Battle Of Hudson

They’re the gang that can’t shoot straight. Or a team searching for answers. You be the guest on what’s missing from the 2013 New York Rangers. They fired blanks at Tomas Vokoun, who easily stopped all 28 in the Pens’ 3-0 shutout at MSG.

It was the latest loss to a team they can’t beat. The Pens have already come into our building twice and owned us. Dating back to last year, Pittsburgh’s won six in a row against your Blueshirts. All they needed was an early Evgeni Malkin goal over a minute in to get healthier. The Pens haven’t exactly been lighting it up. See the Rangers on the schedule and that changes.

It doesn’t matter who’s missing. You can’t chalk it up to convenient excuses Joe Micheletti makes on MSG. The effort wasn’t good enough. Between the lack of cohesion and the undisciplined penalties that continue to be a problematic sign, the Rangers aren’t good right now. What we’re getting is predictable results. The team has yet to put a 60-minute effort forward. Even in the three wins over the Bruins, Leafs and Flyers, there were inconsistencies.

No team is perfect. I get all that. But it’s high time they started lending Henrik Lundqvist a helping hand. It can’t be him saving our bacon every night. Tonight, he played like he knew one goal was enough to beat our team. It puts way too much pressure on the King Of Manhattan. He’s not the problem. The shaky start is over. He’s back to being our best player.

Our penalty kill more often than not bails us out. But if they keep taking penalties, eventually it’s going to bite them in the ass. This time, it was a bench minor (too many men) that ended any comeback hopes. After killing off consecutive penalties, including a lazy interference call on Carl Hagelin, they got caught with too many men on the ice again. It was the fourth time this team has been whistled for one of the most asinine penalties you can take. That’s three straight games if you’re keeping track.

It came late in the second period and carried over to the third. Inexplicably, they came out flat for the third allowing the Pens to go up two 28 seconds in. Malkin started it by passing for crown prince Sidney Crosby who skated in untouched and passed for James Neal, who tipped in his fifth. A beautiful goal for Pens fans to celebrate. An awful one for the Rangers to give up. Where was the defense? The game was over right there.

Moments later, Marc Staal hit the post. Anton Stralman also rang the bar on a power play. He was the only one willing to shoot. Unfortunately, the shot led to Simon Despres scoring out of the penalty box. Staal’s weak attempt at a clear allowed Pascal Dupuis to intercept the puck and headman Despres for a clean breakaway. Unlike Crosby, who Lundqvist denied he went to the backhand and scored upstairs.

How did our team respond? By taking another penalty. Fourth liner Jeff Halpern was the victim. I liked adding him for faceoffs. Now that our coach refuses to trust him, what was the point of signing him? Oh btw…John Mitchell has two goals tonight for the Avs. That’s four for the season. Four more than Derek Stepan, who has one goal in his last 32, including playoffs. I know it’s early. But he’s our second line center. Sooner or later, he has to find a way to score because he has nobody to pass to. Hagelin has no points this year.

As for the power play, it remains hideous. They went 0-for-4 tonight and only have connected three times. Two by Ryan Callahan who’s out and once by Taylor Pyatt, who’s one of the few to get his jersey dirty. The Islanders matched that output in their 5-4 overtime win over the Devils. Sickening.

It isn’t a knock on Rick Nash. This isn’t about him. He’s trying very hard. But if he, Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik can’t score, our team is in trouble.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evgeni Malkin, Pit (goal, assist)
2nd Star-Kris Letang, Pit (assist, 3 blocked shots, plus-two-flawless performance)
1st Star-Simon Despres, Pit (breakaway goal for 3-0, primary assist on Malkin GW)

The Islanders and Devils meet for the second time already tonight at The Rock. The Islanders are off to a nice start, winning the other night at Pittsburgh 4-1. It was a strong performance following the disappointment in Winnipeg.

In improving to 3-2-1, the Islanders had four different scorers. Casey Cizikas scored his first career NHL goal. Michael Grabner beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a breakaway for his fourth. He’s off to a good start following an up and down sophomore campaign. John Tavares and Matt Moulson also tallied with each doing their damage on the power play. Frans Nielsen added two helpers.

The Isles built a 4-0 lead over the Pens. Only a Pascal Dupuis marker with over a minute left spoiled a shutout for Evgeni Nabokov (37 saves). Entering the final game of a five-game road trip, they’re 2-1-1 with wins over the Leafs and Pens. Their only loss in regulation during that span was to Boston. Dating back to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay on 1/21, the Islanders have scored four-or-more goals in four of five. They’ll put that on the line against a team that owns them.

The Devils are coming off back-to-back defeats. Both came after regulation with the Habs prevailing in overtime and the Bruins winning in a shootout following hot dog gate. They still haven’t lost in regulation, carrying a 3-0-2 record into tonight’s contest.

Minus Zach Parise, they’ve moved on. Ilya Kovalchuk is the offensive leader, registering five points (2-3-5) including an exciting OT winner on a Marek Zidlicky feed. In a contract year, David Clarkson is proving that last season wasn’t a fluke. His four goals and seven points are tied for the club lead with ageless wonder Patrik Elias. Elias just went over 900 points for his career, continuing to add to his franchise record all spent in New Jersey.

Zidlicky has four assists and Travis Zajac has two goals. Of course, the Devils can rely on Martin Brodeur, who continues to defy logic. At 40, he’s off to a 3-0-1 start with a 1.69 GAA, .932 save percentage and one shutout (NHL record 120). Whatever Marty did during the lockout, it worked. He made 18 saves in the Devils’ 2-1 win over the Islanders in the season opener for both teams (1/19).

Brodeur’s backup Johan Hedberg is no Spring chicken either. He’ll turn 40 this Spring. In his first start, he made 27 saves against the Bruins- allowing a tying goal to early Masterton candidate Nathan Horton. Brad Marchand scored the shootout winner.

Brodeur should be back in. With the Islanders having a day off, figure Nabokov to get the call. They’ll be without Colin McDonald, who was suspended two games for boarding Ben Lovejoy. They also lost Jesse Joensuu to hernia surgery. What would an Islander season be without injuries? At least their core is still intact.

The Islanders and Devils meet again Sunday at Nassau Coliseum. 

Henrique Returns: Adam Henrique makes his season debut tonight for the Devils. The 2012 playoff hero is set to return after missing the team’s first five games.

The New Jersey Devils just tweeted the update. Great news for them. They’ve now got their top two centers set. It’ll be interesting to see how Henrique does in his second year.

New Jersey DevilsVerified

Adam #Henrique will make his season debut tonight for the #NJDevils.

Mike Del Zotto is the Rangers’ top offensive defenseman. He’s looked to by the coaching staff to contribute from the back end. Last year, the former No.1 pick bounced back- establishing personal bests in goals (10), assists (31), points (41), shorthanded goals (1) and plus/minus (20).

In his fourth season, the 22-year old from Ontario is off to a fast start. Entering tonight’s home game against the Pens, he’s tallied six points (2-4-6) with a plus-five rating. He scored his first goal in the Rangers’ win over the Leafs. A goal that originally was credited to Brian Boyle. It was changed after Boyle said he didn’t touch it.

Following a two-point effort, Del Zotto posted a goal and assist in their victory over the Flyers. He started the scoring with a shot from the blueline that snuck past Ilya Bryzgalov 1:57 in. He later set up Ryan Callahan for a power play tally in the second which stood up as the winner. A great pass across, showing his vision.

Del Zotto has been more assertive in Year 4. He’s looking to shoot more and making better decisions. It’s an area he needed to improve on. So far, so good.

The Rangers got better news than anticipated yesterday on captain Ryan Callahan. Callahan left Tuesday’s win over the Flyers after injuring his shoulder in a tussle with Max Talbot. An MRI revealed a shoulder subluxation. It will keep him out two weeks.

That’s great news considering all the speculation that he could be out longer. Thankfully, the Rangers lucked out on their gritty leader. In a shortened season, they can ill afford to lose a player as valuable as Captain Cally for an extended period.

“I don’t think you fill his role,” coach John Tortorella told reporters following yesterday’s practice. “I felt that in the third period last night when we were protecting the lead, that’s a very big part of his game. So it comes through the team, through the team concept. Every team goes through the injuries, and just playing that much better in the situations that he’s been put in through his career, it needs to be done as a group.”

Last year, Callahan missed six games. He established career highs in goals (29), points (54) and paced the Rangers in power play goals (13) and tied with Brad Richards for game-winners (9). Ironically, he scored his second of the season on the power play, resulting in the winner.

Without him, the Rangers will miss his energy. Callahan is one of the top hitters in the league and his physical style is an integral part of our fore check. It’ll be interesting to see how Tortorella goes about it. Can he keep the top line together?

It depends on the second line of Taylor Pyatt, Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin. Hagelin is without a point in the first six. Outside of a minor penalty, he was better the other night, registering four shots. Stepan has four assists but hasn’t scored. He was robbed by Ilya Bryzgalov. Pyatt has three goals.

Nash Time: Rick Nash has six points thus far but only one goal. It’s not due to chances. He’s been one of the team’s best players, creating offense for others like on Callahan’s goal. A play he started with Mike Del Zotto making a sweet dish for Cally’s second. Nash will be looked upon for leadership. Once he gets one, figure the puck to start going in with regularity.

I don’t normally use this feature here. But tonight, let’s make it an exception. Anytime a beautiful Sports Illustrated swimsuit model comes out and cheers our team, it’s a wonderful thing. This tweet from a good buddy Joe who’s front and center at Ranger games up in the blue seats.

 

Captain Cally: Ranger captain Ryan Callahan celebrates his power play goal. Copyright Getty Images

Without question, the glue of this team is Ryan Callahan. The 27th captain in Rangers history personifies who they are. He is the unquestioned leader of our team. They follow his lead, giving up their bodies. That’s the fabric of this town. Gritty. Physical. Determined. The Right Way.

In tonight’s 2-1 win over the Flyers, the Rangers might’ve lost their captain for an unknown time period. Fittingly, Captain Cally delivered the game-winner. A power play goal from where else but right in front of the net. He finished off his second goal of the year on a sweet feed from Mike Del Zotto. Both of his goals have come on the power play. Doing the dirty work.

It was early in the third period when Callahan and Max Talbot went at it during a scrum. The Flyer pest tugged at Cally’s arm. Making matters worse, he continued to pull away as he lost balance. Afterwards, Callahan skated off to the locker room. He didn’t return. An apparent shoulder injury has Garden Faithful concerned. It might be a separation. If it is, it would be a huge blow. For right now, there’s nothing new to report. We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed.

As for the game, the Rangers held on for a one-goal triumph against a classic rival. It was their second straight win. If they prevail against the Penguins on Thursday, that’s called a winning streak. Cue the theme from Major League. The positive is that they evened up their record (3-3-0), giving themselves a shot to run the table at home. The Pens aren’t exactly lighting it up. They were humiliated by the Islanders 4-1 on home ice.

Last year when I worked the night shift, our team fared well. For a second straight game, that trend continued. Getting the early goal text that Del Zotto scored was cool. He took a Benn Ferriero pass and fired an unscreened shot past Ilya Bryzgalov. Maybe he lost it in the lights. It wouldn’t be the first time. Nevertheless, Del Zotto’s first put the Rangers in front 1:57 in. Ferriero intercepted a Flyer turnover and recorded his first point in Ranger blue. So far, so good.

Midway through the second, a Talbot penalty resulted in Callahan’s PPG. It was a great play started by Rick Nash, who drew attention. He touched a pass to a cutting Del Zotto who in turn fed for an isolated Cally who scored the hockey version of a slam dunk. A great example of Nash’s size and skillset creating havoc. If Callahan is gone for an extended period, you know who they’ll look to for leadership.

Leading 2-zip, the Blueshirts lost discipline in the third. Eventually, the Flyers cashed in to make it a game. When I checked my phone to see a goal from Flyer defenseman Kimmo Timonen, I wasn’t surprised. What would an easy night be like for this team? They like to do things the hard way. Wayne Simmonds got to a loose puck in the corner and set up an unguarded Timonen, who blasted one by Henrik Lundqvist. It was the only goal the King Of Manhattan allowed.

In his sixth consecutive start, Lundqvist was strong finishing with 26 saves. He’s stopped 72 of his last 77 shots. That’s more like it.

The Rangers had to kill two late penalties to earn the win. They went five for six on the PK, including a crucial one on a Flyer two-man advantage. The lazy penalties need to stop. Stay out of the box and we have a better chance of winning. Decline power plays. Send out a winning text when I finish my shift. A team tradition.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Benn Ferriero, NYR (assist-do the little things and Tort loves you)
2nd Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (power play goal-2nd, emotional leader)
1st Star-Mike Del Zotto, NYR (goal, beautiful helper on Cally’s winner)

While the record says the Devils lost two straight games on their mini-road trip through Montreal and Boston, they still gained two points in the standings due to a pair of regulation ties.  Many thanks for that go to our amazing, seemingly ageless goalies – starting on Sunday with Martin Brodeur holding the fort in Montreal (shocker!) and giving the Devils a chance to come back from 3-1 to tie a game they had no business being in before a controversial penalty called on Andy Greene led to a Andrei Markov power play goal in overtime.  And tonight in Boston, Johan Hedberg played his first competitive game in nine months, and responded the way you have come to expect Moose to respond…with a professional, winning effort – making twenty-six saves and allowing only one goal against arguably the East’s top team.

As a team, the Devils played a ‘gutsy, gritty game’ tonight in the words of Pete DeBoer.  Given the caliber of opponent I’m apt to take the coach’s word on this one, since I was stuck going out to a terrible horror movie.  Showing his season last year was not a fluke (and increasing his own payday in FA by the game), David Clarkson‘s first-period power play goal gave the Devils a lead that would hold up until late in the third when Nathan Horton scored a goal that went off the skate of Henrik Tallinder and past Moose, preventing the Devils from getting an improbable 1-0 regulation win.  For all the kvetching about having top prospect Adam Larsson on the bench through the first five games, the defense has responded as a unit, only giving up eight goals during that span.

Still, the utter lack of goals from anyone not named Clarkson or Ilya Kovalchuk is why this team needs to flip one of its assets on D to help get another forward soon.  If our lack of scoring was crystalized at any point this season, it was during tonight’s shootout, which went six rounds.  After Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and Clarkson predictably took the first four attempts, we were reduced to having Jacob Josefson and Marek Zidlicky take our final two shots.  Yes, the talented forward with no offensive touch to this point in his young career and a defenseman were our #5 and #6 shooters, after the only four shooters on our roster – aside from the injured Adam Henrique – who participated in the shootout last year.  Unless the defenseman’s name is Kris Letang (or Marek Malik) usually you have problems when you have defensemen taking shootout attempts.

Predictably, Kovalchuk was the only Devil to score – although the shootout didn’t proceed without controversy.  Boston’s Tuukka Rask tripped up Zajac on the third (and potential winning) attempt without getting a piece of the puck.  That’s something I’d literally never seen in a shootout before.  Obviously during regulation, that’s a penalty but maybe there’s no rule against the goalie tripping up a player in the skills competition.  Even before that, there was another moment of controversy when Tyler Seguin‘s first attempt on Moose was interrupted by a hot dog wrapper flying down from the stands and through the goal crease.  Seguin scored, but the officials had to call a do-over on that – another first for me watching a shootout!.  Ironically, Seguin did do the exact same move over again, and scored again…oh well.  Brad Marchand scored the shootout winner to give the Bruins the extra point – like they need it, as they’ve already stamped themselves as a front-runner in this young season.

At least the Devils managed to keep pace on top of the Atlantic, by getting their eighth point out of a possible ten, with their next matchup at home on Thursday against a suddenly hot Isles team who roasted Pittsburgh tonight after a tough loss in Winnipeg a couple of nights ago.  The Isles’ only regulation defeat after losing to us on Opening Night was in Boston a few days ago.

However, the Devils may have a couple of changes to their lineup Thursday – with Stefan Matteau‘s five-game tryout ending, there’s still no word as to whether he’ll be going back to juniors or not.  Given that he played less than ten minutes in every game so far, my guess is he won’t be here on Thursday – nor should he be.  You can’t burn a year on an ELC for a guy that’s going to be a role player at best.  He has talent and poise, he’ll be back soon enough.  Also, Henrique is scheduled to return within the next week, perhaps as soon as the Isles game.  Roster moves will have to be made both figuring out who replaces Matteau (the ‘unofficial’ member of the team Mathieu Darche), and sending current fill-in forward Matt Anderson down to make room for Henrique.

And there’s the not-so-insignificant matter of Larsson, who’s been told he’ll have a major role on this team, and can’t be allowed to stay in the press box indefinitely.  Larsson had his ups and downs last year, but he proved he can play in the league and his five-game playoff stint showed he belongs in an NHL lineup.  Granted, so do the defensemen currently in our lineup, but something’s gotta give soon.  Especially with our problems up front.  There’s only so long you can go with Kovalchuk, Clarkson and our amazing goalies masking our lack of offense.  In any case, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

After a couple of days off, the Rangers (2-3-0) return to action at MSG tonight to host the Flyers. They look to even their record in a rematch against a bitter rival who manhandled them during last week’s 2-1 loss in Philly.

Henrik Lundqvist makes his sixth consecutive start. So much for a lighter load for the King Of Manhattan. At least he had two days to recover, which should bode well. Lundqvist has looked much sharper. He’s starting to return to the form that helped him capture a first Vezina. After permitting three-or-more goals the first three starts (10 GA on 81 shots), Henrik’s stopped 46 of the last 50 against the Flyers and Leafs. None of the four he gave up were soft.

If Lundqvist is finally rounding into shape, that is a huge plus for the Blueshirts, who aim for their first winning streak of 2013. The supreme trio of Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards and Rick Nash has found early chemistry. Gaborik has scored a team-leading five goals, including his 14th career hat trick (fifth as a Ranger) highlighting a 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins. Nash has only found twine once but has looked dominant, creating space and finding teammates. Richards scored his second to start the team’s comeback against Toronto. He has two goals and four assists.

Chris Kreider (ankle) remains out. There’s no time table for his return. Our team needs more from Carl Hagelin (no points), who possesses the speed and intangibles to contribute. John Tortorella flipped him and Taylor Pyatt. Hags will play with Derek Stepan (4 assists) and Ryan Callahan while Pyatt works with Brian Boyle and Benn Ferriero, who played nearly 13 minutes in his Ranger debut. The fourth line is Mike Rupp, Jeff Halpern and Arron Asham. Figure Rupp and Asham to be busy in their rare shifts.

Right now, we have a two and a half line team until Kreider returns. Hagelin must step it up. Boyle is coming off a strong effort, which hopefully he can build upon. The bangers rarely play. I kind of wish Slats constructed this roster differently. Other successful coaches in this area trust their fourth line. There are going to be games where our top guns are gassed. That’s when you need your energy guys most.

Stu Bickel replaces Steve Eminger on the blueline. No surprise against the big, bad Broadstreet Bullies. Last year, he was decent when Tort used him regularly. Now, he hardly trusts Stu and isn’t playing Anton Stralman enough. I get why he has Marc Staal and Mike Del Zotto together. Especially off a great effort that saw them respond with big nights. Tortorella wants this team to attack more which allows our D to jump up. Staal and MDZ are our best in that department. But it comes with a risk.

I personally feel Stralman with Staal gives the back end more stability. It’s not like Anton’s a slouch. He shoots the puck and plays power play. If you have Del Zotto with Bickel or Eminger, Tortorella can go with a regular rotation and then double shift late.

I’m not going to be around for tonight’s game. It’d be nice for them to hit the Flyers back. They’re struggling. It’s time for our team to take care of business. Especially with the Penguins coming in for the conclusion of the three-game home stand Thursday.

Last night, the AHL All-Star Game took place at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence. As expected, it was an action packed game featuring the A’s best.

The West outscored the East 7-6 to claim victory. They were led by Ryan Hamilton’s hat trick. The Marlies’ captain scored the deciding goal at 19:48 of the third period, giving his team a thrilling win. Also on the victorious side was Wild prospect Jason Zucker, who notched a goal and helper. Considering their rapid improvement with Zach Parise off to a lightning start, suddenly Minnesota is on the right track.

Drew Shore netted a goal and assist. Marc Acrobello tallied three assists for the West. Carolina prospect Justin Peters stopped 12 of 13 shots to pick up the win. Thirteen players hit the score sheet for the West.

Astonishingly, the East had 15 different players register a point. Kings prospect Tyler Toffoli had a goal and assist while ex-Whale forward Chad Kolarik pumped in two goals. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault also lit the lamp. He was just dealt by the Rangers for center Benn Ferriero.

The East fell behind 4-1 after the first period. But they rallied back thanks to goals from
Toffoli and team captain Trent Whitfield in the third. The former NHLer tied it up with 2:30 left. However, Hamilton was the hero winning it for the West with 12 seconds to spare.

Plenty Of Local Flavor: The East was represented well by the Islanders, Rangers and Devils affiliates. Nino Niederreiter (assist) and Matt Donovan teamed up with J.T. Miller and Bobby Butler (assist).

Considering that Audy Marchessault (JAM), Kolarik and Tim Erixon all once played for Connecticut, there was plenty of familiarity with the roster. Tyler Johnson (assist) was a former member of Team USA’s gold medal in the 2010 WJC.