Trocheck’s Fight Showed Character for Rangers

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Derek

At last check, the New York Rangers have lost eight of their last eleven games. After a woeful loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 9, they finally got back in the win column by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center.

It was a low event game that shouldn’t thrill fans. It was also the Sabres’ eighth straight loss. In other words, hanging on to beat a struggling opponent isn’t exactly worth celebrating. However, as goal scorer Mika Zibanejad put it, they’ll take it. Zibanejad scored a power-play goal in the first period of the win. It was only his second goal on the man-advantage this season. In 28 games, Zibanejad has just six goals. The Rangers’ center must pick it up. If he continues to have a bad season, it’ll be tough for the Rangers to qualify for the postseason.

A Reilly Smith goal that banked in off Sabres defenseman Owen Power with 6:31 left in regulation proved to be large. He was able to pick up a rebound of an Adam Fox shot and have the good fortune to see the puck go off Power and past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. They needed it because Power got one back 90 seconds later to make it a one-goal game with 4:51 remaining.

Despite a strong push from the Sabres, they were unable to tie the game. On a second straight icing, Vincent Trocheck won a key defensive draw back to Fox, who fired the puck straight down into the open net for his first goal of the season. That held up as the game-winner. Buffalo made it interesting late. Power was able to set up Tage Thompson to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 37.7 seconds remaining. But that’s as close as they got.

The best part of the game came when Trocheck stood up for himself in the third period. With the Rangers still nursing a 1-0 lead, he didn’t like a reverse hit from Nicholas Aube-Kubel in the corner. If you remember, Aube-Kubel’s knee-on-knee collision with Fox in last year’s first round injured the star defenseman. He hasn’t been the same since.

Seeking retribution, Trocheck immediately dropped the gloves with Aube-Kubel. Although the bout was brief, with only a couple of blows exchanged, it showed character. That’s been a missing ingredient with this year’s roster. The Rangers haven’t mixed it up nearly enough. If they want to turn the season around, they’ll need to play with more urgency. That also includes getting more involved in scrums.

If you hadn’t noticed, the Buffalo Bills’ Dion Dawkins loved the action from his front row seat by the glass. There’s something to be said for players not backing down. During that one sequence, Trocheck didn’t. Instead, he showed more passion than most of his teammates have this season. If more players followed his lead, it would be a step in the right direction.

Ironically, the NHL on TNT panel interviewed him before the game. Trocheck discussed the Rangers’ recent struggles. “It’s tough sometimes not letting the outside noise get in. Realistically, we know what we have in our locker room and I think we just got to make sure we got back to that. Having the confidence in ourselves. Sticking together as a team.”

Whether or not they can build on it remains to be seen. The win kept the Rangers in the first wildcard spot. At 15-12-1 with 31 points, they’re a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who entered Thursday night’s action in the second wildcard.

If they want to prove themselves, Saturday at home would be a good place to start. They’ll host the Los Angeles Kings at 1 PM. The Kings remain one of the league’s toughest defensive teams. They began play by allowing the fewest shots per game (28.1) this season. The Kings ranked third in goals allowed per game, only permitting 2.54.

It’s a step up in competition this weekend. Following a home matinee against the Kings, the Rangers will then visit the St. Louis Blues on Sunday evening at 6 PM. It’ll be their third back-to-back of the season. They’re 1-3 in back-to-backs so far. After losing 2-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 29, they edged the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Nov. 30. The most recent one was an epic fail. After getting outscored 7-5 by the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 8, they then lost to the NHL worst Blackhawks 2-1 this past Monday.

Considering how hard it’s been to win consistently, the Blueshirts are in dire need of a winning streak. If you channel back to Lou Brown in the classic scene in Major League 2, that means stringing together three in a row. They haven’t done that since Nov. 14-19 when they beat the San Jose Sharks, Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks. We’ll see if they have anything left in the cupboard.

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Devils to honor Jacques Lemaire with Ring of Honor ceremony before 1/22 home game

Posted on December 10, 2024 by hasan4978
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1866151139080810683

As the Devils continue their pursuit to make some history on the ice this season, they’ll celebrate a piece of their storied past next month by honoring former coach Jacques Lemaire with a spot in the team’s still relatively new Ring of Honor. At this point Lemaire will only be the third person to be recognized in that way along with original owner John McMullen and three-time Cup champion Sergei Brylin. There could definitely be more names added to this list in the near future, certainly some players who aren’t already up in the rafters with a retired number would be easy or compelling arguments. Perhaps former Cup-winning coaches Pat Burns and Larry Robinson as well. Of course, the big name missing so far is Lou Lamoriello but I think it’s pretty well understood that both he’ll be there, and that he doesn’t want any kind of personal ceremonies until his career is over, only deigning to let the Hockey Hall of Fame honor him before that haha.

Lou’s most important hire in almost forty years as a GM will also be one of the most sentimental recognitions for me and thousands of other Devil fans. After all, Jacques was the coach when I started following the team who first led the team to glory, and he was the main figure besides Lou himself who helped put the infrastructure in place which led to the best decade in Devils history and two more titles after he left the organization in 1998. It’s extremely rare for a HOF-level player to be a great coach too, but Jacques was a rare individual.

In many ways, even the way he ended his playing career was evidence of that, rejecting a long-term contract offer with the Canadiens in 1979 to run a team in Switzerland for three years before coming back to the States to serve as a college hockey assistant before eventually getting to coach Montreal itself, but abruptly his tenure ended after just over a season behind the bench there. I can’t find any info on Wikipedia as to why but I recall reading years ago that Jacques just didn’t care for the unique pressures of coaching in Montreal and remained in their organization in other behind the scenes capacities for several years before Lou came a calling, needing both stability behind the bench (after having like seven coaches in the previous seven years) and a figure who would command respect.

To a large degree, his first year here was the best coaching job he ever did, and it started by putting an All-Star staff together with former playing teammate Robinson as his right hand behind the bench and bringing in Jacques Caron to be the goaltending coach just when we had a hotshot rookie named Martin Brodeur. Clearly there was talent in the organization with Brodeur – who eventually won the starting job after a season of alternating with veteran Chris Terreri – along with second-year pro Scott Niedermayer as well as Scott Stevens in his third season with the Devils, but given the franchise’s lack of playoff success following its initial foray to within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, it was Lemaire who provided the structure on the ice, in more ways than one.

After all he ‘invented’ the neutral-zone trap, a system he actually learned from his days with the Canadiens but he certainly refined and in some ways perfected it with the Devils, leading the team to a then-franchise best 106 points in 1993-94 and only losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Rangers in a classic seven-game series before rampaging through the league during the 1995 playoffs, only losing four games and going a then-unheard of 10-1 on the road in the postseason en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, and a well-timed one considering the Nashville move rumors. We’ll never know if the Cup really was the difference in the team staying or leaving New Jersey, I felt like it would be at the time and McMullen seemed to confirm it later on citing the fan reception during the team’s championship celebration as one key factor in him staying.

While I do like the official Cup video as well, I’m partial to the SportsChannel doc narrated BY Doc Emrick, for obvious reasons. That proved to be the high point of Lemaire’s initial tenure with the Devils as the team surprisingly missed the postseason next year, then suffered early exits at the hands of the rival Rangers in 1997 and even more shockingly, the playoff neophyte Ottawa Senators in 1998. Perhaps it was somewhat fitting that the end of his tenure here came at the hands of a Lemaire disciple in Jacques Martin, who out-trapped us that series. His departure after the Ottawa series always felt like a bit of a mutual parting of the ways, and to his credit Jacques always seems to know when the time’s right for something else.

His next step was a bit of a surprise – resurfacing as head coach of the expansion Wild – and he remained there nearly a decade. Even with much harder expansion draft rules in the early 2000’s compared to the post-Vegas and Seattle era, Lemaire managed to make the Wild competitive instantly and even got them to the Western Conference Finals in their third-season, upsetting Colorado and Vancouver in the playoffs before running out of gas against fellow upstart Anaheim. He would never have that kind of success in Minnesota again though, despite six straight seasons above NHL .500 and two more playoff appearances, their only playoff series wins under Jacques were in that 2002-03 run.

Eventually his time was up there and he came back ‘home’ to once again coach the Devils for the 2009-10 season. For half a season, things went swimmingly as New Jersey won thirty-one of the first forty-one games and were in President’s Trophy contention before falling off in the second half, and looking flaccid in a five-game loss to the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. Abruptly, Jacques stepped aside days after saying he was looking forward to the next season. Whatever happened in the spring of 2010 paled to the fall however, when the Devils’ crash accelerated during a putrid first half of the season that saw them follow to rock bottom of the entire league. It was at this point that Lou went back to the well one more time, begging his ‘buddy’ to come back and help repair the Titanic. His first postgame press conference was as much humorous life lessons from grandpa as it was an actual breakdown of where the team needed to improve:

If his first year and a half here was his best, his last half season may not have been too far behind that. The difference was stark, as the Devils finished the first half at 10-29-2 then surged to a 28-10-3 second half in largely a hopeless cause, though they did miraculously cut their deficit out of the playoffs to six points in mid-March after being close to thirty points out by the New Year! Perhaps the first half was worth it just to get Jacques back and have him retire (for good this time) on a much better note than the end of the previous season was.

In some ways it’s almost as sobering to realize that season was thirteen years ago as it was to have the 25th anniversary of the 1995 champions a few years back. I’ve pretty much been to every big ‘event’ home game in franchise history from the number retirements to the original Ring of Honor ceremonies and other nights for players, and this will be no exception. I’d originally traded in my ticket for the Boston game next month (for the dud of a Blues game a couple weeks ago, after I’d originally used a buyback for my seat earlier) because it was a 7:30 start so I try to avoid the late games like the plague, but once this got announced I did another ticket swap and wound up getting my own seat back for that game. Even if a 7:30 start plus a ceremony means this game’s ending after ten on a weekday hah.

I could have waited to do this piece closer to the actual ceremony itself but if the last few weeks and months have taught me anything personally, sometimes you just gotta go with something when you feel like it. This current Devil team certainly deserves more written about it at the moment, even if their last game was also a home dud (at least I wasn’t at that one though, and did attend an actual home win on Friday!). Maybe I’ll do a homestand recap at the end of the five-game block, of which I’ll be at three including tonight’s game against the Leafs. I did have to miss the NJ home opener this year for the first time in a while, hopefully we’ll do a bit better in this game than the last time we played the Leafs here in October!

Like I said earlier though, this is one of the honor the past ceremonies that hits me more than a lot of others, as it will when Lou himself finally deigns to have one! Jacques may not have been a part of the Devils since he retired in 2011 but he’ll always be a major part of the franchise’s decade-long run as a preeminent championship team in the NHL, along with a big part of my early fandom of the team.

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Nothing Kraken in Another Stinker from Defenseless Rangers

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Derek

Raise your hand if you actually believed that by subtracting Jacob Trouba and defeating the flawed Penguins that the Rangers were back on track. Well, you thought wrong.

In an absolute stinker, they blew a 3-1 lead in a hideous 7-5 loss at 33rd and 7th on a hellacious football Sunday. If you included the Devils, then mine and Hasan’s teams went 0 for 4. At least his hockey team wins consistently when they’re not getting shut out or losing at home.

What is the Rangers’ excuse for the defenseless hockey they play? On my birthday, the last thing I wanted to do was watch an early matinee of garbage hockey. After catching an optimistic first period in which they thoroughly dominated play and led 1-0 on a Reilly Smith goal, I went to the card store to see my friend and played some scratch offs. That brought a smile to my face.

Then, I came home and they led 3-1 halfway through the contest. What could go wrong? Everything. Forget the fact that they made a last-ditch effort to tease the fans who attended into believing they’d come all the way back from a three-goal deficit and win it in overtime. That was after they embarrassed themselves by pissing away a two-goal lead and turning it into a 6-3 deficit with less than nine minutes left in regulation.

It is uncanny how fast this team can implode. They can go from playing a good game to looking like they never played team defense. For most of last season, they had structure and were more committed to coming back defensively. The regression started towards last postseason when Trouba could barely move. He wasn’t alone. Even as they marched to the league’s best record, there were warning signs.

In the second round, they nearly blew a 3-0 series lead to the Hurricanes. That was due to Carolina outplaying them at five-on-five and limiting the Rangers’ power play. When the play was at even strength, it favored the Hurricanes. Igor Shesterkin was the big eraser. Then, Chris Kreider came to the rescue with a natural hat trick in the third period of Game 6. If that doesn’t happen, they probably lose four straight and don’t play the Panthers in the Conference Finals. We saw what happened against them. They exposed the Rangers’ biggest weaknesses and advanced to win their first Stanley Cup against the Oilers.

If you followed the postseason, there were concerns about the defense moving forward. As much as I despise Chris Drury for how he handled business with Barclay Goodrow and then threatening waivers to force Trouba to accept a trade to the Ducks to get out of the remainder of his contract, I understand why he went to that length to do things. The problem is they have a declining Ryan Lindgren and a very underwhelming K’Andre Miller who still occupy half of the top four. If things don’t improve soon, both can be moved before next year’s trade deadline. That’s only if Drury has the guts to revamp a very soft blue line.

Let’s get to the forwards. They’re almost never in sync with the defensemen. Peter Laviolette’s system is man to man. That requires a lot of switching. They stopped doing it. That’s why so many players come wide open in front for goals. If I were Jonathan Quick, I’d be livid. That was an abomination. The Kraken beat Quick six times on 21 shots. None of the goals were soft.

They came from openings on the ice due to lackadaisical defensive coverage. The only instance I’ll give them a pass is on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s tip-in of a Brandon Montour shot that gave Seattle a 4-3 lead with less than 36 seconds remaining in the second period. Adam Fox was right with Bjorkstrand, who somehow got a piece of it for his second of the game.

If you listened to Steve Valiquette during the second intermission, he thought they Rangers would come back and win. He was proven right about the Kraken defense. They were on the ropes like a prize fighter on their last legs. But that came after they got the first two goals of the third period to suddenly go up 6-3. It was way too easy.

Alexis Lafreniere made a lazy attempt on the Kraken entry. He stick checked. Then, Miller reached. With a chance to get the puck out, Miller turned it over to Chandler Stephenson. He then moved the puck to Andre Burakovsky, who fed a Vince Dunn at a vacated point for a one-timer off the far goalpost and in. That goal came only a minute into the third. It summed up how bad this team has become.

As easy as it is to blame Miller, Lafreniere deserves more criticism. His lack of defensive awareness has become a problem. It isn’t a question of effort. But he’s almost never in the right position in his zone. For a player Drury invested long-term in, Lafreniere has a long way to go. Even his offense hasn’t been great. He showed me nothing when Laviolette broke up the big line. Lafreniere got his ninth goal later to make things interesting. It ended a seven-game goal drought. Since rejoining Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, he has three points in the last two games. It doesn’t explain the minus-11 rating.

Kaapo Kakko never picked up Shane Wright on the Kraken’s sixth goal. It wasn’t even close. On a play in transition Bjorkstrand started, Eeli Tolvanen made a perfect centering feed for a cutting Wright to tip in to make it 6-3 with 8:47 remaining. Laviolette sat Kakko on his next shift. Panarin took his spot.

Then, the Rangers tried to rally. On a good play from Fox at the point, Panarin moved the puck up for a Miller point shot that eluded Philipp Grubauer that cut it to 6-4 with 7:33 left. Suddenly, they began taking the play to the Kraken. It was a matter of time before Trocheck and Panarin combined to set up Lafreniere for an easy put away on matador defense from the Seattle players.

For the remainder of the game, the Kraken looked like they were ready to fold. Despite dominating the play, the Rangers couldn’t find the tying goal. When he needed to make a critical stop, Grubauer did.

Yanni Gourde’s empty netter sealed it with 1:46 left.

Laviolette Criticizes Effort

Following the loss, Laviolette criticized the effort. When asked by Mollie Walker of the New York Post what adjustments he can make when everything seems to be ending up in the back of your net, he responded by pointing the finger at the players.

“I can’t say this anymore here. When we had the opportunity, we were next to people that were looking to score, we were in place, we need to do a better job in those situations and in those areas. The difference between 2 inches and 2 feet in any sport is a lot. We were there, we just needed to be a bit tighter.”

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1865865462942179734

“I feel like we were kind of just stretching the game a little bit, looking for plays that were not there yet instead of collectively breaking the puck out and working on the forecheck as a group of five. I think we were probably looking for easy offense a little bit too much in the second period and it kind of caught us,” Smith said in reference to a second period collapse that saw the Kraken score three straight goals to take a 4-3 lead.

Even though they played faster, the defense broke down at the wrong time. Despite getting goals from Filip Chytil and Trocheck (power play) to go up 3-1, they fell apart in the final six minutes of the period. Brandon Tanev and Tolvanen tallied 88 seconds apart to tie the score. Then, Trocheck lost a defensive draw to Wright that led to Bjorkstrand redirecting Montour’s shot past Quick to give the Kraken their first lead at 19:24.

Bad Start to Third Proves Costly

Following the disappointing conclusion to the second, the Rangers had a chance to regroup during intermission. Or so we thought. Instead of coming out with more urgency, they allowed the Kraken to build a two-goal lead. Lafreniere and Miller did a lousy job on the entry. They stick waved instead of taking the man. That soft coverage resulted in more sustained pressure from the Kraken. Miller’s giveaway allowed Stephenson and Burakovsky to set up Dunn’s goal that made it 5-3 exactly a minute into the third period.

It was unacceptable. Worse was Kakko’s ole defense on Wright’s goal in transition. The sea parted in the neutral zone, allowing Bjorkstrand to lead Tolvanen on a two-on-one. He had a cutting Wright in front for an easy tap in that made it 6-3. Kakko was completely out of position. Considered one of their better defensive forwards, he’s made some mistakes during this stretch. His improvement offensively while playing mostly with Chytil and Will Cuylle is noticeable. But he still only has four goals in 26 games. Fourteen points is decent production in a supporting role. They need more goals from Kakko.

An Alarming Trend for Panarin Line

Although they continue to produce offense, the Panarin line is on for too many goals against. Despite being on for two goals including Miller’s tally that started a rally in the third, they were minus-one in goal differential at five-on-five. Somehow, in a game they dominated territorially with a 70.27 CF per Natural Stat Trick, the trio of Panarin, Trocheck, and Lafreniere were on for three goals against.

That simply cannot happen. For the season, the big line is a plus-4. They’ve been on for 19 goals for and 15 goals against. They’re giving up almost as many as they’re scoring. That didn’t happen last year. Even Trocheck’s defensive play has slipped. He’s heating up offensively. But they need him to lead the way in the defensive zone. He didn’t lose many big faceoffs that led to opponents scoring last season. He also didn’t get beat as frequently in coverage.

By comparison, the reunited line of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Smith are a plus-1. They’ve been on for nine goals for and eight goals against. The only line that has been dominant at five-on-five is Chytil, Cuylle, and Kakko. They’re a plus-11, having outscored opponents 12-1. That one goal against came yesterday when Kakko got beaten badly by Wright for the game-winner.

Shesterkin Returns for Blackhawks

After his wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Igor Shesterkin returns to the net for the Rangers when they take on the Blackhawks later tonight.

It’s been an emotional weekend for Shesterkin. He signed the big contract extension worth a record $92 million over eight years to remain a New York Ranger. The $11.5 million cap hit is the most ever for a goalie. It’s all been covered in my last post.

Related: Rangers Make Shesterkin the Highest Paid Goalie in NHL History

Now, he can focus on playing hockey. A happy Shesterkin should boost team morale.

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Rangers Make Shesterkin the Highest Paid Goalie in NHL history

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Derek

On the same day they sent former captain Jacob Trouba packing to Anaheim, the Rangers and Igor Shesterkin agreed to a new contract extension that’ll keep him in the Big Apple for the next eight years. Elliotte Friedman broke the story on Twitter/X.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1865155756430864454

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Rangers and Shesterkin made it official. It’s an eight-year, $92 million contract with a full no-movement clause. That’s an $11.5 million cap hit. At the start of 2025-26, Shesterkin will become the richest goalie in NHL history.

Previously, it was the Canadiens’ Carey Price. He had a $10.5 million cap hit. Injuries derailed a brilliant career. He’s been on long-term injured reserve since 2021-22. The contract was through 2025-26. That’s the downside of committing long-term to a goalie. It’s always risky to pay a star player top dollar into their thirties. Shesterkin will be 29 in Year 1 of the deal. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and perform up to the high standard he’s set for himself.

https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1865501672601989335

A 2014 fourth round selection the Rangers took with the number 118 pick, Shesterkin has established himself as one of the league’s best goalies. After a great start to his career by winning 10 of his first 12 starts with a 2.52 goals-against-average (GAA), and .932 save percentage during the Covid abbreviated 2019-20 season, he went 16-14-3 with a 2.62 GAA, .916 save percentage, and two shutouts during his rookie year in 2020-21. Shesterkin finished fifth for the Calder Trophy in a strong rookie class highlighted by Calder winner Kirill Kaprizov, Jason Robertson, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, and close Russian friend Ilya Sorokin.

It was in his first full season that he put together a memorable campaign. In 2021-22, Shesterkin went 36-13-4 in 53 appearances while leading the league in GAA (2.07), and save percentage (.935), along with a career best six shutouts. That outstanding performance saw him win the Vezina Trophy and finish third for the Hart Trophy.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Shesterkin helped lead the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final. After a tough first round against the Penguins, he took control to backstop the Rangers past the Hurricanes in the second round. Shesterkin was at his best over the last two games, stopping 74 of 78 shots to send the Blueshirts to a second straight seven-game series triumph.

Facing fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy, it was the younger netminder who had his team in strong position by taking the first two games of the Conference Final. But the Lightning used their championship experience to come back and take the series in six. Shesterkin played well in defeat. He didn’t get enough run support. The Rangers were outscored 12-4 over the final four games.

In 2022-23, he found it hard to match that special 2021-22 season. However, he still won a career high 37 games while posting a 2.48 GAA, .916 save percentage, and three shutouts. Unfortunately, the team didn’t have similar success getting ousted by the Hudson rival Devils in the first round. It was an uneven series that saw them blow a 2-0 series lead. The lack of adjustments led to coach Gerard Gallant’s dismissal.

Under the guidance of Peter Laviolette, the Rangers put together a great 2023-24 by winning the Presidents’ Trophy. Following an inconsistent first half, Shesterkin played much better following the All-Star break. Laviolette leaned on Jonathan Quick to give his ace some much needed time off to mentally reset. He performed more like one an elite goalie over the last three months. Able to ride the momentum into the postseason, Shesterkin was the difference in a second round rematch against the Hurricanes. When things got interesting, he delivered the clutch stops to help the Rangers defeat the Hurricanes in six to set up an Eastern Conference Final against the Panthers.

The biggest difference in the series was the Panthers’ superior play at five-on-five. Their penalty kill also shut down the Rangers’ power play. At times, the ice was tilted. But Shesterkin did his best to keep his team in it. It took the Panthers six games to eliminate the Rangers. It was the brilliant play of Shesterkin that left Florida coach Paul Maurice heaping praise on the Rangers’ backstop. He basically called his performance one of the best he’s seen. It was well-deserved.

Entering the final year of a contract with a $5.67 million cap hit, the 28-year-old Shesterkin wanted to be paid like a top goalie. When the Rangers leaked the negotiations prior to the season opener, Shesterkin’s camp was upset. Along with a tumultuous off-season that included Barclay Goodrow claimed on waivers by the Sharks and Jacob Trouba turning down a trade, there were a lot of distractions to start 2024-25.

Despite some unsteady play, Shesterkin held up his end by getting off to a fast start. Eventually, the lack of defense caught up to him. The continued distraction with Trouba becoming a lame duck captain really hurt the team. He didn’t play well. Neither did a select number of key veterans. That resulted in Shesterkin struggling as well. It all came to a head on Friday, Dec. 6 when Trouba was traded to the Ducks. On that same day, Shesterkin agreed to remain a Ranger over the long haul.

Even with the team continuing to underperform, with a lousy 7-5 loss to the Kraken on Sunday, Shesterkin decided that he wanted to stay put. He reportedly left money on the table. The contract includes over $58 million in signing bonuses. It’s a huge committment being made by the Rangers. A full NMC means that Shesterkin will hold all the cards throughout the duration of the contract.

It’s eerily similar to when Henrik Lundqvist was signed. Ironically, that deal was announced around the same time. The Rangers signed him to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension on Dec. 4, 2013. He became the highest paid goalie with an $8.5 million cap hit.

After leading the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014, Lundqvist helped guide them to the seventh game of the 2015 Conference Finals. The Lightning would spoil the chance of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.

From that point, the core of the team started to decline. As they became worse, Lundqvist wasn’t the same either. Eventually, he played his final game for the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round in 2020. After signing with the Capitals, he had open-heart surgery in January 2021 due to pericarditis. Despite returning to practice, Lundqvist decided not to return to the Capitals. He announced his retirement from hockey in Aug. 20, 2021.

Nobody can predict what will happen with Shesterkin. He blows out the candles on his 29th birthday on Dec. 30. If the Rangers continue to struggle, more changes could come.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1865774396759024070

On a day when he left the team to be with his wife for the arrival of their second baby, the Rangers embarrassed themselves again on home ice. Quick suffered the ugly defeat. If he’s back for Monday, then it’ll likely be Shesterkin to face the Blackhawks tomorrow night. At 2-2-0 on the current five-game homestand, they can’t lose to them. Can they? Hopefully for their sake, they remember to show up.

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Rangers Make Dramatic Change By Unloading Trouba to Ducks

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Derek

On Friday, all hell broke loose literally. In what amounted to a mutiny, the Rangers forced Jacob Trouba to accept a trade or be placed on waivers. When he wasn’t on waivers at the 2 PM deadline, it was pretty obvious that Trouba had played his last game for the Rangers.

Rumors had been circulating yesterday when it was revealed that Trouba would be a healthy scratch for Friday night’s win against the Penguins. They recalled Victor Mancini from the Wolf Pack to replace Trouba in the lineup.

Once it became evident that Trouba was on the move, the question was which team would take him. As many as five teams all had interest in acquiring the former Rangers captain. But when the dust settled, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury traded Trouba to the Ducks in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth round pick.

While the return wasn’t a lot, unless you think a failed former Bruins 2017 first round pick will amount to something, Drury was able to unload Trouba’s remaining salary. The Ducks absorbed the entire $8 million cap hit on a contract that expires in 2026. Even the staunchest Drury critic should be able to give him credit for finding a taker for Trouba. As much as I dislike him due to how he handled both the summer and by hanging a dark cloud over the locker room when he publicly made both Trouba and Chris Kreider available, he somehow subtracted a player who admitted in a Zoom interview that it became a distraction for him.

In getting rid of Trouba, the Rangers increased their projected cap space to $5.9 million. Once they recalled both Mancini and Matthew Robertson, who hopefully will make his NHL debut sooner rather than later, they decreased their projected cap space to $4.8 million. Puck Pedia spelled all of it out on Twitter/X.

As far as what can happen at next year’s trade deadline due to having much more cap space, it’s hard to predict what they’ll do. Even with a much needed 4-2 victory over the Pens last night, can anyone say for certain what the Rangers are? They beat a mediocre team. Whoopty do. They get another middling opponent tomorrow when the Kraken visit Madison Square Garden on my birthday. Whose brilliant idea was it to have a 1 PM start on a football Sunday in December?

With the Blackhawks coming in Monday night after firing coach Luke Richardson, that’s another winnable game. If they want to change the perception, not only must they bank four points against inferior competition. But they have to start beating quality opponents who are in playoff position within the Eastern Conference. The only win they have against a playoff team in the East came against the Maple Leafs back on Oct. 19.

After they face Seattle and Chicago, the schedule gets tougher. Even the Sabres present a challenge. They whipped the Rangers once on Nov. 7. Following Buffalo, they have the Kings and Blues in a back-to-back next weekend. After visiting the underwhelming Predators, they finish the calendar year with the Stars, Hurricanes, Devils, Lightning, and Panthers. Those five games should be a good indicator to see where this team is.

Anyone celebrating Drury’s move should check themselves. Is the current roster good enough to seriously compete? There could be more moves coming. Judging from the reaction of former teammates, they loved Trouba. Unfortunately, it became an untenable situation. He had one telling quote in his interview with reporters yesterday when he spoke about how uncomfortable the situation became.

The part that stood out is how tough the situation became playing in New York City. I said it a bunch of times on this blog. The minute Drury leaked that they were actively trying to trade Trouba during the off-season, he became a lame duck captain. Choosing his family over his career is commendable. It’s understandable why he didn’t want to move. At the end of the day, the business side of sports can be ugly. Drury chose that path. He was ruthless. It was his mess to clean up.

Even though it ended badly, Trouba was still able to appreciate the time he spent playing for the Rangers. That included two trips to the Eastern Conference Final, being named captain, and a Presidents’ Trophy. Say whatever you want about the contract former general manager Jeff Gorton gave him. The Rangers were successful following the trade that sent Neal Pionk and a 2019 first round pick (Ville Heinola) to Winnipeg. They became one of the league’s best teams.

Trouba always laid his body on the line. He was a warrior. Ironically, that’s the nickname of former teammate Ryan Lindgren. When it came to delivering jarring hits that were similar to former Devil Scott Stevens, number 8 was always ready and willing. Without his big hit on Sidney Crosby, the Rangers don’t get out of the first round in 2022. At the time, they trailed the Pens 3-1 in the series. Even though Crosby returned, the Rangers completed the comeback thanks to Artemi Panarin’s overtime winner. They advanced all the way to the Conference Finals. Despite taking the first two games against the Lightning, they lost four in a row to fall to the two-time defending champs.

When you look at the current blue line, there’s not much in terms of physicality. After Lindgren, Braden Schneider will occasionally line guys up. In terms of the nuts and bolts, that’s what Trouba provided. He always blocked shots. By now, it’s no secret that he played on a bad ankle last postseason. He never made any excuses. Unfortunately, his defensive play suffered. Some of the blame is on coach Peter Laviolette for how he used him. At no point should Trouba have been paired with K’Andre Miller. Schneider and Miller were more prominently featured during that run to the Final Four. But Laviolette still saw fit to put Miller and Trouba back together without any success.

In a classic quote, Trouba deadpanned, “It’s a rite of passage to get fired by MSG.”

Just from watching him speak, you could sense the relief. At the end of the day, it had to be done. It’ll be better for Trouba, who gets a fresh start with a young rebuilding team in Anaheim. The Ducks currently are 10-12-3 and sit outside the wildcard. They aren’t expected to make the playoffs. By adding a proven veteran who’s well respected, it can only help. They now have both Trouba and Radko Gudas patrolling the blue line. That’ll make a few players think about crossing the blue line with the puck. Keep your head up.

Trouba’s play has declined. Whether he can improve on it remains to be seen. He isn’t a fast skater and gets beaten more by opponents with speed. The scenery change should provide a boost. Like he said, he can get back to playing hockey.

Of course, he’s taken a beating from some misguided fans on social media. They don’t understand what it’s like being a player because they’ve never been in the locker room. Vincent Trocheck understood the pressure Trouba was under. He spoke about the reaction to the trade.

Throughout the team’s struggles, Trocheck’s been pretty vocal. He’s probably been the most accountable player. His game had also suffered. But he’s started to pick it up. With a goal and two assists on Friday night, he has five points in the last four games. The big line featuring Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere combined for three goals and five assists in only the Rangers’ second victory over the last seven games.

In order for them to turn it around, they’ll need more from Mika Zibanejad. I didn’t see yesterday’s game. But he set up the Reilly Smith game-winner. All indications is that he played better against Crosby, winning the matchup. It’s imperative for Zibanejad to produce consistently. He’s still the best player on that line that also features Kreider.

The Trouba move wasn’t the only big news. We’ll get to Igor Shesterkin later.

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Rangers and Devils Well Represented at 4 Nations Face-Off

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Derek

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off were revealed. The tournament will take place in mid-February. It features Finland, Sweden, Canada, and USA. Games will be played between Feb. 12-20. The two teams with the best record will play in a one-game Final.

The value for a regulation win is three points. It’s two points for overtime or a shootout victory. If a team loses in either overtime or shootout, they get one point. Winning in regulation is the priority for each team. The format is the same as the NHL rules.

Four games will be played at Bell Centre in Montreal. Three will be played at TD Garden in Boston with the home of the Bruins hosting the winner take all Final.

Here are the official rosters:

FINLAND

Goalies

Kevin Lankinen

Ukko-Pekka Luukonen

Juuse Saros

Defense

Jani Hakanpaa

Miro Heiskanen

Esa Lindell

Olli Maatta

Niko Mikkola

Rasmus Ristolainen

Juuso Valimaki

Forwards

Sebastian Aho

Joel Armia

Aleksander Barkov

Mikael Granlund

Erik Haula

Roope Hintz

Kaapo Kakko

Patrik Laine

Artturi Lehkonen

Anton Lundell

Eetu Luostarinen

Mikko Rantanen

Teuvo Teravainen

SWEDEN

Goalies

Filip Gustavsson

Jacob Markstrom

Linus Ullmark

Defense

Rasmus Andersson

Jonas Brodin

Rasmus Dahlin

Mattias Ekholm

Gustav Forsling

Victor Hedman

Erik Karlsson

Forwards

Viktor Arvidsson

Jesper Bratt

Leo Carlsson

Joel Eriksson Ek

Filip Forsberg

William Karlsson

Adrian Kempe

Elias Lindholm

William Nylander

Gustav Nyquist

Elias Pettersson

Lucas Raymond

Mika Zibanejad

CANADA

Goalies

Jordan Binnington

Adin Hill

Sam Montembeault

Defense

Cale Makar

Josh Morrissey

Colton Parayko

Alex Pietrangelo

Travis Sanheim

Shea Theodore

Devon Toews

Forwards

Sam Bennett

Anthony Cirelli

Sidney Crosby

Brandon Hagel

Seth Jarvis

Travis Konecny

Nathan MacKinnon

Brad Marchand

Mitch Marner

Connor McDavid

Brayden Point

Sam Reinhart

Mark Stone

USA

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck

Jake Oettinger

Jeremy Swayman

Defense

Brock Faber

Adam Fox

Noah Hanifin

Quinn Hughes

Charlie McAvoy

Jaccob Slavin

Zach Werenski

Forwards

Matt Boldy

Kyle Connor

Jack Eichel

Jake Guentzel

Jack Hughes

Chris Kreider

Dylan Larkin

Auston Matthews

J.T. Miller

Brock Nelson

Brady Tkachuk

Matthew Tkachuk

Vincent Trocheck

Five Rangers Participating in Tournament

Five Rangers are expected to participate in the 4 Nations Tournament. They include Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. It isn’t surprising that three of the five will represent Team USA.

Fox is the headliner on a good defense that includes Norris winner Quinn Hughes, Long Island native Charlie McAvoy, Brock Faber, Zach Werenski, Jaccob Slavin, and Boston native Noah Hanifin. Even though Devils’ defenseman Luke Hughes was left off the roster, the American blue line should be a team strength. Hughes and Werenski are superb skaters who can turn up the heat quickly. Fox is one of the game’s best passing defensemen. Slavin and McAvoy are shutdown defensemen who add a lot of grit and physicality. Faber is an up-and-coming blue liner for the Wild. Hanifin is a steady defensive presence.

If there was an upset, that would be Trocheck making the roster over Cole Caufield and Tage Thompson. It looks like they valued Trocheck’s versatility over the explosiveness of Caufield and Thompson. Trocheck is a good all-around pivot who can play five-on-five, power play, and on the penalty kill.

Kreider gets one more chance to take the international stage. Despite the Rangers’ struggles, he remains a good finisher who’s money in front of the net. He should see a lot of power play time. He also has become one of the game’s most dangerous shorthanded players, with his 11 shorthanded goals the most since 2021-22.

Despite his struggles with consistency, Zibanejad was selected to play for Sweden. In 24 games, he has five goals and thirteen assists this season to rank fourth in scoring on the Blueshirts. However, anyone who’s watched him knows how hard it’s been to get going. He hasn’t played with much confidence and has looked a step slow. His fellow Swede teammates want Zibanejad to play on the wing. That could free him up to finish a bit more.

Kakko will get to represent Finland. Although he’s still having trouble scoring, Kakko has been a steady presence for the Rangers this season. Having formed solid chemistry with teammates Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle, Kakko has four goals and ten assists. His plus-10 rating is tied with Cuylle for the team lead. He’s also shifted to center and gone 51.9 percent on faceoffs. He might even get to play the middle for his country.

Four Devils Named to Rosters

The Devils will also be well represented at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Four players were named to rosters. They are Jesper Bratt, Erik Haula, Jacob Markstrom, and Jack Hughes.

Bratt and Markstrom will both be on Sweden. Bratt remains one of the league’s best kept secrets. His four-point game helped lead the Devils past the Rangers 5-1 on Monday, Dec. 2. A great skater who excels in transition, Bratt is tied for sixth in league scoring with 12 goals, 23 assists, and 35 points. A former 2016 sixth round pick, he’s turned himself into an excellent three zone player who can play at five-on-five, power play, and shorthanded. He’s probably the Devils’ second-best overall player behind Nico Hischier. Hischier won’t participate in the tournament due to being from Switzerland.

In his first season with the Devils, after coming over from the Flames in a trade, Markstrom is 12-6-1 with a 2.54 goals-against-average and .907 save percentage. He made 38 saves against the Rangers three days ago.

Hughes will get the chance to fly up and down the ice for Team USA. An exciting player who possesses the incredible skills to go with his explosive skating, Hughes has 11 goals with 22 assists for 33 points to rank second behind Bratt in team scoring. He scored twice and set up a goal for three points in the Devils’ victory over the Rangers. After going three games without a point before Thanksgiving, Hughes has eight points over the last three. Might we see Hughes looking to set up Kreider on the power play? The possibility does exist.

Haula will play for Finland. Figure him to be in a checking role. A gritty center who is over 55 percent on faceoffs, Haula plays the game with tenacity. That’s why he’s been successful. He hasn’t lit the world on fire this season. But he can be counted on to contribute. Haula is a complementary player who can play at even strength and on the penalty kill.

How it Affects the Season

When the league takes a break in February, it’ll feel similar to the Olympics. As much as the tournament should provide fans with some excitement, it takes away from the regular season. It’s two weeks off for most players. They’ll have to stay in game shape when the season returns on Feb. 22.

There’s also the concern over injuries to key players. The tournament will be hard fought. Hopefully, there are no setbacks to the players participating in the 4 Nation Face-Off. Keep your fingers crossed.

By having a two-week layoff, the NHL trade deadline isn’t until March 7. The regular season doesn’t conclude until Apr. 17. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Apr. 19.

In 2023-24, the Stanley Cup wasn’t rewarded until June 24. How late into the summer will 2024-25 go? The league should be finishing earlier. The NBA begins two weeks after the NHL. Their season now ends faster than the NHL. That isn’t good for anyone.

Complicating matters is that the 2025-26 season is an Olympic year. The league really needs to explore starting sooner. They should get rid of the bye week. It isn’t necessary.

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Key Blueshirts’ Disappearing Act Wearing Thin

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Derek

There was a hockey game at the World’s Most Famous Arena on a cold Monday night in December. It was supposed to be one anyway. You wouldn’t have known it. One team showed up ready to do whatever it took to win. The other looked like they’d rather be elsewhere.

The end result was a predictable 5-1 Devils victory over the Rangers. They owned the ice and the scoreboard. They even had some of their fans who took the Path train and enjoyed seeing their team humiliate the close Hudson rival at Madison Square Garden. The Ric Flair, “Woo” chants in the third period summed up how far away the Rangers are from last year. In fact, 2023-24 feels like a long time ago.

If you needed an early reminder of how fundamentally flawed this team is, it came in the first 90 seconds. Jesper Bratt beat Igor Shesterkin on a breakaway to give the Devils the early lead. The culprit on the goal was Artemi Panarin. With Braden Schneider caught deep, Panarin got victimized on a bad pinch. Ondrej Palat sent Bratt flying into the Rangers’ zone on a two-on-one. Bratt beat Shesterkin through the five-hole for his 12th goal.

As great an offensive player as Panarin is, he’s been lousy defensively. When he put together his 49-goal, 120-point season, he showed more interest in backchecking. Despite leading the Blueshirts again in scoring with 13 goals and 28 points, he’s reverted back to the lazy habits that have plagued the team this season. The same habits that got Gerard Gallant fired following a seven-game first round exit to the Devils in 2023. Peter Laviolette took over and the same nucleus delivered a Presidents’ Trophy, advancing to the Conference Finals.

If you’ve watched this team play, you know how dysfunctional they are. At any moment, they can break down. The much faster and supremely skilled Devils used their transition to hurt the Rangers. They got a few breakaways, including a Jack Hughes one-on-one with Shesterkin when he slowed down as if it were a shootout before having his one-handed backhand easily turned away with the score 2-0. Whether or not it was “Instagram hockey” as Rangers studio analyst Steve Valiquette asserted on MSG Network can be debated on social media. Either way, Hughes got the last laugh by later scoring twice in the second period.

Before Hughes got his two pair in a three-goal Devils’ second, yet another defensive breakdown allowed Dawson Mercer to score his first goal in eight games. Mercer roamed free in the high slot and beat Shesterkin through the wickets for another bad goal. For a goalie who wants to be paid top dollar, he isn’t playing like it. Neither goal in the first period was good. Especially when following the Shesterkin stop on Hughes, the Rangers controlled the remainder of the period outshooting the Devils 12-7.

Buoyed by a Dougie Hamilton interference minor, the Rangers went to work on the power play. The reunited top unit had the puck for most of the two minutes. It was during it that Devils defenseman Brett Pesce put together an inspired shift on the penalty kill. He blocked three shots. Two came on Mika Zibanejad attempts including a one-timer. He would also get in the path of a Panarin wrist shot to help kill off the remainder. In total, the Devils blocked five shots. The four-man unit showed so much will to prevent the Rangers from scoring.

Jacob Markstrom was strong in net. He made some key stops to keep the Devils ahead by two. That included denying Adam Edstrom and later Chris Kreider. Despite falling behind, the Blueshirts established themselves on the forecheck. The Devils were a bit sloppy defensively. Markstrom was sharper than Shesterkin.

After a good start for the Devils to the second period, with Shesterkin making a good save on Hughes, Edstrom continued his solid work by drawing a penalty on Joonas Siegenthaler. Once again, the Rangers did everything they could on the man-advantage. But they were a little unlucky. Panarin rang a shot off the goalpost. Then, Markstrom made two clutch stops on Vincent Trocheck. That included a very tricky deflection that he gloved. He’d later deny Will Cuylle.

The second was a bit perplexing. Both teams were undisciplined. That resulted in a lot of special teams. With the Rangers having some momentum, Reilly Smith was nabbed for taking down Hughes. It was Kreider who was dangerous shorthanded, getting thwarted by Markstrom. When they were down a man, it looked like they would make it a game. Instead, Adam Fox took an unnecessary penalty when he hooked Mercer from behind to hand the Devils a two-man advantage for 21 seconds. Fox was another star that had a bad night. His penalty proved costly.

Just as the first power play was about to expire, Hughes had a pass that was intended for Stefan Noesen go right to Hamilton, who drove a shot past Shesterkin to make it 3-0. The Devils remained on the power play. Even though they didn’t do much, it hurt any chance of a Rangers’ comeback. At even strength, they played better than in previous games. All the special teams hurt the ice times for players that don’t play on the top unit or penalty kill. Alexis Lafreniere only received 12:34 for the game. He nearly scored on a good shift and almost set a goal up.

On another defensive breakdown, Hughes was allowed to pounce on the rebound of brother Luke’s shot and score. He easily outmaneuvered Sam Carrick to make it 4-0. Carrick had no business being out there. The Devils took advantage of the favorable matchup.

Kreider would get one back on the power play to cut the deficit to three less than a minute later. With Jonathan Kovacevic off for delay of game, Kreider had a deflection go back to Zibanejad. He then passed the puck in front for Kreider to bury for his 10th of the season. In a game when some key Blueshirts disappeared, Kreider was noticeable. He forced Markstrom into some difficult saves. While he hasn’t been as consistent offensively, he remains a player opponents must gameplan for. If he can heat up, it’ll help turn things around. That is if there aren’t big changes coming between now and Friday’s game against the Penguins.

With Zac Jones off for delay of game, Zibanejad got the best chance on the penalty kill. He moved in and went to the backhand. But Markstrom got just enough of it to keep it out. Zibanejad continues to look a step behind at five-on-five. But he was more aggressive shooting the puck. The Rangers need more of that from him.’

Although the Devils led by three, it wasn’t a comfortable lead. They gave the Rangers chances to get back in it. A dubious embellishment call on Cuylle really finished it off. On a play where Justin Dowling got his stick between Cuylle to trip him up, the refs felt that he went down easily to sell the call. If a stick is in that spot on a player, they’re going to fall down. It was a brutal even up call that negated a power play.

During the four-on-four, Kreider was called for interference on Hughes. That gave the Devils a four-on-three. On it, Hughes took a Bratt feed up top and patiently waited for Nico Hischier to set a screen before firing his second past Shesterkin to make it 5-1 with 64 seconds left in the period.

At the conclusion, Erik Haula took down Jones to put the Rangers on another power play to start the third. But there was nothing doing. They failed to capitalize on the bad penalty.

Even though they continued to attack a more defensive minded Devils, they never created the kind of chances that would’ve made it interesting. They held a 9-3 edge in shots. The Devils did a good job boxing out. They continued to block shots, finishing with 27.

Laviolette put together the old lines. They forechecked more and played better. Cuylle was back with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. Lafreniere and Panarin were back with Trocheck.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of passion they showed. There wasn’t enough pushback. Aside from Jacob Trouba delivering a clean check to knock a Devil down, there wasn’t enough physicality. This is a team that lacks grit and character. They aren’t competing hard enough.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1863787764803604570?t=2H36SbCPLBMl_9s4BJ35hg&s=19

Following over a 30-minute delay, Laviolette told reporters that the answers are in the locker room. Are they? Or is he desperate? It looks like they’ve given up.

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Rangers’ Berard to Miss Hudson Rivalry Game against Devils

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Derek

The first installment of the Battle of Hudson takes place later tonight at 33rd and 7th. The Rangers will host the Devils on Broadway. The Hudson rivals meet four times this season, including twice in December. In twenty-one days, it’ll be the Devils’ turn to host the Rangers in Newark on Dec. 23 right before Christmas.

When it comes to the Hudson rivalry, there’s no love lost between the teams. The Rangers represent the big city and bright lights. The Devils represent the little guy and suburban life. Unlike when they played at Exit 16W off the Turnpike, they have a real home in downtown Newark. Though you wouldn’t know it as Hasan cited their mediocre 6-5-2 record at home in a post following a disappointing 6-5 loss to the Capitals on Nov. 30. For whatever reason, they fare better on the road – bringing a 10-4-0 record into Monday night.

RELATED: Devils don’t enjoy home cooking on Thanksgiving weekend

Indeed, the second place Devils play their best hockey away from Newark. In 14 road games, they’ve outscored opponents 48-33. The league’s top-rated power play is 34.9 percent in away games, going 15-for-43. Overall, the red and black click at 33.7 percent to rank first ahead of the Jets. Six different players have at least two goals. They’re led by Stefan Noesen, who has half a dozen by providing the grunt work in front. Noesen has been splendid since signing with the Devils in the off-season. His 13 goals rank second behind team captain Nico Hischier (15).

If the Rangers are undisciplined tonight, the Devils have plenty of weapons that can make them pay. Hischier has five power-play goals. That’s followed by Jesper Bratt (4), Dougie Hamilton (3), and Jack Hughes (3). Timo Meier also has a pair. Similar to past Rangers’ teams, the Devils have a very potent top unit. Having a healthy Hamilton back has helped. Ten of his nineteen points have come on the man-advantage. His big right-handed shot must be accounted for at the point.

A key matchup will be the Rangers’ penalty kill against the Devils’ power play. The Blueshirts remain near the top ranking second in penalty kill with an 87.7 percent success rate. They’ve killed off 32 of 36 (88.9) at home. Chris Kreider has two shorthanded goals. Despite his struggles at five-on-five with sidekick Mika Zibanejad, they remain one of the league’s best penalty killing duos. Peter Laviolette also has Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Sam Carrick, and normally Jimmy Vesey to kill penalties. Vesey is a healthy scratch. Reilly Smith returns to the lineup. He’ll likely see some shorthanded duty.

When the Rangers take the ice, they’ll do so without Brett Berard. Since being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack, the rookie forward has been impressive. In his first two games, he notched a goal and an assist. Berard’s speed, skating, and willingness to get dirty haven’t gone unnoticed. The 2020 fifth round pick does a lot of things right. Unfortunately, he absorbed a big hit from Kirby Dach in Saturday’s 4-3 win. Berard is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Without him, Laviolette was forced to tweak his lines. Kaapo Kakko moves up to the second line to play with Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle. It was the very active Cuylle who set up Kakko’s game-winning power-play goal with less than 24 seconds remaining against the Canadiens on Nov. 30. Cuylle continues to excel in his second season. He’s been the most consistent skater for the Rangers so far.

Smith will rejoin Zibanejad and Kreider on the third line. Perhaps being able to get different matchups can aid them. Laviolette will continue to have Filip Chytil draw the top line assignment between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. In his return, Chytil made up for a defensive gaffe by hustling to keep the puck in on Kakko’s winner. That allowed Zac Jones to find Cuylle, who then whirled around and dished across for a Kakko rocket past Sam Montembeault at 19:36.

By sitting out Vesey, Laviolette is reinserting Jonny Brodzinski into the lineup. He’ll play with Carrick and Adam Edstrom on the checking line.

Former Ranger Tony DeAngelo isn’t a fan of sitting Vesey. Now playing for St. Petersburgh SKA in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the defenseman hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion on the Rangers and what’s happening around the league.

Vesey certainly plays very hard. You never have to question the effort. It’s a bit surprising that he won’t play. He’s a good defensive forward who hustles and wins board battles. Brodzinski has speed and plays similarly. But he’s smaller than Vesey. Maybe Laviolette wanted to get him back in.

If the Rangers lose, it’s not going to be due to their fourth line. They should be concerned with the Devils’ team speed and transition. They’re lethal offensively, ranking eighth in the league with an average of 3.48 goals-per-game. They have better scoring balance than the Rangers, with four players entering tonight with over 20 points. Bratt leads them with 31 points, followed by Hughes’ 30. Hischier has 27. Noesen comes in with 22. Meier and Hamilton each are tied for fifth with 19.

Adding Paul Cotter has paid off. The former Golden Knight plays the game with physicality as evidenced by his team-leading 82 hits. He’s also chipped in offensively with seven goals. The offense has dried up lately. But Cotter plays a key role on the third line. Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer play with him. They’re a gritty line with Mercer providing some skill. Mercer’s coming off a bad game. It was his double-minor that cost the Devils mightily, with the Capitals converting on both ends of a four-minute penalty.

Brendon Dillon has added some beef to the Devils on the blue line. Notorious for his physicality, his 72 hits trail only Cotter. Dillon’s the kind of defensive defenseman you love if he’s on your side but hate if he isn’t.

Brett Pesce is healthy. The former Hurricane comes in with one assist in 18 games. He averages over 21 minutes a night. He was brought in to solidify the back end. They have him playing with Luke Hughes on the third pair probably to help Hughes improve defensively.

Jonathan Kovacevic has been a surprise so far. His strong start convinced the Devils organization to send Simon Nemec down. Kovacevic plays with Joonas Siegenthaler on the second pair. Dillon and Hamilton are the top pair.

Neither Hughes nor Tomas Tatar took the morning skate. Hughes is expected to play.

From a Rangers’ perspective, Laviolette will continue to stick with the new defensive pairings. Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox remain intact. That means K’Andre Miller stays with Braden Schneider on the second pair. Zac Jones will team with Jacob Trouba on the bottom pair. That’s how I’d play them. The defense was still an adventure against the lowly Canadiens.

Laviolette has gone back to his original top unit on the power play. Rather than rehash it like the classic Bill Murray character Phil slamming the alarm clock in Groundhog Day, here’s the second unit:

Jones-Lafreniere-Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko.

As expected, Igor Shesterkin gets the start. In 18 appearances, he’s 10-5-1 with a 2.71 goals-against-average (GAA) and .919 save percentage versus the Devils. That includes a pair of shutouts.

Jacob Markstrom is 9-4-2 with a 2.43 GAA and .916 save percentage against the Rangers. That includes one shutout. In his first season for the Devils, he’s 11-6-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .902 save percentage. In his last start against the Red Wings, he allowed four goals on 28 shots in a Devils’ 5-4 win on Nov. 29.

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Devils don’t enjoy home cooking on Thanksgiving weekend

Posted on December 2, 2024 by hasan4978

The last time I posted, the Devils had just completed their Florida trip and were on their first (and thus far only) extended break of the season before this most recent stretch of seven games in twelve nights, concluding tonight at MSG with a matchup over the troubled Rangers – who themselves are just coming off a five-game losing streak with all sorts of public speculation over players and front office futures. We’ve seen this rivalry be a tipping point for guys getting fired before…Gerard Gallant after their playoff loss to us a couple years ago and John Hynes shortly after the Rangers punked us at home in 2019. They did have a potentially job-saving comeback against the lowly Habs on Saturday, maybe we’ll see what happens if they continue to stutter.

As far as the Devils, on the whole things are still going fairly well…or at least they were until the last three games. Inarguably the Devils started this latest cramped stretch with three of their most impressive games of the season, coming home after the Florida trip for once they responded to the occasion at home in front of a big crowd and beat the Canes 4-2 in a back-and-forth game where Dougie Hamilton scored the tie-breaking goal midway through the third (at that point just his second of the season). Jesper Bratt also scored twice and the Devils’ special teams again made a difference with two power play goals – one by Bratt and the other by Stefan Noesen against his former team.

Noesen’s feel good late-career breakout has continued…that goal was his 10th on the season, he’s had three more since then for thirteen in the first twenty-seven games, already just one short of a career high! Two nights later in Washington, Hamilton again scored what proved to be the winning goal in a 3-2 game, giving the Devils a two-goal lead before they hung on after a late Caps surge in the third. In a sign perhaps the Devils are a good team this year, it wasn’t just the stars who won that Caps game (besides Dougie), but rather guys like Tomas Tatar with a goal plus an assist on Brenden Dillon’s unlikely first goal of the season. Tatar and Hamilton’s goals also came on the power play as the man advantage continued to pay dividends.

Monday’s 5-2 win against Nashville was a rarity in two respects, a rare stress-free home game and seeing a Nico Hischier natural hat trick. He’d never even scored three in a game in his career, much less three straight goals in the second period.

After the game Nico was genuinely touched by the fan reaction, and thus far beating up on the Preds and one-time assistant Andrew Brunette was a high point of the season. Even the one moment of drama in the game turned into a inspiration, when Timo Meier went too far retaliating against a punk Nashville rookie who was throwing cheap shots all night…but only got himself ejected (and later suspended for the next game) with a five-minute major. Perhaps it was a bit of karmic justice that the Devils not only killed off the entire major without giving up a goal, but also iced the game shortly thereafter when Justin Dowling scored an empty-netter to make it 5-2.

Now we get to the last three games and the downward turn, which hopefully will prove to be little more than a bump in the road. The Thanksgiving Eve special against the Blues was always going to be a tricky game given both the timing of it, and the fact St. Louis came in off a coaching change – and boy do they owe the Bruins a gift basket over their unceremonious dismissal of Jim Montgomery after they’d earlier failed to come to agreement on an extension. That said, I was still a bit peeved after the 3-0 shutout, in part because I had to cash out of going to the Nashville game due to a last minute schedule change in my rec league and decided to go to this one instead, which I’d initially used as a buyback game.

Selfish annoyances aside, the Devils really didn’t start well failing to even record a shot in the first twelve minutes. Nor did they finish well, as the third period looked like such a mail-in after going down by three goals I left halfway through it, and had no reason to regret that. Granted they had a little help in falling off the cliff that night, in part the refs failing to call an obvious hooking on Nico the first shift of the game, leading to a Blues two-on-one goal. Their second goal also came after a bit of a phantom too many men penalty, and for the coup de grace Brett Pesce was plastered right in front of the net seconds before the Blues scored. Certainly uneven officiating – and poor goaltending by Jacob Markstrom in a three-goal first period – didn’t help.

Neither perhaps did that slightly over the top ceremony before the game for Markstrom’s 500th game played a few nights before. It’s one thing to acknowledge the achievement and it’s nice to make him feel even more a part of the team…but a 10+ minute ceremony for it felt a bit over the top to be honest, especially for a guy who just got here and has barely had time to contribute as a Devil. Maybe the refs didn’t like the delay either and that’s why they made us swallow their whistle in the first period!

Our day after Thanksgiving trip to Detroit didn’t start much better, once again it was Markstrom giving up the first two goals as the Devils got behind the eight-ball again in the first period…but this time at least they showed a bit more resiliency in coming back to tie the game before the end of the period off a pair of PP goals from Dougie and Timo – returning off his suspension. Again, the Devils gave up the lead early in the second but Dougie and Nico both scored in response to finally put the Devils in front. A Jack Hughes power play goal early in the third momentarily gave the Devils a two-goal advantage but the Wings scored literally on the next shift and for the rest of the game it was fingernail-biting time but somehow the Devils held off the inevitable onslaught to win a sloppy game 5-4.

Who would have even guessed that Friday’s game would be just a preview to the idiocy we’d see Saturday night? I could do an entire blog just on this game that’s been the length of my post to this point but don’t really want to re-aggravate myself now on Monday morning. Once again, the Devils failed to start a game with any urgency or even shots on net in the first several minutes and only an inspired early performance from Jake Allen kept the game close. In fact, the Devils actually took a 2-1 lead in the second period against the run of play after Nico scored midway through the first, and Dowling early in the second period.

Unfortunately, a moment of carelessness from Dawson Mercer inexorably changed the game with a four-minute minor and the Caps took full advantage scoring on both ends of it. This time it was special teams which were used as a weapon of mass destruction against us as the Caps had a natural hat trick of power play goals, scoring a third late in the second period to go up 4-2, a score which quite frankly flattered us after being dominated for forty minutes. Finally, belatedly the Devils came to play in the third period and their early surge actually managed to tie the game when Noesen and Bratt scored in the first 4:15 of the period. With the game tied and finally momentum in their back pocket, you would have thought maybe the Devils could steal one in the third, or at least get it to OT for the inevitable loss there.

It was a pair of goals, ten seconds apart that all but ended the game as a contest – Taylor Raddish scoring after defensive breakdowns in front of the net at 13:54 was bad enough, but Pierre-Luc Dubois scoring into an empty net after a puck handling mistake by Allen ten seconds later was the coup de grace on the night, at least for me. I stormed out of my seat intending to leave the arena but instead wound up camping out in front of a TV downstairs just before going down the final escalator to leave. Maybe something inside told me this game’s been crazy already, might as well see the rest of it. Lo and behold, the Devils got a power play of their own and Noesen scored his second power play goal of the period to put the Devils back within one at 16:45.

With just over three minutes left, I now faced a dilemma…go back to my seat or stay in my potentially lucky spot downstairs? Ultimately I stayed in front of the TV, not due to luck though…I still figured on us losing the game and didn’t really want to expend the time and effort getting back upstairs to my section only to have the Caps pump in an empty-netter to finish the game again. To be fair, in the back of my mind I also figured if we don’t win I’ll stay closer to getting out and if we do somehow come back to tie then I’d have to stay committed to the bit and remain in my spot anyway.

I kind of figured this would just be a tease though, and indeed it was – narrowly missing a tie by a smidgen two or three times. Probably a deserved team result in the end to be honest, even if Allen’s great play early on got overshadowed by what turned out to be a really costly mistake late. It wasn’t his fault even if he took the blame like a good vet does…the entire team just didn’t play well enough. We started out the first forty minutes a step behind everywhere, and every goal in the game was either a bonehead play or caused by one. What was a stretch that started with a lot of goodwill ended with me again being worried about potentially shaky goaltending and cursing out this team’s consistent poor play at home, at least compared to their mad road form (5-5-2 at the Prudential Center, 11-4 outside of NJ).

While tonight’s Battle of the Hudson is for the moment bigger for the Rangers than for us, it’s always a big game for us…especially with the dreaded five-game homestand coming up next. Hopefully the three day break and no back-to-backs until after Christmas will lead to some improved play at the Rock but first things first tonight…drop the hammer on our rivals and make them potentially do some panic moves after they already publicly floated players being on the trade block.

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Rangers Less Than Impressive in Last Second Win over Canadiens

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Derek

At least the losing skid is no more. Kaapo Kakko’s power-play goal with 23.5 seconds remaining lifted the Rangers over the Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

They needed Kakko’s last second goal to rescue them from blowing a two-goal lead in the third period. It became necessary because the Rangers opted to sit back and let the Canadiens take control. They allowed one of the league’s doormats to get back in the game by playing passively. It was indicative of how fragile they are.

The Rangers used goals from Vincent Trocheck (goals in two straight) and Mika Zibanejad (first power-play goal of season) to grab a 3-1 lead after two periods. Despite that, they still were allowing the Canadiens to get good scoring chances. In fact, the Habs had the better of the play for most of the second. A phantom call on Josh Anderson allowed Zibanejad to cash in to make it a two-goal game with 2:57 left in the period.

Jonathan Quick was a big reason why they led by two after 40 minutes. Making the start for Igor Shesterkin, who got a much-needed day off to prepare for the much better New Jersey Devils on Monday, Quick was superb in the middle stanza. Of the Habs’ 13 shots at five-on-five, 10 were considered high danger scoring chances. Quick stopped 14 in total, including an early one on a Montreal power play.

It wasn’t so much that the Rangers played poorly. They got 12 shots in a scrappy period that featured several players coming together during a scrum. To their credit, they played the game with much more intensity than any of the past five.

Looking to provide an early spark, Jacob Trouba asked Anderson to fight less than two minutes into the contest. The captain took a beating from the very willing Anderson, who landed several clean shots during the bout. Seeing Trouba sacrifice himself was appreciated by the entire Rangers bench. They saluted him when he returned from serving the five-minute major.

Unlike the recent stretch, it was all Blueshirts for most of the first period. On a day when they welcomed back Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider, coach Peter Laviolette mixed up his top three lines. Chytil was featured between Artemi Panarin and Will Cuylle. Trocheck played with Alexis Lafreniere and Brett Berard. The third line was comprised of Zibanejad, Kreider, and Kakko. Prior to the game, Laviolette decided to healthy scratch Reilly Smith. His last couple of games weren’t good enough. So, he came out of the lineup along with Jonny Brodzinski. Sam Carrick and Jimmy Vesey played with Adam Edstrom on the checking line.

Laviolette also stuck with the new defensive pairs he used for the remainder of the 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Nov. 27. Aside from Ryan Lindgren staying with Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider worked together on the second pair. Zac Jones and Trouba made up the third pair.

Gaining some momentum from the Trouba fight, the Rangers had eight of the first nine shots. Although they didn’t score right away, they played with more urgency. In a shocking discovery, they learned that playing in the offensive zone can lead to an opponent taking penalties. On a good forecheck, Kreider kept skating until Emil Heineman grabbed him from behind. That put them on the power play.

With a minute left on the five-on-four, Mike Matheson airmailed a puck out of play to hand the Rangers a two-man advantage. On the five-on-three, Panarin beat Sam Montembeault for his team-leading 13th at 9:02. Fox and Zibanejad picked up assists. The power-play goal was due to Kreider doing his job. He provided a perfect screen in front. Montembeault never saw Panarin’s shot that went high glove inside the bar. In his first game back, Kreider had a positive impact.

For the first time in a while, the Rangers played from in front. The problem was they continued their bad habit of leaving the slot exposed. It took less than three minutes for the Habs to even the score. On some sustained pressure, Juraj Slafkovsky moved the puck to Brendan Gallagher, who then found a pinching Matheson for a goal. It was a coverage breakdown. Lafreniere never skated towards the middle to take Matheson. He puck watched. As good an offensive player as he is, the same cannot be said for his defensive awareness. It’s getting frustrating watching him not backcheck.

Later in the period, Trocheck took one of those undisciplined penalties when he high-sticked Christian Dvorak. Fortunately, the penalty kill got it done. They limited the Canadiens to one shot, which Quick handled. Trocheck made up for it by scoring a big goal to beat the buzzer.

On a good pinch from Lindgren, he kept the puck in and got it over for Lafreniere. With time winding down, he let go of a wrist shot that Trocheck tipped in with less than four seconds remaining to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead headed to the locker room.

The second period had a lot of action. On a play in the neutral zone, Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj delivered a late knee on knee hit on Lafreniere that knocked him down. He’d already moved the puck when Xhekaj came in with the questionable hit. It was a dirty play. It didn’t take long for an incensed Carrick to respond. He tried to engage Xhekaj, who ducked the challenge by diving to the ice. Carrick wound up with the only penalty. It was pretty gutless.

Quick made a single stop with the Rangers shorthanded. He came up with a couple of better ones with both teams back at full strength. He was sharp throughout the period. When the Canadiens threatened at five-on-five, Quick delivered the big saves. He remains more consistent than Shesterkin up to this point of the season. We’ll see if Igor can turn it on in his birthday month.

The Rangers also created some good chances. Berard was denied on a wraparound by Montembeault. That’s the second time he’s used his speed to get around the net to make a bid for a goal. In his NHL debut, a similar play led directly to Zibanejad setting up Cuylle for Berard’s first point. Lafreniere sent a shot wide on a rebound.

Panarin came close a bit later when he hit the crossbar by trying to beat Montembeault short side from a sharp angle. Following a Montembeault save on a Panarin deflection, Panarin had some words for the Canadiens goalie during a stoppage.

The Canadiens almost tied it. Following a Quick save on Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki rang one off the crossbar. The back and forth play continued. After Montembeault stopped Lafreniere, Quick robbed Anderson and Kirby Dach in front on consecutive chances. He’d later deny Slafkovsky, who of course got another dangerous chance from directly in front.

Still hanging onto a one-goal lead, the Rangers got a break when Anderson was sent off for a dubious roughing minor. The replay showed that he gave Lindgren a shove. He didn’t even punch him. It was an atrocious call.

On the power play, Zibanejad took a Panarin feed and faked a shot before firing a pea past a screened Montembeault to make it 3-1 with 2:57 remaining. It was again Kreider who provided the dirty work. That made it easy for Zibanejad to finally get his first power-play goal of the season. He is up to five goals in 23 games. That number needs to increase dramatically in December.

With 1:26 left in the second, Quick shut down Dach on a wrap-around. Dach then shoved Zibanejad in the crease after the whistle. That caused a fracas. Zibanejad responded. So did Lindgren. Most notably, Quick got right in Dach’s face and punched him. During the scrum, Slafkovsky received a double minor for roughing. David Savard got two for roughing. Xhekaj also earned two for roughing. Ironically, it was the much smaller Berard who went after him. The crowd loved it. When Quick’s name was announced, they roared with approval.

Out of all the things that have happened at The Garden, that was the loudest the building sounded. The Rangers haven’t provided enough reasons for fans to get excited. They played with emotion and got a positive response.

Despite leading by two, it wasn’t a comfortable margin. With how they play, everyone knew better. The Canadiens got the message from coach Marty St. Louis. They came out and played a great third period.

With the Rangers back on their heels, Kreider failed to clear the zone. Instead, the Habs kept the puck in. Suzuki then passed down low for Caufield, who looked away before firing a quick shot through Quick’s wickets to cut it to one with 15:44 left. It was one he should’ve had. Caufield made a good play by looking pass. Miller went down to prevent it. He left the shooter for Quick, who was visibly frustrated with himself for not making the save.

When they did attack, it wasn’t for too long. Cuylle was stopped by Montembeault. He’d later stop Chytil to keep the deficit at one.

As the period moved along, the Canadiens kept coming. Eventually, their persistence got rewarded. Sensing that his big line had another goal in them, St. Louis kept sending them out every other shift. The move paid off.

This time, Cuylle failed to get the puck out. Chytil came up high to provide help. However, he never recovered in time on Suzuki’s tying goal. Taking a Caufield feed, Lane Hutson centered for a cutting Suzuki down low for a tip-in that tied it with 3:53 left in regulation. On the goal, Miller went to Caufield when he was already occupied. Schneider was in the wrong spot. Chytil’s diving attempt was too late to prevent the Suzuki goal.

With all the momentum, it looked like the Habs would find a way to win it in regulation. Both Suzuki and Caufield missed on dangerous opportunities. If either connect, we could be talking about a sixth straight loss without a point.

Instead, Dach took an undisciplined high-sticking double minor when he bloodied Zibanejad with 2:26 remaining. That was all the Rangers needed to pull it out late.

Following some great hustle from Chytil to keep a loose puck in at the blue line, Jones passed it down low for Cuylle in front. Instead of shooting, he had his back turned and made a no-look pass that Kakko buried upstairs with a one-timer at 19:36. The crowd erupted. It was a huge goal. Kakko deserved it. He’s worked hard. It was nice to see him get rewarded. The second unit got it done.

When the buzzer sounded, you could sense the relief. It didn’t matter that they won ugly. They needed these two points any way they could get them. It shouldn’t have been such a struggle to beat the Habs. However, it was their first back-to-back of the season. That might’ve been a factor. The third was far from good enough. They got lucky.

The positive is that they scored three times on the power play. The negative is that they continue to struggle at five-on-five. Montreal outscored them 3-1 and doubled them up in scoring chances (27-13). High danger chances were 15-6. None of this is good.

Will they be ready for the Devils in two nights? The Devils gave up six goals to the Capitals in a wild 6-5 loss at home. You know they’ll come out firing. They’re a good team that can explode offensively. If the Rangers make the same mistakes against them, they’ll get run out of the building. It’ll be an interesting test. We’ll see if they pass.

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