Our Video of Day features Connor McDavid who scored a beauty highlighting last night’s Oilers 3-1 home win over the Red Wings. The 2015 first overall pick took a Benoit Pouliot feed and made Petr Mrazek look bad with a sick forehand deke and finish. He froze the Red Wings goalie. Tremendous stuff from a very talented rookie.
He’s Back: John Tortorella has returned taking over as the new Blue Jackets coach in time for Halloween.
Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward
After losing their seventh game in a row to begin the season, something had to give in Columbus. Following a 4-0 loss to the Islanders at home, talk was rampant that they would replace their coach. The ax fell this morning on Todd Richards. John Tortorella is returning to coach the Blue Jackets.
Expected to make the playoffs with the off-season deal for Brandon Saad, the Jackets have performed miserably. A stunning home loss to the Rangers in their home opener was a ominous sign. The Blueshirts shellacked them in the MSG rematch. Since, all they’ve done is lose and get outscored 34-13.
Tortorella takes over a team whose confidence has been shaken. Starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has over a 5.00 goals-against-average. That’s a former Vezina winner. The Jackets lack of team defense has been a sore spot. The blueline isn’t strong. Jack Johnson and Fedor Tyutin anchor it. David Savard and Ryan Murray are part of the top four.
The Jackets boast talent up front. Saad is tied with Boone Jenner for the team lead with three goals. Ryan Johansen has a goal and team best six points. Cam Atkinson has only one goal and was a healthy scratch last night. That was a red flag.
New captain Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky are team leaders. It’ll be interesting to see how Dubinsky reacts to being reunited with Tortorella. In ’11-12, he went from the top line to the checking line as Tortorella guided the Rangers to the East’s best record and the franchise’s first trip back to the Eastern Conference Final since ’97. How will the two coexist in Columbus?
For Tortorella, who is now 57, it’s one more chance to get behind an NHL bench. Considering how badly he did in his one year with the Canucks, I wondered if he’d ever get another opportunity. Since he was still under contract to Vancouver, Columbus worked out compensation. The Canucks will receive a second round pick.
Many pundits have already critiqued the move. Here’s my short reply. When Tortorella was here, he taught the Rangers to become a better team. The principles of a strong team defense and great goalie were the foundation. He developed key pieces such as Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and ex-Blueshirts Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov. Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust owe him their careers. He believed in them.
Under Tortorella, Henrik Lundqvist won a Vezina. Even Chris Kreider said he learned under him. Considering his continued inconsistency, he isn’t yet a finished product even under Alain Vigneault. When asked about the prospect of playing for Tortorella at next year’s World Cup Of Hockey, Kreider said he’d love to.
The real question with Tortorella is has he learned anything after being a year away from the NHL. He isn’t perfect. No one is. As evidenced by his mishandling of Brad Richards and wild challenge to Flames coach Bob Hartley following a brawl with it spilling into the locker room. Of course, Torts press conferences are always a treat. He should be paid by the word. Poor reporters.
So can he turn around a team that on paper doesn’t have enough defense? That remains to be seen. He certainly can make them tougher to play against. It should be interesting.
No, I didn’t get to watch last night’s Devils game either (before I get called out on this, I wasn’t even home from 6-9 so I wasn’t watching anything until then) but rumor has it the Devils actually won their second consecutive OT game in three days, beating the Coyotes 3-2 in spite of blowing two third period leads. Unfortunately the only part of this game I got to saw was after I got home and turned the last minute of regulation on in between watching the Mets, and seeing the Devils blow a late 2-1 lead with the empty net. So apparently our empty net defense stinks whether it’s our own net or someone else’s net empty. I turned the Met game back on in annoyance, but thankfully Adam Larsson won the Devil game in OT with a surprisingly crisp finish in front of the net on a 3-on-1 where he looked better than most of our forwards would.
From what I have read and observed, it seems like the Devils are doing what they need to do to win games. For all the talk about fast, attacking and supportive from our now unshackled PR department, new coach John Hynes isn’t beating his head against a wall trying to live up to that mantra. This team is doing what it has to do to try to remain competitive, leaning on an improving young defense and terrific goaltending. And unlike last year they aren’t giving up 35-40 shots a game (yet). It may still not be pretty but if you’re a Devils fan all you want this season is hope. So far the Devils – and specifically the D/goaltending – are at least accomplishing that, getting five of a possible six points in their last three games. Even if they still don’t have a regulation win yet…baby steps though.
Of course Sunday’s game I couldn’t watch either, not because of the Mets but because of the Jets since in the NHL’s infinite wisdom they decided to schedule a Sunday 1 PM Devils-Rangers game for the middle of the NFL season. It’s a rare day indeed when all three of my sports teams play (and rarer still, they all won). I can’t ever remember a sports calendar with this many conflicts early in the hockey season, then again the Mets have only made the playoffs once in the previous fifteen years. It’s annoying on the one hand that I feel like an absentee fan of the Devils right now since the only two games I’ve watched were the ones I’ve been able to attend, but on the other I’m grateful for this Mets run, which is getting a bit of a ’95 Devils type feel to it with Daniel Murphy playing the Claude Lemieux role.
Still it’s not a crime to prioritize your sports teams, depending on what point in the calendar we’re at. Given the Mets are in the playoffs and the Jets only play sixteen games in a season of course I’m going to choose watching MLB and the NFL over the Devils right now. Sorry to anyone who it may offend, the same holds true the other way around in April and May too – when the Devils are competitive I very rarely watch the Mets during this time period and almost never go to a Mets game until after the Devil season is over. Watching the Mets and Jets doesn’t make me any less of a Devils fan just like watching more of the Devils in April doesn’t make me less of a Mets and Jets fan. Those teams don’t play each other, it’s not like I’m being a fan of two teams in the same sport. Granted I’m probably more of a hockey/football fan when push comes to shove, but the Mets were my first sports love after all with the mid-late ’80’s teams that were the talk of town. Prioritizing the Mets or Jets over the Devils isn’t exactly a comment on fanhood, I jumped on someone online recently who I thought was taking me to task on this subject ,but it turned out this individual was being sarcastic and had himself been dissed similarly for being a faux fan because he dared to prioritize one team having more important games over the other.
While I’m on my soapbox I’ll also go off on another target – Devils ticket ops. It seems like the worse the team gets (recent results aside), the worse customer service gets. This isn’t a condemnation of my own personal ticket rep, who’s actually very accomodating but more a complaint over how things are run in general. First of all, if you’re going to give us all very expensive food cards as a season ticket holder perk you’d better have the machines working once the regular season starts. And if the machines don’t work, just don’t tell people sorry, we can’t run your card – actually figure out an alternate solution before the lines start to get crowded. The sorry, we can’t do anything line doesn’t work for unsuspecting people who’ve been in food lines several minutes or more during intermission. Finally the cashiers started writing down card numbers and names to charge your food card after the fact, after the food lines had cleared out for the most part. It’s not as if the machines didn’t work on Opening Night either, but nobody’s food card worked at the second game I was at last Friday or apparently at the previous game against Nashville either. So it took them two games to figure out a solution to the problem and the machines still aren’t fixed?!
Another supposed season ticket holder perk was seperate entrances dedicated to sth’s, but it turns out the Devils remove said entrances by 6:30 because of increasing foot traffic. That doesn’t exactly do people a lot of good if you’re only getting to the arena between 6:30-7 the way most working people do, hence why foot traffic increases in the half hour immediately before the game. It isn’t baseball where you can sit around and try to catch balls in BP, the only real incentive for getting to a hockey game before 6:30 is to eat/drink and see other people. The sth entrances don’t really affect me since I usually go in the less crowded back entrance anyway, I can’t imagine a sth entrance being more convenient than that – but for people coming in via NJ Transit who are closest to the big front entrance it would be nice if this perk did what it was supposed to as well, especially with the new metal detectors at every entrance.
Also quite ironically it seems like the sales department’s gotten even more secretive (not less) since new ownership’s come aboard. Prior to this year every season ticket holder got a chart detailing what their game was ‘worth’ both at the box office and with sth pricing and in most seasons – including this one – you can actually buy extra tickets at season ticket holder pricing. Which would be a nice perk except that to get the chart this year you have to actually ask your rep to e-mail you one. Even after you get the chart though, there’s no guarantee you can actually figure out what your pricing is since there are like 23425 different colors including multiple ones in every section and multiple ones of a similar color shade. All this made it far more of a project than it needed to be just to get my friends a pair of lower-level seats for Opening Night. You would think ticket sales would want to encourage people to spend more. Maybe they’re just afraid people will see their true pricing and vomit. Of course, the other factor is box office prices can also change at the drop of a hat the way they did for the early February game against Edmonton once it turned out there was going to be a certain legendary former Devil goalie getting a number retired on that night.
Even in the offseason though, ticket ops were pretty secretive during their relocation event when season ticket holders come to the arena. In the past we were able to see seats that were available. Presumably cause they didn’t want to sticker half the building this year, they no longer put available stickers on seats at the most recent relocation event, instead you had to go to your rep and have him or her run a bunch of locations through an ipad just to see what was available, without pricing listed of course. Not that I really wanted to move from my aisle behind the net location anyway but it would have been nice to see if there were similar seats available at a different price point since my row is basically right at the cutoff point before prices decrease a few bucks a game for the people immediately behind me. And instead of being able to see your rep and ask questions during a game outside the Fire Lounge where they had the sth ‘lounge’ last year, now this year you have to go upstairs in a hidden corner of the resturant to find the sth lounge this year.
Albeit all these are small inconveniences in the end, but if you are going to raise prices, decrease benefits (the previous few years’ sth barbeque was replaced with an open practice with no other player meet and greets on the schedule yet for this year) and have a declining team you’d better at least show some form of customer service if you want to have any hope of retaining people through bad seasons who aren’t just season ticket holders by rote because they like their location, the people they’re with and/or are old enough not to want to deal with the secondary market. I love my location but honestly another price increase combined with the decreasing customer service may finally push me onto the StubHub plan. Of course I’ll lose tenure, but is getting the ability to sit in a suite for a couple games – or whatever rewards I pick from their limited rewards chart – worth the other aggravations? I guess I’ll find out this year.
Glass Half Full: Tanner Glass celebrate a goal last season with teammates Kevin Hayes and Matt Hunwick.
AP Photo by Adrian Wyld of The Canadian Press
Earlier today, the Rangers put forward Tanner Glass on waivers. It was a move expected due to the team boasting more depth. Unlike last season when the 31-year old Glass got into 66 games and participated in all 19 postseason contests, he only appeared in two of the team’s first seven games. He was a healthy scratch the past three.
The writing was on the wall. Even with coach Alain Vigneault opting to keep Glass on the roster following preseason, it was a numbers game. The Rangers weren’t going to keep 14 forwards forever. Especially with Glass carrying a expensive $1.45 million cap hit that squeezed the team’s cap.
When former GM Glen Sather signed him to a three-year contract in the summer of 2014, it was a mistake. One which he made before overpaying for Mike Rupp and Donald Brashear. I’ll refrain from discussing Derek Boogaard. A person gone too soon due to personal demons. There’s a lawsuit from former players against the NHL pertaining to their knowledge on the damage concussions cause. A serious issue the league faces moving forward.
As for Glass, he’s spent nearly a decade playing for five different teams. That includes the Panthers, Canucks who were coached by Vigneault, Jets, Pens and Rangers. He wasn’t a classic tough guy never amassing more than 115 penalty minutes in a season. That coming under Vigneault in ’09-10. He also was part of the team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final to Boston.
As soon as he signed with the Rangers, Twitter exploded. The negative responses to the Glass signing never stopped. I critiqued the move too. I couldn’t understand signing him for three years. But that’s what Sather did. When Glass played most of last season, it was due to the coach. Vigneault used Glass on the fourth line and in a penalty killing role. The same way he was used by Pittsburgh in ’13-14. He played 67 games for them and participated in eight during the postseason. Pens captain Sidney Crosby raved about him. That’s all you need to know about Glass.
Every time Vigneault dressed him, it resulted in ugliness from Ranger fans. Despicable behavior that was child like. In particular, a faction of bloggers who emphasize Corsi. These bloggers push their agenda. The latest target is Dan Girardi, who has struggled thus far. So have Ryan McDonagh and possession favorite Dan Boyle. So much for consistency or emphasizing a consistent body of work over a decade for the Rangers iron man. Granted, Girardi is breaking down from the taxing style he plays. One which unappreciative Corsi bloggers can’t stand. As if he hasn’t been a integral part of the team’s success.
Unfortunately, this is how ugly social media has become. Where we frequently resort to bashing players who sacrifice every day for the good of the team. We’re all guilty of it. That doesn’t make the fans’ treatment of Glass right. He was unfairly blamed for everything. Whenever the Rangers lost last year, the easy target was a “fourth liner” who played a small role.
In the final two home losses to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, the Rangers scored no goals. They were shutout twice. Bigger stars Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard failed to perform. The power play was a disaster. So too was Vigneault’s offensive system that never adjusted to loathsome Tampa coach Jon Cooper’s defensive system that took away the stretch pass and stood up at the blue line.
Henrik Lundqvist also allowed a tough goal to Alex Killorn in the third period. Ondrej Palat added a insurance marker which allowed the Lightning to make history defeating the Rangers at MSG in Game 7.
What’s often forgotten by fan bloggers is that you win and lose as a team. In sports, too often we look for scapegoats. The fact Glass was on the ice for a goal against didn’t make it any easier. In hockey, coaches dictate match-ups. Well, Vigneault was supposed to with the last change at home. In truth, he got out-coached. Something that’s happened to him before in big games.
Just don’t expect fan bloggers to pin it on a successful coach who’s taken the team to a Stanley Cup Final and the Final Four his first two years. This isn’t a knock on Vigneault. He’s a good coach who’s had success in Vancouver and New York. After coming close to winning the Cup twice, he wants to flip the script. It remains to be seen if he’ll get over the hump here on Broadway.
Now, the same faction who are celebrating Glass’ demise won’t have him to kick around anymore. They’ve already moved on to Girardi. A player that lays it on the line nightly. It’s understood that his contract along with Staal’s are albatrosses. They’re getting older and their bodies are breaking down. Along with McDonagh, all three are coming off injuries. Staal and Girardi had surgery. McDonagh a broken foot. It could explain their slow starts.
The Rangers have played seven games. They’re 4-2-1 which is good enough for first place in the Metro Division. There’s 75 remaining. It’s a long season. It would be nice for every person who calls themselves a fan to support every player. It might be time for less Twitter.
https://twitter.com/NYPuckBONY/status/656263240029249540
Antti Raanta’s first start was a rousing success. The former Hawk stopped all 22 shots in a 4-0 Rangers victory over the Sharks. He didn’t have to stand on his head. But made timely stops before a better team took over.
In what was their best effort so far, the Blueshirts methodically beat a good opponent to end a three-game losing streak. Marc Staal and Jesper Fast each tallied their first goals in the win. Mats Zuccarello scored a power play goal while Viktor Stalberg also netted his first.
After starting out a little shaky defensively, the Rangers settled down and played a strong overall game. Unlike Sunday where there were too many passengers, every player gave a good effort. That included better play from Staal, Dan Girardi and captain Ryan McDonagh. Staal was a standout with a goal and assist while making better decisions in his end. He earned the game’s third star. Kevin Klein was a standout defensively.
Another struggling player Derick Brassard got things started when he recovered a Fast pass behind the net and passed for an open Staal, whose shot looked to deflect off Fast in front. At least that’s how it looked from my vantage point in Section 419. It was my first game. It felt great to be back. MSG was fairly quiet. Not surprising considering all the Mets talk. Plus the Giants were playing against their kryptonite the Eagles. Luckily, I didn’t see much of that debacle.
The Rangers did a good job testing Martin Jones. The new Sharks starter entered red hot having allowed just one goal. A late power play tally at the Devils. Unfortunately for my fantasy team, it wasn’t his night. That was mostly due to the Blueshirts doing a better job cycling the puck and getting traffic in front. On the Staal goal, Fast did the dirty work.
Midway thru the second, Rick Nash parked himself in front of Jones allowing Zuccarello to convert on the power play. Off a feed from Dan Boyle, Zuccarello fired in front with the puck again seeming to deflect past Jones. I thought Nash got a piece but it remained credited to Zuccarello for his fourth.
The Sharks didn’t have many chances after the first. Raanta’s best stop came on Joe Pavelski, who was set up by who else but Joe Thornton off a rush only to be denied by the new backup. He didn’t get any chants. But I tried to serenade the Finn with “Raa-nn-tt-a! Raa-nn-tt-a!” chants. Maybe it’ll catch on.
Even though Chris Kreider didn’t score, he did something positive setting up Fast’s tally at 3:47 of the third that made it 3-0. Off a rush started by a Keith Yandle outlet, Kreider used his speed to get the puck to a cutting Fast who beat Jones. If he didn’t score earlier, this time it was definitely his goal.
With the contest all but decided, a perfect Staal outlet allowed Stalberg to cut in and beat Jones off the rush with 3:16 left. It was a nice reward for a hard working player who so far has fit in. Whether it be on the third or fourth line, I like Stalberg. I can’t explain what happened in Nashville or why his scoring dropped off. But so far, so good.
Rather than make more drastic changes, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault stuck with the same lineup he used against the Devils. The lone exception being Raanta making his Rangers debut which finally allowed Henrik Lundqvist to rest. Well deserved. I wonder what he must’ve felt watching his teammates play better in front of the backup. Hopefully, they’ll remember to do that when Anthony Duclair and Max Domi lead the Coyotes into MSG Thursday.
As for myself, it was nice to see old friends. It’s always the same people I catch up with. I’m glad there are still some regulars left that we’re friendly with. Without it, there’d be no point. Sure. It’s nice to go see hockey live. It’s a great spectator sport. But without your friends, it’s not the same. Ever since MSG did the renovation, there are less and less familiar faces. And way too many new ones who show up late and then don’t wait for the whistle due to the lack of security in the Blue Seats. I really resent MSG for what they did.
But at least we’re still able to have fun. I had a couple of Molson Canadians and talked with a older buddy who’s been going a lot longer than the 20 years I have with my Pop, brother and his friend. The food of course costs too much. At $11.50 a pop for beer, yikes. The hot dogs are now over six bucks. And it’s still the same crap if you don’t want to go downstairs which I didn’t. I just wanted to enjoy the game and have my brews and food while catching up with everyone.
My favorite part is always when tourists visit our section. I’ve met some cool ones. This time, it was a German family that were in to visit their son who’s attending school for three months in the city. So, they were seated next to me. It was a good conversation. I explained some of the rules including goalie interference. I always like talking to those fans and rival ones like my friend’s buddy who’s a Sharks fan. So we were discussing all the autographs on his teal jersey which included Adam Graves, Thornton, Owen Nolan, Evgeni Nabokov, Logan Couture and Scott Hannan to name some.
It’s funny because when I was speaking with another guy I know from the old Section 411 days, I was telling him that I come for the socializing. The hockey is an added bonus. I’m glad they played a good game. It was much needed. It was just nice to see them put together a full 60-minute effort.
BONY 3 Stars:
3rd Star-Marc Staal, Rangers (goal-1st of season, assist, +2 in 18:10)
2nd Star-Antti Raanta, Rangers (22 saves for 1st shutout as a Ranger)
1st Star-Jesper Fast, Rangers (1st of season, assist, +2 in 16:24)
Henrik Lundqvist skates off in disappointment after the Devils beat the Rangers 2-1 in overtime at MSG.
AP Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images
Embarrassment. That’s what this was. The Rangers couldn’t even manage to beat the Devils on home ice becoming their first victim. Lee Stempniak’s overtime winner was the difference in a Devils 2-1 win in the 3-on-3 roller derby. His goal with 1:53 left made a winner of new coach John Hynes, who won behind the bench for the first time.
Honestly, it was fitting that Stempniak won it. A player who wasn’t too bad here last year that Glen Sather cast away to Winnipeg in a cost cutting move. Stempniak won a job out of training camp and plays on the Devils top line. He is a hard working player that gives a honest effort. That is why the Devils won. They outworked a listless Rangers team who went through the motions following a good first period.
There really isn’t much to say. Alain Vigneault changed every line and even started Henrik Lundqvist a sixth consecutive time. It still didn’t matter. The Rangers only beat Cory Schneider once. That came early with their most consistent skaters combining for the lone goal. Rookie Oscar Lindberg forced a turnover on Adam Larsson causing a two-on-one with Derek Stepan. He fed Stepan, who cut in and beat Schneider with a backhand at 3:12 to erase a 116:27 drought.
They could’ve had more in the first but Schneider made some key stops to keep the Devils in the game. That’s what he’ll have to do all season. He finished with 26 saves including eight in the opening stanza that saw the Rangers have a 9-6 shots advantage. Derick Brassard had a good start creating chances with new line mates Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast. Unfortunately, Brassard and Kreider were again up and down.
It’s now six games into the season and neither Kreider nor Rick Nash have a goal. That’s nuts. Kreider did have four shots including one dangerous chance which narrowly missed with Schneider getting a piece of it. He also used his speed during the 3-on-3 derby to create a opportunity. As for Nash, he only had one shot with his best chance coming early in OT off a Stepan set up.
But a diving Schneider got a piece of it and then help from new Devils captain Andy Greene. It was his hustle and backhand clear with the puck heading in that saved a goal. Just a fantastic defensive play. Greene was the best defenseman in the game. Following a Stepan shot off the crossbar, his pass to Adam Henrique started a 2-on-1 with Henrique threading the needle to Stempniak for a one-timer past Lundqvist sending the Devils to their first victory.
That’s two straight games the Devils got a point in. They also played a solid home game against the Sharks taking them to a shootout before losing on a Brent Burns tally. After an 0-3-0 start, they’re 1-0-1 in the last two and have shown improvement under Hynes. They play hard for the rookie coach. New Jersey might not possess much talent but their effort is unquestioned. After a slow start, they outplayed the Rangers and got just reward.
The Blueshirts were sleepless in a miserable second. A J.T. Miller in the neutral zone led directly to Henrique tallying his Devils leading third from Mike Cammalleri and Damon Severson. Lundqvist mishandled a low shot with his defensemen out of position. Henrique went to the net beating Dan Girardi and Marc Staal for an easy finish that tied it at 1:52.
Afterwards, the Devils speed gave a shaky Rangers D fits. They forechecked well and caused turnovers. There wasn’t a whole lot to like from a Rangers perspective. Ryan McDonagh struggled on the power play in the third giving away the puck. Keith Yandle also had a second straight tough game aside from a power play shot. Girardi was on all fours for Henrique’s goal. Staal continues to look slow. Dan Boyle was okay battling hard and created opportunities in the offensive zone. Kevin Klein was fine battling Kyle Palmieri in a scrap. He did take one of those silly delay of game penalties that handed the Devils a 5-on-3 for 1:36 in the third.
The Devils two-man advantage at the start of the third was unwatchable. That’s about the best way to describe the entire period. It was sleepless depressing hockey. The Devils didn’t manage a shot on their power play. Severson and Eric Gelinas were too casual. Nothing developed allowing the Rangers to have an easy kill.
The Rangers were just as bad seeing their own shadow on their two chances. The fact that the first didn’t come until less than 10 minutes left in regulation on a Jordin Tootoo hi-stick is sad. As usual, Vigneault and Perry Pearn clone Scott Arniel trotted the same personnel out. They continue to go with four forwards and one defenseman. It’s not working. McDonagh and Kreider both had equally baffling giveaways for easy clears.
Lindberg didn’t see any power play time. He only got 16 shifts (12:30) which was the second lowest behind Viktor Stalberg (10:40). Would it kill the coaching staff to try different players on the man-advantage?
The two Devil penalties gave the Rangers momentum. They put together some good shifts spending time in the Devil zone. But were unable to beat Schneider. After the teams combined for one shot in the first seven minutes, there were a dozen the rest of the period. The Blueshirts outshot the Devils 8-5.
For the first time this season, the Rangers played 3-on-3 roller derby to decide the extra point. While Vigneault went with two forwards and a defenseman, Hynes initially had one forward and two defensemen before altering the strategy. Stepan and Nash had the best opportunities with Nash getting robbed by Greene. Lundqvist’s best save came on Palmieri off a 2-on-1 sliding across to deny the Devil with Miller sleeping.
With the Rangers pressing, Stepan tried to beat Schneider high stick side. But the puck rang off the goalpost allowing the Devils to counter. With Nash and Stepan caught flatfooted, the Devils came 2-on-1 against Yandle with Henrique nicely dishing across to Stempniak for the winner past a sprawled Lundqvist.
BONY 3 Stars:
3rd Star-Lee Stempniak, Devils (1st of season in 3-on-3 derby for winner at 3:07)
2nd Star-Adam Henrique, Devils (goal-3rd of season, assist)
1st Star-Cory Schneider, Devils (26 saves)
After losing two consecutive games, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault changed every line in Saturday’s practice. Here are the new lines:
The first notable change is flipping Rick Nash and Chris Kreider to different centers. Both are off to poor starts. Nash and Mats Zuccarello are now penciled in with Derek Stepan, who has been sharper than Derick Brassard. So, Stepan centers the top line. Brassard is between Kreider and Jesper Fast. The same Fast who was a healthy scratch twice for Tanner Glass. Odd.
“When we used him in a bigger role last year, he was very effective. I’m hoping he’ll be able to compliment Brass and Kreids,” Vigneault told Sean Hartnett on the explanation for trying Fast on the second line. He had success in the playoffs with Stepan and Kreider as a complement forcing the turnover that led to Stepan setting up Ryan McDonagh’s overtime winner in Game 5 of the second round against the Capitals.
Also switched is slumping forward Kevin Hayes. If not for a horrible goal allowed by Sergei Bobrovsky, he’d also have no goals. Hayes has been moved back to center the third line with J.T. Miller and Oscar Lindberg. All three can take face-offs. Each also has speed and are good on the forecheck. So, it should be interesting to watch.
Vigneault demoted Viktor Stalberg to the fourth line. He has been good so far. He’ll play with Dominic Moore and Jarret Stoll, who returns to the lineup for Emerson Etem. So, Etem got one game. Not enough in my opinion. He and Glass are the extras.
While the forward lines are all changed, Vigneault took my advice on the defense pairs. With McDonagh and Girardi struggling, he broke them up. McDonagh will play with Kevin Klein while Girardi will work with Keith Yandle. A welcome change that puts him away from top assignments and should get him more offensive zone time. Marc Staal and Dan Boyle are now the third pair. At this point, that’s where they should be.
We’ll see how long Vigneault sticks with his new lineup. In a bit of a head scratcher, he also decided to start Henrik Lundqvist a sixth straight time against the Devils for Sunday’s equally perplexing 1 PM matinee. I don’t get it. Is he that desperate for points already?
The Rangers play a back-to-back with the Sharks visiting Monday. Why have Lundqvist go against the weaker opponent? It seems like a desperate move. Granted. He’s easily been their best player and is the only reason they are 3-2-0. Lundqvist has stood on his head so far with his team forgetting to play any D. He’s been brilliant. But he’s 33 and shouldn’t have to work this hard early.
If you can’t start your backup against the lowly Devils, what’s the point? Antti Raanta is now gonna debut against San Jose. A much better team that’s off to a great start. The Sharks are without Logan Couture who is out four to six weeks with a fractured right fibula. But they’re still formidable under new coach Pete DeBoer with new starting goalie Martin Jones playing extremely well.
We’ll see how all of AV’s moves pan out.
Chris Kreider is stopped by Carey Price in a Rangers 3-0 loss to the Canadiens.
AP Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press MANDATORY CREDIT
It’s only been five games. The Rangers were shutout by Carey Price and the Canadiens 3-0 Thursday night at Bell Centre. It was their second straight loss.
After starting the new season 3-0-0, they’ve scored one goal in the two losses. In each, they ran into good goaltending. Michael Hutchinson stopped 40 of 41 for Winnipeg and Price turned aside all 25. In the last six periods, only Mats Zuccarello has tallied getting his third 6:45 into the first period against the Jets. Since, the Blueshirts have gone 113:15 without a goal.
Slumps happen. What should be an early concern is the lack of finish from Rick Nash and Chris Kreider. Neither has scored. They’ve combined for three assists and 30 shots. Nash has been snake bit getting robbed by Price in the second period with his team trailing by one. Kreider has been inconsistent. He was more active against Montreal battling in front of rival Carey Price all night. He took some good chops from P.K. Subban and even was checked by Price behind the net on a forecheck. Some payback for 2014.
While on the subject of missing players, has anyone seen Ryan McDonagh? The Rangers captain had another substandard game Thursday. He was beaten by aging vet Tomas Fleischmann on the Habs first goal. A play notable for Emerson Etem and Jesper Fast failing to clear the zone. Their feeble attempts allowed Montreal to keep the puck in with David Desharnais finding Fleischmann, who got a step on McDonagh and beat Henrik Lundqvist for the game-winner.
At 26, McDonagh has played a lot of hockey the past two seasons. An integral part of the Blueshirts, he anchors the blueline. Following a Norris caliber ’13-14 in which he posted career highs in goals (14), assists (29) and points (43), his play has slipped. While he still was clearly the team’s best defenseman going plus-23 in ’14-15, his offensive numbers dropped off to eight goals and 25 helpers for 33 points in 71 games. He did miss 11 games due to a separated shoulder. It could explain the drop off.
No one will ever question McDonagh’s toughness. He played with a broken foot the final four games of the Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning. That’s one characteristic you can never question with these Blueshirts. It was the walking wounded in a crushing seven-game series loss with Dan Girardi and Marc Staal also playing with serious injuries that required surgery. Staal with a hairline fracture in his left ankle while Girardi had a bursa sac procedure along with a knee sprain.
The wear and tear could be showing. Neither McDonagh nor Girardi have looked good so far. The latter’s struggles are well documented. A lack of foot speed has been exposed. Girardi’s penchant for sacrificing his body to block shots has its drawbacks. The Rangers Iron Man will do whatever it takes to help the team win. It’s just that he goes down an awful lot risking coverage. It’s a taxing style.
A displeased Alain Vigneault made changes to his D pairs shifting Girardi with Staal while mixing and matching Dan Boyle and Kevin Klein with McDonagh. Keith Yandle split time with Boyle and Klein, who has been the most consistent. Yandle and Klein have been the Rangers’ best which isn’t a positive. They need much better performances from McDonagh, Girardi and Staal, who continues to fall down with regularity due to his lack of mobility.
“We got schooled tonight,” an upset Vigneault told reporters afterwards. “We only created five chances five-on-five. They outplayed us in every area. If it weren’t for our goalie, the score would have been a lot worse.”
He was referring to the ridiculous amount of break ins the speedy Canadiens had. If not for Lundqvist (29 saves), it would’ve been ugly. In particularly, a quick glove kept Montreal from turning it into a laugher. The Habs targeted high glove but Lundqvist was ready. On the two goals he permitted, one was short side on the blown McDonagh coverage while the other from Dale Weise went five-hole after Yandle was tripped.
“I thought Hank played better than Price but we gave them so many opportunities off the rush,” Rangers defenseman Staal told The Record’s Andrew Gross.
“We’ve just got to play smarter, more patient and just start playing together, start playing as five-man units.”
Staal is correct on both accounts. With the exception of the third line which was held in check a second consecutive game, there hasn’t been much consistency. From Nash and Kreider not scoring to Derick Brassard’s laziness to Kevin “Kovalev” Hayes’ reluctance to shoot, the Rangers’ 3-2-0 record is about right despite uneven performances from their team leaders.
McDonagh included. He is without a point in the first five. The defensive anchor must be better along with his teammates. Their attention to detail hasn’t been there. Defensemen and forwards have been getting caught up ice in Vigneault’s aggressive system. When they’re right, someone covers. There have been too many breakdowns. Even in their two wins over Columbus, the defense was spotty. Lundqvist covered up the mistakes.
After playing five games over the first nine days, the Rangers get a much needed two days off to prepare for the rebuilding Devils. The Devils are 0-3-0 and host the Sharks tonight. If they lose, they’ll be without a win in four entering Sunday’s odd 1 PM matinee at MSG. A scheduling glitch going up against the NFL with the Jets hosting the Redskins at the same time.
With a back-to-back Sunday and Monday with the Sharks visiting in the second game, Lundqvist will get a day off. Backup Antti Raanta gets the start against the Devils. If they aren’t sharp in front of Raanta, it could be embarrassing. It’s still a game the Blueshirts should win. They need more from their best players moving forward.
It was probably too much to expect a win in the Montreal home opener. The Rangers got what they deserved. On a emotional night at Bell Centre with Guy Carbonneau passing the torch to new captain Max Pacioretty, the Canadiens shutout the Rangers 3-0 behind 25 saves from Carey Price.
I’m too sick to do a full breakdown. So I’ll cut to the chase. Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head throughout making 29 saves. He faced several odd-man rushes in the first period due to awful pinches from his D. Particularly Dan Girardi, who struggled enough to get moved off the top line. He spent the majority with Marc Staal, who continues to look like an old 28. God help the Rangers with those contracts. Both contain no-trade clauses.
There were a lot of penalties called on each side. Even a abbreviated 3-on-3 that again exposed the Rangers. They really don’t look like they’ve practiced it much despite the preseason trial. The 4-on-4 wasn’t any better. The Habs had so many break ins, it defied logic. They are a fast and skilled team. But the way the Rangers played them was mind numbing.
Both goalies put on a show. Price’s best save came on Rick Nash robbing him of the tying goal off a great feed from Kevin “Alexei” Hayes. Nash is snake bit. He now has gone the first five games without a goal. Ditto for Chris Kreider, who despite having a effective game by playing chippy has started badly. No goals and three assists from the Rangers’ top two scoring wings isn’t getting it done. That must be fixed.
Emerson Etem’s debut didn’t go great. He turned over the puck along the wall with Jesper Fast leading directly to Tomas Fleischmann’s goal. Their failure to clear the zone resulted in a David Desharnais pass taking a favorable bounce right to Fleischmann who beat Ryan McDonagh. It wasn’t bad coverage per se but not what we’re accustomed to. To be quite frank, the Rangers captain has been inconsistent. You can’t pin that all on Girardi.
Only two Blueshirts on the back end have played well. Keith Yandle and Kevin Klein, who saw some shifts with McDonagh. Yandle and Klein have been solid defensively and created offensive chances. Maybe Alain Vigneault should rethink his D pairings. If Girardi continues to scuffle, trying him with Yandle wouldn’t be the worst idea. But Danny G is more familiar with Staal. They are the two worst skaters. It’s cringe worthy. Yandle at least can skate. He was paired with Dan Boyle, who again struggled. He looks finished.
The Rangers had a 5-on-3 for nearly a full two minutes and weren’t able to tie the game. The best opportunity came from Derek Stepan who was turned aside twice by Price with one one-time set up going wide. They’re too tentative. I understand the need to be patient. But for God’s sake. It’s a two-man advantage. Move the puck quicker. I have no idea how Scott Arniel keeps his job. And Vigneault basically used the same alignment.
AV tried some different lines in the third. But they were unable to solve Price, who was in MVP form. He didn’t have to be great. But the highlight reel stop on Nash will be replayed for a while.
The refs missed a trip on the Habs prior to Dale Weise beating Lundqvist thru the wickets to ice the contest. Yandle was clearly tripped. But there was no call. The way the Rangers were offensively, it wouldn’t have mattered. The Habs were the better team and improved to a franchise record best 5-0-0. Hard to believe they never had done that before. The previous three Montreal teams that started 4-0-0 won the Stanley Cup. Does it return to Canada? It’s too early to say.
Tomas Plekanec added an empty netter.
Emerson Etem will make his Rangers debut tonight at Montreal. AP Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Emerson Etem will finally get a opportunity to play for his new team when the Rangers visit the Canadiens tonight. Acquired from Anaheim as part of the Carl Hagelin deal, the 23-year old Long Beach, California native has totaled 15 goals and 16 assists in 112 NHL games.
Following a disappointing training camp, Etem found himself the odd man out. He was a healthy scratch the first four games. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault is set to play Etem with Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast, who returns to the lineup after sitting out the last two games.
To make room for them, Tanner Glass and Jarret Stoll will sit. Vigneault wasn’t pleased with his fourth line in Tuesday’s defeat to Winnipeg. They were pinned in their zone often. So, the third-year coach decided to make a switch. It should be interesting to see how Etem responds in what will be a chaotic atmosphere. After going 4-0-0 on a road trip, the Canadiens return for their home opener at Bell Centre.
The Habs have played excellent hockey. New captain Max Pacioretty paces them with four goals and six points. Alex Galchenyuk and defensemen P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov each have four points. Montreal has gotten contributions from Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Lars Eller, David Desharnais and Torrey Mitchell. New acquisitions Alex Semin (2 assists) and Tomas Fleischmann (1 goal) are off to slow starts.
As usual, it starts in net with Carey Price, who Henrik Lundqvist called the best goalie in the NHL. Price won 44 games with a 1.96 goals-against-average, .933 save percentage and six shutouts in ’14-15 to sweep the Hart and Vezina. He’s off to a good start with a 3-0-0 record with a 1.67 GAA and .945 save percentage.
“I did start thinking about it today that we’re playing Montreal, a good team, and Carey, especially,” Lundqvist told The Record’s Andrew Gross following team practice Wednesday in Greenburgh, NY. “The way he’s playing right now, he’s probably the best goalie.”
“I think he’s very composed, very technical,” Lundqvist added. “I think about two years ago, he raised his game to another level. He was always good but now he’s taken it to another level.”
A former Vezina winner himself, the 33-year old Lundqvist isn’t too shabby. In four starts, he enters with a 3-1-0 mark with a 2.26 GAA and .933 save percentage. It’ll be his fifth straight start. Backup Antti Raanta makes his first start against the Devils Sunday in the first of a back-to-back with Lundqvist expected to return for the Sharks Monday.
Also a scratch tonight is Dylan McIlrath, who was okay in his first game. He took 21 shifts (12:20) registering two shots with a hit and blocked shot. Back in is 39-year old vet Dan Boyle, who admitted he hasn’t gotten off to a good start. He’ll pair up with Marc Staal and reclaim his spot on the power play. In three games, he has one assist.
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