot and dominated for much of the game so the result was pretty deserved.

Still, the Canada Coast trip proved to be a successful one as the Devils shutdown a McDavid-less Oilers 3-0 on Monday. I just didn’t want to attempt to stay up late for that game so I saw none of it, given it was already going to be a lot of trouble for me to sleep this week as it was battling the effects of a sore throat/cold since Saturday night. Two shutouts by two different goalies on the trip (Jake Allen played this game while Markstrom played the 6-0 party night in Vancouver) with strong goaltending performances in all at least put the 22 goals allowed in the previous four games before the Duck win firmly in the rear view mirror – for the moment.

Things have been going so well defensively that second-year pro Simon Nemec hasn’t been able to get back into the lineup and was inevitably sent back down to Utica once the team returned from the Canada Coast. Seems like he’s never really recovered from that shoulder injury he received playing for his country before camp. At least he’ll get to play bigger minutes and in all situations there…although things are currently a mess in Utica where the team’s lost its first nine games and AHL coach Kevin Dineen just got sacked.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1854283334500938123

One of my main pet peeves of the latter Lou years was how he let Albany/Lowell become neglected with the farm team Devils constantly among the bottom feeders in the AHL and that seems to be happening again now. Not that winning in the AHL is important per se – but being somewhat competitive helps develop the prospects you do have down there. Tom Fitzgerald can pick all the goalies he wants every draft, but if Nico Daws and Isaac Poulter keep getting pumped full of goals and red lights night after night, how does that help their development exactly? <end rant>

Thankfully there isn’t nearly as much to rant about with the big club after wins in four of their last five, culminating in a 5-3 home win against the Canadiens last night – which was probably a bit sloppier behind the blue line than it was during the trip, but at least the offense fully came to life again led by the newly formed trio of Peanut Butter and Jelly, which I guess is code for Palat, Bratt and Jack (Hughes) – a trio that’s finally gotten Bratt and Hughes fully unlocked this season while the vet has found new life with the younger stars.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned with Ondrej Palat’s lost in the woods start to the season after a disappointing first two seasons in red and white, though I did think the whole scratch him rhetoric was a bit over the top. That wasn’t going to happen ten games into the season with almost three years left on his contract, especially when your in-house alternative is usually one of Kurtis MacDermid (who granted has been something of a good luck charm since he started playing more regularly) or Nathan Bastian. I can’t really claim that two goals and an assist in his last five games is great, but it’s certainly leaps and bounds over the one assist and -7 his first ten games of the season which engendered the panic.

More importantly than Palat’s own production has been the complement he is to the skill and flair of Bratt and Hughes, doing the lunchpail work on the line that hasn’t gone unsung by his teammates:

https://twitter.com/InStilettos_NHL/status/1854945510794129760

I was also concerned about Hughes’ early start following a disappointing last few months of 2023-24 but he’s certainly turned it up a notch himself in recent games with a more Hughes-like four goals and ten points in his last eight games, including a three-point outburst in last night’s up and down game against the Habs. The PB & J line led the way in the Devils’ dominant first period with Bratt and Palat each scoring (even before Hughes also scored his own goal in the third period), but the rest of the night was full with a lot of catch-up suspense as the Habs pulled to within one three times before Bratt’s second of the night into an empty net finally sealed the two points late in the third period.

Although sixteen games into the season, the Devils scoring leaders look more normal than they did after 8-10 games (even if Nico Hischier leading the team by a bit with ten goals is a mild surprise), you can still see the contributions from the role players with Stefan Noesen still off to a strong start with six goals and thirteen points, along with Paul Cotter having six goals and ten points and Erik Haula’s four goals and nine points all chipping in from mostly the back six.

Defensively, Jonas Siegenthaler and Jonathan Kovacevic have become the most unlikely first pairing on a seemingly good team since…maybe Mike Mottau and Colin White? Siegs’ place in the lineup was thought to be on thin ice after a disappointing 2023-24, while Kovacevic was supposed to be the odd man out of the rotation before Brett Pesce came to camp still rehabbing and Luke Hughes got hurt in the offseason. Their absence until the last few weeks has proven to be Kovacevic’s gain (and for the moment, Nemec’s loss since ultimately when Pesce and Hughes returned, it was Nemec’s spot that Kovacevic wound up winning).

When it comes to Pesce and Hughes themselves, it isn’t really a coincidence the D’s played a lot better since their return. After all, the previous two games before they came back into the lineup the Devils allowed fourteen goals in two games. Since then, they’ve allowed fifteen non empty-net goals in the seven games they’ve played and that includes a couple of meh performances by Markstrom (last night and a 5-3 loss in Detroit a couple weeks ago). Granted, there were also games where the goaltending picked up the D on an off night since they were outshot both games in Alberta by a significant margin, but it’s nice to at least have a chance to stop a potential onslaught.

Next task ahead for the Devils? Actually cement a three-game winning streak on the Island tomorrow night, the long winning streak has been a bit elusive for us the last couple seasons so sustaining a good run would be nice, especially with the big teams in our division (maybe even including a resurgent Caps!) all off to strong starts themselves. Don’t really want to have a playoff spot come down to the wild card chase but with the Canes and Rangers already cemented contenders and the aforementioned Caps looking like a threat, it won’t be easy to avoid the muck. At least for now the level of play is getting better with a reasonably healthy roster, and that’s all you can ask for this point in the season.

Posted in Devils | Tagged Brett Pesce, Colin White, Erik Haula, Isaac Poulter, Jack Hughes, Jacob Markstrom, Jake Allen, Jesper Bratt, Jonas Siegenthaler, Jonathan Kovacevic, Kevin Dineen, Kurtis MacDermid, Luke Hughes, Mike Mottau, Nathan Bastian, Nico Daws, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Paul Cotter, Simon Nemec, Stefan Noesen, Tom Fitzgerald | 2 Comments

Emotionless Rangers Get Humiliated by Sabres

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Derek

The tape for this one should be burned. The Rangers got exactly what they deserved. A lack of intensity caused them to get humiliated 6-1 on home ice by the Sabres at what sounded like a library. Or a funeral home. They gave the fans nothing to cheer about. It was as lopsided as the final score indicated.

It didn’t help matters that Igor Shesterkin had an off night. He allowed a soft call to Rasmus Dahlin just 26 seconds into the game. It didn’t get any better. He was beaten five times on a dozen shots. That included a dominant stretch by the Sabres in which they scored three straight goals over a 2:11 span during a four-goal second period explosion to chase Shesterkin. He couldn’t cover for his teammates’ mistakes.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1854678773662392469

There were again too many defensive breakdowns. It really showed in an uncompetitive second that silenced Madison Square Garden. After K’Andre Miller failed to get the puck out of the zone, Jack Quinn and Zach Benson combined to set up Dylan Cozens in the left circle for a shot that beat Shesterkin glove side to make it 2-0. After Miller lost his stick, Mika Zibanejad stood at the blue line like he was frozen and watched Cozens get into position and fire home his second of the season at 2:45.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1854693210083541440

It was another poor showing for Zibanejad, who dragged linemates Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin down. Lafreniere wasn’t much better. Even Panarin wasn’t quite himself despite recording his 800th career point on a secondary assist in the third period of a Will Cuylle goal. He only registered a single shot.

Even the Rangers’ power play was a non-factor. The Sabres successfully killed off four. As usual, most of it was due to the first unit, which overstayed shifts. They hardly tested Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen until the final one in the third when Cuylle had a Zac Jones backhand deflect off him. Lukkonen made his biggest save of the game when he robbed Chris Kreider on the doorstep to dash any hopes of a comeback.

The first period was perplexing. Following Dahlin’s goal on the opening shift, there wasn’t much going on. The Sabres used their team speed to attack the Rangers during shifts. There wasn’t much pushback. They seemed to go through the motions. That was despite holding an 8-6 edge in shots.

Ironically, the strongest shift came when Kaapo Kakko initiated contact with Bowen Byram in the corner to try to keep a forecheck alive. However, he grabbed Byram to go to the penalty box. At least he was noticeable. Most of the top six wasn’t. That included Zibanejad, who continues to be catered to by another coaching staff. He continues not to produce at five-on-five. You hardly noticed him. But he wasn’t benched. Coach Peter Laviolette decided to make an example out of Lafreniere. He was demoted to the third line and didn’t take many shifts in the final period. He finished -2 with no shots in 13:01 of ice time.

Ever since Laviolette reunited his old defensive pairs, the defense has gotten worse. Miller and Jacob Trouba were on for three goals against. Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox were victimized on two. The only pair that held up their end of the bargain was Jones and Braden Schneider. They each were on for Cuylle’s goal and were a +1 in the loss. If Jones comes out of the lineup on Saturday, something’s wrong.

In the second, with the Rangers trailing by two, they failed to capitalize on a Beck Malenstyn delay of game minor. Kreider had the only shot which Luukonen handled easily. The second unit came out with 28 seconds left. Jones missed high off a faceoff. That was it.

Tage Thompson increased the Sabres’ lead to 3-0 with 8:21 left. On a play started in transition by Connor Clifton, he sent J.J. Peterka into the Rangers’ zone. With Reilly Smith chasing the play, Peterka fed Thompson for a high riser that beat Shesterkin. Miller and Trouba were back in coverage. Thompson beat Smith to the spot for the goal.

On the next shift, Lindgren lost a puck battle to Jason Zucker in the corner. That allowed Zucker to come out with the puck and easily find Jordan Greenway for a tap-in that made it 4-0. The goal came 30 seconds later. It was a pitiful effort from Lindgren. He looked slow. Fox didn’t bother to cover Greenway. As much criticism as Lindgren and Miller receive, Fox deserves some as well. He hasn’t looked like the same player. His skating isn’t as good. He’s getting beaten a lot more defensively. It’s becoming a growing concern.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1854700171583541421

Less than two minutes later, Peyton Krebs and Malenstyn combined to set up Sam Lafferty. After Malenstyn blew by a flatfooted Adam Edstrom, he passed across for Lafferty, who tucked in a backhand to end Shesterkin’s night. Trouba did the snow angel on the goal. It never works. I wish more players stayed on their feet.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1854700911349858703

The Sabres scored three goals on three consecutive shots. It doesn’t get any better than that. Unless you’re the Rangers. Laviolette never took his timeout. I would’ve after Thompson’s goal made it 3-0. He needed to slow down Buffalo’s momentum. At that point, Jonathan Quick came relieved Shesterkin.

When the third period began, the Rangers finally showed some signs of life. After taking a Panarin feed, Jones skated into the slot and sent a backhand towards the net with Cuylle in the area. The puck deflected off him to make it 5-1 with 15:39 remaining. It was Cuylle’s fourth of the season. He continues to be a consistent player in his second year. He stayed on a line with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck during the third.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1854709363308740751

On the very next shift, the Rangers were all over the Sabres. They had the puck on a string. It finally led to Krebs taking a hooking minor. That sent them to the power play. If they’d scored there, things could’ve gotten interesting. Kreider was all set up in front. But Luukonen made a clutch pad save to deny him of a sure goal. He was that close to making it a 5-2 game.

With the power play winding down, Jones made a nice move around the net to find an open Kakko in front. But he somehow missed high and wide. All Kakko had to do was hit the net. Finishing plays doesn’t come easy for him. It was a golden opportunity. The Sabres survived the Rangers’ best punch.

On a play in the neutral zone, Sam Carrick boarded Malenstyn from behind. It was a bad penalty. Kreider took a similar one back in the first period. Carrick’s penalty proved costly. Alex Tuch sent Jack Quinn into the zone. He then found Zach Benson all alone for a tap-in that made it 6-1 with 8:05 remaining.

In a rarity for the Sabres, all 12 forwards recorded at least a point. It was the first time that happened since Jan. 17, 1994 when they defeated the Capitals 7-2. Congrats to the Rangers on helping the Sabres make history. At least they accomplished something.

I listened to some of Laviolette’s postgame on MSG Network. I didn’t agree with his assessment. While they didn’t give up as many high danger chances, like the past couple of games, the defense again struggled. He was correct in his assertion that his team didn’t go after the Sabres’ defense enough. They didn’t attack until they were down five goals in the third period. Not to mention Buffalo had a sixth goal wiped out due to the play being offside.

It was a lousy game. They performed as badly as Kamala Harris did on Election Night. They had three days off. Trouba felt like they weren’t prepared from the get-go. How is that possible? One team was skating and winning battles all over the ice. The other was a half-step behind and chasing the game. There isn’t anything else to say.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Beck Malenstyn, Braden Schneider, Chris Kreider, Dylan Cozens, Igor Shesterkin, J.J. Peterka, Jacob Trouba, Jason Zucker, Jonathan Quick, Jordan Greenway, K'Andre Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Peter Laviolette, Peyton Krebs, Rangers, Rasmus Dahlin, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sabres, Sam Carrick, Sam Lafferty, Tage Thompson, Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Zac Jones, Zach Benson | Leave a comment

Which Rangers and Devils Would you Vote for?

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Derek

On a very warm November day in New York City, it’s the day after the election. A new President was chosen on Tuesday night, Nov. 5. Historically speaking, the 47th President of the United States was elected. Of course, this space doesn’t cover the polarizing topic of politics.

We are a hockey blog that covers the unique rivalry between the Rangers and Devils. Separated by the Hudson River, a ride from Newark to Penn Station is only a Path train away. Or vice versa. Once, it was Exit 16 W to go see the Devils play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

When I interned for Stan Fischler, I’d frequently take the Lincoln Tunnel from Upper Harlem to work home games as a production assistant. Sometimes, we’d take the George Washington Bridge to the Devils’ practice facility in South Mountain. That was fun. Once, I even asked the well-respected Devils coach Larry Robinson a question following the morning skate. Afterward, Fischler informed me that I wasn’t supposed to. It was a good learning experience. Robinson answered the question. So. It couldn’t have been that bad.

Sometimes, I miss the glory days of those games at The Meadowlands. There was the memorable 1-0 shutout that featured Dominik Hasek outdueling Martin Brodeur on Feb. 22, 2001. Hasek made 24 saves. Brodeur stopped 16 of 17. The only goal came from Dave Andreychuk. A trio of Hall of Famers.

That game also featured Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, and Patrik Elias. Elias, who may one day get inducted. If only they’d select Alexander Mogilny. He too, was on that team. The 43 goals is still fresh in my memory. Mogilny was an exciting scorer who played with Scott Gomez and Sergei Brylin. That was considered the second line. It was 1B. The A Line was 1A. It was centered by Stanley Cup hero Jason Arnott, who had remarkable chemistry with Elias and Petr Sykora. Imagine that Bobby Holik centered the third line. John Madden was the fourth line checking center. Now, the salary cap era doesn’t allow for such teams to exist.

What I remember most about that game was how it ended. Robinson had lifted Brodeur for an extra attacker. The Devils thought Brian Rafalski had scored the tying goal at the buzzer. When we looked at it in the production truck, it was obvious that the puck didn’t cross the goal line until the clock was at 0.00. Rafalski had his goal waved off. The Sabres won the game by that 1-0 score.

Looking back, those were the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres didn’t have much star talent. An aging Doug Gilmour was on the roster. Their best goal scorer was Miroslav Satan. If ever there was a player with a name that should’ve been a Devil, Satan was it. It used to be a running joke on the old NJDevs message board. It still is up and running. I was a rival fan who certainly had my share of heated debates with the regulars that included the one and only Hasan. It’s a good community made up of passionate diehards who bleed red and black. I’m glad it’s still around. Brad Smith is the genius behind it. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping it going.

When I reflect back, maybe some of the stuff I posted was misguided. Even though it was never my intention to rile up fans I knew by name. However, what were we fighting over? The plight of our hockey teams. It doesn’t seem that important anymore. Back then, the rivalry was one-sided. If you rooted for the players who represented the big city, there was nothing to look forward to. Those games were torture. Believe me. I sat through some real stinkers. When you had even Devils fans after the game coming up to you saying, “I feel bad for you,” it spoke volumes. Those were the Dark Ages for Rangers fans.

Two decades later, both teams are good again. The names on the backs of the jerseys have changed. For the Blueshirts, it’s Shesterkin who’s replaced Lundqvist as arguably the league’s best goalie. For the Devils, Hughes gets the most ink. That would be Jack. But Hischier is their best player. His hot start has finally given him the attention he deserves. I’m talking about Nico Hischier. A top five shutdown center who’s the Devils captain. He’s a complete player. Who would you rather have now? Elias Pettersson or Hischier. It’s a no-brainer.

Before we reached this point, you once had Henrik Lundqvist going up against Brodeur. A pair of legendary No. 30’s. Of course, it’s Marty that remains at the top with the most wins (691), shutouts (125), games played (1,266), and minutes played (74,438:25) in NHL history. He was the backbone of the Devils’ three Stanley Cups (95, 00, 03). There were four Vezinas over a five-year span. At 40, he even backstopped the Devils past the Rangers in a closely fought six-game series to take that team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012. It was his revenge for 1994. As good as he was, the name Henrique remains etched in Devils’ lore. Game 6 overtime hero Adam Henrique still plays for the Oilers.

I always looked forward to those goalie battles. It reminded me of the 1990s between Mike Richter and Brodeur. While Brodeur was the better goalie, Richter won the biggest matchups head-to-head. If only he didn’t break down due to how poorly constructed the Rangers were after Mark Messier bolted for Vancouver in 1997. He still won over 300 games. A mark that the brilliant Lundqvist easily surpassed by setting a franchise record with 459 wins. He also owns the most shutouts (64) in Rangers’ history. It’s hard to picture Igor Shesterkin reaching those marks if he stays. The days of starting netminders being ironmen are gone.

The current Blueshirts are a good team that’s yet to play for the Cup. Twice, they’ve been one step away. Do Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider, Fox, Lindgren, Lafreniere, Trouba, Trocheck, Miller, Chytil, Kakko, Cuylle, and Schneider have what it takes? They are the core. It was in 2023 that most of them failed miserably in a crushing seven-game first round defeat to the Devils. Peter Laviolette replaced Gerard Gallant, whose message had become stale. He’s been somewhat dissatisfied with his team’s defensive play so far. Despite an 8-2-1 record, they haven’t played well.

The Devils made changes to their roster over the past summer. Jacob Markstrom replaced 2023 first round hero Akira Schmid. Paul Cotter came over from Vegas to add much needed grit. He hasn’t disappointed. Tomas Tatar returned. So too did Stefan Noesen. Brett Pesce is being counted on to improve a blue line that struggled. Brenden Dillon adds physicality. There still are some familiar names. Hughes. Bratt. Hischier. Mercer. Meier. Haula. Siegenthaler. Bastian. Hughes’ younger brother Luke is a key piece on the back end. The goalies went from Schmid and Vitek Vanecek to Markstrom and Jake Allen. The results have been mixed thus far under new coach Sheldon Keefe. They’re 8-5-2. If they find consistency, they should finish in the top three of the Metropolitan Division.

The Rangers and Devils meet four times this season. Their first meeting isn’t until Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden. The follow-up is right before Christmas on Dec. 23 at The Prudential Center. The third matchup is Jan. 9 at 33rd and 7th. The final regular season meeting is Apr. 5. So. We get three exciting rivalry games in just over a month. Then, we must wait until it’s almost spring for the fourth meeting. Assuming both teams make the playoffs, who knows. Maybe they play each other on a bigger stage again. At least, that’s the hope.

If we were to poll fans of each team, which player would they vote for depending on the category? Isn’t that what makes following one of the best rivalries in hockey fun? You can have sports bar debates over who’s the better leader. Messier or Stevens. If you’ve sat up in the Blue Seats, it’s Mark Messier.

The Hall of Famer led the Rangers to the Cup in 1994. His Game 6 Guarantee remains the stuff of legend. With their backs against the wall, facing elimination in the Eastern Conference Final, No. 11 believed that his team would go into enemy territory and win to force a deciding Game 7. When they fell behind 2-0 against the Devils, it looked like the 54-year curse would extend for another year. Late in the second period, Messier dropped the puck for Alexei Kovalev, who beat Brodeur to get them back in the game. The third period remains one for the ages. Messier tied the game on a backhand and then steered in a rebound to put the Rangers ahead. He later sealed it with an empty netter from his own zone to record a natural hat trick.

The Rangers still needed to go to double overtime before Stephane Matteau had his wraparound bank in off the skate of Slava Fetisov past a stunned Brodeur. They couldn’t even win their first championship since 1940 without making it interesting. They blew a 3-1 series lead against the Canucks. Vancouver was a good team that featured the ever-dangerous Pavel Bure. Bure remains the most electrifying finisher that I’ve ever seen. Game 7 went down to the wire after Canucks captain Trevor Linden scored his second goal of the game. There were a couple of goalposts. Luck was on the Rangers’ side. They held on to celebrate on Garden ice. Brian Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe.

All Stevens did was lead the Devils to three Cups in less than a decade. He wasn’t very outspoken. He led by example with his strong defensive play on the ice. A year later, he did his talking with some memorable hits, including one that shook up Slava Kozlov in the Stanley Cup Finals. While Stevens provided the physicality that he became well known for, Claude Lemieux scored in the clutch. That included his series winner in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Flyers. Lemieux won the Conn Smythe.

Stevens continued his dominance against opponents during the Devils’ run to a second Cup in 2000. Most notably, it was Game 7 against the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final that is remembered by hockey fans. In a tie hockey game, with the series up for grabs, Stevens caught Eric Lindros with a vicious open ice hit that knocked him out unconscious. Lindros had his head down when Stevens came across his own blue line and leveled him with a shoulder to chest hit that ended his career as a Flyer. The image of Lindros shaking remains one of the scariest. He suffered another concussion that would keep him out for the entire 2000-01 season.

With over two minutes left, Arnott set up Elias for the series clincher before a stunned Flyers crowd. The Devils came back from a 3-1 deficit to take the series. They’d go on to defeat the Stars in six games for their second championship in five years. Elias set up Arnott in double overtime for the memorable Cup winner. For his part, Stevens won the Conn Smythe. He was the driving force behind that team winning it all.

The Devils last won in 2003. Even at 39, Stevens remained the leader of the red and black. While there was more attention given to Niedermayer and Brodeur for their postseason performances, it was the Devils captain who was the constant on the blue line. In what proved to be his final year as a player, he played through a concussion after taking an errant slap shot to the helmet from Pavel Kubina in the second round against the Lightning. The Devils survived a strong Senators team to win Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final at Ottawa. Jeff Friesen scored the series clincher late in regulation. They defeated the Ducks in seven to capture their third Cup.

Although Jean-Sebastien Giguere won the Conn Smythe for the losing Ducks to his brilliant postseason, he wasn’t as dominant against the Devils. It was a rare series when the home team won every game. That included a 3-0 shutout in Game 7. Mike Rupp became an unlikely playoff hero with a goal and an assist to highlight the victory. Ironically, he’d later play for the Rangers and be involved in a line brawl against the Devils in 2011-12. A game I attended. The energy at MSG for that game was through the roof. You even had John Tortorella screaming at Pete DeBoer as Rupp, Stu Bickel, and Brandon Prust fought Cam Janssen, Ryan Carter and Eric Boulton.

If you’re picking one player to start your franchise with, who are you selecting? Is it Messier for the Rangers? Or Leetch? Or maybe you prefer Lundqvist or Shesterkin. Panarin or Fox also are options. The choice is similar for the Devils. You can choose Brodeur, Stevens, or Niedermayer. Would any Red and Black Army fan select Elias, Hughes or Hischier? It all depends on your perspective. For me personally, I’m old school. I probably would go with Messier over Leetch because he changed the way the Rangers played. If I were to choose one Devil, I would probably lean towards Stevens for a similar reason. But Brodeur is an obvious choice for most. They’ve never had a goalie like him since.

What about most exciting? Kovalev was a player who could bring you out of your seat. So too, was Leetch. Was anyone more fun to watch than Jaromir Jagr during the Rangers’ rebirth after the lockout? Jagr almost singlehandedly willed the 2005-06 Rangers back to the playoffs. He still holds the franchise single season records with 54 goals and 123 points. Too bad they robbed him of the Hart that season. Panarin would get a lot of votes. He’s the greatest free agent signing in franchise history. Both Lundqvist and Shesterkin would be popular. Mogilny was that player for the Devils. He and Scott Gomez electrified crowds. Elias too, had that quality. But he wasn’t as explosive as Mogilny, who eventually bolted for Toronto. Brodeur could be chosen as well. Niedermayer might also poll well. Currently, it’s Hughes. Gone but not forgotten is Taylor Hall, who carried the 2017-18 Devils to the postseason. He’s the only Devil to ever win the Hart. He put up 39 goals and 93 points, with many coming in the clutch.

What if you could select a First All-Star Team? Who’s your center, left wing, right wing, two defensemen, and goalie? I’ll give you mine.

NEW YORK RANGERS

C Mark Messier

LW Chris Kreider

RW Jaromir Jagr

D Brian Leetch

D Adam Fox

G Henrik Lundqvist

Let the debate begin. Why Kreider over Panarin? Kreider’s been a better playoff performer. I factored that in. He’s also the greatest Rangers finisher since Adam Graves. He matched Graves’ then single season franchise record of 52 in 2021-22. His 26 power-play goals beat Jagr’s record. I took Lundqvist over both Richter and Shesterkin. Rangers fans aren’t spoiled with much. but goalie has been incredible. I keep going back to King Henrik’s record in Game 7’s. Clutch.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

C Nico Hischier

LW Patrik Elias

RW Petr Sykora

D Scott Stevens

D Scott Niedermayer

G Martin Brodeur

From my perspective, it’s hard not to go with classic Devils from the championship era. I easily could’ve picked Arnott as the center. But I feel like Hischier has a chance to become their best center. He is an exceptional five-on-five player who is superb on the penalty kill and wins faceoffs. He’s good on the power play. There aren’t any holes. The younger generation can make the argument for Hughes. It’s justified. He will put up over a point-per-game. If he stays healthy, he’ll become the first ever Devil to top the century mark in a season. He still needs to improve defensively. He’s not there yet. The only other right wing I’d consider is Brian Gionta, who scored a franchise single season record 48 in 2005-06. That remains a remarkable achievement.

There’s so much more you can do. There could even be a category for best quote. Messier and Lundqvist top the list. Graves certainly was always available following games. Along with Lundqvist, they’re probably the nicest Rangers. Graves remains the most charitable. Brodeur and Gomez were those guys for the Devils. So was Ken Daneyko. If we’re talking coaches, it’s Tortorella for me. He had a way with words. Ask Larry Brooks. I’d go Pat Burns for the Devils. They don’t win that third Cup without him. He was the perfect hire.

Funniest player? Tony DeAngelo. Some of the skits they used to run with him were classic. Derek Stepan was also pretty good when it came to the off-ice shenanigans. Who would be that player for the Devils? I’m not as familiar with them. Any classic pranksters?

Most talkative? Holik would be the answer for both sides. He didn’t pull any punches. That was part of the problem when he was in the Big Apple. He still was a good player. It was a bad fit. In New Jersey, his style worked much better.

Most stylish? There’s only one King Henrik. He remains impeccable as a studio analyst. He isn’t quite Clyde Frazier. But his personality along with his clothes makes him look like GQ. I’m not sure who that is for the Devils. Brodeur?

That’s going to do it for this fun edition. Both teams return to action on Thursday night. The Devils host the Canadiens. The Rangers host the Sabres.

Posted in Battle Of Hudson, Column | Tagged Adam Fox, Alexander Mogilny, Alexei Kovalev, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Battle Of Hudson, Brenden Dillon, Brett Pesce, Brian Leetch, Chris Kreider, Claude Lemieux, Column, Devils, Eric Lindros, Filip Chytil, Henrik Lundqvist, Hudson Rivalry, Igor Shesterkin, Jack Hughes, Jacob Markstrom, Jacob Trouba, Jason Arnott, Jesper Bratt, Jonas Siegenthaler, K'Andre Miller, Luke Hughes, Mark Messier, Martin Brodeur, Mika Zibanejad, Mike Richter, Nico Hischier, Patrik Elias, Paul Cotter, Peter Laviolette, Petr Sykora, Rangers, Ryan Lindgren, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Sheldon Keefe, Stefan Noesen, Stephane Matteau, Timo Meier, Will Cuylle | Leave a comment

Concerns Remain For Blueshirts Despite Successful Weekend

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Derek

With another victory on home ice over the Islanders, the Rangers continue to win games. Despite not playing their best hockey, they’ve won eight of their first eleven to sit atop the Metropolitan Division

It was a successful weekend. After hanging on to defeat the Senators, they played well enough in the third period to pull away from the Islanders to take the first of four regular season meetings against their crosstown rivals.

The Islanders skated without five regulars. That included star forward Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Adam Pelech, Alexander Romanov, and Mike Reilly. The roster they played with gave a great effort. At times, they dictated the terms with a strong forecheck, which caused the Blueshirts problems in their end.

In a game that saw each side take turns generating high-quality chances, both goalies shined. Off the ice, Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin are best friends. On it, they’re competitors who are the backbone of their teams. The Russian netminders faced a combined 76 shots on Sunday. They stopped 70, with Shesterkin a bit better. He made 35 saves on 37 shots. Sorokin stopped 35 of 39.

The difference in the contest proved to be special teams. As much as the Islanders did to establish a consistent forecheck at five-on-five, it wasn’t enough to come out of Madison Square Garden with a victory. Their power play was miserable. They went 0-for-5 and allowed a shorthanded goal to Chris Kreider early.

With Jacob Trouba off for holding the stick of Islanders captain Anders Lee, Kreider came out with Mika Zibanejad to create a two-on-one. Kreider finished off a diagonal Zibanejad feed for his second shorthanded goal of the season at 3:44.

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1853139417445147083?t=1cVFK81IjvHEABi-aPdiwA&s=19

Since the start of 2021-22, Kreider has scored the most shorthanded goals with 11. Sidekick Zibanejad has usually been involved. As much as they struggle at even strength when they’re together, they remain one of the league’s best forward duos on the penalty kill. Their chemistry together is why. They know what each other is going to do.

For the first time this season, they were split up by coach Peter Laviolette. Looking to shake things up after two inconsistent performances against the Capitals and Senators, he had Zibanejad with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Kreider played with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. Vincent Trocheck was between Will Cuylle and Reilly Smith. The changes helped spark an offense that was nonexistent at even strength in the previous two games.

They also got back Jimmy Vesey. He made his season debut by joining Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom on the fourth line. Vesey played 8:28 in his first game. He didn’t kill penalties. Cuylle remained there instead.

Those weren’t the only changes to the lineup. Laviolette decided to reunite his top two pairs. Ryan Lindgren was back with Adam Fox. K’Andre Miller worked with Jacob Trouba. Neither pairing was spotless. Each had some issues with the Islanders attacking below the dots. Shesterkin was there to bail them out.

Zac Jones returned after sitting out two straight games for Victor Mancini. He was back with Braden Schneider on the third pair. Coincidentally, they were the best defensive tandem for the Blueshirts.

Leading by a goal, they nearly doubled up on the same penalty kill. Smith thought he had another shorthanded goal. But Sorokin got across to make a great pad save to rob Smith. Afterward, Brock Nelson had a shot go off the crossbar.

On a quick rush through transition, Chytil came close to increasing the lead. But his shot hit the goalpost. The speed with which he plays makes him a dangerous threat for the Rangers. He’s the fastest skating forward they have.

After stopping Kyle Palmieri on a prior shift, Shesterkin denied Noah Dobson in tight. He made 10 saves in the first period to keep the Islanders off the scoreboard.

Sorokin made key stops on Panarin late in the period to keep his team within one.

The second period was hectic. The teams combined for 34 shots, with the Islanders holding an 18-16 edge. It was the Rangers who took advantage of a mistake by Islanders defenseman Samuel Bolduc to go up by two.

Following a Bolduc giveaway, Smith set up Trocheck from behind the net to put the Rangers up 2-0 at 1:21. The goal was Trocheck’s 200th of his career. He continues to be productive. The new look with Smith and Cuylle on his line worked. They were noticeable during most shifts.

Over three minutes later, the Islanders broke through on Shesterkin. On a play in transition, Simon Holmstrom sent Pierre Engvall in for a routine shot from the left circle that Shesterkin fumbled for a bad rebound. Casey Cizikas beat Smith to put the loose puck in for his first of the season at 4:38.

The Islanders had a great chance to tie the game. With Kreider already in the box, Fox took an ill-advised delay of game minor to give the Islanders a five-on-three for 36 seconds. After Shesterkin stopped Lee, Nelson hit the goalpost. Still on the power play, Lee took an undisciplined interference minor on Trouba to end it.

Following an abbreviated four-on-four, Trocheck drew a hooking minor on Ryan Pulock. That gave the Rangers a two-man advantage. After the Islanders killed off 14 seconds of a five-on-three, Panarin converted on the power play for his team-leading eighth to make it 3-1 with less than nine minutes left in the period. Fox and Zibanejad combined to set him up for a wrist shot that went between Trocheck’s legs past a screened Sorokin. It was well executed.

Trailing by two, the Islanders responded quickly. Palmieri nearly made it a one-goal game. But he was turned aside twice by Shesterkin. The remainder of the second favored the Long Island rival. They tilted the ice with their aggressive forecheck.

Eventually, the hard work paid off. On a dominant shift spent in the Rangers’ end, Lee found Palmieri, who then cut around a diving Trouba and sent a shot pass across for Nelson to tip in with eight seconds remaining for his fifth. That cut the deficit to one headed to the third period.

On an early power play, Trocheck looked like he had another goal, only to see Sorokin make a clutch save to thwart him. The second unit also came close. But Kaapo Kakko was denied by Sorokin. Lafreniere set up Chytil for a good chance in the slot that Sorokin gloved.

In what proved to be the save of the game, Shesterkin turned away Bo Horvat on a breakaway. That proved to be the turning point.

A bit later, Edstrom had a Schneider point shot bank off his back and took a strange bounce in midair that went towards the Islanders net. Carrick looked like he stuffed it in. The replay showed that the puck had already crossed the line. Thar gave Edstrom a well-deserved first goal of the season. He gets chances every game. He finally got rewarded.

With the Rangers ahead 4-2, Fox took another bad delay of game minor. He still hasn’t been himself. He’s made more mistakes than usual. Fortunately, the penalty kill delivered.

Edstrom got another opportunity. But Sorokin stopped him on the backhand to keep the Islanders alive. Patrick Roy lifted Sorokin with over four minutes left. The move backfired.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1853454827252019277

Panarin sealed it with an empty netter that came with 3:23 remaining. He’s up to nine goals in the Rangers’ first 11 games. Last season, he scored a career best 49. He shows no signs of slowing down. Ever since Laviolette emphasized shooting the puck more, the Bread Man has. He’s become a better player by getting more involved on the forecheck. That was a big reason for the success he had with Lafreniere and Trocheck in 2023-24. Lafreniere is strong on the wall and he’s a puck hawk. He came back hard defensively during a shift yesterday to steal the puck and start a play in transition.

It remains to be seen if they can unlock Zibanejad at even strength. Zibanejad finished with a season high three assists. They came shorthanded, on the power play, and on Panarin’s empty netter. He still doesn’t have a goal at five-on-five. That must change.

Although Laviolette was pleased with his team’s effort, they’re still giving up too many shots. The defense remains an issue. There were too many instances when the Islanders had both Lindgren and Fox and Miller and Trouba pinned in their end chasing the play. That can’t continue.

Schneider was tried with Trouba before Lindgren returned. They had some success with Schneider playing the left side. Miller remains an enigma. At times, he has strong shifts where he uses his size and reach to make good defensive plays. Then, there are shifts where he makes bad decisions that cause issues. He had better metrics with Fox than Trouba, who seems to get dragged down when they’re together. Trouba worked well with both Schneider and Lindgren.

If there was a positive to come out of the win, it was the steady play of Jones. He belongs on the third pair. The problem is Mancini isn’t on the roster to sit in the press box. If that becomes the case, he should go down to Hartford. Matthew Robertson is off to a good start for the Wolf Pack. Depending upon what Laviolette decides, that’ll determine if Mancini stays. He has shown poise and promise. But he’s a true rookie at the pro level. Will there be an adjustment period?

The Rangers have the next three days off. David Gilmour is booked at MSG tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. They wrap up the three-game homestand against the Sabres on Thursday, Nov. 7. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is two weeks later.

The Blueshirts lead the Hurricanes by a point for the division. They’re 8-2-0. The Capitals are 8-3-0. The Devils are 7-5-2. They all have 16 points. New Jersey visits Edmonton later tonight. They look to bounce back from a 3-0 shutout loss at Calgary. Gametime is 8:30 EST.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, Adam Pelech, Alexander Romanov, Alexis Lafreniere, Anders Lee, Anthony Duclair, Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider, Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas, Chris Kreider, Filip Chytil, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, Jacob Trouba, Jimmy Vesey, K'Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Kyle Palmieri, Mat Barzal, Mika Zibanejad, Mike Reilly, Patrick Roy, Peter Laviolette, Pierre Engvall, Rangers, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Carrick, Victor Mancini, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Zac Jones | Leave a comment

Rempe Sent Down to Wolf Pack

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Derek

On Saturday, the New York Rangers sent forward Matt Rempe back down to the Hartford Wolf Pack. He will be in the Wolf Pack lineup later today when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

For Rempe, this is the best thing for his development. It never made sense for the Rangers organization to shuffle him back and forth, like they did after last weekend. He played in two games for the Pack before coming back up to get into this past Tuesday’s game against the Washington Capitals. All so Rempe could lose a fight to Dylan McIlrath and receive eight shifts for just 5:01 of ice time.

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1851409935042589058

Still just 22, Rempe needs to play consistent minutes to become a better player. He can do that in the American Hockey League (AHL). After surprising many with his energy rubbing off on teammates last season, the 2020 sixth round pick wasn’t trusted by Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. It showed in how Rempe was used towards the conclusion of last postseason.

When Adam Edstrom proved that he deserved a starting roster spot with a strong training camp, that meant Rempe became a part-timer on the Blueshirts. Due to Jonny Brodzinski, whose better skating and versatility made him a better fit for the fourth line, Rempe didn’t see much action. Instead, he was used sparingly in three games by Laviolette. The most ice time he received was against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 19. Rempe took 11 shifts and played 7:37 in a 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

https://twitter.com/NYR_PR/status/1852772677540348176

With Jimmy Vesey be activated off long-term injured reserve (LTIR), Rempe was reassigned to Hartford. Vesey is set to make his season debut for the Rangers tomorrow when they take on the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden at 1 EST. A start time that doesn’t make much sense considering that Sunday, Nov. 3 is the day of the New York City Marathon. MSG doesn’t seem to care about the inconvenience. Neither does the NHL, with the first of four rivalry games going head-to-head with the NFL.

Laviolette Shakes Things Up

At Saturday’s morning practice, Laviolette decided to shake things up. Dissatisfied with his team’s play in the last two games, he changed his lines. Most notably, he broke up the top line to accommodate Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad should get a bump by playing alongside leading scorer Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. If that doesn’t work, then nothing will. Zibanejad remains without a five-on-five goal in the Rangers’ first 10 games. Laviolette wants to get him going.

https://twitter.com/vzmercogliano/status/1852745656550481978

Instead of playing with his normal linemates, Vincent Trocheck will work with Will Cuylle and Reilly Smith. They should be a straight-forward forechecking line who are defensively responsible. An area the Rangers have lacked so far.

Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko will be joined by Chris Kreider on the third line. Despite Zibanejad’s struggles, Kreider ranks second on the team in goals (6). Three have come at even strength, two on the power play, and one shorthanded. He doesn’t have an assist yet. Splitting up Kreider and Zibanejad makes sense. Kreider is capable of scoring on a different line. Adding them to the explosive Chytil and more confident Kakko should work. They already were having success with Cuylle as a reliable line that produced.

Vesey will play with Sam Carrick and Edstrom on the checking line. An ideal fit for the diligent checking forward, who will return to the penalty kill. Brodzinski comes out of the lineup. He’s proven that he’s capable of being a regular. It’ll be up to Laviolette when he wants to sub Brodzinski back in.

Jones Returns to Blue Line

After sitting out two straight games, Zac Jones returns to the blue line for tomorrow’s matinee. It’ll be his sixth appearance. He hasn’t played as much as rookie Victor Mancini. Laviolette seems to prefer Mancini’s size and skillset. In the first nine games of his NHL career, he has a goal and three assists with a +3 rating while averaging 15:21 of ice time.

Jones might be the Rangers’ best skating defenseman. He is very good at transitioning the puck. The 24-year-old is still scratching the surface as a player. He works well with Braden Schneider. With Mancini and Schneider having a tough time on Friday night, it makes sense to go back and see what Jones can bring. While he isn’t known for his defense, his speed can be a real asset. Jones has good offensive instincts. His only flaw is that he’s five-foot eleven, 185-pounds. Mancini is listed at six-foot three, 215 pounds.

Given that he was a 2019 third round pick, Jones deserves more of an opportunity to show what he can do. The only way for the Rangers to find out is by playing him.

The top two defensive pairs remain the same. K’Andre Miller is with Adam Fox. Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba are the shutdown pair. How long that’ll remain depends on what happens over the next stretch.

Light Week Ahead

Following the Islanders’ visit on Sunday, the Rangers will play host to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, Nov. 7. They then will visit the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Nov. 9 for the final regular season meeting. They took the first two meetings.

Posted in Battle News, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, AHL, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Battle News, Braden Schneider, Chris Kreider, Dylan McIlrath, Filip Chytil, Hartford Wolf Pack, Jacob Trouba, Jimmy Vesey, Jonny Brodzinski, K'Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Matt Rempe, Mika Zibanejad, Peter Laviolette, Rangers, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Carrick, Victor Mancini, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle | Leave a comment

Shesterkin Bails Out Rangers Again

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Derek

Igor Shesterkin continues to be the story for the Rangers. In another lopsided game that saw the ice tilted over the final 40 minutes, Shesterkin made 40 saves to carry the Rangers past the Senators 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

That included him stopping 32 of 33 shots over the last two periods. The Senators outshot the Rangers 33-9 for an overall total of 41-18 for the game. They severely outplayed and out-chanced the Rangers. But they had a hard time beating Shesterkin, who was like a brick wall in the net.

Among the highlights were a glove save to rob Claude Giroux from 10 feet out on a delayed penalty. Giroux thought he had a sure goal. But Shesterkin reached up with his glove from his knees to snatch the puck. It took that kind of focus to bail out his teammates.

There would be other highlight reel saves, including a sequence when he denied Josh Norris twice at point blank range to prevent Ottawa from cutting a 2-0 lead to one halfway through the third period. At that point, it looked like Shesterkin would shut them out.

But eventually, Brady Tkachuk set up Adam Gaudette to make it 2-1 with 7:32 left in regulation. After Braden Schneider broke up a pass, the puck came right back to Tkachuk. He then found Gaudette open in the slot for a shot that beat Shesterkin to break up the shutout.

There was a mixup in coverage between Schneider and Victor Mancini. That allowed Gaudette to get his fifth from Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot. The third pair was pinned in often during the game. Mancini has the size and strength Laviolette prefers over Zac Jones. But he’s still a work in progress in his end. Jones and Schneider work more fluidly due to familiarity. Jones was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

Fortunately, that’s as close as the Senators got. Shestekin turned aside the last eight shots to earn his fifth win of the season. In eight starts, he’s 5-2-0 with a 2.25 goals-against-average (GAA) and .931 save percentage. The only two losses were to the Panthers and Capitals. Both could’ve been more lopsided without Shesterkin. He’s been the last line of defense with the Rangers struggling to establish themselves at five-on-five.

Defensively, they continue to have issues. Last night, it was the Senators’ team speed and forecheck that caused problems. They came in waves at the Rangers, who frequently were chasing the play. It didn’t help matters that they took five penalties. Adam Fox was guilty of two. It hasn’t been the best start for Fox. He hasn’t looked like himself. In an interesting development, he logged only 18:53 of ice time. That included 15:35 at even strength. Partner K’Andre Miller received 18:11 and 22:29 overall. That included 3:31 shorthanded. He helped the Blueshirts kill off five Ottawa power plays.

If there was a positive, it was the strong play of Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba. The new second pair did a good job limiting the Tkachuk line. They took away time and space from one of the premiere power forwards. There were plenty of physical battles during shifts. Tkachuk is a loud player, who plays the game with an edge. He searched for a couple of rebounds on Shesterkin during scrums which drew the ire of the Rangers.

The game didn’t start out badly for the Rangers. In fact, it was the big line that struck early to give them the lead. On an aggressive forecheck from Alexis Lafreniere, he forced Norris into a turnover. His takeaway allowed Artemi Panarin to rip a shot past Linus Ullmark at 3:03. Panarin leads them with seven goals. He has recorded at least a point in nine of ten games.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1852490921633357893

Adam Edstrom came close to doubling the lead. He got behind the Senators’ defense for a great chance but was turned away by Ullmark. For a fourth line player who doesn’t get many shifts, he makes things happen. Edstrom is a good skater for his size. When Jimmy Vesey is activated off long-term injured reserve (LTIR) for Sunday’s game against the Islanders, Edstrom deserves to stay in the lineup. If he doesn’t, it would be another letdown.

With Sam Carrick in the box for tripping, the Rangers’ penalty kill limited the Senators power play to two shots. Led by Lindgren and Trouba, they were superb. As usual, the forwards did their part, with Mika Zibanejad turning in some stellar defensive work. As far as his five-on-five play is concerned, it remains an issue. His line with Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith was better on Friday night. But they were unable to produce.

After playing the Senators on even terms, the Rangers were on their heels in the second period. A Kreider penalty negated a power play. During the four-on-four, Tim Stutzle was stopped by Shesterkin. Following an abbreviated power play, they applied the pressure at even strength. Mike Amadio hit the crossbar. It was the second crossbar the Sens hit. Tkachuk also rang one off the bar.

With Fox off for hooking, the Rangers killed off a dangerous Ottawa power play. Stutzle was set up in the slot but sent his one-timer wide. Gaudette later hit the goalpost. When they weren’t hitting the net, they either had wide open chances miss the mark or shots get blocked. As a team, the Rangers blocked 23 shots. Four different defensemen each had four blocks, including Lindgren, Miller, Braden Schneider, and Trouba. It took that kind of commitment to help out Shesterkin.

On a delayed call, it looked like Giroux was all set up for the tying goal. Instead, a lunging Shesterkin made a great glove save to loud chants of “Ig-or, Ig-or!” from the crowd. With Lindgren off for holding, the penalty kill stepped up by blanketing the Senators. Despite outshooting the Rangers 13-4, they still trailed by one following the period.

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At the start of the third, Smith’s hustle drew a penalty on Norris. Despite some good pressure, the Rangers’ top unit was unable to take advantage. If there was a moment that summed up his slow start, Zibanejad flubbed on a good scoring chance. He missed completely. That’s how it’s gone for him. Even though he was more noticeable during his shifts, he only had two shots in 18:19. Later on, he thought he had Kreider for a goal. But Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven made a great defensive play, with a textbook stick check to deny Kreider.

There wasn’t much power play time left when coach Peter Laviolette stuck his second unit out for a shift. They made the most of it. After Smith moved the puck over to Filip Chytil, he sent a pass in front that a nifty Lafreniere tipped in over the goal line for a power-play goal with over 17 minutes remaining in the third. He’s up to five goals. Lafreniere was very good in this game. He made defensive plays and was in on both Rangers’ goals. With a goal and assist, Lafreniere has 10 points in 10 games. A good start for an evolving player who the Rangers invested in long-term.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1852520061690409256

The rest of the period was like an Ottawa power play. They spent so much time in the Rangers’ zone that it looked like they lived there. Shesterkin made saves on Stutzle and Nick Jensen on a strong Senators shift. After a Vincent Trocheck faceoff in the defensive zone, Fox took his second penalty when he took down Ridly Creig. It led to an impressive sequence from Shesterkin. After stopping Tkachuk in the slot, he robbed Norris twice on rebounds. On the same penalty kill, both Lindgren and Schneider had key shot blocks.

It took the Senators nearly 53 minutes to finally beat Shesterkin. Following a giveaway, Schneider blocked two Chabot shots. But Chabot stuck with it by getting the puck over to Tkachuk. After his first pass came back to him, he sent a second one across for Gaudette to finish off to make it 2-1 with 7:32 remaining.

Ottawa continued to apply pressure. With less than five minutes left, Shesterkin made stops on Jensen and Gaudette. Afterward, they were unable to muster much. The Rangers steadied when it mattered most.

With Ullmark off for an extra attacker, Shesterkin made saves on Stutzle and Jake Sanderson to preserve the win. Despite getting outshot 20-5, the Rangers held on to improve to 7-2-1. They were out-attempted 89-34.

They won the game. But there are more questions following it. Why are they struggling so much to establish a forecheck? What happened to the defensive structure under Laviolette? He again reemphasized that they need to play better during the postgame. How many times does he have to repeat himself? Ultimately, the players must perform better. It isn’t sustainable for long-term success.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged Adam Edstrom, Adam Fox, Adam Gaudette, Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin, Braden Schneider, Brady Tkachuk, Chris Kreider, Claude Giroux, Filip Chytil, Igor Shesterkin, Jacob Trouba, Jimmy Vesey, Josh Norris, K'Andre Miller, Linus Ullmark, Mika Zibanejad, Nick Jensen, Peter Laviolette, Rangers, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Sam Carrick, Senators, Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, Tyler Kleven, Victor Mancini | Leave a comment

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