Zidlicky beats the clock and Florida with dramatic OT winner

Posted on January 12, 2014 by hasan4978

Sometimes I have trouble starting a blog because I’m not particularly anxious to recap a bad game. At other times it’s because there aren’t really many highlights to recap, or I haven’t watched the game.  None of that was true last night and I’ve still had writer’s block all morning. Not only were there a ton of highlights, close calls and great plays in a fabulous game last night but also sometimes games are good enough to stand on their own merit.  If I could have put the highights of last night’s dramatic OT buzzer-beater against the Panthers to music like they do in NFL Films I would…it would speak better than anything I could say.

Of course, there’s no way I’m NOT recapping last night’s dramatic win over the Panthers, which was as tense as any regular season game against a ‘classic’ rival could be, and quite possibly one of my seven-ten favorite regular season games ever – of the ones I’ve attended anyway. Maybe something was in the air from the ceremonial opening faceoff when Newark native and former NBA megastar Shaquille O’Neal dropped the puck…wearing an Alexei Ponikarovsky jersey.  A hilariously random choice of attire though it’s possible the big Ukranian’s jersey is one of the few that could fit on the self-proclaimed Big Aristotle.  When Panthers goalie Tim Thomas stopped Travis Zajac on a point blank chance just eight seconds into the game, we should have known what kind of roller-coaster we were in for. Maybe I had an inkling of what kind of game it was going to be when barely a minute later, Jon Merrill‘s horrendous giveaway led to a Scottie Upshall breakaway chance that Cory Schnieder shut the door on.  In many ways, that first seventy-second seconds was a snapshot of what the game would eventually become.

Merrill’s giveaway and a few other defensive snafus by both teams aside, last night’s game was a crisp affair with few penalties (just two power plays on each side), great offensive chances by each team and goaltending that invariably was up to the task.  It may have resembled pond hockey at times with how wide open it was, and perhaps should have been higher scoring than it was but in a battle of the old pro vs. the young stud, both Thomas for the Panthers and Schnieder for us stood tall.  Somewhat bitterly I started wishing Thomas had stayed on sabbatical in the third period after the umpteenth number of his great saves, but Cory did match him save for save.  Perhaps the only thing that was missing if you were going to draw up the perfect game for entertainment value was snarl, although there was some hitting and you thought tensions could blow over in the final minute when Ryane Clowe was hacking away at a rebound that Thomas controlled.  And in the case of last night’s game it was somewhat humorous to see the Panthers’ scratch list consist entirely of former Devils (Krys Barch, Mike Mottau and Scott Gomez!), might have been more fun if they’d played though I could easily have seen Gomez burning us the way he did in ’08 too.

Even without bad blood there was plenty of tension though, especially with both teams’ place in the standings.  After a slow early start that saw coach Kevin Dineen get fired just two seasons after winning the Southeast, the Panthers have surged under new coach Peter Horachek back to the fringe of the playoff race though still several points back of the final wild-card spot.  A resurgent and healthy Thomas is a big reason why, as the Panther offense is just as lacking as ours in goals.  Our situation is well-known to readers of this blog or any area hockey fans really, since the Rangers and Devils are both in hot pursuit of a playoff spot with the surging Isles rallying back to the outskirts of the race themselves.  With our upcoming schedule though – a four-game road trip to Toronto, Montreal, Colorado and Phoenix next on the docket – a win last night was absolutely imperative.  Especially with seemingly everyone else in the Metro surging at the moment.  In some ways with what was at stake it felt like Game 8 of the 2012 first-round even more than any of our games against them last year did, though many of the faces have changed on both sides since then.

With both goaltenders at the top of their game it would take seemingly perfect plays or bounces to get goals last night.  Which is exactly how it worked out on each of the game’s three goals. As has been the case often this season in spite of our offensive deficiencies, the Devils jumped out in front with a terrific shift from the Adam Henrique-Ryane Clowe-Michael Ryder line.  Both Henrique and Clowe made great plays to win the puck along the boards behind the net, with Clowe finding a wide-open Ryder in front for a one-timer at 15:22 of the first.  Ryder’s goal was his team-leading 16th of the season and extended his goal-scoring streak to four straight games.  For the longest time it seemed as if we’d need a case to deja vu to win with Schnieder making a single Ryder goal stand up for the second straight game.  However the lock Schnieder put on our net was finally broken when professional pain in the neck Tomas Fleischmann found Nick Bjugstad in front and the big centerman beat the goaltender with a perfect deflection up high, tying the game at 11:54 of the second.  From there, it seemed obvious next goal won – if there was a next goal – though no goals at all was just as good as a loss given our shootout woes.  Both teams had glorious chances to win and couldn’t convert.  Just when it seemed overtime was an obvious conclusion to the game, Schnieder had to stop Sean Bergenheim from point-blank range with under ten seconds left, then after the ensuing faceoff an open Fleischmann shot just wide.

After coming perilously close to getting zero points for their effort, the Devils tried desperately to end the game in overtime…but it was the Panthers who nearly won when Schnieder made a stop on an Aleksander Barkov deflection then Eric Gelinas of all people (he of the 5:20 of icetime last night, including 2:03 on the power play) swept the rebound away from the goalline, saving the day one more time.  With just 3.8 seconds remaining and a final offensive-zone faceoff my one friend with me asked whether Pete DeBoer would take his timeout here, I answered, ‘might as well, what else is he going to save it for?’.  Sure enough, he did though later accounts had Jaromir Jagr in the role of player-coach tweaking DeBoer’s designed play.  Although I started the game sitting in section 3 and it might have provided an even better view of what eventually happened, I ran into a couple of friends I haven’t seen since the draft and wound up sitting with them in the third period and overtime since the seats around them in the back row of section 5 were empty, despite the reported sellout.  Despite the timeout delay of thirty seconds – minutes it seemed to me – I figured we were just headed to another grinding, unhappy shootout. Especially with my record in OT games this year (six SO/OT losses, just one OT win when Steve Bernier scored in the final minute against the Sabres in late November).

Then…IT happened.

Zajac’s critical faceoff win against Marcel Goc went right to Jagr, who quickly tapped the puck over to Marek Zidlicky for a rocket one-timer that ironically deflected off the stick of Bjugstad and past Thomas for a miracle winner with one second to play. ONE…SECOND.  I was too flabbergasted to celebrate at first, just had my eyes wide open and my mouth dropped.  After all, this is the kind of game we usually lose – well, mainly against the Hurricanes.  Finally, I slapped hands with both my friends and resumed cheering the team off the ice with a fervor I can’t remember having since the ’12 playoffs.  You rarely see that kind of pinpoint execution in the normal flow of a game, never mind with all that was at stake there.  It was an interesting grouping too with Bernier taking the place of Danius Zubrus on that line to provide the screen in front.  Not to mention that was the only time we’d had three forwards on the ice compared to one defenseman as opposed to the standard 2-2 split.  Schnieder was even lobbying DeBoer to pull him for an extra attacker with so little time on the clock.  Fortunately it wasn’t needed last night.

I was tempted to tease my other friend who was complaining about needing to go to the bathroom about being glad she held her water with that finish, but hey I know the feeling.  Part of why I rarely drink much at games apart from maybe a juice or hot chocolate (she had one of those big 32-ounce sodas).  My normal seatmate who wasn’t at the game was texting me during the game and when it was over I just texted him back, ‘Holy ****’.  Too bad he wasn’t there for the game himself but hey, three home games in five days sometimes you wind up missing one or two.  I walked out with the two friends I’d met up with at the game and then back to my car, where it started raining again.  For once, the weather belied my mood.  Nothing short of another major snowstorm would have ruined my mood at that moment.  I honestly can’t remember the last time I was that giddy over a home regular season game, maybe beating Pittsburgh on Doc Emrick night a few years ago with a dramatic Jamie Langenbrunner winner in the final minute of OT.

In fact I’m kind of worried about the letdown factor tonight in Toronto though part of me thinks if Zidlicky’s OT winner doesn’t get them going nothing will.  Still, the offense is clearly an issue even in the best of times as evidenced by the winning scores of Schnieder’s three victories since the holiday (2-1, 1-0, 2-1).  After the kind of game we played last night though it’s hard to get up for tonight.  I don’t even feel like watching to be honest, I’d rather just bask in the glow of the game for another night and not ruin it with possible feelings of aggravation, maybe just concentrate on the NFL playoffs.  Of course I feel that way…but it’s the team’s job not to. Tonight’s game is even more important than last night’s game since we’re in more direct competition with the slumping Leafs for a playoff spot.  Perhaps signaling a changing of the guard or just going with the hot hand, Schnieder earned his third straight start in a four-day period.  Ideally he would be sitting in a back-to-back…especially with all the action and close calls last night, but with Martin Brodeur obviously slated to play Tuesday in Montreal, it wouldn’t be right to make Cory wait another five days and two games for his next start either. Plus with the situation we’re in we have to ride the hot hand.  If we’re not going to score goals it’s doubly important to prevent them.  And Schneider’s GAA once again dipped below 2 after last night’s OT thriller.

If nothing else at least last night provided a much-needed fun night out for yours truly at the Rock.  Hopefully it winds up meaning more than that to the team when this week’s all said and done.

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Nash’s late heroics lift Rangers past Stars

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Derek
Nash Heroics: A diving Rick Nash beats Kari Lehtonen for the game-winner with 1:58 remaining. Getty Images/Jason DeCrow

Nash Heroics: A diving Rick Nash beats Kari Lehtonen for the game-winner with 1:58 remaining.
Getty Images/Jason DeCrow

Rick Nash is paid to score goals. It’s been a challenge this season. He hasn’t always finished. In last night’s 3-2 win over the Stars, it was his big goal with 1:58 left in regulation that gave the Rangers their second straight win.

Twice, they trailed by a goal. Moments after a near miss from Tyler Seguin at the doorstep, Nash got to a loose puck and scored his third in three games. A spectacular effort goal in which he was off balance and got his stick on a Chris Kreider rebound before falling to the ice. Somehow, he put it top shelf past Kari Lehtonen.

”I think it was 50 percent luck … well, probably 70 percent luck and 30 percent skill,” a happy Nash told John Giannone while wearing the Broadway Hat in the postgame. ”I was just following the puck. It went a little bit higher than anticipated, but luckily it went in.”

Given the circumstances, it’s arguably the biggest goal he’s scored as a Blueshirt. He did it in a tie game with under two minutes remaining. With every point so crucial, it was huge. A couple of shifts earlier, Kreider set up Nash perfectly on a two on one. He missed the net. I tweeted a little frustration but also asked him to get one. To my satisfaction, Nash redeemed himself. He got it with sheer hustle and determination. I give him a lot of flak. It was great to see him come through.

Most importantly, it was big to follow up the win over the Blackhawks with another. For much of the season, the Rangers haven’t been able to sustain consistency. With seven points in their last four (3-0-1), they’re up to 23-20-3 with 49 points. The Caps won over the Leafs to tie the Flyers for second in the Metro Division. The Rangers sit fourth a point back. Philadelphia is currently trailing Tampa Bay 1-0 in a Saturday matinee. Interestingly, they would be in the playoffs due to the Atlantic coming back to the pack. Something Hasan alluded to. Detroit and Toronto would be out.

”We talked about it this morning,” Henrik Lundqvist said after finishing with 24 saves for his second consecutive win. ”It’s always a great feeling when you come up big in the end of a game.”

Lundqvist was good late with the game on the line. He made a few timely stops. He allowed goals to Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt. Eakin opened the scoring 4:06 into the first when he took a Garbutt feed and muscled one past Lundqvist. Ryan Callahan responded with his first goal since returning. He buried a Brad Richards pass for his eighth at 11:20. Richards was set up by Benoit Pouliot and got to his own rebound before finding an open Callahan in front.

The Stars went ahead again early in the second. On an odd man rush, a cutting Garbutt was able to bat down an Antoine Roussel pass and in one motion beat Lundqvist with a backhand upstairs. Eakin picked up a helper. Both he and Garbutt had a goal and assist. That was the Stars’ best line. They were dangerous throughout. Eakin also hit the post with a slapper in the third.

If there’s an area that’s really improved under coach Alain Vigneault, it’s the power play. No longer an NHL doormat, the Rangers rank sixth clicking at 21.3 percent. They’ve continued to improve under ex-Jackets coach Scott Howson. There weren’t many opportunities but they made the most out of a second chance to tie it. Mats Zuccarello has been their best power play player. His creativity has been a difference maker. Now on the top unit, Zuke set up Derick Brassard for his seventh. Taking a feed from Richards, Zuccarello quickly shot passed for an open Brassard for a neat deflection.

”I didn’t do much. I just shot it. All the credit to him,” the understated Zuccarello said. ”If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not there, it’s not there.

”I just shot it. He made a really nice tip. It’s a skill play by him.”

It takes a special skill to execute such a play. Zuccarello adds that missing element. Brassard did a nice job in front. They also play together at even strength with Pouliot. That has been the Rangers’ best line during a stretch that’s seen them win seven of their last 10.

”When a power play works, it keeps the other team honest because they don’t want to see the power play on the ice,” Vigneault said. ”Our power play has been working real well for us. It’s been giving us momentum, it’s been giving us timely goals.”

The third was back and forth. The Rangers got another opportunity when the Stars were nabbed for a bench minor. With Garbutt and Carl Hagelin already off, it was a four on three. But they failed to convert. Joe Micheletti questioned Vigneault’s choice of not using Zuccarello during the first part. Instead, he had Richards and Derek Stepan out with Callahan and Ryan McDonagh. It didn’t make much sense.

Zuccarello’s hustle defensively bailed out a pinching Michael Del Zotto. For the most part, Del Zotto’s been steadier since returning with points in three of four. He threw his weight around delivering a thumping hit that drew a positive reaction from The Garden. In 20 shifts (14:47) partnered with John Moore (13:39), he had three hits and three blocked shots. He also was open on a two on two rush with Callahan, who opted to shoot. They nearly got burned. Callahan’s shot was blocked leading to a Stars break out. Seguin narrowly missed a tap in slamming his stick in frustration.

That led to Nash’s heroics. On a good forecheck, he and Stepan freed the puck getting it to Dan Girardi. He passed for McDonagh, whose shot was deflected behind the net by Stepan. A hustling Chris Kreider beat two Stars behind the net and came out and had a shot carom off Lehtonen. With both Stepan and Nash in the vicinity, the former Jacket got to the loose puck first to score his 10th. It touched off a nice celebration.

They still had to protect the lead. It took 58 minutes to get. They were up to the challenge. Lundqvist didn’t have to do much in the final minute. Sliding Rangers forced a couple of desperation Stars’ shots wide. The exciting ending reminded me of ’11-12. That’s how they won games. By getting the big goal and outworking opponents late. Maybe there is hope.

The Flyers visit tomorrow night. It’ll be my fifth game. I’m 1-3. It would be nice if they followed it up with another win. Especially against a hot team that they’re battling. This is a crucial stretch. The Lightning and Red Wings also visit this week. After a visit at Ottawa, the Rangers return to MSG for three against the Caps, Islanders and Blues. Then comes the Stadium Series against the Devils and Islanders at Yankee Stadium. They also conclude January hosting the Isles. Technically, they only have one road game. If you include the beginning of February against the Avs and Oilers, that’s 11 of the next 12 either at home or on a neutral site. The window of opportunity is now.

Miller sent to Hartford: As expected, J.T. Miller was sent back to Hartford. A healthy scratch for a second straight game, the 20-year old forward is better off with the Wolf Pack getting playing time. With Daniel Carcillo having a second straight strong game, it makes sense. Keeping Miller sharp is important for his development. Meanwhile, Carcillo showed that maybe he can be an asset delivering a game high eight hits in 11 shifts (8:38). As long as he stays under control, Carbomb can be effective. He’ll be facing another former team tomorrow. That should be interesting.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Dan Girardi, NYR (3 SOG, 3 blocks, 3 hits, 2 takeaways, +1 in 31 shifts-24:56-could easily be Eakin/Garbutt or McDonagh/Brassard. It’s time to recognize Danny G. He’s been much better.)

2nd Star-Brad Richards, NYR (2 assists, 3 SOG, 8 attempts, 13 for 25 on faceoffs, +1 in 20:23-one of his better games)

1st Star-Rick Nash, NYR (scored the game-winner with 1:58 left-his biggest goal as a Ranger)

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Devils try to conclude ‘moving week’ with a flourish this weekend

Posted on January 10, 2014 by hasan4978

Before the Devils played the Flyers on Tuesday, coach Pete DeBoer referred to this stretch of four games in six days (with the first three at home) as a moving week, akin to Saturday at the Masters – where you either make a charge up the leaderboard or fall by the wayside.  For the normally close to the vest coach that was a telling and honest assessment of where the Devils were and are as a team, considering they began the week four points back of a playoff spot and with more than half the games played on the schedule, time is starting to run out.  At the moment things look a little better with three points in their first two games this week, and with the Atlantic teams falling by the wayside there’s now hope that the Metro can actually have more than three playoff teams.

Of course that’ll all mean very little if the Devils don’t take care of business this weekend, playing the Panthers at home tomorrow followed by a trip to Toronto on Sunday night to play an up-and-down Leafs team that’s lost three in a row since the Winter Classic.  Last night’s 1-0 win over the Stars doesn’t really suggest the Devils’ scoring problem is about to dissapear anytime soon, especially with Patrik Elias and Damien Brunner still out with injuries.  Elias skated lightly today and Brunner’s supposedly ahead of schedule in his return from a knee injury but who knows when either’s going to be back, really?  Considering Elias’s injury was supposed to be minor you really can’t count on the Devils for honest assessments of their players’ status.  What is certain is that the Devils have to find scoring from somewhere besides Jaromir Jagr, especially now that teams are shutting down his line more frequently.

Slowly but surely Michael Ryder‘s been asserting himself as the legit scoring threat everyone knows he can be.  While Jagr still has the team lead by a mile in points (ten ahead of the currently injured Elias), Ryder’s taken over the team lead in goals with his fifteenth last night, playing another good game against one of his former teams with six shots on goal.  In fact I’m almost hoping we trade him and he plays with every other team in the league before coming back here, given some of his performances against teams he used to play for this season – like the Habs for example, where he scored in back-to-back games.  Ryder’s goal was vitally important for as usual Cory Schnieder only had that slim margin to work with for most of the night.  To his credit Schneider made it stand up in a brilliant performance, turning aside 26 Dallas shots to put up his third shutout of the season in a tense 1-0 win.  After his holiday break to ‘mentally and physically reset’, Schnieder’s picked up his game again, giving up just three goals in his last three starts and even getting a pair of wins despite only getting a combined four goals of support in those games.  As the goalie would be the first to point out though, he had a lot of help from his friends as the Devils blocked eighteen shots last night, an unusually high number considering blocked shots haven’t been a big part of our game as long as Martin Brodeur‘s been in goal.  Not to mention the Devils’ penalty kill did the job on a crucial double-minor kill of a Stephen Gionta penalty late in the second period.

I couldn’t stay away from the game entirely last night though I did not turn it on until late in the second period, and then turned it back off after Gionta’s penalty until midway through the third where I watched the finish.  From what I saw it looked like the same game we’ve played about fifty times since the beginning of last season, a tense low-scoring game where every mistake can be fatal.  Stars coach Lindy Ruff remarked about the Devils that going through our defense was like ‘climbing through a barbed-wire fence in a sweater’.  Sometimes that’s what it feels like watching these games too, Lindy.  To their credit, the Devils’ seven-man battalion played well enough to get the job done although Cory clearly earned not only the first star but also a second straight start tomorrow night, the first time he’s gotten two consecutive starts since early December.  Among the few other Devils to deserve special notice was Travis Zajac, who played nearly 25 minutes last night leading the team in icetime in an energized performance after the birth of his daughter two days ago.  While Zajac’s scoring has hit another dry spell, his overall game continues to be strong.

I’ll be sitting in the lower bowl tomorrow, taking advantage of one of the many vouchers the Devils have been handing out this year after everything from toy donations to food donations to a coat drive.  Hey, if everyone else can take advantage of these babies I might as well do so myself, so I sold my regular seats and am sitting in section 3 behind the attacking net tomorrow, enough rows up so that I shouldn’t have any blind spots on the ice.  Usually the only time I sit below is when I deign to go to a preseason game, which hasn’t happened in a couple years between the lockout last year and my lack of interest in going to one in mid-September this year. I’m not particularly anxious to find out what this ‘arena takeover’ by Party Poker is tomorrow night, I just hope it isn’t as annoying as those orange Mercedes Benz ads on the ice immediately after the lockout.  At least the temperature is supposed to pick up tomorrow although we had another annoying snowstorm this morning.  I honestly don’t know how people in Canada or Buffalo put up with this and far worse besides.  Oh well, whatever they do it would be nice to see a home win again.  Of the five home games I’ve missed four have been Devil wins (three of them shutouts).  My only in-person win in the last month plus was December 18 against Ottawa.  A few more losses and I may just start no-showing to these games.  Then again with eight road games and a de facto neutral site among our last thirteen games before the Olympic break, there aren’t going to be a lot of opportunities to go to games over the next six weeks anyway.  At least that’s one way to avoid bad weather this winter.

If you want to look at it another way though, I’m still at NHL .500 somehow in my games attended (5-5-6).  New Jersey as a team is at NHL .500 (18-18-9), so from that perspective I guess I’m at par for the course.  Regardless, for the Devils to make the playoffs, both numbers’ll have to improve and soon.

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Stars vs Rangers Preview: Vigneault sticks with same lineup

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Derek

Tonight, the Rangers host the slumping Stars at MSG. Coach Alain Vigneault will stick with the same lineup that produced the best win of the season. Liking how they responded to the challenge defeating the Blackhawks 3-2 in regulation, the first-year Rangers bench boss wants to stay consistent.

That includes newest Blueshirt Daniel Carcillo. He debuted the other night logging nine shifts (7:15) with two hits and drew a penalty on Brandon Bollig that led to Mats Zuccarello’s power play goal. Even though he didn’t see much ice in the third, Vigneault liked what he saw. From a toughness aspect, Carcillo can provide that missing edge. Let’s hope he doesn’t lose his head.

For J.T. Miller, that means another night as a healthy scratch. When asked about him, Vigneault had positive things to say hinting that he felt Miller can become a good player. Already an active player who gets in on the forecheck, the 2011 first round pick would be better suited getting regular shifts at Hartford this weekend. Especially if he’s not going to play tonight or against the Flyers Sunday.

With Marc Staal and Anton Stralman reteaming to form a solid second pairing behind Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, that gives the Rangers a balanced blueline. Like his predecessor, Vigneault knows he can lean on his top four in crunch time. Since returning to the lineup, Michael Del Zotto has posted three assists and been more firm. At the very least, he’s boosting his trade value. He is teamed with John Moore, who also has been better lately. Justin Falk remains the odd man out.

Henrik Lundqvist makes his third consecutive start. Coming off arguably his best performance to date, he’s looking to finally win three in a row this season. The last time he faced the Stars, he was magnificent stopping 41 of 43 shots en route to a 3-2 road win at American Airlines Center on Nov. 21, 2013. The Stars have slumped losing their first four of the new calendar year. They were shutout last night by Cory Schneider (26 saves) 1-0 in Newark.

During the losing skid, Dallas has been outscored 19-8. However, they do boast some talent in Tyler Seguin, captain Jamie Benn and rookie Valeri Nichushkin. Vet Erik Cole has had a resurgence with 11 goals. Always a net presence, the Rangers must prevent him from getting to Lundqvist. Ray Whitney is still effective on the power play along with defensemen Alex Goligoski and Sergei Gonchar. Avoid taking penalties.

Young forwards Alex Chiasson and Cody Eakin are also capable of contributing. Vernon Fiddler is the type of checking forward who has given the Rangers fits. They can’t get outworked. Figure Kari Lehtonen to get the start. He made 33 saves in yesterday’s 1-0 loss to the Devils. If Lindy Ruff decides to rest him, then vet Dan Ellis would be in net. A streaky backup capable of stealing a game. And we know how well our team has fared against those. 😛

If they get off to a good start, that should help. Score early and put some doubt into a fragile team. It’s important for the Rangers to start making The Garden rock. With a nice stretch ahead until the Stadium Series, this is the time to get it done.

Posted in Battle News, NY Rangers | Leave a comment

Devils news, notes and nonsense

Posted on January 9, 2014 by hasan4978

Devils CEO Scott O’Neill announcing PartyPoker sponsorship

Instead of my semi-usual recap of another soul-crushing defeat Tuesday or a recap of what will likely be a blowout defeat tonight at the hands of a Stars team who’ll no doubt be ready to play after getting whipped by the Isles a couple of nights ago, I wanted to do something different today.  Especially since there is a lot to discuss, so this will in effect be a potpourri post – only partly with Devil news and opinions.  I just didn’t want to sit here and run through the same complaints about the team yet again.  Like Cory Schnieder a while back, I need to hit the reset button mentally and physically on this season and come back refreshed on Saturday, so I probably won’t watch or recap tonight’s game unless it’s on replay later and we actually (gasp) win.

What’s the point really?  Aside from the entertainment value whoever else reads my rants gets out of it, which can also get a little stale if that’s all I wind up doing.  I can sit here and go nuts on Pete DeBoer toying with the idea of converting Eric Gelinas into a forward, and really the organization’s whole treatment of Gelinas this week which has been mind-boggling.  From announcing he was getting sent down on Saturday to effectively rescinding it Monday only to scratch him and then put him back in the lineup as a seventh defenseman while publicly musing about him playing forward without ever bringing it up to the rookie himself.  I can roll my eyes over Jacob Josefson‘s well-timed ‘virus’ that conveniently opened up a roster spot for Lou Lamoriello to re-claim defenseman Alex Urbom from the Capitals and finally be able to put him in Albany, just the latest of Lou’s shell games with the roster the last two seasons.  I can be skeptical of Adam Larsson being sent down to Albany and how long his erstatz conditioning stint will last (probably as long as it takes for Josefson’s ‘virus’ to magically hit someone else who isn’t playing).  God knows I’ve done enough complaining about the gang that couldn’t shoot straight the last two years or their inability to hold a lead – ever.

Really however, what’s any of that going to accomplish?  Other than increasing my agida tenfold.  Sometimes complaining (especially in the form of writing) is theraputic to be sure – I’m sure Derek will agree with this – but sometimes rehasing only increases my aggravation too.  Especially in this age of insta-news and a million outlets to discuss it.  For example, visiting message boards probably isn’t a good idea when the team isn’t doing as well.  Other than making you feel smarter when you realize how off the deep end a lot of other people are, I suppose, or reinforcing some of your own criticisms.  Sometimes it’s just best to drop the worrying about roster management, palace intrigue, etc and just enjoy the games.  Especially with the Olympic break coming up and it being more and more likely by the week that there’ll be no Devils hockey past the second week of April.

Of course it’s hard not to get caught up in all of that given the team’s not winning.  It would be easier to overlook the fact we’re systematically retarding the development of almost anyone under 25 and hindering what limited offensive talent we have if we were winning now.  Likewise, it would be easier to accept not winning if we were at least developing and giving our younger players real experience.  Right now though, we’re not doing either.  On some level it’s actually hilarious that Mattias Tedenby has more goals down in Albany in a handful of games than he has the last three years as a Devil.  Perhaps there’s some magnet in the nets around the NHL that repels pucks from going in off Devil sticks.  Tuesday’s game against the Flyers was a perfect example of how offensively challenged this team is.  During a first period where we could have had 25 shots on goal if we weren’t looking for the perfect play all the time, we still dominated the period and yet only managed an Adam Henrique goal in the first minute of the game.  That game had all the elements that will make you pull your hair out as a Devil fan – bad offense, yet another blown lead, a wild comeback (in this case a game-tying goal from Michael Ryder in the final minute that got us a -1 from the Flyer game instead of a -2 in the standings) and eventual defeat in overtime.  Right now we’re essentially closer to the last-place Isles than we are to a playoff spot in the Metro.

Like I said before though, I don’t want this piece to be a Charlie Brown-like tale of woe where I rant about how Lucy pulled the football away yet again.  So what else is there to talk about?  Well if you haven’t been in a cave the last seventy-two hours you know the Devils and NBA’s Sixers – both teams owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer – are now partnering with an online gambling site (PartyPoker).  If anything the constant trumpeting of this new sponsorship is already a turnoff though I’m certainly not averse to the team making money or even partnering with a gambling site which I could care less about.  However the way this has been thrown in everyone’s face the last few days is the online version of turning the volume up on commercials.  Really, has there ever been 1/100th of the hype for ANY other sponsor?  I realize why it’s a big deal, this is really the first overt partnership of a major professional sports team with a gambling entity but the attention was just laughable, with social media continuing to trumpet a super-secret announcement even after press releases had sussed out exactly what it was.  Of course part of my annoyance came over the intial Devils Tweet which I allowed myself to believe meant we were getting an All-Star game:

The #NJDevils and @PruCenter will be going “all-in” with a big announcement on Thursday! Stay tuned for more info!

Of course the next tweet saying ‘we’re not bluffing’ about a big announcement a day later pretty much was a clue that it was not about a future All-Star game, and that all-in was referring to poker, not hockey.  Oh well, I’m sure one day soon we will get one of those since most of the new arenas have had All-Star games, and plus we just had an NHL Draft go off smoothly without a hitch in Newark.  I guess it was hard to expect everything in one fell swoop given the draft and the outdoor game in the last calendar year, though my annoyance with the weather this year has reinforced my initial reluctance to actually go to the Stadium Series or whatever our outdoor game and the other satelite games are called.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the 24/7 series on HBO (though this year the first three episodes of Toronto-Detroit lacked a little meat that only the last one really did) and the Winter Classic itself and I’ll be looking forward to watching this game probably on TV.

Looking at the vista and being in it are two different animals though.  Especially when the sub-zero wind chill walking to and from the arena to the parking lot on Tuesday brought that point home yet again.  Not to mention leaving around 9 AM to make the train (assuming there aren’t snow delays!) and get in the stadium in time for a 12:30 game, and essentially revolving the whole day around it.  Time consumed is part of the reason why I go to fewer baseball games than hockey games, it’s really a whole day excursion going to the city.  It’s much easier to spend forty minutes driving into and out of Newark than over two hours each way on trains and subways.  Of course the current state of my Mets has something to do with that too given that I was going to around 7-10 games during ’06-07 and top out at 2-3 per season these days.  And that’s when it’s nice out, for the most part.  I’m not a big fan of sitting in the cold weather either, though the Meadowlands is closer and there’s even mass transit now I hadn’t been to a Jets game in several years until attending a win against the Bills early this season.  That said I’d probably find my way to a Jet AFC Championship game if they ever had one at MetLife, January cold and all.  I’d surely find my way to Met games after August if they ever had big October baseball again.  I was a plan ticket holder in 2006 and got to attend the first game of the playoffs – which was a wild win over the Dodgers.  I would have gotten to attend a World Series game that year too, but we know how that NLCS ended.

These days it’s hard to even pay attention to baseball though I was into it enough to win an online fantasy baseball keeper league I entered into this year.  Fantasy sports – whether you’re playing for bragging rights, money or both – often are a fun way to stay involved when your real-life teams aren’t giving you much to watch.  Or even when they do, it can be a nice supplement to it.  Of course, I only play for bragging rights…playing for money is far too stressful for me.  I’m competitive to the point where even playing for bragging rights can be stressful at times.  Usually it’s only my two fantasy football league(s) that drive me to distraction though.  Though this year I finally won a coveted championship in the NJDevs board league after six straight seasons of finishing in the top four, doing it in the most unlikely fashion possible after gaining entry to the playoffs as a 6-7 team (though one that led the league in scoring).  Generally the format itself is stressful though, the whole head-to-head and one and done part of it.  With baseball it was head-to-head too but even that is over a week’s worth of games as opposed to a single day.

My twenty-team hockey league is rotisserie and thus not as prone to wild up-and-down swings and fluke results.  Plus I’ve won this league four times and other than several regular managers like me it’s generally not that active anyway since it’s a message board league so I’m not living and dying as much with it (particularly while I was immersed in my fantasy football playoff run this year), though it would be nice to dethrone the two-time defending champ before he wins yet again.  Perhaps the one issue I have with fantasy sports is having to count on rival players for production, especially when they’re playing your real-life team.  This is yet another reason why I will not play fantasy sports for money.  I don’t neccesarily avoid those players per se, I’ve kind of justified having them as a double-edged sword – either they do well for me or they stink and that helps my real-life team.  It’s the old glass half-full, half-empty scenario, others would see that in the light of either your fantasy team gets hurt or your real-life team does.  Sometimes having your real-life players is worse in a way cause then you’re really all-in on their production when they don’t do well.  I bring this up because of a situation that came up in my league over the last week, with the injury to the Wild’s Mikko Koivu (usually a guy I’ll draft every year cause he’s underrated and strong in faceoff wins).  Being down to only two ‘true’ centers in Ryan Johansen and Mikhail Grabovski with Cody Hodgson also out and wanting to put one of them at RW to up my faceoff total, I needed to acquire another fill-in center.  So I wound up traing Ryan O’Reilly – a LW with center eligibility but he’s almost useless at C cause he doesn’t take as many faceoffs this year – for…Derek Stepan.  So now I’m hoping Stepan picks up his offense just enough for the Rangers to lose 5-4 regulation games lol.

Getting back to my point about how fantasy helps you keep up on the league, I probably wouldn’t know who Johansen (a young up-and-comer for the Blue Jacket) was if I didn’t pick him up as a FA early in the season and roll with him in my lineup most of the season.  Or even a guy like the Bolts’ Ondrej Palat who I picked up in the midst of his recent scoring binge, who might help fill the void left by the trade of O’Reilly and the injury issues of Johan Franzen at my LW position.  At least I still have Patrick Marleau of the Sharks as my top LW.  My lineup is still pretty strong overall in spite of the injuries and dissapointment in my Chicago goalies’ low save percentage/shutout totals.  I need an improvement there and in plus-minus in the second half to make a push.

C – Grabovski, Stepan, Koivu (IR), LW – Marleau, Franzen (IR), M. Raymond, Palat, RW – Ovechkin, Johansen, Cole, Chiasson, Hodgson (IR), D – Weber, Phaneuf, Bouwmeester, Dillon, Trouba, G – Crawford, Raanta, Grubauer

Anyway, enough of a tangent…I’m off to relax for the night.  I’ll be back at recapping after Saturday’s game though, I’m sure there’ll be something to talk about by then.  Hopefully it won’t be back to the same old same old by then.

Posted in Battle News, Devils | 3 Comments

Struggling Devils look to get on track against Stars

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Derek

The Devils will host the Stars tonight at The Rock. Losers of three straight, they’re looking to get back on track. Following a New Year’s Eve victory over Eastern Conference leader Pittsburgh, they’re 0-2-1 and enter play 17-18-9 with 43 points. Currently sixth in the Metro Division, they trail the third place Rangers by four and must climb over Carolina and Washington.

With 38 games remaining, time is of the essence. Losing to the Blackhawks in an exciting home game Jan. 3 was expected. However, consecutive defeats to the Sabres and second place Flyers have them in trouble.

At least they found a way to earn a point in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to their I-95 rival. With Martin Brodeur on the bench, Marek Zidlicky found Michael Ryder for the tying shorthanded goal at 19:30. A well executed play that Andy Greene helped set up. Leading scorer Jaromir Jagr, who tied former Pens’ teammate Mario Lemieux for seventh all-time on the NHL scoring list with an assist for point 1,723- was in front drawing attention which created a seam for Zidlicky to set up Ryder for his team-leading 14th.

With Patrik Elias on injured reserve, they need others to step up. Adam Henrique’s been better lately tallying six points over his last six including four goals. After doing virtually nothing the first half, he’s showing signs of life. Up to 10 goals and 10 assists, his 20 points rank sixth in team scoring. Ryane Clowe, who recently returned from a concussion, has two assists in six games. Finally healthy, he’s definitely helped balance out the lineup. His grit and physicality is needed.

The Devils have gotten strong play from Zidlicky and Greene on the back end. Zidlicky ranks third in scoring with 23 points (7-16-23) including a team best five power play goals. Overlooked entirely by Team USA, Greene has been their most consistent defenseman totaling seven goals and 15 helpers for 22 points which is tied with Ryder for fourth on the team. On pace for a career season, the 31-year old who signed with the club as a free agent in 2006 is a bargain earning $3.25 million this season and $3.5 million next year. Considering what similar players will command this summer, GM Lou Lamoriello might want to give thought to extending him. Meanwhile, Zidlicky earns $3 million and is a UFA this summer. He’s 36. The Devils must decide if he’s worth retaining. The production speaks for itself.

In order for the team to stay alive in the playoff race, they’ll need Travis Zajac to continue contributing. He has a goal and assist over the last four. A key two-way center who takes draws and is a strong penalty killer, he needs to chip in offensively. On a better roster, he could get by as a solid checking line pivot. With Dainius Zubrus ice cold without a point in seven, it’s up to coach Pete DeBoer to find the right combinations. That includes 20-year old rookie Reid Boucher, who has one goal and four assists in his first 16 games. He’s getting around 15 to 16 shifts. Andrei Loktionov is getting less. A shifty skater, he has three goals and five assists in 38 contests. He might need more ice-time. That won’t happen tonight. He’s a scratch.

DeBoer relies on his checking line of Ryan Carter, Steve Bernier and Stephen Gionta. Carter has been in and out of the lineup. Finally back, he helps stabilize the club at center. Bernier at times has been decent producing three goals and six assists but is a team worst minus-15. Gionta has five points in 31 games. He’s best utilized on the penalty kill where he creates shorthanded opportunities.

The lack of scoring depth has been a sore spot. Losing Damien Brunner really hurt. The 27-year old forward who was named to Switzerland’s Olympic roster was starting to turn his season around when he went down to a right knee injury. He’s missed the last eight games and isn’t expected back until probably the end of the month. Brunner had four goals and an assist in his last five games before sustaining the injury against Anaheim on Dec. 20, 2013. For the season, he has eight goals and five assists for 13 points.

Also on the mend is Adam Larsson. In his third year, the 21-year old Swedish blueliner has missed over a month with a lower body injury. He’s played in just 20 games totaling a goal and two helpers. This is an important season for Larsson, who turns restricted this summer. He earns $925,000. That will increase regardless. Astonishingly, he was assigned to Albany two hours ago. In his place, Jon Merrill has been inconsistent. With two assists and a minus-seven rating in 22 games, the 21-year old 2010 second round pick is hardly a finished product. Eric Gelinas’ recent struggles makes it tougher. The Devils reclaimed Alex Urbom and assigned him to Albany.

Currently, the Devils’ blueline is Greene, Zidlicky, Merrill, Mark Fayne, Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov. Gelinas will also return to the lineup meaning they’ll go with seven defensemen against Dallas. Cory Schneider gets the start.

The Stars also have lost three in a row. In losses to Montreal, Detroit and at the Islanders, they’ve been outscored 18-8. They’ve allowed at least four goals during the losing streak. In a 7-3 defeat to the Islanders, they led 2-0 before the roof caved in. The Islanders outscored them 7-1 highlighted by John Tavares’ hat trick. Afterwards, former Sabres’ coach Lindy Ruff fumed calling it the worst effort of the season. Not surprisingly, Ruff’s shaken things up for tonight. He’s reshuffled all four lines.

“You want to see how players respond to adversity,” Ruff said. “It’s easy when things are going good. I want to see how the guys respond to different situations. We’ve been a good road team and we’ve got to dig ourselves out of a hole on the road. We’ve been fortunate that some teams around us have lost some games, so we’re still right there.”

Here are both teams’ projected lines courtesy of NHL.com.

DALLAS STARS

Jamie Benn-Seguin-Peverley

Cole-Eakin-Nichushkin

Chiasson-Fiddler-Whitney

Roussel-Horcoff-Garbutt

Goligoski-Dillon

Jordie Benn-Gonchar

Connauton-Daley

Lehtonen

Ellis

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Zubrus-Zajac-Jagr

Clowe-Henrique-Ryder

Carter-Gionta-Bernier

Boucher-Sislo

Greene-Fayne

Zidlicky-Merrill

Volchenkov-Salvador

Gelinas

Schneider

Brodeur

Posted in Battle News, Devils | 1 Comment

Sabres name Murray GM

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Derek

The Buffalo Sabres finally hired a new general manager. Earlier today, they named Tim Murray their new GM. The nephew of Senators GM Bryan Murray has worked for Detroit, Florida, Anaheim and the Rangers. That experience along with a six-year stint under his uncle in Ottawa since 2007 was plenty for Buffalo President Of Hockey Operations Pat LaFontaine.

“He’s earned it,” LaFontaine said. “He’s done every job to get to this point. He has had success everywhere he has been and he will have success in Buffalo.”

“My short-term goal in next few days is to go over [draft] lists and reports with [assistant general manager] Kevin Devine because that is how you build a team,” Murray told NHL.com. “You build a team through doing well in the draft. Free agency puts you over the top. That’s my philosophy.”

In another smart move, the Sabres brought in former Pens GM Craig Patrick as a special advisor. He previously worked in that role for the Blue Jackets and is looking forward to a new challenge.

“Great to be here today,” Patrick said. “It’s just great to being part of this family. I’ve had many rebuilds in my career, I was a GM for 23 years, and this is going to be fun.”

The search for a new GM took two months. But the Sabres finally look to have stability since firing Darcy Regier and Ron Rolston. With the team performing better under interim coach Ted Nolan, they’re no longer a pushover.

Ryan Miller has regained his Vezina form that made him one of the game’s premier goalies. Once again, he was named to the USA Olympic roster. The biggest question is whether Buffalo will re-sign him. He turns unrestricted July 1. Nolan has hinted that he’d like Miller back. A lot depends on if Murray decides to remove the interim tag from Nolan. He’ll also have to make the important decision on Miller. The trade deadline is March 5.

The Sabres take on the Panthers tonight at First Niagara Center.

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Lundqvist strong in statement win over Blackhawks

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Derek
Henrik Lundqvist makes a stop on Jonathan Toews. Getty Images/Nam Y. Huh

Henrik Lundqvist makes a stop on Jonathan Toews.
Getty Images/Nam Y. Huh

Rivalry Night featured a classic battle of Original Sixes. The Rangers and Blackhawks aren’t in the same conference. But that didn’t much matter to NBC Sports Network. An odd choice to begin with, they got what they wanted. A great game which the Rangers won in regulation 3-2 over the defending champs at United Center.

For once, the Blueshirts played up to the competition. Even after blowing a two-goal lead, they competed and did what it took to win a hard fought game in the third period. Carl Hagelin scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:57 remaining and Swedish Olympic teammate Henrik Lundqvist did the rest shutting down hockey’s best.

”We worked so hard, so this is a big one for us,” a triumphant Lundqvist expressed after making 35 saves to earn The Broadway Hat. ”Playing such a good team and the position we’re in, we’re desperate for points and wins, so just a great feeling the way we played and got rewarded in the end with that big goal.”

That included some big ones late. Nobody puts on an all out attack like the Hawks. Once they fell behind, they kept pushing and pushing for the equalizer. Only it never came. Aside from allowing a short side goal to Brandon Bollig, Lundqvist was sensational. In particular, he cut off the angles and his rebound control was strong. A groovy glove save with a couple of minutes left and a pair of difficult stops in the final frantic minute allowed the Rangers to win a big game. The win moved them into third in the Metro Division. Up to 47 points, they’re one up on Washington, two on Carolina, four on New Jersey and five on Columbus. The Islanders are eight out.

Every game is significant. But this one could be a turning point. Beating as talented a team as there is the way they did was big. It wasn’t easy by any stretch. They needed all 35 saves from their franchise goalie who looked the part. He’s admittedly struggled. For a second consecutive game, he made timely stops and was there at the end. That could be essential for his and team psyche the rest of the way.

”Lately, we have a lot of confidence and try not to get too frustrated,” Hagelin pointed out after notching his 11th to move into a four-way tie with goal scorers Brad Richards, Mats Zuccarello and rookie Chris Kreider for the team lead. ”Some games the puck goes in and other days it doesn’t. But I think when you’re creating chances you stay positive.”

Considering that this team doesn’t have an offensive standout, it’s getting crowded at the top. With Rick Nash rounding into form up to nine and Benoit Pouliot continuing to play better offensively with eight, suddenly there’s better balance. If Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan can ever get untracked, that would be big. The latter set up Richards 5:06 into the first for the opening score. Taking a pass from the captain, he wisely went five-hole on Corey Crawford. Zuccarello made it 2-0 with a power play goal when he snuck around the net for a wrap around. For a third straight game since returning, Michael Del Zotto recorded a power play assist. The other helper went to Lundqvist. His second of the season.

Of course, it was far from over. The Blackhawks aren’t the best team for nothing. They rallied quickly scoring twice over a 1:48 span to tie it. With Derick Brassard off for interference, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews beat Lundqvist in the slot with a one-timer from Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith. Putting in perspective how lethal they are, it was Keith’s 40th assist. Four Hawks have over 40 points including Hart candidate Patrick Kane with a team best 54 (23-31-54). Richards and Zuccarelo are tied for the Rangers’ team in scoring with 31 points.

Chicago’s fourth line evened it when Bollig took a Marcus Kruger feed and surprised Lundqvist with an unscreened wrist shot from the right circle. Just that fast, the game was tied. They could’ve caved and it would’ve been excusable. But at some point enough is enough.

The Rangers came out strong in the third getting the first seven shots. Crawford steadied keeping it tied. A pivotal point came when Pouliot went off for a soft hook. But his teammates bailed him out. Marc Staal in particular had one of his best games. He and partner Anton Stralman each went plus-two and made key defensive plays. Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh were equally as good. Girardi had six of the team’s 11 blocked shots. McDonagh made a crucial defensive play to deny Toews.

Following the kill, Staal took a Richards pass and got a shot through from the left point that forced Crawford into a difficult save. Before he could recover, a hustling Hagelin pounced for the garbage goal at 14:03. It proved to be the winner. Hagelin leads the Blueshirts with four game-winners.

”All I know is beating the Stanley Cup champions in this building is not an easy task,” a happy Alain Vigneault said.

We’ll have to wait and see. The Rangers’ next four are at MSG starting tomorrow against Dallas. The second place Flyers visit for a big match Sunday and then the Lightning and Red Wings stop by. Every game has a day in between. This is a big opportunity. It’s high time they put together a good home stretch. With seven of the next eight at 33rd and Seventh, let’s go.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brad Richards, NYR (11th of season, assist-best game in a while)

2nd Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (11th of season-GW with 5:57 left-Bork!)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (35 saves incl. 11/11 in 3rd-Hank was Hank)

Posted in NY Rangers | Leave a comment

Tavares hat trick highlights Islanders’ 7-3 win over Stars

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Derek

A day before being officially named to Canada’s Olympic roster, John Tavares put an exclamation point on why he was a lock. His hat trick highlighted the Islanders’ 7-3 win over the Stars last night at Nassau Coliseum.

It was their fifth win in the last six and moved them up to 37 points. They still trail third Washington by nine with 38 games left. The Hurricanes and Rangers each have 45 while the Devils and Blue Jackets are tied with 42. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time for the Islanders to climb back in it.

In a game they once trailed 2-0, they outscored Dallas 7-1 the rest of the way. That included rookie Ryan Strome finally scoring his first career NHL goal to get them on the board.

”It’s nice to get it out of the way,” a relieved Strome said. ”Hopefully, I can just start playing now. (It was) starting to bug me a little bit. I had a couple of great chances. It’s a tough league to score. You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities.”

Trailing 2-1, Thomas Vanek made a behind the back pass to Tavares for a tap in. Fourth liner Peter Regin made it three straight giving the Islanders their first lead two minutes later. Stars’ rookie Valeri Nischushkin evened it on the power play at 15:28 of the second period. Rookie Brock Nelson scored a huge goal at 19:32 from Casey Cizikas and Calvin de Haan to steer the Isles back in front. De Haan picked up his first two points- also setting up defenseman Brian Strait 1:24 into the third making it 5-3.

At that point, Tavares already had a goal and two assists. He got the final two goals on the power play. The first one came when the Stars left too much space for him out of the corner. He walked out and went to the backhand going upstairs on Kari Lehtonen. Frans Nielsen and Andrew MacDonald picked up helpers. He turned the trick when a point shot through a Matt Martin screen hit pay dirt with 3:07 remaining.

“He’s [Tavares] unbelievable. He puts the team on his back. I think the third period you really saw how good he wanted be. He wanted that hat trick and it shows how dominating he can be. If I can learn one thing out of the 100 things he does it’s going to make me successful,” Strome praised of the Islander captain.

”A lot of people dream of those nights,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. ”Anytime (Tavares) has a night like that, it’s nice to win the hockey game.”

The game wasn’t without an injury. Starting goalie Evgeni Nabokov left in the first with a groin injury. He stopped seven of eight shots before getting replaced by backup Kevin Poulin. In relief, he turned aside 13 of 15 to get the win.

The Islanders visit Toronto later tonight in the second of a back-to-back.

Posted in NY Islanders, Video Of Day | Leave a comment

Rangers drop shootout to Blue Jackets

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Derek

It’d be easy to point out the negative from last night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets. It was another missed opportunity by the Rangers to pick up a win at Madison Square Garden. By virtue of gaining a point, they fell to 8-10-3 on home ice. Not good enough. At least they showed some character rallying from a 3-1 deficit to grab a point.

”It would’ve been nice to get that other point,” former Jacket Rick Nash said after scoring twice on the power play including the game tying goal at 6:55 of the third period. ”We’ve got to come out a lot better, and we can’t keep making mistakes that end up in the back of our net.”

Those mistakes included defensive lapses and a controversial Chris Kreider boarding major penalty. On two of Columbus’ three goals, there weren’t enough players back leaving plenty of time and space for them to victimize Henrik Lundqvist. Though he again allowed three goals or more for the 10th time in his last 11 starts, Hank made some big stops throughout. That included six in overtime when the Jackets peppered him. He robbed Cam Atkinson twice.

”I’m happy we got a point. We played well for 60 minutes,” Lundqvist said after finishing with 36 saves. ”The difference is I didn’t stop the breakaways and (Bobrovsky) did – one in the second and in the shootout. I have some work to do.”

In his return from injury, Bobrovsky was strong finishing with 40 saves. That included a glove save on Mats Zuccarello and a sprawling save on Nash in the shootout to clinch the victory for his team. On the flip side, Lundqvist allowed goals to Mark Letestu (glove) and Ryan Johansen (fancy 5 deke backhand tuck). Even on a night he wasn’t to blame, he didn’t get the win. That’s the kind of year it’s been.

As usual, Brandon Dubinsky was inspired by his visit against the Rangers. The ex-Blueshirt tipped home a James Wisniewski shot for a power play goal and later set up Wisniewski for a bomb that made it 3-1 late in the second. He also was physically involved with Kreider following a hit that injured another former Ranger Fedor Tyutin. The play came just 21 seconds into the middle stanza. Kreider came across from the side and finished a check on a prone Tyutin, who fell awkwardly into the glass. Dubinsky stood up for his teammate earning a rough. Replays showed that Kreider let up. Despite that, head referee Francis Charron assessed a major and game misconduct.

”I looked at the replay. He tried to stop just before,” Alain Vigneault asserted. ”It seemed like he stopped, and sort of a follow-through from their player. Anytime a guy gets pushed into the boards the way he did, the referees don’t have much of a choice.”

Vigneault is correct. It was a penalty. Even if I don’t agree with ejecting Kreider, Tyutin was vulnerable and injured. That factored in. The ironic part is Columbus didn’t score on the abbreviated three-minute power play. Instead, they took full advantage of an Anton Stralman turnover. Atkinson stole the puck and broke in from his own blueline and beat Lundqvist on a breakaway for his 11th unassisted.

Able to kill the penalty, the Rangers had their chances offensively. Especially Brad Richards. But he was snake bitten. On one flurry, he shot a point blank rebound right into a sliding Bobrovsky repeatedly. Through two periods, the Blueshirts one goal on 31 shots. They still trailed 3-1.

For a second straight game, they got a spark from an unlikely source. Brian Boyle rebounded home a Dominic Moore shot for his third cutting the deficit to 3-2 at 4:53 of the third. That’s two consecutive games for Boyle with a goal. Oddly enough, Mike Del Zotto also contributed an assist setting up Nash’s first PPG with under a minute left in the first. He was steady and more active.

With the Rangers still trailing by one, David Savard took a delay of game minor handing them a power play. Thanks to some good work off a faceoff win, Nash fired a shot that deflected past Bobrovsky for his second of the game. Ryan Callahan did some good work in front retrieving the puck to Brad Richards, who passed for Nash. He did the smart thing and shot from the point with Callahan screening. On Nash’s other power play tally, he took a similar approach using a Kreider screen to beat Bobrovsky. That’s what they need from him.

With three minutes remaining in regulation, the Rangers got a golden opportunity to win it when Corey Tropp tripped up Del Zotto. Despite some close calls, they couldn’t beat Bobrovsky. Zuccarello missed wide on a set up from Richards. Benoit Pouliot also missed.

In OT, Derek Stepan was called for a dubious trip on Wisniewski, who did a great acting job. A joke of a call with 1:10 left that saw Wisniewski purposely skate into Stepan and flop to the ice like a fish. Columbus created two chances for the speedy Atkinson but he couldn’t beat Lundqvist, who forced a shootout.

Unfortunately, both Letestu and Johansen solved Lundqvist while our shooters fired blanks. It allowed Columbus to win again at MSG.

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