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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Rangers Have Strong Response in Win Over Kings

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Derek

Coming off a disappointing 4-0 shutout loss to the Washington Capitals on Dec. 9, the New York Rangers had a strong response in an impressive 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden.

Having lost two straight games in which they were largely outplayed, the Rangers needed a good performance against one of the league’s best teams. The Kings entered last night without a regulation defeat on the road. They had their perfect road record snapped by the New York Islanders in a 3-2 overtime defeat on Dec. 9. They still were 11-0-1 away from home before Sunday night’s game.

Little Offense in Tightly Contested First Period

Facing the league’s best defense, the Rangers found it difficult to generate anything early against the Kings. There was little offense in a tightly contested first period. In fact, the Rangers only mustered five shots on LA netminder Pheonix Copley. He could’ve had a lounge chair with a book during the opening period.

While the Kings at least tested former Stanley Cup hero Jonathan Quick with nine shots, the Rangers refused to shoot the puck. Instead, they tried too many passes that went right into the teeth of the Kings’ defense. The reluctance to take shots made it a very dull period. At least Quick kept his former team off the scoreboard.

Inspired Second Leads to Two Goals

After not accomplishing much in the first, the Rangers put that behind them. A more inspired second period led to two goals. It was a bit of a role reversal with the Rangers playing more aggressively in the Kings’ end.

Able to attack better while limiting the Kings to just two shots, the Rangers together a good second to take control of the game. After Artemi Panarin drew a slash on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, the Rangers went to work on the power play.

Panarin started a nice passing play that led directly to Mika Zibanejad, getting his seventh on the man-advantage. Panarin moved the puck over to Vincent Trocheck, who sent a perfect pass across for a lethal Zibanejad one-timer that beat Copley for the game’s first goal at 8:27.

Zibanejad’s seventh goal gave him 11 points (4-7-11) in the last 10 games. Following a slow start, he’s been on a roll lately. He’s up to seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points on the season.

Laviolette’s Matchup Pays Off

Due to the Rangers’ attention to detail, the Kings found it challenging to get anything going in the second. That included coach Peter Laviolette opting to match up his fourth line against the Kings’ top line.

With Barclay Goodrow back after missing one game due to taking a puck to the face in a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 5, he centered the checking line with Jimmy Vesey and Tyler Pitlick. They more than held their own against the future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar, Quenton Byfield, and Adrian Kempe.

On a counter, thanks to diligent checking, Pitlick drew a slashing minor on Kempe. Although the Rangers didn’t connect on the power play, some hustle from another key secondary player would lead to their second goal of the period.

On a play where the Kings tried to go up the middle of the ice, a hustling Nick Bonino leaped up to knock down a clearing attempt inside the LA zone. He quickly led Vesey in for a one-on-one with Copley. Vesey went to the backhand, going five-hole to beat Copley for the crucial second goal that came with 2:33 left in the period. It was his sixth of the season.

Refs Lose Control

For at least two periods of play, there wasn’t much to complain about. For the most part, the officiating had been good up til that point. The third period saw the refs lose control of the game.

After Adam Fox went off for tripping Carl Grundstrom, the chaos began. A few seconds before the Fox penalty expired, Pierre-Luc Dubois was taken off for interference with Ryan Lindgren, who also went off for embellishment.

Where things started to unravel was when refs Garrett Rank and Ghislain Hebert decided to give a misconduct to Zibanejad at 5:26 after they made the right call by taking Trocheck off for interference with Doughty on a pick play. The misconduct to Zibanejad was unnecessary. It wasn’t the only one, either.

With the Kings still on a power play, Byfield fished for a rebound on former teammate Quick, who had the puck covered up. That led to both getting into it. After Byfield was sent off for slashing, Quick earned a roughing minor to even it up. K’Andre Miller served the minor. It was again another misconduct assessed. This time to Kevin Fiala. Like the previous one on Zibanejad, it felt unnecessary. Neither side was happy with the officiating.

Any time two key players are forced to sit out for 10 minutes in a hotly contested game, it’s counterproductive. There have been plenty of instances where the officiating hasn’t been up to standard this season. There are worse examples. At some point, the league needs to hold their officials accountable.

Following those calls, the Kings finally got back in the game with a power-play goal from Phillip Danault. After some good hustle from Doughty stopped a Bonino shorthanded rush, the Kings transitioned up the ice. Kopitar fed Kempe down low. He then passed between a sliding Braden Schneider for a tap-in from Danault that made it 2-1 with 13:23 remaining in the third period.

Brodzinski Scores on The Power Play

In a period that became heated due to the chaos, Alexis Lafreniere got into it with Kempe during a scrum. With Kempe being assessed an extra minor for roughing, that put the Rangers back on the power play.

Without Zibanejad, who was still serving his misconduct penalty, that allowed Jonny Brodzinski to replace him on the first unit. On what was a beautiful scoring play, Fox and Trocheck combined to get the puck across to Brodzinski for a one-timer past Copley for his first of the season. After he connected, he went flying in the air like an acrobat as the goal was scored. It made for a nice celebration.

It was the first power-play goal of Brodzinski’s NHL career. Ironically enough, it started with the Kings. In his 108th career game, he got his first power-play goal. A well-deserved reward for a hard-working player. In seven games this season, Brodzinski has a goal and five assists for six points while going 19 and 9 on faceoffs.

He’s more than replaced Kaapo Kakko, who never established himself before the lower-body injury he sustained versus the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 27. At this point, the Rangers are better off with Brodzinski, who continues to make the most of his opportunities.

Trocheck Sets Up Cuylle

Following a couple of nice saves from Quick, including reaching back with the glove to rob Grundstrom to cheers from the crowd, the Rangers put it away. It was another play that involved Trocheck.

The do everything center has flourished under Laviolette. On a good play in transition that Brodzinski started, Trocheck centered a backhand feed to set up Will Cuylle for his fifth goal that made it 4-1 with less than five minutes remaining.

For the game, Trocheck had three assists while going 16 for 21 on faceoffs in 25:32 of ice time. He played more due to Zibanejad not being able to return until there were less than five minutes left. Trocheck is up to six goals with 19 assists for 25 points – ranking second on the Rangers in team scoring behind Panarin (16-22-38). His 63.6 faceoff winning percentage leads the league.

An accountable player who called out the team for a lack of commitment in Saturday’s 4-0 loss at Washington, Trocheck has been the Rangers’ most important player. While not Panarin, who’s running away with Team MVP, he does so many things well that it’s hard to fathom where the team would be without him. His consistency has been a key factor in the Rangers’ 19-6-1 record. There’s no better early candidate for the Steven McDonald Award than Trocheck. He’s done it all.

Quick Beats Kings

It had to be extra sweet for Quick to beat the Kings. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, who won the Conn Smythe in 2012, Quick faced off against his former team for the first time.

He made 25 saves on 26 shots to earn the win. That included 14 in a busier third where Quick proved why he’s off to such a good start with the Rangers. He improved to 8-0-1 with a 2.22 goals-against-average (GAA) and .922 save percentage on the season.

Next Up Are the Maple Leafs

Next up for the Rangers are the Maple Leafs. They visit MSG tomorrow night on Dec. 12. It’s the first of three meetings between the Original Six clubs. The Rangers will visit Toronto on Dec. 19. The final regular season meeting is Mar. 2 at Toronto.

It’ll be a good test for the Rangers. Anytime you can face a quality opponent that features Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares, it should be an intriguing matchup. Keep an eye on Leafs’ rookie Matthew Knies. He plays on the top line with Matthews and Marner. Nylander leads the Leafs in scoring with 32 points in a contract year. It should be a good game.

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Rangers Fall Victim to Brady Tkachuk led Senators in Loss

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Derek

On Tuesday night, the New York Rangers had a forgettable game when they visited the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 5. They fell victim to the Brady Tkachuk led Senators in an ugly 6-2 loss up north – ending a three-game winning streak.

Playing for the third time over four days, the Rangers weren’t sharp throughout the contest. They frequently turned over pucks that led to the Senators using their skill and speed to get in transition. While Ottawa entered the match in last place in the Atlantic Division, it was only their 20th game of the season. Fewer than anyone else in the league.

Slow Starts Becoming an Issue

In come from behind wins against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 2 and the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 3, the Rangers fell behind early. The slow starts are becoming an issue.

For the third consecutive game, they gave up the game’s first goal. On some sustained pressure down low, Claude Giroux passed the puck up for an Artem Zub point shot that Tkachuk got in position to tip in to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at the 11-minute mark.

On the scoring play, the Rangers couldn’t get out of their zone. A turnover allowed Erik Brannstrom to push the puck behind the Rangers’ net for Tkachuk. He then moved it around for Giroux, who fed Zub for his shot that Tkachuk redirected past Igor Shesterkin for the game’s first goal.

Neither Braden Schneider nor Erik Gustafsson handled Tkachuk, who’s a load around the net. He continued to have success against the Rangers. He entered the game with five goals and eight assists for 13 points in the previous 12 games versus the Rangers. By night’s end, Tkachuk added two more goals, giving him seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in his 13th career game against the Blueshirts.

Later in the first period, it was a physical battle between Tkachuk and Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba that resulted in the Senators’ second goal. After they played to a standoff behind the net, Tkachuk wisely kicked the puck loose to teammate Josh Norris. He then centered for a wide Jacob-Bernard Docker shot that took a carom off the back boards right to Giroux. He then slipped around and banked the puck in off Shesterkin for a 2-0 lead with 1:26 left.

They fell behind by two after one period for the second time in three games. It also happened against the Predators. They were able to mount a rally to prevail 4-3 on Dec. 2.

Panarin Scores on The Power Play

With just 16 seconds left in the first, Senators’ forward Dominik Kubalik took an undisciplined goaltender interference minor to hand the Rangers a power play that carried over to the second period.

With still 1:44 remaining on the five-on-four to start the period, Artemi Panarin stayed hot by scoring a power-play goal to cut the deficit to one early. Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox combined to get the puck over for Panarin at the right point. Surveying the traffic in front created by both Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider, Panarin wisely took a wrist shot that Senators’ goalie Anton Forsberg never saw. It whizzed by him to give Panarin his fourth goal over the last two games.

That gave Panarin his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Continuing to be more aggressive with his shot, he’s on pace for a new career high. The most goals he ever scored was 32 in the Covid interrupted 2019-20 season. His first as a Ranger saw him total 95 points in 69 games. Panarin finished the second runner-up for the Hart Trophy.

In the Rangers’ first 24 games, Panarin leads them in goals (16), assists (21), and points (37). His 12 even strength goals and 96 shots-on-goal also pace the team. It could be another special season for Panarin.

Tarasenko Burns Former Team

Entering play, former Ranger Vladimir Tarasenko had been ice cold in the goal department. He had gone 13 straight games without lighting the lamp. Maybe seeing his former teammates was the elixir he needed to snap that goal drought. Tarasenko burned his former team with a big goal that put the Senators back in front by two in the second period.

On a sloppy turnover by Gustafsson in the neutral zone, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson quickly transitioned the puck up for Tarasenko. He gained the Rangers’ zone and blew a wrist shot past Shesterkin’s glove for his first goal in 14 games. That made it 3-1 at 5:13.

Miller Replies Back

Lately, K’Andre Miller has found his offense. He’s been scoring recently to help the Rangers win games. Following the Tarasenko goal that put the Senators up by two, he followed up an Alexis Lafreniere rebound to put home his third goal over the last four games. Miller’s quick reply back came only 22 seconds later to pull the Rangers within one.

However, that goal would be the last of the game for the Rangers. Ultimately, they were done in by poor puck management and lackluster defense that resembled last season. That was the story of the game.

Uncharacteristic Play Leads to Rangers’ Demise

For too much of Tuesday night’s game, the Rangers were their own worst enemy. While they certainly created a lot more opportunities in a wide open second period that saw the teams combine for five goals and 31 shots, they got into the wrong kind of style with the Senators, who boast plenty of talent. The firewagon hockey favored the Ottawa hosts.

Uncharacteristic play led to the Rangers’ demise. There were moments when the Senators came with plenty of speed to make life tough on Shesterkin, who didn’t get much help from his teammates. On the flip side, the Rangers certainly had their chances. However, Forsberg was strong, making some clutch saves en route to 33. He also had help from defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who made a diving save to rob Will Cuylle of a goal.

When the Senators weren’t bailing out Forsberg, they were taking advantage of Rangers’ mistakes to pull away. On a forecheck behind the Ottawa net, Panarin forced a backhand pass to a vacated point that led directly to a Senators goal.

Ryan Lindgren got caught, allowing Tarasenko to come two-on-one with Batherson. Tarasenko wisely shot low for a rebound off Shesterkin right to a hustling Batherson, who beat Trocheck for the fourth Senators’ goal, which restored a two-goal lead.

With over two minutes left in the second, a fluky play led to Tkachuk getting his second of the game. Brannstrom made a pass to Zub at the right point. He broke his stick on the shot, which took a funny carom right to Tkachuk for an easy finish that put the Senators up 5-2.

Sloppy Power Play Sums it Up

Trailing by three in the third period, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette wasn’t giving up. He didn’t replace Shesterkin with Jonathan Quick, who’s been nothing but brilliant so far. He still felt they could come back against an opponent not known for their defense or discipline. The latter could’ve swung the momentum in the Rangers’ direction.

Following Panarin drawing a high-sticking minor on Norris, Stutzle took down Trocheck 35 seconds later to give the Rangers a five-on-three for 1:25. With Laviolette opting to stick with his top unit, a sloppy power play summed it up.

Rather than move the puck quickly and take shots, they reverted to 2022-23. It was abominable. The lack of killer instinct should’ve resulted in Laviolette benching that top unit in favor of the second unit. He never considered sending them out. Lafreniere was their most effective player. He was robbed a couple of times by Forsberg, and his rebound led to Miller’s goal. It didn’t make sense.

The only shot the Rangers could muster was a weak Fox wrist shot that missed Kreider for an easy glove save by Forsberg. Zibanejad had a one-timer miss wide on the short side. That was it.

It was a poor display by one of the league’s best power plays. They over passed the puck and made it easy on the Senators.

Gustafsson Sticks Up for Schneider

A tough hit by Kubalik caught Schneider from the side and knocked him down. Not particularly pleased with the hit, Gustafsson stuck up for Schneider by going after Kubalik. He actually landed a few punches to get the decision.

Since he initiated the fight, Gustafsson received an extra two minutes for roughing. That handed the Senators a power play. They didn’t score on it, but Shesterkin had a bad giveaway that he could’ve been burned on. His frustration showed.

Tarasenko Ends It

With it clearly not their night, the Rangers still lifted Shesterkin for an extra attacker with over four minutes remaining. The old Patrick Roy rule didn’t pay dividends for Laviolette. Instead, Tarasenko ended it with an empty netter that came with 2:50 left to conclude the scoring. He was the game’s second star with two goals and an assist.

No Update on Goodrow

During the first period of the contest, Barclay Goodrow took a puck to his mouth that forced him to go to the locker room. He lost a tooth but didn’t return.

After the game, Laviolette provided no update on Goodrow. It was just the usual upper-body injury. Hopefully, he should be ready to go for the Rangers’ next game. If not, they’ll have to recall someone from Hartford. Considering that he’s a hockey player, I’d imagine Goodrow will not miss any action. Laviolette called him an important part of the team during his postgame interview.

Rangers Off Until Saturday

Following a busy part of the schedule, the Rangers finally have three days off until Saturday, Dec. 9 when they’ll visit the Washington Capitals. That’ll be followed by a second straight game at home on Dec. 10 against the overlooked Los Angeles Kings. The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit Madison Square Garden on Dec. 12.

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Panarin’s Hat Trick Highlights Rangers’ Third Consecutive Win

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Derek

It was a successful weekend for the New York Rangers. They swept a back-to-back over the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks to win their third game in a row.

Artemi Panarin’s hat trick highlighted the Rangers’ 6-5 win over the Sharks on Dec. 3. It was his third hat trick as a Ranger and fifth of his career. Despite a four-point night from Panarin, it didn’t come easy. Neither win did.

Laviolette’s Line Changes Spark Comeback

Facing the Predators for the second time this season on Dec. 2, a lackluster first period that saw the Rangers fall behind by two goals led to coach Peter Laviolette changing all four lines. They responded by outscoring the Preds 3-1 in a much more inspired second period.

A few days removed from Kaapo Kakko suffering a leg injury in a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 27, he was placed on long-term injured reserve. That meant the Rangers recalled forward Jonny Brodzinski from Hartford.

A high-character depth player who’s served the Rangers well when called upon, Brodzinski rewarded Laviolette’s trust by recording a pair of two assist games for the first time in his career. He helped set up Jacob Trouba’s goal 31 seconds into the second period against Nashville to set the stage for a comeback.

Trocheck Delivers On the Power Play

Even following Colton Sissons’ shorthanded goal, Chris Kreider answered back with his 14th goal of the season right after the power play expired.

Awarded a second straight power play due to Jusso Parssinen boarding Nick Bonino, the Rangers wasted little time drawing even. Following some nice work from Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck tipped in a Zibanejad shot for a big power-play goal to tie the score. The tying goal came 19 seconds after Kreider’s goal.

Brodzinski’s Hustle leads to Lindgren’s Winner

With the game tied in the third period, some hustle from Brodzinski allowed Fox to get the puck over to partner Ryan Lindgren for a shot that bounced off a Predator for his first goal of the season. It was a nice reward for the battle tested warrior who played well without Fox.

Lindgren did a good job when he was paired with Erik Gustafsson, who’s been one of the Rangers’ best recent signings. He has provided offense from the blue line while being dependable defensively.

Igor Shesterkin preserved the come from behind 4-3 victory by making 37 saves, including a lucky 13 in the third period. The win improved him to 10-4-0 on the season with a 2.58 goals-against-average (GAA), and .916 save percentage. It was his 109th career win.

Rangers Hold Off Sharks

Entering Sunday night’s home matchup with the Sharks, the Rangers were looking to take over the Eastern Conference lead for the most wins so far. Facing an opponent with the league’s worst record coming into play meant very little.

The Sharks proved that they meant business when they visited Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3. After surprising the Devils to pick up their first road win of the season on Dec. 1, they looked to make it two in a row on Sunday night.

Related: Devils Back At A Crossroads After Devastating Loss To The Sharks

Following some early Rangers’ pressure that led to Sharks’ goalie Mackenzie Blackwood robbing Trouba, Kyle Burroughs made a nice lead pass that sent former Ranger Anthony Duclair in for a breakaway goal on Jonathan Quick. After receiving the pass, Duclair made a nice adjustment before faking out Quick with a forehand deke for a sweet finish less than four minutes into the game.

Panarin Ties It Up

After Jimmy Vesey was high-sticked by the Sharks’ Jacob MacDonald, the Rangers went to work on the power play. The league’s third ranked man-advantage didn’t get anything done on the first one. However, Brodzinski was taken down by Sharks’ rookie William Eklund to go right back up a man.

On their second straight five-on-four, Fox and Zibanejad combined to get the puck up top for Panarin. With both Trocheck and Kreider screening Blackwood in front, Panarin let go of a wrist shot that banged in for a power-play goal at 8:44. Blackwood never saw the puck.

The goal was the start of a big night for Panarin. Under Laviolette, he’s taken his game to a new level. It’s not only about skill, but about will. That was on display later in the game.

Zibanejad Extends Point Streak to Seven

When he assisted on Panarin’s tying goal, it allowed Zibanejad to extend his point streak to seven. He wasn’t done. The Rangers’ number one pivot is finally playing like the star player he is. With him going along with Trocheck, the Rangers have a pretty good center duo for opponents to deal with.

After former Ranger Ryan Carpenter put the Sharks back ahead with less than eight minutes remaining in the first period, the Rangers went back to work thanks to their one-two punch.

Trailing by one, it was the cohesiveness of the second line that struck back to even things up. On a nice two-way passing play between Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, Trocheck circled around the Sharks’ net for a wraparound that Blackwood got a piece of. However, Panarin was there to put home the rebound for his second of the game with 7:05 left.

Less than four minutes later, some good work from both Brodzinski and Kreider allowed Zibanejad to score his sixth in front. His running mate Kreider made a perfect centering pass that he buried to give the Rangers their first lead. They carried that 3-2 lead into the locker room.

Cuylle Scores On a Breakaway

During the second period, the play wasn’t as wide open. Both sides focused more on defense and checking. However, there were moments when both Quick and Blackwood came up with some key saves. Quick made his biggest stop when he got across to deny Mikael Granlund earlier in the contest.

The Sharks were relentless throughout the game. It explains why they’ve been winning more games lately. Sent on the power play due to a Zibanejad trip on Tomas Hertl, they hooked up for a power-play goal to tie the score before it expired.

Mike Hoffman and Kevin Labanc combined to set up a MacDonald one-timer that banked off the goalpost and by an unsuspecting Quick, who never picked it up.

A little past the halfway mark, Matt Benning took down Lafreniere from behind to deny a breakaway opportunity. Lafreniere was awarded a penalty shot with 9:44 left in the second period. He tried to beat Blackwood with a forehand. But the former Devil was patient enough to shrug it aside. That kept the game tied.

With less than four minutes to go in the second, Trouba got the puck up for Nick Bonino in the neutral zone. He made a nice touch pass that sent Will Cuylle in on a breakaway. The rookie made no mistake – beating Blackwood with a good wrist shot top shelf to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. It was Cuylle’s first goal in 11 games, ending a 10-game drought.

When asked about Cuylle following the game, Laviolette indicated how pleased he is with how consistent the 21-year-old forward is game to game. Effort has never been an issue for the former 2020 second round pick. That’s why he’s established himself as a dependable top nine forward that Laviolette can trust.

Panarin Gets The Hat Trick

A little less than five minutes into the third period, Panarin got the hat trick. On a rush started by Brodzinski, he got the puck in front for a Trocheck stuff-in attempt that Blackwood stopped. However, a hustling Panarin was able to scoop up the loose puck and put it in for his third goal of the game and fourth point.

Panarin overtook Kreider for the team lead in goals with 15. His 35 points ranked fourth in league scoring, entering Monday night’s slate.

Later in the period, he made a couple of extra efforts to keep a play alive in the offensive zone, which led to Panarin feeding a pinching K’Andre Miller for his third goal in the last five games. That put the Rangers ahead 6-3 with 6:56 remaining in regulation.

That should’ve been enough to put the game away. Nobody told the Sharks. They never quit.

Sloppiness Makes it Too Close For Comfort

Instead of closing it out, the Rangers took their foot off the accelerator. Sloppiness made it too close for comfort.

A Zibanejad lazy turnover in the Sharks’ zone allowed them to quickly counter in transition for a Fabian Zetterlund goal. On the play, Duclair moved the puck across for a low Granlund shot that Quick kicked out to Zetterlund for an easy finish that made it 6-4 with 5:22 left.

Over a minute later, it was a Lafreniere giveaway inside the Sharks’ blue line that again fueled another goal on the rush. Hertl moved the puck up for Calen Addison, who made a perfect centering feed that Alexander Barabanov finished in front for his first of the season to cut it to one with 4:10 remaining.

Furious with his team’s let up, Laviolette took his timeout to regroup at the bench. After laying in a few words into the players, the message was received. Although the last few minutes weren’t perfect due to the pesky Sharks having a couple of close calls, ultimately, the Rangers came out victorious.

They hung on for a wild 6-5 win against an opponent that proved they’re improving under former Rangers coach David Quinn. They might not have much of a roster with captain Logan Couture still out. But the effort they gave was similar to how the Rangers played during Quinn’s tenure.

It might take some time for the Sharks to get back on track. But they boast Team USA forward Will Smith, who was named to the Under-20 World Junior Championships roster earlier today. It’s all about the future in San Jose.

Rangers Visit Ottawa on Tuesday

On Tuesday night, Dec. 5, the Rangers visit Ottawa to face the Senators up north. It’ll be their third game over four days.

While the Rangers sit atop the Metropolitan Division with an East best 18-4-1 record with 37 points, the Senators are a disappointing 9-10-0 with 18 points to rank last in the Atlantic Division.

Although they’ve played fewer games than the rest of the league, the Senators have to start winning consistently. This was supposed to be a different season where they competed for the playoffs. Instead, they find themselves eight points out of the wildcard while looking up at several teams.

The one thing about the Senators is that you can bank on Brady Tkachuk driving opponents cuckoo, and Tim Stutzle being a dangerous player to keep track of. They have the talent. The Rangers can’t take them lightly.

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Devils back at a crossroads after devastating loss to the Sharks

Posted on December 2, 2023 by hasan4978

Mea culpa…I thought the Islanders game on Tuesday night would be the start of the Devils getting back to being the Devils circa last season’s version. Instead it seems to have only been a pit stop on the way back to being the 2021-22 Devils, the team with no leadership, no goaltending, no defense and an offense that for all its talent can go into prolonged shooting slumps. Thursday in Philly was bad enough, albeit they got two points in the end but only after blowing a late two-goal lead in a game where they allowed close to fifty shots against a team that shouldn’t have anywhere near that kind of offense. You’re not going to have Luke Hughes in a three-on-three situation winning a gimmick OT game in the playoffs – if there are even playoff games to worry about.

Yes I’m now at the point where the playoffs are back to being an if rather than an expectancy. Way to go boys, you ramped down expectations again! Really this team should have the talent to make the playoffs, even after the unfortunate injury to Dougie Hamilton that seemed to come out of nowhere Thursday night but ultimately resulted in pec surgery that’ll put him out for at least the next few months. I figured the injury news wasn’t good with Dougie when the Devils called up 2022 #2 overall pick Simon Nemec yesterday, it seemed as if they didn’t want to use him at this point unless there was a long-term injury, well here we go.

At least for his part, Nemec was calm and cool in his NHL debut, even after his first shift ended in a nightmare goal against. He managed to put up two assists including one on the power play and actually led the blueline in icetime (by six seconds over Luke) last night. Afterward, he joked – maybe – that the most nervous he was came on his rookie lap in warmups. If you’re looking for positives from last night…Nemec was pretty much it.

As for the rest of the game…it was total rubbish. I thought it couldn’t get worse than that shambolic loss to the Blue Jackets a couple weeks ago, or both home losses to the Caps – clearly I was wrong. Losing to the Sharks at home is just flat-out inexcusable (even if they have played a bit better since their back-to-back ten goal embarrassments earlier this year led to GM Mike Grier having some words with the roster). You’re talking about a Sharks team that had six goals on the road ALL YEAR – ten games and two months into the season. They had six goals in those ten road games and matched that in a mere sixty minutes last night, that’s pretty much all you need to know.

I don’t want to hear about a 47-18 shot advantage, that’s nonsense. You need to convert more than three of those chances against the backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks. We don’t score when the PP or Jack Hughes doesn’t get involved and sure enough, the PP and a Jack breakaway goal accounted for two of the three last night. Of course with only two total power play chances in the game and Jack on the whole being just as sloppy as anyone else on the team last night, we weren’t going to get many more continuing to play the way we have most of the year.

Put Timo Meier at the front of the list, yes he was just coming off the injured list if you want to find an excuse for a poor game against his former team last night but what’s been the excuse the rest of this year as his plus minus has gone down at about the same rate as our goalies’ save percentages? He really does remind me of Ilya Kovalchuk during his first year here, getting empty points but overall not living up to the contract – hopefully the next couple years are better like the Kovalchuk cause it can’t get much worse right now. Timo, and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler were both culpable on the first goal with sloppy play that was a harbinger of the rest of the night, and fitting cause they’ve been among the biggest underachievers this year.

Not that they were alone in brain-dead plays last night. Even Luke had a non-sensical turnover on goal #2. It’s one thing to turn the puck over in the offensive zone when you’re trying to make a play, it’s another just turning it over being sloppy in the defensive zone. Luke’s turnover there was sloppy and again, was a harbinger of things to come. His big brother got pickpocketed in the neutral zone leading to goal #3, a one-timer from none other than Anthony Duclair (I didn’t realize he was still in the league hah). Probably not a great goal for Akira Schmid to allow, as he looked like a statue getting over for the one-timer but it just goes to show how bad judgements up the ice and bad goaltending have become symbiotic this year.

Of course, what was Schmid doing even playing the night after a nearly 50-shot game in Philly? After an entire season where we continually looked for ways not to play Schmid, NOW we push the envelope on a back-to-back coming off a three-game winning streak?! Almost seemed like we were setting him up to fail. Of course it’s also possible they could have just been afraid of the crowd reaction the minute Vitek gave up a goal last night given how bad he’s been. Consider that even after Schmid coughed up five goals on eighteen shots last night, his season numbers are still clearly better than Vitek’s.

If they wanted to avoid a crowd mutiny last night, mission not accomplished. Last night produced the loudest non-ref or opposition heel boo I’ve heard in quite some time from the end of the second period to the final horn, about thirty seconds’ worth, or so it seemed to me. You can scapegoat the goalies all you want – and I was as annoyed as anyone when Schmid coughed up quick goals each time in the third period we did get it back to one goal, albeit one on a breakaway where Kevin Bahl pinched for no reason and John Marino getting abused but the other came on a rebound that he created with poor puck handling.

Both goalies have been awful, I make no bones about that. But to be honest, it’s the general sloppiness and arrogance of the rest of the team that annoys me more than one kid and another middling vet being over their heads in net. The rest of the team is supposed to be a strength, other than Jack most of the time they don’t play like it. Especially against the garbage of the league, we’re only a quarter way into the season and already dropped basically double-digit points just at home against junk like the Blue Jackets, Sharks, Coyotes, over the hill Capitals, etc.

With a four-game road trip coming up this is a pivot point. If we return to the road warriors we were last year, great – maybe last night will truly be a blip in our return to form. If we continue with the sloppy play and can’t find an answer to dumpster fire goaltending, then this season is going to go right alongside 1995-96 and 2010-11 in terms of massively underachieving Devils years.

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Devils’ wild comeback evokes visions of last year and ends Isles’ unbeaten streak

Posted on November 28, 2023 by hasan4978

After the Devils’ humiliating Black Friday home loss to the Blue Jackets (a game I fortunately wasn’t able to attend), I was at about my low ebb with this year’s team, even more than blowing the Rangers game in the third period two weeks ago. After eighteen games, this year’s Devils team hadn’t in my view given a full sixty-minute effort once this season. Even more than our crappy goaltending, that was the underlying reason I really wasn’t feeling this year’s team. From our undefeated preseason, it looked as if maybe we had started believing our own hype. When you respond to a dead as a doornail performance two nights earlier in Detroit by having a team meeting, then just delivering much of the same against one of the league’s worst teams, alarm bells start to go off. A too little, too late rally in the third came up deservedly short.

Almost every game followed the same pattern – start slowly, come on with a mad rush and hoped that some Jack Hughes magic and a dominant power play would be enough to sneak points out. Which to be fair it was some of the time, but even winning games early before our recent skid this team felt like a shadow of last year’s regular season juggernaut. Even our dominant win over a scuffling Sabres team that just lost Tage Thompson to injury on Saturday wasn’t enough to get me out of my disillusionment. It was the most meh feeling 7-2 dominant blowout I can remember being at – I barely celebrated most of the goals, and all I could think was ‘geez boys, where was this kind of sixty-minute effort all year?!’ My atitude was basically cool, now show me that kind of sixty-minute effort again.

I’d sold my ticket for tonight’s game a while back cause I wasn’t sure if I was going to have plans tonight or not (the answer turned out to be no) but could have gotten in the building cheaply if I’d really wanted to go. I thought about it, but my lack of belief in this year’s team pretty much compelled me not to go. And after the better part of two periods it certainly looked like the wise decision as the Devils again were the victim of bad goaltending and dumb plays, going from 2-1 up to 4-2 behind almost in the blink of an eye. I felt like Randy Quaid in Major League 2 in my cynicism.

To be fair, the Devils’ goaltending is evoking comparisons to New York Jets quarterbacks with how bad they – and specifically Vitek Vanecek – have been for much of the season. Look I love the guy personally just like I adored Cory Schneider, both are affable, standup people who take responsibility for their own poor play and take it to heart. But this organization has to face the facts, it’s just flat out over for Vitek here. I’m sorry…maybe last year’s playoffs broke him, or maybe his slump down the stretch even before the postseason was a warning sign that this was coming anyway. Either way, you can’t keep running out a guy with numbers like this indefinitely.

While I’m not a big fan of xG…no matter what numbers you want to give – analytical or traditional – Vitek’s been god-awful in all of them. There’s only so much you can slag the defense for stuff like a Matt Barzal breakaway on goal #2 where he was so clear of anyone he looked like a striker in soccer beating the offside trap. Yes, the defense has been bad this year but at some point you need your goalie to make saves for at least a full game here. Giving up a one-timer shortside on goal #1 and a greasy goal #3 might not be too bad if you’re playing well but when you’re not, you kind of lose patience for anything that isn’t a clear one-on-one goal.

Not that Akira Schmid has been much better this season to be fair, but still he needed to come into the game at 4-2 with things slipping away yet again and after his brutal October he seems to be straightening out a bit in November, but you wouldn’t know it with how infrequently he’s played though. He’s had just three starts in the month – all losses, though to be fair he only allowed two goals on two of them. Vitek only allowing two goals or less happens once in a blue moon now, like when you dominate a bad Sabres team on Saturday and only give up two power play goals among like a dozen total shots in the game.

Even at this point though, I started to get visions of our comeback win late last season against the Capitals. Why that game? Because Schmid came in relief of an ineffective Mackenzie Blackwood, steadied the ship and the team rallied from 4-1 down to win in a game that likely got Schmid put on the playoff roster in place of Blackwood. For some reason, even as negative as I was down 4-2 tonight in the back of my mind I was thinking, if we could just come back tonight maybe this’ll be the game that finally gets Schmid some real run as a starter a la how game #82 last season changed our playoff fortunes in the long run. Who really believes the Devils would have come back from 2-0 down if it was Blackwood and not Schmid skating out for Game #3 against the Rangers?

Of course, Schmid had to do his job and did so stopping all eight shots he faced including a couple of high-danger chances but when you’re down two goals, steadying the ship was only half the battle. You also need someone to help turn it around…enter our two franchise centers, both finally healthy (after Nico Hischier’s return on Saturday) and producing again. First, it was Jack rifling home a one-timer to draw the Devils closer. Then it was Nico Hischier tapping home a rebound to tie the game on a 4-on-3 – yes, another power play goal! For Nico, it was his second goal in two games since returning from his still undisclosed injury and after a scoring slump late last season extended to early this season, it’s been a doubly welcome sight to see.

Before I get to the finish tonight, a word on Nico’s return on Saturday against the same Sabres team that injured him – specifically defenseman Connor Clifton (who’s so insignificant I thought his name was Kyle before looking it up). Boy if you could write a get even script, that game would pretty much be the dream scenario…Nico scores on his return with Clifton on the ice, Brendan Smith wrestled him to the ice as he ran away from a fight and Clifton proceeded to go -4 on the night. Not everyone likes being the heel, and I’m sure our booing him every time he touched the puck was a stark reminder he was a marked man.

Anyway, back to the wild finish tonight. A finish made more improbable by the fact the Devils lost Dougie Hamilton for the third period to an undisclosed injury which was a bit of a double whammy, forcing us to move Smith back to defense after (quite honestly) he looked far more at home at forward than he ever has as a defenseman. Maybe his obsessive need to play in the offensive zone as a defenseman was a tell. He’s certainly looked the part in his pair of games as a winger so far. It is getting frustrating as we seem to lose one or two players every time we gain one back – case in point, Erik Haula going out to injury once Nico returned on Saturday and missing tonight’s game as well. Timo Meier’s return date is still up in the air, but it did make a difference having our top two centers reunited the last two games.

As all winning teams can attest however, you don’t just need your stars to do the job but you also need your role players to pinch in. Perfect case in point, Curtis Lazar’s dramatic last-minute goal which turned out to be the winner that not only ended the Isles’ six-game unbeaten streak in regulation but also truly gave me the first 2022-23 Devils type feeling I’d had all year, after all our dramatic late goals and comebacks in the previous season:

After my negativity toward the Devils this year, tonight’s game really felt like it could be the start of a sea change. Yeah they weren’t great throughout but they at least competed and fought back as a team. Akin to that point in the movie Major League 2 where the Indians get big heads from the previous season, start the next with all sorts of on and off-field problems but finally get over their crap and start playing together again.

All I wanted from this team is…like the point of this scene, for the Devils to show marbles and fight with consistent effort throughout. Indeed, they did so tonight. Now with winnable games coming up, the Devils need to use this game as a springboard just like the fictional Indians used this Cerrano home run to get back to the land of the living.

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