A tale of two vastly different years

Posted on April 10, 2024 by hasan4978

One year ago to the day last season, we were getting ready for Game 1 of the playoffs and a hotly anticipated series with the Rangers after setting a franchise record for wins in the regular season. Not that I particularly want to remember Game 1, or Game 2 for that matter, but even looking like we were going to get drubbed in a playoff series is still better than the outlook this April 10 – where we’re picking up the pieces after yet another elimination day. Our removal from the playoff picture was finally confirmed last night after a 5-2 loss to the Leafs, with other OOT results ensuring the Devils won’t make the playoffs for the tenth time in the last twelve seasons.

Mercifully this season has three now-meaningless games (at least for us) left in the next week, and only one more home game – which yes, I will be at and kind of hoping it does have some meaning for the Isles. Then again, would I really care if bumping the Isles out of the playoffs meant say, the collapsing Flyers or rancid Caps make it and are just cannon fodder for the Rangers or whomever in the first round? It would be a further humiliation in a sense if Lou Lamoriello’s Isles made the postseason for a fifth time in six seasons with a couple of deep playoff runs included in that, but honestly this group deserves the humiliation of that, or perhaps even the realistic nuclear scenario of a certain rival team winning it all.

Of course, we have enough of our own problems to attend to without worrying about what the Isles or Rangers do this Spring. How current GM Tom Fitzgerald deals with those issues will go a long way toward determining what season was closer to being the fluke – last year’s breakout or this year’s regression? Sure you can’t expect 50+ wins and 110+ points every year, but I was hoping we were at least past the days of watching lotto drawings and ending our season in early to mid April. The fact we could possibly finish under NHL .500 with as few as 79 points and such an anticlimactic, early exit is inexcusable by any metric.

We know what the…marquee issues are this offseason, namely goaltending and coaching. There are few – if any – easy solutions for either, but things need to at least get better than they were this year when the Devils inarguably had the worst goalies in the league for 3/4 of the season, and quite possibly also the worst coaching staff in the league though there’s no metric really to measure that. Starting with the coaching – the fact we’ve already had one coach fired and another almost certainly a week away from being dismissed off the same staff speaks volumes. Especially since each hire was at least in part influenced by Fitz’s personal relationships with both.

If you’re Lindy Ruff, you might feel a touch vindicated that the team’s results haven’t improved under the uninspiring Travis Green but when a team underachieves as badly as this one, there’s plenty of blame to go around. There’s no point in rehashing all my grievances over Lindy and as far as Green goes, it’s hard to believe the new coach bump has actually led to the team going backwards in every area except goaltending. Sure, trade deadline defections didn’t help but come on now…without even half of these blown multi-goal leads in the last three weeks we’d likely be in the ‘playoff hunt’ till the final game at the very least instead of being stuck in the purgatory of being 5-7 points back for the last several weeks. We didn’t start games well with Lindy and haven’t finished them well under Green, sure signs of an underachieving team.

Of course overall goaltending didn’t help, especially in Lindy’s case when all three of our pre-trade deadline goalies wound up with strikingly similar splits (all of them bad):

Vitek Vanecek – 29 starts w/a 3.18 GAA and .890 save percentage

Nico Daws – 20 starts w/a 3.15 GAA and .894 save percentage

Akira Schmid – 15 starts w/a 3.15 GAA .895 save percentage

I intentionally left out won-loss records cause honestly Vitek’s got inflated by a lot of early season games where we did have a largely healthy roster that was able to outscore his mistakes, but in the long run they have to get better play from the guys in between the pipes. Was the improvement from post-deadline acquisitions Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen a matter of personnel change or system change to a far more conservative approach under Green? Probably a little of both plus in Allen’s case you could tell he just has more moxie than Vitek and more experience than either of our kids from his first start when he gave up two goals on three shots in the first period – then he told the team during intermission he would clamp down and he did in a surprise win at Dallas.

Of course you also can’t overly buy into this quasi-junktime stretch either given Allen and Kahkonen’s recent track records before they arrived. Allen should be a backup next year, while Kahkonen would slot in nicely as a swing #3 – if we didn’t already have Utica backloaded with younger goalies (Schmid, Daws and Isaac Poulter). Given that Allen’s under contract for next year and Kahkonen isn’t, it’s obviously far more likely Allen returns but they still need to make a big move for a 1A goalie. All of the kids looked like they need more time in Utica, though Daws would probably be fine in the Allen role as a 1B if they don’t overwhelm him with too many starts in a row the way they have in both of his callups after initial positive early impressions. Where that solution comes from and how much it costs is up to Fitz, but we’ve had enough seasons of moneyballing goalies that have backfired where we really can’t afford to risk punting another season on inadequate or injury-prone guys.

Obviously, whoever comes in next year would also be helped by a better system then our ‘everyone tries to play everywhere except where they’re supposed to play’ chaos system we used under Lindy. It was one thing to play that system when you had vets Damon Severson and Ryan Graves as your #4 and #5 defensemen, another when you’re breaking in two kids (Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes) with key roles and giving another inexperienced guy (Kevin Bahl) increased minutes as well. Not to mention our turnover at the forward spot didn’t help team cohesion defensively either. Still, the D needs to be addressed even with the return of Dougie Hamilton from injury and the increased maturity of Nemec and Luke, preferably with a LHD who brings a physical element to a finesse blueline.

We also need to properly evaluate the other returning vets we do have – like the team itself, is John Marino closer to last year’s breakout form, or this year’s guy who looked like the Penguin discard we thought he was two years ago? Jonas Siegenthaler has gotten even more away from his form of 2-3 years ago than Marino, and these are supposed to be the stabilizing forces on a D with a lot of youth on it. And I’m sorry, he may be the most well-liked guy in the room but they absolutely cannot bring back Brendan Smith unless he’s going to be used where he should be – as a swing forward D and short-term fill-in due to injury. Given the fact he’s already been overused by two coaches, I don’t really trust a third Fitz pick won’t do the same.

Up front is the hardest position to critique for a variety of reasons so let’s start with the low-hanging fruit…our depth certainly needs improvement. Whereas last year we had enough depth to scratch guys who had the talent to score thirty goals (Yegor Sharangovich) or play a fairly regular shift on one of the best teams in the league (Jesper Boqvist), this year the depth took a tremendous hit. When you have at least one of Max Willman or Chris Tierney – who are basically AHL/NHL tweeners – taking a regular shift, not to mention Kurtis MacDermid and his four minutes a night then you’re clearly lacking up front but hey, at least he gave us this moment.

Sure, the Mike McLeod situation didn’t help our depth either, but it certainly shouldn’t have been a total surprise that he could possibly be exiled due to the cloud over the Hockey Canada scandal. Imports like Tomas Nosek failed, while Nathan Bastian seemingly just didn’t provide as much of a spark this year as in prior seasons. The less said about the Alex Holtz situation, the better at this point. You wouldn’t even know he had 16 goals based on the way he gets marginalized, and with a roster that has such depth issues it’s doubly inexcusable. Of course, it’s also true you wouldn’t even know Holtz was taking a shift if he didn’t have those 16 goals since he adds little else and you would think two coaches and a GM all can’t be wrong about this guy constantly needing a kick in the butt. I guess we’ll find out at his next stop. Of all our issues, the back line forwards is both the lowest in terms of marquee value and the one I’m most confident Fitz will eventually address.

When it comes to the top six, the picture is less clear and more gray. Specifically where it comes to star forward Jack Hughes and 2022-23 breakout Dawson Mercer. Of course everyone knows Hughes is all-world offensively, but having two separate shoulder surgeries at this point of his career isn’t ideal from a hockey standpoint. And some of his maturity issues – which cropped up as the team started to lose more and he had to manage injuries – also need to be addressed. In many ways getting punked with two straight losses to the Kings after his infamous ‘they pay to see me play’ chirp was a fitting prism for this year’s Devils as a whole, along with his two crippling giveaways in a December loss to the Flyers. Great talent, but bad habits, hubris and thinking they were better than they were proved to be a big part of their downfall in the end.

At least Hughes you can largely say put up the point total he should have with 74 in 62 games, in spite of clearly managing a shoulder injury for the last couple months of the season to the point where he couldn’t take faceoffs. To this end I’ll give him credit, it’s hard to criticize a player for wanting to play. Of course it’s also hard not to criticize the Devils for trying to have their cake and eat it too. They clearly knew Hughes was hurt given the fact he didn’t play at center the last couple months and didn’t even practice the last few weeks. Yet after making a move toward waving the white flag by dealing Tyler Toffoli and Colin Miller at the deadline, they still ran out Hughes for weeks after that in a faux playoff chase before finally, mercifully shutting him down last night. To me it kind of smacked of what Hughes himself said…’they pay to see me play’. I’m not sure it’s a coincidence he played until just before the next to last home game of the season.

Obviously Hughes will be here, so should Mercer but his downturn this season needs to be examined at least. After a 27 goal, 56-point +22 season last year which led to him being untouchable in a Timo Meier deal, he regressed to 20 goals, 33 points and a -24 this year in spite of again playing every game. His durability was the only thing that hasn’t regressed. Did he, like the team as a whole lose some of their competitive desire this year? Did a bad start just destroy his confidence? I wouldn’t trade him at a low ebb of his value but by the same token, sometimes you kind of need to move on from talented guys for non-hockey reasons a la Lou trading Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora during and after 2021-22.

At least with Timo himself, there’s a bit less uncertainty than there was two months ago given his resurgence back into the player we traded for. How much of that resurgence you want to chalk up to good health and how much it is playing RW and getting more first-unit power play time will likely never be measured. I could do without Timo himself constantly insinuating that it was the latter when even he himself admitted he wasn’t fully healthy until several weeks ago, but hey so long as he actually shows up from the opening faceoff next season and doesn’t get benched several games in, he can say what he wants so long as he keeps producing.

While there’s no question about captain Nico Hischier or winger Jesper Bratt – both among the few players to live up to either their contract or rep this season – there’s definitely question over who’ll replace Toffoli (still only one goal behind Nico and Jack for the team lead after being traded more than a month ago) on the wing? Holtz would have been the logical long-term replacement but he’s more than likely on his way out of town after the organization seemed to blame him from everything for everyone else’s mistakes to Lindy’s firing. They also have to upgrade over Ondrej Palat, obviously with his deal he’s not going anywhere but after an injury-plagued first season followed by a meh 11-goal, 31 point second season you can’t really pen him in for the top six either.

Before Fitz even answers the personnel questions above though, he needs to examine why a team that so much was expected of achieved so little. Why did this team continue to play down to inferior opposition time and time again? Why did they start games so poorly under Lindy and end them so poorly with Green? Why was there so little pushback physically at any point in the season until the glorified junktime sideshow against the Rangers? Writing this season off as an injury-caused anomaly sunk by bad goaltending and coaching is being nieve. Especially since you picked the goalies and coaches, Fitz. You can’t count on the amount of good health all your key players enjoyed in 2022-23. And you ran and hid for most of the season when things started to spiral sideways. Accountability needs to start at the top.

It’s going to be a long offseason, difficult decisions should and need to be made. The one good thing about getting bounced early is that time is on your side. Of course for a fan, it’l be a long, boring wait to see the resolution develop on stuff we have no control over. On the one hand I’m relieved I don’t have to deal with this group of underachievers anymore after next Monday’s home finale (and I’ll be walking out of my seat shortly before the final buzzer, this team doesn’t deserve a sendoff), on the other it’ll be two months before anything aside from perhaps the coaching change happens, and another six months before meaningful hockey again. As this’ll be my last blog for a while, figured I’d better give the full season recap slash offseason preview before going back into hibernation from hockey.

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Trocheck recognized by fans as the Steven McDonald Award winner

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Derek

Prior to last night’s game against Montreal, the Rangers held a special ceremony on the ice. For the 36th year, the Steven McDonald Award was presented by son Conor McDonald and Mom Patti Ann.

Conor hit all the right notes during his speech before announcing that Vincent Trocheck was the Steven McDonald Award winner. Trocheck skated over and hugged Patti Ann, Conor, and his wife before accepting the prestigious honor.

In a great tradition, $25,000 was donated by the Rangers to the Steven McDonald Foundation. NYPD officers were in attendance for the pregame festivities.

Trocheck is a deserving winner. A driving force throughout the season, he’s been a big key to the team’s success. Once Filip Chytil went down to a concussion, Trocheck stepped up and centered the second line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.

That scoring line has carried the Blueshirts at even strength. The versatile Trocheck has had his best season. In 78 games, his 25 goals, 50 assists, and 75 points have matched a career high set back in 2017-18 with the Panthers. The 50 helpers are a new personal best. Trocheck needs one point over the final four games for a new career high.

Not only has he produced consistently. But the 30-year-old veteran center has been splendid overall. He’s won 58.6 percent of faceoffs to rank fourth in the league – trailing John Tavares, Nico Sturm, and Sidney Crosby. His work in the dot has turned around the Rangers, who previously weren’t that successful as a team. They rank seventh overall, winning 52.3 percent.

Trocheck has also provided strong work on the penalty kill. He scored a shorthanded goal in a 6-5 win over the Flyers on Mar. 26. Trocheck’s defensive awareness makes him the team’s most effective center. He finishes checks and plays a strong game. It’s that attention to detail that’s appreciated by both teammates and fans.

It’s nice to see him get rewarded for his extra effort. He’ll no doubt play an important role for the Rangers when the playoffs start. They’ll need Trocheck to continue to impact games.

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Devils’ disappointing season draws to a close next week

Posted on April 8, 2024 by hasan4978

Sadly the most exciting moment of the season was this nonsense which brought back visions of the 2012 line brawl at the Garden, and one that occurred after I was officially checked out of the season following another disastrous blown lead against the Penguins of all teams at home the night before. I still don’t really feel like talking much about the team per se, literally the only two games I’ve watched all the way through in the last few games were the Penguin home games I’ve been at. With the Mets already looking like a rancid team at the start of baseball season, local sports is a bit of a wasteland for me at the moment – but I’m not a Yankee/Ranger fan like Derek and countless others either, oh well.

All I’ll say about Line Fight 2.0 is that for one of the few times in his tenure, I agree with Travis Green when he implied maybe the line fight doesn’t happen last week if Rempe hadn’t run away from Kurtis MacDermid after taking out his second Devil skater in two games. Ultimately the game itself was just as predictable as the pregame shenanigans were, with the Devils blowing yet another late lead and even forcing the diehards to concede the playoffs aren’t happening this year.

Not that I truly thought the Devils still had a realistic chance at the playoffs last Tuesday when I turned up for the Penguin game, despite the fact we seem destined to spend the entire season in the purgatory of 5-7 points out of a playoff spot, just close enough to foster visions of a tease but every time we have a chance to get really close we botch it, like the Buffalo game a week and a half ago where we got off to a 2-0 lead and somehow lost in regulation. Or the Penguin disaster where we were up 3-1 in the third period and it looked like yet another ‘who’s your daddy’ type of moment before the Penguins turned that narrative on its head with five third-period goals. I was so incensed I left after the Penguins took the lead, which is a new one for me. Usually I’m not leaving a one-goal game in the third period, but the fact the Devils got behind two before I got out of the building justified that decision clearly. I was looking on Twitter for a lowlight of this game and found this from P by P announcer Bill Spaulding:

If that stat alone isn’t a perfect prism for what’s wrong with this team, the fact the team and coach couldn’t even agree on the cause of that meltdown was. Multiple team members said they played scared when the Penguins were mounting their comeback, while interim coach Travis Green attributed it more to immaturity and lack of focus. Not only is it evidence of a disconnect but honestly…they’re both probably right. This team has lacked focus all year, but also with the amount of multiple goal leads they’ve blown in the last few weeks since our airhead assistant took over, I’m sure a here we go again air took over after our third or fourth one in short order. Funny thing is under Lindy Ruff, the team started games badly and under Green, they’re ending games just as poorly. Maybe the problem isn’t just the coaches when these players can’t play sixty minutes?

Coaching is really the main reason I’m writing this blog to be honest, not to bag on our recently fired or soon-to-be fired coaches anymore, but moreso to push back against this dumb narrative I’ve seen among Devil fans everywhere from message boards to even some off-board friends that former assistant (and current Predators coach) Andrew Brunette was somehow the reason for the team’s record-breaking season last year. Given we just played them and their team is going to the playoffs while ours isn’t, now seems the most apt time for this pushback rant. All the time I hear Devil fans parrot the ‘Lindy was crap every year except when Brunette was the assistant’ line as proof positive of Brunette’s influence here. It reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite TV shows, The West Wing when CJ remarks to the president about how his Ryder Cup joke cost them in Texas and Bartlet responds in classic Barlet fashion:

Moral of that clip and my sidetrack is that you can’t assume just because one thing happens after something else happens, that the prior event was the cause. Yes, Brunette is clearly a better coach than Lindy or clueless Green – which isn’t exactly a high bar to clear. Imo, his record gets a little overstated at this point though – especially since he’s had less than two full seasons as an actual head coach. He did a good job with Florida as they set records but he wasn’t the coach at the start of the season when they started 7-0 either, nor was he the coach last year when they went to the Finals or this year when they’re still in the running for another President’s Trophy. I’m not saying anyone could have hit 120 points with that team in 2021-22, but clearly they were headed that way under their previous coach before he was outed for being a psychopath. People also act like the Nashville team he took over this year is completely devoid of talent and was a perennial loser…they’ve been competitive for two straight decades! They had 92 points last year and have 94 points in 78 games this year, that isn’t exactly a huge overall jump in spite of their recent 900-game unbeaten streak.

More to the point though, he wasn’t the head coach here! He wasn’t running things, as much as people want to attribute last year to him and no assistant coach in NHL history hast ever had a 30-point type impact on a team. If you believe he was running things then how was it only the case last year, but not every other year with all of Fitz’s other hand-picked assistants? You can’t just give the head coach no credit last year and all the blame this year. Special teams are the one thing you can overtly credit assistants on, but even the power play – which Brunette was ostensibly in charge of – wasn’t appreciably different numbers-wise last year compared to this year:

Last year – 21.9% (13th in the NHL), this year – 21.7% (14th in the NHL)

So clearly if the coaching was so much better last year but the numbers are similar, that has to mean the personnel is better this year or at least similar…and this is the biggest fallacy of all. People act like this is the same team as last year, and it’s not in so many ways that it’s mind-boggling how people attribute our dropoff to some assistant coach. Did Brunette keep Dougie Hamilton healthy last year when he had a 74-point season and set a franchise record for goals from a blueliner? Our power play looked awesome the first month of the season when Dougie was healthy this year, but then has gone in the tank for most of the season since his injury. His absence has clearly had a domino effect on the blueline as a whole too, where we had to not only replace departed UFA’s Damon Severson and Ryan Graves, but Dougie as well after the first month. As much as young defensemen Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec have impressed at different times this season, that kind of changeover has a domino effect, not to mention Jonas Siegenthaler being in and out of the lineup with injuries (and dropping off from what he was two years ago when in the lineup) and the deadline trade of Colin Miller further depleting the defense.

When it comes to Dougie specifically though, let’s be real – if they didn’t have this shot in the playoffs last year do they get embarrassed by the Rangers after being down 2-0? That’s rhetorical, we know the answer to that.

People assume because Severson and Graves have both stunk this year since moving on (and because the future and to an extent the present is bright for the two highly-prized rookies) that somehow replacing them was no big deal, but it was a luxury to have them as your #4 and #5 defensemen as opposed to this year when kids are playing big minutes and also you have to roster stiffs like Cal Foote once injuries hit, one of the two now-departed pieces of crap in the wake of the Hockey Canada scandal. You also give guys like Kevin Bahl or Brendan Smith minutes and roles they really shouldn’t have when you have a trickle-down effect, granted it doesn’t seem like this organization needs much of an excuse to play the latter. If you think that highly of the guy’s leadership then make HIM the doggone head coach next year. I’m not sure anyone’s leadership qualities should be beyond reproach after this year but that’s another debate for another day – and no I’m not taking a swipe at Nico Hischier necessarily although it’d be nice if he was more…pointed towards teammates sometimes when they have continued mental lapses.

It’s not just the defensemen that have changed over from last year though. Timo Meier was hurt on and off for at least 2/3 of the season before magically finding his health, and his game at the same time (and it started just before Lindy got fired, so it wasn’t all a Lindy issue there, though it would have been nice to play him in the role GM Tom Fitzgerald acquired him for on the power play and in the top six). Clearly Jack Hughes’ on and off injures have been a factor in the fact he hasn’t played center and is avoiding contact even more than normal. If I was going to grade players on their season, Jack would be the toughest one to grade. Sure he’s pacing at about 100 points and that was even higher before the first of his injuries early in the season, but he’s also had his moments on and off the ice where he clearly lacked focus and discipline this year and that needs to change before he becomes our version of Ilya Kovalchuk when he was a Thrasher. Flashy player who brought nothing else but points, at least ironically before he came here and Jacques Lemaire taught him to be a more complete player. Last year our big three of Jack, Nico and Jesper Bratt were healthy and producing for the whole season as well as Dougie, this year all except for Bratt have missed double-digit games due to injury.

I haven’t even gotten into goaltending and the clear differences there, what’s the point? Unless you think Brunette would somehow have gotten Vitek Vanecek’s head straight after he was already short-circuiting late last year, or kept Nico Daws from being overworked and Akira Schmid from being overwhelmed and looking like a one-hit wonder behind said unstable defense.

This isn’t to excuse this team’s immaturity at all, or the fact their mindset has clearly changed after having success. God knows I’ve ranted against both plenty of times and think all the Devils’ fans whining about coaching is a way to avoid thinking something is fundamentally wrong with our ‘talented’ roster. I’m just pointing out that we don’t exactly have the same roster this year that we did when we were scratching guys who were capable of thirty-goal seasons in the NHL (Yegor Sharangovich). Guys like Chris Tierney and Max Willman would have remained buried in the AHL all last year with that roster, this year they’re getting regular shifts and Fitz’s response to the Matt Rempe circus act this year was to bring back a designated goon.

If you’re going to be critical of the team, at least look at it with a critical eye. Simplistic reasoning is almost never the answer, especially when the simplistic reasoning is clearly a reach. It’d be one thing if Brunette was the actual head coach of the team but he wasn’t, and this idea he was running things behind the scenes like some puppetmaster is clearly just trying to shoehorn in a narrative without even acknowledging other significant changes have taken place between last year and this year in personnel, much less how the people still here have responded to a taste of success and an injury list clearly much more populated than last year. Devil fans have jumped the shark on Brunette basically from minute one when he got cheered like he was the savior-in-waiting just before the infamous opening night boos for Lindy last home opener.

Quite honestly, I’m just a bit tired of hearing and reading that from all sides. We have enough issues as it is without prematurely calling Brunette the next Bill Walsh, let go by the Bengals before going on to success in San Francisco. Plus it’s not like we outright fired him a la Walsh. When were we supposed to make him the head coach, after he got let go in Florida and Fitz had already promised Lindy a third season publicly? Or promote him after Lindy was the head coach for a team that set a franchise record in wins?

Maybe Brunette will turn out to be the one that got away and lead to Fitz’s downfall as a GM, but assuming that’s already the case is just looking for another reason to be negative. God knows we have plenty of legit reasons for that after this season, and plenty of other issues to address.

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Laviolette rides the Goodrow line in win over Red Wings

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Derek

Sometimes, even the best teams need a spark. For coach Peter Laviolette, that was provided by the Barclay Goodrow line in a Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.

For most of the season, Goodrow’s struggled offensively. Before he scored a goal at Arizona on Mar. 30, he’d gone 40 games without one. Despite that, the 31-year-old well-respected veteran always gives a consistent effort. Utilized as a checking center and key penalty killer, he’s trusted by Laviolette defensively.

Facing a Red Wings team in the wildcard hunt, Goodrow was at his best scoring twice to lead the way. It was the strong play of the Goodrow line at even strength that Laviolette rode to the win.

The trio of Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Jonny Brodzinski made an impact with their effective forecheck and grit. Not only did they combine for two goals. But they were the Rangers’ best line against the Red Wings.

Laviolette rewarded them with more ice time at even strength than the top two lines. Neither the first or second line was noticeable. Mika Zibanejad (12:06), Chris Kreider (11:34), and Jack Roslovic (7:34) all saw less ice time at full strength.

Goodrow (13:39), Vesey (13:23), and Brodzinski (13:24) earned the promotion. They made things happen at five-on-five. Laviolette also used the third line more. Goalscorer Will Cuylle (12:46) had a good night along with Alex Wennberg (13:35) and Kaapo Kakko (14:07).

The Rangers’ bottom six forwards made the most of their shifts. It was an off night for Panarin, Trocheck, and Lafreniere. They’ve carried the offense for the majority of the season. They didn’t have it.

Zibanejad and Kreider continue to have their problems at five-on-five. Roslovic hardly played. He’s been hit or miss. The former Blue Jacket received a 24-second shift on the power play for a total of 8:07 of ice time.

The Rangers will need more out of Zibanejad and Kreider when the playoffs start. They must drive play at five-on-five. They can’t rely on the power play. Kreider came through with his 107th career power-play goal to break a 3-3 tie score in the third period. He tied Rod Gilbert for second on the Rangers’ franchise list in power-play goals – trailing only Camille Henry (116) for the most in team history.

That can also be echoed for the defense pair of K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba. Although they weren’t caught on for any of Detroit’s three goals, the Red Wings generated some quality chances against them.

Jonathan Quick made some good saves, including a nice glove stop on J.T. Compher. Quick had a good night stopping 31 of 34 shots to pick up the victory.

Two nights removed from the line brawl against the Devils that featured rookie Matt Rempe, he came out of the lineup. Laviolette went back to Brodzinski on the checking line. He rewarded the coach with a superb performance, finishing with two assists and a team high six shots. He also won 4 of 7 faceoffs.

In the first period, with the game scoreless, Cuylle faked out Austin Czarnik by calling for a pass in the neutral zone. He stole the puck and used a defenseman as a screen to fire a wrist shot past Alex Lyon at 5:58 for his 13th goal of the season.

Over a minute later, Andrew Copp came right back with his 16th on a nice feed in front from Joe Veleno. Copp was left alone by Zibanejad, who went to help Braden Schneider behind the net.

With the game still tied late in the period, Goodrow took a Vesey pass in the slot and beat Lyon for his first of the game with under 30 seconds remaining to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

But early in the second period, the Red Wings were able to draw even. On some sustained pressure, Compher was able to redirect a Jeff Petry feed past Quick at 1:24. After taking a pass from David Perron, Petry was able to slide the puck by Ryan Lindgren to Compher for the tying goal.

The Red Wings went ahead on the power play with 6:41 remaining in the period. Dylan Larkin drew a hooking minor on Erik Gustafsson. He would get rewarded by slamming in a Perron rebound for his 30th to put the Wings ahead 3-2.

On the following shift, Laviolette sent out his best line. Vesey and Brodzinski combined to create a rebound that Goodrow steered home to tie the score only 25 seconds later.

They would see more shifts for the remainder of the game. So, too, would Wennberg, Cuylle, and Kakko. Those were the players who were going. Their simple approach worked better against the Red Wings than the top six.

In the third period, Perron took an undisciplined, high-sticking minor when he caught Miller in the offensive zone. It took less than a minute for the Rangers to take advantage.

Panarin moved the puck foe Zibanejad in the left circle. Instead of shooting to score, he made a heady play by softly passing it in front for Kreider to deflect on Lyon for a rebound that he put in for his 37th goal.

Shortly after, they were forced to kill off a Trouba high-sticking minor on Shayne Gostisbehere. Quick came up with two saves, including one to deny Lucas Raymond.

When the Red Wings went for it late by pulling Lyon for a six-on-five, Quick again stopped Raymond with over a minute left. The Wings had one more chance. However, Robby Fabbri passed up a wide open shot in the slot. Instead, he opted for a tough pass that never made it to Raymond in front. 9

That missed opportunity could definitely cost the Red Wings. They didn’t even get a point. Had they forced overtime, they would be in the second wildcard over the slumping Flyers, who lost to the Sabres. With the Capitals losing 4-2 to the Hurricanes, the Flyers remain in the wildcard. They have five games left.

The Penguins look like they’re going to make it. They’re playing the best right now. Sidney Crosby is trying to will them in. Evgeni Malkin is suddenly playing better, and Michael Bunting is scoring key goals. They’re doing this with Alex Nedeljkovic, who’s been getting the job done.

The Pens host the Lightning tomorrow afternoon. If they win, they’ll have 83 points. Nobody wants to see Crosby in the playoffs. Let me rephrase. If you’re the Rangers or Bruins, do you want to face the Pens in the first round? That wouldn’t be the best matchup. Neither would seeing the Lightning, who’ve played much better down the stretch.

There are a lot of different playoff scenarios. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen. So much can change by next week. We’ll see how things play out.

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Participants react to Line Brawl

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Derek

Wednesday night was eventful at the world’s most famous arena. A line brawl broke out at the start of the game played between the Devils and Rangers.

The most anticipated fight between heavyweights Kurtis MacDermid and Matt Rempe didn’t disappoint. The two went toe to toe exchanging blows for a few minutes at center ice. Both knew it was going to happen.

“MacDermid was like, ‘We’re going right now.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. I think there’s a reason why we’re starting.’”, Rempe told reporters after Thursday’s practice.

“He’s a real tough customer. That guy is a big boy. Strong, been one of the toughest guys in the league for a long time, and he has his job to do. You gotta respect that.”

MacDermid changed his tune on Rempe after the game in the Devils’ locker room.

While the fans got what they wanted to see, nobody could’ve predicted that there would be five fights all going at once. When the puck was dropped, Jimmy Vesey took on Curtis Lazar first. Since they dropped the gloves before anyone else, they were allowed to stay in the game. The other eight participants, including Rempe and MacDermid, were tossed from the game due to the rules.

“I thought I was going to have a good 5 minutes in (the penalty box) with the fellas. We were going to be cuddled up in there, getting cozy and having a good time… I had no idea that was a rule. I was like, ‘Dang it. My TOI didn’t go up that game.’”, Rempe said.

Nobody had K’Andre Miller fighting John Marino. Jacob Trouba battled Chris Tierney. Barclay Goodrow went up in size to take on Kevin Bahl. It was fight night at The Garden.

“The fans got what they wanted out of that,” Brendan Smith pointed out. “Good atmosphere, good game. … It gets the blood boiling, the fans enjoy it.

“I think everybody got their dollar’s worth. And it’s an expensive building.”

Smith is no stranger to playing on the other side. He was a well-respected Ranger for over four seasons. He played the same honest, gritty, hard-nosed game he does now for the Devils. He understands how much energy MSG can have when the fans are revved up.

“I’ve never seen that, I don’t know if that’s ever happened,” Chris Kreider said following getting the game-winner on the power play with 4:57 left in regulation.

“To have 80 percent of them then be shown the gate, it’s just a weird dynamic.”

Even the coaches got heated. Upset with Devils interim coach Travis Green, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette went over to the glass between the benches and had some choice words.

“Our guys were reacting to what was happening on the ice,” said Laviolette, who admitted that it was the emotions of the game. “I thought they did a fantastic job. All five of them.”

What didn’t get lost is how the remaining 14 skaters stepped up in the absence of the four players who were ejected on each side. That forced the coaches to juggle their lines and double shift key defensemen.

It made for a unique back and forth game. The Rangers went from up 2-0 on goals by Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere to down 3-2 on Devils’ goals from Ondrej Palat, Brendan Smith, and Nico Hischier. They then rallied for the final two goals in the deciding third period when Kaapo Kakko tied it and Kreider won it.

There also was plenty of excitement around the league. The game was broadcast on TNT. Former Ranger Henrik Lundqvist couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for the line brawl. He was clapping in the studio.

There was a lot of love from hockey insiders. Even if not everyone loved seeing the fracas, it’s part of the game. When players fight, fans get out of their seats to watch the action. On March 19, 2012, when the Devils and Rangers clashed similarly at center ice, I heard the crowd going crazy and raced out of the restroom to see Stu Bickel take on Ryan Carter, Brandon Prust battle Cam Janssen, and Mike Rupp fight Eric Boulton.

There was blood everywhere. It took a while for the maintenance workers to clean up the ice. That was memorable.

Lundqvist was part of that game. Janssen sarcastically pointed to him when he went to the penalty box. Similar to Wednesday night, the Rangers won the game.

Unlike that season, when the Devils got revenge by eliminating the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, there won’t be a rematch in the postseason. The Devils are headed for a disappointing playoff miss. The Rangers remain atop the league with 106 points. Their next game is at Detroit tomorrow night.

Things will be back to normal. The Rangers lead the Bruins and Stars by a point for first overall. Following Friday night, they’ll return home to host the Canadiens on Sunday night. It’ll be a special pregame ceremony with the Steven McDonald Award presented to the Ranger who went above and beyond the call of duty. Vincent Trocheck deserves the prestigious award. Panarin is the Team MVP. We’ll see how the fans voted.

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Rangers’ third period comeback gives them a win over Devils to sweep season series

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Derek

After the early fireworks came just two seconds in, with Matt Rempe and Kurtis MacDermid headlining a 10-player line brawl, there was a hockey game played at The Garden on Wednesday night.

With the refs sending eight players to the locker room for the remainder of the match, that left both Rangers coach Peter Laviolette and Devils coach Travis Green to juggle their lines. In particular, they had to double shift their four defensemen who were left over.

That meant a lot of heavy lifting for Adam Fox (29:39), Ryan Lindgren (27:17), Erik Gustafsson (29:42), and Braden Schneider (27:36). At times, they looked exhausted. Especially in a lopsided second period that saw the Devils come back from a two-goal first period deficit to take a 3-2 lead.

But the Rangers came back with a strong third period to prevail over the Devils 4-3 on home ice. The win allowed them to sweep the season series for the first time since 2014-15.

Most notably, they kept their hold on first overall by banking two points to move up to 106 in the standings. The Stars entered tonight with 103. At last check, they were leading the Oilers 1-0.

The Hurricanes were off. The Rangers now have a five-point lead over them for the Metropolitan Division. They’ll host the Bruins tomorrow night.

Following the six fights, which included Will Cuylle defending himself against Dawson Mercer due to hitting Brendan Smith from behind, Artemi Panarin opened the scoring when he buried a pass from Alexis Lafreniere into an open side for his 45th goal of the season. Fox picked up the secondary assist.

Green challenged for offside. But the video replays confirmed that Fox kept the puck in on the line. The Devils were assessed a delay of game minor. The Rangers didn’t cash in on the power play.

They had most of the edge in play. They outshot the Devils 15-4. Tomas Nosek cross-checked Schneider to go to the penalty box. Although they didn’t score on the power play, they were able to strike once it expired.

Jack Roslovic skated around the net with the puck and set up an Alex Wennberg shot that Kaapo Kahkonen gave up a rebound on. Lafreniere was right in front for the easy finish for his 26th goal. That gave him a goal and assist to improve his career high total to 54 points.

The Rangers killed off a Vincent Trocheck hooking minor that extended to the start of the second period. However, the Devils found their legs. They got back in it thanks to some nice teamwork.

After receiving the puck from younger brother Luke, Jack Hughes maneuvered around and passed across for an Ondrej Palat one-timer that beat Igor Shesterkin from a sharp angle into the top of the net.

Suddenly, it was the Devils with the momentum. They kept attacking the Rangers’ defense. Shesterkin was forced into some difficult stops. He only faced 20 shots in the game but was good in the second.

Shesterkin couldn’t do anything about the Devils’ second goal of the period. On a strong cycle down low from Jesper Bratt, he found a wide open Smith in front for the equalizer. Nobody took Smith on the blown coverage.

At that point, Laviolette took his timeout. He wasn’t pleased with how his team was playing. They were lackadaisical defensively and didn’t have much going on.

Instead of regaining their composure, they let Bratt wheel around and set up Nico Hischier for the Devils’ third straight goal in the period. It came 1:31 later.

The Devils took a one-goal lead to the locker room.

In the third period, the Rangers responded well. Beginning to take over the action, they would draw even thanks to a great solo effort from Kaapo Kakko.

Luke Hughes attempted a slap shot at the Rangers’ blue line. But he broke his stick. That allowed Kakko to steal the puck and break in the opposite direction. With Hughes chasing him to apply pressure, Kakko had enough strength to get off a good wrist shot from the left circle that went by Kahkonen’s glove upstairs to tie the game.

The unassisted tally gave Kakko goals in three of the last four games. That’s a good sign. The Rangers certainly can use a more confident Kakko for the playoffs.

With the game still tied, Smith hooked Roslovic to give the Blueshirts a power play with less than seven minutes left. Following a Devils’ clear, Panarin grabbed the puck and skated up ice, and gained the zone. He dropped the puck off for a Fox shot pass that Kreider tipped home in front for his 36th goal to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead with 4:57 remaining.

They wouldn’t relinquish it. The Devils lifted Kahkonen for an extra attacker with under two minutes to go. Although they applied some pressure due to Hughes, they never got the kind of chance needed to force overtime.

With time winding down, Hughes lost the puck to Panarin, who cleared it. When the buzzer sounded, the Rangers had their league best 51st win if the season.

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Line Brawl Part 2: Rempe and MacDermid headline fight night between Rangers and Devils

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Derek

It happened. As expected, a line brawl took place during the opening faceoff between the Rangers and Devils before a pumped up crowd at Madison Square Garden.

The final regular season meeting didn’t disappoint. With the Devils seeking retribution due to Rangers rookie Matt Rempe knocking out defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler with an elbow that kept him out for three weeks with a concussion, they were ready to rumble on Broadway.

Kurtis MacDermid returned from a lower-body injury just in time to get his fight with Rempe. At the drop of the puck, all 10 skaters squared off. Barclay Goodrow fought Kevin Bahl. Jimmy Vesey took on Curtis Lazar. K’Andre Miller dropped the gloves with John Marino. Jacob Trouba fought Chris Tierney. Rempe and MacDermid danced at center ice.

While it was a spectacle to watch, all eyes were glued to Rempe and MacDermid. They exchanged heavy blows for nearly five minutes, battling to a draw. When it was over, both were ejected along with Miller, Trouba, Goodrow, Marino, Tierney, and Bahl.

Eerily reminiscent of the line brawl that took place at MSG between the same two teams back on Mar. 19, 2012, this was another chapter in the unique Hudson rivalry. Ironically, Mike Rupp was one of the spectators who decided to go to tonight’s game. Rupp was one of the participants in the first line brawl 12 years ago between the Rangers and Devils. It was fitting that he was in the audience.

The fighting wasn’t done, either. Following a boarding minor penalty by Will Cuylle on Brendan Smith, Devils forward Dawson Mercer answered the bell. He challenged Cuylle. The two battled near the back boards, with each going off for fighting. Cuylle received two minutes for boarding while Mercer got two for instigating and an additional 10 for a misconduct.

By the conclusion of the first period, the teams totaled a combined 162 penalty minutes for a league record. Six fighting majors and eight game misconducts helped them reach that high number.

When there was actual hockey played during the period, the Rangers scored twice. Alexis Lafreniere set up Artemi Panarin for his 45th goal. Lafreniere later finished off his 26th on a rebound in front from Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic.

The Rangers led 2-0 after one period on Wednesday night.

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Hell, to pay for Rempe tonight against Devils

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Derek

Fittingly, it’s a nasty day in the big city. The heavy rain is a perfect backdrop for tonight’s final regular season meeting between the Devils and Rangers. It promises to be intense.

Coming off another brutal loss, this time blowing a two-goal lead to the Penguins in embarrassing fashion by allowing the last five goals in the third period, the Devils sit six points out of the playoffs with seven games remaining. They basically need to run the table.

Considering how classic an underachieving team they’ve been, that’s about as likely as you or I landing on the moon. April 3 has been circled on the Devils’ calendar for a while. On Mar. 11, Rangers rookie forward Matt Rempe knocked Jonas Siegenthaler out of the game with an illegal check that resulted in an elbowing major and game misconduct. He served a four-game suspension for concussing Siegenthaler.

Siegenthaler just returned to the Devils’ lineup last night. He missed three weeks due to the dirty hit by Rempe, who didn’t accept Kurtis MacDermid’s challenge. When he left the ice, he waved goodbye to MacDermid, who had some harsh words afterwards. 

With MacDermid expected to be back for the Devils just in time for tonight’s game at Madison Square Garden, you know what’s coming. Unlike last time when he wouldn’t oblige MacDermid, Rempe knows that he must be accountable for his actions. If he’s smart, he’ll get it out of the way early.

When he’s played at The Garden, the 21-year-old has heard his name chanted by the crowd. They love what he brings. Rempe understands that he must play between the lines. He can’t take such undisciplined penalties. The energy he brings can help the Rangers. It’s an honest style that fans and teammates appreciate.

For his part, Rempe expressed remorse over injuring Siegenthaler. However, the Devils will be out for blood. This one could get ugly. That all depends on how the close Hudson rival decides to play. They can still keep their feint playoff hopes alive. But Rempe will play with a target on his back.

By inserting Rempe back into the lineup, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette looks to have changed his mind on who comes out. A day after Will Cuylle skated as an extra, Jonny Brodzinski was on the ice late. That likely means he’ll be a healthy scratch.

Brodzinski has been a nice story. He has contributed since coming up from the Wolf Pack. The 30-year-old veteran has posted six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 53 games. He was re-signed for another year for the hard work he’s put in. He brings more skating to the lineup.

Cuylle has been a gritty first-year player for the Rangers. Having spent most of the season playing on the third line, he’s added grit and physicality to the lineup. He’s also scored a dozen goals and added eight helpers while pacing the club with 237 hits. That’s an element they need.

Lately, he’s been used on the fourth line. Cuylle hasn’t gotten as many shifts. He’s a better fit when he plays with Alex Wennberg and Kaapo Kakko in the top nine. Having that sandpaper is important. Especially in a playoff series.

It’s understood that Cuylle made a mistake that led to a Pens’ breakaway goal scored by Emil Bemstrom in a 5-2 loss on Monday night. He tried to make a low percentage play inside his blue line. Those are the ones any player has to avoid.

If Laviolette was trying to get his attention yesterday, maybe he got the message. We’ll find out later. He expects better from a young player who’s graduated from just being a rookie.

The other story is the return of Erik Gustafsson. A good offensive skating defenseman who’s put up 30 points in 70 games, he was struggling defensively before an injury forced him out of action.

With Zac Jones providing consistent play when he filled in for Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, and Gustafsson, a case can be made for Jones to remain in the lineup. He played steady and heady on the blue line. Jones’ confidence has never been higher.

Laviolette has the final seven games to decide which player is best suited for playing on the third pair with Braden Schneider. Given that he likes Gustafsson, Laviolette will give him every chance to start the playoffs.

If Gustafsson struggles, then the coach will face an interesting decision. Jones has proven he belongs. We’ll see what happens.

The main event on Wednesday night should come early. Rempe should square off with MacDermid. How the game plays out will be interesting. Expect some fireworks.

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Rangers fall to Crosby Pens to end win streak at five

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Derek

The weather was sunny and pleasant. The Rangers looked like the best team in hockey. April Fool’s.

Neither was true on the first day of April. Instead, the weather was dreary. The Rangers looked nothing like the number one overall team in hockey.

An uninspired start put them behind by two goals. Although they made it interesting late after trailing by three, the comeback fell short in a 5-2 loss to Sidney Crosby and the Pens at The Garden.

In his only appearance at MSG this season, Crosby dominated the matchup with Vincent Trocheck and mismatched defensive pair K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba. Crosby had a goal and assist before 11 minutes had elapsed. One of the game’s greatest players, he finished the game by adding an empty netter to give him three points.

That clinched his 19th season of putting up at least a point-per-game, tying Wayne Gretzky for the record. The Rangers were on the wrong side of it. Crosby set up a goal from Bryan Rust just 18 seconds in. On a bad turnover from Jacob Trouba, Reilly Smith passed the puck for a Crosby shot on Igor Shesterkin that came right to Rust for an easy finish.

In his second game back, it was a brutal night for Trouba. He and Miller struggled mightily when going up against the Crosby line. For the night, each finished a minus-3. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette insists on keeping them together. It’s only been two games for Trouba after missing most of March. However, he doesn’t look up to speed.

Would it kill Laviolette to go back to Braden Schneider working with Miller, who looked much more comfortable when they teamed up in Trouba’s absence? There’s nothing wrong with having Trouba play on the third pair with Zac Jones. Jones was one of the bright spots, going plus-2 in over 18 minutes. He continues to make a strong case to be in the top six, even when Erik Gustafsson is healthy.

The Rangers looked sluggish for a majority of the first period. Especially whenever Crosby was out against Miller, Trouba, Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, and Alexis Lafreniere. Every offensive shift they had, Crosby made something happen. Another Trouba giveaway nearly led to Crosby scoring. He missed wide.

However, they weren’t so lucky a bit later. With the Pens absolutely owning the play in the Rangers’ zone, Kris Letang fed Pierre-Olivier Joseph for a one-timer that Crosby redirected home for his 36th goal of the season at 10:39. That put the Rangers behind by two.

Laviolette delayed at the bench before challenging for offsides. The replays on MSG Network were hard to tell. It was inconclusive. With it too close to overturn, the call on the ice stood. That gave the Pens a power play.

But Erik Karlsson took a bad penalty when he knocked Trouba’s stick out to earn an interference minor. That evened things up. During the four-on-four, nothing materialized for either side.

When it was over, Penguins backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made a key stop on Chris Kreider. Originally not expected to start, he played well with Tristan Jarry out due to illness. Nedeljkovic made 28 saves on 30 shots to earn the win.

Following a lackluster first, the Blueshirts turned it up in the second period. They were much better at attacking the Pens in their end. It looked like they’d find a goal and turn the tide.

With Evgeni Malkin off for slashing Adam Fox, the Rangers’ power play did everything but score. They got multiple looks on it. Following a Trocheck shot that hit the crossbar, they thought they had a power-play goal.

Mika Zibanejad let go of a one-timer that beat Nedeljkovic with Kreider parked in front. But referee Wes McCauley immediately waved it off. He cited goalie interference on Kreider. Judging from the replay, Kreider made just enough contact with Nedeljkovic to negate the goal. While many fans didn’t like the call, it’s incidental contact with the goalie. That’s why it didn’t count.

When play resumed, the top unit created a few more chances. But Nedeljkovic made three saves, including a pair on Panarin. He also made a good stop to deny Adam Fox.

After the power play expired, the Rangers continued to generate opportunities. Kreider came close, but his wrist shot hit the goalpost. Will Cuylle also missed a chance. He was again on the fourth line. Something that doesn’t make sense.

Kreider would be the trailer on a four-man rush. He took a back pass and just missed wide from the slot. It was that kinda night.

Igor Shesterkin then made a strong denial on a Malkin backhand in tight. It was his best save of the game. The loss wasn’t on him. It was more indicative of how the Rangers played. They’d been winning games despite not being at their best. Eventually, your luck runs out. It did tonight to end their winning streak at five.

Late in the second, another Karlsson penalty put the Rangers back on the power play. Despite getting a couple of shots on Nedeljkovic, they also had some attempts not reach the net. That included Panarin having his shot blocked by Letang. Zibanejad broke his stick on one attempt to send it wide.

They still trailed the Pens 2-0 after two periods.

In the third, the Pens played a solid defensive game. They frustrated the Rangers by playing a tight checking style. That kept them to the outside and limited their chances. Nedeljkovic was able to see the shots.

When Cuylle made a mistake by trying to make a pass inside his own blue line, the loose puck went past Trouba to send Emil Bemstrom on a breakaway. He made no mistake by shooting over Shesterkin’s glove to give the Pens a 3-0 lead with 10:09 left.

But over a minute later, Panarin and Fox combined to set up an open Kaapo Kakko in the right circle for a one-timer that just snuck over the goal line. Nedeljkovic made the glove save. Once they went upstairs to review it, Kakko had his 12th goal of the season to cut the deficit to two with 9:18 remaining.

After killing off a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the Rangers drew a little closer. On a bit of a fluky play, Zibanejad fired a one-timer that banked off the back boards right to Jack Roslovic, who was able to put in the rebound for his second goal as a Ranger. That cut it to 3-2 with 3:07 left in regulation.

With Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker, Letang won a board battle to get the puck past Zibanejad and Trocheck. Jeff Carter fed Rust for an empty netter that made it 4-2 with 2:11 left.

The Rangers didn’t give up. But it was a determined Crosby who got in front of a Panarin shot and blocked it. He then broke ahead to put in the empty netter to seal it with 45 seconds left.

By losing the game, they were unable to take advantage of the Hurricanes being idle. They still lead the Metropolitan Division by three points. Each team has seven games remaining.

The Rangers are one point up on the Stars for the President’s Trophy. They’ll return to action on Wednesday night against the Devils. The game will be on TNT.

The Devils are very much alive now due to the teams in front of them. Despite some bad losses, including a miserable 5-2 defeat at the Sabres last Friday, they are still in play for the playoffs. Wednesday’s game should have a playoff intensity. We’ll see if the Devils can bring the same urgency as the Pens.

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League Needs to Change the Schedule

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Derek

On Easter Sunday, the Rangers are one of 30 NHL teams that have off to celebrate the holiday. There’s only one game later this afternoon when the Ducks take on the Canucks in Vancouver.

At least they get it right when it comes to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. As exciting as the product is with scoring up, thanks in large part to the rule changes, it would be nice if the league did a better job with the schedule. There needs to be a change moving forward.

Most hockey fans enjoy rivalry games. Those generate the most interest. For the Rangers, playing the Islanders, Devils, Flyers, Penguins, and Capitals brings a unique element. There’s more of a buzz when you have traditional rivalries. The Islanders are the biggest rival for the Rangers. It’s over half a century old.

The names on the backs of the jerseys have changed over the years. Long gone are the  days of Potvin, Trottier, Bossy, Smith, Nystrom, and Gillies for the Islanders. The Blueshirts featured Esposito, Maloney, Greschner, Nilsson, Duguay, and Davidson. In 1979, the Rangers upset the Islanders in the NHL Semi-finals to take on the Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. They lost in five games.

The Islanders would eliminate the Rangers from the playoffs in four consecutive years (1981-84). That included Ken Morrow scoring an overtime winner in the deciding Game 5 to send the Islanders to the Patrick Division Finals. They won two more series before finally losing to the Gretzky and Messier Oilers for the Cup in 1984. That ended their dynasty.

The Rangers had a lot of good teams in the 80s. But they never could break through. The closest they came was in 1986 when they reached the Wales Conference Finals behind John Vanbiesbrouck. However, they ran into rookie Patrick Roy and the Canadiens. Montreal took the series in five and went on to win the Cup.

Most notably, the Rangers finally got the better of the Islanders in the first round during their run to the Stanley Cup in 1994. Led by Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter, they dominated the Islanders to sweep them in impressive fashion.

That team would then oust the Caps in five and then dig deep to beat the Devils in a classic seven-game Eastern Conference Finals. “Matteau, Matteau” can still be heard in these parts. They went seven games to defeat the Canucks to capture the franchise’s fourth championship. They’re still waiting for another one three decades later.

If there’s a disappointing aspect to the regular season schedule, it’s the lack of emphasis on divisional games. The Rangers didn’t play the Islanders until the memorable outdoor game on Feb. 18 at Met Life Stadium. They came back from a two-goal deficit late in the third period to force overtime. Artemi Panarin won it 10 seconds in for a wild 6-5 victory.

Since then, the two New York rivals faced off on Saint Patrick’s Day. That game was won by the Rangers 5-2. They scored the last three goals to pull away. Both Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere had goals in the third to dash Islanders’ hopes.

The two teams will clash on April 9 and 13. If the Islanders are still in the playoff hunt, those will be significant games. If because of the way they play these days. Even Roy hasn’t been able to get them to play consistently. They trail the Flyers by five points for the final wildcard with nine games remaining.

There’s nothing wrong with having a pair of rivalry games that late in the season. Especially when there could be some meaning. The Rangers likely will still be battling for the President’s Trophy. Plus, they’ll likely have a chance to eliminate their crosstown rivals. There should be a lot of energy in the buildings for those tilts.

If there’s an issue with the schedule, it’s that there aren’t enough games inside the division. They play an 82-game schedule. The Rangers only see the Penguins three times. Tomorrow night, when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visit Madison Square Garden, it’ll be the only time they’ll play in the Big Apple. That isn’t ideal for the league.

Crosby is a remarkable superstar who’s been one of the game’s greatest players. He’s still the face of the league. Even at 36, he remains a productive player. With an assist on Saturday, he’s up to 79 points in 73 games.

Crosby is closing in on 19 consecutive seasons of averaging over a point-per-game. If not for injuries, he’d likely have over 1700 points and chasing 2000. In 1263 games, he has 1581 points. That’s an average of 1.25 per game for his career. That’s legendary.

Astonishingly, the Pens are going to miss the playoffs for a second straight year. It speaks to how mismanaged they’ve been. Signing both Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin to deals with both in their mid-30’s wasn’t very wise. Both are revered in the Steel City for what they’ve done in the past. They teamed up with Crosby to win three Cups, including going back-to-back in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Neither was trading for Erik Karlsson. Even signing former Devil Ryan Graves hasn’t worked out. When they traded popular star forward Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes, it wasn’t received well by Crosby. You could understand the frustration. What exactly is the plan in Pittsburgh?

Crosby has one more year left on his contract. The $8.7 million cap hit is the biggest bargain in hockey. He’s been such a great player for the Pens. The question is, does he want to stay? He can sign an extension this summer. If there’s any hesitation, the off-season will dramatically change. Imagine a market where teams are talking to the Pens about Crosby. It’s hard to envision him in another jersey.

What’s sadder is that you can only see Crosby if you have tickets to tomorrow’s game on April Fool’s Day. That in itself is foolish. Even if he isn’t playing, it’s the Pens. A rival that got the better of the Rangers during the 90s.

There’s still a lot of disdain for Mario Lemieux due to what he pulled during the 1992 Patrick Division Finals to get Graves suspended for the rest of the series. He was the biggest whiner.

The 1991-92 Rangers had more talent than the 1993-94 team that won. Had they advanced past the Pens, they might’ve won the Cup that year. A lot of young talent like Tony Amonte and Doug Weight might’ve stayed. We’ll never know what would’ve happened.

Instead, Mike Keenan came in, and Neil Smith sacrificed a lot of players to win that one Cup. That hurt the future of the franchise.

When looking at what’s wrong with the schedule, it’s the lack of divisional games. If they play 82, then teams should play their division more than four times. The Rangers play the Penguins three times. That’s not enough. There’s eight teams in each division. That means they can play the other seven teams. If it was even four per opponent, that’s only 28 games – leaving a ridiculous 54 games for outside the division.

In some cases, they’re playing the other division inside the conference just as much as their own division. Case in point. The Rangers will have faced the Panthers as many times as the Penguins. It’s three games against the Atlantic. That comes out to 24 games because it’s eight teams.

I understand why players are in favor of seeing the other conference. But it doesn’t have to be twice. They could reduce that part by alternating who plays at home for each season. It’s still 16 teams. Currently, you play the opposite conference 32 times. That’s more than your own division. It makes no sense.

A simple fix would be to make increase the number of divisional games. If they went to six, that would total 42 games. That would still leave 40 remaining games to face the other divisions. They could still play teams in the opposite conference once. Forty-two plus 24 equals 66. That would leave exactly 16 games.

Metropolitan Division

7 opponents ×6 = 42

Atlantic Division

8 opponents ×3 = 24

Central Division

8 opponents ×1 = 8

Pacific Division

8 opponents ×1 = 8

Total                     82

There’s no reason there can’t be more games inside the division. The Rangers shouldn’t go the first half without seeing the Islanders. By limiting the schedule, that takes away some of the juice from rivalries. There are hardly any classic home and home series anymore. It shouldn’t be.

If they played more divisional games, that would add more importance to getting points. We’re talking about three or four-point games. If you lose in regulation to a rival, it becomes magnified.

Why isn’t there another game against the Hurricanes? The Rangers only faced them three times, with the most recent meeting a playoff caliber game that they won 1-0 on Mar. 12. There should be. Carolina is still fighting for the division. They are  three points out with seven games left. The Rangers have eight remaining.

Hopefully, the league and players will recognize the importance of having more rivalry games. Without it, it hurts the regular season.

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