Rangers lose again on the road

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Derek

The Predators celebrate a goal against a deflated Henrik Lundqvist. He’s now allowed 18 goals on 134 shots in his last 4 road appearances. AP Photo by Mark Humphrey/Getty Images

In a game I caught the tail end of, the Rangers were defeated by the Predators 5-3 in Music City. It was another game I didn’t need to see. I was busy putting in some extra time at work earning extra incentive. I wish I could say the same for this sinking ship.

The Christmas break apparently didn’t help. Neither did the returns of Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein. Right now, this team can’t win on the road. Since posting a 5-4 overtime win over the Panthers back on Nov. 21, they have dropped their last eight (0-6-2). Even worse, in the last five road losses, they’ve allowed at least five goals in each giving up 27 total.

Most alarming, Henrik Lundqvist has started four of those five games allowing 18 goals on 134 shots. Including tonight where he gave up all five Nashville goals on 35 shots before giving way to backup Antti Raanta who relieved him following James Neal’s second that made it 5-1, Lundqvist has now been pulled three times in his last four road starts. He’s posted a un-King like .866 save percentage. Breaking it down further in a tweet I just posted:

https://twitter.com/NewYorkPuck/status/681709335458803712

Honestly, there’s really not much more to say. If Lundqvist can’t perform better than that, then it could be a while before the Blueshirts’ road issues go away. That being said, they have two more quality opponents coming up. On Wednesday, they visit the Lightning. Then on Saturday January 2, 2016, they’re at the Panthers.

It’s not just on Henrik. The performance by the D or lack there of has been alarming. Having finally caught highlights, he didn’t have much chance on three. The Ryan Ellis power play bomb that followed a Craig Smith tally was stoppable. It snowballed with Neal ending Lundqvist’s night for the Preds’ third goal in 3:41. Making his first appearance since sustaining a concussion at the Wild on Dec. 17, Raanta didn’t face a shot in 5:19 of action before going to the bench for an extra attacker.

Consecutive goals off the sticks of Rick Nash and J.T. Miller made things interesting with still 3:58 left. Despite some close calls, they were unable to cut the deficit to one. Pekka Rinne made at least one big save. He finished with 26 total to pick up the win.

Jesper Fast scored the other goal for the Blueshirts on a nice tip of a Girardi shot from Chris Kreider which actually evened the score at 6:59 of the second stanza. But shoddy defense allowed Mike Ribeiro to feed a wide open Neal for a laser from the slot putting the Preds in front for good at 13:48. Ribeiro had a big night setting up three goals including Smith’s redirect from in front that irked Lundqvist and Ellis’ power play goal from long distance.

Regrettably, Emerson Etem and Dylan McIlrath were the healthy scratches. Viktor Stalberg was back in which is inexcusable. What exactly does he bring that Etem can’t? God forbid Alain Vigneault let the kid play and see if he can become a key contributor. Unbelievable.

As for McIlrath, everyone knew he’d come out with Girardi and Klein back. And with Dan Boyle suddenly reemerging, McIlrath now finds himself the odd man out. One trend on Twitter that amused me was a #FreeMcIlrath one. The writing is on the wall.

Fans are starting to turn on Vigneault and his staff. While a rookie coach makes abrupt lineup changes for an overachieving team across the Hudson, a veteran coach who’s had great success here is unwilling to do what must be needed to get his team’s attention. You can’t make it up.

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Hynes puts Devils on notice

Posted on December 28, 2015 by hasan4978

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For weeks I’ve been harping on the Devils’ up and down effort level and the fact that there has until today been little accountability for it.  After the Devils’ post holiday blues in yet another bad loss on Saturday (this time in Carolina), apparently enough is enough for coach John Hynes, who today changed the top forward lines and defensive pairings around and challenged the team publicly to get better and stop hovering around mediocrity.

 “We need better. We need better from our team and better from some individuals,” Hynes said. “We can’t just show up every day and keep doing what we’re doing. We’re looking to get better as a team, individually, find better combinations and see if we can continue to improve and get better as the season goes on.”

Hynes spread out what had been the first line for most of the season and put them on three seperate lines with Mike Cammalleri now being with Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmeri, with Adam Henrique being dropped to the second line in the middle of wingers Jiri Tlusty and Tyler Kennedy while Lee Stempniak is now on the third line with Sergey Kalinin and Jacob Josefson.  Also, the d-pairings were shifted dramatically with slumping Adam Larsson now on a pairing with David Schlemko while John Moore was bumped up to the top pairing with Andy Greene, albeit now playing the right side.  Younger defensemen Damon Severson, Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas took turns flanking the third pairing.  In explaining his rationale for the wholesale changes, coach Hynes indicated there was more behind it than merely trying to spark a slumping team:

“We want to get better,” Hynes said. “Right now, we’ve been hovering around mediocrity. We’ve had trouble putting back-to-back games together. We haven’t necessarily liked how well we’ve played collectively whether it’s our shot totals, our total time in the offensive zone, being a difficult team to play against. So, we need better performances from a lot of guys and we’ll switch some things around and give some guys some different opportunities and make it a little bit more meritocracy that if you want to play in certain situations or with certain guys, then you’ve got to earn it.”

To this I say hallefreakinglujah.  As a fan it usually makes me feel more convinced that what I’ve been seeing is fact when the head coach echoes the exact same sentiments publicly.  Yes the Devils are in a place nobody expected them to be around the holidays – one point out of a playoff spot.  However at some point this team needs to stop being satisfied with merely not being among the worst teams in the league and aim for something higher as opposed to just treading water.  To use an example from another sport, my Jets were 5-5 after losing four out of five games, giving another mediocre effort in Houston when coach Todd Bowles reamed the team out and cut a former first-round pick.  And like with the Devils some thought the Jets should be satisfied with just being in the hunt in November after a poor 2014.

Long story short the Jets haven’t lost since and proved they were indeed capable of a higher standard…and yes I’m aware that you can’t crack the whip all the time, otherwise you become a caricature of yourself like John Tortorella has been the last few years.  However when it’s clearly deserved and everyone knows it, that’s when you have the most chance of getting a positive response.  Even the fans can see the effort level has been lacking around the Devils in recent weeks, the boos the Devils got at the Rock in their last pre-holiday home loss to the Ducks shows that and I’m sure would have been booed again if Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Carolina was in New Jersey.  Somewhat fittingly the Devils play Carolina again tomorrow, this time at the Rock.  If this team gives the effort both I and the staff expect of it, it’ll provide a stark contrast to the one it gave on Saturday night.

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USA shutout by Sweden 1-0

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Derek

In the second game of the preliminary round, Team USA was shutout by Sweden 1-0 at the U-20 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

Two days after beating Canada 4-2 in the opener, the Americans were unable to beat Swedish goalie Linus Soderstrom. The Islanders 2014 fourth round pick stopped all 46 shots including 39 in the first two periods to lead Sweden to its second straight win. In two starts, Soderstrom has stopped 61 of 64 shots.

The difference was an Alexander Nylander goal in the second period. The younger brother of Leafs prospect William, who missed the game due to an injury, scored at 22:41 of the contest. He took advantage of a USA turnover at the Sweden blueline. Breaking in on American starter Alex Nedeljkovic, he went to the backhand off a nice deke for the game’s only goal from Dmytro Timashov and Gabriel Carlsson.

Team USA was unable to score on eight power plays. They lost 2016 Draft eligible forward Alex DeBrincat to a head injury early in the contest when he fell awkwardly and took a accidental knee from a Swedish player into the boards. The diminutive 5-7, 160 pound forward has 33 goals in 30 games for Erie of the Ontario Hockey League. He’s projected as a first round pick.

Defenseman Zach Werenski led USA with six shots and was named Player of the Game. Soderstrom obviously earned the honor for Sweden with 46 stops.

After giving up a lot of chances the first two periods, his team played better defensively in the third period allowing seven shots. They used their size well and kept the Americans to the outside including projected first overall pick Auston Matthews (4 shots). He scored against Canada as did Werenski and team captain Colin White.

Even though he didn’t as much action, Nedeljkovic stopped 22 of 23 shots. He was good in the third keeping USA within reach despite some sloppy turnovers. The Canes 2014 second round pick has started both games over Rangers’ prospect Brandon Halverson.

With USA pressing for the equalizer late, they lost their discipline taking some bad penalties. First, they were caught for too many men with Nedeljkovic unable to get off with the extra skater already on. Then, Matthew Tkachuk who ran around the prior shift was nabbed for high sticking erasing any hopes to give Sweden a 5-on-3 in the final minute.

Coach Ron Wilson’s team showed frustration. Matthews also knocked down a Swedish player away from the puck prior to the bench minor. But the refs missed it. Following the loss, Wilson told NHL Network he didn’t feel he had to make any changes. Instead, he praised Soderstrom’s performance.

After two games, USA is 1-1-0. They’ll get a day off before facing Switzerland on Wednesday. The preliminary round concludes on New Year’s Eve with the Americans facing Denmark. The Danes got their first ever win at Helsinki Ice Hall defeating the Swiss 2-1 Sunday touching off a post locker room celebration. They have to face Canada at 1 PM today. Good luck.

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Christmas brings in World Junior Championship

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Derek

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! To Hasan, Pan and the lurking Brian, wishing you and your families all the best on this unusually mild Christmas in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

It is hard to fathom 60 to 70 degree temps in late December. At least for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, it was a bit cooler. Given some of the recent winters we’ve had, we’ll take it. Even if I prefer it to be colder with even a little light snow for a white Christmas. 🙂

All the same, whatever holiday you celebrate appreciate what you have. It’s about family, loved ones and friends. Enjoy this special time filled with sunshine and rhythm and rhyme.

For us puckers, it’s especially nice to have a couple of days off from the daily stresses our teams cause. With the holiday season here, my favorite tournament starts up tomorrow in Helsinki, Finland. Of course, I’m referring to the Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championship. I’ll be quite busy over the next week with work but will try to have some posts up on the premier junior hockey tournament featuring the best 17, 18 and 19-year old prospects.

This year is no different. Headlined by projected top overall pick American Auston Matthews, he’ll try to lead Team USA back to a medal. Joined by Sonny Milano, Zach Werenski, Christian Dvorak and Colin White, Team USA gets going tomorrow with a big challenge against defending champ Canada. Canada features Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Lawson Krouse, Jake Virtanen and Haydn Fleury.

If you’re a Ranger fan, you’ll be tracking American goalie prospect Brandon Halverson. He’s the likely starter for Team USA. If you root for the Devils, then you’ll be following Canadian prospects John Queenville and Mackenzie Blackwood on Team Canada. Queenville is among a talented forward crop while Blackwood is one of three goalies on the roster. Sabres fans can follow defenseman Will Borgen. The 19-year old Buffalo 2015 fourth round pick is part of Team USA.

It’s hard to believe there won’t be the traditional New Year’s Eve game. But the tournament isn’t in North America. So, it looks like I’ll miss it live and catch the replay over John’s in South River, New Jersey joined by Brian who is home for Christmas.

Team USA and Canada are joined by Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark in Group A. As always, each game can be seen on NHL Network. Group B features Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Slovakia. When I get back later, I’ll try to put up more on Sweden and Russia.

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Game Preview: Rangers host Ducks in Hagelin’s return

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Derek
Carl Hagelin

Happier Times: Overtime hero Carl Hagelin celebrates his series clinching goal that eliminated the Penguins in Game 5. He makes his Garden return tonight with the Ducks. AP Photo by Julie Jacobson/Getty Images

In what’s the final game before the holiday break, the Rangers host the Ducks in a battle of slumping teams. Anaheim enters the second of a back-to-back fresh off a 5-2 loss to the Islanders in Brooklyn. Former Blueshirt Carl Hagelin scored. But the Isles chased Frederik Andersen with three straight in the first.

The Ducks are the NHL’s biggest disappointment. Their 12-15-5 record is the worst in the West. Ryan Getzlaf remains stuck on one goal. An empty netter. I would know since I have him in fantasy. How come every time I get this guy, he does nothing? Never mind. He looks a step slow. Maybe he’s playing hurt. Nothing would surprise me.

Corey Perry leads the Ducks in scoring with a dismal 20 points. He also paces them with 10 goals but has only one assist over the last four games and took two penalties yesterday as did Getzlaf. Not what you come to expect from two of the league’s best players.

Something is fishy in Anaheim. They are the worst offense in the NHL averaging less than two goals-per-game. On a new team due to becoming a cap casualty, Hagelin got his third goal Monday. He hasn’t fit in coach Bruce Boudreau’s system. Then again, it’s a team wide epidemic. Ryan Kesler has four goals and Jakob Silfverberg has three. Do they miss Matt Beleskey that much?

If they can go overboard with a video tribute to coach Alain Vigneault for his 1,000th game, the Rangers can at least acknowledge Hagelin during a stoppage. He was a key part of three teams that went to the Final Four including the 2014 roster that lost to the Kings for the Stanley Cup. Hagelin’s greatest goal came last Spring when he closed out the Pens in the first round with a clutch overtime winner.

In a bizarre twist, the trade that sent Hagelin, a second round pick (Julius Nattinen) and sixth rounder (Garrett Metcalf) for Emerson Etem and a second round pick that turned into Ryan Gropp hasn’t worked out for either team. Hagelin has 11 points with a minus-11 rating in 32 games while Etem has three assists in only 16 games due to Vigneault misusing him. He’s on the fourth line tonight.

The Blueshirts couldn’t afford to bump Hagelin’s salary up to $4 million. They had to clear space to re-sign Derek Stepan. It’s unfortunate because the speedy Hagelin was a perfect fit in Vigneault’s system. A splendid skater, he was dangerous in transition and good on the forecheck. Two areas that have been missing from the Rangers along with two-way forwards who remember to back check.

Hagelin now wears number 26 for the Ducks. The reverse of his No. 62 in Blueshirt colors. He’ll get a nice hand from the Garden Faithful who never forget good players. Hopefully, Hagelin gets one and the Rangers win.

While the Ducks have their issues, the Rangers certainly have their own having dropped 11 of 14 to fall into third place a point behind the Isles for second in the Metropolitan. At 19-12-4 with 42 points, they’re still in solid position five points ahead of the Devils and resurgent Flyers. But it’s not a safe lead due to how they’ve played.

Henrik Lundqvist has been ice cold giving up an ungodly 20 goals over his last five appearances. That includes four-or-more in the last three starts and four of his last five. With the defense continuing to struggle minus Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi who both took part in the morning skate, Lundqvist hasn’t been able to bail his team out. He looks mentally drained. With Magnus Hellberg still backing up with Antti Raanta out due to a “head injury,” Lundqvist will get another start before Christmas.

Neither Klein nor Girardi will return. That means another game for the problematic Chris Summers. He’s paired with Dan Boyle, whose offense has been much better. But that’s not a pair you want out against quality competition. That includes the penalty kill where Vigneault remarkably gave them a shift in the brutal 7-3 humiliation to the Caps who not surprisingly took advantage. They were on for three goals against.

As for AV’s latest lines, it’s a bit improved from Sunday’s head scratcher that included Tanner Glass on a third line with Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello. This time, Glass is back on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Etem, who just can’t break into the top nine despite improved play.

This time, Vigneault decided to take J.T. Miller off the top line. This after he scored his seventh goal. Instead, he’ll move down to the third line with Hayes and Oscar Lindberg. In an even odder move, Vigneault flipped Chris Kreider and Rick Nash. Kreider will play on the first line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello while Nash gets a turn with Derek Stepan and Jesper Fast.

At this point, AV’s lines are bordering Tom Renney. We all remember the Renney Line Generator towards the end of his run. I have no idea what other possible combos Vigneault has in store. But he’s not allowing anything to jell. It’s so unlike him.

The top two defense pairs remain the same. Marc Staal with Ryan McDonagh while Keith Yandle teams with Dylan McIlrath. I don’t know what McIlrath has to do to be given a look on the top pair with McDonagh. Why not try it? What are they afraid of?

Well, I’m skipping this one for a late shift. So, I will catch the highlights later and have a recap.

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Caps humiliate listless Rangers 7-3

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Derek
Justin Williams, Henrik Lundqvist

Justin Williams converts one of two goals past a helpless Henrik Lundqvist in a Caps’ 7-3 humiliation of the Rangers. AP Photo by Seth Wenig/Getty Images

It was already bad enough. Just call the latest defeat Capital Punishment. After they took a 3-1 lead, a listless Rangers allowed six unanswered goals in a humiliating 7-3 loss at MSG. It was their 10th loss in the last 13.

Facing a familiar division rival they’ve had success against, they couldn’t stop the bleeding. Even after playing their best period in a long time, it wasn’t enough to prevent a total meltdown. Right now, they’re a mess psychologically. At any given moment, they can fall apart. For the eighth time this season, the Rangers gave up consecutive goals in less than a two-minute span.

Unfortunately, they are a fragile team. Even if the leadership led by captain Ryan McDonagh and coach Alain Vigneault don’t agree. Our eyes tell us otherwise. There have been too many collapses. Way too many defensive breakdowns. A whole lot of blown assignments from a normally unflappable team that’s experienced enough to know better.

Nobody would argue that they’ve played a lot of hockey. The Rangers have been very busy this month. They played for the fourth time in the last six days losing for a third straight time. In the three defeats, they’ve been outscored 17-7. Twice, the starting goalie has been pulled including a shell shocked Henrik Lundqvist tonight after giving up five goals on 24 shots. It marked the fourth time over the last five that a Ranger goalie has allowed at least five goals.

Lundqvist has been in for three of those. He has not been himself lately. Watching him answer questions from MSG’s John Giannone in the post game, he looks mentally exhausted. Why wouldn’t he be? The defense has broken down. Granted. They’re still minus Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi, who at least would’ve accounted for a wide open Alex Ovechkin on the game-winning power play tally in a four-goal second period barrage by the Caps.

The good news is they have one more game before the Christmas break. It comes at home Tuesday against the Ducks who visit the Islanders tomorrow at Barclays Center. If the Blueshirts can’t win that one against what should be a tired opponent that’s had their own struggles, so be it. They will get five days off which should allow for a mental break along with some much needed practice time. To end the calendar year, they visit Nashville on Dec. 28 and the Lightning Dec. 30. They conclude a three-game road trip at Florida on January 2, 2016.

Encouraging was that after the first of two goals from Justin Williams, they responded with three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead after one period. J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider and Dan Boyle (power play) all scored within a 4:21 span. First, Miller took a Rick Nash feed and skated around the Washington D and beat Braden Holtby with his seventh. One of the few players playing well, he now has five points over the last five.

Over two minutes later, Kreider took a Jesper Fast feed in the slot and undressed John Carlson and Holtby with a sweet forehand deke for his sixth. Marc Staal added a helper.

Then on the power play, Boyle continued his turnaround with a nice one-time blast from McDonagh that beat Holtby to make it 3-1 at with 1:57 left in the period. Boyle now has six points (4-2-6) over his last seven. He’s certainly been a bright spot and is no longer a candidate that should sit when Klein and Girardi return. The trouble is neither is Dylan McIlrath. Vigneault will be faced with a tough decision regarding Girardi and Staal, who was beaten badly on one Caps goal.

One thing about this team. They are very suspect defensively. Even after coming out with a two-goal lead, I didn’t feel very safe. Sure enough, when Derek Stepan failed to bury a wide open opportunity for a three-goal lead early in the second, it came back to bite them.

The Caps completely took over scoring four times on 17 shots. It was ugly. The first goal came on a bad change. Dominic Moore was late getting on which allowed Evgeny Kuznetsov to snap out of a mini-slump when he got to a Dmitry Orlov rebound and send a backhand top shelf past Lundqvist at 5:25. Less than two minutes later, Nicklas Backstrom wisely fired a diagonal pass off the back boards which a faster Oshie beat Staal to going around for a backhand that deflected off McIlrath to tie the score at 7:01.

The Rangers showed a little push back with a strong shift that generated a scoring chance. But they were unable to go ahead. Tanner Glass also had a good shift while on the third line mixing it up with Caps antagonist Tom Wilson. Each went off for matching roughing double minors. That Glass was again one of their most effective players is sad. Even though his line was on for two goals against, neither was his fault.

Hartford call up Chris Summers took a bad penalty. He truly was awful. The direct cause of two goals, he and partner Boyle were on for three goals against including a Washington power play goal. With Summers in the box, it didn’t take long for Backstrom and Marcus Johansson to set up Ovechkin for one of his patented wristers that went high glove. Normally, that’s a shot Lundqvist stops but his confidence is clearly shaken.

With Oscar Lindberg off for his second undisciplined penalty in the final minute of the second, Ovechkin had two more point blank opportunities. It was sad. I guess no Girardi means no Ranger defenseman can front him. In a truly pathetic display, they left Williams all alone in front for an easy finish making it 5-3 with a minute left.

At that point, Vigneault gave Lundqvist the rest of the night off. In came 24-year old rookie Magnus Hellberg. If he didn’t know the true definition of hell, it came early in the third when the Caps greeted him by scoring on their first two shots of the period.

First, Jason Chimera took advantage of a bad pinch by Keith Yandle on a Ranger power play to score shorthanded. He walked in and used a nice forehand deke that emulated a shootout move before going top shelf. Finally, Summers turned over the puck behind his own net allowing Kuznetsov to easily find Johansson for a cookie 2:10 later.

That concluded the scoring. For almost the rest of the third, a visibly shaken Blueshirts looked like they gave up. I know they didn’t. But you could tell that their heads were not into it.

Somehow during this mess on a night where MSG did what else but celebrate Vigneault’s 1,000th career NHL game behind the bench (when do they not over celebrate in this place), the coach never made one line switch. He did try McIlrath with Staal without much success. But not one different line combo on a night when he had Mats Zuccarello with the lost Kevin Hayes who failed miserably on Oshie’s goal leaving him for a gimme. At this point, Hayes should sit. He’s been god awful. One game off might help. He has been the worst forward. It’s time.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evgeny Kuznetsov, Caps (goal-10th, assist, 11-and-7 on draws, +3 in 21 shifts-18:36)

2nd Star-Nicklas Backstrom, Caps (3 assists, even in 24 shifts-16:53)

1st Star-Justin Williams, Caps (2 goals-9, 10, assist, +2 in 23 shifts-17:15-proven winner)

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Vigneault’s starting lines for Caps ridiculous

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Derek

For tonight’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals, coach Alain Vigneault has shuffled the deck. When the Rangers take on the Caps at the top of the our at MSG, he’ll go with an odd lineup. At least Viktor Stalberg is the healthy scratch with Oscar Lindberg returning.

NYR Lines courtesy Daily News beat writer Pat Leonard:

Miller-Brassard-Nash

Kreider-Stepan-Fast

Glass-Hayes-Zuccarello :\

Lindberg-Moore-Etem :\

I won’t even comment on why the coach demoted Zuccarello to play with Hayes and Glass. And Etem and Lindberg are on the fourth line? Vigneault is channeling his Tom Renney. I’m beyond baffled.

As for the D, Hartford recall Chris Summers remains in with Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein still out. So, that’s pretty much a win for the Caps in terms of match-ups.

Staal-McDonagh

Yandle-McIlrath

Summers-Boyle

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

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Kyle Palmieri adds more than Local Flair to Rebuilding Devils

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Pan Karalis

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Two years ago to the day today, I was sitting somewhere in the 230’s at Prudential Center watching the Devils take on the Ducks. Andy Greene excitingly sent the game to overtime with five minutes left, and I was still hurling curses and insults at Jagr for what I perceived as lone responsibility for Anaheim’s first goal when the puck dropped for the start of the four-on-four. When the Ducks mercifully scored and ended the game before they could add to what would become a record breaking 0-18 winless streak in the shootout for the Devils, the unmistakable roar of family and friends there to proudly support their loved one’s homecoming erupted from the other side of the Rock. New Jersey native Kyle Palmieri had won the game for Anaheim.

 
18 months earlier the Devils were playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, led by three 30 goal scorers: Captain Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, and David Clarkson. In the following year and a half, all three left New Jersey to return to their respective homes. Parise, just weeks after he blew a chance to give the Devils the lead in the third period of game one of the Stanley Cup Finals by sweeping a puck that was loose in the crease into the net with his hand (no one seems to remember that), fled to the Wild on matching contracts with fellow Minnesotan Ryan Suter. A year later, former agitator-turned-goal scorer David Clarkson took a lucrative deal with his hometown Maple Leafs. He has since been traded for Nathan Horton’s contract, so Toronto could pay someone who will never play another game instead of dealing with the disaster that became David Clarkson. He has scored 16 total goals since leaving the Devils. Less than a week after he left, in what was the most surprising of the three departures, Kovalchuk retired from the NHL to head home to Russia and join SKA St. Petersburgh. The core of a team that won an Eastern Conference Championship had all gone home, and left the Devils with a couple of overpaid Newfoundlanders and an aging foundation that had no hopes of competing in the modern NHL.

 
New Jersey is not exactly Minnesota, Toronto, or Russia in terms of professional hockey talent. Fifteen New Jerseyans have suited up in the NHL, and illustrating how much the sport has grown here in the last couple of decades, eight are currently active. A third van Riemsdyk has committed to the University of New Hampshire, after also following in his brothers’ footsteps starring at Christian Brothers Academy, and we have one defenseman and a forward in Plymouth, Michigan with the United States Hockey National Team Development Program. And while the Devils are as guilty as every NHL team for passing over Salem County native Johnny Gaudreau (he ended up going 104th overall in the 4th round to Calgary in 2011), Devils fans were left wondering when we were going to be compensated with hometown talent of our own.

 
Jim Dowd was the first New Jersey native to play for the Devils, drafted directly from Brick Township High School after leading the Dragons to a state championship in 1986. His number was still hanging at Ocean Ice Palace, not far off Route 70 in Brick, last time I was there. He won a cup on the 1995 team, scoring the game-winning goal in game two against Detroit, and came back to the Devils in 2006 after a long career with eight other NHL teams. He retired with the Flyers a season later. He was back in the news earlier this year as head coach of the Manasquan-Point Beach high schools hockey team, appearing in court after being accused of assaulting one of his players. A few years ago we just called that Shore Conference hockey. Rumor has it Dowd spends a lot of his time soliciting “partners” for his pyramid scheme these days. That is entirely not a joke.

 
When the Lamoriello Patriarchy fell this summer, Ray Shero acquired Kyle Palmieri for what felt like nothing; a 2nd round pick in 2015, and a 3rd round pick in 2016. For some of us, Palmieri’s role on the ice was the last thing we were thinking about when he came over. We had a young RFA forward from just up the street from the Prudential Center. Montvale was no longer just the last rest stop on the Garden State Parkway before crossing north into New York. It was the hometown of the Devil that instantly became one of the most valued players to our fan base. Eventually, we had to think about Palmieri the player. Palmieri the player had a career high of 14 goals, which he achieved last season with Anaheim in 57 games. Palmieri the player put up four points in three playoff rounds last year. Palmieri the player might not do a whole lot to help an untalented roster with more holes and question marks than any other team in the NHL. We knew that Palmieri was buried on an extremely talented roster in Anaheim, and we knew he was playing 4th line minutes in a diminished role. We did not know he would explode the way he has.

 
What the advanced metrics showed was that Palmieri was producing at a first line rate in goals per 60 minutes, his Corsi was above Anaheim’s average, and his production has skyrocketed with his second line role and power play minutes with the Devils this season. Palmieri is a goal away from matching last year’s career high. Through 32 games, he has 25 points, on pace for 64 this season, far above what most expected. While this number may drop as the Devils are finally beginning to perform like the helpless team they were predicted to be coming into the season, he has continued amassing points as the Devils have struggled.

 
While Palmieri is producing like a top six forward, what may be the biggest thing he adds is the bite he brings to a team that has been criminally soft for far too long. Too often have Devils goalies been poked and slashed at with little to no response from teammates, forwards have provided little in the way of fight in front of the net, and too few puck carriers have been hammered trying to cross New Jersey’s blue line. The passion has just not been there, and Palmieri brings some of that attitude back to a once great franchise. Kyle stands up for his teammates in all three zones, gets under opponents’ skin, and has a passion for the game and for winning, evident every time he puts the puck in the net.

 
Palmieri has gone from just another Rangers fan from Jersey (which, as Devils fans know, is inexcusable and unacceptable. If I am reaching any of you with this article, there are plenty of parts of New York that are pretty affordable) to a highly valuable asset for the Devils, both on and off the ice. What he brings to the rink and his roots in Jersey made him an immediate fan favorite, and his point production gives the Devils an offensive punch they desperately need. His status as a restricted free agent keeps him under New Jersey control for the foreseeable future. If the Devils eventually exceed expectations and make the playoffs this season, Palmieri will be playing a central role, and hopefully the hometown guy from Montvale becomes a major piece of the Devils’ core going forward.

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Stumbling Blueshirts a mess

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Derek
New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

There was a game last night for the Rangers in Winnipeg. Funny thing is I don’t think they realized it. On a night where I skipped watching it for a late shift and then a night out with my coworkers, they took the same approach. They were beaten badly by the Jets 5-2 making it a clean sweep on consecutive nights from Minnesota and Winnipeg.

What’s most alarming is the lackadaisical play of the top line. At times, they dazzle offensively. With Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard combining with Rick Nash to create some nice goals. The problem for the cohesive trio is consistency. By that, I mean the lack of defensive awareness. In last weekend’s awfulness at Edmonton and Calgary, they were responsible for a few goals against. It continued to be a theme in the latest road debacles.

You can’t be successful when your best players aren’t your best players. Lately, that’s been the case during a brutal stretch that’s seen the Rangers lose nine of their last 12. They’re just not sharp. That includes Henrik Lundqvist who was unprepared to go in and relieve injured backup Antti Raanta Thursday night giving up two stinkers. While it’s true his team has hung him out to dry, Lundqvist has not bailed them out. Even if he is the least of the Rangers’ issues, if he’s bad then they have no chance.

The same goes for captain Ryan McDonagh whose performances are so up and down it makes you wonder if he’ll ever get back to the elite level he displayed in 2014. Is it the past injuries or all the games catching up? At times, he still shows flashes. But is a lot easier to beat. Especially along the wall. Even without ailing partner Dan Girardi, McDonagh isn’t the same player. Of course, his Corsi possession numbers have gone up but he’s making too many mistakes.

Mistakes have been common for this team. In the first two months, they got away with it due to Lundqvist and Raanta covering them up. A 16-3-1 start was the best in franchise history. During that stretch, the goalies made the big saves and our team took advantage of opponents’ mistakes finding ways to win. In December, that’s changed. They have a tendency to give up goals after they score. There’s way too many gaps and blown assignments. Their bad habits are finally being exposed.

Even in a game Derek Stepan returned, it didn’t change. Stepan can help an offense that’s been too reliant on the top line. Due in large part to the disappointing play of Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider, coach Alain Vigneault has been unable to find a second line. Kreider went back to play with Stepan Friday.

In a startling move, Vigneault healthy scratched rookie Oscar Lindberg. Granted. His play has come down. He’s been taking a lot of undisciplined penalties. He’s far from alone. It just boggles the mind that Vigneault would choose to make an example out of one of his few secondary scorers with skill while keeping Viktor Stalberg in the lineup. Stalberg has had his moments but makes far too many mistakes in the neutral zone. He is what he is. A spare part that shouldn’t play daily. Tanner Glass has been better since his recall meshing with Dominic Moore on the fourth line. The decision should be easy. Mix and match with Stalberg and Glass.

Vigneault rewarded Emerson Etem by moving him up. He should stay in the top nine and be given a real chance. There’s more skill from the 23-year old than reliable defensive penalty killing forward Jesper Fast. Fast is a better fit for the fourth line.

The player who is moved around the most is J.T. Miller. He scored his sixth in the loss last night. He can play both the wing and center. But Miller is better suited for the wing where he can complement Stepan and Kreider on the second line. Unless Vigneault wants to find out what Etem can do in a more defined role.

The third-year Rangers coach faces a tough decision soon with Girardi. Kevin Klein will be ready soon. When he is and Girardi is too, who comes out of the lineup? It can’t be Dylan McIlrath. The 2010 first round pick continues to establish himself while teaming with Keith Yandle on the team’s most consistent pair. It would be ridiculous for the 23-year old to sit for Girardi. But one is paid top dollar and has a no-movement clause.

Complicating matters is Dan Boyle has finally found his scoring touch. He scored a power play goal Friday and has been much more involved over this bad stretch. With Boyle doing positive things on the power play and more effective on the forecheck, he’s not coming out of the lineup.

There’s no question the defense is better with Klein. It’s no coincidence that the structure has fallen apart without him. When he returns, Klein should pair with McDonagh. That leaves Marc Staal to pair with Boyle. Staal is up and down too. He was minus-three in the Winnipeg loss. Maybe Vigneault should do the unthinkable and rotate Staal and Girardi. They both aren’t the same players. Each have their flaws. Neither is a great skater and can be exposed by speed. They are prone to mistakes in their end with the puck making it harder to get it out. Both have wear and tear. There’s no reason for either to play every night. Resting each could be what’s best for the long-term.

With the red hot Caps visiting MSG tomorrow, either things will get straightened out or it could get a lot worse. As much as they’ve had their number, the one team that can expose the Rangers are the Caps. A strong possession team with quality netminding from Vezina contender Braden Holtby. Key acquisitions T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams have fit in well. John Carlson is having a strong season. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom are all lethal.

Normally, when they face a good opponent the Rangers rise up to the challenge. These aren’t normal circumstances. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Inconsistent Devils look to get back in gear this weekend

Posted on December 18, 2015 by hasan4978

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After a recent game, Derek and I both wrote pieces on the Devils that had a dramatically different tone to them, and while some of that’s due to the fact he’s not a Devils fan and I am, it’s also perfectly indiciative of just how Jekyll-and-Hyde this team has been of late.  Over the last week it’s been especially pronounced, after a big home win against the Wings on Friday they threw up a dud 4-0 loss in Brooklyn on Sunday that got an F- grade from coach John Hynes.  Then on Tuesday the Devils looked at least solid if not dominant against the Sabres in a 2-0 shutout win.  Last night the pendulum swung back to dud-ville with a 5-1 loss against the Panthers where the team looked like they mailed in the last two periods.  While the Devils remain tied for the final playoff spot in the East, they won’t stay there for long if they continue to lose home games and go back and forth with their effort level.  I’m in fact going to steal a quote from the coach for one of my other teams, when Todd Bowles said after last weekend’s Jet win that ‘the Golden State Warriors can have trap games, we can’t’.  That’s the mindset this Devil team needs to take, they can’t have off nights or there’ll be more nights like last night or Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of my Jets I’m not amused that Saturday’s Devil game will conflict with their start time.  Memo to the Devils: Don’t you dare put up another dud effort against the Ducks tomorrow night, or you will get booed by me at least.  Even with a Devils team playing well there’s always that fear that for at least one game the Ducks will magically flash the form they had in recent seasons as opposed to the dissapointment they’ve been this year – particularly with backup Keith Kinkaid slated to start tomorrow night with Cory Schneider’s next game being on Boston on the back-to-back Sunday.  Thankfully I didn’t go to the dud that was Thursday night’s game but for a team that still does have a winning record the Devils have been very suspect at home, going 7-7-3 (compared to their 9-5-1 on the road).  I’ve only seen three wins in the nine games I’ve gone to thus far, none in regulation.

Of course we can’t totally lose sight of the fact this season’s supposed to be a retooling year (if not outright rebuilding) and any kind of playoff run’s a bonus.  That said, part of what needs to happen is players stepping up and earning icetime and roles.  For the most part that hasn’t happened, as the back six forwards have been a total wasteland.  Pretty much the only difference between last season’s forward core and this season’s is a healthy Adam Henrique getting off to a great start, plus the additions of Kyle Palmeri and Lee Stempniak, which has at least given the Devils a respectable top six (along with Mike Cammalleri) now, though that top six has been missing centerman Travis Zajac the last several games.  Zajac may well return this weekend and not a moment too soon since his absence has not only created a hole at center ice offensively but a hole in the entire team defensively.  Early in the season the penalty kill was a strength but lately it’s been leaking goals without key PK’ers Zajac and Henrique – who also missed a couple of recent games himself.

Arguably the most important part of this season even beyond making the playoffs is developing the young defense.  So far results have been mixed, for most of the season vet Andy Greene and emerging force Adam Larsson made a fine pairing but lately even their play’s started to slip.  Perhaps playing in a purely defensive role is wearing on them mentally.  None of the other defensemen have really stepped up either aside from bargain bin signing David Schlemko.  At times John Moore’s been good – usually in the offensive end – and at times not so great (usually in the defensive end) but at least he can create offense unlike most of our blueline.  Sophomore Damon Severson’s been streaky himself, prone to flashes of greatness and flashes of OMG what was he thinking there?  While Jon Merrill hasn’t been bad defensively he’s been a total black hole offensively with zero points in twenty-five games, and a GF/60 total of just over 1.1 – in layman’s terms for every sixty minutes of icetime Merrill gets his team scores just over 1.1 goals.  That’s…not good.  And Eric Gelinas after his nightmare game against the Canadiens a few weeks back has improved defensively at least, though his offensive game that he flashed two years ago is still missing in action.

If we’re being honest here the only things we truly have to get out of this season is development and effort.  Problem being neither one’s been consistent lately.  At least coach Hynes will call a spade a spade and admit when effort was lacking unlike some previous administrations who tried to couch it.  Of course it would be nice if the staff didn’t only selectively hold guys accountable.  Sergey Kalinin or Stefan Matteau has one bad shift, demote him and/or scratch him.  Jacob Josefson has one goal and six points in thirty-two games?  Let’s just keep running him out there on the PP and in a top six role.  Jordin Tootoo has a -17 for the season?  No problem, we’ll keep playing him too and give him PP minutes as well.  With fourteen healthy forwards once Zajac returns plus Bobby Farnham who’s mysteriously dissapeared onto IR lately (and maybe it’s not a coincidence this team’s had more ‘off’ effort nights without him), there’s no reason not to hold everyone accountable for lack of production.  Especially with zero production the entire season out of the back six.  Farnham probably has almost as many goals as the rest of the back six combined.  Yes Josefson’s too valuable on the shootout to healthy scratch him, but can you at least bump him back down the pecking order?  And there’s no reason Tootoo should get to play in perpituity.  Or Tuomo Ruutu for that matter, who’s been just another body since we acquired him two years ago.  Not to mention with kids down in Albany thirsting for a chance to play you can hold vets accountable that way too.

With two games this weekend there isn’t much time for the staff to go back to the drawing board at the moment but at least a little more heat should be coming down on people who either aren’t producing or aren’t giving effort.  There’s been too much of both lately.

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