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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Kravtsov dumped to Canucks for cap room, Kane next?

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Derek

In what amounted to a salary dump, the Rangers dealt Vitaly Kravtsov to the Canucks in exchange for William Lockwood and a 2026 seventh round pick.

Once thought by the organization as a key piece to the rebuild when he was selected ninth overall in the 2018 NHL Draft under former GM Jeff Gorton, it didn’t work out for Kravtsov.

After showing promise initially by scoring two goals and adding two assists over 20 games under David Quinn, the Rangers prospect made the mistake of going back home to Russia to play in the KHL. Displeased over not making the NHL roster in 2021-22, which led to him being sent down to Hartford, Kravtsov got bad advice from his agent.

He decided not to play for the Wolf Pack in the AHL. Instead, he returned home to play for Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. After struggling initially, Kravtsov finished with six goals and seven assists in 19 games last season. A good showing in the Gagarin Cup Playoffs helped him.

Despite putting in a trade request, he and the current Team President and GM Chris Drury were able to work out their differences. Kravtsov returned to the Rangers for his second opportunity on Broadway. He found it hard to crack the lineup and play consistently under coach Gerard Gallant.

Early injuries didn’t help. However, once he got healthy, Kravtsov was moved around by Gallant. Without any line consistency that also affected Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko during the first half, his ice time fluctuated. There was a good stretch in January where he was playing better hockey. But Gallant didn’t have enough patience to stick with him.

In a lineup where the demanding coach preferred the more experienced two-way capabilities of Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow, Kravtsov became the odd man out. Once they acquired Vladimir Tarasenko, he was only given one game to play by Gallant. Despite the Rangers winning over Seattle on Feb. 10 with Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider producing, the coach singled out Kravtsov. He never played another game.

Instead, waiver wire pickup Jake Leschyshyn played over him. The reasoning was that Kravtsov was not a fourth line player. While that’s true, was there any harm in trying him with Goodrow and Tyler Motte? At least they could’ve showcased him.

Instead, a player who had three goals and three assists in 28 games had his value plummet. So devalued was Kravtsov that there was hardly any interest. He is a restricted free agent after the season. Perhaps the threat of returning to the KHL scared potential suitors off.

It doesn’t fully explain the lack of asset management by the Rangers. They basically got nothing in return for a former first round pick who has the skating and capability to become a top nine forward. Gallant’s words.

Despite how he was handled, Kravtsov showed up early for team practices and morning skates. He continued to prepare as if he were playing. Something beat reporters Mollie Walker and Vince Mercogliano noted along with Colin Stephenson. If he had such a bad attitude, that wouldn’t be the case.

At some point, Kravtsov realized he was never going to get a realistic chance here. Once Gallant settled on a top nine that included Vesey playing with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, it was obvious that the writing was on the wall. With Artemi Panarin playing alongside Tarasenko and Trocheck, that left Lafreniere with Kakko and Filip Chytil on the cohesive third line that played a key role during last year’s playoffs.

The last two games, the Rangers went with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen due to “roster management.” The translation for trade coming. With all the rumors surrounding Patrick Kane, who apparently only would waive his full no-movement clause for the Rangers, it was very apparent that Drury had to create room to acquire Kane. He didn’t practice Friday and wasn’t with the Blackhawks today. They’re scheduled to play the Sharks, who will again scratch the much rumored Timo Meier.

By having the Canucks absorb the $875,000 salary Kravtsov makes that freed up enough cap space to make the much anticipated move that’s been over-discussed forever. If Kane has agreed to waive his NMC, he could be a Ranger by later tonight.

It’s only a question of who goes back to the Blackhawks. They don’t have any leverage, which means the return for the future Hall Of Famer won’t be that good. Assuming it happens this weekend, who knows what the package will consist of.

If you’re a Blackhawks fan, you should be disappointed. It’s not going to be fair value for a great player who was instrumental in helping the franchise win three Stanley Cups. One of the greatest players in Blackhawks history, Kane has totaled 446 goals with 779 assists for 1,225 points. His last game was on Feb. 22. He left an imprint on Dallas by scoring twice and setting up a goal in a Hawks’ 4-3 comeback win over the Stars. His last four games, Kane went 7-3-10.

The Rangers weren’t even expecting to be in this position. They thought once they acquired Vladimir Tarasenko along with defenseman Niko Mikkola, whose importance has become crucial due to the injury Ryan Lindgren suffered in an ugly blowout 6-3 loss to the Capitals earlier this afternoon, they were not going to be in on Kane.

However, things have drastically changed over the past week. With Kane proving healthy and many sources hinting that he only would accept a trade to NYC, that had to alter the Rangers’ plans. If you can get a player of Kane’s caliber on the cheap, it’s understandable why Drury would change his mind.

This is a player who had instant chemistry with Artemi Panarin, who spent his first two years in Chicago before they couldn’t afford him. The unique combination of Kane and Panarin is irresistible. Especially based on the thought process.

While the current roster is having issues keeping pucks out of their net due to a defensive collapse that’s led to the longest winless streak (0-3-1) of the season, they’re hoping a trade for Kane would re-energize the club. They imploded once T.J. Oshie delivered a tough hit on Ryan Lindgren that ended his day. Lindgren, who was seen wearing a sling on his left arm, is the glue of the blue line. If it is what I fear, he could be out for significant time. Eight weeks possibly.

If the worst-case scenario happens, it could alter what Drury does between now and March 3. He can add Kane, which still could require a third team to absorb some salary. Similar to what the Wild did when they were involved in recent trades with Toronto and Boston. However, losing Lindgren for a critical stretch could change things.

At the moment, the Rangers have six defensemen who’ll play tomorrow when the Kings visit MSG. Adam Fox. Jacob Trouba. K’Andre Miller. Niko Mikkola. Braden Schneider. Ben Harpur. What’s the story with Zac Jones? An AHL All-Star who probably deserves another shot is he part of a proposed trade for Kane? Or will he be recalled tomorrow.

There are many questions that still must be answered. With Kravtsov no longer a Ranger, he’ll finally have a better chance to play. However, if he thinks it’ll be easy under new Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet, he better think again. Tocchet expects a lot from his forwards. It took Andrei Kuzmenko a few games to adjust. Now, he’s back to scoring goals.

Whether or not Gallant was sincere in what he said about Kravtsov, it came off fake. He never really warmed up to him. However, it’s time to move on. Best of luck to Kravtsov.

Now, we wait to hear about a bigger deal involving an American legend.

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Devils continue their comeback ways as trade deadline and ’03 Cup reunion approach

Posted on February 24, 2023 by hasan4978

At this point the Devils have become a weekly TV action series – start each episode by putting the protagonist in peril, then one way or another they find their way out of it. Our comeback heroics during this breakout year have become so pronounced, I’m literally starting to hope we just don’t use them all up during the regular season now. Coming from 2-0 behind last night against the Kings, and then rallying from 3-2 down in the final minute with an empty-net goal from Nico Hischier is a script we’ve seen quite a few times this year, both with the multi-goal comeback and with the game-tying empty netter late.

What made last night’s comeback particularly meaningful is that Dawson Mercer continued his breakout month with two goals (including the winner in OT) and an assist, giving the second-year forward a total of seven goals and nine points in his last five games. Mercer’s connection with Tomas Tatar got the Devils back in the game, first with Mercer winning a puck behind the net and getting it to Tatar in front for a goal late in the second, then Tatar returned the favor early in the third. Mercer himself couldn’t help but notice how both goals were remarkably similar.

Having a second line emerge would be huge for this team’s playoff chances. Perhaps the deadline will see some further alteration to the Devils’ forward group. It’s almost become a catch-22 though, on the one hand you don’t want to make some big, seismic trade that messes up the chemistry of a team that’s winning in such dramatic, pulsating ways. On the other hand, let’s face it – some of these results would probably be different in the playoffs if you had normal sudden death overtime instead of the 3-on-3 mini-game. We’ve excelled in the latter this season, we’ll have to figure out how to win the former when the time comes.

Still, it took a fair amount of resolve just to get to the mini-game last night after one comeback to tie the game at two, the Devils suffered a breakdown at an inopportune moment with Sean Durzi scoring off a cross-ice feed from (who else?) Anze Kopitar. Although the Devils did a good job limiting the volume of chances last night, the Kings took advantage of the quality in the few chances they did give up with Kopitar scoring a breakaway reminiscent of his 2012 Stanley Cup Final OT winner in the first period, then Victor Arvidsson scored on a two-on-one to put the Kings up two in the first period. After a rare off night against the Habs on Tuesday, it looked like we were about to go back into a malaise.

Of course, the Devils said not so fast my friend – first tying the game early in the third, then re-tying the game in the final minute with more dramatics, this time courtesy of the two franchise centers when a Jack Hughes feed found Nico open in front of the net for a redirection goal that tied the game again.

That goal was only a prelude to the dramatic winner, though quite deserved given that the Devils pretty much controlled play throughout the extra period as the Kings seemingly tried to play prevent and take their chances with the shootout. Can’t say I blame them on the one hand, as I said earlier we’ve been money in the extra session this year and Dougie Hamilton’s been a big reason why. He was once again instrumental in a winner last night, working a give-and-go with Mercer for the winner.

So far it’s been at least a decent homestand, sandwiching a dominant win over the Jets on Sunday and last night with Tuesday’s dud against a team in the Bedard Cup Playoffs. Tuesday’s 5-2 loss against the Habs actually ended our six-game home winning streak, but one that was hard to realize even was a streak considering those six wins came over a six-week span, given our two long road trips and All-Star bye week break since early January.

I’d rather not do any big picture analysis even though the big picture is almost upon us with the trade deadline about a week and a half away, and the playoffs less than two months away. I’ve already heard and read enough Timo Meier analysis (and more specifically analysis of potential trade packages) to drive me up a wall. Watch the Sharks troll everyone and take a total pass on trading him, waiting for the kind of return that doesn’t generally happen anymore. Reports suggest they’re holding out for Mercer to be included in such a deal, good luck with that – especially with him carving out his own niche as a key forward now. Teams just don’t trade twenty-one year old roster players like that in a cap system anymore. Lou Lamoriello dealing Brendan Morrison and others for Alexander Mogilny was a lifetime ago, pre-cap and pre-current FA rules.

Admittedly, Timo would round out the top six quite nicely and this Devils team could certainly use more depth come playoff time even if they don’t land that big fish. Especially with the rest of the East arming up, the Bruins’ statement trade last night put the league on notice, especially given their success already this year.

Our immediate concerns are more local though, given our position in the standings it’s likely we wouldn’t have to face the Bruins until the Eastern Conference Finals, which…would be a great problem to have. Assuming the Devils stay in the top three of the East, we have to concern ourselves more with the Rangers and Canes. And both teams are looking to load up as well – the Rangers have already struck with the Vladimir Tarasenko trade, not to mention the Patrick Kane speculation while the Canes are the other main speculated suitor for Timo. In theory winning the division and avoid the prospect of having to beat both Carolina and New York to get out of our bracket would be nice, but again I’m not gonna stress over seeding. Especially if we would only wind up playing a live underdog like the Islanders or last year’s President’s Cup winning Panthers.

Besides big picture future speculation, we’re also coming up on another celebration of the team’s storied past on Saturday – specifically the 20th reunion of the 2003 Stanley Cup champions, the third and (so far) last one in franchise history. It couldn’t come at a better time since for the first time in a decade, we can now see a path forward for the next great era of Devils hockey. Ironically that was the one playoff year where seeding and home-ice mattered, after the road warrior Devils won in 1995 and 2000 in large part by dominating away from New Jersey to the tune of a combined 20-3 road record, in 2003 it was all about home-ice with Pat Burns’ line matching, timely goalscoring and a stifling defense with Martin Brodeur in net leading the way to a third Cup in nine years.

For all my kvetching about how we won Cups as middle seeds in ’95 and ’00 while flaming out as top seeds in between and plenty of years after that, in ’03 winning the division over the Flyers by one point proved vital – both in ensuring home-ice for at least the first two rounds, and by avoiding what proved to be the stronger part of the draw that year. It doesn’t always work out that way but it seemed like some higher power was at work in 2003.

How else to explain swinging and missing on Teemu Selanne at the deadline, only for the unexciting deadline acquisitions of Grant Marshall and Pascal Rheaume to pay off big-time? Or all of Jeff Friesen’s timely goalscoring in the last two rounds of the playoffs? Granted, Friesen was a solid player for a decade in the NHL though he always got tagged with the weight of failed expectations out West after being an #11 overall pick, the narrative was always somehow about what he didn’t do – except in the 2003 postseason.

Maybe it was a higher power that helped Scott Stevens return after a scary head injury in the second round of the playoffs. These days he’d likely be in concussion protocol for weeks after being taken out of Game 3 after a Pavel Kubina dump-in slapshot went right off the side of his head. In 2003, he came right back into the lineup in Game 4 scoring a key goal and resuming his shutdown role of top-line players (in Tampa’s case, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis).

Of course the defining series that year – even more than the surprisingly tense Finals win over the Ducks – was the Conference Finals against Ottawa. After two deceptively easy 4-1 series wins against Boston and Tampa Bay, the Devils entered as decided underdogs to the more talented President’s Trophy winners, led by young studs who we’d be hearing about for decades to come…Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, even a teenage Jason Spezza who drew in and had a big goal in Game 5.

We may have been the underdogs, but experience, guile and heart carried the day as the Devils ran out to a surprising 3-1 lead – all after a crushing Game 1 OT loss to boot! Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy against the best team in the league that year and the Senators followed a tight home win in Game 5 with a potentially crushing Game 6 OT winner in New Jersey. Being in the building for that game, I was in between expectant and hopeful to see the Devils win the conference trophy that night. After all, they’d already put up an 8-0 home record in the playoffs and logic said that was the game they needed to win that game to hold on in the series, but a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat only set up an even more dramatic Game 7.

Falling behind on the road early only served to make the final chapters of this story even more compelling, as Jamie Langenbrunner’s two goals put the Devils back on the front foot and compelled Ottawa coach Jacques Martin to use his timeout early in the second period to settle his team down. Settle down they did, ironically it was a Friesen giveaway that led to Ottawa’s tying goal early in the third. Coach Burns joked afterward (or was it a joke?) that he told Friesen you owe me now. Boy, did he pay up – with the best assist of his career from Marshall on what would prove to be the Devils’ winning goal late in the third.

The Bob Cole call on CBC of the actual goal was much better than the Gary Thorne one (though Cole did amusingly mistake Marshall #29 for Scott Gomez #23, especially since Marshall had a rare Gomer-esque feed on the play), Thorne almost seemed to be willing a disallowed goal with his blunder that forever ruined the ESPN version of the call. Clearly the goal stood though, and the Devils wound up taking out the Senators at the death.

With a Stanley Cup Finals appearance set against the Cinderella Ducks, it was the Devils who were back in the role of favorite for this series. It would prove to be a home cooking series as the Devils followed stifling shutout wins in Games 1 and 2 with dramatic OT losses in Games 3 and 4 that put us back on the ropes. An unusually wild 6-3 win in Game 5 was followed by a 5-2 loss at the Pond where they seemingly took momentum after star Paul Kariya came back into the game after being laid out by Stevens and scored the put-away goal in the second period.

Back to another Game 7, this time at home. Again I was in the building hoping to see the once-in-a-lifetime celebration. All while laid up with a flu/bronchitis combo. In a post-COVID world I’d have to take a pass on going. Even then I knew I was gutting it out, but I also knew that I could live another hundred years and never have a chance to see a Cup raising in NJ. Losing was unthinkable, but we know deep down nothing’s guaranteed in sports. There was always going to be the chance I’d have dragged myself there only for a gut-wrenching defeat. I did believe in the 2003 team though, after all our tight wins and consistency that year.

If I had any doubts before the game, many of them were alleviated when the pregame scratches were announced. How, you ask? Franchise icon Ken Daneyko was by then in his final season of a gritty two-decade long career. After having played every playoff game in franchise history heading into 2003, he got rotated in and out of the lineup during the postseason that year and for much of the Finals he was on the bench in favor of younger skaters. Yet, when the scratches were announced before Game 7, Daneyko’s name wasn’t among them – sending up the first roar from the crowd of the evening who all realized what I did, he was going to get to play the final game of the season and likely the final game of his career for the Cup.

Maybe they didn’t need a storybook element to overcome a storybook team, but it sure didn’t hurt to give the team and the fans a little extra emotional jolt. Especially as the final shift of Dano’s career helped preserve a 3-0 shutout that clinched the Devils’ third Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Little did anyone know that it would be the last true season of greatness in the Devils’ run as an elite franchise, although there’d be more division titles and playoff appearances to come over the next decade – and even a surprise Finals appearance in 2012 when almost everyone from the 2003 team other than Brodeur and Lou had moved on. Stevens may have been able to grin and bear it that postseason, but unfortunately the aftereffects from his concussion wound up cutting his 2004 season short and sending him into a quiet retirement after the 2004-05 lockout. Burns only coached that one more year before cancer struck and just like that, two of the signature figures from 2003 were no longer there. Friesen himself only had one more season with the Devils as well, perhaps never really recovering from the long lockout since he had two unproductive seasons with three different teams after it.

Hard to believe it has been twenty years since then. It’ll be nice to see most of the 2003 team in attendance. Unfortunately a few key members will not be there, including Friesen who unfortunately has a conflict (given that ex-teammate Patrick Marleau will have his number retired by the Sharks tomorrow night in San Jose), as well as ace checkers John Madden and Jay Pandolfo, who both have other jobs in hockey – Madden as an assistant in Arizona, Pandolfo as the head coach at Boston University. And the unfortunate too-soon passing of Pat Burns in 2010 means that he’ll be represented by his widow.

Almost everyone else will be there however, including Lou taking time away from a busy pre-deadline week to join the festivities. Our YouTube page has already had a few short interviews with alumni from that team and no doubt will have more. In some ways, the 2003 team was my favorite of the three winners, even if it was objectively the least talented – although because of that, the 2003 Cup was also more unexpected than the other two.

Granted, there’s my inherent bias to consider of actually seeing the Cup being presented – illness and all. Still, in 1995 I was still a neophyte hockey fan, and there was always the backdrop of a rumored move to Nashville clouding our success that year (which winning the Cup arguably helped stop). 2000 was obviously the most dramatic ending of the three with Jason Arnott’s goal in double OT of Game 6, knocking out the defending champs on their home ice but that team also underachieved at times before a coaching change snapped them into first gear toward the end of the regular season, then an uncharacteristic tirade from Larry Robinson after Game 4 of the Conference Finals spurred the Devils back from the brink that year.

In 2003, while the team certainly found itself on the brink numerous times in the last two rounds of the postseason, they maintained a single-minded focus throughout and never had the mental lapses other more talented Devil teams of the recent past had. Sure they still had talent – two HOF’ers on defense, a HOF’er in net and hopefully at least one HOF’er up front (Patrik Elias), but that group characterized team in every sense of the word.

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After getting stoned by Hellebuyck, disjointed Rangers drop second straight to improved Red Wings, Kane rumors persist, lack of structure an issue along with defense

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Derek

All winning streaks eventually fade away. When they lost to Calgary in overtime, that was acceptable. The Rangers battled back from an early two-goal deficit to earn a point against a desperate Flames, who got a much needed win on a power play goal.

Even the most recent 4-1 loss on home ice to the Jets wasn’t bad. How can you lose sleep over a game where the Rangers out-shot Winnipeg 51-21? They were stoned by Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck, who made 50 saves on Monday night.

The Jets also got timely goals thanks to the skill of Mark Scheifele (2 goals), Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Kyle Connor coming through. Of the four goals, Igor Shesterkin probably wanted the first Scheifele tally back. It wasn’t a good rebound to give up. Connor beat him for the key third goal high blocker. Scheifele finished it off with a wicked backhand around K’Andre Miller.

In what was their first loss in regulation since Jan. 19 versus Boston, the Rangers lost the special teams battle. Their power play took the collar while their penalty kill allowed a power play goal to Dubois, who had the fortune of a Josh Morrissey shot banking off his knee past Shesterkin.

If you wanted to critique something, it was the defense. Despite dominating most of the play at five-on-five, they gave up some easy goals due to not defending well enough. Even during the second seven-game winning streak, that had been a sore spot. They only gave up less than three goals to the Hurricanes in a 6-2 win. The Artemi Panarin four-goal game.

For a long time, they’d played well enough to put together a dominant 22-4-5 stretch that coincided with Jacob Trouba erupting during a bad home loss to the lowly Blackhawks near the end of the second period. His message got through loud and clear. They turned it around immediately by winning seven in a row.

For over two months, they went from not being in a playoff position to solidifying themselves in the top three of the Metropolitan Division. Prior to the loss to Winnipeg, it wasn’t hard to envision the Blueshirts catching and passing the rival Devils for second place.

However, it became a bit harder after Thursday night’s disappointing 4-1 loss at the Red Wings. Combine that with a riveting Devils’ late comeback to prevail 4-3 in overtime over the Kings, and the Rangers now trail their Hudson rival by six points with 24 games remaining.

It’s frustrating. However, all is not lost. As we draw nearer to next Friday’s March 3 NHL Trade Deadline, rumors persist that Chris Drury might not be done. After adding Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola, who might play a bigger role than first thought, the Rangers Team President and GM should have enough room to add another key player.

Even with TSN insiders Darren Dreger, Chris Johnston, and Pierre LeBrun all but confirming that Patrick Kane still hasn’t made a decision with the Blackhawks, there were enough off ice distractions caused by the Rangers’ decision to scratch both Vitaly Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn for as they termed, “roster management.”

To me, it was just a bunch of bs from a tight-lipped organization that doesn’t exactly tip-off too many insiders to what they’re doing. Things are very close to the vest with Drury running things. Kravtsov was never getting back into the lineup due to Gerard Gallant. What difference does it make? Leschyshyn is a placeholder.

So, in a perplexing decision that made no sense, the Rangers went with an 11 forward, 7 defensemen alignment. The results were predictable. They never had any chemistry or consistency during Thursday’s game. It amounted to a wasted opportunity.

With Gallant being forced to dress Ben Harpur as a seventh defenseman, he only had 11 forwards to work with while hardly using Harpur (4 shifts for 2:50). It wasn’t exactly the right time to be tinkering against a resurgent Red Wings team that’s pushing for the playoffs.

Detroit has gone from being 14th and looking totally out of it to making a charge up the standings. With their seventh win in eight, they jumped into the second wildcard position over the slumping Penguins, who look finished. They were blown out by Edmonton 7-2 at home, dropping their fourth in a row. The only saving grace is that they still have 25 games left.

While both the battle-tested Pens and Capitals (lost sixth straight to Ducks 4-2) are going in the wrong direction, the Islanders are in the first wildcard position with 67 points. They only have 21 games remaining. The addition of Bo Horvat and hot goaltending of Ilya Sorokin has carried them. The Pens have 63 points, and Caps have 62. But Washington has only 22 left, including a pivotal matinee on Saturday against the Rangers.

The Panthers have climbed back into it with 64 points. They’re playing better, but they also have only 22 to go. With an exciting 6-5 overtime win over the Lightning that featured Tage Thompson scoring his fourth hat trick of the season, the Sabres are up to 62 with 26 left. Even crazier defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin scored a shorthanded goal for his first of the season to win it.

Given how unpredictable the wildcard race is with all the aforementioned teams jockeying for position, it’s going to be impossible to figure out who’ll make it. Fortunately for the Rangers, they have a nice cushion with 75 points sitting in third place. Eight up on the Islanders. But they have three more games remaining.

The way the Eastern Conference is set up, it’s going to be some battle this spring. With both the Maple Leafs and Bruins loading up, who’s next? Boston made their big move by acquiring defenseman Dmitry Orlov and grinding forward Garnet Hathaway from the Caps in exchange for first, second, and third round picks. A fifth also went to the Wild, who retained 50 percent of the Orlov contract to help the Bruins out. Also going to Washington is Craig Smith and Andrei Svetlakov.

Prior to Boston upgrading their blue line and forward depth for what they hope will be a deep run into June for the Cup, it was the Maple Leafs who made a big splash in trading for playoff proven Ryan O’Reilly and depth center Noel Acciari from the Blues, who are big sellers. They were able to add the Leafs’ first round pick and the rights to Ottawa’s third round pick in 2023. They also received Toronto’s second round pick in 2024. St. Louis acquired Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette. The Wild received a 2025 fifth round pick from the Leafs to help Toronto with O’Reilly.

These are significant moves by two serious contenders. Will the Lightning do anything before next week’s deadline to help improve their roster for the likely first round heavyweight rematch with the Maple Leafs?

In the Metro, you have the Hurricanes and Devils rumored to be interested in adding big fish Timo Meier. Is there a third team lurking? You never know.

As for Kane, he suddenly got hot. He’s scored seven goals and added three assists for 10 points over his last four games with the Blackhawks. It’s the only franchise he’s ever known. The American legend has responded by being the electrifying star player he’s always been. Showtime knows what’s around the corner. He has full control over whether he stays or goes.

We know he likes the Rangers. He felt that once they went out and got Tarasenko, that dream was dead. But not so fast. The bigger question for them is whether Kane is going to address the issues that are becoming an alarming trend.

Patrick Kane is a great player who’ll make any contender better. That’s ‘if’ he agrees to waive his NMC. He’s expected to meet his agent this weekend and discuss the matter with the Blackhawks. They’re in overtime. That’s why all the hoopla surrounding a Kane trade to the Rangers last night felt fake. When trusted sources up north stated otherwise, it made no sense for anyone to run with the story. Anything for cheap clicks.

Why don’t we wait and see how things play out? None of the talk helped the Rangers last night in Detroit. They played soft and were belted around by a hungry Red Wings pretty good.

The lasting image will be Panarin getting knocked down by Michael Rasmussen, who was a factor throughout the game. He scored and set up a goal. Then, he became the target of an incensed Adam Fox, who went after him following his takedown of Panarin, who got right up.

It’s not what you want to see. Fox isn’t the defenseman who should be fighting Panarin’s battles. He’s too valuable. You also had Alexis Lafreniere going after Jake Walman, leading to a fight behind the net. There was a lot of frustration.

That’s how well it went. In his second game, since returning for a Broadway encore, Motte dove and blocked a shot that saw the puck hit him in the face. He immediately skated off to the locker room for repairs. That left Gallant with 10 forwards for a good portion of the first period.

It wasn’t exactly fun to watch. Detroit did a good job limiting time and space. They blanketed Panarin, who didn’t find much operating room. The one time he did, he nearly connected with Tarasenko for a goal. But a Red Wings player broke it up for a key defensive play.

The Wings sure defended well by breaking up passes and blocking shots. They totaled 22 blocks, including seven from Ben Chiarot. Mo Seider blocked six. As a team, the Rangers had nine. Detroit was also more physical. They delivered a few big hits, including a textbook check by Walman that drew cheers from over 19,000 at Little Caesars Arena.

The lack of grit from the Rangers was a noticeable difference. They wound up out-shooting the Red Wings 10-7 in the first. But quality chances were hard to come by. Even an early delay of game minor that wasn’t exactly the right call didn’t get them going.

For a while, shots stayed at 7-6 Rangers. It was sloppy. There wasn’t much rhythm. If you were hoping for a track meet, that’s not how the Red Wings play anymore. They are more disciplined and structured. They’ve improved overall under first-year coach Derek Lalonde. The former Lightning assistant coach has them on the right track.

One of the things Gallant tried was plugging Barclay Goodrow due to not having a fourth line. It’s been a tough go for Goodrow lately. He’s without a goal since Jan. 16. Counting last night, that’s nine games without a point. He is a key player who can play any role. But he’s been stuck on nine goals and 14 assists for a while.

On one shift, Goodrow got caught out with Mika Zibanejad and Jimmy Vesey. It didn’t go well. Almost immediately, the Red Wings transitioned up ice, leading to David Perron and Rasmussen combining to set up Andrew Copp for an easy goal at 15:33. Zibanejad was the closest player but got beat easily to the net.

In the second period, the Rangers picked up their game. Beginning to establish more of a sustained attack, they had the Red Wings on their heels during some extended shifts. They didn’t cash in on the forecheck pressure. The Wings survived due to keeping the shots outside.

For a second straight game, Vincent Trocheck stayed hot. On a play in the neutral zone, he stole the puck and moved in and beat Husso for an unassisted rally at 6:06. It was a strong play by a player who’s on a good streak. Since scoring a goal and an assist in a home win back on Jan. 27, he has 12 points (4-8-12) over the last 10 games. It’s by far the best stretch of the season for Trocheck.

If only Sam Rosen knew it was Trocheck that scored the goal. He originally said Panarin. He wasn’t even out for it. Ugh. We all love him for what he’s provided us for over four decades. But it’s time. Rosen makes too many mistakes. We’ll always have 1994. It has lasted “a lifetime.”

Maybe the most disappointing aspect of this game was how soon the Red Wings responded. Detroit captain Dylan Larkin had enough time to center for a wide open Filip Zadina for an easy finish that Jaroslav Halak had no chance on. That restored a one-goal lead for the Wings 2:12 later. There was a lot of puck watching on the go-ahead goal. Too much.

At near the halfway point, a controversial decision took forever thanks to the sleepless NHL War Room in Toronto. Ryan Lindgren got his stick up and cross-checked Rasmussen at center ice. Nobody knew what was called by refs Jake Brenk and Chris Lee.

Both Rosen and Joe Micheletti seemed clueless as to whether the original call was a minor for cross-checking or a major penalty. It was a state of confusion that wasn’t helped by how long Lee was on with Toronto. It was ridiculous. This is exactly why I can’t stand these conferences. They take so long that it takes away from the game. The fans and viewers are just left waiting along with the players.

After what felt like forever, Lee explained that Lindgren received a two-minute minor for cross-checking Rasmussen. I didn’t agree. He easily could’ve gotten a five-minute major for that careless swing. Lindgren is a clean player. It wasn’t good to see. In any event, the Rangers went on to kill the penalty without a problem.

On what felt like a momentum turning shift where they had the Red Wings gassed, Lindgren found a cutting Fox for what looked like the tying goal. However, a quick reacting Husso dove across and on the full stretch made a phenomenal pad save to keep the puck out. It probably was on the goal line. That’s how remarkable a save it was. He’s been a big part of the Wings’ surge up the standings.

Fox couldn’t believe it. He’d later get another wide open look. However, he sent his shot from the slot over the net and out of play. Husso made 12 saves in the period. None were bigger than his clutch stop on Fox.

With under two minutes remaining, the Rangers fell asleep again to give up a crushing late goal. On this one, nobody defended anyone. Copp moved the puck over for a Perron shot that Halak made a good save on. But with Miller not staying with his man, that left Rasmussen all alone for an easy put away to make it 3-1 with 1:58 left.

Just brutal. Miller had his man and then over skated and wound up out of the play. Making matters worse, you had Tarasenko gliding back with Lafreniere and Filip Chytil, who didn’t have a good game. Neither did Zibanejad or Tarasenko, who plays too much on the perimeter for my liking. He was coming off his best game against Winnipeg. He has to be more active.

Before the late fireworks in the third with the game decided, the Rangers got caught on another bad line change. They received a bench minor for too many men. This has become a bad habit. How many times are they going to screw up a line change? That is something that must get corrected.

On the second half of the power play, Dominik Kubalik worked the puck over to Copp, who moved it back to Filip Hronek. With Oskar Sundqvist setting a good screen in front, he fired a perfect laser that went stick side past Halak, who couldn’t see it. That made it 4-1 with 15:09 left in regulation.

Even though they’ve proven they can come back due to the improved offense, the Rangers weren’t coming back against the Red Wings. With Husso dialed in and the Wings paying better attention to detail, there was no chance.

At least Motte returned to play the final two periods. He actually was one of the best forwards due to his straightforward approach. He and Goodrow nearly combined on a goal against the Jets. That turned out to be a huge difference with Hellebuyck stopping Motte in front on a delayed call.

Motte plays the game the right way. He plays it with an edge and purpose like Goodrow. Both support forwards will be key players in the postseason, just like last year. If you want to go far, you need four lines. Whatever they decide before March 3, it should be done with that in mind.

Maybe it’s not a Kane. But an Ivan Barbashev. A gritty two-way forward with skill. He’s also on the Blues, who are having a fire sale. Keep an eye on him. Mike Rupp talked about Barbashev on NHL Network. He thinks that’s the kind of player who can make a difference in the loaded East.

Perhaps it’s Sean Monahan. If he returns from injury before the deadline, the Habs could move him. He’s got experience and can plug in well on a fourth line. He’s also a center.

I am in agreement with Rupp. It’s not always the sexy move that wins at this time of year. Tampa won thanks to adding gritty guys with character such as Goodrow and Blake Coleman. Nick Paul nearly helped them three-peat last year.

In ’94, there’s no Cup without Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! Ditto for Brian Noonan and the overlooked Steve Larmer, who’s been passed over too many times by the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Those were the glue guys. No run in 2014 without Brian Boyle, Dominic Moore, Daniel Carcillo, and Derek Dorsett. It’s those types that are needed.

I would say more. But it’s late. The Three Stars are below. The second consecutive game, it’s all the opponent.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1628951328129970179?t=j_RtETTNiKSLS1D9w0-rYg&s=19

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A day after win streak ends to Flames in overtime loss, Rangers re-acquire Motte from Senators, Halak gets team a point

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Derek

The Rangers completed their three-game Western Canadian road trip late last night in Calgary. Although they had their win streak snapped at seven, it wasn’t all bad.

After giving up two straight Flames goals over eight seconds in an ugly start, they were able to hang around thanks to Jaroslav Halak. He made 29 saves, including 28 in regulation to keep the Blueshirts in the game long enough to rally for a point.

The Flames got early goals from Andrew Mangiapane (breakaway) and Nazem Kadri (one-timer) taking advantage of sloppy play from both K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox. Before the game was a minute old, Gerard Gallant had that death look on the bench with his lethargic team struggling early in the second game of a back-to-back.

However, the third Calgary goal never came. Give credit to Halak, who’s played unbelievably lately. He entered, having won seven straight decisions. Neither goal was his fault. All he did was pick up the team by making key saves that allowed them to find their footing.

In a first period controlled by the more aggressive Flames, who used their grinding forecheck to slow the pace, they held a 13-7 edge in shots. Jacob Markstrom was only tested once. He looked sharp.

With nothing going, Gallant made a change to his lines. Vladimir Tarasenko hasn’t had much chemistry with Mika Zibanejad or Chris Kreider. After getting his first goal only 2:43 into his Rangers debut on a nifty setup from Artemi Panarin, he’d been fairly quiet.

Sensing it was time to create a spark, Gallant moved Tarasenko down to the second line with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. He also had Kaapo Kakko take some shifts up with Zibanejad and Kreider. Barclay Goodrow worked with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere. He also worked Jimmy Vesey into the top nine. That meant little ice time for Julien Gauthier and Jake Leschyshyn. Perhaps that was some foreshadowing.

Still trailing by two late in the second period, it finally clicked for Tarasenko. On a superb play started by a driving Panarin, who fed Trocheck in the slot, the center made a nice pass across for a Tarasenko finish into an open side with 3:07 left. That cut the deficit in half and changed the game.

With Halak continuing to deny the Flames on some tough chances, it felt like the Rangers would find a way to tie the game. Even after Miller was called for a phantom hook on Calgary rookie Jakob Pelletier at the end of the second that had Gallant discussing it with the refs before the start of the third, the penalty kill got it done. They usually do when the game is hanging in the balance.

Throughout this stretch, the Blueshirts have shown the capability to come back and win. They did it at Edmonton on Friday night. They won a crazy game versus these same Flames at MSG, in which Alexis Lafreniere played the overtime hero. That would actually be relevant.

On what was an equally perplexing call that sent Kadri to the box for interference on Mika Zibanejad with over nine minutes remaining that allowed the Rangers to go on the power play. They weren’t exactly lighting the world on fire. They barely tested Markstrom up to that point.

With Gallant opting to move Tarasenko back up to the top power play unit, he slid Filip Chytil down to the second unit. Although he’s been snake bit lately with goalies stoning him on point blank chances, including one key save Markstrom made, he managed to get involved in the tying power play goal.

Chytil passed the puck over for Trocheck, who circled around the Calgary net. He then centered for a Lafreniere one-timer that snuck past Markstrom and trickled in for the clutch power play goal that tied it up with 7:12 remaining.

That gave Lafreniere his 10th goal, making it two consecutive games with a goal. The surging 21-year old former top pick has 10 points in his last 11 games. The best part is that he’s finding the back of the net. Lafreniere has half his goals over the stretch. He also got the shootout winner over the Oilers. Lafreniere is up to 28 points (10-18-28) for the season.

With Halak stopping nine Calgary shots in the period compared to just three of four for Markstrom, the game would require overtime. Prior to it, an incensed Kadri gave the officials a piece of his mind. An emotional player, he received the rest of the night off with a misconduct.

I saw some of our fans angling for a power play. But the refs made the right call. It wasn’t an infraction during play. It happened after regulation concluded. Kadri obviously was still fuming over the penalty that led to Lafreniere’s tying goal.

In the three-on-three, it didn’t last long. On a play that didn’t make much sense, Panarin kept going after Tyler Toffoli in the corner. He also threw him down and probably deserved a penalty. Instead, Fox was called for high-sticking Dillon Dube at 50 seconds of overtime.

Following a timeout by Darryl Sutter, the Flames were able to get the four-on-three setup. On a Rasmus Andersson pass up top for Jonathan Huberdeau, who had one of his better games, he let go of a long wrist shot that Mikael Backlund was able to tip-in for the game-winner at 1:28. That gave the Flames a 3-2 win in overtime.

It was a frustrating way to have the winning streak end. However, thanks to Halak, the Rangers got a point. He was the best player. He has turned his year around and deserves a lot of credit. The veteran battles. That’s why he’s so well respected.

The one point kept the Rangers within two of the second place Devils, who won earlier on Saturday over the slumping Pens. They’re up to 75 points with 26 games remaining. Next up is Winnipeg on Monday. The Jets are taking on the Devils tonight. That’s a game to keep an eye on.

A day later, the Rangers decided they’d seen enough of the little used fourth line. Chris Drury made a move by sending Julien Gauthier and a conditional seventh round pick over to Ottawa in exchange for Tyler Motte. So, Motte returns.

The seventh round pick becomes a sixth if the Rangers win a first round this postseason. It’s pretty simple.

The trade makes sense. He’s familiar with how Gallant likes to play. Motte has the skating and edge necessary to upgrade the fourth line. We know he will finish checks and block shots and can kill penalties. It’s a sensible deal. He was an effective player after being acquired last year.

As far as the fourth line goes, you now have Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Motte. Only Jake Leschyshyn doesn’t fit. I expect him to be replaced sooner or later. Whether Drury can add one more affordable role player or they decide that Will Cuylle or Jonny Brodzinski are the way to go, the Rangers will have better balance moving forward.

Heck. Even Ryan Carpenter would be an upgrade over Leschyshyn. He’s scoring in Hartford. Realistically speaking, I feel like they might go with Cuylle. He can stay down with the Wolf Pack for now and continue to get top line minutes. He plays a gritty, physical game that would fit in on the fourth line. Goodrow can slide over to center.

I guess Sam Lafferty is out of the question. I would’ve preferred him due to what he brings. We’ll see what the organization decides. There’s still less than two weeks until the trade deadline on March 3rd.

There’s nothing to complain about. The Rangers have been one of the hottest teams in the league. We’ll see where things go.

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Devils complete another successful trip after up-and-down play

Posted on February 18, 2023 by hasan4978

After the first three games of this four game trip, I couldn’t help but think that we’re finally having our first bad road trip of the season. It wasn’t even that the results were bad points-wise, although clearly the team wasn’t at its best, sandwiching a shootout loss in Minnesota and another dreadful performance against the Blues with barely beating the lowly Blue Jackets in the final seconds of regulation. Sure, it was three points out of six, but those three games were continuing a trend of the Devils’ overall level of play going downhill over the last few weeks. I was starting to compare it to our 2009-10 season where we set the world on fire in the first half, only to peter out with a sloggish .500 second half, followed by an early playoff exit at the hands of the Flyers.

Fortunately a couple of things changed today in Pittsburgh…for one, the Devils were playing a team that they’ve had a lot of inexplicable success against over the last decade even when they weren’t beating many other teams. For another, Jack Hughes returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games with an undisclosed body injury. True, Hughes wasn’t at his best early on (and neither was the team in the first twenty minutes), but he did ultimately contribute a couple of assists in what turned out to be a fairly drama-free – for once – 5-2 win.

Still double-digit points up on a playoff spot, the focus is more on big picture if you’re a Devils fan at the moment, especially given the impending trade deadline and all the focus about a certain potential acquisition. All the Timo Meier speculation is already getting old, but make no mistake – the fact that both a trade would likely have to come with an extension, coupled with the fact we need a guy like him in our top six badly and compounded with the speculation that the Hurricanes are also in on the bidding make it fingernail-biting time. At least this is one trade deadline where we can actually focus on acquisitions rather than subtractions (or more often the last few years, not even being able to sell anyone because their value is so depreciated).

Maybe it’s a good thing there isn’t much drama as far as getting into the playoffs at the moment, because the top of the Metro is a clear meat grinder at the moment:

  1. Hurricanes 80 points (9-1 in their last ten)
  2. Devils 77 points (7-2-1 in their last ten)
  3. Rangers 74 points (8-1-1 with a seven game winning streak)

On paper that would also give an advantage to the division winner, facing one of the sixty-point wild card contenders as opposed to a brutal division matchup in round one. Of course, with the playoffs point totals and pedigrees don’t always matter in the end anyway. As much as I’d rather avoid the Armageddon of Devils-Rangers in the first round, I’ve seem more than enough Devil postseasons where a high seed = early exit to care about where we finish in the standings in a vacuum.

What does matter is twofold…health and getting the best level of play out of everyone possible. In regards to the latter, Nico Hischier’s four-point afternoon in Pittsburgh was big for him personally and the team in general after the captain had slumped to one point in the previous seven games (more than half of them since Hughes was out of the lineup). Included in the four points was two goals, including the 100th of Nico’s still-young career – in classic fashion as well, with Nico and Yegor Sharangovich combining for a sweet short-handed marker that helped break open the game.

If Hischier’s breakout game was a big reason for the Devils’ dominance in Pittsburgh, so too were the lineup changes by Lindy Ruff – scratching Nathan Bastian and the slumping Jonas Siegenthaler, and reducing the icetime of the fourth-liners who did play. I’ve been beating the drum that a big reason for the team’s struggles at home relative to its road dominance is that the coach doesn’t feel as compelled to line match on the road as he does at home. Granted, you don’t want to have a steady diet of only playing the fourth line five minutes when we’re in the middle of a stretch of four games in six nights and have another game at home tomorrow but maybe the team’s second hideous loss to a substandard Blues team forced the issue in terms of accountability.

Of course, ultimately the team’s stars – and it’s goaltending – will need to continue to lead the way and both have been doing so all season. Nico’s two goals (and four points), Jack’s two assists, Dougie Hamilton with a power play goal and Jesper Bratt’s goal was a game where all the studs played in first gear, as well as Dawson Mercer, whose quick answer to an early Evgeni Malkin goal was key in the first period. In net, Vitek Vanecek is continuing his breakout season – going 2-0-1 in his three starts on the trip. His shootout loss in Minnesota was the only time he’s tasted anything but victory in his last thirteen starts, dating back to late December.

While the stars and Vitek have been more than enough to maintain the Devils’ position in the standings till this point, eventually the team will have to get more production from its role players. In that vein, Mercer and Sharangovich having two-point games this afternoon helped. So, too did Tomas Tatar’s pair of goals in Minnesota (the only ones the team scored in regulation), not to mention the dramatic game-winner from Ryan Graves in Columbus with the clock ticking down in regulation.

All in all, you have to describe this as yet another successful trip – five points out of eight without the Devils’ potential Hart trophy finalist for the first three games of it. With the team also on a five-game home winning streak, we’re getting close to having all cylinders clicking again. Hopefully they can keep the good times rolling at the Rock with four games in the span of a week beginning tomorrow night against the Jets.

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Resilient Rangers show character in three-goal comeback to best the Oilers in a shootout, Shesterkin responds to bad first period, Mika Magic and Lafreniere step up, Kreider on a heater

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Derek

It would’ve been easy to say it’s not their night. But that’s not in the dictionary. The Rangers picked themselves up off the mat from a standing eight count and dug deep to rally back from a pair of three-goal deficits to best the Oilers 5-4 in a shootout at Rogers Place.

By showing the same resilience they had last year, the Blueshirts rallied to win their seventh straight game. In doing so, they pulled within a point of the idle Devils for second place in the Metro Division. With 27 games remaining, they’re 32-14-8 with 74 points. Although they didn’t gain in regulation wins, which is the first tiebreaker, they remained deadlocked at 26 with the Devils, who have 28 games left.

Both rivals are back in action on Saturday. The Devils visit the Penguins with the odd 5:30 start time. The Rangers will complete their three-game Western Canadian swing by facing the Flames at 10 PM. If it’s anything like the rock ’em sock ’em game they had at MSG, it should be well worth watching. Especially on a weekend.

The offense continues to produce. They scored at least four goals for the seventh consecutive game. That’s the first time the Rangers have done that since 1990-91 that ran from Feb. 6 through Feb. 21. It’s pretty ironic that this current stretch has come during a similar time period.

In what amounted to a putrid start following a disjointed performance in a 6-4 win over the Canucks, the Rangers fell behind early against the league’s top offense. Edmonton quickly got the game’s first three goals over a 4:38 span.

A Vincent Trocheck undisciplined minor penalty in the offensive zone when he knocked Jack Campbell’s stick out sent the Oilers to the power play. Connor McDavid was able to find Zach Hyman in front, where he came close to stuffing the puck in. However, it rebounded off Igor Shesterkin right to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who buried it for his 27th at 7:52.

Before five minutes had elapsed, it was the Edmonton fourth line that created the second goal. In on the forecheck against the Rangers fourth line and third defensive pair, Mattias Janmark passed for a Warren Foegle shot that came directly to Tyson Barrie in the slot for the finish at 12:11. It exemplified a sharp contrast between two fourth lines. The Rangers need to upgrade theirs before the 3 PM deadline on March 3.

On the next shift, it was some more hard work from secondary players that made it 3-0 just 19 seconds later. On more sustained pressure down low, Jesse Puljujarvi and Zach Hyman combined to feed Derek Ryan, who picked high glove on the suddenly vulnerable Shesterkin. He’s been giving it up more. That’s definitely an area that must get fixed.

Trailing by three, the Rangers got a reprieve thanks to Darnell Nurse going off for slashing Vladimir Tarasenko. On the power play, Chris Kreider ended a three month drought by getting his first power play goal since Nov. 13. On a great passing play, Artemi Panarin passed over for Mika Zibanejad, who one touched a centering feed down low for a Kreider put away for his 23rd at 13:36.

The goal extended his point streak to seven in a row. He wasn’t done either. It’s safe to say Kreider is back in form. He’s finishing with regularity and primed to hit 30 goals for the second straight season. Though he won’t come close to the career high 52 or 26 PPG, the power forward is delivering for this team.

On what was obviously an accidental clear out of play by K’Andre Miller for a delay of game minor, the Oilers took full advantage by cashing in for their second power play goal of the period. This time, it was the familiar combination of McDavid to Leon Draisaitl, whose quick shot beat Shesterkin far side for his 32nd at 18:27 to restore a three-goal lead late in the period.

It was particularly frustrating. Shesterkin was a bit too passive on the play. An Edmonton staple. McDavid loves to find Draisaitl either on the right side or in the circle for the one-timer. Shesterkin didn’t come out to challenge the shooter, making it an easier finish for Draisaitl, who is a world-class player.

With a pair of assists, McDavid went over the century mark in points. In 56 games, he leads the league in scoring with an NHL best 42 goals and 101 points. The Oilers have 26 games left. How many points can he get to? I believe he will approach 140. He’s at the height of his career.

Trailing 4-1, the Rangers began to chip away in a more inspired second period. That included Shesterkin, who delivered the biggest save of the game when he stoned McDavid in front when he was all set up. After allowing four goals on 12 shots in the first period, he responded by stopping the remaining 17 shots, including nine in the second.

While Shesterkin steadied in net after Gerard Gallant made the right decision to stick with him due to Jaroslav Halak getting tonight’s game in Calgary, the Rangers were having trouble beating Jack Campbell. He made several big saves, including a tough stop to deny Trocheck. The best would come later in the period.

Ironically enough, it was a penalty that actually turned things around. Alexis Lafreniere went off for holding Hyman. With a chance to really bury them, the Oilers’ dangerous power play got too passive. They relaxed just enough for the Rangers to strike for a critical goal shorthanded.

On some strong defensive work by both Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox, they got the puck up for Kreider. He moved quickly in transition to create a two-on-one. Instead of shooting, he went for the pass across for a cutting Zibanejad. But the puck came right back to him on a favorable bounce where he was able to beat Campbell with a backhand for the shorthanded goal that made it 4-2 at 6:26.

Shortly after, Shesterkin made another gigantic save to deny McDavid on a slap shot. Following that key stop, the momentum swung. A few more saves kept the Rangers within two.

With Kailer Yamamoto off for interfering with Barclay Goodrow, Campbell robbed Chytil and then got over to glove a Zibanejad shot from his office. Despite his team backing off, Campbell played very well. He finished with 34 saves on 38 shots to take the hard luck loss.

On another effective shift by the Oilers’ secondary forwards, Ryan McLeod had a shot ring off the crossbar. That close to a three-goal lead again. On the opposite end, during the same shift, Lafreniere had a shot stopped by Campbell.

As the second period moved on, it was the more aggressive Rangers who applied the pressure. They came close a few different times to pulling within one. Jimmy Vesey missed wide. Then Lindgren was stopped by Campbell, who was sharp throughout.

His best saves came when he first dove across to stone Chytil of a sure goal. On the play, he looked to have Campbell at his mercy. But the Edmonton goalie got his glove up to force Chytil to wait. By the time he fired, the sprawling Campbell made the acrobatic save to cheers from the crowd.

With under a minute left, Trocheck made a great pass across to Vesey for what looked like another sure goal. However, Campbell had other ideas by diving across to rob Vesey with a remarkable pad save. He could only shake his head in disbelief.

The good news is they got the only goal of the period and outplayed the Oilers. The bad news was the brilliant play of Campbell, who seems to have taken the net back from Stuart Skinner.

Undeterred, the Rangers kept coming in the third period. On what amounted to a great play off an offensive draw taken by Chytil, Kaapo Kakko drove to the net and made a smart back pass for an open Lafreniere in the slot. His wrist shot beat Campbell stick side to cut the deficit to one only 1:36 into the period.

That gave Lafreniere nine points (4-5-9) in the last 10 since Jan. 19. He’s been a different player since rejoining Kakko and Chytil. The primary assist made it 11 points (2-9-11) for Kakko since Jan. 16. He’s up to a career high 18 assists and 29 points.

With the exception of another close call for the Oilers’ fourth line in which Shesterkin was able to deny a Foegle tip-in, it was all Blueshirts. For some perplexing reason, Edmonton was content to sit back. They backed off. Even with the caliber of star talent that features McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Evander Kane, they didn’t attack.

Instead, it was the more urgent Rangers who pressed the action. Although they didn’t test Campbell as much at even strength in the period, they were aided by consecutive penalties to Janmark (hooking) and Ryan (delay of game). Two of the Oilers’ most effective players were in the box to hand the Blueshirts a five-on-three.

Gallant sent out his top unit that now includes Chytil. However, it was the more familiar faces who got it done. On what was a simple play, all Panarin did was move the puck over to Zibanejad at one point. He then passed down low for Fox, who moved the puck back up for a Zibanejad wrist shot that beat Campbell for the game-tying power play goal with 6:50 remaining.

It was his 30th of the season. It’s the third time in his career that Zibanejad has reached the 30-goal mark. He also did it in ’18-19 and ’19-20 when he scored a career high 41 in only 57 games.

Mika Magic. That makes it six games in a row that he’s scored a goal. Over the six-game torrid stretch, Zibanejad has eight goals with three helpers. Since Dec. 29, he’s up to 15 goals over the last 19 games. He’s again proving why he should be considered elite.

Following that clutch tally, Zibanejad missed twice on the following shift. Then, Chytil was again set up for what looked like a gimme. But his shot hit the far goalpost and stayed out. Otherwise, the Rangers convert on both sides of the power play. They were that close to going ahead on the five-on-four.

With the Oilers hanging on for dear life, they fortunately got two more big saves from Campbell. He made another stop on Vesey and then denied a Panarin bid off a rush. If not for him, Edmonton blows the game in regulation. It would’ve been a role reversal of the Rangers’ third period debacle in a regrettable 4-3 loss at home.

Instead, the rematch would require overtime. It nearly ended early. After Miller was stopped by Campbell, Chytil again had another shot denied. On the flip side, Shesterkin had to contend with both Draisaitl and McDavid, denying both.

Campbell made another great save when he got just enough of a Trocheck shot to keep it out. After Shesterkin stopped Nurse, an irate Zibanejad was called for taking down McDavid. His issue was Draisaitl had tripped him up right before they made the call.

On a four-on-three with 61 seconds left in overtime, the Oilers didn’t get the chances they wanted. Shesterkin came up with two more saves, including one on a McDavid shot that Jacob Trouba deflected. He also made one more stop on Barrie, who for some reason fares well versus the Rangers in his career. A Goodrow clear killed the clock to send it to a shootout.

It was unpredictable. After Nugent-Hopkins scored by beating Shesterkin short side, Kakko beat Campbell backhand top shelf to level it.

Then came something you don’t see. McDavid came in one on one with Shesterkin, who patiently out-waited him to make the save. Panarin then came out. Previously, he was 4-for-4 this season. He skated in and tried to go to the glove but missed the net.

https://twitter.com/JimmyClarke__/status/1626835105367875585?t=xl2oYS1CXCdW-VKf7tyQyA&s=19

It became even stranger when both Draisaitl and Zibanejad each missed. After Shesterkin stopped Barrie on a backhand, Tarasenko had his attempt foiled by Campbell. The Oilers then went with Ryan. But he too came up short. Out came Chytil for the win. However, Campbell again owned him.

Following an Igor stop on Yamamoto, it was Lafreniere’s turn. Instead of doing something we’d already seen, he faked and sent a backhand past Campbell to give the Rangers the win. That ended the night.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, Rangers scored tying PPG (30) plus 🍎, 3 SOG, 9-7 on draws, +1 in 22:13

2nd 🌟 🤩 Alexis Lafreniere, Rangers goal (9th) and shootout winner, 2 SOG, Even in 14:58

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Chris Kreider, Rangers 2 goals including PPG and shorthanded goal (23, 24) giving him 253 for career, 3 SOG, +1 in 21:07

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Blueshirts’ top guns combine for most of damage in an ugly win over the defenseless Canucks, Panarin and Zibanejad stay hot in sixth straight win, Shesterkin struggles along with defense

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Derek

It was a case of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly for the Rangers in what amounted to an ugly 6-4 win over the defenseless Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

The good is that they continue to find offense. For a third consecutive game, the Rangers scored at least six goals in a victory. By getting a touchdown, thanks in large part to top guns Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider, who combined for five of the team’s six goals, they won for a sixth straight game.

The bad is that they got sucked into the Canucks wide open style, which is devoid of defense. That made for some lousy sequences that saw plenty of stick checking and puck watching on Vancouver goals. There were also a few other dangerous chances that could’ve resulted in goals against.

The ugly was how the game was played. This wasn’t fun to watch in the least. It was Defense Optional with hardly any battles in the trenches. Outside of Jacob Trouba, who took the body with his usual edgy play, it was like watching pond hockey. It’s not the kind of style this team excels at.

If you want to be positive, it was another win that allowed them to gain ground on the idle Devils and Hurricanes. That’s another two points gained in the standings, pushing the Rangers up to 72 points with 28 games remaining. That’s three behind the Devils and six in back of the Hurricanes. Each has 29 left.

Another good development is the continuation of Artemi Panarin scoring goals. He notched two more to make it six over the last two games. He also recorded an assist, giving him eight points (6-2-8) over the last two games.

The Bread Man seems to have found chemistry with Vincent Trocheck and complementary two-way forward Jimmy Vesey. It appears Gerard Gallant might finally have found the missing ingredient to help Panarin and Trocheck coexist. The tenacious Vesey continues his strong play by fitting in well on the new second line. He picked up a primary assist and was involved on both Panarin tallies.

Mika Zibanejad keeps scoring. His hot February continued when he lit the lamp twice more to give him seven goals during a five-game goal streak. Over that stretch, he has nine points (5-4-9). In fact, since Jan. 16, he has 10 goals over the past 10 games. Dating back to Dec. 29, Zibanejad has scored 14 goals over 18 games.

That’s the same Zibanejad who went on a tear and scored a career high 41 in 2019-20 before COVID ended the regular season. There was the astonishing five-goal game where he basically beat the Alexander Ovechkin Capitals by getting the overtime winner at MSG. With 29 goals, he very much is on track for the second 40-goal season of his career.

At 29, it’s all clicking for Zibanejad. After a slow start, he’s hit his stride. They’re going in for him again. He leads the Rangers in goals (29), power play goals (17), shots (190), and is second behind Panarin in points (58). He ranks third in plus-minus, moving past Filip Chytil for tops amongst forwards with a plus-19. Only defense tandem Adam Fox (+26) and Ryan Lindgren (+25) are ahead of him.

With a goal early in the second period, Chris Kreider is up to 22 for the season. After struggling initially following an injury that kept him out for three games, he’s back to being the effective power forward he is. In a recent post, I misspoke on Kreider passing Mark Messier for seventh on the all-time franchise goal scoring list. He’s now done it with career goal number 251. Next up is Camille Henry.

In fact, Kreider is on a pretty good run. Since tallying on Jan. 27 in a home win over Vegas, he’s on a six-game point streak (3-4-7). The 31-year old is the best Rangers first round pick since Alexei Kovalev. While Kovalev performed well in helping the franchise win its fourth Stanley Cup before eventually falling out of favor under Colin Campbell, Kreider has been a mainstay for a decade. With 251 goals and 209 assists for a total of 459 points in 704 games, he continues to move up the all-time scoring list. There’s a chance he can tie and pass Adam Graves (507) for 10th by some time next season.

With a goal that turned out to be pretty important, K’Andre Miller is up to six on the season. He reached 30 points in a season for the first time in his young career. The former 2018 first round pick continues to add offense to his game. Continuing to log key minutes with partner Jacob Trouba, Miller is maturing as a player. Another 10 points, and he hits 40, which would build a case for a long-term contract. It’s looking more likely that he’ll get between $5 to 5.5 million per year.

I listed plenty of positives from the win. If there’s a negative, it was the lack of attention to detail. Vancouver can get you into their game that has no rhythm. They’re a fast skating offensive team who likes to open it up. If you get into a track meet with them, that means defense isn’t being played, and that leaves the goalie vulnerable to their quick transition game.

Igor Shesterkin struggled. Truthfully, it wasn’t an easy game to play. He felt the constant pressure from the freewheeling Canucks, who seemed to come at the Rangers in waves.

That meant a bad rebound that led to Curtis Lazar getting credit for the game’s opening goal. It was a play where all five Rangers skaters got caught napping with Kaapo Kakko, letting a hustling Dakota Joshua get to the net to create a rebound Lazar put in.

After Zibanejad fooled Vancouver rookie call-up Arturs Silovs by patiently waiting an extra second to go five-hole to tie the score, Vesey found Panarin wide open for an easy one-timer 1:13 later that gave the Blueshirts two consecutive goals for the lead.

But with Alexis Lafreniere off for hooking, J.T. Miller buried a one-timer from the far right side on a superb Elias Pettersson pass that went past Shesterkin, who was without his goal stick. Quinn Hughes helped set the power play goal up.

However, the goal fest wasn’t done in a chaotic first that also featured Trouba doing what he does by leveling Joshua with two clean hits. Nothing ever materialized. On just an innocent looking shot from Niko Mikkola, Panarin was able to redirect the puck to sneak it past a shaky Silovs, who had a rough NHL debut, allowing five goals on 27 shots.

That made it 3-2 and gave Panarin six goals in the last four periods. He had just posted a career high four in a win at Carolina over the weekend.

If you were looking for a good sign, an easy passing play started by Vladimir Tarasenko to Zibanejad allowed Kreider to score an easy goal that looked right out of the classic video game NHL ’94. It took just 50 seconds for the goal to be scored, which made it 4-2 early in the second period.

After a Mikkola penalty had just expired, Andrei Kuzmenko made a great move and fired a shot off the goalpost. Conor Garland was able to put in a backhand rebound with Kakko again puck watching. That made it 4-3 and foretold the story of the game.

Despite their deficiencies, the Canucks don’t quit. Something new coach Rick Tocchet has noted in his short time there since replacing Bruce Boudreau, who’s returned to NHL Network to entertain fans. The demanding Tocchet wants his team to defend harder. It doesn’t come easy for them.

On a play at the Vancouver blue line, Miller made a good move and fired a seeing eye wrist shot that hopped off a Canuck stick past a perplexed Silovs, who by that point must have wished he was back with Abbotsford. This was a tough spot to bring the inexperienced 21-year old into. I felt bad for him.

Still trailing by two in the third, the Canucks never gave up. Moved up by Tocchet to the first line, Kuzmenko showed off what makes him special. On a Pettersson feed, he skated into open ice and rifled a wrist shot past Shesterkin to the glove side for his 23rd with 11:09 left.

That made it a one-goal game. It was again too close for comfort. The Rangers have a bad habit of allowing opponents to hang around. Fortunately, the Canucks never found the equalizer. They out-shot the Rangers 11-6. But Shesterkin was better, including making a good glove save on Tyler Myers off a Brock Boeser face-off win.

After they pulled Silovs, the Canucks came close to tying it. However, after some near misses from Vesey and Panarin, who almost made it two games in a row with a hat trick, Zibanejad was able to rebound home his 29th into the open net with 1:34 left.

That allowed the Rangers to breathe easier. They didn’t play well. But it didn’t matter. They did enough to get the two points. Now, it’s two in a row at Edmonton and Calgary this weekend. Those should be tougher tests from Alberta rivals competing for the postseason.

One other note. I don’t understand why MSG Network refuses to fly out Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti to the West Coast. It’s insulting to the fan base. This isn’t the past couple of years. Why should they call the game from the studio? It really is a bad look. It really comes off cheap.

Also. Next time he opens his trap, can Steve Valiquette think before he speaks? He really thought this game would be easy. He must not pay attention. Teams like the Canucks give the Rangers fits due to their speed and skill. Adam Fox struggled mightily. Not much defense was played.

I’m also tired of Shesterkin underperforming. If he keeps playing like this, it’s hard to see this team getting out of the division.

The fourth line has no real scoring threat. Jake Leschyshyn is just out there. He’s a placeholder until Chris Drury gets a real player to fill out that line. Julien Gauthier is back to being a player who can’t score. He works hard but isn’t consistent. Barclay Goodrow is the only offensive player that line has. That’ll have to be upgraded.

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Kane shows frustration with Blackhawks and disappointment over Tarasenko trade to Rangers, Find A Way Devils do it again, Meier a trade target for contenders

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Derek

With Valentine’s Day come and gone along with unseasonably mild weather conditions with temperatures in the 60s during a normally ice cold month, the NHL Trade Deadline is less than three weeks away.

Teams have until March 3rd to decide if they’re in or out on the 2022-23 season. That the trade deadline comes out on a Friday will make for even more theatre. It’s a bit more exciting than holding it on a Monday when most people are very busy with work. Friday is the end of the work week for most people.

That’s about as good as it gets for hockey. Especially in light of Sidney Crosby justifiably calling out the league for its flawed playoff system and inexplicable officiating where more players and coaches are questioning the validity of calls. Crosby is correct that going back to a 1-8 seed format makes more sense. He’s also right that his game misconduct in a Pens loss at the Sharks was unwarranted.

Not everything makes sense with the game. However, the trade deadline usually drives up fan interest. Even in a flawed hard cap where the game’s top competitors can have a difficult time completing blockbuster trades due to salary structure, there’s usually key players who get moved. All the more reason to follow the action any way you can.

When the Rangers decided to make their big move earlier than expected by sending Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, and a conditional first round pick, conditional fourth to the Blues for Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola, it took many by surprise. Ultimately, Team President and GM Chris Drury decided it would be wiser to acquire the 31-year old Tarasenko for a better price than wait on Patrick Kane to make a decision or bid on Sharks’ sniper Timo Meier.

The biggest shock was how vocal Kane was following the Rangers move for Tarasenko, who has scored a goal in two games since coming over to Broadway on Feb. 9. The 34-year old three-time Stanley Cup champion, Hart, and Conn Smythe winner didn’t hold back his disappointment. He wanted New York.

“It’s not like the happiest I’ve been to hear about a trade, but I think the Rangers I definitely pay attention to, intrigued by for obvious reasons,” Kane admitted following a Blackhawks’ 4-3 overtime win over the Coyotes recently.

“Just if things are going to happen, that was a team I was definitely looking at,” he said. “It seems like they kind of filled their void and went ahead and made a deal. So it is what it is.”

It was no secret that Showtime would’ve been open to a reunion with former teammate Artemi Panarin in the Big Apple. They had superb chemistry over two seasons in the Windy City before the Blackhawks dealt the Bread Man to the Blue Jackets on June 23, 2017. They couldn’t afford him. So, he starred in Columbus and was successful under former Rangers coach John Tortorella.

The Blue Jackets pulled off the stunning first round upset of the top seeded Lightning by sweeping them. Panarin played a huge role by scoring and setting up big goals. Sergei Bobrovsky was also outstanding. Rental Matt Duchene performed well. Ultimately, after falling to the Bruins in the second round, the Blue Jackets lost Panarin to the Rangers, who beat out the Islanders and Columbus when he was a free agent.

Panarin got paid handsomely by former Rangers Team President John Davidson and former GM Jeff Gorton to join the Blueshirts during the summer of 2019. He accepted their seven-year deal worth $81.5 million. Panarin was offered more by the Blue Jackets, who bid eight years, $96 million to try to keep him.

Since becoming a Ranger, the Bread Man has delivered with some outstanding production. None better than 2019-20 when he went 32-63-95 in 69 games. He finished third for the Hart Trophy behind winner Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon. Of the three, nobody was more valuable to their team than Panarin.

Even though the goals have declined since, Panarin remains a scoring threat. Even in a down year by his high standards, he is coming off a career high four-goal game where he went 4-1-5 in a Rangers’ 6-2 win over the Hurricanes. He acknowledged that he’s been disappointed with his lack of goal scoring this season. Being able to snap out of it in a big divisional win over a first place team they trail should give him more confidence.

Panarin leads the Blueshirts in assists (43) and points (59). A recent stretch that’s seen him tally nine points (4-5-9) over the past four games have shown a renewed energy from a dynamic player, who at times is too unselfish with his pass-first style. As Mollie Walker asserted in her column that appeared in today’s New York Post, much of the Rangers’ postseason hopes depends on Panarin. A player who’s paid $11.65 million to deliver in key moments.

“When you’re not scoring [for] that long of time … I usually have more goals than I have right now,” he said. “That pisses me off a little. And then when I have the chances, [it hits] the post or something. That’s more frustrating.”

Last year, his best moment came when he delivered in the clutch to win Game Seven of a hotly contested first round divisional series to beat the Penguins with a seeing eye, power play goal to send MSG into bedlam.

In the team’s run to the Conference Finals, Panarin finished with six goals and 10 assists for a total of 16 points. There were games that he struggled in due to less time and space. He still wound up tied with Chris Kreider for third in scoring during the postseason.

For most of the season, many pundits felt a reunion between Panarin and Kane was a foregone conclusion. However, as the Rangers struggled during a disappointing first half, it took a while for them to turn it around. With the trade status of Kane unknown due to it being his decision to waive his limited no-trade clause, the Rangers ultimately decided the cost would be too much. Especially if it meant parting with a key roster player, a top prospect plus a first round pick for a potential rental.

Kane also has had an injury that’s hindered him. He’s played mostly through it. With talk that he could need hip surgery this off-season, that gave Drury cause for concern. Between what they’d have to give up and Kane’s health, it’s understandable why the Rangers went in a different direction. For the season, Kane has nine goals with 26 assists for 35 points in 49 games. Not the usual production from the future Hall Of Famer.

One more point. Regarding Drury making the early decision to trade for Tarasenko, he not only got the proven goalscorer at a bargain price. But also was able to upgrade the blue line by adding Niko Mikkola. A big left defenseman with size and strength who is playing with Braden Schneider on the third pair. That made Ben Harpur the seventh defenseman. Something that’s logical.

Since going public with his disappointment over not becoming a Ranger, Kane hasn’t stopped there. He recently made an interesting critique of the Blackhawks. While he didn’t quite say it directly, he went on to praise former Hawks’ 2019 third pick, Kirby Dach.

Dach was selected third behind Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko in the 2019 NHL Draft. Not surprisingly, it took him a while to develop. Similar to both Hughes and particularly Kakko, who’s showing improvement in his fourth season, the 22-year old Dach has become a responsible top six forward with the Canadiens.

The Blackhawks grew impatient and traded him to Montreal in a three team deal that allowed the Canadiens to reroute defenseman Alex Romanov to the Islanders. Chicago selected Frank Nazar in the first round and Gavin Hayes in the third round last year.

Thus far, advantage Canadiens. Prior to top finisher Cole Caufield going down, Dach formed good chemistry playing the off wing on a top line Nick Suzuki centered. Now, back at center on the second line, Dach continues to improve. He already has established career bests across the board in goals (12), assists (23), and points (35) over 54 games with the Habs.

Kane sounds like he’s ready to move on. As far as what his list could be, that remains uncertain. The Hurricanes are reportedly interested. They’re also in on Timo Meier, who should get a nice return for the Sharks. He scored his 31st goal last night in a 3-1 loss to the Penguins.

While Kane tries to decide where he would accept a trade to, Meier has been readily available for a while. At 26, he continues to produce at an elite level on a bad team. Meier leads the Sharks in goals (31), power play goals (13), shots (249), and is tied with Erik Karlsson in game-winners (4).

With a current cap hit of $6 million, which would be prorated for the acquiring team, he’s attracting a lot of interest. The key for whoever trades for Meier is that they must hammer out a new contract. Meier is restricted this summer and must be qualified for $10 million. That’s why it’s imperative for his new team to negotiate a long-term deal that would keep him over the long haul. He’s the top scoring forward on the market.

With over $10 million in cap space due to placing Max Pacioretty on LTIR, the Hurricanes are the favorite to acquire Meier. They have the necessary room along with a deep prospect pool to make the impact move that is desperately needed. The Canes remain a likely destination due to their need for more scoring.

The Devils are also expected to be involved. With only a shade over two million in space, it would be a bit more difficult for Team President and GM Tom Fitzgerald to pull it off. He does boast some young assets with former first round pick Alex Holtz remaining in limbo. Perhaps he’s not in the team’s future plans. Would the Sharks have interest in such a package?

The Devils would have to offload some additional salary to make it work. Possibly Yegor Sharangovich, who makes $2 million. He will want more as a Group II free agent this summer. I wonder if a trade that included Holtz, Sharangovich, one of the Devils D prospects (excluding Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec), plus a conditional first would get it done.

It largely depends on what the organization believes is best in the long run. Meier is a difference maker. The idea of having him team with Jack Hughes is intriguing. Imagine that dynamic duo over the rest of the decade. Yikes.

Could the Devils add Meier (high salary) and keep Jesper Bratt, who probably should command over $7 million per year? It’s a good question. Perhaps Hasan can better assess what would be best for the current team that continues to find a way to win games.

They defeated the Blue Jackets on a last second goal from Ryan Graves. With the game tied at two and looking ticketed for overtime in Columbus, Ondrej Palat made a good pass to Mike McLeod, who cut in and was able to find a cutting Graves for the game-winner with 1.4 seconds remaining. Here’s how it looked and sounded on MSG:

The Devils’ meteoric rise reminds me of the Rangers last year. They hadn’t made the playoffs since 2016-17. Carried by Igor Shesterkin and Chris Kreider, they found ways to win games. That’s what made 2021-22 so special. They came back from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Pens. Then, rallied from a 3-2 series deficit to oust the Hurricanes. Ultimately, they fell a bit short in a very tough six-game series loss to the Lightning.

New Jersey is similar this season. They weren’t a trendy pick to make the playoffs. However, they went on an unbelievable win streak after a bad start that even had fans calling for Lindy Ruff’s head. They kept winning games and built up enough cushion so that the predictable December slump didn’t kill them.

They’ve rebounded by only losing twice in regulation since the new calendar year. They’re still winning games without Hughes, who remains out. He skated in a non-contact jersey at team practice.

At 35-13-5, with 75 points, they are in second place in the Metropolitan Division. They trail the Hurricanes by three points for first. They’re five up on the Hudson rival Rangers who are third with 70 points. Entering tonight, all three teams have 29 games remaining.

Only the Rangers are in action later when they visit the Canucks at 10 PM EST. It’ll be the same lineup with Igor Shesterkin in goal. Vancouver counters with Latvian call-up Arturs Silovs. Rookie goalie. It should be interesting.

Condolences go out to Alexander Ovechkin on the loss of his father, Mikhail, who passed away last night. He really sounded like a great guy. Ovechkin took an indefinite leave of absence from the Capitals to fly home to Russia and be with his family.

That’s quite a touching moment between father and son in 2018 when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin handed it off to Dad, who got to lift the Cup at the Dynamo Moscow’s training facility.

Best wishes go out to the Ovechkin family during this difficult time. 💜🌟

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Panarin’s four goal game exposes the Hurricanes, Kravtsov issue looms for Drury, Rangers despite recent success

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Derek

It was a good weekend for Artemi Panarin and the Rangers. The team’s leading scorer ended an eight-game goal drought in epic fashion by recording the first four-goal game of his brilliant career in a 6-2 road win over the Hurricanes.

For most of his fourth season in New York City, the 31-year old Panarin has been up and down. Even if you pointed at the point production, which was still good entering Saturday’s game, the lack of consistent goal scoring had become an issue.

The highest paid player on the team, the Bread Man shouldn’t be a one trick pony. He has only a dozen goals over the first 52 games, including just two on the power play. To be fair, he is more of a setup man.

It’s been mostly Mika Zibanejad, who’s done the damage with a team-leading 16 power play goals. Last year’s single season record breaker Chris Kreider has scored only four times after getting 26. Vincent Trocheck is second with eight. Most came in the first half. He’s been moved to the second unit.

Nobody would dispute what Panarin means offensively to the Blueshirts. However, he had failed to click with anyone at even strength. Coach Gerard Gallant tried many different combinations, including force feeding him with Trocheck. But they never had any chemistry. He even tried Panarin with Filip Chytil, whose improvement has been a huge plus.

Recently, Panarin had played with Zibanejad on the first line. Before the acquisition of former Blues finisher Vladimir Tarasenko, he was finding it difficult to mesh with Zibanejad and Jimmy Vesey. Something had to be done. Rangers Team President and GM Chris Drury went out and traded for Tarasenko to help upgrade the scoring on the right side.

In his debut, Tarasenko wowed fans by scoring less than three minutes in on a perfect centering feed from Panarin to electrify MSG. The Rangers won that game 6-3 over the Kraken. Tarasenko almost had Zibanejad for a goal in an exciting first period.

If the plan was to keep them together, Gallant sure didn’t waste any time breaking it up. With the team falling behind the puck possession Hurricanes 2-1 in the second period, the experienced coach felt he needed a spark. So, he moved Panarin off the top line and onto the Trocheck line with Vesey, who moved up in the lineup for whipping boy Vitaly Kravtsov. More on that later.

Kreider was back up with Zibanejad and Tarasenko. That line didn’t factor into the scoring at five-on-five. However, Zibanejad continued to score on the man-advantage for their first goal in Raleigh.

Trocheck plays a straightforward style, as does Vesey. Panarin prefers more of the East/West dynamic that can be lethal when there’s time and space. It’s been harder for him to find the seams with his passes. The middle isn’t as open. Opponents know what he’ll do. His tendency is to gain the zone and pull up. Then, circle and look for options.

At least for one game anyway, Panarin found success playing with Trocheck. He scored the tying goal after being moved onto the line. In the third, with the game tied, Panarin scored his second on a rebound of a Braden Schneider shot with Trocheck also in front. That gave the Rangers their first lead.

With the Hurricanes getting sloppy, a turnover allowed Panarin to get a clean breakaway. He hasn’t been money on them this season. However, he didn’t miss this time. In on Andersen, he shot over the glove to make it his fourth career hat trick, and first of the season. The last one came at San Jose in his first season as a Blueshirt on Dec. 12, 2019. It was a memorable year where he put up a dominant 32 goals, 63 assists, and 95 points pre pandemic.

On an interesting note, all four of his hat tricks have come on the road. That included his first two, which both victimized the Rangers. He did it with the Blackhawks on Feb. 17, 2016. Then, he scored three over two years later with the Blue Jackets on March 20, 2018.

Following an empty netter from Kaapo Kakko that the surging Alexis Lafreniere helped set up, Panarin made it four goals when he took a Vesey pass in front and beat Andersen with 1:04 left in regulation.

It was a significant game for a star player who’s been searching for answers. He isn’t paid $11.65 million to only pick up assists. When you look at his career, Panarin has scored 20 or more in six of the previous seven years. The only exception was the abbreviated 2020-21 when he had 17 in 42 games. That eerie season, he missed significant time due to a false rumor back home. Then, came the Tom Wilson beating. An event that seemed to have an effect on Panarin. He hasn’t been the same player since.

This isn’t to say he isn’t productive. Buoyed by a season high five-point game in the latest Rangers beat down of the flawed Hurricanes, who lack enough skill despite their record, Panarin has recorded 308 points (87-221-308) in only 239 games. No other free agent addition in club history has ever produced at that level.

The bigger issue is that, at times, Panarin has disappeared during games. He is too important to the Rangers for that to happen. He has developed a penchant for taking bad penalties in the offensive zone. Not to the level we’ve seen from Trocheck and former center Ryan Strome, who was a perfect fit for his game. But they need the Bread Man to avoid losing discipline and play at the high level he’s capable of.

Saturday was a step in the right direction. The huge game hiked Panarin’s point total up to 59. Four more than Zibanejad, whose 27 goals, 16 power play goals, 24 power play points, and 187 shots lead the team. The Bread Man has 43 assists, which is three better than Adam Fox. The former Norris winner ranks third in team scoring with 50 points.

If we’re being honest, the Rangers did what they usually do. Beat the Hurricanes. They did so with Jaroslav Halak making 27 saves on 29 shots for his seventh straight win. If you can’t bury your chances on the Rangers backup, that doesn’t say much for your offense. The Canes look like they could use Timo Meier. It’ll probably be a bidding war between them and the Devils with likely a mystery team in on the proven Sharks finisher.

The Rangers have owned the Hurricanes for a while. In fact, the two games they’ve played over the last six weeks are proof of the psychological edge they have. In a 5-3 home win on Jan. 3, they got the last three goals in the third period. Then, on Saturday, they scored four in the deciding third to pull away. That’s 7-0 in the third period for those keeping score.

Two match-ups remain. In late March, the Rangers and Hurricanes will meet for a crucial home and home series on 3/21 and 3/23. Given where they currently are in the standings, those could be pivotal games in helping determine who wins the division. By winning convincingly the other day, the Blueshirts pulled within six of first place and cut a point off second due to a Devils shootout loss at the Wild.

The top three are separated by six total points. Carolina leads the Metro Division with 76. The Devils are second with 73. The Rangers sit third with 70. Both the Canes and Devils each have 30 games remaining. The Rangers have 29 left. That includes one final meeting with the Devils on March 30 in Newark.

They’ve created some separation in the division. The Capitals, Penguins, and Islanders are separated by two total points. Right now, it’s the Caps holding the first wildcard with 62 points followed by the Pens, who are the second wildcard position with 61. The Islanders are at 60. Pittsburgh has three games at hand on Washington. The Islanders have 26 games remaining. Bo Horvat has helped. But they’re still blowing games.

As for the elephant in the room, the Rangers have nobody to blame but themselves for the complicated situation with Vitaly Kravtsov. While it’s true, the former ninth pick in 2019 made a mistake leaving Hartford to go back home to play in the KHL for the remainder of ’21-22, he was welcomed back to the team by Chris Drury.

It was supposed to be a fresh start for the young right wing. However, it’s been anything but. Gerard Gallant deserves most of the criticism for that. He’s made Kravtsov the scapegoat. Even when they posted a win over the Kraken where all four lines looked good, he made up a ridiculous excuse to sit him over the weekend.

Jake Leschyshyn brings nothing to the table. By continuing to play head games with Kravtsov, who’s come back with a good attitude, which Drury all but confirmed, it’s Gallant whose arrogant treatment of the former first round pick has devalued the 23-year old Russian. A player who is a good skater with more skill, Gallant has shown no patience.

By having so many starts and stops, which included the absurd demotion to the fourth line despite proven vets Trocheck and Panarin not pulling their weight in a home loss to the Bruins, Gallant again singled out Kravtsov. He went from arguably his best game where he scored his third goal with five shots in a win over Columbus on Jan. 16 to quickly vanishing. That was Turk’s choice.

Gallant prefers more grit and physicality. Kravtsov is a finesse player with skill and skating. He has the capability to make plays. He also hasn’t been given much of a chance. Don’t look squarely at the 3-3-6 in 28 games. A better evaluation is to study the game logs and see how the player was used. Even shift to shift, you don’t know when Kravtsov will be skipped. Without much consistency or trust, it’s hard for a young player to find their game.

The way he’s been treated, Kravtsov has been kept on a short leash. While Kaapo Kakko was given a lot more leeway ever since a dreadful rookie year and didn’t improve much in years two or three, Kravtsov has been handled like a grenade. At one point in January, he had a string of games where he was more noticeable than Alexis Lafreniere. But it didn’t last. The coach saw to it by continuing to play Russian roulette with his lines.

Why Gallant decided to do things this way only he knows. He feels Kravtsov doesn’t win enough one on one battles. However, there have been active shifts where he’s had takeaways and come close to setting up teammates. If he’s expecting Kravtsov to deliver big hits like Julien Gauthier, then he’s lost.

Not every player is suited for that style. Panarin certainly isn’t. Zibanejad isn’t. Trocheck will finish checks along with Barclay Goodrow and Vesey. Sammy Blais was the best hitter among forwards before getting dealt. He had 119 in 40 games. It’s ironic that he scored in his Blues’ return on a breakaway. Good for him.

Sometimes, you gotta let a young player be who they are. Is Kakko the most physical? Hardly. He can come out with the puck due to his size. It took him four years to improve. Though 11 goals are underwhelming for the former second pick, who’s celebrated by fans as if he’s suddenly closed the gap on Jack Hughes.

Lafreniere has eight goals in Year Three. At least he’s finally putting up points. With eight over the last eight games, he’s up to 26. Two behind Kakko. It only took Gallant over half the season to realize Lafreniere had to be put back with Kakko and Filip Chytil. Chytil has been a revelation scoring a career high 19 goals and 33 points over 45 games. It took him five years to develop into a reliable player who is very effective at five-on-five.

As it turns out, patience is a virtue with young players. When he said he’s not here to develop players earlier in the season, Gallant came off badly. It couldn’t only be the vets who provided the scoring. They needed more from the kids. Not surprisingly, they’ve improved since Lafreniere was reunited with Chytil and Kakko. The most effective forechecking line Gallant has.

With Kravtsov finally realizing it’s never going to happen under Gallant, who seems to have a vendetta against him despite all the empty promises he’s made to the press, his days are numbered. Having made a second trade request due to clearly not being in the team’s plans, Kravtsov needs a change of scenery.

It happens. Eeli Tolvanen was mishandled by Nashville coach John Hynes. Astonishingly, they waived him. The Kraken couldn’t wait to put in a claim. Since then, Tolvanen has scored nine goals with Seattle. He is a former first round pick with a good shot. But he wasn’t good enough for Hynes’ liking. The Predators might regret that decision.

Will the Rangers regret how the Kravtsov situation played out? It’ll depend on the playoffs. He’s been devalued by one person. Not the Team President and GM. Drury all, but put it on Gallant last week. He makes the lineup decisions. If he thinks waiver pick-up Leschyshyn should play over Kravtsov, so be it. Why lose any sleep?

I’d given up on Kravtsov succeeding on Broadway a couple of months ago. It was obvious that Gallant had an ax to grind. Did Kravtsov handle 2021-22 well? Absolutely not. That was his choice to go home to Russia and finish out his season in the KHL. However, he did have a solid showing in the playoffs.

The idea that he doesn’t know how to play the game is preposterous. Even Larry Brooks, who’s nothing more but a mouthpiece for the Rangers organization, exaggerated the truth in his column. It isn’t healthy the way the veteran columnist goes about his business. The less said about it, the better.

Kravtsov doesn’t seem to have much value. If Drury can pry a second round pick like he did for Lias Andersson when he was disgruntled with the organization, then that would be the best case scenario.

You do have to ask why some of their former first round picks wind up wanting out. For every Chytil or K’Andre Miller, there’s an Andersson, Kravtsov, or Jamie Lundmark that gets lost in the shuffle. Most fans don’t want to remember those days. Hockey Is Different Here. It sure was. Mark Messier tarnished his reputation by hogging up the spotlight in a failed return.

Dylan McIlrath became a victim due to how much the game changed. Injuries didn’t help. However, fans loved him. His fights were always a crowd pleaser. You rooted for him to make it. He’s still playing in the AHL.

Even Manny Malhotra was pigeonholed. Maybe he didn’t have the upside that Neil Smith envisioned. But he was a solid checking center who became an effective penalty killer who could win draws. They traded him and Barrett Heistein for Roman Lyashenko and Martin Rucinsky. Malhotra wound up playing nearly 1,000 career games. Rucinsky would re-sign after the lockout and help the team reach the postseason in 05-06. Lyashenko died tragically.

There have been other first round picks who never made it. Hugh Jessiman. Bobby Sanguinetti. Pavel Brendl. Best known for hot dogs and being packaged to the Flyers with Kim Johnsson and Jan Hlavac for Eric Lindros.

Sometimes, you have to ask why the organization has such a checkered history with high draft picks. It helps explain why they’ve won one Cup in 82 years. They’re hoping to change that. The addition of Tarasenko should help. Maybe Drury can add one key checking forward to upgrade the fourth line. Leschyshyn is a place holder.

One more point. Remember when Dryden Hunt was deemed so valuable that he made the roster and Gallant used him on the second line? Hunt has since been waived, traded, and is in the AHL. He played over Kravtsov. It makes you wonder.

So, if you want to critique the younger player who was selected before Noah Dobson, be my guest. He got poor advice from his former agent. However, he did return with a better attitude and has worked hard in practice. He never was given much of a chance. That’s on Gallant.

Hopefully, things will work out better in the future. I’d hate to see Kravtsov go to waste. Maybe in the right situation, he can be given a better opportunity and succeed. That’s yet to be determined.

As much as I’ve supported him, I’m tired of writing about Kravtsov. Hopefully, this will all end very soon. It’s been nothing but a headache. Good luck to Drury on finding some good value for the player.

Whenever this saga ends, then maybe Drury can focus on adding a nice depth player like Sam Lafferty. We’ll see what happens between the day before Valentine’s Day and March 3.

The Rangers hit the road starting Wednesday when they visit Vancouver. They finish up the three-game Western Canadian swing in Edmonton on Friday and Calgary Saturday.

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