Rangers Get Boost From Miller in Win Over Capitals

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Derek

The Rangers got off to a good start after the Christmas break. Following a methodical first period in which there was no scoring, the Rangers used a three-goal second period to defeat the Capitals 5-1 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The win was their second straight and fifth over their last six games – dating back to Dec. 15. Combined with the Islanders’ 7-0 loss to the Penguins on Dec. 27, the Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division by eight points. Their 24-8-1 record is the best in the league. They’re tied with the Canucks for the most points with 49.

Through 33 games, it’s gone extremely well for Peter Laviolette. The .667 winning percentage is the best by a Rangers coach in franchise history. He’s done a great job so far. It’ll be interesting to see what develops when the New Year arrives. In a league where there doesn’t appear to be a dominant team, the Rangers have an opportunity to do something special. The true measure will come next spring.

Miller’s Big Night Keys Victory

On a night that didn’t start out too exciting, the Rangers used a big second period to push past the Capitals. After falling behind on an Amthony Mantha goal that beat Igor Shesterkin high glove, they responded quickly.

K’Andre Miller scored to tie the game less than three minutes later. It was part of a big night that was a key to the victory. On some sustained pressure from Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, Miller made a good pinch to get open in front. He took a Zibanejad feed and beat Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper with a backhand that snuck under his blocker to tie the score with 12:57 left in the second period.

Miller wasn’t done. After he lost defensive partner Jacob Trouba to an upper-body injury on an accidental hit by Tom Wilson on a follow-through, the 23-year-old defenseman added another goal and an assist in the third period – recording his third career three-point game. The multi-goal game was the second of his career.

For that effort, Miller was deservedly named the game’s first start. Previously, he’d gone six games without a point. However, four of his seven goals this season have come in December. He’s up to seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 2023-24.

Panarin and Schneider Score 40 Seconds Apart

With the game tied and the Rangers on the penalty kill, Zibanejad drew a tripping minor on Capitals rookie Ivan Miroschnichenko to even things up. Eventually, that led to a power play.

On the five-on-four, Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck combined to set up a Panarin power-play goal that put the Rangers ahead 2-1 with less than eight minutes remaining in the period. Panarin and Braden Schneider scored 40 seconds apart to suddenly put the Rangers up by two.

Following Panarin’s team-leading 19th goal of the season, the Rangers’ fourth line got involved. Assigned with the matchup of stifling the Caps’ top line of Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, and Wilson, the trio of Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Tyler Pitlick followed up with a good shift that resulted in Schneider getting his second goal in four games.

After Vesey put in some work down low to get the puck over to Ryan Lindgren, he moved it towards an open Schneider, who cut in and snapped a wrist shot that bear Kuemper to make it 3-1 with 7:12 left in the second.

It was a good response from Schneider after a tough game before Christmas that saw him benched in the third period of a 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres on Dec. 23. The Rangers needed him after Trouba exited the game. In 24 shifts, Schneider had a goal, two hits, two blocked shots, and went a plus-three in 18:40 of ice time. It was exactly the kind of performance he’s capable of.

Cuylle Physically Involved

Although he didn’t hit the score sheet in the win, rookie Will Cuylle was physically involved throughout the game. A strong forward who’s got six goals while continuing to lead all rookies in hits. Credited with three hits against the Caps, he padded his total to 85 in 33 games this season. The 85 hits rank 15th among all skaters.

For the game, Cuylle had two shots in three attempts and had three blocks in 16 shifts (13:29) while playing on the third line with Nick Bonino and Jonny Brodzinski.

Strong Third Ices the Game

With Shesterkin continuing to improve his play by making 26 saves on 27 shots, the Rangers iced the game with a strong third period.

Less than seven minutes into the third, Miller got his second of the game to give the Rangers a three-goal lead. On some good work from Blake Wheeler, he moved the puck up to Chris Kreider. Kreider then used his speed to back up the Caps and find Miller open at the left point. His wrist shot beat Kuemper through traffic to make it 4-1 with 13:06 remaining.

The assist gave Wheeler a four-game point streak (1-4-5). After a slow start, the 37-year-old American has hit his stride. He’s fit in well on the first line with Zibanejad and Kreider. In 33 games, he has five goals and nine assists for 14 points. The Rangers are finally getting production from the veteran.

Over the same four-game stretch, Kreider has seven points (1-6-7). He’s up to 14 assists on the season. That’s four less than his total in 2022-23. He ranks second on the team in goals with 17, and the 14 helpers give him 31 points in 33 contests.

With under nine minutes left in regulation, Alexis Lafreniere finished off a nice cross-ice pass from Adam Fox to pad the lead to 5-1. It was his 10th of the season.

Miller started the play by passing the puck over to Fox by the wall. He then patiently waited before making a perfect dish for a quick Lafreniere one-timer that beat Kuemper low to conclude the scoring.

Blueshirts Conclude Year in Florida

The Rangers will conclude the year in Florida. They’ll take on the Panthers on Friday night, Dec. 29 at 7 EST. After that, they’ll travel to Tampa to play the Lightning on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7 EST. Facing two good teams who boast explosive offenses, it’ll be a good test for the Blueshirts.

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Rangers Give Fans An Early Christmas Treat In Overtime Win Over Sabres

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Derek

Christmas came early for fans who cheer for the Rangers. Following a disappointing 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22, the New York Rangers rebounded by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime on Saturday, Dec. 23.

Mika Zibanejad faked out both Rasmus Dahlin and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to set up Chris Kreider for the overtime winner at 2:28 into extras. Kreider’s 17th goal of the season sent the surprising Rangers into the holiday break with a 23-8-1 record with 47 points. The 47 points lead the Eastern Conference after 32 games played. Only the Vancouver Canucks have more points (49) out West to lead the league.

Rangers Winning Without Chytil and Kakko

The Rangers have done this without Filip Chytil for most of the first half. The timetable for a return is uncertain due to Chytil suffering a concussion on Nov. 2. Chytil had six assists in 10 games before going down. He’s been skating on his own. Whether he can come back remains to be seen. Given his concussion history, the Rangers will be extra cautious.

Meanwhile, injured forward, Kaapo Kakko has begun skating on his own. He suffered a lower-body injury in a collision with Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson on Nov. 27. When the injury occurred, he had two goals and an assist in 20 games. There’s been no update as to when he could return. Considering the way he landed into the boards, it’ll probably be a while before he’s back.

Lindgren Gives Rangers the Lead

Early on, Ryan Lindgren got a good shot on a shaky Luukkonen, who gave up a rebound, which no Ranger could put in. That wasn’t the only scoring chance he’d get in the first period. A little bit later, Lindgren gave the Rangers the lead by scoring his second goal of the season. Both have come in December. The other was back on Dec. 2.

The goal was set up by Jonny Brodzinski and Nick Bonino. On the forecheck, they combined to get the puck up to Lindgren for a wrist shot that beat Luukkonen through traffic to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead with 12:41 left in the first period. Brodzinski is up to a goal, and seven assists for eight points in 13 games.

Panarin Scores Team-leading 18th on the Power Play

In a period where both teams generated chances, most of the play was at even strength. However, that changed when Sabres forward Jordan Greenway hooked Vincent Trocheck to put the Rangers on the power play.

Following some good puck movement around the Sabres’ zone, Panarin took a Zibanejad pass and scored his team-leading 18th on the power play to put the Rangers up 2-0 with 4:25 left.

With the Sabres’ penalty killers focused on taking away Zibanejad’s shot from the left circle, the top unit was very patient. After Zibanejad moved the puck up for Panarin at the right point, his wrist shot went top shelf on Luukkonen, who never saw it.

Sabres Respond Quickly

Before they could get to the locker room with a two-goal lead, the Rangers allowed the Sabres to get back in it. They responded quickly by getting a goal from Rasmus Dahlin 62 seconds later to cut the deficit to one with 3:23 remaining in the period.

An aggressive Greenway won a puck battle with Braden Schneider in the corner. He then made a nice feed into the slot for a Dahlin one-timer that beat Igor Shesterkin to make it 2-1. It was Dahlin’s 10th goal. That’s tied with the Canucks’ Quinn Hughes for most goals by a defenseman this season.

It was the beginning of a tough night for Schneider. He struggled mightily throughout the contest, finishing minus-three. On for all three Sabres’ goals, Schneider had his ice time reduced by Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. He took 15 shifts and played 10:59.

Following Casey Mittelstadt’s goal that tied the game with over 13 minutes left in the third period, Schneider never saw the ice again. It was his turnover that led directly to Mittelstadt tying it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only time a Schneider mistake resulted in a Sabres goal.

Quinn Draws Sabres Even

With the Rangers leading by one at the start of the second period, it was the Sabres who made their push to tie the score before two minutes elapsed. Jack Quinn scored his second goal in three games to draw the Sabres even at 1:42.

On a rush started by J.J. Peterka, he got the puck up for Dylan Cozens. After Cozens gained the Rangers zone, he dropped the puck for Quinn, who skated around Schneider and fired a laser past Shesterkin that tied the score.

It was a case of the Rangers being too passive. Schneider backed up to give Quinn enough room to fire a lethal shot that went far side on Shesterkin. After the goal, Laviolette wasn’t pleased at the Rangers bench.

Zibanejad Stays Hot

A couple of minutes after Shesterkin made a key save on Kyle Okposo, the Rangers re-took the lead thanks to Zibanejad, who stayed hot by scoring his seventh goal over the last seven games.

It was part of a big game in which he extended his point streak to seven straight. He had a goal and two assists last night. That gave him 13 points (7-6-13) over that span entering Christmas vacation.

Blake Wheeler set up Kreider for a shot that rebounded off Luukkonen right to Zibanejad, who put the loose puck in to make it 3-2 with 12:47 left in the second period.

Cuylle’s Hit Leads to Fight

Moments after Will Cuylle landed a big hit on Sabres defenseman Ryan Johnson, he answered the bell when Erik Johnson challenged him to a fight. Both exchanged blows near the boards with Cuylle getting the takedown with 7:12 left in the period.

Due to Johnson starting the fight, he received an unsportsmanlike conduct and a game misconduct that ended his night early. For whatever reason, the refs also gave Jeff Skinner a misconduct that cost him 10 minutes. He didn’t return until less than three minutes into the third period.

On the power play, the Rangers were unable to capitalize on the Johnson minor penalty. Alexis Lafreniere got the best chance when he was set up in front. However, Luukkonen robbed him of a goal. Lafreniere had a few great chances during the game. Luukkonen stopped him twice, and a diving block by Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson prevented Lafreniere from scoring. He had a strong game despite not having any puck luck. That included hitting the crossbar on another good opportunity.

Mittelstadt Ties The Game

Less than seven minutes into the third period, Mittelstadt tied the game. On a Lindgren reverse to Schneider behind the Rangers’ net, he coughed up the puck due to some forecheck pressure from Greenway. That allowed Greenway to pass the puck to an open Mittelstadt who tied the score with 13:50 left in regulation.

With the game still deadlocked, Brodzinski drew a tripping minor on Skinner. That gave the Rangers an opportunity to take the lead. Although they came close during the first part of the power play, a turnover by Vincent Trocheck nearly proved costly. Alex Tuch stole the puck and broke in for a shorthanded bid. However, his backhand was stooped by Shesterkin, who heard the familiar, “Ig-or, Ig-or” chants from the crowd.

The game remained tied late in the third period. Barclay Goodrow was sent off for high-sticking Tuch with 2:51 left. After the Sabres failed to get any shots on the first half of the man-advantage, some pressure from Zibanejad forced Dahlin to take a hooking penalty with 1:14 remaining. That led to some four-on-four.

Once the Goodrow penalty expired, the Rangers went to the power play. Luukkonen made a tough save on a tricky Panarin shot to send the game to overtime.

Kreider The Christmas Hero

On a four-on-three to start the overtime, the Rangers couldn’t get any shots through. Instead, it was the Sabres’ penalty killers who came through with some key blocks. Connor Clifton blocked a pair of Panarin shots. Then, Samuelsson blocked a Kreider attempt. Both Clifton and Samuelsson each had seven blocks. As a team, the Sabres blocked 26. They combined for 14 of the 26.

Before Kreider sent everyone home happy for the holidays, the Sabres had three great chances to win it. A Tuch takeaway led to Mittelstadt coming in on Shesterkin. This time, Shesterkin stopped Mittelstadt’s backhand to keep the game alive.

Following a Trocheck missed shot wide, the dangerous Mittelstadt got another opportunity. After Shesterkin stopped him, he then foiled a point-blank shot from Tuch with players scrambling. That clutch save allowed the Rangers to come out victorious.

Following an Adam Fox defensive play, he got the puck to Zibanejad. The hot hand all night, he patiently skated around a diving Dahlin and then faked out Luukkonen completely to set up Kreider for the overtime winner at 2:28. Zibanejad made a great play with the puck and caught Luukkonen out of his net to make Kreider the Christmas hero.

It was an exciting conclusion to a great game. Maybe it wasn’t perfect from a Rangers’ standpoint. But they found a way to go home for the holidays with another victory.

Rangers Host Capitals After Christmas Break

Following the Christmas break, the Rangers will host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, Dec. 27. The Caps took the first regular season meeting 4-0 on Dec. 9. It was as uncompetitive as the final score indicated. The rematch is at Madison Square Garden.

After Wednesday’s home game, the Rangers end the calendar year with their annual two-game road trip in Florida. They’ll first take on the Florida Panthers on Dec. 29. That’ll be followed up by a back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 30.

The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division by six points over the rival New York Islanders. The Philadelphia Flyers are third in the division with 40 points. The Capitals are fourth with 39. The disappointing Carolina Hurricanes are fifth with 38, and the underachieving New Jersey Devils are sixth with 36. In seventh place are the perplexing Pittsburgh Penguins with 34.

At some point, there should be some separation from the pack. That won’t happen until next year.

I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! This is a special time of year. Enjoy it and appreciate it. 🎄✨️❄️☃️

Derek

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Devils’ roller coaster season hits another valley after going 0-3 to begin homestand

Posted on December 22, 2023 by hasan4978

Was it really still less than a week ago where the Devils beat Boston in an impressive 2-1 OT thriller, following that up with a fun 6-3 win at Columbus during fathers and mentors weekend? That was at least the second time this season I dared to think maybe the Devils had finally found their footing and would start to live up to expectations. And the second time I’ve been proven dramatically wrong in the space of a few weeks. 

I’m not even as upset as I could or should be at the moment, given the fact I was too annoyed at the end of my football team’s season to watch the Devils no-show against the Ducks in a listless 5-1 defeat on Sunday, and I thankfully had other plans last night during their woeful 6-3 loss to the Oilers which saw one goaltender (Akira Schmid) get pulled just 5:24 into the game, while the other (Vitek Vanecek) coughed up three goals in a sixty-nine second span early in the third period, turning a 3-2 lead into a 5-3 deficit before you could blink an eye. If any night was the nadir of New Jersey Devils goaltending this season, last night may well be it though I wouldn’t bet on the undynamic duo somehow topping that.

What’s particularly striking about the above is that we have the same two goalies this year compared to last year and the one guy – Mackenzie Blackwood – who was a bit of a drag on those numbers in 2022-23 is gone now. So what changed…are they both one-year flukes that somehow shorted at the same time? If it were just Vitek struggling, maybe you could attribute it to his playoff meltdown, but Schmid too after a solid rookie season and his great first round against the Rangers? This is why I’m loath to rip the goalies to the point of only blaming them for this team being a flat out underachiever this season.

Especially when you take into account Tuesday night’s game against the Flyers, where all three goals against were the result of either dumb decisions – Brendan Smith’s pinch on goal #1 – or dumb turnovers in the defensive zone (by Jack Hughes, no less) on goals #2 and #3. If any game threw the Devils’ season under a proper microscope it was that one, the Flyers proved once again they’re a team that’s everything we aren’t…a team, rather than just a collection of individuals trying to win on talent. Coaching, goaltending, structure and teamwork – all of those are reasons why the Flyers have surprised the league with their unexpected hot start, and the lack of all of the above in Newark are why the Devils are driving fans like me to our last nerve before the holiday season.

As much as I wanted to believe after the Boston game last Friday, I’ve still never bought fully into this year’s Devils team to be honest. How could I, when even most of this team’s wins aside from the aforementioned Bruins comeback have either been due to the power play or early-season Jack brilliance? But our power play has cooled off a bit (somewhat expected that they wouldn’t stay around 40% the whole year, especially once Dougie Hamilton went on the shelf) while Jack…looks a bit distracted, shall we say? Tuesday’s turnovers were bad enough, from what I read it sounded like he also lost his cool during Sunday’s game with the Ducks due to penalties not getting called on him, so he took two dumb penalties in the second period himself. Bear in mind this is the same Jack who got Lady Byng votes for taking two minor penalties all last season. He matched that total in one period on Sunday.

I mean if something innocuous like that is gonna set you off, maybe you’ve got other things on your mind right now. If it were just a matter of Jack not scoring a lot recently that’d be one thing – you can’t expect him to be AS dominant all the time as he was in many games early in the season, but don’t compound a scoring slump by either being petulant like on Sunday, or just flat out stupid like Tuesday. Turnovers in the offensive zone is one thing, at least you’re trying to make something happen and the defense has time to recover. But when you have two idiotic turnovers in your own zone leading to high-danger chances that wind up in the net, questions need to be asked. ’Make a save Vitek (or Akira)!’ only goes so far when you also have to overcome nightly nonsense like this. Jack is far from the only offender here, but when you’re in some ways the most important player, that kind of stuff coming from you is gonna stand out more.

Judging by the goals last night, there’s certainly a lot of stupid going around the locker room at the moment. For the second time this season Schmid was pulled before the first period was over, and unlike the Caps game a month or so ago where he gave up two clunkers, neither goal was really on him last night. You could claim that Lindy Ruff did it to provide a spark, and you can even make the case it worked for a while as the Devils scored the next three goals but really they were outshot 18-6 in the second period and 29-14 in the last two…some spark, goals or no goals. I almost wonder if they treat Schmid with kid gloves just because they know what kind of defense this is and don’t want to ruin him, but they don’t have another option in net at the moment given that Nico Daws just came back a couple weeks ago from major surgery.

Of course, now we get to coaching…if you are that worried about a second-year guy in Schmid, then maybe just maybe you should simplify this system and not try to go firewagon hockey all the time. Strangely, it seemed as if the Devils had tightened up the approach last week when they were on the road then playing the Bruins last week back at home. If you have a defense with kids and one kid goalie plus a fragile vet you would think you’d look for ways to take pressure off of them. Yet, too often we opt for this insane high-tempo, high-risk system that accentuates all our negatives and doesn’t really help our positives five-on-five. I haven’t even bagged on the new-look defense as much as I should, cause really the defensive woes are just indicative of the overall team woes at the moment to a large degree although vets like Jonas Siegenthaler and John Marino are on the clock as far as their own play deteriorating. But as we saw Tuesday, defensive breakdowns aren’t just caused by the defensemen on this team.

It’s not even just the system that you can slag the coaching for, but ultimately the coach has to be responsible for this team’s continuing to come out for game after game completely flat. As if they’re waiting for their great talent to win games alone. I really get the feel as if this team was young and hungry to prove a point last year, especially after getting booed off the ice on Opening Weekend, with chants of ‘Fire Lindy!’ echoing from the stands during intros. How Lindy handled that personally, and how the team bounced back from it was a feel-good story last year, and quite frankly is probably the only reason we haven’t heard similar chants at this point in the current season, fans don’t want to have egg on their face again. But this year they’re playing like a team that’s fat and happy over proving a point and beating the Rangers on top of it last year, as if they won a Cup and could coast now.

This season does feel like the beginning of the second Major League movie, where after the fictional Indians came out of nowhere to win the division against their hated rivals – then the next season their heads were in all the wrong places much to the exacerbation of manager Lou Brown.

Lou: You guys won last year, just to spite her! Maybe she’s just what we need

Jake: Aw skip, they were a different team last year

I’d referenced this movie in a couple prior posts thinking we’d already reached the point where the team had started to turn it around but nope, we’re still in the same old malaise we’ve been for much of this season and quite honestly we’re at the point where at least one big change needs to be made. Whatever that is, GM Tom Fitzgerald needs to do it asap…none of the sitting on your hands nonsense that Joe Douglas did to ruin the football Jets’ season. It’s getting early late in this division.

I was tempted to break out the old Wargames DEFCON 1 clip, except I’m paranoid we haven’t yet seen rock bottom at this point. With two more home games looming over the next few days around the Christmas break, I’m really worried about losing tomorrow and being in an ugly pre-holiday atmosphere. Ironically, we play the same Detroit Red Wings team that roasted us in the aforementioned home opener last season. Maybe we’ll hit rock bottom against the same team in the same building two seasons in a row, only hopefully this isn’t too late to have a turnaround. Especially with seemingly everyone else in the Metro winning against non-Metro teams, and having three-point games against each other.

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Rangers Get Revenge On Leafs in Rematch

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Derek

The last time they played, it was all Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-3 win over the New York Rangers one week ago on Dec. 12. They dominated the first meeting by beating Igor Shesterkin six times on 29 shots to send him to a third consecutive defeat.

Since then, the Rangers have responded with three wins in a row – highlighted by Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Leafs to get a measure of revenge in the rematch up north on Dec. 19. That included Shesterkin turning in one of his best games of the season. He made 31 saves on 33 shots to earn his second straight victory. He followed up a 21-save performance in a 2-1 overtime win over the Boston Bruins with an even better game.

Related: Rangers Steal One From Bruins In Overtime

The best part is that after struggling during a recent stretch that saw them allow 17 combined goals in bad losses to the Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, and Maple Leafs, the Rangers have turned it around during their current three-game winning streak. They’ve outscored opponents 12-4.

That’s also included superb play from their goalies. Following Jonathan Quick making 29 saves in a 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 15, Shesterkin has stopped 52 of 55 shots to supply the kind of goaltending the Rangers have come to expect from the 27-year-old. It’s more in line with what the former Vezina winner is capable of.

In the win over the Leafs, Shesterkin came up with clutch saves at times against a dangerous opponent. That included timely stops against Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander. Matthews got Shesterkin twice for his league-leading 24th and 25th goals of the season. Both came off sloppy plays that made it easy for one of the game’s best finishers to give the Leafs a chance. Similar to last week, he was dangerous throughout. He doesn’t need much real estate to score.

A Good Road Period

Unlike the bad start that they had a week ago in giving up four goals to fall behind 4-1, the Rangers played a good road period at Toronto.

There was more energy from the jump. Will Cuylle had an early point blank chance that Leafs goalie Martin Jones denied. It was created by Nick Bonino.

If there was a theme early, it was the physicality both teams demonstrated. In between each side generating chances, there were some big hits. That included Rangers captain Jacob Trouba flattening Leafs rookie Matthew Knies. Barclay Goodrow also had a good check on Matthews. The hitting made for an entertaining period, even though neither team scored.

The Rangers out-shot the Leafs 11-5 in the first period. They were more aggressive attacking the Leafs’ defense. In particular, Alexis Lafreniere was very noticeable during some strong shifts. One included him setting up Artemi Panarin in the slot for a shot that missed wide. Lafreniere was the best Ranger skater in the period, followed by K’Andre Miller, whose Mom attended the game.

Although they only had five shots, the Leafs created a few dangerous opportunities off their forecheck. The combination of skating and passing led to some wide open shots. But they missed the mark. That included Max Domi sending an early wrist shot just over the top. Tyler Bertuzzi missed the net wide a couple of times when he was left open.

Shesterkin also made a save on Marner that set the tone. He was much sharper than the previous matchup. He needed to be once the Leafs amped it up in the second period.

On the other side, Jones made a few good stops. That was highlighted by his denial on Cuylle one-on-one. He also stopped Panarin and Goodrow in a strong period.

Zibanejad Gives Rangers a Short-lived Lead

The second period was interesting. With both sides looking to get on the scoreboard, it was a bizarre play that led to the Rangers taking the lead.

After receiving a pass from Chris Kreider, Blake Wheeler skated into the Leafs’ zone and took an innocent looking wrist shot from the right circle that took a funny hop off of Mika Zibanejad past Jones to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:11. Initially, it was hard to tell if the puck banked off Zibanejad or not. Regardless, they got the game’s first goal.

However, the Rangers’ lead was short-lived. On another effective shift from Lafreniere in the Toronto zone, it went to waste when Panarin made a bad pass that sent the Leafs in the opposite direction. Following an Adam Fox neutral zone turnover, Bertuzzi got the puck to Morgan Rielly. He gained the Rangers’ zone and centered for Matthews, who scored his league-leading 24th to tie the game 81 seconds later.

Lafreniere Scores to End Drought

With the game tied, Tyler Pitlick drew a holding minor on Leafs defenseman William Lagesson. The best chance the first unit got was when Panarin fired a screamer that Jones made a nice glove save on.

In the second part of the power play, the second unit came out. It included Lafreniere, Wheeler, Jonny Brodzinski, Jimmy Vesey, and Erik Gustafsson. After Wheeler won a faceoff, Brodzinski moved the puck to Gustafsson. He sent it across for a Lafreniere shot in the left circle that banked in off of Rielly to give the Rangers their second lead with over 10 minutes left in the period.

The goal was Lafreniere’s first in 13 games. It allowed him to end his scoring drought. He hadn’t scored since Nov. 22. His ninth goal came at the right time. It was a good response to Matthews’ goal. Most importantly, Lafreniere deserved it. He had a good game and got rewarded.

Trailing by one, the Leafs kept coming. Nylander came out with the puck in front and was stoned by Shesterkin. His defense didn’t exactly play well in the period. They allowed too much space and left players wide open. Good thing the real Shesterkin showed up. He made 16 saves in a much busier second to keep the Rangers ahead.

Matthews Ties It

After the Leafs out-shot the Rangers 17-14 in the second, they came out quickly to start the third period. Shesterkin made a big save on Bertuzzi on the first shift. He got in behind the Rangers’ defense and was stopped by Shesterkin before 25 seconds had elapsed.

Following a Nylander takeaway, he passed the puck to Jake McCabe. McCabe then got the puck over to Matthews for another rocket that beat Shesterkin to tie the score. The goal came only 1:16 into the third. On the play, both Kreider and Wheeler got caught puck watching.

That allowed Matthews to do what he does best. He leads the league with 25 goals. A week after lighting the Rangers up for two goals and two assists for four points, he scored both the Leafs’ goals to give them a chance. The 26-year-old center has been on fire lately. He extended his goal streak to five. Matthews has nine goals along with three assists for a dozen points over that span. That includes four two-goal games. Dating back to Dec. 2, Matthews has 11 goals over his last seven games. He’s a great player.

Schneider Scores A Beauty

Following a Leafs’ chance that didn’t go, a faceoff won by Zibanejad in the neutral zone resulted in a highlight reel goal. Braden Schneider scored a beauty that proved to be the game-winner with 11:52 remaining in the third. It was his first goal in 23 games. His last one came on Oct. 26.

On the play, after Zibanejad won the draw, Wheeler moved the puck to Gustafsson, who passed it up for Schneider, who got behind the Leafs’ defense. He then broke in and beat Jones short side over the glove to give the Rangers their third lead of the game. This time, they wouldn’t relinquish it.

It hasn’t been the best first half for Schneider. In his third season, he’s been up and down. There are moments when he plays well like last night. There also are times when he doesn’t. Still only 22, he’s still learning. One thing to like is his skating. He is a strong skater with good instincts. That’s what allowed him to get the winner.

Panarin Adds Insurance

With less than seven minutes left in regulation, Leafs forward David Kampf took down Ryan Lindgren for a tripping minor. That gave the Rangers their second power play. They had the only two of the game. The refs let both teams play throughout what was a hard fought game.

On the five-on-four, Vincent Trocheck got the puck up to Gustafsson, who had come on to replace an ineffective Fox. The one-time Maple Leaf moved the puck over to Panarin, who snapped a wrist shot that went off a Leafs’ defenseman past Jones for a power-play goal that added insurance. His team-leading 17th goal came made it 4-2 with 4:52 left in the contest.

For Gustafsson, who Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe hardly used in last season’s playoffs after coming over from the Washington Capitals in a trade for Rasmus Sandin and a 2023 first round pick, it had to feel good. He recorded three assists and was named the game’s first star.

Zibanejad Ices It

With Keefe lifting Jones for an extra attacker, that gave the Rangers a chance to finish the game off. Somewhat allergic to empty nets, this time they managed to score to erase any suspense.

Zibanejad iced it when he got his second of the game into a vacated net with 3:13 remaining. Lindgren and Kreider picked up the assists.

Rangers Play Twice Before Christmas Break

With the win, the Rangers improved to 22-7-1 on the season. They lead the Metropolitan Division with 45 points. That’s six better than the second place Flyers, who got a big win in overtime on Tuesday night over the perplexing Devils. The Islanders are third in the division with 38 points. The Devils are sixth with 34.

After two days off, the Rangers will play twice before the Christmas break. On Friday night, they’ll host the Edmonton Oilers. The game doesn’t start until 7:30 EST due to it being on ESPN.

It’ll be a chance to see the game’s best player, Connor McDavid. He missed the first matchup, which the Rangers won 3-0 at Edmonton on Oct. 26. Fox, Panarin, and Lafreniere scored, and Quick made 29 saves for the shutout. The Oilers have played much better hockey since former Hartford Wolf Pack coach Kris Knoblauch took over. They’re 10-6-0 under him. They lost to the Islanders 3-1 last night.

The final game before Christmas is on Sunday, Dec. 23 against the Buffalo Sabres. Despite their disappointing 13-17-3 record that included a brutal loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, the Sabres are capable of beating anyone.

They have beaten both the Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights. They also defeated the Rangers 5-1 on Nov. 27. The Rangers took the first meeting by the same score on Oct. 12. It’ll be the third and final meeting of the regular season.

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HARD HITS: Flyers A Holiday Surprise Under Tortorella

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Derek

By show of hands, who had the Philadelphia Flyers sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division a week before Christmas? Unless you’re Gritty, the answer is probably nobody.

On a football Sunday in mid-December, the rebuilding Flyers are 17-10-3 with 37 points so far this season. After shutting out the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 on Dec. 16, they’ve won four of their last five games to put themselves in early playoff contention.

The Flyers’ rise is a holiday surprise under coach John Tortorella. Having won a Stanley Cup two decades ago in Tampa and a Jack Adams with the New York Rangers in 2011-12, Tortorella has done a great job with a younger roster.

While there are some vets sprinkled in, it’s mostly about core players like Bobby Brink, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost, Owen Tippett, Cam York, and the goalie tandem of Carter Hart and Samuel Ersson. They’ve evolved into key players on a roster that features captain Sean Couturier, leading scorer Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Travis Sanheim.

Having Couturier back healthy has helped the Flyers improve from 2022-23 when they went 31-38-13 with 75 points to finish seventh in the Metropolitan Division.

A blessing is that a few teams passed up on selecting Russian prospect Matvei Michkov in the 2023 NHL Draft. That allowed the Flyers to grab him with the seventh pick. He’s having a good season for Sochi HC with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Even if his arrival might not be until 2025-26, Michkov will be worth the wait for the Flyers.

Konecny Leading The Way

A player who’s excelled since Tortorella arrived last year is Konecny. Following setting career highs in goals (31), shorthanded goals (3), and points (61) to lead the Flyers in scoring during 2022-23, the 26-year-old right wing is well on his way to besting that output. In 30 games, he leads the Flyers with 16 goals and 25 points and has already matched the three shorthanded goals he had last season.

His strong start comes in a contract year. Konecny is earning $6 million this season with an average cap hit of $5.5 million. If he reaches free agency, he can test the open market. The bigger question is, can the Flyers keep this up? Konecny was expected to be a likely candidate to get moved before the NHL trade deadline on Mar. 8, 2024. There won’t be a definitive answer until things play out. There’s still two and a half months for the Flyers to make a decision on Konecny, who’s their best scorer.

Whatever they decide, Konecny is going to be due a significant raise from what he currently makes. Will it be in Philadelphia or another city? Only time will tell.

Farabee Emerging

If there was a player whose status was uncertain entering 2023-24, it’s Farabee. At times, he wasn’t a factor last season. The one-time 20-goal scorer had 15 goals in 82 games in 2022-23. Despite some frustration, he achieved personal bests in assists (24) and points (39) under Tortorella.

The 23-year-old former Flyers’ 2018 first round pick has come on lately. Following a six-game stretch in which he didn’t have a point with a minus-five rating, Farabee has three goals and an assist for four points over his last five games. The recent scoring has him ranked second on the team with 11 goals. All 11 have come at even strength to place him in a tie with Konecny for tops on the Flyers.

With 19 points in 30 games, the former Boston University product is trending in the right direction. That’s exactly why he’s signed through 2028 at a $5 million AAV. It’s a good sign for the Flyers. Tortorella is starting to develop some of the key pieces who are expected to be a bright part of the future.

Improved Goaltending from Hart and Ersson

Entering the season, there were questions surrounding the Flyers’ goaltending. Hart was coming off a tough 2022-23 that saw him post a 2.94 goals-against-average (GAA) and .907 save percentage in 55 games (54 starts). Despite rumors that he might get dealt, the Flyers kept Hart. It was a wise decision.

The improved goaltending from Hart and Ersson has been a big reason for the Flyers’ improvement in the standings. In 17 starts this season, Hart is 9-6-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage. Eleven of the 17 have been quality starts. Maybe the 25-year-old netminder has finally discovered the form he’ll need to get a new contract. He’s currently earning $4.47 million on a deal that expires following the season. He’ll turn restricted next summer a year away from unrestricted free agency.

Without Hart in the past three games, Ersson has stepped up to help the Flyers go 2-0-1 in that stretch. That included stopping all 33 shots versus the Red Wings for his second shutout of the season on Dec. 16. Although he’s not the starter, Ersson has won seven games. Solid work out of the backup.

If goaltending had been an issue before, it isn’t so far this season. The Flyers’ goalies have kept them in games, which has led to a winning record.

The Kids are Emerging

While the Flyers have gotten big contributions from Couturier and Sanheim, they’ve also received improved play from their younger players. The kids are emerging.

After a slow start, Tippett is up to 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points. The 24-year-old forward is trying to prove last season wasn’t a fluke. Acquired by the Flyers from the Florida Panthers as part of a package for former captain Claude Giroux on Mar. 19, 2022, he scored a career high 27 goals and added a personal best 22 helpers for 49 points in 2022-23. Tippett could emerge as that power forward for the Flyers.

Another player to watch is Brink. The 22-year-old former 2019 second round pick has made some strides in his rookie season. In 25 games, he has five goals and nine assists for 14 points. Not the biggest in stature due to being five-foot eight and 166 pounds, Brink makes up for it with his scrappy effort and skill. Tortorella recently went to Brink in a shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Dec. 14. He rewarded him with the winner.

A key part of the Flyers’ defense is York. A player they took with the number 14 pick in 2019, he’s taken on more responsibility on his third season. The skilled defenseman is a good skater who can create offense. His five goals pace all Flyers’ defensemen this season. York has 12 points and 54 blocked shots while averaging 22:27 of ice time. York will continue to be counted on by Tortorella.

Foerster and Frost are two players to also watch. Both are former first round picks. The elder Frost had a breakout second season in 2022-23 by posting 19 goals with 27 assists for 46 points in 81 games. It’s been a tough start to this season. The 24-year-old has three goals and five assists for eight points over 20 contests. More is expected from him.

As for Foerster, he’s a rookie. In 29 games, he’s totaled five goals and seven assists for a dozen points. He’s also managed to be a plus-seven. Tortorella hasn’t been shy about playing the 22-year-old right wing. He’s averaging 16:50 per game. That’s the kind of patience a coach must have with younger players.

Unexpected Returns from Veteran Defensemen

So far, the Flyers have received unexpected returns from veteran defensemen this season. Both Sean Walker and Nick Seeler have contributed to their promising start.

Walker has three goals and eight assists for 11 points with a plus-eight rating in 30 games. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on June 6 as part of a three-team deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the 29-year-old right defenseman has been a staple on the Flyers’ blue line – averaging close to 21 minutes a night. He has 46 blocks and 32 hits. A free agent following the season, there’s the possibility that the Flyers may look to extend him. His current salary is $3.35 million.

Seeler has seven assists and leads the team with a plus-14 rating and 75 blocks while averaging 17:22. He makes only $800,000. Interestingly, he had a good 2022-23 with the Flyers as well. In 77 games last season, Seeler had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and 161 blocks, which ranked just behind former Flyer Ivan Provorov (162). He also had 126 hits to rank sixth on the club.

With injuries limiting Rasmus Ristolainen and Marc Staal to a combined 23 games, the Flyers have needed those contributions from both Walker and Seeler. They’ve been a big help on the back end.

Flyers visit the Devils

With another day off on Monday, the Flyers will travel down on I-95 to visit the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 19. It’ll be a big game against a classic division rival.

The Flyers lead the resurgent Devils by four points. They’ve played two more games. They’ll want to come out of Newark with two points. In the first meeting on Nov. 30, they rallied from a 3-1 third period deficit to force overtime, thanks to a pair of Foerster goals, including tying it on the power play with 51 seconds left. Luke Hughes won it in overtime for the Devils to hand the Flyers a 4-3 overtime loss.

Following the game, they’ll return home to host the Nashville Predators on Dec. 21. Then, the schedule gets tough, with a five-game road trip beginning in Detroit on Dec. 22 before the Christmas break. They’ll conclude the calendar year with stops at Vancouver, Seattle, and Calgary. The road trip ends with a visit to Edmonton on Jan. 2, 2024.

If they are to challenge for the postseason, that stretch could be critical. Counting the Devils game, that’s six out of the next seven on the road. We’ll find out where the Flyers stand. They’ve been a pleasant surprise so far.

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Rangers Steal One from Bruins In Overtime

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Derek

In a rematch of a game played on Nov. 25, the New York Rangers made it two-for-two against the Boston Bruins. Unlike the game played two days after Thanksgiving, when the Rangers outscored the Bruins 7-4, this one was much lower-scoring and defensive minded.

The Rangers were able to come back for a well-earned 2-1 win in overtime over the Bruins in Beantown. They stole one thanks to a pair of goals from Vincent Trocheck, who continues to be the early frontrunner for the Steven McDonald Award. He got the game-tying goal with 9:10 left in regulation to force overtime.

On a reset during the three-on-three, Trocheck finished off an Artemi Panarin pass from the left circle to beat Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman for the overtime winner at 2:03. His two goals gave Igor Shesterkin his first win in five games since Dec. 2. Shesterkin was sharper than the last three starts by making 21 saves on 22 shots. It was a badly needed victory for him.

The win spoiled the Bruins’ centennial celebration. During select home games this season, they’re honoring past Boston Bruins legends as part of their 100th year anniversary. Before the game, former coach Don Cherry and former Bruins Mike Milbury and Terry O’Reilly were part of the pregame festivities that honored the 1970s Bruins.

It was the second win in a row for the Rangers. They followed up a 5-1 home win over the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 15 by taking the second game of a back-to-back against one of the league’s best teams in enemy territory. They’ll look to make it three straight when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, Dec. 18. It’ll be a chance at redemption after losing 7-3 on Dec. 12 at Madison Square Garden.

Related: Rangers Taken To School By Maple Leafs

Bonino and Miller Both Return

The Rangers got some good news before the game. Nick Bonino and K’Andre Miller both returned to face the Bruins on Saturday night.

Bonino missed Friday’s game against the Ducks. He took 21 shifts, logging 12:55 of ice time, and won 5 of 7 faceoffs. That included 3:47 while shorthanded.

Miller also came back after missing the last two games for personal reasons. Aside from taking a tripping minor late in the first period on Bruins captain Brad Marchand, he had a solid game finishing with two shots in four attempts, three hits, and two blocked shots in 21:40 (27 shifts).

In a tight checking affair, having both key defensive players back helped the Rangers out.

Frederic Puts The Bruins Up

Following a very quiet first period that saw the teams combine for 13 shots with the Rangers holding an 8-5 edge, the Bruins struck first. On a play in transition, Trent Frederic got to a rebound in the crease and steered in the loose puck past Shesterkin at 2:07 of the second period. That put the Bruins up.

The play wasn’t without controversy. Although Frederic dug out a James van Riemsdyk rebound with Shesterkin in the net, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette challenged for goaltender interference. While there was a little contact, it looked like a good goal. That’s exactly how they ruled it in conference with Toronto to uphold the call on the ice.

Since it was an unsuccessful coach’s challenge, the Rangers were assessed with a two-minute delay of game minor that put the Bruins on the power play. Fortunately, they killed off the penalty to stay within one.

Kreider’s Offensive Zone Penalty Wipes Out Power Play

Halfway through the contest, David Pastrnak took the first of two bad penalties when he high-sticked Alexis Lafreniere. However, only 17 seconds into the man-advantage, Chris Kreider took an undisciplined offensive zone penalty to wipe out the power play. He grabbed hold of Hampus Lindholm’s stick to negate the five-on-four.

During a four-on-four, Frederic decided to challenge Rangers captain Jacob Trouba. Due to recent history on Nov. 25, he wanted the fight and got it with the accountable Trouba, who obliged. Both went off for five minutes. That was a win for the Bruins, getting Trouba off the ice.

The Rangers would fail to capitalize on a Danton Heinen slashing minor on Adam Fox. Most frustrating was their over passing along with a reluctance to shoot the puck. Facing one of the league’s best penalty killing units, they weren’t aggressive enough on the power play. The Bruins did a good job of taking away the passing lanes while giving Swayman enough time to see the shots. Through two periods, he had 19 saves and looked on his way to a shutout.

Pastrnak Targets Lindgren to Get The Gate

Throughout the second period, Pastrnak targeted Ryan Lindgren with some heavy hits that knocked the gritty Rangers defenseman down. Late in the period, Pastrnak made a bad read by coming in and boarding Lindgren from behind into the glass.

While the bloody Lindgren was treated by the Rangers medical staff, a boarding major penalty was called by refs Pierre Lambert and Peter MacDougall. Following reviewing the play with Toronto, they confirmed that Pastrnak had a boarding major and game misconduct with 1:50 remaining in the second. It was the right call.

During a scrum following the illegal hit by Pastrnak that could’ve injured Lindgren, who always seems to be on the receiving end of such hits, Panarin mixed it up with Parker Wotherspoon. He received the only penalty for roughing, which led to some four-on-four play for the remainder of the period.

The Rangers still had a three-minute power play to start the third period. Unfortunately, they were unable to score on Swayman. He stopped a Panarin shot with Kreider screening in front. Despite Swayman making a few stops, the Rangers’ power play had failed to deliver up to that point.

Lafreniere Draws Penalty that Leads to Trocheck’s Tying Goal

For most of the game, Lafreniere was very noticeable on the forecheck. Unlike recent games, when the slumping forward wasn’t doing enough, he was around the puck a lot against the Bruins. Although he didn’t pick up a point on Saturday night, Lafreniere’s hustle led to Brandon Carlo taking an interference minor with 9:23 left in regulation.

Following a stoppage, the Rangers finally went to work on the man-advantage. As it turned out, the penalty Lafreniere drew led directly to Trocheck’s tying goal. After a faceoff win, Fox and Mika Zibanejad played catch. Then, Zibanejad worked a give and go with Trocheck that Zibanejad moved the puck back to Trocheck in the slot for a one-timer past Swayman. Trocheck’s power-play goal tied the score with 9:10 left in the third period.

The Bruins continued to take penalties. Lindholm went to the penalty box for high-sticking Fox in the offensive zone with over seven minutes remaining. However, the Rangers couldn’t take the lead. Zibanejad missed on a rebound due to the puck taking a funny hop. It was poetic justice that they didn’t score. The call on Lindholm was dubious at best.

Despite both teams looking to win it late in regulation, the game went to overtime.

Panarin sets up Trocheck for The Winner

As usual, the three-on-three overtime was tactical. Following a strong shift from Lafreniere, Panarin stepped on the ice to replace him during a reset. Trocheck had passed the puck back to Erik Gustafsson. He then passed it up for Panarin, who set up Trocheck for the winner.

While I’m not a fan of teams resetting because it’s not real hockey, there’s no way to prevent teams from doing it. Unless the league makes a change to the overtime format, there will continue to be these annoying resets. The delaying tactic is one many fans dislike because it slows the game down. That’s what happens when you have only six skaters playing for an extra point during the five-minute overtime.

Fortunately, it worked out for the Rangers. They got the Bruins turned around – allowing Panarin to find Trocheck wide open for the winner at 2:03 of overtime.

The Rangers improved to 21-7-1. Their 43 points are tied with the Bruins for the most in the Eastern Conference. Next up are the Leafs on Monday, Dec. 17. They dismantled the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-0 on Saturday night. We’ll see if the Rangers can avenge the blowout loss they suffered on Dec. 12.

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Rangers Led By Kreider in Win Over Ducks

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Derek

It had been a while since Chris Kreider scored in a game. He entered Friday night without one in his last five. By the conclusion of the night, Kreider flipped the script by scoring twice for the New York Rangers in a 5-1 home win over the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 15.

Kreider’s fingerprints were all over the Rangers’ victory that got the weekend off to a good start. It was the 32-year-old former 2009 first round pick that made a bit of franchise history by continuing to climb up the list for most goals and power-play goals by a Ranger.

It didn’t start out well. Facing a slumping opponent that’s not been the same without emerging star Mason McTavish, the Rangers didn’t swarm the Ducks’ zone for much of the first period. Instead, they fell behind with less than seven minutes left. After Ryan Lindgren absorbed a big hit from Brock McGinn, Brett Leason beat Jonathan Quick with a long wrist shot upstairs to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

Kreider Ties Graves for Third on Rangers’ All-time Franchise Goal List

Shortly after Adam Edstrom made his presence felt with a hit on Ilya Lyubushkin, Blake Wheeler and Mika Zibanejad did some strong work along the boards to free up a loose puck. Eventually, it came to an open Kreider, who beat former teammate Frank Vatrano to score his first of the game to tie it with 2:54 remaining in the period.

The goal was the 280th of Kreider’s career – tying him with Adam Graves for third on the all-time franchise goal scoring list. He wasn’t done yet.

It was also career point number 500. After adding a second point with another goal later, he trails Graves by six points for 10th on the Rangers’ all-time franchise scoring list. It’s a pretty good bet he’ll surpass him this season.

Vesey Gets Another Big Goal

In between Kreider’s memorable night, Jimmy Vesey continues to make a difference. On a strong offensive shift with Blake Wheeler, Vesey got another big goal to put the Rangers in front with 8:15 left in the second period.

Wheeler provided the grit by coming off the wall with the puck. He moved it over to Adam Fox, who then found Vesey in the slot for the go-ahead tally at 11:45. It was Vesey’s second goal in the last three. He’s up to seven on the season. Vesey is well on his way to matching the 11 he scored in 2022-23.

Kreider Ties Graves in Power-Play Goals on Rangers’ All-time Franchise List

If there was a notable difference between the Rangers and Ducks, it was in overall team discipline. While the Rangers gave Anaheim three power plays, the Ducks continued to take bad penalties, which allowed one of the league’s best power plays to take advantage.

When Urho Vaakanainen took down Jonny Brodzinski with under five minutes left in the period, it gave the Rangers their fourth straight power play. This time, they made the undisciplined Ducks pay thanks to Kreider. He tied Graves for fourth on the Rangers’ all-time franchise list with his 100th power-play goal.

On the man-advantage, Fox moved the puck over to Artemi Panarin at the right point. He fired a shot pass that Kreider neatly redirected past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal for power-play goal number 100. That made it 3-1 with 3:41 left in the second.

Quick Remains Perfect in Regulation

While Kreider made history, the Rangers again got outstanding goaltending from Quick. Back in for an ineffective Igor Shesterkin, he made several key saves to remain perfect in regulation.

After yielding a goal to Leason back in the first on a stoppable shot, Quick rounded into form by making some acrobatic stops to deny the Ducks. An entertaining goalie who never gives up on a play, his style is fun to watch. He certainly had the MSG crowd behind him.

For the game, Quick made 29 saves on 30 shots to improve to 9-0-1 for the season.

Goodrow Frustrates Gudas

One of the subplots to Friday’s game was the battles between Barclay Goodrow and Radko Gudas. During the second period, Gudas body slammed Goodrow to the ice. He was none too pleased. Nothing happened during the scrum. They just exchanged words.

With less than six minutes to go in the third period, Gudas finally had enough of Goodrow slashing him. That led to a misconduct for an early exit for the gritty defenseman. Goodrow frustrated Gudas into a bad penalty. That would lead to another Rangers’ power-play goal.

Over a minute into the five-on-four, Panarin set up Zibanejad in the left circle for a rocket that Dostal had no chance on. It was the third consecutive game that Zibanejad scored on the power play. He’s up to nine goals on the season.

Edstrom Scores in NHL Debut

Edstrom was an emergency call-up from Hartford. When Nick Bonino told him he couldn’t go, Edstrom got to make his NHL debut. It proved to be memorable. Not only was the 2019 sixth round pick active throughout. But Edstrom scored in his NHL debut.

On one final rush with time winding down, Edstrom took a Goodrow feed and scored his first NHL goal with three seconds remaining in the game. It’s one he’ll never forget.

For the game, the 23-year-old forward scored his first goal with three shots, two hits, and a plus-1 rating in 13 shifts (9:39). Edstrom wore number 84.

Rangers visit Bruins

On Saturday night, Dec. 16, the Rangers visit the Boston Bruins. It’ll be the second regular season meeting of three. The Rangers took the first matchup 7-4 on Nov. 25.

Similar to that one, it’s the second half of a back-to-back. The only difference is this time, the teams will play at night. That could mean both sides are better rested. Don’t expect as high a scoring game.

The Bruins came back to defeat the New York Islanders 5-4 in a shootout. They’ll be without top defenseman Charlie McAvoy when the Rangers visit Boston. The Rangers could have defenseman K’Andre Miller back. He missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. But he did practice.

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Rangers Need More From Slumping Lafreniere

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Derek

A player who got off to a good start for the New York Rangers this season is Alexis Lafreniere. The former 2020 top pick came out strong by scoring the first goal of the season in a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 12.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette was patient enough to allow Lafreniere to find chemistry with Artemi Panarin on the second line. Initially, they began the season with Filip Chytil, who remains out with a suspected concussion since Nov. 2.

Once Vincent Trocheck took Chytil’s place centering the second line, they really took off. While Panarin deserved most of the ink for his Rangers’ franchise record-breaking point streak to start the season, both Lafreniere and Trocheck have done their part to make scoring unit successful.

Trocheck has played extremely well by producing offense while continuing to win faceoffs at a high clip. His 63.4 winning percentage ranks first in the league. With six goals and 19 assists for 25 points to rank second behind Panarin in team scoring, the 30-year-old veteran is playing some of the best hockey of his career. He’s had a big impact on the Rangers’ 19-7-1 record that has them atop the Metropolitan Division.

Lafreniere scored well during November. At one point, he had three goals and four assists for seven points over a four-game stretch to give him 11 points (7-4-11) in his first 14 games this season.

Since getting his eighth goal in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 22, the 22-year-old forward has been in a slump. Following a 7-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 12, that made it 10 games without a goal for Lafreniere. His longest drought of the season.

Related: Rangers Taken To School By Maple Leafs

While he has four assists during this stretch, Lafreniere isn’t finishing. There’s been moments when he’s been unlucky due to goalies robbing him. However, he has to snap out of it soon. The Rangers need him to score goals. After Panarin’s team-leading 12 even strength goals, Lafreniere ranks second on the Rangers with seven goals at even strength. Fourteen of his 16 points have come at even strength.

What Makes Lafreniere Most Effective

What makes Lafreniere most effective is when he hounds the puck on the forecheck and drives the net. Aside from missing a few scoring chances, such as a backhand attempt, he missed wide against the Leafs, Lafreniere hasn’t been as much of a net front presence in recent games. He must get back to simplifying his approach. It can’t always be about skilled plays with Panarin. He’s best when he plays gritty and hustles.

Despite his recent scoring slump, Lafreniere is still tied for third on the Rangers in goals with eight. Fortunately, Mika Zibanejad has heated up at the right time. After scoring only twice in his first 17 games, Zibanejad has six goals over the last 10 games. That includes power-play goals in the last two. The Rangers’ number one center is 6-6-12 in the previous 10 games.

Kreider Without a Goal In Five

Lafreniere isn’t the only key Ranger struggling to score. Chris Kreider is without a goal over his last five games and has only lit the lamp once in the previous eight. The team leader in power-play goals (7) needs to get going. His 14 goals trail only Panarin’s 16 for the team lead.

Perhaps Laviolette should consider moving up Lafreniere onto the top line to see if it can spark both him and Kreider. Lavolette has mostly stuck with his set lines. He moved Blake Wheeler back up to the first line. Wheeler responded with his best game of the season by scoring twice against the Leafs. When the Anaheim Ducks visit Madison Square Garden on Friday night, chances are good that he’ll remain up with Zibanejad and Kreider while Lafreniere sticks with Trocheck and Panarin.

Vesey A Key Player for Laviolette

Without Kaapo Kakko, Laviolette seems comfortable using Jimmy Vesey when the team needs a lift. Considering how well he’s played, the honest working 30-year-old veteran has earned the Laviolette’s trust. With six goals and three assists for nine points, He remains on the fourth line with Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Pitlick. However, Vesey can be plugged anywhere. If the game situation calls for it, Laviolette will give him additional ice time.

Nick Bonino remains the third center between Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski. With Brodzinski able to provide a boost, they remain a solid checking line that’s responsible defensively. Bonino remains dependable defensively and on faceoffs. Cuylle supplies the grit and physicality.

With the schedule again picking up starting on Dec. 15 when the Ducks visit, the Rangers need more scoring from both Lafreniere and Kreider. They also can use more consistent play from Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday and then are in Toronto for a rematch with the Leafs on Monday, Dec. 18. Shesterkin has to perform better.

Islanders Are Coming

Don’t look now. But the Rangers’ division lead is down to four points. That’s right. The New York Islanders are coming. Winners of four straight, they’re in second place with a 14-7-7 record. The Rangers still have a comfortable lead in the first tiebreaker with 16 regulation wins. That’s six better than the Islanders.

The classic rivals meet four times during the season. They don’t play until Feb. 18, 2024, when the Rangers visit the Islanders. The second meeting is on Mar. 17 at MSG on Saint Patrick’s Day. The Rangers and Islanders play on Apr. 9 at UBS Arena. The fourth and final meeting is on Apr. 13 at MSG.

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Have the Devils…finally found their stride?

Posted on December 14, 2023 by hasan4978

It’s been a while since I did write any form of a recap, for a reason. I just didn’t watch much of the team on the West Coast so I would have felt silly doing recaps of games I just followed from afar. Admittedly the team’s uneven start to the season including the Sharks meltdown a couple weeks ago (which, granted seems to not actually be as bad a loss now that they’ve won six of nine!) really turned me heavily skeptical. For the first twenty-seven games of the season the Devils have largely shown all the classic signs of an underachiever – they’ve been inconsistent all year in terms of both effort and efficiency, with several big-name players having down seasons, and at times only held above water because of their power play and Jack Hughes.

I admit even after last night’s stirring 2-1 OT win against the Bruins, I still don’t know what to think of this Devils team – having already been burned thinking the Islander third-period comeback a couple weeks ago was a sign this team had snapped out of their early season malaise, only for them to fall right back into it with uneven performances against the Flyers and Canucks sandwiching that disaster against the Sharks. Sure, they’d largely played better on the road (not all that surprising given how they seem to thrive more away from the tense sellout crowds here – and another secret source of my angst) during their four-game West Coast swing, even after blowing a 5-2 lead in the first game of the trip at Vancouver in the Hughes brothers bowl, only to have Jesper Bratt rescue the two points at the tail end of regulation. 

It seems as if the pond hockey this team’s tried to play for much of the season at least thankfully went missing in their next two West games, taut 2-1 and 4-2 wins over Seattle and Calgary. Losing on a back-to-back against a now-hot Edmonton team at the end of the trip was somewhat expected, yet annoying at the same time cause once again Akira Schmid had a poor game (just like against the Sharks) when he had a chance to keep the starter’s job for at least a week or so. So of course, it was back to Vitek Vanecek against the Bruins last night – though at least he had played better in Calgary than when he helped blow the huge lead against the Canucks.

I’ve said I’m tired of talking about the goaltending even though I’ve taken great pains to try and not dwell on it over and over again, in large part because I feel that the goalies’ poor play has become an excuse for the rest of the team’s poor efforts. Last night in the first period, the Devils showed all the classic symptoms of underachiever syndrome – poor start to the game, poor net front coverage on Morgan Geekie’s first-period goal, and a dreadful rebound left by Vitek on said goal.

Needless to say, I was not amused walking around the intermission after the first period. Or even after the second, where the Devils stabilized the game a bit but still trailed by that same 1-0 score against a Bruins team missing key players Pavel Zacha (yes, really!) and Charlie McAvoy.  Admittedly, the fact I’d only been at three home wins going into last night – out of eight attended – with two of them being against Buffalo and the other on Opening Night two months ago, I’m more inclined to think the worst is going to happen at home than when it’s 12:30 EST time out West, though ironically I did go to sleep at 5-2 of the Vancouver game only to find out we had to scramble just to win the game at the end of regulation.

Heck, you probably do think the Devils lost judging by the tone of my article but believe me, the tone would have been much worse had they died a slow death in the third period. To be fair things haven’t all been bad in Newark – even an injury to Dougie Hamilton gave Simon Nemec a chance to win a job at the NHL level and he’s basically passed every test with flying colors, playing over twenty minutes a night in his first six NHL games during all situations. Makes you think perhaps Fitz and the higher ups are the ones who kept Nemec down after camp rather than the staff since it doesn’t seem like he’s had to do much to earn their trust already. Does any team in the sport have a pair of ridiculously young defensemen this talented the way we do with Nemec and Luke Hughes?

While the Devils did play better in the second period than in the first, you could see and feel the difference the way they came out for the third – from the first shift until Dawson Mercer tied the game at 2:34. It was the kind goal you need to have happen against a team with as good a defense and goaltending as Boston – crash the net, get rebounds. Sounds simpler than it is but honestly we weren’t going to the dirty areas enough in the first two periods. Some good work by Alexander Holtz and the returning (from injury) Erik Haula contributed to Mercer’s seventh of the season.

I might add that for the people complaining that the goalies haven’t made enough saves to keep us in the game while we start poorly, Vitek did actually have a couple of those type of saves in the last forty plus minutes of last night’s game, specifically on a dangerous David Pastrnak mini-breakaway (with a little help from a backchecking Nemec) late in the second which kept the game within one, and also making three rapid-fire saves in a row during a third period sequence that kept the game tied. If you’d told me after the first period that Vitek would get second star of the night, I would have found that just as unlikely as Zach Wilson winning AFC player of the week for my football Jets, but I digress.

Once we were able to grind the game to overtime I did think we had a good chance of winning the three-on-three, cause we do about as well in that format as we do poorly in the shootouts. Even with Jack not exactly having his best game – he looked like rookie Jack, turnovers all the place, weak shots…until the last shot of the game at least. But that’s what superstars can do, even when not playing well it just takes one moment to do THIS

Amazingly, with that win the Devils have now won seven of nine in spite of their obvious issues…of course, this was always supposed to be the month we were supposed to make hay with our schedule, but at least they’re finding a way to do that and stay in the middle of a brutally tough Eastern playoff race. If we can just get this Devils team for the rest of the season, maybe we’ll have the season we were supposed to have after all – make the playoffs comfortably and give a good account of ourselves there. One game at a time though…and on Saturday it’s time to make amends for one of our worst losses of the season, this time going to Columbus to take on a Blue Jackets team we no-showed for throughout the first two periods of a 2-1 defeat three weeks ago.

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Rangers Taken To School By Maple Leafs

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Derek

On Tuesday night, there was a big matchup at Madison Square Garden. It pitted two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference against each other. The New York Rangers hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at 33rd and 7th Avenue in the Big Apple.

Unfortunately, a lackluster start doomed the Rangers in a 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Dec. 12. Playing for the third time in four days, they weren’t ready to go from the outset. With the Leafs having just played the New York Islanders the night before in a 4-3 overtime loss, it was inexcusable. The Rangers had the previous day off. You wouldn’t have known it by how poorly they played.

Puck Watching Leads to Lousy First Period

On a night where they were without defenseman K’Andre Miller (personal reasons), the Rangers didn’t play well defensively. The most frustrating part was the amount of puck watching they did that led to a lousy first period against a dangerous opponent.

It didn’t matter that Miller was out. The amount of stick checking from players in Rangers’ jerseys was mind-numbing. It was no way to approach the very skilled Leafs. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner combined for four goals and three assists in the game. Each scored in a four-goal first period from the Leafs.

On a delayed penalty on Blake Wheeler, a few Rangers’ skaters watched William Nylander skate right through and easily set up Matthews for the Leafs’ first goal less than four minutes into the game.

The lack of urgency from established players such as Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, Erik Gustafsson, and Wheeler was incredulous. They didn’t even attempt to stop Nylander on his rush that allowed Matthews a freebie. Jacob Trouba was the only player back. He wasn’t able to do much on the two-on-one.

It wasn’t the only time when the Rangers looked asleep during the first.

Shesterkin Struggles

Entering play, Igor Shesterkin had allowed nine goals over his last two starts in ugly losses to the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals. While he didn’t get much help in those games, Shesterkin hasn’t been playing well. His struggles continued on Tuesday night.

Over a minute following the Matthews’ goal, the Leafs won an offensive draw back to Conor Timmins for a long wrist shot that eluded Shesterkin to give them a two-goal lead at 5:07. After Max Domi won the faceoff, Calle Jarnkrok helped move the puck to Timmins for a point shot that Shesterkin just missed. It was a bad goal that put the Rangers in an early two-goal hole.

Although he was blameless on a few other Leafs’ goals, Shesterkin wasn’t sharp early on. He’d also lose sight of the puck during a Leafs’ forecheck that allowed Jarnkrok to make it 3-1 later in the opening frame.

After the first period, Shesterkin made several key saves that allowed his team to get back in it. They pulled within one late in the second period on Blake Wheeler’s second goal of the game. That was as close as that got.

For the game, Shesterkin allowed six goals on 29 shots – making it the third straight start, he permitted at least four in a loss. He fell to 10-7-0 with a 3.02 goals-against-average (GAA), and .902 save percentage. That’s hardly the kind of numbers you expect from one of the game’s best goalies.

The Rangers can thank Jonathan Quick for having a great start. Without it, they wouldn’t have a 19-7-1 record to lead the Metropolitan Division. He’s been the better netminder. Something nobody could’ve predicted.

Rangers Give Up Two Goals in 21 Seconds

Late in the first period, it went from bad to worse. Trailing 2-1 thanks to Wheeler getting his first after the Timmins goal, the Rangers took a nap at the wrong time. They gave up two goals in 21 seconds to fall behind by three.

On a Toronto forecheck, John Tavares threw the puck in front where Shesterkin gave up a juicy rebound on. Neither Zac Jones nor Braden Schneider were close enough to take Jarnkrok, who easily put it away to make it 3-1 with 4:40 left. Trocheck was in the wrong position. He needed to be closer to Jarnkrok on the goal.

The next shift was even worse. Matthews took a pass from Marner and cruised into the Rangers’ zone without any resistance. As they watched, he passed back to Marner for an easy tap-in that made it 4-1. There were a lot of passengers on that scoring play. They included Mika Zibanejad, Kreider, Wheeler, Gustafsson, and Trouba.

More Inspired Second Makes it Interesting

The Rangers picked up their intensity in the second period. A more inspired second made it interesting. Getting stronger goaltending from Shesterkin (8 saves), they outscored the Leafs 2-0 to get back in it.

It didn’t happen right away. Leafs’ goalie Martin Jones made several clutch stops to keep his team ahead by three. With Joseph Woll injured and Ilya Samsonov getting the night off, it was the play of Jones that allowed the Leafs to earn the win. He finished with 28 saves on 31 shots to pick up his second victory of the season.

Eventually, the Rangers’ pressure led to Trocheck drawing a hooking minor on Timmins. On their second power play, they made it count thanks to some nice passing from Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin. On the second part of the man-advantage, they combined to feed Zibanejad in the left circle for a rocket that easily beat Jones for a power-play goal, which cut the deficit to 4-2 with 3:30 left in the second period.

With the crowd finally back in it, Shesterkin made a big save that allowed the Rangers to quickly transition up the ice. Trouba got the puck up for Zibanejad. After he gained the Toronto zone, he passed across for Wheeler, who cut in and fired a high wrist shot top shelf to cut it to 4-3 with 1:34 remaining. It was his second of the game. After going 11 straight without a goal, it was his best game as a Ranger.

Wild Sequence Leads to Tough Call in Leafs’ Favor

In the third period, the Leafs thought they had a sure goal. After Shesterkin robbed Marner, a diving Trouba saved a goal when he blocked a Tavares shot headed for the open net. The wild sequence led to a tough call in the Leafs’ favor. On the play, a fallen Gustafsson was sent off for interference on Marner. It was very questionable due to him being down and not even seeing Marner. That penalty proved pivotal.

Following a Matthews’ faceoff win back to Morgan Rielly, his shot was tipped in by Marner for a backbreaking power-play goal that restored a two-goal lead for the Leafs just 1:29 into the third. It really killed the Rangers’ momentum.

Zibanejad Picks the Wrong Time to Defend Lindgren

With the Rangers still trailing the Leafs by two, Jake McCabe stepped up and made a clean hit on Ryan Lindgren that knocked him down by the boards. He got caught in a vulnerable position. McCabe made an outstanding open ice hit. Predictably, it led to Zibanejad picking the wrong time to defend Lindgren.

Rather than realize it was a good old-fashioned check on a player who should’ve known better, Zibanejad went after McCabe and deservedly received an extra two minutes for roughing. Although the Leafs didn’t score on the five-on-four, that hurt the Rangers’ chances of coming back. Zibanejad is also too important to be in the penalty box down a pair.

While it’s nice to see a player defend their teammate, isn’t it getting a little bit tiresome of watching players have to defend themselves after delivering clean hits? Trouba has done that a lot over the last year. At some point, something has to change.

Matthews Puts It Away

With time winding down and the Rangers still in desperation mode, they forgot to stop Matthews. After getting one shot on Shesterkin, he put in his own rebound to put it away. The goal was his 21st of the season, putting him in a tie with the Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser for the league lead.

Matthews finished with two goals and two assists for four points to earn the game’s first star. He dominated throughout. When the Rangers visit the Leafs on Dec. 19, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to last night’s loss. Obviously, they’ll need to be a lot better defensively while knowing where Matthews and Marner are at all times. That also goes for Nylander, who had two assists in the Leafs’ win.

With the Rangers’ net vacated for a useless 6-on-5 down three goals (Patrick Roy Rule), David Kampf put in a loose puck for the game’s final goal with 87 seconds left.

That’s another rule that has to go. In all likelihood, you’re not coming back from three goals down by lifting the goalie. Unless it’s with over five minutes left and you’re the Minnesota Wild last season, it’s not happening.

Ducks visit Friday

The Ducks will be in town to visit the Rangers on Friday, Dec. 15. Hopefully, they’ll remember that the game begins at 7:08 EST. They’ll want to get back in the win column after dropping their third game over the last four.

It’s a good possibility that Quick gets the start versus the Ducks. But that assumes coach Peter Laviolette will save Shesterkin for the Boston Bruins the following night on Saturday, Dec. 16. The way he’s been going, it might be safer to give Shesterkin the first game and let Quick face the Bruins.

We’ll see what Laviolette decides.

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