Battle Of Hudson

Ranger rookie J.T. Miller shows off the puck from his first NHL goal.

I was discussing the Rangers with Dad and we got around to the topic of the Draft. How do they stack up? Since Glen Sather took over, they’ve had better success drafting and developing players.

One of our questions is whether or not the organization is developing properly. When examining each team, some players project better than others. To be clear, we’re not referring to no-brainers like Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin. Those are easier decisions for hockey executives to make. If you finish last or luck out like Pittsburgh did in 2005, it speeds up the rebuilding process.

The real test comes for teams who remain competitive. Those must draft later and discover gems like Detroit with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Under Sather, the Rangers have evolved from a laughingstock into a playoff caliber team who entered off the franchise’s first Conference Finals appearance since ’97. With the acquisition of Rick Nash, many viewed them as Stanley Cup favorites entering the shortened season.

So far, the results have been mixed with the team defeating the Islanders 4-1 on the strength of prospect J.T. Miller’s first two NHL goals- improving to 5-5-0. Miller is only 19 and was taken by the Blueshirts in the first round of 2011. He was selected 15th overall. The center is in his first pro season. He totaled 20 points (8-12-20) in Connecticut before the Rangers recalled him. Miller became the first rookie since Don Murdoch (’76) to score twice in his MSG debut.

In two games, he’s already proven he belongs. Miller skates well and goes to the right areas while possessing tools the big club can use. He isn’t afraid to go into traffic and plays aggressively. It’ll be interesting to see how John Tortorella handles the kid moving forward. Expectations have increased to astronomic levels. That’s how this town is. Where in the blink of an eye, you’re a superstar. Ranger fans can’t expect Miller to score every game. Hopefully, he sticks to provide the team with better balance.

First round picks haven’t been the Rangers specialty. However, they’ve found some success with core defensemen Marc Staal (12th ’05) and  Mike Del Zotto (20th ’08). Former ’09 No.1 pick Chris Kreider (19th) is in his rookie season. He notched his first goal against New Jersey on 2/5. Kreider debuted in spectacular fashion during last Spring scoring five goals and two assists for seven points before playing a regular season game. In Thursday’s win, he registered an assist on Miller’s early tally. Only 21, Kreider is a player the organization wouldn’t part with for Nash at last year’s deadline. He has a bright future.

The Rangers’ influx of four first rounders is something unheard of in these parts. We’re not used to seeing our No.1 picks make it. There have been many flops like Hugh Jessiman, Al Montoya, Bobby Sanguinetti, Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark, who for one reason or another failed. There also have been extreme cases such as Dan Blackburn, Stefan Cherneski and the tragic death of Alexei Cherepanov that still hurts to this day.

History hasn’t been kind. Until recently, you had to go back to 1991 when Neil Smith took Alexei Kovalev to find a player who was a regular that became one of the first Russians to get his name on the Cup. Niklas Sundstrom had a decent career as did Dan Cloutier, who’s best remembered for this beating of Tommy Salo. Outside of that, our first round picks may as well have existed on an island. Just ask Manny Malhotra, who wasn’t handled correctly until he was on his third organization with Columbus of all places.

So, what will our new project tell us? For one, we already know the unpredictability and cruelty of the Rangers first round. With the snow coming, be prepared.

In a baffling move prior to tonight’s game, the Islanders acquired former Bruins’ netminder Tim Thomas for a conditional second round pick. The 38-year old American is sitting out this season.

A two-time Vezina recipient and Conn Smythe winner who backstopped Boston to a Stanley Cup in ’13, it’s uncertain if Thomas will report to the Islanders. What the move does is allow the franchise to reach the cap floor. He’s in the final year of a contract that pays him $5 million. It still counts on the Bruins cap due to Thomas being over 35. The cap hit counts towards the Islanders payroll.

“We have acquired an asset for our organization,” Islanders GM Garth Snow told reporters. “This acquisition allows us flexibility with our roster moving forward.”

“He had a very good career here,” Boston GM Peter Chiarelli praised. “I can’t say enough of his contributions to the team. The journey he took us on in the Stanley Cup was amazing. I was happy to be along for the ride.”

It’s fairly obvious that Thomas will never be an Islander. At the very least, Snow could opt to deal his rights before he hits the market this summer. It’s anyone’s guess if he’ll ever comeback. He’s still a quality netminder who can help a contender. No one knows what his intentions are. For now at least, Thomas is on the Islanders roster.

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If you didn’t know by now, it’s Miller Time. After impressing in his NHL debut, 19-year old rookie J.T. Miller scored his first two NHL goals in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Islanders at The Garden. The 2011 first round pick centered a line with Chris Kreider and Ryan Callahan, who returned to action after missing the past three due to a shoulder luxation.

In his first appearance at MSG, Miller didn’t disappoint. In fact, he scored on his first shift 1:29 in to give the Blueshirts the lead for good against their biggest rival. The goal came off the rush. Marc Staal and Kreider combined to set him up for a mini-break. Miller did the rest, beating Evgeni Nabokov stick side. He wasn’t done.

Staked to a 1-0 lead, the Rangers doubled their lead thanks to Marian Gaborik’s sixth less than 13 minutes later. Once again, Staal was involved. This time, the Ranger alternate captain took a shot that caromed out to Gaborik, who deposited the rebound for a two-goal lead. Brad Richards also notched an assist on the play. With the goal, it snapped a four-game drought for the Great Gabby. He played on the top line with Richards and Taylor Pyatt, who’s quickly become a favorite under John Tortorella.

Of course, the Islanders came back. It wouldn’t be a rivalry game if they didn’t make things interesting. The goal came off the stick of leading scorer John Tavares. A splendid finish from one of the game’s brightest stars. Taking a pass from childhood buddy Matt Moulson, Tavares broke in on Henrik Lundqvist and snapped a perfect laser top shelf inside the crossbar. He got a step on the D and picked high glove from the left circle. It was his fifth from Moulson and Joe Finley, who may or may not be the long lost relative of Jeff for you old school #TwitterBlueshirts.

The Islanders nearly tied it on a Miller gaffe. With the team on the power play, he gave away the puck to ever dangerous Michael Grabner. Only in his third season, Grabner is already lethal shorthanded. A true puck hawk. This time, a razor sharp Lundqvist denied him with a pad save to prevent disaster. As fate would have it, Miller struck again later in the shift. Ryan McDonagh threaded the needle to Miller who cut in on Nabokov and went short side for his second of the game. A miracle on 34th Street of sorts with it coming on the power play.

As you know, the Rangers don’t score power play goals. They were 3-for-36 when Moulson was sent off for interference. Miller did something Rick Nash hasn’t. Not even Gaborik. He found a way to finish on the man-advantage. Tortorella might want to crystalize or freeze frame it. All off a brilliant pass from McDonagh who found the seam. That’s how it’s done.

Speaking of the D, they played better. Even though the alarming trend of undisciplined penalties continued (sixth bench minor for too many men on the ice), Staal and McDonagh led the way along with Anton Stralman, who finally got just reward. They all logged over 24 minutes, combining for four points and seven blocked shots. The Rangers as a team got back to that repelling 17. They also accomplished another rarity, killing off all five Islander power plays. No small task against a unit that came in having scored nine. It ended a streak of eight straight games in which they permitted at least one power play goal against.

Darroll Powe and McDonagh each took third period penalties with the latter’s laughable. Somewhat ironically, Don LaGreca had Don Koharski on ESPN radio between periods. They joked about the 25-Year Anniversary of the “Doughnut Incident” with current Connecticut President and GM Jim Schoenfeld. Three decades later, the officiating still stinks.

The Rangers didn’t attack much in the third but got the job done. Jack Capuano assisted the effort by foolishly pulling Nabokov with over two minutes left. His team didn’t even get the puck in. McDonagh intercepted a pass and scored into an open net to seal it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Derek Stepan, NYR (it’s easy to overlook D-Step’s improvement on faceoffs-12-and-8, superb on PK)
2nd Star-Marc Staal, NYR (2 assists, five hits and great leadership minus Girardi in 25 shifts-26:28)
1st Star-J.T. Miller, NYR (1st 2 NHL goals- becomes first Ranger since Don Murdoch to record 2 in MSG debut)

When the Islanders (4-4-1) visit the Rangers (4-5-0) at MSG for the first meeting in 2013, it looks like they’ll see a different lineup wearing Broadway Blue. John Tortorella wasn’t kidding when he hinted that the play of the kids might replace some of the vets who have underperformed.

Brian Boyle is one of those underachievers. With one assist in nine games and not playing the kind of game the coaching staff expects, he skated in practice with Stu Bickel as an extra. Since the team acquired him from the Kings, he’s been a fixture on the penalty killing unit and a solid contributor overall. He hasn’t been a healthy scratch since his first year (’09-10). After being benched by Tortorella the other night, he took responsibility for his poor start. 

“I just haven’t played well enough,” Boyle told Jim Cerny in a piece on Blueshirts United. “I am not contributing enough or playing to where I can play. It’s not for lack of effort,  but I need to make a lot more of an impact. I know I’ve got to be better.”

Ryan Callahan is expected back tonight. He missed the past three games with a shoulder subluxation following a fight with Max Talbot. The Rangers have lacked the edge that Captain Cally brings. They posted a 1-2-0 record minus their emotional leader, including Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to the Devils. The Ranger captain skated with rookies Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller in practice.

Tortorella nearly used my suggested lines from Twitter. Marian Gaborik is reunited with Brad Richards. Taylor Pyatt joins them on the top unit. One of my suggestions was teaming Rick Nash with Derek Stepan. Stepan is a playmaking pivot who can get the puck to Nash, whose two goals have come off rushes. They’ll be joined by Carl Hagelin, who’s picked up his play. Playing Miller and Kreider together with Callahan creates a different look. It could give our team better balance. With Boyle expected to sit, the fourth line is comprised of Arron Asham, Jeff Halpern and Darroll Powe.

The only major difference is I had Boyle centering Powe and Halpern. Not surprising that Tortorella keeps Asham in against the Islanders. Figure there to be some blood when the two classic rivals take to the ice. The Islanders get Colin McDonald back from a two-game suspension.

Already confirmed is that Dan Girardi will miss a second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Bad news for the Blueshirts, who struggled without their anchor on the blueline. Without him, Tortorella overused Mike Del Zotto, who never was the right fit with Marc Staal. The increased minutes took its toll with Del Zotto turning in one of his worst performances. Tortorella altered the defense pairings for tonight.

Ryan McDonagh, who’s off to a slow start- will play with Steve Eminger. Eminger is back in after being scratched the past four games. He replaces Bickel. Staal will work with Anton Stralman, who needs to be used more. Maybe they should try him on the first power play unit over Del Zotto. Stralman makes crisper decisions and will shoot if the opportunity presents itself. Del Zotto has been moved down to the third pair with turnover machine Matt Gilroy. I can just see Jack Capuano licking his chops to get John Tavares out there against this dynamic duo.

It’s amazing that Gilroy made our team and now is being used as a regular. If he fulfilled his potential offensively, I can see it. By including Tim Erixon for Nash, Glen Sather left Tortorella with no depth on the back end. The D is a mess. Maybe he should’ve held onto Tomas Kundratek. Until Dylan McIlrath is ready, the Rangers are in limbo. Every day, the loss of Mike Sauer increases. What a shame.

As expected, Henrik Lundqvist gets his ninth start. It will likely be Evgeni Nabokov, who’ll try to help the Islanders snap a two-game losing streak. The Islanders were blanked by the Devils 3-0 and dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pens. They score goals. Especially on the power play. Against a depleted PK that’s permitted at least one power play goal in eight consecutive games, it’s an interesting match-up. The Rangers must stay out of the penalty box.

After tonight, the Islanders and Rangers meet three more times due to the unbalanced schedule. Ridiculous. The first two are at The Garden with a rematch next Thursday, 2/14. The Islanders host the final two meetings on 3/7 and 4/13.
 

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If this were Groundhog Day, Ranger fans would’ve understood. Despite outplaying the Devils for a good portion, the Rangers saw their collective shadow again. Martin Brodeur made 24 saves in the Devils’ 3-1 win at a loud Prudential Center. Ultimately, the ageless Marty was the difference making several big stops including a highlight reel glove save on Carl Hagelin.

It doesn’t seem to matter how old Brodeur is. He looks fresh and has been better than Henrik Lundqvist in 2013. Brodeur extended his personal winning streak against Lundqvist to four dating back to last year’s Conference Final. He’s the biggest reason the Devils improved to 5-1-3. Brodeur stopped 16 of 17 the final two periods when the Rangers controlled play. He also stopped all eight in an odd first period that saw the Devils take advantage of lousy turnovers for two goals.

Skating without top defenseman Dan Girardi, the Rangers were flat. Even an early power play couldn’t help. Instead, the Devils got a boost out of another lifeless power play. Their aggressive penalty kill created two shorthanded chances, forcing Lundqvist to stop both. Pathetic. A word that’s been used over and over to describe the Ranger futility. They were 0-for-5- falling to a miserable 3-for-35 on the season. That included a horrific four-minute man-advantage after Andy Greene’s high stick on Arron Asham drew blood. Instead of squaring the game, they failed miserably and then let the Devils go up two in the final minute.

Mike Del Zotto had perhaps his worst game. He turned over the puck repeatedly and lost every battle. His misplay of a Marc Staal pass behind the net led directly to Adam Henrique scoring the first of the game. He lost the puck to David Clarkson who cycled it to Patrik Elias. Elias’ no look pass found an open Henrique who ripped one by a surprised Lundqvist. In two games, Henrique already has as many goals (2) as Rick Nash. Speaking of which, he wasn’t bad in his first taste of the Hudson rivalry. He created opportunities after a dismal first, missing an open side on Brodeur. However, it was another Del Zotto hiccup that saw Nash fumble a Stephen Gionta back pass right to Clarkson, who scored his first of two to put New Jersey ahead 2-0 at 19:07.

The awful goal summed up a lost period for the Blueshirts. They responded with a much better effort the rest of the way. Most of the second was spent in the Devils’ end. However, they couldn’t solve Brodeur. Some of the best chances came from rookie J.T. Miller. In his first NHL game, the ’11 first round pick didn’t look out of place one bit. Wearing number 47, the 19-year old center worked his way up from the fourth line to playing with Brad Richards and Chris Kreider, who also returned from an ankle injury. Miller used his speed to get to some loose pucks and found room. He also went hard to the net getting a piece of a Carl Hagelin shot which Brodeur covered up. Miller took 20 shifts (14:25) and saw over four minutes on the power play.

Despite outshooting the Devils 9-4 in the second, the Rangers still trailed 2-0. However, special teams continued to be dreadful. The alarming trend continued when Arron Asham was forced to hook down a Devil. The Devils haven’t exactly lit it up either. But their power play cashed in to effectively end the game. Off a draw Jeff Halpern won, Clarkson forced a turnover. Elias quickly fed Greene up top for a routine shot that Lundqvist couldn’t control, allowing Clarkson an easy put away for his seventh. On the play, Del Zotto never took Clarkson. The rebound was awful. The kind Lundqvist can’t allow. It was Elias’ third assist of the night. He never has had four in a game.

With nothing going right, Nash took a penalty right after Clarkson scored. This time, our PK got it killed off. Darroll Powe looked alright in his first game. Wearing Brandon Prust’s old No.8, he took 14 shifts including nearly three minutes shorthanded with two hits. He’ll play more than Mike Rupp and should be a nice fit with Brian Boyle, who was benched in the third.

The Rangers finally broke through thanks to Kreider, whose wicked snapper beat Brodeur short side. It was his first NHL goal in a regular season game. He scored before last postseason but never during the season. Kreider took a Richards pass and made no mistake, beating Marty to cut it to 3-1 with 13:32 left. The release of the shot and velocity is what has the Rangers excited over Kreider. He does have talent. A big time plus in a game they lost. Especially with it being his first one back. He played over 10 minutes including three and a half on the power play.

They had opportunities to get within one. But Brodeur wouldn’t allow it with his best save a lightning reflect glove to deny Hagelin. Derek Stepan also had chances but couldn’t bury any. He foolishly made the mistake of passing to Del Zotto for one of his wide rockets. The guy never hits the net when they need him to.

In somewhat of a fitting conclusion, with Clarkson searching for his first hat trick, Del Zotto closed his hand on the puck to give the Devs a power play with 27 seconds remaining. It was that kind of night for the Rangers. They don’t see the enemy again until mid-March.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-J.T. Miller, NYR (2 SOG, hit, faceoff win, +1 in 14:25- a real bright spot)
2nd Star-David Clarkson, NJD (2 goals-6, 7- plus all the dirty work)
1st Star-Martin Brodeur, NJD (24 saves- some highlight reel stuff)