Battle Of Hudson

Chris Kreider just can’t catch a break. He’s already been shuffled back and forth like an Express train on the subway.

The Rangers don’t have a clue what to do with the former ’09 first round pick who dazzled during last year’s postseason. A year later, Kreider’s confidence is shot thanks to an awful stint in Connecticut. He was sent back again and played for the Whale Friday. Then was an emergency recall in case Rick Nash couldn’t play.

With key penalty killer Darroll Powe going down last night with a concussion, the Rangers recalled forward Brandon Mashinter. He scored a goal and assist in the Whale’s latest win. It’s the second time Mashinter is up. During practice today, he rotated with Kreider on the fourth line.

It’s pretty evident that John Tortorella doesn’t trust Kreider. So, why is he even up? Even more bizarre, Hartford sent him back up. If you’re not going to play him, he may as well go down and play for the Whale. As I noted in another post on the situation, the organization is not helping Kreider’s psyche. He should either be on the third line with J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan or getting more minutes in the AHL.

As usual, Tortorella has it backwards.

Copyright Getty Images/Kathy Willens

Derek Stepan scored a power play goal. Let’s just examine this for a second. An actual power play goal was scored helping the Rangers defeat the Capitals 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

This rare occurrence took place in the third period of a tie game. The formula was rather simple. Brad Richards won an offensive draw to Mike Del Zotto. Del Zotto passed for Stepan who finished the play. All it took was seven seconds. Amazing stuff.

It added up to the Blueshirts’ fourth win in five. Counting the shootout loss to the Islanders, they’ve taken nine of a possible 10 points improving to 8-5-1. They’re currently seventh in the East with 17 points. Considering the slow start, we’ll take it. But it hardly means we should be ecstatic. They can play better. The defense is still shaky and the offense up and down.

After all the hoopla, Rick Nash played and Chris Kreider sat out. It looks like the organization prefers to send Kreider back to Connecticut and let him work on his game. John Tortorella feels more confident in J.T. Miller, who’s shown composure.

The problem is Darroll Powe left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury following a collision with Matt Hendricks. It took place during the second period. Both players collided at center ice with Powe getting the worst of it. He was down for a couple of minutes before being helped off the ice by Arron Asham and Stepan.

It might be a concussion. Hopefully, that’s not the case. The Rangers have today off and then host the Canadiens tomorrow. If Powe can’t go, does Tortorella keep Kreider up? It makes more sense to plug Kreider instead of Stu Bickel. I’m not sure what they’ll decide.

One of the noticeable differences in their win over Washington was the team’s willingness to shoot the puck. They severely outplayed the Caps in the first period, outshooting them 20-8. Despite that, a Marian Gaborik turnover led to John Carlson putting the Caps ahead 1:19 in. Following a Henrik Lundqvist stop on Mike Ribeiro, the defense never recovered. Eventually, Eric Fehr and Ribeiro combined to set up Carlson, who wired his second top shelf.

Undeterred, the Rangers took it to a shaky Cap D that was without Mike Green. Tom Poti dressed in his place. The Caps handed them three power plays. As usual, they couldn’t cash in. Braden Holtby was sharp, making several key stops. He stopped all 20 in the first en route to 38 saves. That included a denial on Jeff Halpern, who was splendid defensively. He and Ryan Callahan had a great penalty kill shift, forcing Holtby to come up big.

Even though they controlled the first, the Rangers were still sloppy. Defensive breakdowns could’ve put them behind two if not for Lundqvist. He was strong making 27 saves. The second was better. They played a cleaner game and got the game tied thanks to their hottest player. Carl Hagelin did it again. Off some strong work from playmaker Rick Nash, he deflected home a perfect feed from Ryan McDonagh for his fifth goal in the last four games. He continues to excel. The little big man hustles every shift.

The Rangers did a solid job killing all four Washington power plays. Alex Ovechkin had his chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. He is much more effective on the left side on the man-advantage. It allows him to get his shot off quicker. I have no clue why Adam Oates insists on playing him on right wing. He’s not Ilya Kovalchuk and the Caps aren’t the Devils.

On their fourth power play, they finally Capitalized. No pun intended.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Matt Gilroy, NYR (3 SOG-played well in 8 shifts-10:48)
2nd Star-Rick Nash, NYR (assist-9th of season, game high 8 SOG-playmaker)
1st Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (6th goal, 4 SOG-Haggin’ It)

If you haven’t been paying attention already, John Tavares got his message across to the Devils. The franchise center recorded his fourth career hat trick and an assist in the Islanders’ 5-1 dismantling of the defending Conference champs.

The 22-year old delivered a big performance against one of the league’s best. His three goals tied Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek and Pittsburgh’s James Neal for the league lead with 11. It came on the heels of a goal and shootout clincher in the Islanders’ win over the Rangers Thursday. That ended a five-game skid. Now, they’ve won two in a row thanks to their superstar.

Tavares broke a scoreless tie late in the second period. He took a feed from Brad Boyes (2 assists) and beat Johan Hedberg for his ninth. It started an Islander barrage. They scored three goals in a 2:20 span. Eerily similar to what the Flyers did the previous night before the Devils stormed back.

New Jersey ran into penalty trouble, which caused their undoing. Captain Bryce Salvador lost discipline by high-sticking Matt Martin after the Islander checker delivered a hit. Tavares scored his second 83 seconds later to put them up 2-0. Using his lacrosse skills, he batted a Matt Moulson rebound past Hedberg for his 10th. Lubomir Visnovsky drew a helper.

Already trailing by two, Henrik Tallinder was called for tripping Kyle Okposo. It was a new NHL special. Okposo was already falling down. The Islanders took full advantage when Boyes set up Moulson all alone for a lay-in. The Devils blew the coverage in front. It was a mix up between Anton Volchenkov and Salvador. Tavares added a helper.

The Devils couldn’t break through on Evgeni Nabokov, who was sharp making 30 saves. They certainly had chances. But the veteran netminder kept them off the board for two periods. Still down three, they finally broke the shutout thanks to a power play goal from Marek Zidlicky. Islander captain Mark Streit held Patrik Elias. Fittingly, the Devils’ all-time scoring leader figured in on Zidlicky’s first. He took an Ilya Kovalvchuk feed and dished across for Zidlicky, who fired a laser inside the post with David Clarkson in front.

With an assist on the goal, it was Kovalchuk’s 800th career point. Since coming over from Atlanta in 2010, he’s tallied 185 points (83-102-185) for the Devils. Amazingly, Kovalchuk’s in third full season with New Jersey. The milestone came in his 200th game in red and black. Following 83 points (37-46-83 in 77 GP) last year, he’s a point-per-game in 2013 with 5-10-15 in 15 GP.

The Devils had a chance to get closer but couldn’t convert a second straight power play. However, Zidlicky was sent off for interference over a minute later. With the Islanders back on the power play, reacquisition Alexei Ponikarovsky was whistled for interference- handing them a two-man advantage. Jack Capuano took a timeout to rest his best player. Unlike other five-on-threes, this one worked to perfection. Moulson and Streit combined to find Tavares, who rifled one from the right circle top shelf to turn the trick.

With the Islanders leading 4-1, Krys Barch speared Martin, who suckered him into a five-minute major following an unsportsmanlike conduct from Steve Bernier, who was a little snake bit. He was denied by Nabokov twice and probably was the Devils’ best forward.

Michael Grabner closed the scoring at 19:25. The Islanders and Devils have split the first four games. New Jersey leads the season series 2-1-1 with one game remaining at Newark on April Fool’s Day.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evgeni Nabokov, NYI (30 saves including some big ones early)
2nd Star-Matt Moulson, NYI (PPG-7th of season, 3 assists)
1st Star-John Tavares, NYI (goals-9, 10, 11 for 4th hat trick, assist-11-9-20 in 14 GP)

Chris Kreider had a memorable 2012. He won a second straight national championship with Boston College and had a sizzling Broadway debut during last year’s run to the Conference Finals. The former ’09 first round pick scored five goals in the postseason before ever playing a regular season game.

He found instant chemistry with USA linemates Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan. The trio was a big part of the team’s first trip past the second round since ’97. They were easily the best line at getting pucks in and forechecking. Kreider’s speed, size and muscle was a perfect fit. His early success made him an instant sensation with fans and media who loved the story.

Much was expected of Kreider in his rookie season. Unfortunately, an ugly lockout prevented him from starting ’12-13 with the Rangers. Instead, he spent significant time with the Connecticut Whale. It didn’t boost his confidence. He only scored five goals in 30-plus games under Ken Gernander. Many wondered if perhaps a lack of talent contributed. As it turned out, he was playing through an ankle injury, which eventually sidelined him when the NHL returned.

The Rangers’ mishandling of Kreider’s injury should’ve raised a red flag. Despite recent success, they haven’t always done the best job developing players. Evgeny Grachev is probably the easiest case of a butchering. After being dealt to St. Louis, he hasn’t recovered. There are other glaring examples (Baranka, Dawes, Jessiman, Kundratek, Lundmark, Montoya, Sanguinetti, Weise). Of course, some can be chalked up as busts while others are having success elsewhere.

It’s too early to draw any conclusions on Kreider. Obviously, he hasn’t impressed John Tortorella, who may or may not be part of the problem. The demanding style is a lot for a first-year player to handle. Kreider’s only scored one goal, beating Martin Brodeur in a loss at New Jersey. He also assisted on J.T. Miller’s first NHL goal.

While seven games is hardly ideal to judge him on, it seems they’d rather have Brian Boyle over a talented player like Kreider who can help offensively. I’ve been a staunch supporter of Boyle, who’s nowhere near as skilled but is a capable penalty killer who can take key draws. It’s absolutely ridiculous for Tortorella to put Boyle ahead of Kreider. This is a different team. They don’t rely on team defense. Rather the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist.

You don’t acquire Rick Nash to play low scoring games. If Tortorella wanted that, he should’ve told Sather not to trade Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky. Now that Nash has settled in with Stepan and Carl Hagelin, it’s the coach’s job to get more out of Brad Richards. If that means replacing Taylor Pyatt with Kreider, then do it and stop jerking him around.

A day after being sent back to AHL Siberia, Kreider finds himself back up due to an odd injury to Nash. What if it magically heals by tomorrow? Then Kreider sits? What the Rangers are doing with him is wrong.

In last week’s introduction, we discussed past Rangers first round picks. The organization has moved in the right direction after years of failure. Drafting and development are two vital areas that determine whether a team made the right selection. For kids Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller, they’re still in the developmental stage. Blueshirt fans should be paying close attention.

One area the Rangers have had success is drafting in the second round. Dating back to 2001, five former No.2 picks are still in the NHL and have had good careers. Let’s break them down:

SECOND ROUND SUCCESS
Player                        Year          Overall          Team(s)       GP      G      A     Pts    PIM  
Fedor Tyutin            2001          40th              NYR CBJ   571     43    152   195    376
Brandon Dubinsky   2004          60th              NYR CBJ   402     82    138   220    494
*Mike Sauer             2005          40th              NYR            98       4      14     18      96
Artem Anisimov       2006          54th              NYR CBJ   257     50     64   114      94
Derek Stepan            2008           51st              NYR           177     40     62   102      46

*LTI for post concussion syndrome

All five were part of the club’s turnaround. Tyutin played on the ’07 team that pushed the Sabres six games in the Eastern Conference Semis. Following a second round defeat to the Pens, Glen Sather traded him to Columbus for Nikolai Zherdev. A gamble that didn’t work out. While Zherdev stars for Atlant of the KHL, Tyutin remains the Jackets’ best defenseman at 29.

Dubinsky and Anisimov were on last year’s team that had the East’s top record. Along with Stepan, who’s currently centering the No.1 line, they helped get the Rangers to the Conference Finals. In the offseason, Slats packaged Dubinsky and Anisimov with Tim Erixon and a No.1 pick to the Blue Jackets for Rick Nash. He used assets to acquire a need. Nash is a top power forward who is an upgrade offensively. Depth has come into question. Always the risk when you make such a move.

If Mike Sauer ever returns, it would be a big boost for the Rangers blueline. Sauer was the most underrated defenseman on the team. He played with an edge that’s severely lacking since he went down. Sather has failed to address this hole. Instead, John Tortorella is forced to play Matt Gilroy, who he doesn’t trust enough to use in third periods. Stu Bickel is basically a goon and Steve Eminger is serving a two week conditioning assignment. Former No.1 pick Dylan McIlrath remains a year away.

Overall, the Blueshirts have done an admirable job drafting in Round Two. Dubinsky and Anisimov were solid core players who brought Nash. Stepan is currently centering the top line with Nash and sixth round gem Carl Hagelin. Stepan’s improvement is crucial to the club’s success. He must improve on his playoff goal total. A paltry one over 25 games. He is unselfish to a fault. Shooting more would make him a better player. The coaching staff has encouraged it. Maybe playing with Nash will bring out his best.

The Rangers are hoping Christian Thomas is part of the future. Taken 40th overall by the club in 2010, the 20-year old son of former NHLer Steve Thomas is in his second pro year with Connecticut. He’s tallied 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 48 games. He’s in the second year of a three-year entry level contract. It’s do or die for Thomas next year.

Cristoval “Boo” Nieves was selected 59th last June. Most observers liked the pick. In his freshman year playing for Red Berenson at Michigan, Nieves has 23 points (8-15-23) in 30 games. A nice start to his collegiate career.

By now, the point should be driven home. Nobody is playing better than John Tavares amongst the four Battle teams. You can take any player off the four rosters. The Islanders franchise center heads the list. Unfortunately, he plays for a franchise that’ll likely miss the postseason again. For one night at least, the Islanders had the best player and that was enough to post a 4-3 shootout win over the Rangers at MSG.

I didn’t see most of the second meeting between classic rivals. However, what looked promising turned into a point lost for the Blueshirts, who had their three-game win streak snapped. Tavares pumped home his team-leading eighth and won the shootout to end the Islanders’ five-game slide. What more could they ask for than a win over their nemesis in enemy territory? It also ended an eight-game losing streak at The Garden.

John Tortorella went with Marty Biron. For a period, it looked like a great move. The Blueshirts scored twice in a strong first period. Dan Girardi tallied his first and Marian Gaborik registered his club-leading seventh. Anytime they play the Islanders, a two-goal lead is never safe. Especially for our side. What do you know? Just as I checked Twitter on the ride back from Long Island, I see a concerned tweet from a Ranger fan about the team needing to wake up.

If you let Colin McDonald score 29 seconds into a period, it’s usually not the best sign. I responded to the tweet with a come on. Apparently, the Rangers had another two-man advantage. Like Bill Murray’s infamous Phil character from Groundhog Day, they saw their shadow.

An instant later, Tavares tied the game on a two-on-one. Biron later admitted that he should’ve had it. Our backup caught a lot of flak from a select few who can’t be real fans. Biron’s been a solid citizen behind Henrik Lundqvist, who can’t start every night. Those who gave Marty a Bronx cheer following the all too predictable third consecutive goal by Islander forward Brad Boyes should never be allowed back into MSG. Get off the bandwagon and bury yourselves!

Fortunately for true Blueshirts, Tortorella didn’t put in Lundqvist. Instead, Biron steadied himself and the power play actually showed a pulse. No coincidence that it was thanks to hard working Swede Carl Hagelin. After a slow start, what a turnaround. Hags converted his fifth at the doorstep, squeaking the puck past Evgeni Nabokov. His timely goal along with some strong stops from Biron especially on Tavares allowed them to gain a valuable point.

By the time I reached my car in Park Slope, I caught an exciting conclusion to regulation. It was mostly Hagelin who created opportunities for Rick Nash and Derek Stepan late. His play is infectious. When you combine it with the splendid skills of Nash, it gives Stepan more room. It’s that line that’s the Rangers’ best with Brad Richards all but invisible. Despite setting up Gaborik’s seventh, he only saw one shift in the third. Tortorella sent him out for three in overtime.

The OT was crazy. Both sides had great chances to win it. However, neither could capitalize taking it to a shootout. This time, it went to the opponent. The Islanders beat Biron twice. First, super shooter Frans Nielsen went upstairs. Following Nabokov stops on Gaborik and Nash, Tavares sealed it with a laser giving his team an important win.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Lubomir Visnovsky, NYI (assist)
2nd Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (PPG-5th of season, assist)
1st Star-John Tavares, NYI (8th of season plus shootout clincher)

Notes: As expected, Brian Boyle returned replacing Chris Kreider. Tortorella was pleased with Boyle, who went 9 for 17 on faceoffs and registered eight hits. I still am not sure if this is such a good development. You don’t want to mess with Kreider’s psyche. His development is much more important. … Arron Asham stepped up the ladder and fought Eric Boulton. … Jeff Halpern (11-and-2) helped the Rangers control faceoffs. They went 44 and 32. … Islanders blocked 21 shots including four from Andrew MacDonald. … Matt Martin delivered nine hits. 20 less than the Rangers. … J.T. Miller took part in his fifth game. It would be a mistake to send him down.

Oh Captain My Captain. Anyone whose seen Dead Poet’s Society knows this quote. It’s always been one of my favorites. Robin Williams’ character Mr. Keating told his class to be daring. He may as well have been talking to Ryan Callahan. The Ranger captain delivered again. His shootout winner in Round Four allowed the Rangers to escape Boston with a 4-3 win.

“It’s a dirty road win,” Captain Cally told John Giannone after our own gritty reporter interviewed him. “We still have some things to work on. … The character this team has. I knew we’d respond.”

It’s that kind of never say die attitude from the unquestioned leader of the Blueshirts that makes him a hit with everyone. Is it any wonder that since he and blood brother Dan Girardi returned, they’ve won three in a row? As I noted during the game, this is a much different team when they play. Thankfully, neither injury kept either out long.

The Rangers blew a three-goal lead in the third period. Astonishingly, the Bruins scored twice with Tuukka Rask on the bench for an extra attacker. Despite trailing by three, they never gave up. The mark of a good team. David Krejci started the comeback by tucking a rebound under Henrik Lundqvist. Up till that point, Lundqvist had been sensational. It looked like he was zeroing in on his first shutout. Instead, Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand scored 48 seconds apart, sending TD Garden into bedlam.

It was mind boggling to find our team in a tie game after Anton Stralman had put them up 3-0 with under 18 minutes left in regulation. But that’s exactly what happened. Rick Nash, who was dominant throughout including a ridiculous goal in Round Two of the shootout- took a hooking penalty on Milan Lucic. He absorbed a cheap hit from Lucic and went back at him. Our PK had been back on track. This time, they didn’t get it done with ironically Lucic setting up Krejci’s power play goal.

For much of the third, the Rangers protected the lead. Maybe it was the ridiculous praise of Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti. Before you knew it, they’d blown another lead to the Bruins, who also rallied to tie up the last meeting on 1/23 before Marian Gaborik won it in overtime to complete a hat trick. One thing about Boston. They’re never out of a game. They figured out a way to rally again. Perhaps John Tortorella might want to tell his team to not get passive.

The four-on-four overtime was spectacular. Both teams had chances to win it but were turned away. In particular, the Rangers came close at the end but Rask made a save at the buzzer.

In the shootout, Lundqvist got a glove on Tyler Seguin’s wrist shot. Rask denied Gaborik, who tried to go five-hole. After Lundqvist closed up the five-hole on Patrice Bergeron, Nash faked out Rask by tucking a forehand to put the Rangers up 1-0 after two rounds. But Hank couldn’t stop that annoying pest Marchand, who again tied it as he had at 19:17 of regulation. With a chance to win it, Brad Richards was rejected by Rask. He had a miserable night. Gaborik wasn’t much better.

In Round Four, Claude Julien sent out Krejci. He tried to outthink Lundqvist but he stayed right with him to stuff a backhand attempt. Tortorella stuck with his guns, sending out Callahan. Instead of going to his bread and butter forehand deke, he went upstairs on Rask to clinch it for the Rangers. It was the first game that went to a shootout for our team. Good thing we had Captain Cally.

Carl Hagelin got the scoring started when he took advantage of a power move by Nash to steer home his fourth in five games. The play was started by Girardi, who caught the Bruins in a change. He found Nash, who flew to the net and while being taken down, somehow managed to pass the puck to Hagelin for his goal. A tremendous play by Nash, who’s starting to flex his muscles. Hagelin and Derek Stepan are the right fit.

Stepan played another strong game, winning some key draws late against one of the best faceoff teams. He was over .500 (9-and-8) again. Of course, the Bruins won 37 of 54. But Stepan kept his focus. He also scored his second of the season. Off a neutral zone turnover, he whistled a laser past Rask for a 2-0 margin. He could’ve had another if not for Rask denying him. Stepan is playing with more purpose, even forcing Zdeno Chara to jab him out of the crease.

Following another colossal five-on-three epic fail, Stralman got his first unassisted. At 3-0, the game should’ve been over. Instead, Boston had other ideas. The important thing is the Rangers won. They’ll take a three-game win streak into a Garden rematch against the slumping Islanders Thursday.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Rick Nash, NYR (set up Hagelin, wicked shootout goal)
2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (37 saves, including some crucial ones early)
1st Star-Derek Stepan, NYR (2nd of season, 9-for-17 on draws, more confident)

Notes: Jeff Halpern had a strong night in the faceoff circle, winning nine of 11. He’s really making a difference on the fourth line with Darroll Powe, who outside of a delay of game minor was solid. They’ve meshed well with Arron Asham, who wisely stayed away from a fight with Shawn Thornton. … Real big of Marchand to mix it up with Gaborik post scrum. What a guy. … Rangers blocked 25 shots to Boston’s 9. Girardi and Ryan McDonagh each had seven.

… Since Tortorella took him off the power play, Mike Del Zotto has bounced back with two better efforts. Less is more for MDZ. … Matt Gilroy is playing more confidently but Tortorella refuses to use him in the third. … The Rangers took another bench minor. That’s six. Outside of that, they’ve been more disciplined. … Lucic had two assists and Dennis Seidenberg did as well for the Bruins. … Bergeron (14-and-4) on faceoffs. Dominant. … Rask turned aside 26 of 29.

The NHL ruled against suspending Mikhail Grabovski. The Maple Leaf center was involved in an incident with Canadien forward Max Pacioretty during Saturday’s 6-0 Toronto win at Bell Centre.

During a post-scrum, Pacioretty alleged that Grabovski bit him. However, replays were inconclusive. The only thing you could tell is that Pacioretty had his arm around Grabovski, dangerously close to his mouth.

It would’ve been a shock if the league took action against Grabovski. Unless it can be proven, there was no way to figure out what happened. Grabovski participated in the Leafs’ 5-2 win over the Flyers last night, recording no points.