Rangers don’t back down from Lightning in a hard fought victory

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Derek

Emotions were running high at 33rd and 7th. Whenever the Rangers and Lightning get together, the games are interesting. Ever since battling the former champs in a closely fought Eastern Conference Final last year, there’s a rivalry between the two teams.

After having split the first two games, the Rangers got the better of the Lightning in a hard fought 6-3 victory on home ice. The win had a lot of everything. It was hockey the way it should be played.

If you were anticipating a tight checking, low-scoring goalie duel between two of the game’s best, you were way off. In a wild first period, the Blueshirts and Bolts combined for four goals, 20 shots, and 18 penalty minutes, including a spirited bout between Ben Harpur and Pat Maroon.

Instead, the action was fast and furious. Able to grab early momentum due to a flat start from their opponent, the Rangers jumped all over the Lightning. Taking full advantage of a Steven Stamkos slashing minor on Vincent Trocheck, the power play went to work.

With Vladimir Tarasenko elevated to the top power play unit in a game, they skated without the injured Patrick Kane (lower-body), his shot from the point was tipped in by Chris Kreider for the game’s first goal at 6:13. The goal allowed Kreider to move into sole possession of fifth place on the Rangers’ franchise all-time goal list, passing Vic Hadfield. He wasn’t finished.

Before the Bolts awakened from a malaise, Kaapo Kakko scored for a third consecutive game. On a good read from K’Andre Miller, he sent Filip Chytil and Kakko in on a two-on-one. After receiving the pass from Chytil in the right circle, Kakko didn’t hesitate. He took the shot and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy far side for his 17th at 7:41.

It was one of the rare times we’ve seen Kakko shoot the puck. He often will skate around with it and try to make a play. This was a welcome change for the former 2019 second pick. It showed more confidence. Hopefully, that positive trend continues for a player who’s playing some of his best hockey. He’s up to four goals and an assist over the last six games.

With Vasilevskiy a little bit off his game along with teammates, Tyler Motte took advantage by sneaking a low percentage shot from a sharp angle through the two-time Stanley Cup champion. It was a good forecheck shift for both Motte and Barclay Goodrow, who mostly played without Jimmy Vesey.

As he promised, if any key players needed a maintenance day, Gerard Gallant dressed 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. That meant some double shifting for players. On that particular goal, Vesey was on with his regular line mates. He doubled by moving up to the first line where he saw some time with Mika Zibanejad and Kreider.

Leading by three halfway through the period, the Rangers let the Lightning back in the game. An Alexis Lafreniere high-sticking minor on Ross Colton handed the Bolts a power play. Like the Blueshirts did earlier, they cashed in on the five-on-four.

After a Nikita Kucherov pass up top, Mikhail Sergachev took a shot that the gritty Alex Killorn neatly redirected in to cut the deficit to 3-1. The goal came only 19 seconds following Motte’s tally. That’s how untimely the Lafreniere penalty was. Those are the ones they have to avoid starting in two weeks. Momentum can swing very suddenly in the postseason.

There were some casualties during the game. That included Rangers captain Jacob Trouba. Well known for dishing it out, this time, he was on the receiving end of a tough hit from Corey Perry. Perry caught Trouba from the side. Unable to brace for the hit, he landed awkwardly on his face. He exited the game.

At the moment, it didn’t look too serious. Trouba didn’t need help skating off to the locker room. However, he didn’t return. Maybe they were playing it safe. They had seven defensemen dressed. Harpur took a regular shift. We’ll find out more when the Rangers visit St. Louis later tonight.

The Lightning picked up their game. Kucherov missed wide on a scoring chance. Igor Shesterkin denied Ross Colton. He made some key stops throughout the contest to notch his 36th win.

Even Panarin delivered a hit. He got a good check on Tanner Jeannot. Usually, it’s Jeannot physically involved. He wasn’t last night, which was strange considering the edginess the game had.

Late in the period, Pat Maroon instigated a fight with Harpur. After getting a shot in to draw an unsportsmanlike conduct, he and Harpur traded blows. The dust-up gave the Rangers a power play.

However, Vasilevskiy steadied. He made three saves, including a pair on Kakko. Despite giving up six goals, he kept his team in the game.

Miller accidentally got his stick up on Kucherov to give Tampa a power play with six seconds remaining. It carried over to the second period. The Rangers were able to kill the penalty successfully.

As expected, the Lightning got the next goal to make things interesting. Darren Raddysh caught a break when his shot deflected off a Ranger in front by Shesterkin for his first career NHL goal. They later changed it to Brandon Hagel, who was in the area. Then, they switched it back to Raddysh.

But before the Bolts could get comfortable, the Rangers replied back only 15 seconds later. On a misread by Sergachev, Lafreniere pushed the puck ahead for Motte. In on Vasilevskiy, he snuck a wrist shot by the former Vezina winner for his second of the game.

It was his third career multi-goal game. He’s got five goals and four assists for nine points since returning to the Rangers. Terrific secondary scoring by a player Chris Drury should’ve kept last summer.

Following a penalty kill of an Adam Fox slashing minor on the ornery Perry, Shesterkin made two straight stops on Anthony Cirelli. The key two-way pivot would leave the game with an injury. The Bolts rely on him to be their shutdown center. It was his strong defensive work that neutralized Zibanejad, Kreider, and Frank Vatrano last year.

Prior to his exit, Cirelli helped set up Hagel for a goal that made it 4-3 a little over halfway through the game. On the play, Cirelli broke in and made a strong move on Shesterkin, who made a terrific save. However, Hagel followed up the play by stuffing in a loose puck for his 28th.

Chaos ensued when a late arriving Killorn took a swat at Shesterkin in the crease. Whether intentional or not, it didn’t look good. Even if he thought the puck wasn’t completely in, it looked like a dirty play. Some felt it was a spear. It’s hard to judge because we don’t know what Killorn’s intentions were.

The puck was on Shesterkin’s pad with him in the net. It was very close to the goal line. If you give Killorn the benefit of the doubt, maybe he couldn’t tell if it was a goal. His late arrival and swat at our goalie led to a skirmish behind the net. Killorn was the target of Ryan Lindgren, who looked okay in his return. Cirelli was third man in. Killorn got two for slashing. Lindgren received two for roughing along with Cirelli. That put the Rangers on a power play.

Following a video review, it was determined that Hagel scored. That made it a one-goal game with 8:23 left in the second. It definitely isn’t a play you see often. Especially with the puck lying on Shesterkin.

Following the goal, the Blueshirts were unable to convert on the man-advantage. Vasilevskiy made three saves, including a pair on Panarin, who was more aggressive, shooting the puck. He also stopped Zibanejad. Kreider missed on a one-timer high and wide.

The Lightning nearly tied it afterward. There were some close calls with Point, who couldn’t quite get number 49 despite a few dangerous chances. Shesterkin also stopped Stamkos.

With less than four minutes to go, Trocheck went with Perry off a face-off. Perry asked for the fight. Trocheck obliged. He took some shots but hung in there. He’s a gamer. Exactly the kind of high character player you want on your side in a series.

Looking for the hat trick, Motte continued to shoot the puck. He had a shot shutdown by Vasilevskiy. Motte led all shooters with seven shots on goal.

With Trouba in the locker room, Braden Schneider did his best imitation of the captain. He stood up at his blue line and leveled Nick Paul with a clean hit that sent him down. With the crowd pumped up, Ross Colton responded by jumping in for Paul. He instigated a fight with Schneider, who was a willing combatant. Schneider and Colton received five for fighting. But Colton got an extra 12 for instigator and misconduct. The right call.

On another power play, Zibanejad was stopped by Vasilevskiy. The five-on-four carried over to the third. Although they didn’t connect, Vasilevskiy was forced into a few tough saves. He got over to make an acrobatic stop to deny Kreider. After a video review during a stoppage confirmed the obvious, play continued.

The Tampa netminder made other big saves, including on Motte and Trocheck. He’d also deny Chytil. For a while, it felt like those saves would eventually lead to the Lightning tying it. But it never came.

Following a crucial stop from Shesterkin on Stamkos to keep the Rangers ahead, Fox had Zibanejad all set up, but his backhand banked off the goalpost. The puck took a favorable bounce right to Kreider, who buried his 35th with 8:22 left.

The goal gave him 264 for his Rangers career. He trails Andy Bathgate by eight goals for fourth on the all-time franchise goal scoring list. As he inches closer to some of the biggest names in team history, perhaps one day, when his career is over, he’ll have his number 20 retired.

A Kucherov trip of Kakko led to Panarin wiring one by Vasilevskiy for the Rangers’ second power play goal. After Zibanejad had a shot saved, he and Fox got the puck over to Panarin. Instead of passing, he ripped a laser high, short side off the post, and in for number 26. That put the game away.

Shesterkin would make a nice save to deny Point on a backhand. That was really the last chance the Bolts had.

Motte went for the hat trick. He took a backhand shot from the inside that Vasilevskiy hung with. That came with over a minute remaining.

As the crowd cheered, the animosity between the two sides wasn’t over. On the final play, as the buzzer sounded, Harpur went after Perry again. It was a fight he wanted. He did well even getting a takedown. Considering how ornery Perry is, and with his hit having knocked Trouba out of the game, it was a message delivered.

That it came from the seventh defenseman, who’d already fought Maroon, showed how much character this team has. They aren’t backing down. There were a lot of words exchanged during the game. It got chippy.

Not only did the Rangers come out on top. But it was nice to see them respond to the Lightning. It was an exciting game. One TNT had to love. Judging from the reactions of Henrik Lundqvist and Anson Carter, they definitely loved it.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1643803730427404291?t=x085Zh6nb5_9DEy_9n41cA&s=19

In the grand scheme of things, maybe the game didn’t mean a whole lot. The Rangers are pretty much locked into a 2/3 battle with the Devils. But they gained two points. They’re up to 103 with four remaining, including tonight at St. Louis.

The Devils have 106. They play the Blue Jackets at home. They trail first place Carolina by three. The Hurricanes have one extra game left. They’re in Nashville later. The Predators are very much alive thanks to Calgary defeating Winnipeg 3-1 is regulation last night. They should be desperate.

The wildcard race will continue on Thursday night. All five teams are in action. That includes the Islanders at home for the Lightning. They could catch a break. It’s likely Tampa will start backup Brian Elliott, giving Vasilevskiy the night off. The Panthers host the Senators. Ottawa has to win.

The Sabres are at Detroit. They still have six games left. Win and get help. Anything is possible. They’ll be scoreboard watching. The Wild visit the Penguins. Buffalo has two games at hand on the other four teams. But they probably need 11 points. I think 92 gets you in.

We’ll see what happens. As for the Rangers, they’ve got the Blues. Figure Jaroslav Halak to give Shesterkin the night off. I wouldn’t expect Kane to play. He sounds pretty banged up. Considering how he’s looked, the hip is probably bothering him. Will they shut him down until the playoffs? I have no idea.

Maybe Trouba sits out. They can be cautious. The game isn’t significant. They have six D. We could be looking at another 11 forward alignment. If Trouba can’t go, they’ll play a man short.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kane out for tonight

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Derek

So much for keeping the same lineup. Patrick Kane is getting the night off. He will sit out due to maintenance.

Kane hasn’t been as effective as Vladimir Tarasenko. Since the Rangers acquired him from the Blackhawks, he’s been inconsistent. There are shifts where you barely notice him. Then, there are shifts where you see the star player who’s been one of the game’s best.

In 16 games as a Blueshirt, Kane has five goals and five assists for 10 points. After going without a point or much impact in losses to the Devils and Sabres, he picked up a primary assist on Mika Zibanejad’s power play goal in a 5-2 win over the Caps on Sunday.

With Kane sitting out, Gerard Gallant, as promised, will dress 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. Ben Harpur will get worked in when necessary. He’s the extra D. Maybe they’ll even have him play up front on the fourth line.

The more likely scenario is that Gallant will double shift his best players and move Jimmy Vesey up. Vesey has played with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider before. That’s something I think we’ll see.

Figure Barclay Goodrow will also get some shifts up top. He’s a versatile player who you can plug anywhere. Motte can also be moved up into the top nine.

The game is on TNT. It doesn’t begin until 7:30 EST.

Posted in NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rangers face good test against Lightning, Connor Bedard, wildcard race heats up, Oilers hot, Mercer gets hat trick

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Derek

With a little over a week left in the regular season, the playoffs are right around the corner. The wildcard race is heating up. The picture is becoming clearer by the day. Big games are on tap in both conferences.

There’s also the latest highlight reel from Connor Bedard. The consensus top pick is the big prize of the 2023 Draft Lottery. The teen sensation was at it again last night during Game Three of the Regina Pats’ WHL first round series against the Saskatoon Blades.

Having already recorded a playoff hat trick for the Pats in their first postseason since 2018 to help them take the first two games on the road, the 17-year old center scored a breathtaking goal. He split two players with the puck to get a breakaway and finished with a forehand deke to give the Pats a 3-1 lead.

The Blades rallied back from a two-goal deficit to win the crucial game 4-3 in overtime. The road team has won all three games. Regina leads the series two games to one.

It’ll be interesting to see if Bedard can lead the Pats to a first round upset. He’s had a memorable season, scoring 71 goals with 72 assists for 143 points to lead the WHL in scoring. He also was front and center tallying nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in Canada’s gold medal at the WJC.

Of course, the battle for Bedard remains high for the NHL doormats. That includes the Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, Ducks, and Sharks. They have the best odds of winning the lottery, which takes place on May 8 during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’ll also include the Canadiens, Coyotes, Flyers, Canucks, Capitals, along with the remaining teams who get eliminated.

While some fans focus on that, whoever winds up in the top three should get a good player. Michigan standout Adam Fantilli looks to be a future power forward. He dominated the NCAA with 64 points (29-35-64) as a freshman. He’s up for the Hobey Baker. Russian scoring forward Matvei Michkov and Swedish center Leo Carlson project in the top four.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are back in action tonight when they host the Lightning at 33rd and 7th. They’re coming off a 5-2 win over the Capitals this past weekend.

A game where both Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko scored their 16th goals of the season. Playing with Filip Chytil during the second half has helped revitalize their game. Familiarity with one another is noticeable.

Gerard Gallant praised the work of the Kid Line. He likes how they play. They’ll no doubt be counted on again for secondary scoring this postseason. With all three young players achieving new career highs in points, they’re becoming more reliable. They’ve even seen an increase in ice time due to their effectiveness on the cycle.

In Sunday’s win, Gallant kept the top six the same as he finished the Sabres game. Mika Zibanejad played with Chris Kreider and Patrick Kane. He scored his team-leading 39th on the power play from Kane and Artemi Panarin. Zibanejad’s 20 power play goals pace the team. He won’t quite get to Kreider’s record of 26 that was set last year.

Vincent Trocheck centered Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko. The trio were involved in two even strength goals, including K’Andre Miller getting his ninth by following up the play started by Panarin and Trocheck. Miller also set up Kakko’s 16th to reach a career best 41 points. He’s been more active recently, even throwing his weight around.

Tarasenko scored his seventh goal as a Ranger. A lethal wrist shot off the passing of Trocheck and Panarin. The changes to the first two lines worked. It provided a spark. Figure Gallant to keep those lines intact for tonight.

One other positive is the return of Ryan Lindgren. He’ll be in the lineup after missing the last six games. He’ll be back alongside partner Adam Fox on the blue line. That means Ben Harpur comes out. Keeping Lindgren fresh for the playoffs is crucial. He’s the glue of the defense.

Niko Mikkola will slide back down to the third pair with Braden Schneider. Miller and Jacob Trouba comprise the second pair, which usually draws tough assignments. They’ll likely face a tough challenge against Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, and Nikita Kucherov. They’re all playing well. Point is two goals shy of 50. Kucherov ranks third in scoring with 106 points. Stamkos has 33 goals.

The goalie match-up features two of the game’s best. It’s an all Russian duel when Igor Shesterkin faces Andrei Vasilevskiy. Even though neither has had their best season statistically, they are still considered by many to be the game’s top goalies. Throw Islanders’ netminder Ilya Sorokin in there, along with Juuse Saros. That’s your top four. Even if Linus Ullmark wins the Vezina playing behind a remarkable Bruins team chasing history.

In action last night, the Devils kept some distance between second place by pasting the Penguins 5-1. The game was highlighted by Dawson Mercer, recording his first career hat trick. He’s up to 27 goals and 55 points in his second season.

Selected 18th in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Mercer ranks third in goals (44) and third in points (98). Lafreniere, who went first overall, is second in goals with 47 and fourth in points with 90. He’s played the most games (211) from that draft class. Tim Stutzle leads in goals (71), assists (100), and points (171). He is a rising star in Ottawa.

With the Devils handing the Pens a bad loss, they are currently out of a playoff spot entering Wednesday’s slate. The Panthers held on to beat the Sabres 2-1 yesterday. They are tied with the Islanders for the wildcard with 87 points. By virtue of one more regulation win (34), they hold the first wildcard. Each team has four games remaining.

The Pens also have four left. They have 86 points but only have 29 regulation wins. The first tiebreaker. Both the Sabres and Senators each have 81 points. However, Buffalo has six games left. As tough a loss as last night was, they can still hang around. They can’t afford any more slip-ups. They’re at Detroit tomorrow night.

Every team will be playing on Thursday. Buffalo fans will be rooting for the rival Senators to beat the Panthers and hope for help from the Wild and Lightning. Minnesota visits Pittsburgh while Tampa invades Long Island.

Out West, the big game is Calgary at Winnipeg. The Flames suffered a costly defeat on home ice when they lost to the Blackhawks 4-3 on Tuesday night. They trail the Jets by two points for the final wildcard. A Jets’ win in regulation could be the final nail in the coffin for Calgary. They only have four games left, including tonight’s showdown. Winnipeg has five to go.

The Predators are still in it. They defeated the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime on Cody Glass’ winner. He’s become a player for Nashville after Vegas gave up on him. Nolan Patrick may never play in the NHL again due to injuries. Patience paid off for the Preds with Glass. Given all their key stars who are out, I wonder if they regret waiving Eeli Tolvanen. He’s done well in Seattle, who is closing in on the postseason. They have 94 points.

Nashville has 86 points with five left. They play very hard. It’s hard to see them finding a way in without Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Matt Duchene. But their effort is admirable.

The hottest team out West is the Oilers. They out-grinded the Kings to earn a 3-1 win in LA. Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winner on the power play. Connor McDavid drew the penalty following Viktor Arvidsson tying the game. His extra effort paid off when he set up Draisaitl for his 51st with 7:20 left in regulation.

McDavid is three points shy of reaching 150 for the season. His remarkable play undoubtedly will make him MVP. With a league best 62 goals and 85 assists, he’s truly at the peak of his brilliant career. Draisaitl is no slouch with his 123 points (51-72-123) trailing only his teammate.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can join them as the third Edmonton player to reach the century mark. With a goal and assist last night, he has 99 points. It’s unbelievable what they’ve done. Even Zach Hyman has 34 goals and 80 points.

Interestingly, the Oilers are still third in the Pacific with 100 points. The Kings are one up on them for second. Vegas leads the division with 104. All three teams have four games left. Edmonton has the easiest schedule with two games against the Sharks and one coming up against Anaheim.

The one tough game is at Colorado. The defending champs clinched the playoffs last night with Nathan MacKinnon scoring in overtime to hit 100 points for the first time. Who knows. Perhaps that game on April 11 could be a possible Western Conference Finals preview. The teams met in that round last year. Colorado swept Edmonton. Something tells me this Oilers team is capable of doing better.

That’s going to do it for my potpourri of hockey news and notes. I’ll have more on the Rangers/Lightning. A real match-up. It should be fun.

Posted in Column, Devils, NYRangers, Prospect Watch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Devils keep Rangers at arm’s length, turn up heat on the Canes

Posted on April 2, 2023 by hasan4978

I admit it, when the Devils got drilled 5-1 by the Islanders on Monday and fell to three points back with two games out of hand I thought the division race was pretty much over, and Thursday’s showdown with the Rangers would only be about seeding for the first round (i.e. who hosts the still likely if not inevitable first-round showdown). Funny how a few days can change the equation though….Carolina getting pounded by Tampa and losing brutally at the end of regulation against Detroit earlier in the week, combined with our big win Thursday and workmanlike W in Chicago last night put us back in the mix – though Carolina stayed in front by a point after beating the Habs last night, and still have a game in hand.

Clearly we’re still in the rear in the division chase, and this week won’t be easy – starting with facing two teams playing for their playoff lives over the next three nights – at Winnipeg tonight, and back home against the Penguins on Tuesday. After another home game against a Bedard hopeful on Thursday (Columbus), we face the Bruins in Boston on Saturday, and they could well be playing to tie the all-time NHL record for wins in a season. At least our win Thursday helped open up what’s now a five-point gap on the Rangers, so if nothing else it seems like the playoffs will start in Newark in just over two weeks one way or the other.

Of course, it’s still at least 75% likely we play the Rangers – though the Canes’ schedule is interesting, with them playing a bunch of bubble teams still hoping for a miracle playoff run this week. Carolina starts with the Isles tonight and fading Ottawa at home on Tuesday, before a three-game road trip through Nashville, Buffalo and Ottawa. As we’ve found out lately, it’s hard to play teams who clearly have more motivation than you – our Panthers loss a couple weeks ago and Isles loss a few nights ago were our most desultory of the last few weeks, and not-so-coincidentally both are hanging onto a wild card spot by a thread. To be honest, as much as I want to avoid the nonsense surrounding a Ranger playoff series in the first round, playing either of those teams might prove to be a tougher draw on the ice.

Still, there’s six more games and two weeks to fine-tune for the playoffs before that point. Mercifully I didn’t see much of Monday’s game and wouldn’t want to recap that anyway, although it wasn’t quite as bad as the 5-1 score indicated since two empty-net goals late goosed the margin. It’s astonishing to realize that was only our third – and last – regular season matchup with the Isles, and our previous game against them was in early December – a bad 6-4 loss that was actually worse than the score and started our December swoon. Our first game against them was way back in early October (a dominant 4-1 Devils win), so there isn’t exactly much of a recent history to go on previewing a playoff series, but just the Lou Lamoriello factor and the fact they’re an area rival would render a potential series with them tricky.

The NHL in its infinite wisdom is trying to pump division rivalries in the playoffs with their forced bracket system, while doing anything but with their regular season schedule. One of the many things the NFL gets right is ending the season with division games in the final week of the season. Even when you don’t have both teams playing for a playoff spot it’ll likely be a tough game, a la Detroit playing spoiler to the Packers in the final week minutes after being eliminated themselves. How much fun could next Thursday be if instead of playing an out-of-it Caps team, we’re playing the Canes? Of course it’s also harder to guess division matchups that could matter in an eight-team division compared to the NFL’s four-team division setup.

And to be fair, it is possible Thursday could be for all the marbles regardless, since the Canes also have their last game of the regular season at Florida at the same time as our regular season finale in Washington. Scoreboard watching would be World Cup third game of a group type epic in that case. Still, the more likely scenario is that both teams have already been locked into their seed and rest players. I’m not even aware what the first tiebreaker is anymore, it used to be regulation wins – I think it got changed to regulation/OT wins, which would help us since a chunk of our wins (ten to be exact) came in the three-on-three extra frame. It’s been such a long time since tiebreakers mattered – five years ago to be exact, but I think the tiebreaker changed during that time. Every time I go to google NHL tiebreakers, it gives me stuff from 2009, or a few years ago – which doesn’t help.

I guess we’ll worry about that if we can stay with the Canes through next Tuesday. Or if the Rangers catch up to us. We know what the playoff matchup will be if we stay at the #2 or #3 seed, if we do win the division it’ll be whatever of the playoff bubble teams (Isles, Panthers or Penguins) finish the highest. So there’s a small chance Tuesday’s also a playoff preview, though right now Pittsburgh’s on the outside looking in at the other two.

That’s more looking ahead than I thought I’d do…as far as looking behind, the less said about Monday, the better. Clearly it was a little bit of a letdown for all involved after clinching a playoff spot Saturday and celebrating with a fun home win. Thursday, I was tempted to do my own recap of the Devils’ big win, but Derek’s recap on Thursday pretty well covered the nuts and bolts of it. Time seemingly stood still for me on the Ryan Graves goal-saving play with just under a minute to go, as I had a bird’s eye view of the whole play above the net in 120.

Admittedly, I was (and still am) ambivalent about home-ice in the first round, at least against the Rangers. We all know home-ice can be irrelevant after sixty minutes of that series, but whatever the case it’s always fun to beat them in an emotional game. Even knowing how I felt, I went on Thursday as much as anything to prepare myself for what was to come. Six or seven more games of this in April might drive me up the wall though haha. Carolina’s subsequent loss to Detroit with seconds remaining in regulation – which I found out about on my walk to the train station – actually attached more meaning to the Ranger win, as it was no longer just about home-ice in the first round.

Being back in the division race upped the urgency to avoid a letdown in Chicago last night. For the most part they didn’t, although while they vastly outplayed the Bedard contending-Blackhawks they still fell behind 2-1 in the second, and were in a 4-3 nailbiter late in the third until the latest installment of TIMO TIME happened:

The amusing part is I was watching the game on mute doing other things and I really thought it was Jack Hughes making that play. When I realized to my amusement it was Timo (a blur wearing 96 instead of 86) I was like oh boy, he’s fast and twitchy too. It should also be pointed out Timo had the game-winning goal in the big showdown on Thursday and generally threw his body around all over the place. Clearly, he rose to the challenge of a rivalry game he’d only seen from afar before that night. Maybe the numbers haven’t quite been Sharks-esque, but in general he’s been just as advertised the last few weeks.

Also deserving notice for the last couple of wins are Erik Haula (goals in each game, as his offense is finally coming back from the dead) and the aforementioned Graves, who made the game-saving play Thursday and had his own nice individual goal in yesterday’s game. Hughes’ surge toward the all-time team points record continued against the Blackhawks with two more last night, giving him 89 with six games to play – just seven back of Patrik Elias’s 96 in 2000-01. Reaching a more modest milestone on Thursday was Vitek Vanecek, who became the first Devil goaltender other than you know who to achieve thirty wins in a season. Clearly Lindy Ruff was happy with the win, cracking a joke about Vitek getting his own statue in front of the Prudential Center (just before the ten-minute mark of the clip):

At least last night the Devils showed enough maturity to not have a letdown after a big game the way they did after the Carolina showdown (4-1 loss to Tampa) and on Monday after clinching the playoffs. It does bode well for the playoffs that three of our best games in March came in the biggest ones – the Canes and Rangers home wins and beating Tampa on the road in our third game against them after losing three in a row that week, including twice to them at home. Of course playoff wins are still bigger and harder to come by than regular season ‘big wins’. The Devils are doing all you could ask of them to this point in getting ready for that moment at least.

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

First period no-show unacceptable for slow starting Rangers in overtime loss to Sabres’ rookie Devon Levi in NHL debut

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Derek

Look. Nobody is going to say playing a back-to-back is easy. At this point of a long season, thanks to the NHL schedule makers, it isn’t.

However, that’s part of the job requirement for the Rangers. They’re locked into at least third place in a competitive Metro Division. Even following Thursday’s tough one-goal defeat to the Devils, who enter Saturday’s action, a point behind the first place Hurricanes, there should’ve been more left for the second straight game against the Sabres, who were excited to have top prospect Devon Levi make his NHL debut.

Another sluggish start allowed Levi to settle in. He was a standout at Northeastern University where the 21-year old posted a .942 save percentage over two seasons in the Hockey East. He went from a seventh round pick of the Panthers to one of the game’s most promising young goalies.

The Sabres acquired him from Florida on July 24, 2021, along with a first round pick that became promising forward prospect Jiri Kulich in exchange for Sam Reinhart. When the trade was made by Buffalo, many fans were less than enthused. Now, look at it. It’s changed. It’s funny how your perspective can shift.

How did the Blueshirts greet Levi? By no-showing the entire first period. It was pitiful. They only had two total shots on Levi over the game’s first 20 minutes. That’s pathetic.

Listening to Gerard Gallant following what turned into a 3-2 overtime loss to a desperate Sabres team who kept their feint playoff hopes alive, he was very upset with his team. The effort was lacking. He didn’t mince words over what’s become an alarming trend. The slow starts to games that put them in an early hole.

“Honestly, we talk about it all the time. We had a good start the other night. A couple of nights ago, and then the last five or six has been a joke,” he said after being asked about whether it has something to do with clinching the playoffs.

“We were fortunate to get a couple of goals, but we didn’t play well. We had one line show up tonight and play hard every shift. That was it. We were fortunate to get a point. … I’m pissed off tonight because we got one point. We want to win hockey games. That’s what we’re here for.”

He then was very direct about how he hadn’t liked their approach since reaching the playoffs. Gallant expects a lot more out of this group. It’s a good core that knows better. They didn’t have these kind of problems last year. That was more of a team that didn’t rely on talent alone. But rather, they prided themselves on outworking opponents.

That hasn’t been the case since adding a less than impressive Patrick Kane. He was invisible again. The 34-year old has been one of the game’s brightest stars. So far as a Blueshirt, he’s been inconsistent. Five goals and four assists in 15 games isn’t what they had in mind when they stole him from the Blackhawks.

The good news is there’s still plenty of time for Kane to flip the script. He wasn’t brought in for the regular season. Rather the postseason when the lights shine brightest. He’s excelled under the spotlight, delivering three Stanley Cups to the Blackhawks. Showtime should be hungry to take part in his first postseason in three years. He’s got a lot riding on the line.

The Rangers really do as well. You don’t go out and get Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and the valuable Niko Mikkola for nothing. Chris Drury was wise to bring back Tyler Motte. With an assist last night on the tying goal scored by Adam Fox, who set a new career high with his 12th goal, Motte has been superb.

He’s contributing offense along with being a checking forward who kills penalties. He’s got seven points (3-4-7) in 18 games. Solid secondary production while playing on the very effective checking line that includes Barclay Goodrow and Steven McDonald Award candidate Jimmy Vesey. That line never takes a shift off.

Maybe the biggest disappointment was how little effort the Rangers gave in the first period against Buffalo. The Sabres are fighting for their playoff lives. A long shot to sneak into the second wildcard that’s occupied by the Jekyll and Hyde Penguins, they showed more urgency.

Even without top scorer Tage Thompson, they skated circles around the Rangers in a lopsided opening period. It could’ve been a lot worse if backup Jaroslav Halak didn’t make some key saves. The faster Sabres buzzed around his net and were allowed to gain the zone without any resistance. A disturbing trend that continues to plague the team. If not for spotting the Devils two goals, maybe they get a different result.

Halak made 10 saves on 11 shots in the period. That included some tough ones on Jack Quinn, J.J. Peterka and Jeff Skinner. He wasn’t to blame on Peterka’s 11th. An ugly sequence where Mikkola, Vincent Trocheck, and Kane got lost in coverage. With K’Andre Miller taking Quinn, whose shot rebounded out to an unguarded Dylan Cozens, he easily found Peterka wide open for a tap-in.

On the scoring play, Trocheck didn’t pick up Cozens. Neither Mikkola nor Kane bothered to take Peterka. That chaotic play was indicative of how the Rangers treated the first period against the Sabres. Like a stroll in the park.

Mika Zibanejad also didn’t do much either. The unquestioned top Rangers forward was off his game. He took a penalty on Peterka to put the Sabres on the power play. However, the improved Rangers penalty kill got the job done. They were able to limit the damage. Despite being out-shot 11-2, they only trailed by a goal.

The second started slowly. But eventually, they picked it up. It took Gallant tweaking his top six for them to wake up. After killing off an early Artemi Panarin minor, Fox made a good read in the Buffalo zone. He shot for Trocheck in front. The shot pass nearly worked. But an aggressive Levi came out to deny the tip-in for his best save at that point. With family and friends cheering him on, the crowd reacted with excitement.

Gallant already had taken Panarin off the first line. He was with Trocheck and Kane. Chris Kreider was moved back up with Zibanejad and Tarasenko, who again was noticeable. He missed wide on a good opportunity. He also had a solid hit on Casey Mittlestadt. He plays a good overall game. That’s why he fits on the top line with Zibanejad.

Even as they began to find their game, there still were some cracks in the armor. While the Kid Line got going, you had noted goalscorer Jordan Greenway carry Ben Harpur on his way to the net where he surprised everyone, including Halak, by beating him high, short side on a one-handed backhand. It was only his fourth goal, and second, since the Sabres acquired him from Minnesota.

On the play, Rasmus Dahlin made a good outlet for Mittlestadt, who was able to elevate a pass up for Greenway, who had a step on Harpur. On that particular shift, he was on with Jacob Trouba. Unsatisfied with what he saw, Gallant even changed all three defense pairings for a good chunk of the second. Harpur got burned. Halak definitely would want that goal back. However, it’s not even close without him.

You had Miller take shifts with Fox. That meant Mikkola was dropped to the third pair with Braden Schneider, who was very active throughout. A second-year defenseman, he stood up at the blue line to make a good hit. He attempted four shots. None hit the net. His play was steady in 19 shifts (17:00). Overall, it was one of his better nights. He’s still learning.

Following the Greenway tally that made it 2-0, Halak made a couple of stops, including one in tight on Dylan Cozens. That gave the Rangers a chance to come back.

A great takeaway by Miller almost led to a goal. He made an outstanding defensive play by stealing the puck from Kyle Okposo at the point. That allowed him to get a breakaway on Levi. A good offensive player in transition, Miller made a good fake and had Levi out of position, but couldn’t bury his forehand. Instead, he missed the net, shaking his head as he returned to the Rangers bench.

Finally, with some momentum, the Rangers broke through on Levi. Thanks to some superb teamwork from the third line, they were able to strike to cut the deficit to one with 7:43 left. Off a rush, Alexis Lafreniere took a wrist shot that rebounded out to Chytil, whose backhand attempt took a funny hop in the air. Kaapo Kakko beat his man Tyson Jost to the net to bat the puck in for his 15th.

Gallant can usually count on the young trio to give an honest effort. They weren’t good on Thursday night in Newark. The Devils did a good job limiting their offensive chances by forcing them to defend. It’s the play of Chytil, Lafreniere, and Kakko on the back boards that can create strong forecheck pressure. That’ll no doubt be a key to the postseason.

It still boils down to the top stars. Zibanejad had a lousy night finishing without a shot on goal. It was reflected in his ice time where he received less than Chytil, who was more visible. Zibanejad had 16:33 while Chytil received 17:06, including a 23-second shift shorthanded.

The trio of Kane, Panarin, and Trocheck all finished minus-two. A reflection of what wasn’t a good night. At least Panarin had a couple of high danger chances. He was denied twice by Levi, who came out to challenge. That included once in overtime prior to Skinner scoring the winner.

The biggest save Levi made came when he got across to rob Kakko of his second late in the second. He was all set up in the right circle, but Levi made the glove save. Kakko didn’t elevate the puck.

He isn’t a good finisher. Most of his goals come off hard work. He isn’t always instinctive. He had another scoring chance on a strong shift but opted to make an extra pass over for Chytil, who was checked just enough to shoot the puck back into Levi.

After totaling only 11 shots in two periods, the Rangers threw the kitchen sink at Levi in the third. He was up to the challenge. They fired 20 shots on goal but only were able to beat him once.

A notoriously fragile team when it comes to protecting leads in the third period, the Sabres fumbled a lot of pucks to make life difficult on their newest pupil. Levi finally got baptized in the third period.

On one early sequence by the Rangers’ fourth line, he made four saves to deny bids by Motte, Goodrow, and Vesey. The fun was just beginning.

Finally taking the opponent seriously, the Rangers had the puck a lot more in the Sabres’ end zone. That meant more shots towards Levi along with more traffic. As good as he was, the strategy finally paid dividends when Fox was able to sneak in and stuff home the tying goal with 10:15 remaining.

After a series of tough stops on Motte and Goodrow, Levi didn’t know where the puck was. Thinking it was underneath him, he lost Fox, who was able to come around the net and get his 12th at 9:45. As he put the loose puck in, four Sabres stood around the Buffalo net and watched. It was a welcome to the Sabres moment for the kid.

Fox is very good at reading the play. That Harvard education pays off. He made sure to circle the net and put a stick on the puck to notch a personal best 12th goal in a season. Even without partner Ryan Lindgren, he continues to produce. Whenever Lindgren is back, Fox becomes a better player. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

With the game knotted at two, Panarin drew a hooking penalty on Ilya Lyubushkin. That was the only power play of the game. Another indication of how poorly the Rangers played. They were unable to really threaten Levi, who made the stops from the outside.

In crunch time, he came up large on Panarin. On a play where Tarasenko tapped a loose puck over to Panarin, he let go of a good shot that Levi denied with 1:28 left in regulation. It allowed the Sabres to reach overtime.

In it, he would deny Chytil on a tip-in and then again thwart Panarin by making a glove save during the first shift. That Gallant went with Chytil told you all you needed to know about how Zibanejad played. He would get victimized along with Tarasenko on the game-winner.

Out for an extended shift with Miller, neither Zibanejad nor Tarasenko could stop Skinner from driving to the net and firing a laser past Halak for the overtime winner at 1:50. They were out of gas.

It was just as well. Like Goodrow told reporters after the game, you can’t play 20 minutes and expect to win. That doesn’t fly. It won’t be long before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. There are six games remaining on the schedule.

Next up are the Capitals, who are on the brink of playoff extinction. Something that hasn’t happened since 2013-14. The Rangers will need to set their alarm clocks for 1 PM on Sunday. That means an early wake-up call. They better heed the message.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1642025148877266944?t=FH3WZtBseiDC1Q6VbMSTIg&s=19

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Graves’ hustle saves tying goal in determined Devils’ 2-1 win over Rangers, Playoff hockey on display in Newark

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Derek

It went to the New Jersey side of the Hudson. The fourth and final meeting between closs rivals was won in the trenches by a more determined bunch of Devils, who hung on for a 2-1 win over the Rangers before 16,669 at The Prudential Center in Newark.

In what amounted to playoff hockey, the Devils were the better team than the Rangers. Playing for the first time in nearly three months, the Hudson rivals battled for 60 minutes. When the final horn sounded, it was the Devils who came out victorious to take a crucial two points.

The difference was the first period. Using their game-breaking speed, the Devils were the aggressor early and often. Following a close call in which a turnover nearly saw Mika Zibanejad set up Vladimir Tarasenko, who was strong throughout, the Devils responded by swarming the net of Igor Shesterkin. He was under siege.

A face-off win from Erik Haula led directly to the checking pivot driving to the Rangers net and tipping in a Dougie Hamilton shot for his 10th at 5:17. On the play, he fell down. Filip Chytil got lost in coverage, leaving Ben Harpur to deal with both Jesper Boqvist and Haula. Haula was able to redirect the Hamilton pass for the game’s first goal. Jonas Siegenthaler added a secondary helper.

Following a Vitek Vanecek stop on Tyler Motte on a rare forechecking shift in the offensive zone, it was the Devils who continued an onslaught of chances due to stronger puck possession. Jack Hughes would get denied on a shot by Shesterkin.

After some hitting from both sides, Shesterkin had to contend with chances from Dawson Mercer and Nico Hischier to keep it a one-goal game. On the next shift, a Jesper Bratt backhand went wide, followed by a long Hamilton shot right on Shesterkin, who got a stoppage.

The action was fast and furious. There weren’t many whistles for a majority of the period. The quick pace favored the Devils, who were able to force some turnovers in the neutral zone. The Rangers had little to no sustained pressure.

Vanecek would stop Patrick Kane from a  distance. But it was the more aggressive Devils who continued to push for another goal. A Kaapo Kakko turnover led to Hughes getting a great chance. However, a quick reaching Shesterkin got across to rob him of a sure goal. That was his best save.

Off some more pressure by the Devils, K’Andre Miller got called for taking down Bratt. He was sent off for tripping with over four minutes left in the period.

After not being able to connect right away, the Devils worked a smart passing play to go up by two when Timo Meier buried a Hughes feed in the slot for his first goal in four games. Using Braden Schneider in a two-on-one, Meier passed to Hughes, who passed the puck back for a quick Meier one-timer that beat Shesterkin high for a power play goal with 2:57 remaining.

Vincent Trocheck drew the first of two minor penalties on Haula when he was taken down. Adam Fox came very close to beating Vanecek on a breakaway. Moving in on the Devils starter, he had a backhand go over the top as he collided with Vanecek to stop play. Ryan Graves got away with a trip, which could’ve meant a five-on-three.

Instead, the Devils were able to kill off the remainder of the Haula minor. Vanecek made a save on Panarin. Shesterkin actually had to make two on shorthanded bids from Mercer and Yegor Sharangovich.

The uneven start proved costly. At least the Rangers remembered to show for the last two periods. It took a while for them to gain traction. They needed a couple of key saves from Shesterkin before finally awakening from their malaise. These slow starts remain a problem. If they do face the Devils in the first round, that must change. It can’t only be rely on Shesterkin to bail them out.

As the game moved on, both Mikkola and Miller looked to activate whenever possible. Mikkola played a more aggressive game. Jumping into the rush more than he usually does, he had three shots on goal. He also was physical, finishing checks, and getting involved during scrums. Miller often skated pucks out and carried them in transition in search of offense. He also made some strong defensive recoveries.

A long point shot from Jacob Trouba caught the goalpost. That close to pulling within one. Trouba seeked out a few hits when the opportunity presented itself. The Devils did a good job keeping their heads up.

On an effective shift from the top line, Panarin had a shot denied by Vanecek, who was quite good when called upon. He made 24 saves on 25 shots to earn the game’s Third Star.

With Trouba off for interference on Hischier, the best save Shesterkin made on the power play came when he got a piece of a tough Hughes shot. The Devils’ leading scorer also missed on a tip-in.

Following the successful kill, it was again Trocheck who duped Haula into taking an iffy tripping minor to put the Rangers on the power play.

After a stoppage, a critical mistake by the Devils on the penalty kill allowed Chris Kreider to pull the Rangers within one with 6:36 left. On a clearing attempt from Graves, Sharangovich was unable to chip the puck out. Instead, the sloppy turnover led directly to Mika Zibanejad, feeding Kreider in front for an easy put away at 13:24.

It was his 33rd goal of the season. For Kreider, it also was career goal number 262. That put him in a tie with Vic Hadfield for fifth on the all-time franchise goal scoring list. Next up is Hall Of Famer Andy Bathgate. He’s fourth all-time with 272 goals. Kreider should tie and pass him next season.

With the game very tight, each side created chances. On one end, Shesterkin made a tough save on an Ondrej Palat tip-in. On the other side, Vanecek denied a Panarin backhand in tight. Then, Shesterkin stood tall to stop Hischier.

It was a good game. Once the Rangers found their skating legs, it was even. Something Gerard Gallant mentioned during the postgame. He again repeated himself about the slow start. But he liked the remaining two periods.

There also were some scrums. Something you’d expect with the stakes so high. The teams got shots in, but cooler heads prevailed. It was fought hard.

Vanecek made a good save on a Filip Chytil chance late in the period. His line wasn’t as noticeable. They were a little better in the second period. But they didn’t forecheck enough to create the chances we’ve seen. Part of that was how the Devils defended. They also attacked when they could.

The third was hotly contested. The Devils did a solid job limiting the Rangers to the outside. It wasn’t easy to get inside. Especially when Graves and Marino were out.

Shesterkin made some key saves on Tatar and Hamilton. On the opposite end, Vanecek stood tall on Tarasenko, who was arguably the best Rangers skater. He was around the puck a lot. If they drew even, I thought he would be involved.

That didn’t prevent Vanecek from making stops on Kane and then taking away a goal from Trocheck, who thought he had one in front. Vanecek made 10 saves in the period.

Shesterkin had to deal with a tricky attempt from McLeod, whose high offering gave him trouble. However, he stuck with it.

With time winding down, some Devil pressure by the Hischier line led to a long Graves’ shot hitting the outside of the far goalpost. It looked like it was headed in.

With Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker, Fox had a tough wrist shot blockered away by Vanecek. With over a minute left, Kreider was stopped twice.

On what looked like the potential tying goal, a loose puck bounced right to Tarasenko in front. It would’ve been a tap in. Instead, Graves dove and blocked the shot and cleared the puck away. It was a game saver.

Panarin got a great opportunity with less than 30 seconds remaining. However, his slap shot missed the intended target. He waited too long and missed short side high.

Astonishingly, the Blueshirts got one final shot. Following an icing, Trocheck beat Haula on a face-off. Alexis Lafreniere was able to step into a last second shot that went wide as the buzzer sounded. It was too tough an angle. Had it hit the net, it would’ve counted.

The Devils earned the win by beating the Rangers in the kind of game you’ll see when the playoffs start in two and a half weeks. The question is, where will they be. Combined with the Hurricanes losing to the Red Wings 3-2, they trail first place by a point. Carolina has a game in hand.

For the Rangers, it was a missed opportunity. This game didn’t hurt them too much. They remain locked into third, trailing the Devils by four. However, it wasn’t their best game. They need to start faster.

There’s no time to dwell on it. The Rangers now visit the Sabres tonight. Devon Levi makes his NHL debut. Win and the pressure is back on the teams ahead of them. It’ll likely be Jaroslav Halak.

Posted in Battle Of Hudson, Column, Devils, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Key Battle of Hudson showdown a possible first round preview, Chytil rewarded with contract extension

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Derek

When the puck drops on Thursday night at The Prudential Center in Newark, it’ll be a showdown between the close Hudson rivals. Indeed, the Battle of Hudson could be a possible first round preview tomorrow.

It’ll be the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Rangers and Devils. With each team having eight games remaining on the schedule, second place could come down to who plays better.

Although they’re limping towards the finish line with only two wins over the last eight games (2-4-2), including a dismal 5-1 loss at the Islanders on Monday night, the Devils have 100 points. Two more than the Rangers, who will enter with a 7-1-0 mark over the past eight games, including recent wins over the Panthers and Blue Jackets.

The bitter rivals are going in opposite directions. However, none of that matters when they do battle on the ice. In the previous three meetings, the Devils took five of six points. Their only defeat coming in overtime on Dec. 12 at Madison Square Garden. The Devils rallied from a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 7.

That was a long time ago. Much has changed for both teams, who each clinched the playoffs earlier this week. The Devils when the Rangers defeated the Panthers earlier last Sunday night. They also won 5-3 over the Senators that same night to at least celebrate their first postseason since 2017-18.

The Rangers clinched when both Florida and Buffalo lost on Monday. They then went out and scored the first three goals in a two and a half minute span during a 6-2 home triumph over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. It was their third straight win, which gave them 98 points. Two behind the Devils for second in the Metropolitan Division.

The goals came from Filip Chytil, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Patrick Kane, who recently picked up his 450th career goal in a comeback win over the Panthers. He’s starting to get comfortable while playing with Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider. Kane hasn’t been shy about speaking to the media about things the team can do better. They went from up three to only ahead by one due to a lapse that allowed Kirill Marchenko and Johnny Gaudreau to score in the second half of the first period.

Playing again without Ryan Lindgren, the Blueshirts weren’t perfect against the offensive minded Jackets. A last place team in contention for the Connor Bedard lottery, they don’t play any defense. That makes it hard for whoever is in goal. In Tuesday night’s case, journeyman Michael Hutchinson. The well traveled veteran can make the tough saves but has trouble with the stoppable shots such as Kane and later Artemi Panarin going short side.

In regards to how he felt his team played, coach Gerard Gallant indicated that he liked the last two periods. The first was way too wide open, with Columbus immediately testing Igor Shesterkin. Good thing last year’s Vezina winner is back in form. He finished with 28 saves on 30 shots to earn the game’s First Star. He deserved it. That’s how dangerous the pesky Jackets are.

What they lack in overall team structure, they can make up for in offensive skill. Gaudreau is still a superb player who should improve the team eventually. Wait until the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery. If they win it over the Sharks, Ducks, and Blackhawks, they’ll get a franchise player in Bedard. He only scored 71 goals with 72 assists for a total of 143 points for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

If they don’t get Bedard, University Of Michigan star Adam Fantilli is a possibility as a consolation prize. Columbus boasts promising young D prospects David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil, who could help stabilize a shaky blue line that’s been without anchor Zach Werenski. Kent Johnson is a former Wolverine who’s had a good second half in his first season. Marchenko got his 20th goal versus the Blueshirts.

Even without oft-injured Patrik Laine, the Blue Jackets certainly tested the Rangers. If they’d changed sides, Shesterkin probably would’ve had Columbus on top. Having that steady goaltending matters. It can be the difference between winning and losing. When the defense takes chances, Shesterkin is the last line of defense. He’s tied with former teammate Alexander Georgiev for second in wins (34) this season.

Eventually, the Rangers played better hockey to pull away. Able to spend more time in the Columbus end thanks to strong work from the Kid Line of Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, and Kaapo Kakko, they got a crucial power play goal from Panarin late in the second period. It doesn’t happen without a strong move by a more confident Lafreniere to draw a penalty on Hunter McNown.

Goals from Mika Zibanejad (team best 38th for point 81) and Vincent Trocheck (empty netter) in the third salted it away. So, a game that once was 3-2 became 6-2 for the final score.

With things falling into place, there’s a realistic chance they can pass the Devils in the standings. What happens later tonight could help determine who finishes in second place. That’s assuming neither team catches the Hurricanes for first. They have 103 points with nine games left. Carolina visits Detroit tonight.

For the Rangers to pass the Devils, a win in regulation would move them into second. Each enters the pivotal game tied in regulation wins with 34. The first tiebreaker. A Rangers regulation victory would vault them past the Devils despite having the same amount of points. They’d be up to 35 wins in regulation.

For the Jersey side, they’ve had some struggles. The 5-1 loss to the Islanders, who again won 2-1 over the Capitals last night in a shootout to increase their lead for the first wildcard, was alarming. For two periods, the Devils didn’t skate or play with any purpose. They let the Islanders carry the play.

With the exception of an Erik Haula shorthanded goal that tied the game, they were outskated and out-worked by the more desperate Islanders. Attacking a vulnerable defense, eventually, the Long Island hosts used a Kyle Palmieri goal to take the lead for good. It was a play where the former Devil skated around the net without any resistance and whistled a backhand past Vitek Vanecek.

There was a lot of puck watching. It was an awful shift by the Devils, who were out-shot 17-8 in the second period. They were outplayed by a wide margin.

At least they decided to give an honest effort in a more competitive third. But the defensive minded Islanders kept most of the scoring chances to the outside. That allowed Vezina candidate Ilya Sorokin to see the shots and make the stops. He made 14 of his 30 saves in the third.

It would be Palmieri again who took advantage of a careless Ondrej Palat turnover to make it 3-1. Bo Horvat and Zach Parise added empty netters.

If there’s a cause for concern, it’s the Devils’ inability to create as much offense against tight checking opponents. Jack Hughes was bottled up on Monday night. A 40-goal scorer for the first time in his career, he finished with four shots and a minus-three in over 22 minutes. He got one good opportunity when he made a strong move to the net but was denied by Sorokin.

Sorokin’s best save came on Dawson Mercer during a delayed penalty. His backhand rebound seemed ticketed for the back of the net. But Sorokin somehow stuck his left pad out at the last split second to keep the Islanders in front. They then killed off an ineffective Devils power play early in the third.

The Devils haven’t played in three days. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond to the challenge later. With the Rangers right on their heels, it’s a good test. They’ve used their speed and skill well to take two of the previous three meetings. In particular, Hughes has had his way. He’s scored four goals and added an assist for five points.

Do things change versus a much improved rival that’s added Tarasenko, Kane, and Niko Mikkola? The Rangers finally have established lines. Gallant has found the right mix. Tarasenko has good chemistry with Zibanejad and Panarin, who’s playing his best hockey. Trocheck works best with Kane and Kreider, with all three Americans playing a unique combination of straightedge and play-making.

However, the key to their postseason aspirations remains the play of Chytil, Lafreniere, and Kakko. It’s that cohesive third unit that can combine their unique skill, speed, and grit to create problems for teams on the forecheck. They have found their rhythm. With Chytil scoring again and both Kakko and Lafreniere winning board battles, they’re the line to watch.

In a nice reward for a career best season that now includes 22 goals with 20 assists for 42 points, the Rangers announced a contract extension for the 23-year old Chytil yesterday. He received a four-year deal worth an average cap hit of $4.4 million. The contract will take him to his age 27 season in 2026-27.

Having a legit checking line helps. Prior to the key additions of Tarasenko and Kane to round out the top six, Gallant didn’t really have what he wanted. Now, he can roll four lines thanks to the hard-working trio of Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Tyler Motte. All three are strong on the wall and double as penalty killers.

Having that balance is a big key to success. The Rangers boast their most effective fourth line since 2013-14. That was the last time they appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was mostly comprised of Brian Boyle, Dominic Moore, and Derek Dorsett. However, Daniel Carcillo played a key role in helping them get past the Flyers in the first round. Everyone remembers the Boyle goal in Game Six versus Pittsburgh. Then his great feed to set up Moore for the series clincher against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final.

The best part of the current checking line is that they can all contribute. Gallant hasn’t been hesitant to have them out to protect a one-goal lead. They’re a grinding line who plays the right way.

The Devils are still trying to figure out the best place for Timo Meier. Acquires from San Jose, the 26-year-old, has struggled offensively. Part of the problem is he’s playing out of position. Due to both Jesper Bratt and Mercer, who are right wings on the top two lines, coach Lindy Ruff has been playing the proven goalscorer on the left side.

It hasn’t clicked yet. He only has four goals with two helpers for six points in his first 13 games as a Devil. Hardly the production they expect. In fact, Meier is minus-four over the last three games. He’s shooting the puck. They’re not going in.

Ruff has tried Meier with Hughes mostly. But he has also tweaked his lines to see what he’s capable of with two-way center Nico Hischier. It might be a better way to go. Both are from Switzerland. Ruff still has time to decide where Meier will fit best.

The play of Hughes, Hischier, and Bratt, along with the improvement of former first round pick Mercer, have provided the Devils with plenty of scoring punch. They’ve also gotten a good year out of veteran Tomas Tatar, who Ruff prefers to use as a complement. He can stick the checking Haula anywhere in the top nine. A strong face-off guy, he wins 54.7 percent.

Face-offs aren’t an issue. Hischier is 53.6 percent, and Mike McLeod is 61.0 percent. Due to Hughes’ struggles in the dot, they often have Haula take draws. Ruff has even used McLeod to win key face-offs to start overtime before changing.

The biggest question is if Vanecek can be the guy in goal. He had a good first half but has struggled recently. He’s never played this many games (47) in the league. Something Hasan alluded to in previous posts. With Mackenzie Blackwood back, they optioned Akira Schmid back to the AHL. He’s been good in his rookie year.

If you’re looking for an edge between the close Hudson rivals, it’s that the Rangers boast the reliable Shesterkin in the net. He’s the clear number one, having carried the team to the Conference Finals last season. Vanecek is unproven. So is Blackwood. It’ll be interesting to see what develops for the playoffs in New Jersey.

Each team boasts a stud defenseman. Adam Fox’s exploits are well documented. The former Norris winner is counted on to play in every situation and log big minutes while running the power play. His 11 goals, 56 assists, and 67 points pace all Rangers’ defensemen. He’s best working with Lindgren, who they’re resting to make sure he’s ready for the playoffs.

Dougie Hamilton has had a big bounce back year. Fully healthy, he’s paced the Devils on the back end with 19 goals, 49 helpers, and 68 points. All career bests. His eight power play goals are tied with both Hughes and Bratt for the team lead. Hamilton’s seven game-winners rank second on the team behind Hischier (9).

Unlike Fox, who acts more like a playmaker than goalscorer, Hamilton shoots to score. He possesses a top heavy shot that’s deadly accurate. He’s hit double digits in goals eight of his eleven seasons.

While the Devils lean on the tandem of Ryan Graves and John Marino for the key match-ups, the Rangers mostly go with K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba. Miller has been inconsistent in his end, frequently getting caught out of position. Not a natural defenseman, his tendency to look for offense can make that pair adventurous. Trouba is the classic physical D who can make an impact with his heavy hitting and blocked shots. He’s really led by example in his first year as captain.

The Devils are hoping Jonas Siegenthaler can rebound. He was pretty reliable in the first half, but his play slipped. He’s a key piece to that back end. Ruff has shown more confidence in using Kevin Bahl lately. His play has improved. He could play over Brendan Smith on the third pair with Damon Severson.

When fully healthy, the Rangers can shift Mikkola to the third pair with Braden Schneider, who isn’t shy about finishing checks. He’s a young defenseman who’s still trying to find consistency. He has good instincts. Ben Harpur has filled in admirably on the third pair when Mikkola has moved up to play with Fox. He plays with an edge.

In many ways, this feels like a prelude to a first round series. On Opening Day for baseball, tonight’s match-up should be exciting. Expect it to deliver.

Posted in Battle Of Hudson, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Devils clinch playoff berth, celebrate at the Rock with win over Ottawa

Posted on March 26, 2023 by hasan4978

Clinching playoff berths was never a big deal to the Devils (or their fans) of the 1990’s and 2000’s, the standard of excellence had become such that the season usually started in April for all intents and purposes. Since 2012 however, there’s only been one playoff appearance for the Devils – the 2017-18 blip on the radar, which was immediately followed by another four seasons of going backwards into rebuild 2.0. Even early this season it seemed like we were in for more of the same…of all people, it was Lindy Ruff who reminded me of the ugly 0-2 start at his presser last night, which now seems like a distant memory.

It’s a measure of how fast the standard has risen back here that last night wasn’t even an occasion for me to revel in, especially since there’ve been plenty of those already this season as our rise back to prominence has skyrocketed. The thirteen-game winning streak, the home OT comeback against the Rangers which ended our late fall and early winter swoon and the Carolina win two weeks ago that briefly tied us for the division lead, just to name a few. This whole season hasn’t just had ‘first in a decade’ moments, it’s been first in multiple decade moments, or even franchise history both from team and individual standpoints. Another one of the latter took place last night when Dougie Hamilton’s tie-breaking goal in the third period gave him the franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a season.

We all know what lies ahead in April, or at least the first step of it seems obvious at this point after two subpar weeks losing five of six before last night’s game (albeit two of them were shootout losses) put us back behind the Canes by two points with them having two games in hand. I still don’t remember how to describe games in hand from the other side of it – games out of hand? Maybe I’ll just go with that…we have two games out of hand with the Canes. Anyway, assuming they play to their winning percentage with the games in hand we’d be more like five points back than two with nine games left before our next postseason journey begins – hopefully one of many more over the next decade! Today isn’t the day to harp on the fact that it’s looking far more likely to be a first-round series against the Rangers than it did two weeks ago when we caught the Canes, there’ll be plenty of time to hype that series up, assuming it comes to pass.

Ironically, it was the rival Rangers who officially put the x next to our name by beating the Panthers, with their game concluding around the time of our first intermission last night. So last night wasn’t exactly the same type of adrenaline rush that the 2018 clincher was, in the next to last game of the season when we just got over the line after a March surge kept us barely in front of a streaking Panthers team. That team needed a win to clinch, we celebrated our clinch with a win. Even the players themselves were (hearteningly?) subdued after last night’s clinch. Last night, and the playoff celebration is more about the fans right now than the team. Amazingly enough only four players on this team were even here in 2018, and none of them were here throughout all of the losing the way the fans have been.

In addition, Nico and Bratt were just rookies that year. Severson and Wood are really the only Devil players you could characterize as ‘long-suffering’, and even Wood only had one full season in the league before 2017-18. Clearly though, they all (and everyone else on the roster) deserve a pat on the back and more for turning the mentality of the franchise and the fanbase around in just one season, after some very long years where you couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel. Especially when they all bore the brunt of the negativity early on, as the fans’ frustrations with the last decade all but boiled over.

This whole season after the first two games has had a bit of a surreal feeling to it, a ‘holy **** did we just do that?!’ vibe towards games, milestones and records. Even something trivial like being the second fastest team in franchise history to reach 100 points in a season (last night clinched that, too) makes you appreciate just how surreal this season has been. Obviously, we have shootout points and 3-on-3 OT’s to pad the point total but still, 19 regulation losses in 73 games is impressive – no matter what metric you’re using for the wins and OTL points.

I wouldn’t call last night a celebration for me as much as a time of reflection on the season itself, hence why I’m not even going to recap last week’s games. I wasn’t even at the Rock last night, though I probably would have gone if it was a true win and in situation. Possibly clinching in the first intermission (like we did last night) just didn’t have the same ring to it as the 2018 clincher did, although at least the Devils capped it off the right way.

It would have been even more of an odd emotional feeling if they’d lost after the clinch. What came to mind was more the call of whoever the Met announcer was in 1986 – Steve Zabrisky I think? – who stated ‘the inevitable has finally become a reality’ in regard to the Mets clinching a division they eventually won by 21.5 games. Clinching has felt inevitable for at least two months, since the Devils shook off their December doldrums. Not any less meaningful, to be sure but as the coach himself said last night, the job is far from done.

Today isn’t the day for Devils fans to sweat the what ifs of what’s ahead. If that inevitable becomes a reality (i.e. the Devil-Ranger showdown seemingly on the cards for months), the stakes will be as high as possible for a first-round series on both sides. Maybe it’s just as well we’re enduring a chill March now if Armageddon is almost upon us. Don’t get me wrong, it’d be nice if the team starts to play better before that point. They didn’t exactly go into the clinch on a high this week, with an even game against a surprisingly tough Wild team ending in a shootout loss on Tuesday followed by an early blistering in Buffalo on Friday when Akira Schmid gave up three goals in the first eleven minutes, leading to Vitek Vanecek playing the bulk of that game. Using both goalies gave the Devils an excuse to draw Mackenzie Blackwood back in last night after his latest stint on the injured list. At least Vanecek has played better in his last few appearances, starting with the game in Tampa last Sunday.

I can’t even worry about the minutiae of how they work out the goalie rotation over the last nine games, not to mention the lineup decisions including an odd decision to go with eleven forwards last night because the coach felt – probably correctly – they needed Brendan Smith against a team capable of physical play (and if you have a Thachuk you’re capable of dirty play, as well). To nobody’s surprise it was Brady Thachuk who took a run at Yegor Sharangovich, earning a response from Miles Wood. To everyone’s surprise – or not, if you know NHL officiating – Wood somehow got the instigator penalty despite the fact Thachuk had his gloves off even a fraction before Wood did and clearly knew it was coming. Apparently, the refs ruled that since Wood made a beeline for the player coming off the bench that was enough to justify an instigator, oh brother.

For some reason, all the YouTube videos of the fight are ‘age-restricted’ lol so I’m just posting the coach’s quote on the fight in this space instead:

Fortunately, that myopic decision to tag Wood with an instigator didn’t really cost us last night. Neither did Blackwood’s – ahem – rust which turned a 3-1 game into a 3-3 struggle before Dougie’s goal and Tomas Tatar’s empty-netter sealed it in the third, giving the Devils and fans a deserved capper on the clinch. We didn’t even get to 100 points in 2017-18 though we were just shy, and this year’s team got there with nine games to spare. There’s still a chance for some franchise records, including a realistic shot at the all-time record for points in a season (both team and individual).

From a team standpoint, six wins or twelve points in their last nine games would be enough to pass the 2000-01 Devils for the all-time high. In the individual points chase, Jack Hughes scored his 40th goal last night and has 86 points with nine games left, ten shy of Patrik Elias’s 96, as well as eight shy of Brian Gionta’s goals record. Clearly the points record is more realistic at this point, but you never know if Jack goes on another heater. Hamilton set the franchise record for goals by a defenseman, and still has an outside shot at Scott Stevens’ record for points in a season, needing ten over his last nine games to tie and eleven to break it. Our road dominance has led to all kinds of firsts and records there from a team standpoint.

There’ll be plenty of time and reflection to celebrate those accomplishments that do happen or have already happened, clearly as the coach and players know the season now is about what happens in April. As I said above, last night was more about a celebration for us than them. At least they responded to the energy in the building with a big final two periods last night after the clinch was official. Now, the next three weeks are about fine-tuning for the playoffs, managing workloads and keeping guys sharp. I’d say the division is a secondary concern at this point, especially likely being further back than the two-point deficit suggests.

Not to mention even if we somehow surge to the top (which would deserve its own celebration), it will just get us a playoff series with a hot Florida team who played well against us this year, or a pesky Isles team who can drag any series through the mud. Forget picking your matchups, just be in the best position to win by then. Arguably this week is one more ‘playoff rehearsal’ going up against the Isles tomorrow and the Rangers at the Rock on Thursday. With the Isles needing the game for their playoff push and the Rangers looking to jockey for home-ice in the first round, there’ll still be emotion in those two games clearly.

After that, there’s the danger for a potential lull down the stretch – especially in the final four games. Following our Battle of the Hudson week, we play a Bedard contender in Chicago on Saturday, followed by two more games against playoff bubble teams at Winnipeg next Sunday, then the Penguins the following Tuesday which should keep us on our toes. In the last week of the regular season we play Columbus at home followed by a trip to Boston who will likely just be fine-tuning for the playoffs by then having long since clinched the top seed, then the home finale against the Sabres before a road tilt at Washington, both of whom should be out of the playoff mix by then.

With only one more back-to-back, at least schedule compression won’t be the issue it arguably was the last couple of weeks, although it’ll make it more interesting to see how the goalie games get split up with Blackwood nominally healthy at the moment. It’ll also be interesting to see just how much emphasis they put on the chase for individual records and marks, especially if the division is out of play by the last week. We’re not used to having both in the same season, hah – usually either it’s one or the other at best.

Not even sure how to end this other than buckle up for the next ride, Devils fans!

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shesterkin’s key save turned the game around for Rangers in comeback win over Hurricanes

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Derek

In the playoffs, sometimes it comes down to the goalie. When they came back to defeat the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division Final last year, Igor Shesterkin was a big reason why.

A Vezina winner last season, he ultimately proved to be the difference in leading the Rangers to victories in Games Six and Seven of the hardly fought second round series. While Antti Raanta finally cracked in those games, Shesterkin delivered when it mattered the most.

During Thursday night’s game in Raleigh, he again reminded the Caniacs why he’s one of the game’s best goalies. Having played much better lately, Shesterkin helped keep his team in the rematch between the budding rivals.

After the Canes played an outstanding third period by getting three past Shesterkin in a come from behind 3-2 win at MSG on Tuesday night, they got off to a fast start in the second game of a home and home series.

The hitting was fast and furious between both sides. Carolina tried to use physicality to their advantage. They finished every check. The Rangers didn’t back down. A Jimmy Vesey hit on Jack Drury was part of the fun. Brent Burns caught Filip Chytil with a hard check.

Drury cross-checked Tyler Motte to take a penalty halfway through the first period. Only eleven seconds later, Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was nabbed for a delay of game penalty. That gave the lifeless Blueshirts a long five-on-three. For 1:49, they had the chance to convert on the power play.

Instead, shots either went off the goalpost (Zibanejad) or missed wide. Even with coach Gerard Gallant opting to load up his top unit again with a five-man unit that featured Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox, they couldn’t take advantage.

Frederik Andersen also came up with a few key saves to keep the game scoreless. The most frustrating part was seeing a loaded power play get quality looks but fail to connect. You had Fox try a hard pass for Kane that he couldn’t gather in. Kane then fired wide. So did Panarin on a frustrating two-man advantage.

Following a successful kill of an Alexis Lafreniere minor penalty, a good lead pass from Martin Necas sent Sebastian Aho into the Rangers zone. With the defense backing in, Aho made a nice toe drag before firing home his 31st to give the Hurricanes the lead at 16:47.

On the play, both Fox and Jacob Trouba were too far back. The forwards didn’t make it hard for Aho, who had easy access to come in and pick his spot. If there’s a glaring issue, it’s the Rangers continuing the trend of backing up. That makes it easier for opponents to score off the rush. It’s something that’ll need to be corrected before the playoffs start in April.

The Hurricanes played a strong first period, using their speed to get in on the forecheck and possess the puck. They held a big territorial edge in play. Not shockingly, they out-shot the Rangers 13-3.

Shesterkin made a dozen saves with many coming during the first part of the period. He was sharp throughout. He would finish the game with 29 saves en route to winning his 33rd game in game number 52. Aside from the loss he had on Tuesday to these Canes, Shesterkin has won six of his last seven starts. Over that stretch, he’s posted a 1.84 GAA and .942 save percentage.

After they killed off a holding minor on Zibanejad that carried over into the second period, Shesterkin made a couple of more saves, including denying a Staal deflection. At that point, shots favored the Canes by a 15-3 margin.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi had Chytil lined up at center ice for a big hit. Good thing Chytil saw it and protected himself. He still got accidentally clipped by the skate of Kotkaniemi. Play was stopped for a potential injury. Fortunately, it wasn’t top bad. Chytil was able to stay in the game. He didn’t miss a shift.

The first good sign of the period was a strong drive from Vladimir Tarasenko, where he bulled his way to the net, forcing Andersen into a tough save on a backhand. He went around Burns, who took him down for a holding penalty.

But the power play didn’t get much done. Vincent Trocheck was stopped by Andersen, who’d later knock him down when the former Hurricane was standing in front. Part of what makes Trocheck a good player. The second unit featured him with Chytil, Lafreniere, Tarasenko, and Trouba.

With his team still not up to speed, Shesterkin took matters into his own hands. After stopping Drury moments earlier, he got over to rob Jesse Puljujarvi of a sure goal on a good feed from Derek Stepan. It was a pass across for a quick one-timer. But Shesterkin made the key save to prevent the Hurricanes from going up by two.

That clutch save finally woke the Rangers up. Shesterkin’s brilliance energized his teammates. Following Andersen denying a Chytil chance, Tarasenko made a good drop pass for Zibanejad, which led to him finding Panarin wide open for the tying goal at 10:33. The goal was the fourth for Panarin in four games. He’s up to 24. He has nine points over the last half dozen games. It’s 13 (5-8-13) over the past nine.

Right after Panarin tied the game, Shesterkin denied a Drury bid to keep it at 1-1. He would also make a good save on Stefan Noesen when the Canes were on a power play due to K’Andre Miller going off for hooking Necas. He made 12 more saves in the second.

Late in the period, a nice rush from Niko Mikkola nearly led to Panarin getting his second. However, Andersen made two nice saves, including a second one on a tricky backhand to keep the game tied.

Mikkola continues to be a key defenseman for the Rangers. He was included in the Tarasenko deal with the Blues. With Ryan Lindgren back out of the lineup, Mikkola stepped up by playing on the first pair with Fox. He logged 19:37 in 24 shifts with three hits and a plus-one rating.

That trade is looking better and better. Tarasenko has played more of a two-way game since settling in on Zibanejad’s right side. He’s also been willing to finish checks and absorb hits. It’s been his overall play that’s stood out. So far, he’s been a better player than Kane, who’s been hit or miss. They got him for the postseason. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.

When the second period concluded, the Rangers had eight shots. They played much better following that momentum turning Shesterkin save on Puljujarvi. Overall, the Canes still led in shots, 25 to 11.

By the time the third period began, it felt like a different game. Thanks to the goaltending of Shesterkin, the Rangers weathered the storm. In this case, it was a hurricane. Their fans are loud in PNC Arena. But the Rangers had their own contingent who live in the area as well.

It had a similar feel to some of the games they’ve won against Carolina. The Rangers seem very comfortable playing in that building. We saw it when they easily took the deciding Game Seven last year. It showed in a third period eruption that was highlighted by Panarin’s first four-goal game on Feb. 11. A game that went from 2-1 Hurricanes to 6-2, Rangers.

Following a miss by Jesper Fast, Panarin had a tip-in go wide. Aho also missed his own tip-in afterward. This all happened in the first 75 seconds.

Trocheck came close to breaking the tie. Following a face-off, he had his shot hit the goalpost and stay out. That close to burning his former team.

Finally, on a play in transition started by Zibanejad up to Panarin, he found Fox in the slot for a shot that beat Andersen to give the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead at 4:01. It was a perfect read by Panarin. Fox scored his first goal in 25 games since Jan. 23.

Although he doesn’t always shoot to score, Fox has a six-game point streak with a goal and five assists. He’s up to 65 points (11-54-65) in 72 games. Last year, he had 74 points (11-63-74) in 78 games.

Both Kakko and Lafreniere had great opportunities to extend the lead. First, Kakko tried a wrap-around that Andersen denied. On another shift, Lafreniere was in on the Hurricanes goalie but had his backhand stopped. Andersen made the key saves to keep his team afloat in the third.

Unlike the previous two periods, there weren’t a lot of shots. The Rangers defended much better. Once they got the lead, they did a good job protecting it. Whether it was continuing to forecheck or blocking shots, they didn’t give up much.

Carolina could only muster five shots. None that seriously threatened Shesterkin. They lifted Andersen for an extra attacker with 100 seconds left. It didn’t matter.

That’s how well the Rangers played. Gallant trusted his checking forwards with Barclay Goodrow, Motte, and Vesey out for most of the final couple of shifts. Zibanejad was also used. Trocheck took the final draw as the Rangers earned their third victory in four games to win the season series.

Shesterkin was the biggest reason they won. He held them in there. That allowed the Rangers to find their game. Once they did, it was their skill players who were in on the two goals. They out-skilled the Canes, who definitely showed their biggest weakness without injured forwards Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov.

The Canes still sit atop the Metro with 100 points. They have a dozen games left. Two more than the Rangers, who have 94 with 10 games remaining. They are third, trailing the Devils for second by four. They’re in action later tonight against the Sabres.

With every save a more confident Shesterkin makes, the better the Rangers’ chances are. He’s still the x-factor. The Hurricanes’ storm was put out by Igor.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lindgren’s return can’t prevent third period disappointment in playoff style loss to determined Hurricanes

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Derek

Before opening face-off at MSG, the Rangers got good news. After missing 11 games, Ryan Lindgren finally returned from the upper-body injury he suffered on a T.J. Oshie hit against the Capitals.

The glue of the defense was back. Similar to old hat Dan Girardi, the prideful man from Minnesota wearing double fives on the back of his jersey received a warm welcome from excited fans. They know what Lindgren brings. As I’ve echoed before in this space, he provides the nuts and bolts. Whatever the team needs, he’ll do.

It had been almost a month since he last played. Everyone understands how valuable he is to the team with championship aspirations. Even though they’ve been winning games, it hasn’t always gone smoothly. However, Ben Harpur deserves a kudos for how he handled the extra minutes while Lindgren was out. He’s a solid extra defenseman with character and grit.

On what was an emotional night due to the sudden passing of Knicks legend Willis Reed, the Rangers held a moment of silence for the Captain. There isn’t a greater Knick in terms of impact. The flashbacks of him coming out of the locker room to thunderous cheers for Game Seven against Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers is fondly remembered by all. All he had to do was make his first two jump shots to lead the Knicks to the franchise’s first NBA title.

As sad a day as it was for New York sports, Reed will always be fondly remembered. MSG made sure to have the right touch during last night’s game by showing clips of the all-time great. Number 19 hangs from the rafters in the Garden.

When we watch Lindgren during each shift, he brings the grit and hustle to the ice. It’s the pride and passion that he plays with that’s made him a fan favorite. He sure makes a difference while teamed up with Adam Fox. The anchor of the blue line clearly struggled without his running mate. With 11 games left, it’s a good chance for the key tandem to get back in sync.

In what was a fast-moving playoff style game between two rivals, Lindgren was called for a dubious holding minor late in the second period. In fact, it was former teammate Jesper Fast who grabbed a hold of Lindgren to pull him in to draw the call. Fans held their breath as Lindgren went down on the play. He struggled to get up and went back to the locker room.

At the time, the Rangers were leading 1-0 thanks to a Tyler Motte goal that came with three minutes left in a tightly contested first period. On a face-off inside the Carolina zone, Jimmy Vesey intercepted a Brady Skjei pass down low. He then got the puck over to Barclay Goodrow, who found Motte open for an easy finish in front at 17:00.

That opening period was well played by both sides. It was clean hockey without any penalties. Initially, the Canes got some good looks on Igor Shesterkin, who continued his recent improvement. He made nine saves in the first while counterpart Frederik Andersen stopped 11 of 12 shots.

The Hurricanes knew the importance of this game. Having lost the first two to the Blueshirts in the season series, a regulation loss would’ve put their hold on first place in jeopardy. They entered play with 98 points. One up on the Devils and six ahead of the Rangers with a home and home series.

Carolina isn’t as high scoring a team as the Blueshirts, who exploded for six goals in a lopsided 7-0 rout of the Predators on Sunday night. The game was over quickly. K’Andre Miller highlighted the victory by becoming the first Ranger to record four points (2-2-4) in a first period since former captain Kelly Kisio. Filip Chytil also snapped his scoring drought with his 20th goal in the blowout.

The Hurricanes lost two of their biggest threats for the remainder of the season. Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles) and Andrei Svechnikov (knee) are big blows for a team that doesn’t have many consistent scorers. They’ll have to do it by committee.

A puck possession team under coach Rod Brind’Amour, they’ll rely on captain Sebastian Aho to lead the way along with Martin Necas. They’ve gotten a good season out of Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The checking center has been contributing lately and is starting to resemble the player they thought they were signing away from Montreal.

Their blue line has balance. Jaccob Slavin remains the shutdown defenseman who pairs up with veteran Brent Burns. He still can get it done offensively. The second pair is similar with Brett Pesce proving steady play while Skjei looks for offense. His 15 goals are a career high that paces the back end. Burns has a dozen while leading the defense with 41 assists and 53 points. They added Shayne Gostisbehere for power play help. An area he excels at. Chatfield has provided solid depth on the third pair.

If one were to look at the Hurricanes compared to the Rangers, you’d probably place a blue checkmark next to the offense, power play, and goaltending. There’s no question they have more firepower. Adding Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane to a core that features Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Vincent Trocheck makes them formidable.

Even with their recent struggles, the older Kid Line are capable of contributing. So, too are the best checking line they’ve had since Brian Boyle, Dominic Moore, and either Derek Dorsett or Daniel Carcillo were making key contributions on the 2013-14 team during the postseason.

Shesterkin is an obvious edge over the respectable Andersen in net. Of course, that doesn’t always mean what you think. Even all-time greats have been outplayed in the playoffs. But I know who I’m rolling with in the Metro Division. Although Islanders fans can make a strong case for Ilya Sorokin. He’s been the better netminder this season.

So, what happened during Tuesday night’s 3-2 home loss? The Rangers wilted in a disappointing third period. Having been outplayed by a wide margin during a second period that favored the Canes, who had the puck in the Rangers zone for long stretches, they couldn’t quite put Carolina away.

Even with the remainder of a second power play followed by another man-advantage in which Fast tripped up Shesterkin from behind outside his crease, the Rangers’ special teams got nothing accomplished.

Instead, it was the highly rated Hurricanes’ penalty kill that gave them fits by standing up at the blue line. They got sticks on pucks and made key clears, forcing the Rangers to reset. Even the much improved balanced power play units couldn’t make a dent. They never got much setup time. Andersen didn’t have to work too hard.

Consider that it was the Canes who out-shot the Blueshirts 15-5 in the second. It wasn’t so much a case of it being high quality. Most of the shots were ones you’d expect Shesterkin to stop. The Rangers still did a good enough job defending the net front. But there definitely was too much time spent in their end.

For a while, it looked like they’d protect the one-goal lead. Shesterkin remained locked in. His best save came when he made an aggressive glove denial on Noesen. But the Canes kept coming.

Eventually, a mishap from Chris Kreider cost Shesterkin the shutout. On a transition play where Jack Drury and Derek Stepan combined to move the puck up for Chatfield, he got a step on Kreider and whipped a high rising shot from the right circle past Shesterkin to tie the score at 9:49.

What happened next nobody could’ve predicted. Before you could settle in, Fox moved the puck across for a Lindgren shot that banked off a Carolina player right to Kaapo Kakko. He made no mistake burying the gift past Andersen to restore a one-goal lead just 31 seconds later. It ended an 11-game drought. Lucky goal number 13 put the Rangers back in front.

However, there was even more chaos. Before the public address announcer, Joe Tolleson could announce the Kakko goal, back came the Hurricanes. It was some hard work from their second line that tied the game only 18 seconds later.

Off some sustained pressure from Jordan Staal and Fast behind the Rangers’ net, Miller made the mistake of going to the corner where Zibanejad had his man. That allowed Fast to center across for an easy Noesen finish for his 11th at 10:38. Jacob Trouba had to go occupy Fast on the other side. So, neither defenseman was in front on the play. But it was Miller’s responsibility to stay home. That caused the goal.

For all the accolades he receives for his skating and improvement offensively with a career best 38 points, Miller remains an enigma defensively. Too often, he gets caught up ice or is caught out of position, leading to goals against. His defense has been tough to watch over the past month. Trouba has to do too much.

It’s not cohesive. That explains why Gerard Gallant opted to move Niko Mikkola up to the second pair while shifting Miller down with Braden Schneider for the remainder of the game.

Even on a night, Lindgren was able to return for the third period to the relief of many. The issues that plague the defense were there to be seen. Miller has played his way off a long-term contract. More fans are noticing his miscues. He is skilled. However, his defense has to get better. If not, it’s hard to see what’s a loaded roster getting through the Eastern Conference.

If I’m the coach, I would keep Mikkola with Trouba for the rematch at Carolina tomorrow night. Let Miller work with Schneider where there’s less pressure. Of course, Brind’Amour can dictate the match-ups due to having the last change. Knowing Gallant, he’ll probably go right back to Miller and Trouba.

At this point in his young career, Miller should have a better idea of when to stay home and when to go. This isn’t only on the player. It’s also about the system. Is enough coaching being done? Why does he continue to make the same mistakes without any discipline? If it were anyone else, they would’ve sat.

In the final part of the game, the Canes were more desperate. There was urgency to their game. On a night they blanketed the Rangers’ top six, it wad Carolina, who found the game-winner.

With under three minutes remaining, Kotkaniemi moved the puck up for Burns. As the Rangers were scrambling for position, including Kreider, Burns burned them with a good pass across for a Teravainen goal that came with 2:33 left in regulation.

On the play, it wasn’t about the positioning of Fox or Lindgren. But rather where Kreider was standing on the deciding goal. He got caught puck watching. Stuck in no man’s land, he wasn’t in the right position as Teravainen redirected Burns’ feed. On two scoring plays, Kreider got caught in the wrong position. He’s usually better than that. He knew it, too.

The Rangers were unable to find the equalizer. This was the Canes’ period. They came back from a 1-0 deficit to outscore the Rangers 3-1. That allowed them to earn a big win to hit the century mark in points. Combined with the Devils getting a point in a buzzer beater by Wild forward Matt Boldy in overtime, Carolina now leads the division by two points with 13 games left.

Instead of potentially winning in regulation and cutting the deficit to four for first place, the Rangers are now eight behind the Hurricanes. They trail the Devils by six for second. Each team has 11 left, including a pivotal game on March 30 at The Prudential Center.

Sometimes, that’s how it goes. It’s one loss. There’s no reason to panic. They are going to wind up in the top three of the Metro Division. The Islanders routed the Maple Leafs to move up to 82 points. They’re first in the wildcard. Combined with Florida losing to the Flyers, they are three up on the Panthers and four on the skidding Penguins.

As for the Blueshirts, they’ll get back to work. You can’t win them all. One more intriguing match with the Canes in Raleigh. Then, 10 more games on the schedule. There’s still some work to be done.

Posted in Column, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment