Rangers shoot their way past the scrappy Canadiens, Kane scores first goal and adds first assist in key win, Lafreniere and Trouba play well, defense struggles without Lindgren

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Derek

It wasn’t easy. However, the most important part is that the Rangers fought back from three one-goal deficits to shoot their way past the scrappy Canadiens for a key 4-3 win at Bell Centre up in Montreal.

Having not played since falling to the number one overall Bruins last Saturday, the Rangers showed some rust in their first game over five days. Although the defense struggled at times, they were able to navigate their way through. It was imperative due to the Islanders coming back to stun the Penguins 4-3 in overtime. Had the Blueshirts not posted their 18th comeback win of the season, three points would’ve separated them from the streaking Isles.

By earning points 80 and 81 courtesy of a Mika Zibanejad goal in the third round of the shootout, followed by an Igor Shesterkin save on Habs goalscorer Alex Bezile, they remained five up on the Islanders.

Working in their favor is that they have three more games remaining on the schedule. The Blueshirts have 18 games left compared to 15 for the Islanders, who are locked into the first wildcard in fourth place of a crowded Metro Division.

With a point, the Penguins are in fifth place with 74 points. Good for the second wildcard. They have 18 games remaining, including three pivotal match-ups with the Rangers. Those are coming up following a visit at the fading Sabres (10-4 losers to the Stars). Between March 12-18, the Blueshirts and Pens will play three times. That’ll include a two-game series on 3/16 and 3/18, both at MSG next week.

While the Rangers try to catch the Devils (3-2 shootout win over the Capitals) for second place- something that remains unlikely due to the bitter Hudson rival holding a nine-point lead, it’ll be interesting to see what unfolds in the rest of the division. It looks like third place is as high as they can get. But there are plenty of games left. Things can change. You never know what could happen.

The Rangers will definitely play a role in the wildcard race. They still have crucial games against the Pens as noted. Plus, two with the Caps, who are still hoping to chase down the wildcard. Washington is sixth in the division with 69 points and 16 games remaining. They have lost nine of their last 12 (3-8-1). They host the Islanders this weekend in a huge four-point game. Then visit the Rangers next Tuesday. The Caps face the Isles three times and the Pens once.

While the race for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference runs through Long Island and Pittsburgh, the Rangers want to play a more steady game down the stretch. Something coach Gerard Gallant alluded to following tonight’s game. He was happy to get the win but knew they could play better.

“We were up and down all night. We kept battling back, and fortunately for us at the end of the day, we got the two points. So, we didn’t play play a perfect game, but we created some good offense. Some key guys scored for us tonight,” Gallant told Dave Maloney during the postgame.

Ever since Ryan Lindgren went down in Washington on a tough T.J. Oshie hit that wasn’t penalized. The defense has had issues. Part of the problem is K’Andre Miller wasn’t available for the previous three games due to serving a suspension for spitting on Drew Doughty.

Accidental or not, that left Gallant a man short on the bench. He rotated five without Miller and Lindgren, who missed his fifth straight game on Feb. 25. He’s still listed as “day-to-day” by the Rangers. Very noble of them to inform reporters who must guess when he could be available. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Whether they want to admit it or not, the Rangers are a different team defensively when Lindgren plays. He’s a solid physical presence who can cover for Adam Fox, who’s not exactly been playing well over the last few games.

He’s no longer a Norris candidate. Both Josh Morrissey and Rasmus Dahlin have passed him. Not that it matters. It’s an award that Erik Karlsson will win for the third time due to his brilliance on a lottery bound San Jose. We know how valuable Fox is to the Rangers. He can definitely play better even minus his regular D partner.

At least Gallant finally had a full deck to work with. Ben Harpur again played on the third pair with Braden Schneider. Fox worked mostly with Niko Mikkola, who got just enough of a Mike Hoffman shot in overtime to have it go off the crossbar with Montreal on a four-on-three. Miller returned to the second pair alongside Jacob Trouba, who again continued to play better. Miller struggled. He was culpable on one goal against. The bad reads are glaring when they happen. He must stabilize.

Unsurprisingly, they skated without Tyler Motte. The grinding fourth liner remained out a second straight game due to that cheap shot from Austin Watson. Even more unsurprisingly, he wasn’t suspended for the dangerous charge from behind that led to his dismissal from last week’s game against Ottawa. Of course he wasn’t.

This is the same league that only gave Tony DeAngelo a slap on the wrist (2 games) for spearing Corey Perry. Apparently, spitting is worse than attempting to injure an opponent. George Parros is the latest failure running the joke that is NHL Player Safety. That Princeton education is really kicking in.

Why even have Player Safety if they’re going to be so lousy at their jobs? It was better when the players policed themselves on such dirty plays. No wonder there’s almost always an automatic response to a big hit. Even if it’s clean, such as the ones Trouba delivers. The players know how pathetic the league is at discipline. It remains a sore subject.

With Motte remaining out, at least the Rangers were able to recall a forward from Hartford. Jonny Brodzinski was the more affordable option than Will Cuylle. That matters when it comes to the salary cap. Especially after adding Patrick Kane to Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola. The Rangers are all-in.

Playing his third game as a Ranger, Kane was a factor. He set up a goal and scored the tying power play goal with 5:29 left in the second period. It was his mistake that allowed the Habs to come two-on-one and score shorthanded 71 seconds earlier. He lost control of the puck on the bumper. Josh Anderson was able to take a Chris Tierney feed and beat Igor Shesterkin high glove to give the Canadiens their third lead with 6:40 remaining in the period.

But Gallant decided to keep Kane and a different power play unit out. This one featured Kane, Artemi Panarin (3 assists), Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, and Trouba. A mix of what they used earlier in the game. Gallant changed for Fox, who was caught on for the shorthanded goal. He also replaced Alexis Lafreniere with Kreider. The moves paid off.

Kreider parked himself in front of Montembeault, who got the start for Montreal. After Panarin moved the puck up to Trouba, he passed to Kane in the left circle. Looking at Kreider screening in front, Kane took the shot and got rewarded with his first as a Blueshirt. That allowed him to atone for his turnover. He was very appreciative to get the chance and bury it.

“I just saw the defenseman come out at me. He was kinda giving me that side [far side]. I had to pull it in a little bit. Obviously, a great screen by Kreider and just had to pick the corner,” Kane said while wearing the Broadway Hat in the visitor’s locker room.

“Obviously, it’s not something you want to see. But I felt like it was a pretty nice move for the coaching staff to leave us on there and give us a chance to get it back. And nice to score after a play like that.”

It had to feel good for Kane. Following two losses against Ottawa and Boston where he didn’t register a point and was minus-four while trying to get adjusted to life on Broadway even with Panarin as a line mate, the American star had an impact with a goal and helper in a much needed victory. He understands that it wasn’t perfect. But knows how Gallant wants to play.

One thing that was clear from Thursday night’s game was the effort the Canadiens put in. Despite being out of the playoffs and unlikely to win the Connor Bedard lottery due to how hard they play under coach Marty St. Louis, they continue to give a good account of themselves.

Montreal played well and easily could’ve won. Give the Rangers credit for being able to overcome not having their best game. They were inconsistent. Both Gallant and players noted that they have to be better defensively. An area that remains an issue when Lindgren is out. He is skating. That’s the positive. It still can’t be used as a crutch for giving up odd-man rushes, breakaways, and wide open lanes to the net.

It didn’t take long for the host Canadiens to strike first. On the opening shift, the third line couldn’t get the puck out. Following a turnover from Fox, Tierney took away the puck and fed Rem Pitlick. He then moved it over for Denis Gurianov, who sent it to a cutting Kaiden Guhle, who in one motion fired a turnaround shot that beat Shesterkin 25 seconds in for a 1-0 lead.

However, with Guhle off for slashing Jimmy Vesey (drew two penalties), the Rangers power play went to work. Having altered the units by moving Mika Zibanejad and Kreider off the top unit to create more balance, Gallant’s new first power play cashed in thanks to some good work in front by Alexis Lafreniere.

After Panarin moved the puck over to Fox, his wrist shot was redirected by Lafreniere for a power play goal at 3:16. A perfect tip-in that beat Montembeault. That tied the score. At one point, he had no power play goals for his career. Now, Lafreniere is up to three thanks to being given more of a chance on the man-advantage.

With the game still tied late in the first, a bad read by Miller led to the second Montreal goal. On a play that started behind their own net, Chris Wideman moved the puck to Guhle, who then sent it into the neutral zone by both Filip Chytil and a turned around Miller.

Caught on the play, that allowed Alex Belzile to skate in on a two-on-one. His shot went high blocker on the short side past Shesterkin, who’s been having problems stopping those. The goal wasn’t on him. It was very poor coverage. You can’t have most of your players trapped. Only Trouba was back. He took the pass away. Belzille took the shot and scored his fourth at 17:02 of the first to put the Habs back in front.

There also is the sudden scoring slump Chytil is in. Since scoring his career best 19th back on Feb. 8 versus Vancouver when he went on a tear with seven goals over five games, he has no goals over the last 13. That included having a potential 20th taken away with an open net. He had been putting up points, but his play slipped recently. Since Feb. 20, Chytil has two assists and is a minus-seven in eight games. They need him to find his game.

Unlike the beginning of the contest where the Habs struck early, this time, it was the Rangers who drew even in the first minute of the second period. On some nice passing from both Kane and Panarin, they combined to find an open Trouba, who moved in and beat Montembeault to tie the score at 48 seconds.

That gave Trouba goals in two of his last three and a three-game point streak (2-2-4). The captain has picked it up lately. While offense isn’t his main priority, it’s nice to see him contribute. He remains an important leader on and off the ice. It’s usually his physical play that we’re talking about.

Help is on the way. It looks like Lindgren is finally cleared. As I mentioned before, he was skating. We can now expect to see the glue of the defense back for tomorrow. Good news.

In a better period where they had more puck possession and out-shot the Habs 14-6, the Blueshirts actually fell behind for a third time. They were put on the power play thanks to some hard work from Vesey, who was taken down by Anthony Richard behind the Montreal net. A rare miscue from Kane allowed the home team to score a shorthanded goal.

He lost the puck, which allowed Tierney to move it up to a flying Anderson for a breakaway. He came in and went high glove for his 19th at 13:20. It was the fifth shorthanded goal the Rangers had given up. They also allowed one against Boston in a 4-2 loss. Don’t make it a bad habit.

Given a reprieve by Gallant, Kane rewarded the coach by getting it right back. The adjustment of using Kreider over Lafreniere worked. They both have the same role, but Kreider is more proven at the net front. His screen on Montembeault worked perfectly, allowing Kane to find the far side for his 17th of the season.

The 447th of his brilliant career. Hopefully, it’s the first of many as a Blueshirt. That’s what they got him for. I’m glad Kane was quick to point out that they have to play better defense. He understands what it’s all about. Good overall play is what leads to success in the postseason.

Right after Kane’s tally, Zibanejad got a great scoring chance. Left alone in the slot, his slap shot rang off the crossbar and out. He had Montembeault beaten but ran into bad luck.

After the Rangers were on another power play drawn by some strong work by the third line, Lafreniere was sent off for hooking Rafael Harvey-Pinard with 2:07 left in the period. That led to some four-on-four.

Following it, the Habs nearly went back ahead on an abbreviated five-on-four. Mike Matheson was given far too much room in the slot. Fortunately for the Rangers penalty killers, his shot hit the goalpost. Following that close call, they were able to kill off the remainder and get to the locker room still tied at three.

The third period was more tightly contested. The teams only combined for a dozen shots with the Rangers leading 7-5.

Early on, an awkward hit delivered by Kreider actually saw him get the worst of it. In obvious pain, he went back to the locker room. Initially, it didn’t look good. But after missing a few shifts, he was able to return.

When Kreider was out, Lafreniere saw some shifts in his place with Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko. He had a very active game and came close to getting his fourth goal in two games. He notched a pair against the Bruins.

Although there wasn’t an abundance of chances, Shesterkin made a key stop on Pitlick. His biggest save came when he denied Anderson on another breakaway. That came following a near miss from Lafreniere, where he had a wide open net. But his shot must’ve been deflected.

Anderson took off and was one on one with Shesterkin. This time, he tried to go low. But Shesterkin was ready and kicked out the shot to keep the game tied halfway through the third. A clutch save.

On the other side, Montembeault got over to make a glove save on a Zibanejad shot. He was good finishing with 30 saves on 33 shots. Shesterkin wound up making 23 saves on 26 shots.

With under five minutes remaining in regulation, Kane got caught flat-footed and took an obvious slashing minor on Johnathan Kovacevic. However, it was mostly the Rangers that were aggressive in killing off the penalty. Vesey had the only shot with his shorthanded bid from a tough angle denied by Montembeault.

Once the penalty expired, Kane joined Kreider and Zibanejad for a rare shift. He got a backhand on Montembeault who made the save for a stoppage.

On a bit of a scary defensive shift where both Trouba and Miller backed up, Harvey-Pinard was able to get between them for a good chance that Shesterkin bailed them out on with 88 seconds left in regulation. The game would require extras.

In overtime, Zibanejad went for it early, but Montembeault made the save. Following stops from each goalie, it was again Anderson who got open and nearly ended it. However, his shot went off the goalpost. He easily could’ve had a hat trick. He was the Habs’ best player.

Montembeault was able to get across to deny a wrap-around from Trocheck. Following that save, Fox was caught out of position and grabbed Nick Suzuki to hand the Canadiens a four-on-three power play with 1:27 left in overtime.

But the penalty killing unit that included Zibanejad, Trouba, and Mikola got it done. Not without some more puck luck. On a good shot by Hoffman that Harvey-Pinard tipped, the puck went off the crossbar and out of play with under a minute to go.

Following a pair of saves from Shesterkin on Hoffman and Harvey-Pinard, Mikola blocked one final attempt to send the game to a shootout.

In Round One, Pitlick missed wide, and Kaapo Kakko was denied on his backhand deke by Montembeault. Then Suzuki came in and was stopped by Shesterkin. In the bottom of the second, Zibanejad came in and faked and went forehand deke tucking the puck past Montembeault into the open side.

That left it up to Belzile. He came in and got a good shot that Shesterkin shrugged aside for the win. It didn’t come easy. But they desperately needed it.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Patrick Kane NYR scored 1st goal as a Ranger, 3 SOG in 9 attempts, plus 🍎 in 20:43

2nd 🌟 🤩 Kaiden Guhle Habs goal (4th) plus 🍎, +1 in 20:05

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Josh Anderson Habs shorthanded goal (19th), 2 SOG in 5 attempts, 3 hits, +1 in 22:06

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Happy Mika Zibanejad Day, remembering the virtuoso five-goal game in Rangers’ thrilling overtime win over Ovechkin Caps on March 5, 2020

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Derek

It was three years ago today, on March 5th, 2020, that the Rangers got a special performance from Mika Zibanejad. Facing the Capitals, it was an exciting back and forth game played at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

On a memorable night at MSG, Zibanejad put on a Broadway show. Facing Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps, the Rangers were led by Zibanejad, who tied a franchise record by scoring five goals in a game. That included the electrifying overtime winner at 33 seconds when Tony DeAngelo and Artemi Panarin combined to lead a flying Zibanejad for a memorable breakaway goal on Ilya Samsonov where he went deke and backhand finish to win the game 6-5.

It’s the best regular season game we ever attended. Seeing Zibanejad put on a magical show to out-duel Ovechkin was special. In the third period, he recorded his fourth career hat trick when Pavel Buchnevich set him up from behind the net to put the Rangers up 4-3 just 12 seconds in.

However, the Caps kept coming back. Led by the greatest goalscorer in NHL history, Ovechkin tied the game with his 46th nearly halfway through the period. But it was a late power play that allowed Zibanejad to get number four. On a rush, then rookie Kaapo Kakko had a slap shot go wide and take a favorable carom off the back boards right to Zibanejad for the easy put away that made it 5-4 with 1:42 left.

But before they could celebrate a victory, Ovechkin had other ideas. In the final frantic minute, he was able to get to an Ilya Kovalchuk rebound and steer in his 47th with 43 seconds left in regulation. That tied the score once again at five.

That’s the kind of game it was. So, it went to overtime. In the three-on-three, it didn’t take long to end. On a simple back pass from DeAngelo over to Panarin, the Bread Man found Zibanejad just behind the Caps for the breakaway.

Even with some back pressure, he was able to go to his bread and butter move. A good fake, deke, and backhand into an open side after Samsonov bit for the exhilarating overtime winner at 33 seconds.

What a finish. At the time, Zibanejad was on fire. He became only the third player in Rangers’ history to record a five-goal game, joining Don Murdoch (Oct. 12, 1976) and Mark Pavelich (Feb. 23, 1983).

Unfortunately, as Zibanejad hit 41 goals on Mar. 11, 2020, in an overtime loss at Colorado, the pandemic forced the postponement of the remainder of the schedule. The Rangers had 12 games left. Had they been able to play them, maybe Zibanejad hits 50. Artemi Panarin would’ve gone over 100 points in his first season as a Blueshirt. It wasn’t to be.

Had they beaten out the Islanders, who at the time were fading, maybe David Quinn’s trajectory is altered. Instead, a disappointing abbreviated 56-game schedule in 2021 saw the Rangers miss the playoffs and get pushed around. That led to the dismissal of Quinn, John Davidson, and Jeff Gorton.

The rest is history. Since then, Chris Drury took over and made key decisions on personnel and hired Gerard Gallant, who guided the Rangers back to the postseason in 2021-22. They made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the championship pedigree Lightning in six games.

With 32 goals this season, Zibanejad is on track for his second 40-goal year. His 67 points rank second behind Panarin, who leads the Rangers with 69. Now earning a well-deserved $8.5 million per year, Zibanejad continues to prove he’s one of the best top centers. He put up 24 points during last year’s playoff run.

Even with the key addition of Patrick Kane after Drury acquired Vladimir Tarasenko, it will fall on Zibanejad to lead the team in the upcoming postseason. He’s the best forward they have. A reliable player Gallant can lean on in all situations, Mika Magic remains one of the greatest acquisitions in franchise history. Who would’ve thought Gorton getting him from Ottawa for the proven Derick Brassard would become so lopsided.

Zibanejad has recorded seven of his eight hat tricks as a Ranger. None more memorable as the virtuoso five-goal game to best the Ovechkin Caps on a night where things were still normal. Nothing has ever been the same since.

For one night at least, Mika Zibanejad gave us something to remember.

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Calm after the storm: Devils finish successful deadline week on and off the ice with trade for Lazar

Posted on March 3, 2023 by hasan4978

Another deadline day has come and gone, this one much more satisfying for Devils fans than the seller deadlines of the last few years where we often didn’t even have much to sell. After Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald already left Timo Meier under our deadline tree on Sunday, I wasn’t exactly expecting much of an encore after that. Especially given the team’s been cooking on all cylinders lately even before officially adding Meier to the lineup (16-3-2 in its last twenty-one), scoring seven goals in each of its last two games – including a wild 7-5 win at Colorado on Wednesday.

It seemed obvious any moves at all would be cheap depth adds, and today’s trade for Curtis Lazar from Vancouver is certainly that. A well-traveled fourth-liner who’s now on his sixth NHL team, Lazar offers little in terms of scoring but will add physicality, versatility (of being able to play C and RW), and another guy who can win faceoffs in our back six. And from all accounts Lazar is a good locker room guy, who’s also signed for two years after this at $1 million per. He certainly has the seal of approval from his former coach:

While Meier and Lazar have very little in common other than the fact both will be delighted to get off of losing teams and play on a contender, one thing they do have in common is neither guy should be a rental. Fitz – as a former player who was on the other end of the process more than once – knows the perils of trading for rentals at the deadline and expressed public reluctance towards doing that as a GM. So far he’s been consistent with that belief, given his big and small trades at the deadline were both for guys who can be on the roster beyond this season’s playoff run.

As far as the big picture goes, I’ve been continually impressed by how Lou-like Fitz has been as a GM, and I mean the calculating ’90’s and ’00 Lou, not the latter-day just throw everything at the wall version. He’s shown he understands that the team is an orchestra and needs different types of players to succeed, even if he doesn’t use the same vernacular. Whereas, our former GM Ray Shero often just tried to accumulate talent haphazardly with no real plan for balancing out the roster. At least we can credit Shero for hiring Fitz with two different organizations and making him his right hand, a transition that proved to be more than seamless when Shero and the Devils parted ways in early 2020.

Meier was the type of big swing that Lou has taken any number of times – Doug Gilmour, Alexander Mogilny, Ilya Kovalchuk – even as he had the reputation of not wanting a star system. And as players, Meier and Lazar both added elements the Devils could use – in Meier’s case, a big-time scoring wing. As good a player as Jesper Bratt is, Meier’s more of a shooter and could thrive with either the passing skills of Jack Hughes or the all-around game of fellow Swede Nico Hischer. In Lazar’s case, he just provides another solid veteran option for the fourth line or a cheap depth piece that can sit and watch until needed. Certainly it’s better having a Lazar or even a guy like Nathan Bastian sit than a supposed prospect like Alex Holtz.

If I’ve had one criticism of Fitz all year (and really throughout his tenure), it’s the odd treatment of Holtz. After an opening night against the Flyers where he could well have been the team’s best player, scoring the only goal and narrowly missing a second, he quickly found himself on the outside looking in. Somewhat understandably while the team ripped off thirteen in a row earlier in the season, but later on it just became pointless to have him sitting upstairs instead of gaining more valuable game experience in Utica. Supposedly Holtz himself asked to get sent down a few weeks ago and the request was granted. Fitz publicly addressed this problematic situation to a degree earlier today:

Good on Fitz for owning up to it publicly, but it really shouldn’t have taken until late February before you realized that playing a 21-year old nineteen games at barely ten minutes a night (mostly on the fourth line) over the span of several months wasn’t doing all that much to further his development. Perhaps this is one situation where Fitz’s career as a player hurt him, what was best for his development as a back six forward wasn’t what was best for a guy who you eventually want to be in your top six. From a cynical point of view, Holtz’s lack of game action possibly hurt his trade value as well. Maybe the Devils send him to San Jose instead of a Fabian Zetterlund or a Shakir Mukhamadullin if his value was higher?

Other than the Holtz situation though (which is at least being rectified by him getting more gametime in Utica), things couldn’t be better in the land of the Devils right now. Apart from the big splash with Timo, there really wasn’t a lot to address at the deadline which is also a credit to the GM – as well as scouting and development. Defensively, the Devils are running seven deep now that Kevin Bahl’s improvement’s earned him a lineup spot over veteran Brendan Smith for the moment, and Fitz indicated that Luke Hughes would be playing games with the Devils this year once his college season ends, giving them eight options to play games on D. Another old Lou tenet is you need eight guys who can play games in the NHL on D, Fitz seems to subscribe to that as well.

Even as the Devils have been doing well during the hubbub of deadline week, it’s nice as a fan to put it behind us and know this is the team we’re going to battle with for the rest of the way. With Meier being cleared for contact today after his undisclosed injury caused him to miss time at the end of his Sharks tenure and the beginning of his Devils stint, it seems like he’ll be back in the lineup no later than the Devils’ next home game on Tuesday. That should be another electric atmosphere at the Rock, ironically against the same Leafs team which controversially ended our thirteen-game winning streak a few months back, benefitting from three disallowed goals.

First things first however, finishing another road trip with games in Vegas (tonight) and Arizona on Sunday. If the team has one concern on the ice, it’s that Vitek Vanecek’s been pedestrian in his last few starts – but fortunately rookie Akira Schmid has picked up the slack, coming on for the hockey version of a save in Colorado after an off night from Vanecek turned a 5-1 laugher into a 6-5 nailbiter early in the third. I’ve been silently concerned all year over what would happen once Vanecek got up to his career high in games played, which he’s already about reached with another twenty plus games to go in the regular season plus an ideally longer playoff run. Fortunately Schmid’s development has given us some protection in goal, even as Mackenzie Blackwood is again recovering from injury.

Scoring seven a game can also give your goalies protection, and if the Devils didn’t already have one of the best offenses in the league with Hughes, Bratt, Nico and defenseman Dougie Hamilton leading the way, they pretty much cemented it with the impending arrival of Timo. Now comes the fun part…seeing how all the talent comes together before the playoffs.

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Tkachuk and Senators ruin Kane’s Broadway debut, Rangers outplayed in third, Motte leaves game with possible head injury, Tarasenko tallies again in loss

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Derek

Twenty-four hours after waiting to make his Broadway debut, Patrick Kane put on the freshly minted Blueshirt with his number 88 on it. The future Hall Of Famer played in his first game as a New York Ranger.

It was eventful. In a highly anticipated match at the World’s Most Famous Arena on 33rd and 7th, the Rangers took on the rejuvenated Senators. As good as it started with Chris Kreider scoring his team-leading fourth shorthanded goal in beating former teammate Cam Talbot on a breakaway, it didn’t quite have the ending they’d hoped for.

A game that was a very hot ticket with the average cost going around $215 a pop, which was the most expensive since they retired the number of Henrik Lundqvist, wound up in favor of the aggressive Senators, who came back to post a 5-3 win over the Rangers at a packed MSG.

Despite Kane reuniting with Artemi Panarin on a cohesive second line centered by Vincent Trocheck, neither former Blackhawk scored. They moved the puck well, showing off some of the camaraderie they previously had in Chicago. But despite combining for 10 shots, including six from Panarin, they couldn’t quite beat Talbot, who was sharp in making 29 saves on 32 shots to earn a big win for the Senators. They’re chasing the Islanders and Penguins for the wildcard.

A night after doing enough to pull out a 3-2 victory in overtime over the Flyers, the Rangers were again shorthanded. Playing without both the injured Ryan Lindgren and suspended K’Andre Miller, who will serve the final game on Saturday for the spitting incident with Drew Doughty, they went with five defensemen. At least Kane made it a full dozen forwards on the bench.

Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. A dangerous high hit from Austin Watson caught Tyler Motte in the helmet for a charging major and game misconduct before 13 minutes had elapsed. Motte exited the game with Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay for the locker room. He didn’t return.

What that could mean is a potential head injury for Motte, who was re-acquired from Ottawa to fill a key checking role like he did last year. It had to be concussion protocol. Coach Gerard Gallant didn’t provide any update, indicating that it was an upper-body injury. We won’t know anything else until the weekend.

Skating two men short again, the Blueshirts got worn down by the very physical Senators. Ottawa outscored the Rangers 3-0 in the deciding third period. They out-shot the Blueshirts 12-6.

It wasn’t like it was one-sided. However, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk imposed his will. The behemoth of a powerhouse made an impact in sparking the Sens to the comeback win. He was very active during shifts, using his unique combination of size, strength, and skill to make a difference.

Held without a point during the first two periods that saw the score in favor of the very skilled Rangers that included a beauty scored by an improving Vladimir Tarasenko on a breakaway, Tkachuk was around it a lot. So were his teammates, including former popular Ranger Derick Brassard, who was recognized by the Garden for playing his 1,000th career NHL game. That was a cool moment. Big Game Brass is fondly remembered by the fans.

Brassard would enjoy a memorable night by scoring twice, including the tying goal on a nifty spin around backhand in tight that fooled Jaroslav Halak. His second of the game came on a steal from Claude Giroux, who got the puck to him in front to take advantage of a Halak turnover.

Less than two minutes later, it was another active shift from Tkachuk that helped set up a hard shot from Travis Hamonic with traffic in front. Halak couldn’t control the rebound, allowing an unchecked Giroux to get the game-winner with 16:34 remaining.

Giroux continued his big first season with the Senators by also adding a second helper on the empty netter from Tim Stutzle that came with 2:42 left in regulation. The former Flyers captain who signed with Ottawa was named the game’s First Star with a goal and two assists.

It really was all about Tkachuk, who had a goal wiped out on a good offsides challenge by Gallant. The replays showed that he was just ahead of the puck as it entered the zone. He made a great deflection with Braden Schneider draped all over him. That kept the score 4-3.

Tkachuk is the kind of physical force that can take over a game. It’s a good thing the Rangers won’t see him or the emerging Stutzle in the playoffs. They’re a nightmare match-up. With Jakob Chychrun added to solidify the blue line, Ottawa will continue to make their playoff push. They might run out of time. But the future is bright.

The biggest reason for the loss was the power failure. Ottawa kept giving the Rangers power plays. However, they never took advantage of the undisciplined penalties the Senators took. That included the Watson charging major that knocked Motte out of the game.

Already leading by one on a great shorthanded goal from Kreider in which he went backhand deke on Talbot, Kane nearly had Panarin for a goal on a good shift. But Talbot shut it down. He kept the Sens in it with 11 stops in a busy first.

It could’ve been worse. When Watson came up high making contact with Motte’s head, refs Pierre Lambert and Peter MacDougall made sure by confirming their call on replay. It didn’t take long to assess Watson a five-minute major for charging and game misconduct. Watson listened to their explanation as he skated off the ice.

Gallant mostly rolled with the brand new top power play unit that consists of Panarin and Fox on the points with Mika Zibanejad, Kreider, and Kane up front. No problem, right? Not exactly. They were a bit too deliberate. Talbot made the saves when he needed to. But he wasn’t under duress. Ottawa has a good penalty kill.

The little used second unit mostly featured Trocheck, Jacob Trouba, Filip Chytil, Tarasenko, and Kaapo Kakko, who I feel isn’t as good a fit as the more active Alexis Lafreniere. He would see one short shift in the third. Not enough for a player who provides the nuts and bolts. The closest they came to scoring was a setup for Tarasenko, who was denied by Talbot.

If there’s been a good development over the past two games, it looks like Tarasenko is finally getting the cobwebs out. In the 3-2 win at the Flyers, he assisted on a pair and picked up the overtime winner when he took a Chytil pass and scored off the rush past Carter Hart. A snipe. Tarasenko stayed hot. He would score a beauty later that had the Rangers ahead 3-2.

Ottawa got caught with too many men in the final minute of a sloppy first period. However, the Rangers didn’t score on the first part and failed to capitalize on the remaining 1:34 to start the second. It was a missed opportunity. Gallant talked about good puck movement, but too many passes. Something Kane also alluded to in the postgame. He had four shots on goal and came close on a tip try.

Ottawa was able to hang around. Chychrun took a slashing minor following their second successful kill. They would again keep the Rangers off the scoreboard. With Schneider off for a hook, it was the Blueshirts who got it done on the kill. They aren’t ranked that high. But the threat of scoring shorthanded can make opponents back pedal. Kreider had Zibanejad, but he missed wide.

Prior to the game, I thought the two teams would combine for eight total goals. That was my guess last night. For nearly half the game, it didn’t look like it would happen. But, things really picked up.

On a play where the Rangers got caught watching, Drake Batherson and Alex DeBrincat combined to set up rookie Shane Pinto for an easy put away for his 16th to tie the score at 9:42.

The Sens then went ahead 21 seconds later. It was Brassard who struck for his first of the night when he tipped in a Mathieu Joseph shot for his 10th at 10:03.

However, the Rangers had a strong response. On a good shift over two minutes later, Trocheck got the puck to Panarin, who circled around and found a cutting Trouba. He went to the backhand and had his shot bank in off a player in front. Trocheck was also nearby. Trouba’s fifth came from Panarin (50th assist) and Trocheck at 12:15 to tie the score.

Two and a half minutes later, it was Tarasenko who scored on a breakaway. After he took a feed from Ben Harpur, Zibanejad was able to find Tarasenko at the Ottawa blue line. He split Chychrun and Nick Holden to break in and pull a Forsberg, tucking in a backhand on an over-committed Talbot for his fourth as a Blueshirt. It was the highlight of the night.

It’s interesting how Talbot was the goalie on both those Forsberg tallies. One of course dates back to when he played for our team. He was a popular backup behind the legendary Henrik Lundqvist. Without him, no President’s Trophy in ’14-15. I’m sure they’d have traded it for a Stanley Cup. They would’ve faced Kane’s Blackhawks.

When Artem Zub got called for interference on a cheap hit from behind on Trocheck, the Rangers again saw their shadow. They fired blanks or passed the puck too much. There were moments where both Kane and Panarin deferred instead of shooting. That’ll change. They’ll be better.

Mikkola took his latest minor penalty with 44 seconds left for interfering with Batherson. However, Ottawa couldn’t convert on the split power play. They came in ranked fourth. But wound up minus-one with Kreider scoring the Rangers’ eighth shorthanded goal back in the first.

This one wasn’t about the special teams. It came down to five-on-five play in the third period. One in which the Senators pushed the pace. They weren’t playing the second of a back-to-back like the Blueshirts. They had more left in the tank. It really showed.

On what was a good play by Giroux, he moved the puck in front for an open Brassard, who, instead of going forehand, fooled Halak by spinning off for a backhand short side to tie the score at 1:35. A heady play by the veteran.

The Sens kept the momentum going. On some strong play by Tkachuk down low, he got the puck up for a Hamonic shot that an isolated Giroux rebounded home without much resistance for his 26th to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead.

It almost got worse. On a close play at the Rangers blue line, Tkachuk thought he’d stayed onside on the entry. During the shift, he banged into Lafreniere, who looked the worst for wear. Then, he tipped in a Giroux shot pass to temporarily make it 5-3. But the Rangers bench made a smart challenge. It definitely was close. But after taking their time to review the video, that also means putting time back on the clock. They got the call right. It was offsides. Tkachuk even smirked.

Despite some timely saves from Halak, who would only want the second Brassard goal back, the Rangers never were able to create that magic moment. I thought they’d tie it. But it wasn’t meant to be in Kane’s Garden debut.

With under three minutes left, Gallant went for it by going for the six-on-five. Obviously, the six skaters are easy to name. So, I’m not gonna bother. Initially, Halak was going to be near the bench with the face-off in the Senators end. But Turk changed his mind to go with his six best skaters.

If there was a miscalculation, it was not having Trocheck out to go against Giroux on the draw. Zibanejad took it instead. He didn’t lose it per se. But the skaters went forward, allowing Giroux to come out with the puck and narrowly miss an empty netter.

A racing Tkachuk negated an icing. He then found Stutzle for an easy finish into the vacated net for the 5-3 final with 2:42 left. Gallant’s gamble didn’t work.

Sometimes, that’s how it goes. Ottawa was simply better when it counted. They held the Rangers to six shots in the final period. They scored their two pair early to flip the script. Tkachuk didn’t get a star. But he should have. It’s not always about goals and points. He was the difference.

Next up are the number one overall Bruins. They whipped the Sabres by turning a 3-0 game into a 7-1 laugher. Even minus Taylor Hall (LTIR) and Nick Foligno, they added Dmitry Orlov (6 points in 3 games) and Garnet Hathaway. They also picked up Tyler Bertuzzi yesterday to bolster their depth.

Boston is up to 101 points. Led by David Pastrnak (43 goals), Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand (left game with injury), they are as complete a team as there is. They’re four lines deep and are well balanced defensively. Plus, feature Vezina favorite Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

If the Rangers are without both Lindgren and Motte, which is a real possibility, they could be forced to play two men short. That’s what they’ve put themselves in with the Tarasenko and huge Kane acquisition. It’s not about the regular season. It’s about the postseason. They have 20 games remaining to jell. Ten home and ten away, including five in a row on the road starting tomorrow afternoon.

Let’s hope it’s not another embarrassment on national TV after last week. That was before Kane. It’ll be their third game over four days. It’s sure to be a tough test.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Derick Brassard, Senators scored 2 goals (10, 11) in 1,000th career game, 3 hits, +2 in 11:55

2nd 🌟 🤩 Claude Giroux, Senators goal (26th) plus 2 🍎, 4 SOG in 8 attempts, 2 takeaways, 7-for-13 on draws, +3 in 19:01

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Brady Tkachuk, Senators 2 🍎, 2 SOG in 4 attempts, 3 hits, 2 takeaways, 3-of-6 on draws, even in 18:25, willed team to victory

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Kane bids farewell to Blackhawks, Rangers express excitement, Quick dumped by Kings in low fashion

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Derek

For 15 years, he called Chicago home. After getting taken number one overall in 2007, Patrick Kane made the Blackhawks an exciting team to watch. Teaming up with Jonathan Toews, they formed a dynamic duo that the team would build around.

How special were Kane and Toews? It only took the Blackhawks a couple of years to climb the top of the mountain and become Stanley Cup Champions. They defeated the Flyers in 2010 on Kane’s shot from a sharp angle that snuck past Michael Leighton to stun everyone. He knew it was in and celebrated the memorable goal that gave the Hawks their first Cup since 1961.

Toews won the Conn Smythe by tallying seven goals and a playoff best 22 assists for 29 points. He would become one of the most respected two-way players in the game. A great captain who led by example, the 2006 third pick won the Selke as the game’s best defensive forward. He also took home the Messier Leadership Award to highlight the last season the Blackhawks won it all in ’14-15.

While Kane was far more dynamic due to his puck wizardry that would see him make the highlights often, Toews was the leader of those Chicago teams that won three Cups to double their franchise total to six. It’s unfortunate that Toews has suffered from setbacks recently with one of the best players in franchise history unable to play. It’s possible he could retire. That would be a sad ending to an outstanding career.

When the trade was revealed last night that sent Kane to his preferred destination in the Big Apple where he won’t debut until Thursday night when the Rangers host the Senators, the all-time Blackhawk said goodbye to the only franchise he’s known. Showtime thanked the organization and, most importantly, the fans.

The memories he and Toews created along with a great team will last forever. That’s the way it should be for Hawks fans. They might not have won back-to-back Cups. But they were the closest thing to a Dynasty during the previous decade.

Similar to the Devils between ’95 to ’03 and also to baseball’s San Francisco Giants, who captured three World Series Titles between 2010-14, the Blackhawks were a dominant team opponents feared. Boasting a core that featured Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook, they were always a threat. Had the Kings not knocked them off, they could’ve won one or two more championships.

With Kane not arriving until later tonight, he won’t play against the Flyers. Instead, he’ll wear the familiar number 88 in the Broadway Blueshirt tomorrow versus the Senators. That’ll leave the Rangers a forward short and possibly down a defenseman if Ryan Lindgren (day-to-day) isn’t ready to return with K’Andre Miller suspended.

As for the particulars on the trade, the Coyotes were the third team involved. They’ll pick up 25 percent of Kane’s contract. With the Blackhawks retaining 50 percent, that allowed Chris Drury to complete the transaction with little wiggle room. Here’s the full details of the three-team deal.

Andy Welinski is a defenseman who played in Hartford. He is now in the Blackhawks organization and will probably play for Rockford in the AHL. Vili Saarijarvi is a former Red Wings third round pick who is playing in Switzerland. He was with the Coyotes, who sent him to the Blackhawks to receive a 2025 conditional third round pick from the Rangers.

Cooper Zech is a minor league player who originally signed with the Flyers in 2021. The Blackhawks acquired him last October for Evan Barratt. He spent time with both Rockford and the Indy Fuel in the ECHL. He’s expected to join the Wolf Pack.

Of course, there’s the conditional 2023 second that can become a first round pick if the Rangers reach the Conference Finals. That would be either a 2024 or 2025 first going to Chicago. Plus, a 2025 fourth round pick.

With everything finally done, here were some thoughts from a few new teammates who are excited to have Kane.

As expected, Kane will play on a line with Vincent Trocheck and close friend Artemi Panarin, who can’t wait to reunite with his former Hawks line mate. That should be exciting to watch.

Outside of Kane making his Broadway debut tomorrow night against Ottawa, the Rangers will play five of the next six games on the road, including tonight at Philadelphia. Following Thursday’s home game at MSG, they’ll go on a four-game road trip with stops in Boston Mar. 4, Montreal Mar. 9, Buffalo Mar. 11, and Pittsburgh Mar. 12.

That’ll be followed by a five-game home stand, which is highlighted by two straight games against the Penguins on 3/16 and 3/18. The Capitals, Predators, and Hurricanes will all visit.

Now that we’re all caught up, it’s time to get back to playing games. The trade deadline shouldn’t be as chaotic as most of the big names are gone.

I can’t believe the Kings traded Jonathan Quick without telling him. He found out following last night’s 6-5 shootout win over the Jets, which was highlighted by a four-goal game from Anze Kopitar. The all-time winningest netminder in Kings franchise history was very upset after learning he’d been dealt to NHL worst Columbus for Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo.

This feels similar to the crap Glen Sather pulled with Brian Leetch, trading arguably the greatest Ranger in franchise history on his birthday on Mar. 3, 2004 to Toronto. He never even approached him about it.

I guess Rob Blake is just as despicable. Quick deserves better. How messed up is this? Teammates were clearly upset by the news after the win. Quick even flew back to LA with the team. That’s how unhappy he is.

A great goalie who won 370 games and had 57 shutouts, which are franchise records, the 37-year old Quick won two Stanley Cups, including the Conn Smythe in 2012 after finishing runner-up to Henrik Lundqvist for the Vezina. You can make the argument that Quick belongs in the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

He doesn’t have as many wins as Lundqvist (459) or shutouts (64). But he won two Cups and has good enough numbers to be considered. That includes a career 2.46 GAA and .911 save percentage. He outplayed Lundqvist when they went head to head in 2014. It’s still a bitter memory.

There have been other trades as well. But I wanted to include the unpopular Quick deal that has united hockey fans against the Kings. That’s not how you treat an all-time great player. Imagine if the Rangers had done that to Lundqvist. There would’ve been a protest and season subscriptions canceled.

Anyway, it’s Rangers/Flyers at 7:30 tonight. The Devils visit the scorching hot Avalanche at 9 EST. Timo Meier could make his debut. More later.

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It’s Showtime! Rangers acquire Patrick Kane, legendary Blackhawks player could debut tomorrow night

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Derek

Stop the presses. It’s Showtime! The Rangers finally got their man. They acquired Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional 2023 second round pick and a fourth round pick. Per Frank Seravalli, the Blackhawks plan to announce the three-team trade tonight.

The conditions on the second round pick are that it can become a first round pick in 2024 or 2025 ‘if’ the Rangers make the Conference Finals. Something that should still be challenging considering who they might have to go through.

Emily Kaplan did a good job providing the details on the conditions. She’s become very reliable. Not only is Kaplan a good reporter for ESPN during games. But she usually has good sources. Among female journalists covering the sport, her and Shayna Goldman are the best at breaking trades. A positive for hockey.

With the legendary Patrick Kane finally getting his wish, the all-time Blackhawk finishes a brilliant 15-year career in Chicago by winning three Stanley Cups, an Art Ross, a Hart and Conn Smythe. Taken first overall by the Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, the former Calder winner concludes with 446 goals and 779 assists for a total of 1,225 points in 1,161 games.

He gave Hawks fans plenty of excitement. There will be so many great memories in Chicago over arguably the best American hockey player. The way in which Kane did it was electrifying. He could score highlight reel goals with ease or make the perfect pass to set one up, leaving fans speechless.

There’s a reason he’s called Showtime. He is a special player who can be a difference maker. The Rangers are banking on Kane to deliver similar heroics in the clutch. Kane finished with a four-game point streak by putting up seven goals and three assists to spark a six-game winning streak. That included his 11th career hat trick on Feb. 19 in a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs.

Number 88 left Hawks fans by providing more highlights in what’s been a dismal year for the franchise. Chicago has 47 points in 59 games for a .398 win percentage. The Ducks also have 47 after defeating the Blackhawks last night. Only the Blue Jackets have fewer points with 44. The chase for Connor Bedard is on. Especially with the Hawks subtracting so many players.

As far as where Kane ranks among the legendary list of Blackhawks that includes Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Steve Larmer and former teammate Jonathan Toews, who formed a dynamic duo fans won’t soon forget, here’s a look at the key categories.

All-Time Blackhawks Franchise

GAMES PLAYED

1. Stan Mikita 1396

2. Duncan Keith 1192

3. Patrick Kane 1161

4. Brent Seabrook 1114

5. Jonathan Toews 1060

6. Bobby Hull 1036

GOALS

1. Bobby Hull 604

2. Stan Mikita 541

3. Patrick Kane 446

4. Steve Larmer 406

5. Denis Savard 377

6. Jonathan Toews 371

ASSISTS

1. Stan Mikita 926

2. Patrick Kane 779

3. Denis Savard 719

4. Doug Wilson 554

5. Bobby Hull 549

6. Duncan Keith 520

POINTS

1. Stan Mikita 1467

2. Patrick Kane 1225

3. Bobby Hull 1153

4. Denis Savard 1096

5. Steve Larmer 923

6. Jonathan Toews 880

EVEN STRENGTH GOALS

1. Bobby Hull 433

2. Stan Mikita 379

3. Patrick Kane 324

POWER PLAY GOALS

1. Steve Larmer 153

2. Bobby Hull 152

3. Stan Mikita 150

4. Patrick Kane 122

GAME-WINNING GOALS

1. Bobby Hull 98

2. Stan Mikita 84

3. Jonathan Toews 69

4. Patrick Kane 67

Undoubtedly, Kane leaves a great legacy behind. He is an all-time great Chicago Blackhawks player who ranks in the top five statistically. When your name is amongst legends like Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, and the completely overlooked Steve Larmer, who helped the Rangers win the Cup in 1994, that’s some list to be a part of.

It’s sad that he won’t play for them anymore. That Blackhawks logo and jersey is among the best the sport has to offer. That he and Toews became such great players along with a core that included Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Corey Crawford, Brandon Saad, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Andrew Shaw, speaks to how much those teams meant to Chicago. They won three of the franchise’s six Cups, including Kane scoring that fluky winner in sudden death to beat the Flyers in 2010. The first Stanley Cup they’d won since 1961 when Hull and Mikita starred with Glenn Hall.

When they won their second Cup in 2013, Kane won the Conn Smythe by posting 9 goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 23 postseason games. He went 10-18-28 in 2010 and led all playoff scorers with 23 points (11-12-23) when the Blackhawks won for the third time in 2015. That was their most challenging, having to go through the very tough Ducks and Lightning to make it three Cups over six seasons.

For his playoff career, Kane has scored 52 goals and added 80 assists for 132 points in 136 games. He’s a proven performer. Even facing the game’s best player Connor McDavid and Hart winner Leon Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup Playoff Qualifier, he helped lead the underdog Blackhawks to an upset of the Oilers in four games during 2020. Kane had nine points (2-7-9) in what turned out to be his final postseason for the Hawks. They were eliminated by the Golden Knights in five during the first round of the expanded format.

Even in a down year with the hint of possible hip surgery this summer, Kane still ranked second in team scoring behind Max Domi with 45 points (16-29-45). He missed some time due to the injury. Then, he was held out for the predictable trade to the Rangers, who were the only team he’d accept a deal to.

Kane used his full no-movement clause (NMC) to force the Blackhawks into a trade that limited the return. In all honesty, I think what they got back stinks. To not even be able to get a prospect, whether it be Zac Jones or Matthew Robertson, or even Will Cuylle, that is the unfortunate part of doing business with a superstar who had full control over his preferred destination.

I’ll be blunt. I don’t feel the Kane trade is fair. It highlights a league issue that hopefully one day will be addressed. Giving players full NMC hurts teams. Especially if things change like they did with the Blackhawks. The harsh reality is that Kane was going to leave once his contract expired after the season. So, they had no choice but to get what they could.

I guess the Blackhawks and some of their fans will become fans of the Rangers this Spring. That way, they can get back a first round pick next year. What else is there to root for?

With Kane possibly debuting tomorrow night versus the Flyers in a game that can be seen on TNT and is also listed as MSG 2 at 7:30 PM EST, there will be a level of excitement not seen since Marty St. Louis came over from the Lightning in the memorable blockbuster captain for captain trade that sent Ryan Callahan and two first round picks plus a seventh to Tampa.

At least Glen Sather got a second round pick as well. He turned that into Keith Yandle, who was rented for two playoffs. Sather sucked at trades. He didn’t even use the leverage he had. Chris Drury is different in that respect.

MSL delivered some big goals during the team’s run to their first Stanley Cup Finals since ’94. None more emotional than the first goal he scored versus the Penguins on Mother’s Day. The arena shook during Game Six. A series the Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 deficit to pull out. There also was the clutch overtime winner in Game Four during the Eastern Conference Final to pull the Rangers within a game of the Cup Final. They would defeat the Canadiens in six.

The difference between Marty St. Louis and Patrick Kane is that Kane has a little more left. He should be very motivated to prove he can still help lead a playoff contender to a Stanley Cup. He’s chasing his fourth Cup.

It is also a unique opportunity to play on the grand stage at Madison Square Garden. A place that seems to attract some of the game’s best players. Kane will be reunited with former Hawk Artemi Panarin. They’ll likely be penciled in by coach Gerard Gallant to play on the second line with Vincent Trocheck, who’s had his best stretch in Year One on Broadway.

Kane can certainly help the Blueshirts score at even strength and improve an inconsistent power play. He’ll replace Vladimir Tarasenko on the top unit. With a maintenance day for Mika Zibanejad, after returning to score a big power play goal following blocking a shot that sent him to the locker room on Sunday night, we’ll see if PP1 is as expected. That would be Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Kane. A very scary proposition for opponents to deal with.

I imagine Tarasenko will be on the second power play. Who will he replace? Not Trocheck or Filip Chytil. Would Gallant take Alexis Lafreniere or Kaapo Kakko off to insert Tarasenko on that right side? I’d actually prefer it to be Kakko since he isn’t a shoot first player or overly physical. Lafreniere does the gritty stuff by working the back boards and working in front. Neither K’Andre Miller nor Jacob Trouba are good fits on the point. Would they consider five forwards? Maybe Trocheck on one side and Chytil the other. It’s risky.

While this all is fun to speculate, K’Andre Miller will not be available over the next three games. As expected, following the hearing yesterday for his spitting incident that saw a loogie land on Drew Doughty, who accepted his apology, the league suspended Miller for three games. The same amount Garnet Hathaway once received a few years ago.

It doesn’t matter if it was intentional or not. It’s unacceptable. It can’t happen. I believe Miller when he says he didn’t mean to do it. I don’t think it’s in his character to intentionally spit on an opponent. He’s too polite. He barely throws his weight around despite his stature. It goes against who he is.

I’m surprised there aren’t more incidents where players are getting splashed by accidental loogies. Some players do it. Mark Messier was known for spitting during games. But it usually was after he scored a goal while on the bench. I’d imagine probably after drinking some water from the Gatorade bottle. I remember my brother Justin would joke about it, and we’d share a laugh.

For anyone complaining over the ruling, please shut up. You sound ridiculous. I’ve never seen a fan base complain so much over minor stuff that’s not debatable. There’s also a league conspiracy against our team during games. Please. Officiating is the same for every team. Sub standard. They don’t catch everything. The speed of the game makes it harder to officiate. Video reviews should be quicker. That must change.

As far as Braden Schneider goes, he can come back up from Hartford for tomorrow’s game. Ryan Carpenter will return to the Wolf Pack. The only question is if Ryan Lindgren, who’s still being termed “day-to-day” for an upper-body injury that clearly was his left arm being exposed on a tough T.J. Oshie hit that wasn’t illegal despite more conspiracy theories from the homers. Can the team recall a defenseman for the Flyers game?

Does Zac Jones come up if the Rangers are cap compliant? If Lindgren can’t go, they’re currently left with only five on the active roster. Adam Fox. Niko Mikkola. Jacob Trouba. Braden Schneider. Ben Harpur. That’s assuming Lindgren can’t return with Miller serving the first of a three-game suspension. I hope they’ll be able to recall someone. We’ll have to wait and see.

As for the ramifications of the trade for Kane, it’s pretty simple. The Rangers are all in. You make this move to win a championship. As good as he still is, Kane doesn’t provide the defensive aspect or grit. That’ll fall on Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Motte, and new fourth liner Jimmy Vesey, who’s gone above and beyond since making the team on a pro tryout. He earned his new contract that keeps him in NYC past this season. Good for Vesey.

The Rangers should boast two scoring lines that can strike both in transition and on the cycle. They’ll need more from Tarasenko, who’s expected to play with Zibanejad and Kreider. The top two goal-scorers on the team. Zibanejad leads 31, including 18, on the power play while Kreider has 25.

It’s still that younger third line that must provide the key secondary scoring they were able to last year. That would be the 23 and Under forechecking unit of Chytil (19 goals), Lafreniere (11 goals), and Kakko (12 goals). They combine speed, strength, and play-making to win board battles to pin opponents in. That cohesive trio remains a big part of how far the Rangers can go.

On paper, the look of the Rangers four lines has balance. They should be able to roll four lines. The only area that could be a concern is the lack of physicality. Expect opponents to continue to take liberties with the star players. You better believe that’ll include Kane and Panarin.

The Rangers will have to stand up to it. Trouba certainly will use his size and strength to send a message. So will Schneider. We know Lindgren can land the big hits at key moments. He’s the glue of the back end. If the injury he has is serious, they should not bring him back until he’s fully healthy. It’s not about the remainder of the regular season that matters.

It was a welcome change to see the shorthanded roster minus three skaters once Miller was ejected, play with more structure during a big 5-2 home win over the Kings. That’s how they have to play. It can’t be open season on Igor Shesterkin. Limiting turnovers and transition is the key to long-term success. Hopefully, there will continue to be a renewed commitment to playing better team defense.

For players such as Panarin, Tarasenko, and Kane, it can’t be all about offense. They must make smart decisions with the puck and hustle back. You don’t win 16 games between April and June by outscoring opponents. Both Kane and Tarasenko know that.

When he makes his debut, Kane will become the third Rangers player to wear number 88. The ill-fated Ken Hodge and Eric Lindros both wore it. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. Showtime is looking to change that.

There’s so much happening now. It’s less than 72 hours until Friday’s 3 PM EST trade deadline. More moves are being made as I finish this post. As expected, here we are.

We’ll see if anything else happens between tonight and tomorrow prior to the game in Philadelphia.

J.T. Miller’s name has been floated. But he signed an extension. I doubt it’s for him. I could see it being Brock Boeser, who doesn’t fit in Vancouver anymore. Or perhaps Conor Garland.

There was one more trade made by Toronto who again upgraded their defense. They added Erik Gustafsson from Washington and the rights to Boston’s 2023 first round pick in exchange for Rasmus Sandin. Pretty slick.

With the big names already gone, look for secondary players who can help teams to get moved. The Rangers are done buying. Now, it’s all about proving it on the ice. No matter where they wind up, expect a tough road ahead.

There are no guarantees. We’ll see where things wind up.

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Rangers go to ridiculous lengths to satisfy cap for expected Kane trade, Zibanejad heroic in big win over Kings, Miller ejected for spitting incident, hearing today, action heats up in loaded Eastern Conference

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Derek

It’s the Monday before the March 3rd trade deadline on Friday. There’s so much to get to. While the Rangers picked up a big win over the Kings to snap a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), the action is fast and furious around a loaded Eastern Conference.

First and foremost, the Rangers went to ridiculous lengths to stay cap compliant for the expected Patrick Kane trade. As has been reported by reliable sources, including Elliotte Friedman, it’s all but done. Now, it’s just a matter of whether it’s announced on Wednesday or Friday.

Whether you agree with how the organization has gone about its business, Kane is going to get his wish. After voicing his displeasure over the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko, it was obvious that the Blackhawks legend only wanted to be in one place. He had full control due to the no-movement clause in a contract that pays him $10.5 million this season. It expires this summer.

With Team President and GM Chris Drury scrambling to satisfy the cap due to the Rangers not having much wiggle room, that meant dressing 18 skaters but only playing 16 in Sunday night’s 5-2 win over the Kings.

Coach Gerard Gallant was unable to play Braden Schneider and Hartford call-up Ryan Carpenter. That put him in a tough spot, especially when K’Andre Miller received a match penalty for a spitting incident with Drew Doughty. Even though he went out of his way to apologize to Doughty following the game and posted a public apology via social media, it was a regrettable action.

Miller has a hearing today with the league. It’s expected that he could be suspended for two or three games. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as it pertains to the Rangers’ next game this Wednesday night at the Flyers. Will they have Kane with a brand new number 88 Blueshirts jersey? That remains to be seen.

The following is courtesy of Puck Pedia. They’ve been continually providing updates on what the Rangers can do to stay cap compliant.

If all of this is confusing, you’re not alone. It’s pretty ridiculous. But Drury opted to trade for Tarasenko, who looks like he’s on his last legs. At least they added Niko Mikkola. Good thing Drury did due to the Ryan Lindgren injury. Nobody has any idea how long he’ll be out. The Rangers keep things close to the vest. You can never believe a word Gallant says on injured players.

It’s worth noting that the Blackhawks are expected to pick up half of Kane’s salary. A third team likely will be needed to pick up another 25 percent to assist the Rangers in the complicated transaction. We’ve already seen this play out with the Leafs trading for Ryan O’Reilly. The Wild got involved to help Toronto save money so they could make more critical moves, which happened earlier today.

With pretty much everything laid out, the parameters for a Kane deal remain on track. By yo-yoing Schneider to Hartford for cap savings, the Rangers are doing everything they can to complete the trade for the American legend by Wednesday. It’s so distracting that the game yesterday felt irrelevant. No difference than Saturday’s humiliation to the Capitals.

If you’re a fan of the team, you want them to win as many games as possible. There’s still a chance that they can avoid the Devils, who sit three back of the Hurricanes, who remain eerily quiet despite their need for another offensive player.

With the Devils completing the very complex trade for Timo Meier with the Sharks last night, they have significantly upgraded their roster. It’s indeed Timo Time in Newark. The likelihood of Jack Hughes playing with Meier is a daunting prospect for opponents.

The very interesting part is that I nearly guessed the players involved. After initially thinking, perhaps Seamus Casey might be in it, I came to the conclusion that former first round pick Shakir Mukhamadullin would be part of the trade. He plays in the KHL. Both Robert and I guessed that Fabian Zetterlund was in the trade. Rob is a huge Devils fan. So, full props. We didn’t know Nikita Ohhoktiuk was the third player. Neither of us has any idea how to pronounce his name. He scored a goal in 10 games with the Devils.

Hasan provided a very detailed post on the particulars of the Timo Meier trade that also included the Devils getting depth defenseman Scott Harrington. Yes. I guessed that Andreas Johnsson’s contract would be dumped to the Sharks to help offset salary to fit in Meier, who had 50 percent of his salary picked up by San Jose.

With the details of the Meier trade slowly coming out due to a player having a minor injury that the teams worked through, it was a distraction. Even watching the game last night, which the Rangers played much better in than at any point during their seven-game win streak, I kept checking my time-line to see who the players were along with the expected first round pick plus the conditional first.

While that trade saga went on along with the hint that Tanner Jeannot was on the block with the Lightning interested, there was a game played at 33rd and 7th above Penn Station.

Coming off a 6-3 blowout loss to the Caps that could’ve been much worse had Igor Shesterkin not made a bunch of good saves, the Rangers knew they had to straighten out. Their play away from the puck was abominable. They gave up so many easy goals and scoring chances in transition that it was probably the worst game they’ve played during this season.

With the news circulating from the beat writers that neither Schneider nor Carpenter were expected to take a shift, that left Gallant with 16 skaters. Five defensemen (until Miller’s match penalty) and 11 forwards were available. That meant some line tweaks when Gallant wanted to use Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Motte. Solid checking forwards that can be used anywhere.

Playing without Lindgren, who they still termed “day-to-day,” the Rangers went with Niko Mikkola on the top pair alongside Adam Fox. Miller and Jacob Trouba were the second pair. That left Ben Harpur to take shifts when necessary. At least that was the plan.

After giving him the third period off on Saturday, Gallant went back to Shesterkin for a second straight start. It went much better. Instead of being hung out to dry, he got plenty of help from more focused teammates who came back defensively. It was night and day.

In a lineup switch, Tarasenko played mostly with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. A place he will likely be once Kane arrives. The plan looks like he’ll play with familiar former teammate Artemi Panarin with the red hot Vincent Trocheck in the middle. Tarasenko again didn’t distinguish himself. He hasn’t been good since Panarin set him up 2:43 into his Rangers debut.

Following an early power play that did nothing except miss the net, the Rangers were at least able to stifle the Kings, who initially came out strong. They tested Shesterkin early and often. But a focused Shesterkin turned aside Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, and Kevin Fiala.

With the defense more committed to blocking shots, both Kreider and Harpur got in the path of a pair of Matt Roy attempts. An underrated Kings defenseman who has had a good year. As a team, the Blueshirts blocked 17 shots led by Harpur (5) and Trouba (4). Both played pivotal roles in the win, with each logging 33 shifts and over 28 minutes apiece.

On what was an effective forechecking shift from both Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere was able to take a Kakko feed and have his shot from the left circle take a good bounce off Jonathan Quick for his 11th with six minutes left.

Not long after the goal, there was a state of confusion during a stoppage at the 16:37 mark of the first period. Refs Eric Furlatt and Brandon Schrader got together to figure out what happened during a scrum between Miller and Doughty. Nobody knew what was going on. It was perplexing.

When they announced that they had given Miller a match penalty, which means a game misconduct and automatic review for spitting on Doughty, it was shocking. However, the evidence didn’t lie. MSG replays clearly showed Miller spitting with the loogie landing on Doughty. Yikes.

The incident gave the Kings a five-minute power play with 3:23 remaining in the period. That ridiculous major penalty could’ve swung the momentum. Even if it wasn’t deliberate with a very remorseful Miller seeking out Doughty following the game, it’s something that can’t happen. It was interesting how there was no real overreaction to what happened.

On the first part of the five-on-four, the Kings came close to tying it twice. Both times, it was Kempe who had great opportunities. On a nice setup in the slot, he beat Shesterkin with a shot that went off the crossbar and stayed out. A bit later, he was one on one with Shesterkin, who wisely came out to deny his backhand deke by making a great diving save and covering the puck to cheers.

Those were the two best chances the Kings had. It was their best finisher. He just couldn’t convert. Had he, the game could’ve changed. Instead, the Rangers were able to kill off the remaining 97 seconds at the start of the second period.

Able to grab the momentum back, they struck quickly. On a shift where he was out with both Zibanejad and Kreider, Trocheck had the good fortune to have a pass in front deflect off a Kings’ player past Quick to make it 2-0 at 2:02.

Despite being down three players, including two defensemen, it was the Rangers who chased Quick when Trocheck had a wrist shot fool the future USA Hockey Hall Of Famer. That gave him two goals in 1:35, making it 3-0. Quick looks like he’s near the end of a brilliant career. He’s been outplayed by surprising revelation Pheonix Copley. The 31-year old journeyman replaced a visibly frustrated Quick.

I have to admit I was a little surprised that Kings coach Todd McLellan went with Quick for a second straight start. He was in for their 3-2 win over the Islanders. I would’ve thought Copley, who has the 17-4-2 record, would be in the net. He gives them the best chance to win. Copley is a great story. He only got two games with the Caps last season. Prior to ’21-22, he hadn’t played in the NHL since ’18-19.

The reason LA is where they are in a very good Pacific Division is due to the defensive style they play. They’re very disciplined and play a 1-3-1 that can frustrate opponents. They are a tight checking team that can forecheck and create more offense thanks to the addition of Kevin Fiala. If they make the playoffs, nobody will want to see them. They nearly took out Edmonton last year. Connor McDavid put on a spectacular performance to lead the Oilers past them in seven games.

One thing about the Kings. They never quit. Even in a game, it wasn’t their night they came back to make it interesting. A Mikola holding minor late in the second allowed LA to get on the scoreboard.

On what was a fluky play, Viktor Arvidsson waited just long enough for an Arthur Kaliyev high rebound to come down where he batted the puck in for a power play goal. Due to how close his stick was when it made contact with the puck, they immediately checked upstairs. They ruled good goal on the ice.

Initially, I thought it would get overturned. But after seeing another replay, based on where Arvidsson made contact with the puck, it looked to be at crossbar height. That made it a legal play. They confirmed it as a good goal to a few boos. You have to understand the rule.

Arvidsson’s 18th on the power play from Kaliyev and Phillip Danault made it 3-1 with 1:48 left in the period. They would go to the locker room trailing by two.

The Rangers were still in good position. The question was, would they get tired in the third. It didn’t start particularly well.

After both Kopitar and Quinton Byfield went wide on shots, Byfield was then stopped by Shesterkin on a deflection. However, on the next shift, there were chances at both ends. Trocheck went for the hat trick on a rush but missed wide. That allowed the Kings to counter up ice with Danault passing for Roy, who beat Shesterkin with a good shot high blocker to cut it to one at 1:27.

On the goal, Panarin got caught pinching while covering the point. A no-no when you’re leading. Gallant didn’t look too pleased. But the Bread Man atoned for the defensive miscue by scoring a huge goal on the following shift.

Panarin looked to have a sure goal. But a diving Copley made a great sprawling save. However, his own teammate Sean Walker banged into him, sending him down. That allowed Panarin to put the rebound into the open part of the net upstairs for his 19th from Trocheck. That goal came only 44 seconds after Roy scored. It was a huge answer to restore a two-goal lead.

With Alex Edler off for hooking Kreider, the Blueshirts extended their lead to 5-2 thanks to some artful passing. Both Panarin and Adam Fox played catch before Fox sent a perfect feed across for a wicked Zibanejad one-timer into the short side for his 18th power play goal. He’s up to 31 on the season.

It was a pretty cool thing to see Zibanejad score. During the late stages of the second, he made a diving block of a hard shot that went right off his foot. He was down writhing in pain. The crowd definitely was concerned and chanter, “Mika, Mika” as he got to his feet and was helped off the ice.

It looked bad. But when he returned for the third, he got a loud ovation. Thankfully, he was okay. If this team goes anywhere, Zibanejad will be a big reason why. One of the best acquisitions in franchise history (thanks Jeff Gorton), Zibanejad is the best forward they have. It’s hard to believe Gorton stole him for Derick Brassard. What a player he’s become. The five-goal game and his virtuoso performance in last year’s playoffs are proof of what a terrific player he is.

It would be nice to see Mika Magic get 40 goals again. He deserves it. A complete player who plays both sides of the puck, Zibanejad is the star of this team. He makes $8.5 million on average. A bargain. He took less to stay when they signed him to an extension. That’s a T-E-A-M player.

With the Rangers ahead by three goals, it was too much for the Kings to overcome. For one night at least, the shorthanded Rangers showed a lot of mettle. They defended well and came back.

Shesterkin didn’t have to stand on his head or face uncontested odd-man rushes or breakaways. He made the key saves en route to 26 in winning his 26th game of the season. By allowing two goals, it was the first time in eight games he’d done that. The last time came on Jan. 23 versus Florida.

I posted the three stars on our official Twitter account. It was nice to give out three stars to Rangers.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1630015798323433472?t=9ii45YZxmayobPmbdiS_ag&s=19

After the game, it was revealed that the Lightning gave up a lot for Tanner Jeannot. A hard-nosed, physical player who plays the game with edge and toughness, he obviously had a lot more value than anyone would’ve thought. The Bolts were willing to include Cal Foote and five draft picks just to acquire the 25-year old Jeannot. That’s nuts. But when you’re a team committed to winning like Tampa, it’s worth it.

The Lightning obviously thinks Jeannot’s rugged style is a perfect fit. He should slot in on the third line with Nick Paul. I view it as an answer to the Leafs recently trading for Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari. Jeannot is also on an entry-level contract. He is restricted this summer. There’s no doubt the Lightning will sign him long-term like they did with Paul.

Maybe thinking they had to make another move today, the Maple Leafs countered by acquiring both Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe from the Blackhawks for a conditional first round pick and second round pick. Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev also went back to Chicago. The Leafs received conditional fifth round picks in 2024 and 2025.

I was someone who wanted Lafferty. He brings a lot to the table. A player who possesses good speed along with grit, he went to Chicago and scored 10 goals and added 17 assists while becoming a fixture on the penalty kill. That’s a smart move by Toronto. Adding McCabe to a questionable blue line should help. This is all in anticipation for the big first round rematch with Tampa.

It’s obvious that the Leafs are all in this year. If they can finally get out of the first round, they think they can go all the way. They’d have to likely go through both the Lightning and the Bruins just to make the Conference Finals. The Atlantic Division just got very interesting.

With both the Red Wings and Sabres pushing hard to get back to the playoffs with strong competition from the Islanders, Penguins, Panthers, and Capitals, it’s going to go down to the wire. Whoever wins those two wildcard spots will earn it.

As for the Blueshirts, it’s now a waiting game. We all know Kane is coming. He’s getting his wish, which to me feels a little selfish. He sure didn’t do right by the Blackhawks. They’re not going to get much for the greatest American born player. That’s who Kane is. But this is his choice. He had the power.

I ran a poll on Twitter that received 280 votes. The topic was Kane.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1629838675050655745?t=iT_qkXLygY3z4xjLJ0NAgA&s=19

You can argue either side. Kane won the Blackhawks three Cups. He and Jonathan Toews were an unbelievable dynamic duo that turned them around. You could say he owes them nothing. He has plenty of hardware.

The flip side is that he made it impossible for them to get fair value. He’s a superstar. Even at 34, Showtime can be a difference maker. Who’d you rather have from watching them? Tarasenko or Kane. Kane still looks to have the skating and skill. Tarasenko hasn’t proven much since coming over. He clearly is struggling. Maybe once Kane puts on the Rangers jersey, it’ll alleviate some pressure.

When it happens, Jimmy Vesey goes from the top line to the fourth line. It’s a much better fit where he’ll likely play with Goodrow and Motte. That’s a real fourth line. It’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

That’s gonna do it. What trade will happen next? Don’t answer that! 😉

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Devils acquire Timo Meier in blockbuster, complicated trade

Posted on February 26, 2023 by hasan4978

If this regular season hasn’t already become a dream come true for Devils fans on the ice, GM Tom Fitzgerald today put an exclamation point on that this afternoon by pushing his chips to the middle of the table in a long-rumored and nerve-wracking trade negotiation before finally getting his man in Sharks winger Timo Meier just days before the Friday trade deadline. Meier – who has 31 goals in 52 games this year after scoring 37 last season – was clearly the key prize of this year’s trade deadline, and with the Devils in the market for another big top six winger since at least this offseason after the ill-fated Matt Thachuk and Johnny Gaudreau negotiations, Meier became Fitzy’s latest white whale.

This time, the white whale got bagged though. It feels a little silly to obsess over what we gave up, but make no mistake it was a lot in terms of quantity at least.

Perhaps the most questionable thing about the deal is the lack of an extension in place for Timo in it, at least on paper. However, given the Devils’ Swiss connection and upward trajectory combined with all of what they gave up I’m not too worried they’ll figure out a way to sign the 26-year old long-term at some point soon. It’s not likely any of the other names we got back will factor in with the big club – apart from maybe the veteran Harrington as an #8D – since the Sharks needed to shed some organizational depth being almost at the limit of fifty contracts. Swapping late round picks in 2024 feels so random, almost as if that was what was needed to balance it out on a trade meter in NHL24.

As far as what we gave up, obviously the inane rumors of Dawson Mercer had no legs and they clearly weren’t giving up prized prospect defensemen Luke Hughes or Simon Nemec. Giving up Fabian Zetterlund wasn’t exactly my favorite part of the trade but it seemed like he was on too short a leash at times here this year, at least he’ll get a full run with the Sharks and will probably be a solid role player in years to come. Mukhamadullin was a fairly recent first-round pick playing in the KHL who even Fitzy admitted was almost ready for a look at the NHL, but given the fact we had three core defensemen signed long-term plus Hughes and Nemec higher up on the prospect value chart, the chances for Muk to make a big impact seemed very narrow.

To a degree the same was true of Okhotyuk, a 2019 2nd rounder who actually did get in some NHL games last season and this, but would have almost certainly topped out as a back-pairing defenseman here. Maybe elsewhere he’ll have a shot to carve out a little better celling than that. I’m sure a main reason for giving up as much stuff as we did was also the fact that Timo’s salary for this year was basically offloaded between the 50% retention on his contract and the Sharks also taking back Andreas Johnsson’s bloated cap hit. That alone was probably worth at least an Okhotyuk with Timo returning the equivalent of either three first-rounders, or two firsts and a second. If we’re giving up the second first-rounder it’ll be because we at least made the Conference Finals in one of the next two years so it’s not like we’d be ceding a lottery pick in any case.

What was almost comical is how word of the trade for Meier leaked at 4:30 yet it took over four more hours for all the details to officially leak, secrecy that would have made Lou Lamoriello himself proud. Perhaps the delay was at least in part because Muk was still asleep overseas and couldn’t be notified for a while. Even Zetterlund hadn’t been notified an hour later (per a call from beat guy Ryan Novozinsky) as the trade call still hadn’t gone through at that time. Also apparently an injury concern for one of the minor parts of this deal held things up, per Elliotte Friedman.

Finally we got all the details though, just in time for prime time in the East haha. And almost instantaneously, both Fitzgerald and Meier met the media earlier tonight. In fact, the first thing I’m going to do after finishing this blog is listen to both before bed (or not, after seeing both are about twenty-five minutes long). I’d rather get away from the computer now as it’s been a long day, with too many hours obsessively checking for first whether there would be a trade, then news on the actual trade itself.

One thing I did see though, was the quick four minute hit that Fitzy did with team reporter Amanda Stein on YouTube before the formal presser.

You’d think there wouldn’t be much newsworthy to come out of a four-minute quickie on the team website but, Fitz actually did say something quite notable remarking on how building the team was about ‘adding players like Dougie, adding guys like Palat, bringing in guys like Tatar, signing Jack, Nico and Jesper will be next‘. Uh…what? Assuming Fitzy isn’t drunk on optimism after this trade, there might actually be some light at the end of the tunnel for the Jesper Bratt contract saga now.

He also made the obligatory comment about hoping to sign Meier long-term but if any team’s positioned to do that given our cap space in future years, given our contention window is now wide open and given the Swiss connection, it’s us. Clearly Fitz and the organization isn’t content to just return to the playoffs and take their bows with a gallant early exit, they’re not backing down to the Hurricanes, Rangers or even the Bruins at this point. This is go time and I’m all in for it!

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Devils’ dominance against the Flyers a fitting celebration of ’03 cup champs

Posted on February 26, 2023 by hasan4978

On a rare night where the Devils welcomed back many of their Cup-winning icons from the 2003 champions, this current itineration of the Devils had a rare laugher of a win over a once-proud but now clearly rebuilding Flyers team. This, despite the fact for a period plus last night it looked like the same desultory hockey we’ve seen against the Flyers this season, going back all the way to Opening Night when we got smoked in Philly in what seemed like a continuation of the loserdom we’d been afflicted with the previous several years. We also lost a brutal game against them in early December when Damon Severson’s turnover led to the winning goal and his own benching the rest of the night.

Even our only win before last night against Philly came when rookie Akira Schmid had what was then his best game of the season, making 31 saves in a 3-2 win. I’m not gonna lie that I was concerned about their toughness being a bad matchup for us, even more so when I saw Fabian Zetterlund (one of our few physical forwards) was scratched last night. However in the last two periods, finally the talent difference showed for the first and only time this season in the teams’ head-to-head matchup. A talent difference that Flyers coach John Tortorella acknowledged in the postgame:

He’s almost being generous describing it as a few years ago, but in a way it’s true. They are seemingly in the 2015-16 Devils part of their rebuild, only with some dreadful long-term contracts on the books they have to ride out, which we really didn’t have. In my love-hate relationship with Tortorella I’ll give him mad props for taking over a rebuild, usually coaches with his pedigree are above that kind of challenge late in their career and want to go only to win-now teams. Granted, Torts has already gone through the meat grinder with four other teams and everyone knows his style isn’t for the faint of heart, so at a certain point you run out of options if you want to keep coaching but still.

Fortunately we’re finally out of the long, dark tunnel we’ve been stuck in the last few years, and the light at the end of it wasn’t actually an oncoming train. As much as I was tempted to come home and relive every moment of this drubbing, at a certain point you kind of run out of things to say about a 7-0 game. You have to start by giving Schmid credit and congratulations on his first career NHL shutout and a triumphant start to his third act this year after losing his last four games over his prior two callups (though he had a bunch of solid starts before then in his initial callup).

He didn’t have to make a lot of great saves (especially later in the game as it became a rout), but as the saying goes – they don’t ask how, they ask how many. He made every save last night, which was the only thing that mattered. If last night was a great night for the Devils franchise in general, it was also a great night for Switzerland hockey fans – as all three Swiss Devil players earned the three stars of the night, led by a surprising three-point outburst from Jonas Siegenthaler getting him the first goal of the game and the first star on the night. Nico Hischier rounded out the Swiss contingent in the three stars with a goal and an assist of his own.

Really though, you could have picked out like ten guys to be on the three stars list and not gotten much of an argument last night. Yet somehow only three guys managed to have multi-point games in a seven-goal game where all seven goals came from different players. Talk about balanced scoring! Jack Hughes was the other player besides Nico and Siegenthaler to have multiple points and both of them were on typically pretty plays – a breakaway goal in the second period, and an even better spin-o-rama assist on a Jesper Bratt goal in the third period.

At that point you could have cued up the iconic Sweet Georgia Brown (anthem of the Globetrotters) and not been out of place. It’s the kind of beatdown we see so few of, especially against a bitter rival. Ironically, one of the few other laughers we had this season was a game against Torts’ former team in Columbus, a game I missed while watching my football team stink up the joint against its bitter rival.

To have it come on the same night where we honored an iconic championship team made it all the more fun. As expected, the ceremony itself hit every right note. First off, there was definitely a retro feel when the Devils came onto the ice in warmups wearing white jerseys to the sound of the Meadowlands goal horn. Another nice retro touch was playing Standing In Motion – one of the most popular CAA songs – as the background music while the ’03 Devils and staff all got introduced during the ceremony.

It was nice to be able to see and cheer a lot of old heroes, although as fun as it is to cheer Ken Daneyko at a reunion for the thousandth time or Martin Brodeur for the hundredth time, and as nice it is to see Scott Gomez with his storytelling gift of gab (one he freely cops to!), it was just as fun to see guys like Brian Gionta come back to the arena for one of the few times since leaving for Montreal in 2009 and get a nice ovation. Granted, he wasn’t a big part of the 2003 team in just his second season as a back six player, but he soon developed into a more key figure with 21 goals the next season, then the out-of-nowhere 48-goal explosion following the lockout.

To a degree I’d actually have mixed feelings about seeing Hughes break the Gionta team record for goals this year. Don’t get me wrong, Hughes is must-see TV (as fellow 2003 Cup winner Joe Nieuwendyk – among others – put it this week), and should be one of the leaders of the next great Devils team to come so I’ll likely feel differently after some big playoff runs. But at the moment it’s kind of fun having someone like Gio have such a place in Devils history – an unheralded, homegrown guy who developed into a true star, albeit only for the one season. Not to mention his 48-goal season came during a memorable second half that saw the Devils come from way back to earn the division title on the last day of the season in 2006, with Gio’s final two goals pacing the way in the dramatic 0-3 comeback at Montreal.

At this point it’s hard to see Hughes getting to 50 having that kind of meaning in the regular season, although it’s certainly possible they go down to the wire with Carolina for the division this year and that could wind up mattering depending on matchups I suppose. It’s not as if the playoffs were ever really in doubt after the thirteen-game heater early in the season though, other than during the one malaise in December. The 2005-06 Devils actually weren’t a sure thing to make the playoffs as late as mid-March when they were still just eight points above NHL .500, shortly before their eleven-game winning streak to close out the season, win the division and set up an exorcism of the Ranger playoff demon in the first round with a memorable four-game destruction.

Getting back to 2003, and last night – it had one more touching coda with a tribute to the late Pat Burns, punctuated by having his widow carry the Cup onto the ice along with captain Scott Stevens.

It is too bad the coach didn’t get a chance to take part in these festivities himself, and totally shambolic he didn’t get into the Hockey Hall of Fame until a few years after his passing, but at least that team was able to get him a deserved Stanley Cup (and eventual induction into the HHOF, since it’s probably doubtful even a three-time Jack Adams winner gets in without a title). Part of me actually hoped last night’s game ended at 3-0 for the symbolism, given that Game 7 of the SCF in 2003 – and the first two games of the series as well – all ended 3-0 for the home team. Of course, who’s really gonna turn down an extra four goals when you get them?

Now that we’re done looking back, comes looking forward with the trade deadline on Friday afternoon, but speculation is the long-rumored Timo Meier trade will likely be finalized in the next day or two, and probably without an extension – ideally lessening the trade cost, if we’re the ones to acquire the big Swiss winger, as we’ve been favored to for seemingly months. It would certainly be fitting to close out that trade the day after the Devils’ swiss army ambushed the Flyers.

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Listless Rangers receive Capital Punishment, Lindgren injured on Oshie hit, lack of structure hangs Shesterkin out to dry, season worst four-game losing streak as potential Kane deal on horizon

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Derek

If this had been a prize fight, they would’ve stopped it early. The Caps win by TKO. A struggling team that had lost six in a row all in regulation, they demolished the listless Rangers in blowout fashion, winning a game that was never close by a score of 6-3.

The final tally was misleading. It was pure dominance by a desperate team who’s seen their playoff chances decrease. After trading key cogs Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to Boston, the Capitals were looking for anything positive headed into Saturday’s early matinee.

They found it thanks to the Rangers, who lost a season worst fourth straight game. Technically, it’s three in a row. The first defeat came at Calgary in overtime. Right now, they can’t get out of their own way. There are too many defensive issues plaguing the team as we approach the much anticipated trade deadline.

With the potential for a Patrick Kane deal imminent, the Rangers pawned off Vitaly Kravtsov to the Canucks for William Lockwood and a seventh round pick in 2026. Essentially, it was a salary dump of a 23-year old player whose value severely decreased in large part due to how things went this season.

If you actually care to read about that story, you can refer to what I wrote previously. I’m not going to rehash it. Kravtsov’s days had been numbered for a while. His $875,000 salary cap hit is off the books. That’s all he was worth.

Prior to the trade, the Rangers waived Jake Leschyshyn. That created more room on the roster. Leschyshyn was a placeholder. He played on the fourth line.

While much of the discussion centered around what was or wasn’t happening off the ice on ABC/ESPN, the Rangers humiliated themselves on national TV. They were brutal. There was again no structure, which led to many easy Capitals’ odd-man rushes in transition. They really made the Rangers pay for their lackluster play by outscoring them 4-0 during a mind-numbing second period.

The game was ugly. It got starred early. On an undisciplined tripping minor that Barclay Goodrow took in the offensive zone, the Rangers penalty killing unit swarmed Alexander Ovechkin. Although that part was good, they completely forgot about T.J. Oshie, who was left alone to tip home an Erik Gustafsson shot for a 1-0 Caps lead at 2:37.

With the Rangers scrambling around, the Caps continued to create scoring chances on Shesterkin. Despite getting chased for five goals on 22 shots with most of the damage coming in a dismal second period, he made several good saves. This isn’t on him. It’s about how poorly the team is playing in front of both goalies. Jaroslav Halak got victimized the other night.

Goodrow would make up for his early penalty. A slumping player who needed a goal in the worst way, he managed to redirect a Tyler Motte shot by Darcy Kuemper to tie the game at 8:00. It was his first goal since Jan. 16. That gets him to 10. Hopefully, that can be a confidence booster for Goodrow.

The ugliest part of the day came when Oshie delivered a tough hit on Ryan Lindgren. What made it so bad was that he crunched Lindgren right into the boards with his left arm exposed. Obviously, in a lot of pain, he immediately went to the locker room and never returned.

This could be a very serious injury. If early reports are any indication, the Rangers could be without the glue of their blue line for a while. It looked bad. Following the game, New York Post columnist Larry Brooks reporter that Lindgren had his left arm in a sling. He’s an important player who really makes a difference. If they’re going to be without him, that’s not encouraging.

On the following shift, Goodrow made Oshie accountable by dropping the gloves. It wasn’t that entertaining a fight. However, the message was delivered.

As far as the hit from Oshie, who immediately checked on Lindgren and apologized as caught on a live mic he was wearing, it’s hard for me to classify the heavy hit dirty. Of course, you never want to see any player get hurt. Especially one who’s as valuable to this team as the gritty warrior wearing number 55.

While Gerard Gallant voiced his displeasure during the postgame about the hit, indicating he felt it should’ve been a five-minute major, I happen to agree with former ref turned ESPN rules analyst Dave Jackson. The hit wasn’t from directly behind. It was one of those hits you see in the league where there’s not much that can be done. I’m sure it’ll continue to be hotly debated.

If there was a disappointing part of the game, it was the Rangers not grabbing momentum from what Goodrow did. They blew a golden opportunity. After Tom Wilson interfered with Niko Mikkola, Evgeny Kuznetsov slashed Filip Chytil, who went down in pain. They reviewed the penalty to determine if it was a major. However, they felt it wasn’t a spear. So, it went as a two-minute slashing minor.

The Rangers still had 57 seconds of a five-on-three. But they never made the Capitals pay for their indiscretions. Kuemper made one good save on a hard Artemi Panarin one-timer. He hardly had to work. The power play was too tentative. They didn’t attack the Caps three penalty killers the way they should have. That really came back to bite them.

In a perplexing period where the shots remained in single digits despite both goalies having to stay busy, the Rangers killed off a Mikola tripping minor for taking down Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

After having to fend for himself by stoning Dylan Strome and household name Trevor van Riemsdyk earlier, Shesterkin made two routine saves on Gustafsson and Kuznetsov. He also was fortunate that Lars Eller missed on an uncontested rush. That’s how defensively inept the Rangers were.

The second was a total meltdown. If you could burn the tape, you would. It was like watching the end of the Alain Vigneault Era. Easy Caps breakouts. Odd-man rushes. Point blank chances. They also buried four past Shesterkin, who was helpless.

Following key Kuemper stops on Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere, here came the Caps. On a play that was symbolic of what’s going wrong, Strome found a wide open Oshie in the slot where he beat Shesterkin over the glove for his second of the day at 3:16.

Even in a game where he was targeted following the big hit that knocked Lindgren out of the game, Oshie took his lumps. Jacob Trouba stepped up on him during a shift. It didn’t matter. Oshie simply played his game. That would also include an assist to give him a Gordie Howe hat trick.

While Shesterkin was left to fend for himself by having to stop another household name in Martin Fehervary, the Caps continued to expose the Rangers defense, which played without Lindgren. That meant Mikkola moved up with an ineffective Adam Fox, who had one of those games. It meant another dizzying performance from K’Andre [Poke Check] Miller. Trouba did what he could. That also meant Ben Harpur back with Braden Schneider. It didn’t go well.

Tom Wilson was able to score from in close to make it 3-1. Trocheck was too late. He’s playing with defensive wizards Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko. Back Checking Optional.

There was a lot of intensity from both sides. Nick Jensen hit Filip Chytil and Kakko during a shift. Fehervary checked Kakko, who doesn’t like being hit. There was definitely animosity throughout. You could sense the frustration.

Chytil and Kuznetsov got into it during a scrum a couple of shifts later. Each went off for matching roughs. After Trocheck had a tip-in denied by a sharp Kuemper on an excellent Panarin pass, Shesterkin stopped Eller twice.

Back at even strength, Oshie just missed a hat trick with his shot ringing off the goalpost. Both Kuznetsov and Sonny Milano followed up on the rebound, with the latter able to stuff the puck across the goal line before Goodrow could prevent the Caps’ third goal of the period.

How bad was it? Even Dylan McIlrath got a shot on Shesterkin. He played solidly in nearly 16 minutes as an emergency call-up with Orlov gone. Let’s put it this way. Another former high Rangers first round pick, who never saw the time of day under Vigneault, looked more capable than many of our six remaining defensemen.

Kuznetsov would add to the misery late in the second when he got free to convert on a backhand from Aube-Kubel and Fehervary to make it four unanswered Caps’ goals. They led 5-1 after two.

With the Kravtsov news circulating, I couldn’t believe how little they got back. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. He hardly played recently. That was Gallant’s choice. It really hurt his value. I’ve seen many people only blaming Kravtsov due to what happened last season. That was near the end of 2021. If this was how it was going to be, why did they even bring him back? It never made sense.

By the third period, I had tuned out. The ESPN/ABC feed was horrible. The audio sounded like it was coming from a basement or sewer. It’s pretty embarrassing. Yikes. Not many people like their telecasts. But the Ray Ferraro hate is ridiculous. He’s a pro and is very good.

I did switch to ESPN Radio to listen to Don LaGreca and Dave Maloney. I like LaGreca. He’s always been a good guy who’s worked hard at his craft. Too bad be works with such a pompous blowhard during the week.

With the game all but decided, it was easier to listen to LaGreca call the action. The Caps tried their best to get the Blueshirts back in the game. Both Wilson and Strome received minor penalties with 14:14 remaining to hand them a full two-minute two-man advantage.

This time, Chris Kreider was able to cash in with his 25th goal when he redirected in a Fox shot to cut the deficit to 5-2 with still over 13 minutes left. However, the Rangers couldn’t convert on the second part of the power play.

Even though they played better in the third period, it was too little too late. Wilson and Ovechkin combined to send Kuznetsov on a breakaway against reliever Halak. He pulled a Forsberg to score for the second time with 6:38 left. That put it out of reach. It also was Kuznetsov’s fourth point of the game.

Gallant predictably sprinkled in some changes to his lines. He had Tarasenko take shifts with Lafreniere and Chytil. Kakko moved up to play with Zibanejad and Kreider.

In what was a goal in garbage time, Kakko put home his 12th from Kreider and Zibanejad at 19:32. It was just window dressing. Otherwise, what a forgettable game. Losing to a slumping team that’s looking to retool. The definition of a bad loss.

There’s nothing more to say. As Gallant and Trouba said afterward, it’s time to move on. The Kings visit MSG on Sunday. That’ll be the Rangers’ third game over four days. They need to respond. They’re lucky the Islanders laid an egg in a 3-2 home loss on Friday to those same Kings. Otherwise, the lead for third would be down to six.

Of course, they have more games remaining. Three more than the Islanders, who are in the first wildcard position with 67 points. But they only have 20 left. The Rangers have 23 to go. They’re still solidly in third place, six behind the Devils who are honoring their 2003 Stanley Cup team tonight.

If a trade happens, I’ll be back with more. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1629592667213496325?t=-DLb3ZlUjd3J_zVdbXAMRA&s=19

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