Rangers’ top guns silenced by league best Bruins, who turn MSG into a morgue, Gallant short changes bench in blah loss

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Derek

It would be easy to conclude that the Bruins are a better team than the Rangers. Through 45 games or so, the records of each Original Six team confirm that.

The B’s played a back-to-back after taking care of the Islanders in their barn 4-1. The Rangers played for the first time since a less than impressive 3-1 road win over the hapless Blue Jackets. The difference is they had two days off after Monday to prepare for what amounted to a measuring stick kind of game.

Playing against a team that doesn’t lose many games that were on their second consecutive game without rest, the Rangers simply didn’t take advantage. They weren’t good enough. None of the top guns stepped up. The result was a blah 3-1 loss that left me and a whole lot of other fans frustrated.

It isn’t due to the Bruins, who improved to a remarkable 36-5-4 through 45 games. They did what they were supposed to. Took advantage of a few mistakes and buried three past Igor Shesterkin, who would probably want the third goal back that came only 28 seconds into the period to turn MSG into a morgue.

The issue is that after playing their opponents fairly even except on the scoreboard for two periods, they melted in a lackluster third that felt very vanilla. Even the first career goal as a Ranger for a very deserving Ben Harpur with 4:23 left never felt like the start of a comeback. At least it was a good moment for him.

You never got the sense they could come back. Not after coach Gerard Gallant pulled another line switch in the middle of the second period that felt like an act of desperation.

While he admitted to reporters afterwards that it wasn’t on Vitaly Kravtsov for his sudden demotion to the checking line where he took the remainder of his shifts with Jake Leschyshyn and Jonny Brodzinski, the explanation Gallant gave was unsatisfactory. It felt like another punishment of a player who showed a pulse scoring last game and getting a scoring chance when he played with Artemi Panarin tonight.

Who’s he kidding? If most observers including not even the biggest Kravtsov fans can see that there’s little chemistry between Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, who was at fault on the second Boston goal scored by a vacated Patrice Bergeron, why can’t the coach see it?

Is he oblivious to the different styles they play? Trocheck fits better with Jimmy Vesey, who was elevated on the mismatched second line while Kravtsov drowned on the fourth line. No place for a young skill player to excel. At this point, I’m ready to give up.

Kravtsov would fare better under a more trustworthy coach who isn’t afraid to put him in a better position to succeed. I hope he escapes Gotham City. It’s never going to happen under a bland coach who prefers grinders. Gallant has a lot in common with Colin Campbell. That’s not a good thing either. Campbell pulled this crap with a more established Alexei Kovalev. Then, he was dealt to the Pens and exploded.

I half-wonder how Alexis Lafreniere feels being shuffled around like a used card deck. How can he have any confidence? At least he ended his point drought by picking up a primary assist on the Harpur goal that came in garbage time. He also took one of those needless hooking minors where his stick wasn’t parallel to the ice. It was a mixed bag for Lafreniere, who only was credited with one shot on goal.

The real frustrating part is that the division is up for grabs. Who in the Metro is a heavyweight? Carolina? I’m not buying it. They lead it with 64 points after a defeating the Wild 5-2. They are a good team, but I’m not sold on them going far in the playoffs. The Devils? They’re young and talented. But lack grit which could be problematic.

Certainly not the Rangers, who remain a mystery wrapped around an enigma inside a puzzle. Definitely not the Capitals and Penguins, who both are beatable. The Islanders look like toast due to their anemic offense. Five out of six are likely making it, which means one could be the second wildcard opponent for the Bruins. I wonder how they’d feel about potentially drawing the Caps or Pens in a first round series.

Even at this point, nobody can tell me with certainty that this team isn’t capable of going on a run and winning the first two rounds if they finish in the top three. They can. That’s why Gallant must change his evil ways. Stop with the Trocheck/Panarin combo that is clearly not working.

It’s time for Filip Chytil to get the nod between Panarin and Kravtsov (until the inevitable happens). Trocheck works best with gritty two-way types who play straight ahead. That’s Vesey and perhaps Lafreniere, who will take the body and forecheck. Barclay Goodrow can always be elevated if necessary. That’s how Gallant uses him. Goody can be plugged anywhere.

Of the four original lines he went with, the third line of Chytil between Lafreniere and Goodrow were effective at even strength. They had a couple of strong shifts down low. Goodrow’s energy can rub off.

The fourth line which was centered by recent waiver pick-up Jake Leschyshyn (second game as a NYR) alongside Vesey and Jonny Brodzinski was effective. They nearly combined for an early goal. But an aggressive Jeremy Swayman came out to stop Brodzinski in front. He was very sharp making 31 saves on 32 shots to earn his 11th victory.

This also marked the first game back for Chris Kreider. He missed the previous three games due to a lower-body injury stemming from a hit he took. It wasn’t a memorable night for the 52-goal scorer. He was on for two goals against including the backbreaking Clifton goal that was due to his turnover at the end of a power play. He also was denied on another power play by the pad of Swayman. Kreider was rusty.

What were the excuses for Panarin and Mika Zibanejad? Panarin had five shots on nine attempts. Nothing went in. He also over-passed on a perfect Kravtsov feed where he had room to shoot the puck. Instead, the pass down low for Trocheck never connected. It went right into the teeth of the Bruins defense.

Zibanejad had three shots and another three that never made the net. He didn’t have any memorable shifts. It didn’t click. Kaapo Kakko was all but invisible with no shots and a whole lot of nothing against a well schooled defensive team. He never missed a shift. He gets more leeway than the other young forwards.

Kravtsov got rewarded for his one dangerous chance on a one-timer that Swayman stopped by moving down. He finished with 10:18 in 10 shifts all at even strength. Gallant never considered using him down two goals with Shesterkin pulled. Why would he? Maybe Kravtsov should make a jailbreak. It worked in Midnight Express.

It’s extremely difficult to beat a quality opponent like the Bruins when you shorten your bench. That’s what Gallant decided. He outfoxed himself. Jim Montgomery did no such thing, rolling all four lines with only A.J. Greer getting slightly under 10 minutes. Down a key defenseman after Brandon Carlo left during the second period due to a blocked shot, the Jack Adams favorite simply worked in his third pair that features Matt Grzelcyk and Clifton. That’s what a confident coach does when he believes in his depth.

There wasn’t much difference between the old rivals in the opening period. However, just to remind them of who they are, the Bruins took advantage of a Shesterkin poor pass that gave Kravtsov no chance to clear the zone. Before you knew it, a loose puck came right to David Krejci, who fired a perfect shot pass right on the stick of Pavel Zacha for a nice redirection goal at 1:19.

On the scoring play, Zacha was given too much room to tip in the Krejci shot past Shesterkin. The closest player was Trocheck. He didn’t pick him up.

Trocheck is a good player. He didn’t have a particularly good game. He was responsible for two Bruins goals. Outside of going 10 for 16 on face-offs, he was a net negative. Since recording a goal and assist in a win over the Panthers on New Year’s Day, Trocheck has one assist over the last eight games. Gallant decided to reunite him with Panarin.

A couple of shifts following the Zacha tally, Leschyshyn and Brodzinski almost combined to tie it up. After Brodzinski just missed on a tip-in, Leschyshyn was stopped on a rebound by a sharp Swayman. It was a good shift by the energy line.

Due to their tenacious forecheck, Brad Marchand got two early chances to score. However, Shesterkin was up to the task in keeping The Rat off the scoreboard.

Following some hitting from both sides, there were close calls on each end. First, the B’s third line just missed with both Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic going wide. On the opposite end, Goodrow made a bid in close. However, he was denied by Swayman.

The first was very back and forth. It was very entertaining to watch. The teams combined for 24 shots (13-11 B’s). There were opportunities on both ends. The Rangers could’ve scored on a couple, but Swayman was really on. He made key stops on Leschyshyn, Panarin and Kreider.

If there was a crucial point, it came with Kreider off for holding Hampus Lindholm. On a good lead pass, McAvoy broke in on Shesterkin. Adam Fox raced back and tried to break it up. But his stick caught skate leading to tripping to give the Bruins a five-on-three for 1:41.

With Boston looking to get that second goal, the Rangers penalty killers stepped up. A Zibanejad takeaway and clear killed precious time. Both Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren were their warrior selves blocking shots. Astonishingly, the Bruins only wound up with two shots on Shesterkin with him stopping Marchand to get a stoppage. His best save came before it expired when he came out to rob Coyle.

With under a minute to go in the period, Chytil got a step on Craig Smith to draw an interference minor. They managed one shot on the first part. Following defensive stalwart Derek Forbort blocking a Trocheck shot, Kreider had a tip-in denied by Swayman before the first expired.

Although they were trailing, it was a good period. It felt like they could get the game tied and go from there. That’s not what happened. The Bruins killed the remaining 1:12 of the five-on-four at the start of the second. Swayman made one save on Trocheck followed by another after the Bruins were back at full strength.

Prior to those saves, Carlo got in front of a Zibanejad one-timer and took some punishment. Pretty soon, Boston was playing with five defensemen. Carlo exited the game and didn’t return. Hopefully, it’s not too serious. A defensive defenseman with size, he’s a key part of the Bruins defense.

They also were without Jake DeBrusk, who is out awhile with lower-body injuries sustained in the Winter Classic. It doesn’t matter. They just plug someone in and keep rolling. How come Boston can do that and if the Rangers have one player out, it screws everything up? Makes you wonder about who’s in charge of the bench. Toss some more numbers in a hat.

One would’ve thought the Rangers had momentum. Instead, it was the Bruins who took it away like Mall Rats. If you don’t get the reference, then you should rent the underrated Kevin Smith movie.

On what was a heads-up play by Smith, who got the puck ahead for Marchand (speaking of rats), they caught the Rangers napping. They had four players back. All it took was a misread by one to allow Marchand to feed Patrice Bergeron in the high slot for a wrist shot that went stick side on a frustrated Shesterkin, who apparently got a skate shower as it was scored.

Steve Valiquette showed the replay during intermission adding that he’d never seen that happen before. Neither have I. Had Trocheck not followed Harpur towards the net, and remembered to cover Bergeron in the slot, the goal never happens. He didn’t. Just like that, Bruins 2, Rangers 0.

Right after, McAvoy almost made it 3-0. But Shesterkin bailed out his teammates. On the other end, Kravtsov made a bid for goals in two straight. But he had his slap shot from the slot denied by the unflappable Swayman. Nothing was getting by him. Later in the period, following Gallant’s desperate move, Panarin was one on one with the Bruins goalie. He was stoned.

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That’s how it went. The Blueshirts had their looks as Alain Vigneault loved to say. But nothing went in. When he wasn’t getting stopped, the Bread Man was firing missiles wide. Maybe they can attack the $11.65 million dollar man the same way they do Ivan Provorov. If that’s what he felt comfortable doing, that was his choice. Or do all the cynical Canadian analysts prefer anarchy like Russia where some of these players must fear for their families back home? Ask Panarin.

I have gay friends who are married. I support them. I think it should be more personal. Stop forcing it everywhere. Cancel culture isn’t healthy. We should be respectful of others. The same applies for different opinions. If someone disagrees with me, fine. That’s your prerogative. If anyone has interest in a nice colorful rainbow Rangers Pride towel, please contact me. No charge. It was an extra from the last game I attended. Email me at kovy274hart@yahoo.com.

Personally, I don’t care. I understand why they have such nights. Everyone should be accepting of others. I watched the Provorov interview and thought he was polite and respectful. I preferred sports without all of this. It’s contrived.

Back to the game. I’m not going to say it was miserable. The Rangers had the better of the play for a good portion of the middle stanza. They never could capitalize due to the second-year netminder. Swayman made all the stops. That included 11 during the second. He turned aside Vesey who got his own rebound off a wide carom. He robbed Panarin, who felt just enough back pressure to shoot quicker than he would’ve preferred.

Shesterkin did his part too. He made a key stop on Coyle, who looks much better now that his line produces. The rapid improvement of former first round pick Trent Frederic (10 goals) and veteran Nick Foligno rediscovering himself has made that quite a third line. It hardly looks like one. A credit to Montgomery, who sure has done a great job replacing Bruce Cassidy. He’s in Vegas and has another team in first place.

One of the biggest differences was the Bruins willingness to get down and dirty. They blocked a ton of shots. In total, they had 25 as a team. Fourteen of eighteen skaters blocked at least one. Forbort led everyone with six. He’s a shot blocking machine who finishes checks. He also had six hits. That’s why I gave him the game’s Second Star. His effort epitomizes what makes the B’s so tough.

The Rangers out-attempted the Bruins 70-50. However, they only out-shot them 32-27. They had 38 attempts never reach the net. On the flip side, the Bruins had 23 that never hit the target. They were more efficient and opportunistic. To be blunt, they took advantage of three Rangers breakdowns. That was the difference in the game.

Even when Clifton misfired on an attempted clear for a delay of game minor late in the second period, his team blanketed an ineffective Rangers top unit. They were hungrier to the puck. That was evident on another Forbort block and a Lindholm defensive play behind his own net. He shielded the puck and then cleared it down at the start of the third.

What did Gallant do? Zilch. Never adjusted his power play. Continued the same trend. Is it Groundhog Day yet? If it were, Groundhog Chuck would see his own shadow when it comes to our coach and his Blind Faith in the first unit. That’s a music reference if you appreciate classic rock and not the awful computer generated crap they blast at MSG.

As the power play expired, Kreider over skated a loose puck inside the blue line. His turnover allowed Krejci and Marchand to combine to send Clifton in on Shesterkin. Marchand passed across for Clifton, who quickly went high short side to the glove for a 3-0 lead at 28 seconds of the third.

The game was essentially over. The fans that attended knew it. They didn’t make much noise. They had no reason to. But the crowds today don’t compare. Enough said.

When the supporting lines are more visible than the top two, that’s a problem. The best Rangers no showed the third. It was mostly dull and boring. A very vanilla period with little excitement. With seven minutes remaining, it felt like our players were skating around aimlessly. They weren’t in any rush. It was infuriating.

Gallant kept his new lines and played them as if there was no care in the world. Even as Panarin and Trocheck go together like oil and water, he kept sending them out with Vesey. Nothing positive happened.

If it sounds like I’m bored, that’s because I was during that ho-hum period. It was disappointing. They had a good team playing their sixth period over 24 hours and never made them sweat. It was embarassing.

I get it. The Bruins are really good. They’re at a historic pace. And what will be their reward for it? Maybe the Pens or Caps. Then either the Leafs or Lightning. That doesn’t feel like a reward. It feels like a punishment. How many points will they reach? They’re up to 76 in 45 games. That means there’s still 37 left. Wow.

The league is backwards. This divisional format while great in theory doesn’t reward the best teams. All three that’ll make it out of the Atlantic are better than any Metro team. It should be seeded 1-8. Same for the very competitive Central that will soon see the Avalanche make their climb up the standings. What if that’s who the Stars or Jets draw in the first round? Logical? Insane.

Notice I didn’t bother with the Harpur goal. It was nice to see. Lafreniere got the puck over to him and his long shot beat a screened Swayman with 4:23 remaining. Had they showed that kind of urgency earlier, maybe it’s a different game. They didn’t make life difficult for Swayman until the bitter end. He still made a great save on a double deflection of an Adam Fox shot. He also got a piece of a Trouba shot that was deflected.

Swayman had a great game. He was better than Shesterkin, who still was good in turning aside 24 of 27. He didn’t get enough run support. At least somebody scored a five-on-five goal.

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Next up are the Panthers on Monday, January 23. They remain underwhelming. They’re hanging around. But it’s Sergei Bobrovsky getting the starts with Spencer Knight out.

Paul Maurice roasted the refs following a frustrating 5-4 overtime loss up in Toronto. He was justified. They called Radko Gudas for charging on a clean hit. He said, “It wasn’t Panther friendly.” The stupid league fined him $25,000. Toronto is treated differently than almost every team. I feel his frustration. They need every point.

That’s gonna do it. Enjoy the weekend!

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Improvement of young Blueshirts a key to second half, Lafreniere struggles continue, Kreider back to face league best Bruins

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Derek

A few hours leading up to what amounts to a big game at 33rd and 7th when the Rangers host the league-leading Bruins in a battle of Original Six with plenty of history, let’s look into a few young Blueshirts who have improved their play.

The plus side for the Rangers, who enter tonight’s home match sitting third in the Metro Division with 57 points, has been the play of Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and K’Andre Miller. All three have taken steps in the right direction to help contribute in wins. The growth of each is encouraging for the team’s present and future. They’re all 23 and under.

Let’s start with Chytil. In his fifth season, the former ’17 first round pick (21st) has been able to play more consistently. Although he has missed some time due to injuries which is why some refer to him as Filip Brittle, the 23-year old center has been a key secondary scorer the team cab rely on.

With a primary assist that set up Vitaly Kravtsov for his first goal in 12 games during a good bounce back win at the Blue Jackets, it gave Chytil a new career high in points with 24. His previous best was 23 which he has in both ’18-19 and ’19-20. The injury bug didn’t help him the past two seasons where he went an identical 8-14-22 with that same total in 67 games during ’21-22 leaving much to be desired.

However, the turning point came during the playoffs. It was there that a more focused Chytil showed maturity and newfound grit as he scored seven goals and added two assists all while centering Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko on the third line. They were instrumental in helping the team get past the first two rounds and nearly by the Lightning.

In 37 contests this season with his contract up, Chytil has continued to emerge as a younger leader. He’s backed it up by scoring 12 goals with 12 assists for 24 points and a plus-10 rating. While 20 points have come at even strength which has aided a team that sometimes struggles at five-on-five, he’s also contributed on the power play. His three power play goals lead the little used second unit that’s shown improvement. Hopefully, they’ll earn more ice time in the second half.

With Chytil evolving into a reliable player who has a shot at cracking 20 goals and over 40 points barring something unforeseen, there’s also been the growth of Kakko. The former ’19 second pick has shown more confidence with the puck during extended shifts. Although it hasn’t always led to consistent production as his nine goals and 11 assists would indicate, the 21-year old who turns 22 next month is much more noticeable on the forecheck.

It’s the size and strength along with puck protection that’s allowed Kakko to become more effective on the cycle. He’s able to skate in and out of traffic more and find room to either shoot or pass the puck. A bit unselfish, the puck possession hound can certainly think shot more and increase his goal production. He creates enough chances. On track for new personal bests across the board, the right wing is headed in the right direction.

With a pair of helpers on Monday night including a nice lead pass that allowed Mika Zibanejad to score his team-leading 20th versus Columbus, we’re seeing a more confident player who is starting to get it. He also picked up a secondary helper on Barclay Goodrow’s first career power play goal. A nifty redirect of a K’Andre Miller point shot.

Speaking of which, Miller is having his best stretch so far. The assist on the Goodrow tally allowed him to join an exclusive list of Blueshirts who recorded points in seven straight games as a defenseman before turning 23. Per NYRStatsInfo, that list includes Rangers legend Brian Leetch and former Ranger Neal Pionk over the past 35 years.

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Had they backtracked a bit further, that small list also includes Ron Greschner. At 22 during ’76-77, the defenseman had a seven-game point streak between March 10 thru 23 in 1977. He recorded three goals and five assists for eight points.

Considering that he was a very good Ranger, Greschner definitely deserves a mention. He spent his entire 16-year career on Broadway. One of the most productive defensemen in franchise history which dates back to 1926, Greschner registered 179 goals with 431 assists for a total of 610 points in 981 games.

He helped the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979. At only 24, he had seven goals and five assists in 18 games during that run. Ultimately, they lost in five games to the Canadiens. Greschner went 17-32-49 over 84 career playoff games. His final season was ’89-90 when he retired.

With the 22-year old Miller joining that list with three goals and six assists for nine points over the past seven games, the smooth skating defenseman has already established personal bests in assists (20) and points (25). Twenty of the twenty-five have come at even strength. Another three via the power play where coach Gerard Gallant has finally given him some shifts on the second unit. The other two points came shorthanded which illustrates the confidence he has with the puck in transition.

A key part of the second pair teamed alongside the harder hitting and grittier Jacob Trouba, he works well with the Rangers captain. Although there have been more peaks and valleys in his third season while mostly paired with Trouba, he’s asked to do a lot by the coaching staff that includes assistant Gord Murphy, who handles the assignments.

In his third year, Miller has seen his role increase. Continuing to get tough match-ups at five-on-five while also playing penalty kill and now having contributed on the second power play where he should remain due to his skating and shot, he averages 22:15 per game. Undoubtedly, the former Wisconsin product who the club took with the 18th pick in the first round of 2018, understands the game. It’s not always easy.

There have been tough starts to games like one where he got burned twice along with Trouba. But was able to shake it off and get a game-winner on a deflection in a 5-3 come from behind victory over the Hurricanes on Jan. 3. Afterwards, he spoke about the bad first period and sticking with it. There was still time to turn it around.

It’s that kind of poise and maturity that make Miller unflappable. He has character. While he still isn’t consistent in his end, it’s a process of learning from mistakes and adjusting. One of the smartest moves of former GM Jeff Gorton was trading up with Ottawa to select Miller with the 22nd pick in 2018. It’s worked out a lot better for the Rangers than the Senators. Originally, the first round pick came from the Bruins in a blockbuster deal that’s been very good to the Blueshirts.

It’s hard to believe that Gorton was also able to land the overlooked Ryan Lindgren from Boston as part of the Rick Nash trade that also wound up turning Ryan Spooner into Ryan Strome, who was a good Ranger. The gritty and gutsy top pair defenseman who’s teamed up with Norris candidate Adam Fox to form a great tandem. Lindgren took a tough hit on a boarding call that could’ve been a major. Of course, the warrior returned.

That’s in line with who Lindgren is. The reincarnation of old number 5, Dan Girardi. The only difference is he wears double 5’s and is a lefty. When we think of Girardi, we’re reminded of some of the diving blocks he made during deep playoff runs that sent him hobbled to either the bench or locker room for repairs. Superman would always come back. It’s similar with Lindgren, who will do anything to get back in a game. He has the same hard-nosed mentality. Hockey player.

While the breathtaking Fox gets all the deserved ink for his artistry and brilliance in leading the Rangers with 45 points (9-36-45) from the back end while logging nearly 26 minutes a night, it’s rugged 24-year old partner Lindgren who plays like a Doberman. He will deliver the crunching hits and take a licking sacrificing for the cause.

Lindgren has also improved his skating. He makes good reads and knows when to jump in offensively. Although it’s not part of his job description, he’ll make a smart pinch and help the offense. His 13 assists are two shy of a previous career high established in ’20-21. He needs three more helpers to surpass that number and four points for a new personal best. A defensively responsible player, he’s plus-16 this season and plus-64 over his career.

It’s also worth pointing out that the continued steadiness of second-year defenseman Braden Schneider has helped supply the Rangers with three pairs they can trust. Although he and partner Ben Harpur don’t play as much, they’ve been a solid duo since being put together.

The strong skating and capability to jump into the play make Schneider a young player with promise. He’s already scored a career high five goals and added five helpers along with a plus-nine rating. He has 68 blocks and 66 hits with several reminding fans of Trouba. Nicknamed by teammates Baby Trouba, the former ’19 first round pick the team traded up for to steal away from the rival Devils has been worth it.

While it’s true there has been improvements made by the aforementioned young players, one player who isn’t included is Alexis Lafreniere. The former consensus top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has struggled mightily in his third season. It’s been tough to watch.

After a strong finish to his second year where his 19 even strength goals ranked second best behind Chris Kreider, he also had an impact in the playoffs. Lafreniere scored twice and added seven assists for nine points. All while playing mostly with Chytil and Kakko on the effective forechecking third line. That looked like a springboard for a bigger third year.

Instead, he’s clearly struggled to score goals or be involved offensively. The crazy part is his 18 points (5-13-18) are two fewer than Kakko, who’s been more noticeable. If there’s a notable difference, it’s how he’s been handled. Unlike last season when he had a defined role on the former Kid Line, Lafreniere has been shuffled like a deck of cards. Gallant still hasn’t found the right combo for a young player with promise.

Going from playing his natural position to playing the off wing for a stretch with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck didn’t help. While the trio had success offensively, their lack of defensive awareness meant more goals against than scored. So, Gallant broke it up. He also tried Lafreniere with Zibanejad and Kreider on the right side. But it didn’t net positive results.

Lafreniere seems most comfortable playing the left wing which is where he should be. He has always had good chemistry with Chytil where he could line up tonight. But the lack of confidence is an issue. He is without a goal since Dec. 7. That’s a stretch of 16 games. It also included the first healthy scratch of his career. Over the 16 games, he has only five assists and 20 shots on goal. Not enough to generate quality chances needed to score.

Even in an increased role when Kreider was out due to a lower-body injury, Lafreniere couldn’t hit the score sheet while playing top line minutes with Zibanejad and Kakko. He also was used in the Kreider role on the top unit during the power play. He does go to the net and is good along the wall. But it hasn’t been clicking.

With five games remaining before the All-Star break, the Rangers face a hard question. What to do with their seemingly lost former first overall pick. If he doesn’t show improvement, wouldn’t it make sense for the organization to assign Lafreniere to Hartford for a stretch? He’s never played in the AHL. It wouldn’t be a punishment. It could provide a chance to stay sharp, get top minutes including on the power play, and boost his confidence.

The Kings have been patient with ’20 second pick Quinton Byfield. He spent time with the Ontario Reign as did former USA WJC standout Alex Turcotte. Byfield did well in the AHL and was recalled. He produced his best NHL game with a goal and assist on the top line during a Kings’ win. Sometimes, it’s a process. Byfield has only played 63 games for LA posting 6-11-17. He looks better since coming back up.

The main point of emphasis is that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the Rangers decided to send down Lafreniere. He’s clearly struggling mentally. That’s affected his game. I see a player who’s a step slower and not as decisive. The game is very fast. It should be more instinctive.

Tonight will be the 180th game of his NHL career. Lafreniere remains stuck on 36 goals with 34 assists totaling 70 points. Of course, there’s been criticism from frustrated fans who don’t have any patience. They don’t understand that he hasn’t been handled well in Year Three. Even for a young talented player with lofty expectations, it can be tough. The mental side of sports aren’t emphasized enough. At least we’re starting to see players be more open about the pressure.

At this moment, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on a 21-year old player who is capable of much more. It’s about rebuilding his confidence. If that means letting him build back up for some games in Hartford which can make him a better player, I’m for it.

The real question is will the Rangers organization even consider it. They’re known for using young players like props to get fans’ hopes up. Why else did Kakko stay up during his rookie season when he was completely lost? For one reason. Public Relations. That’s the Dolan philosophy. It’s been harming player development for a long time. Or do the names Malhotra and Lundmark not ring a bell?

This is a franchise that never won a draft lottery up until they lucked into Lafreniere following the uncompetitive preliminary round against the Hurricanes. A two-part system that benefited a lucky loser over a bad team that didn’t even qualify for the expanded 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Lucky loser has been used more in tennis when a player who lost in qualifying replaces an injured player during a grand slam. It applies to the unlikely 2020 Draft scenario that landed the Rangers the top pick.

Can Lafreniere still figure it out? Not without the right decision making. I get that Gallant is trying to win games. I also understand how delicate the situation is. They don’t want to mess up Lafreniere anymore. He has to be more proactive during shifts, aggressive and avoid bad penalties which have started to occur recently.

Look at Vitaly Kravtsov. He hadn’t scored in a dozen games until the other night. Playing on the third line with Chytil and Goodrow, he went to the net and got rewarded. Chytil found him with a superb pass that Kravtsov tipped in. It was only his third point during a tough stretch. He didn’t celebrate much on the goal. But rather pointed to Chytil for the pass and smiled.

It also happened to be arguably his best game so far. Kravtsov finished with a team high five shots and nearly scored again. When it comes to the development of young players, it’s all about how they respond. The 23-year old former ’18 first round pick was more aggressive and it paid off. Despite more impatience from fans who want to throw him away, Kravtsov has only played in 45 NHL games. He’s 5-5-10 including 3-3-6 in 25 in his first true season. That’s significantly less than Kakko or Lafreniere.

With rumors heating up regarding Timo Meier, how the heck can a team like the Rangers afford the Sharks forward? Meier is up at the end of the season as a restricted. He must be qualified at least $10 million. Given the cap issues they have, it’s unrealistic to add a player of Meier’s caliber. Between what it would cost in roster player(s), prospects and picks, along with the crazy salary, there’s no way they can do it.

It’s even more farfetched than Patrick Kane. I’m sure the Blackhawks wouldn’t ask for a combination starting with either Kakko or Lafreniere plus Brennan Othmann and a first round pick. Click. Not worth that potential steep price for a possible rental. There’s no guarantee even in a more mediocre league. The best teams all play in the Atlantic. That would be the Bruins, Maple Leafs and Lightning.

What about key decisions Team President and GM Chris Drury must make following the season? Namely Miller and Chytil. Lafreniere likely won’t cost much. But the other two could. Kravtsov is also a Group II. Lindgren, who makes $3 million, is up in 2024. That’s also restricted. Libor Hajek likely will be gone.

The only players who turn unrestricted are Sammy Blais ($1.525 million) and backup Jaroslav Halak ($1.5 million). Unless something creative happens, the Rangers won’t be able to do much this summer. That’s still a long way off. They can at least make an addition at the trade deadline due to freeing up space by unloading Ryan Reaves to Minnesota.

With Kreider returning after missing the past three games, that should help solidify a lineup that’s struggled to score at five-on-five. They only scored once there without the veteran power forward who ranks second behind Zibanejad with 19 goals. He definitely was missed both at even strength and on the top power play unit.

A good question for Gallant entering tonight’s big test against a Bruins team that’s only lost five times in regulation, is will he use power play two a little more. Lafreniere will be back on that unit. What about Miller, whose more capable of running it than Trouba?

It is Boston. It’s a good bet Gallant will lean on his top unit if they get power plays. The Bruins are an outstanding team at five-on-five. Their superior depth up front and on the blue line makes them very formidable. At 35-5-4, their 74 points lead the league. A dozen more than the Hurricanes and 13 clear of the Devils and Leafs.

Patrice Bergeron is a game-time decision. Although it would benefit our side, I’d prefer to see him play. I want a full Bruins roster for this big match-up. Bergeron also is one of the all-time great Bruins having eclipsed 1,000 points and played 1,260 games. He’s 16-19-35 this season. For his career all with Boston, Bergeron has 416 goals, 601 assists and 1,017 points to go with a plus-273. That’s why he’s considered one of the greatest two-way players.

Igor Shesterkin should be in net on one end. Linus Ullmark played last night in Boston’s 4-1 win over the Islanders. He’s a ridiculous 24-2-1 with a 1.88 GAA, .937 save percentage and two shutouts. It might be Jeremy Swayman. No picnic either, the second-year netminder is 10-3-3 with a 2.35 GAA, .912 save percentage and a shutout. He’s played much better lately.

It isn’t only about stopping David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Pastrnak is fourth in scoring with 63 points including 35 goals (second behind McDavid) including 13 on the power play. His 217 shots lead the league. He’s gonna get paid. The Bruins are going to have to pay top dollar. That could be between $11.5 and 12 million.

What makes Boston so tough is they have David Krejci back centering the second line. That’s normally between Pavel Zacha (re-signed) and Pastrnak. But Jake DeBrusk is out. They also have Charlie Coyle centering a good third line. Plus Taylor Hall and secondary scorers Trent Frederic, Nick Foligno and Zacha.

The defense is well balanced. Anchored by Long Island native Charlie McAvoy and aided by Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo and shot blocking machine Derek Forbort, they’re well equipped to both play strong defense and contribute offensively. Matt Grzelcyk is capable of offense while Connor Clifton is more defensive oriented.

Up and down the lineup, there aren’t many weaknesses. For the Rangers to win, they’ll have to fare well at five-on-five. An area Boston excels at. That means not getting pinned in for stretches. Smart concise passes and smooth exits that lead to attack time. They have to carry the play and win the neutral zone. Face-offs will be tough. But if Bergeron is out, that can only help. Remaining disciplined is another key due to the precision passing of the Bruins. Particularly Marchand and Pastrnak.

Special teams always are essential. Unless it’s mostly played at full strength, there will be some penalties. That means power plays and penalty kills. The Rangers need to be sharp in this area.

Obviously, getting bodies to the front no matter who’s in net will help the cause. Boston has some big defensemen. The Blueshirts will have to make life difficult. Get dirty. Don’t get sucked into any undisciplined penalties by Marchand, Foligno or Frederic. The Bruins are gritty and tough.

If we really want to get a good idea of where this team is after having played much better since Trouba’s blowup during the ugly loss against the Blackhawks which was the low point, this is as good an opportunity as any to find out who they are. They’ve had good wins over quality opponents like the Stars (Miller’s Miracle) Devils (Chytil in OT), Golden Knights, Avalanche (though shorthanded), Lightning (split with the second needing extras), Leafs (ended their streak) and Hurricanes (big third period).

The Bruins are the measuring stick. That’s how impressive they are under Jack Adams frontrunner Jim Montgomery. Good for him on finally getting a second chance after a struggle off the ice with alcohol. They’re the team to beat right now. The Rangers already lost once at MSG 5-2 back on Nov. 3. That was then. They’ve improved. The final meeting is March 4 in Boston after the March 3 trade deadline.

Well. It should be a good one. Hopefully, a lot better than two months ago.

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Road warrior Devils are back on the beam with four straight wins

Posted on January 15, 2023 by hasan4978

After last Saturday’s dramatic comeback win over the Rangers, I hoped that it could be a spark towards ending a month-long malaise. So far, so good on that end as the Devils have won the first three games on a five-game road trip (and scoring sixteen goals in the process!), continuing their utter dominance on all games outside of the tri-state area this season. Not that it was easy on the first leg of the trip in Carolina either, in fact that win on Tuesday required another dramatic multi-goal comeback as the Canes – looking to stop their own mini-skid of three straight losses – dominated for most of the first forty minutes in Raleigh. Maybe if this were another Devils team, going down 3-1 and giving up two shorthanded goals (including one with under three minutes remaining in the second period) would have been it for the night.

Not this team, and not this year though.

After the Devils’ top players had been carrying the scoring load the previous few games, some of the depth guys finally started to step up in Raleigh – specifically a created on the fly line of Dawson Mercer, Jesper Boqvist and Michael McLeod that managed to score two goals on the same shift in the final seconds of the second period. First, Mercer got the Devils to within one after a nice individual effort deking out Jordan Martinook at the blueline to gain zone entry, then after faking a wraparound went back in front of the net to stuff the puck in under Pyotr Kochetkov’s pads. Full credit also to Damon Severson for the nice tape-to-tape pass that found Mercer just outside of the blueline before he did the rest. Before the newly created line finished their shift, they managed to tie the game off a nice give-and-go entry between Mercer and Boqvist, with the latter also deking out the Canes goalie in front and beating him five-hole.

Even though that stunning sequence only tied the game, it more or less decided the outcome as the Devils dominated the third period, only allowing four Carolina shots after being outshot 24-15 in the first two periods. Fittingly, it was the Mercer line that scored the game-winner, with Dawson getting his second of the night after Boqvist sprung him for a mini-breakaway and this time Mercer beat the goalie off a deke left-side to give the Devils a lead they wouldn’t relinquish at 8:53 of the third period. A final-minute goal credited to Nico Hischier after he was interfered with on an empty net settled the issue and gave the Devils their 5-3 margin of victory.

After beating both of the other top teams in the Metro with dramatic rallies, Friday’s game in Anaheim against a wretched Ducks team was far more routine with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes each scoring a brace (two goals) in a 6-2 romp, which was never in doubt after three first-period goals. At least old buddy Adam Henrique managed one of the Ducks’ two goals, but hopefully for his sake he’s able to find his way onto a playoff team sooner rather than later. Maybe even ours if things broke right.


Henrique is not only a class act in general (and was doubly such during some of our dark ages), but also represents one of the only links remaining to better times for New Jersey before this season, given his 2012 playoff heroics. Like us, he only has managed to make the playoffs for one quick first-round exit since then…ironically in the same year we made the playoffs, when he was traded in-season. In an odd way being on ESPN – excuse me, ESPN PLUS – and having a wider audience see this new-look Devils team was also a bit like old times. If you wanted to encapsulate the Devils’ fall and rise in under ten minutes, this nice piece by Emily Kaplan before one of our ESPN+ games summed it up pretty well:

I can’t help but chuckle now at the Lindy Ruff booing turned to apologies story arc, of course it wasn’t so funny until after our ‘heater’ made it an arc rather than just the inevitable last act of a failed coaching stint. More than anyone though, a hockey lifer like Lindy – who started his coaching career in Buffalo during the middle of our apex as a franchise – would understand the frustration coming off a decade of mostly losing that had engulfed the fanbase. At least he, and this team have been the ones to do something about it.

Also deserving of notice has been the goaltending, starting of course with Vitek Vanecek who rebounded from a poor beginning against the Rangers to shut the door down and lead the Devils to a pair of comeback wins against our two biggest challengers for Metro supremacy, along with the business-like win in Anaheim. Finally, the Devils are treating him like the #1 goalie his play has merited him as all year long. Last night on the rear end of a back-to-back, it was Mackenzie Blackwood’s turn to step up and step up he did stopping 35 of 37 Kings shots in a deceptively easy 5-2 win.

Our team must give the analytics geeks headaches. After a bunch of games during our December malaise where the ‘deserve to win-meter’ was heavily weighted toward us, two of the three wins on our road trip was the inverse where we were arguably outplayed (or at least outshot), yet won. At least you could make the argument we were due for some good luck perhaps. Still, the Devils only allowed two power play goals in LA while outscoring them 5-0 in all other situations – three 5-on-5 goals, one power play of their own and an empty-netter from Bratt late.

Like Carolina, our depth guys stepped up again in LA with Tomas Tatar’s first-period power play goal canceling out one by Kevin Fiala and our secondary scoring proved decisive in the second period when goals fell out of the sky. First, Erik Haula(!) scored on a two-on-one to give the Devils their first lead early in the second. After another power play goal from future HOF’er Anze Kopitar tied it again, rookie defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk’s first NHL goal regained the momentum for the road team less than a minute later at 7:40 of the middle frame, and this time they wouldn’t relinquish the lead.

Barely three minutes later, Ryan Graves added the Devils’ fourth of the night and his fourth of the season – adding to his NHL-leading(!) +30 total in the process. While I’m a bit of a plus-minus skeptic myself, maybe there’s something to be said about the fact Graves led the NHL in 2018-19 in that stat with Colorado and is doing so again now with us. Even that stat isn’t as remarkable as the Devils’ road record of 17-2-1 though – and with two of the three losses at the Garden and Philly to boot, so they barely even qualify as road ‘trips’. As it is, winning seventeen of twenty games is an NHL record to start the season and gave us a nice cushion to lean on during our home-ice struggles throughout December.

With another eminently winnable game in San Jose on Monday, the Devils have a legitimate chance to actually sweep the California position of the trip, if not the entire road trip though Thursday’s trip finale against a surprisingly stout Seattle Kraken team will be a test even for our road warriors. I mean if you had Vegas and Seattle being 1-2 in an NHL division five years ago in your crystal ball, then you really do have a working crystal ball. At least with a re-widening of the gap between us and the playoff bubble we can enjoy that challenge and not bite our nails worrying about what’s gaining on us.

First things first though…finish the California part of the trip in style on Monday!

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Miller’s goal with a second left and Fox’s overtime winner allows Rangers to steal two points from Oettinger, Stars, Gauthier exits again due to collision with Blais, late heroics provide miraculous win

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Derek

Time was winding down. The desperate Blueshirts were running out of time. In search of the equalizer against the superb Jake Oettinger, who should be up for the Vezina, seconds kept ticking away.

It looked like despite giving it all they had with Gerard Gallant’s six skaters that included Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko were going to fall short. However, their relentless play until the final buzzer paid off when Miller had a shot blocked by a diving Luke Glendening come right back to him. It gave him just enough time to fire a second shot by Oettinger that beat the final horn.

Mobbed by excited teammates including a leaping Panarin, Miller’s miraculous tying goal came with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. With the building still buzzing after that remarkable goal from a cool player who never seems to let anything bother him, it was then a defensive play by Zibanejad that led to Panarin dashing in on an early overtime shift.

Just when it looked like the Stars would escape, Zibanejad stripped the puck and used his hustle to force Oettinger into a difficult save. With Miro Heiskanen losing his stick during a mad scramble, the loose puck came right to Adam Fox, who waited for Heiskanen to go down and go to a backhand to beat a faked out Oettinger for an unbelievable 2-1 win in overtime.

The Rangers stole two points. This was grand theft at 33rd and 7th at MSG. How they did it will be talked about tomorrow by the NHL and good media like Jackie Redmond on NHL Now with E.J. Hradek, who attended the game and witnessed something great. That’s a good watch on NHL Network. Especially to hear Redmond’s fresh takes on what’s caught her eye. Her Top Five during the week is excellent.

For sure, the game played between the Rangers and Stars will be at the top of that list. Why not? It was a hard fought game that featured a pair of great goalies making big saves. It had tight checking. If you saw the first period, there literally was no room. Both teams checked diligently and limited shots and quality scoring chances.

Entering the game, the Rangers were without key finisher and power forward Chris Kreider. The encouraging news is it doesn’t sound like he’ll be out too long. They had to skate without the 19-goal scorer who adds so much net front presence and plenty on the power play. They definitely missed him on special teams.

The Rangers took the collar in four power play chances while they allowed the Stars to convert on their only man-advantage. That was frustrating. Especially when you consider that they got the game’s first three. Nobody could figure out how to solve Oettinger, who was stopping everything. Just ask Zibanejad. His patented one-timer didn’t get past the Stars netminder.

The Stars also played a second straight game without top center Roope Hintz. A player who deserves to be voted into the NHL All-Star Game. Not that I particularly care. I agree with John Tortorella on the current state of the game. That’s my only commentary. However, by all means get those Adam Fox tweets in with the hashtag #NHLAllStarVote. He deserves it along with every accolade he receives.

When you think about it, both teams played without a key star. No pun intended. Two top line players who make a difference. Kreider who adds so much with his straightforward approach while teaming up with close buddy Zibanejad to form a dynamic duo. Hintz, who anchors that lethal Stars first line that features young star Jason Robertson with savvy vet Joe Pavelski. It’s quite a trio.

Instead, Gallant moved the struggling Alexis Lafreniere up with Zibanejad and Kakko. For a player who hasn’t scored in a while, he made a good first impression in a more significant role. He also was featured in Kreider’s spot on the top power play. Although he didn’t hit the score sheet, it was one of his best games all season.

Lafreniere finished with three shots on six attempts. He did a good job working hard in front to provide screens and look for tips. He also welcomed Nils Lundkvist back to MSG with a clean hit against the boards during an early shift that was a crowd pleaser. That’s how he has to play. With energy. Hopefully, last night’s game can be a starting point for Lafreniere to build on.

While Gallant adjusted his lineup minus Kreider by reinserting Sammy Blais to play on the checking line with Jonny Brodzinski and the poor Julien Gauthier (talk about unlucky), Trocheck centered Panarin and Vitaly Kravtsov on the second line. Filip Chytil was between Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey. The defense was the same with Ben Harpur celebrating his 28th birthday alongside Braden Schneider on the third pair.

Without Hintz, the Stars had Tyler Seguin fill in on the first line with Robertson and Pavelski. In a nice move, coach Peter DeBoer started Lundkvist for the opening face-off with veteran Ryan Suter. It was his Garden return as a visitor after getting traded to Dallas before the season. He came in with four goals and eight assists for a dozen points. This was his 40th game as a Star.

The Stars like to play Seguin with captain Jamie Benn and former Panther Mason Marchment, who’s added the same secondary scoring and grit to Dallas that he did with Florida. They definitely miss him. But he got paid. He fits in well on the Stars.

If you love fascinating goalie match-ups, then this one was for you. It was the rating Vezina winner Shesterkin facing Oettinger. Two top five goalies who can make the clutch stops. Although it’s been an uneven season for Igor, he’s still had a good year.

Oettinger is a couple of years younger. At 24, the former Stars ’17 first round pick is in the middle of a superb ’22-23. He came in with 19 wins with a 2.29 GAA and .923 save percentage. He came within a second of his third shutout. Pretty unlucky the way it happened.

That’s the way the game is sometimes. You can be in perfect position to win and then have it taken away from you in the blink of an eye. It’s happened before in much bigger games. I saw one up close involving Brad Richards during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Capitals. He tied it with seconds to go. Marc Staal won it early in sudden death. The Rangers won that series in seven. The magic number against the Ovechkin Caps during a memorable era.

The second meeting between the Rangers and Stars pitted two good teams against each other. Both are playing well. It made for an interesting game. My question was how would our side fare against one of the league’s best. Dallas defends hard and can also open it up under DeBoer.

Playing without Hintz, they tried to clamp down and turn it into a battle for territory at five-on-five. If you were hoping for a track meet, then you picked the wrong time to watch. There was hardly any operating room. It was a defensive, tight checking opening period that lacked any pizazz.

Forget quality scoring chances. These teams had to scratch and claw to get actual shots through. At one point, the Rangers had a shot taken away. It was tied at four apiece and all even on the scoreboard full of zeroes. Yeah. It wasn’t a Picasso or Renoir. Van Gogh probably would’ve enjoyed it. He cut off an ear out of broken love.

Prior to the game, the Stars tweeted out something funny. It showed Nils Lundkvist getting ready with a few teammates talking about the Lundqvist banner that hangs. This was good stuff.

If you liked strong defending, you got it early and often. Time and time again, each team came back hard and broke up plays. I counted at least three Panarin passes across the ice that became turnovers. That’s how difficult it was to make plays.

The only real opportunity the Rangers got was a Jimmy Vesey high shot that went off the mask of Oettinger and out of play. All the play was at even strength. Shots slightly favored the Blueshirts 8-6.

In another unfortunate play for Gauthier late in the period, he didn’t see Sammy Blais coming. It resulted in a scary head on collision that sent both players to the ice. Both were cut.

While Blais was able to return after being stitched up, that ended Gauthier’s night. He took five shifts and played 3:32. Gauthier’s game ended with 1:20 left in the first. The second game in a row he had to exit early. Last one, he got double teamed by Ryan Reaves and Brandon Duhaime. If he is back Sunday versus Montreal, wow.

The best chance for the Stars came when Radem Faksa got open for a Robertson pass. But Shesterkin denied him to keep it scoreless. As the shift continued, it was some good work from the second line that allowed Panarin to get a step on Faksa, who took him down.

With Lafreniere up on the top unit, he was parked in front when Trocheck had his slot shot stopped by Oettinger. Lafreniere just missed a tip and did a good job working in front. Oettinger also made a save on a Goodrow shot that Kakko set up when the second unit was on late.

On that same man-advantage, the Stars had a shorthanded chance. But failed to get a shot on an aggressive Shesterkin who came out to take Benn’s pass away. So, that was a close call too.

A few minutes later, Marchment felt enough pressure to send an errant clear out of play for a delay of game minor. On their second straight power play, the Rangers again failed to cash in. Panarin had Lafreniere open in front, but waited too long. Then, Oettinger got across to stop the Zibanejad one-timer. He’d also make two good saves on long Jacob Trouba shots including one after the five-on-four expired.

It was the Jake Oettinger show. He would also make a strong denial on a Brodzinski pass for a tough Vesey shot to send it just wide. He was locked in. By that point, it was obvious it was going to take something special to beat him.

After taking a good pass from Zibanejad, Lafreniere put a move on Suter, who got his glove up and took a roughing minor to put the Rangers back on the power play. As he continued to work hard in front, Lafreniere had a good view of Oettinger again thwarting Zibanejad from his office. There also was a scary shot from Trocheck that caught Jani Hakanpaa right in the noggin. Trocheck quickly came over to check in him. He was okay. Yikes.

Back at full strength, Lundkvist nearly scored on his former team. He made a good pinch and was all set up. But his good low shot was turned aside by the quick pad of Shesterkin to just keep it out. An outstanding save. Although it was his counterpart who made the more difficult stops, Shesterkin was there when called upon. He made 24 saves. Oettinger finished with 29.

With the Stars applying the pressure on the forecheck, Seguin got into a battle with Ryan Lindgren in front. Eventually, Lindgren was called for roughing. It looked more like holding. I knew the Stars were getting the next one. It was the right call even though they got the penalty incorrect. If that actually makes sense.

Predictably, the Stars capitalized on their one power play. On a fluky play where Goodrow made a bad line change that hung Zibanejad out to dry, Denis Gurianov sent a pass over for Marchment that he tipped towards the open space where Seguin pounced and roofed one top shelf for the game’s first goal with 2:07 remaining in the second.

Entering the third period, the Rangers had their work cut out. As it moved fast, which was the case throughout due to how it was played, I never got a sense they would beat Oettinger. Everything was challenged. He made the saves. It felt like that one mistake would cost them valuable points.

In a shocking call after Oettinger had a shot go off his mask again, they blew the play dead with 10:48 left in the third. When Oettinger pulled his mask off which is what goalies are supposed to do when the puck strikes them in the mask to get a stoppage, they somehow called him for delay of game. It was ridiculous. They didn’t see it? Why even have two refs and two linesmen. They get so much wrong.

Even Joe Micheletti couldn’t believe it. “I’ve never seen that ever called,” he said to Sam Rosen during the telecast. You could feel the astonishment through the screen. It was a clear indictment on the four blind mice.

It didn’t matter. The power play failed miserably. It was uneventful. Micheletti was critical by this crucial point. They were gifted a fourth power play and did nothing with it. Brutal.

They then almost made a delay of game call. They had to conference to decide if it was. We don’t even know if they got that one right either. They really were bad in the third period.

As time was winding down in regulation, Gallant started to throw together random lines that defied logic. He’s coached this roster the opposite of last year. You don’t know what he’ll do. They were down a goal and he was panicking. I think Jeff summed it up best.

https://twitter.com/Cville300zxtt/status/1613721789401812992?t=6c6TrslQ40atKeoFd0_B3w&s=19

When you randomly have Brodzinski on in place of Kravtsov for a shift with Trocheck and Panarin, what’s the thought process? Why was Blais on for a late shift down 1-0? Some of the combos made little sense. At least he reunited Kakko and Lafreniere with Chytil for a shift. But all they could muster was a long Lafreniere shot that Oettinger gloved due to his defense.

Thankfully, following a timeout, Turk changed it up. He went with Fox and Miller at the points. Kakko was the extra skater with Trocheck, Zibanejad and Panarin. On what can best be described as a wild sequence where they tried everything possible to get pucks through, the puck finally came back to Miller. Here’s how it looked and sounded:

It was insane. Bedlam at The Garden. Miller became just the fourth player in Rangers history to score with a second left in regulation to force overtime. He joined Brian Leetch, Darren Turcotte and Doug Robinson. Pretty cool list.

Regarding that clutch tying goal, an emotional Miller spoke at length with Michelle Gingras about the importance of his close relationship with his family. Especially his Mom. He was in tears.

An unbelievable moment for a young player who’s getting better. He’s been on fire during this stretch that now has the Blueshirts tied with the Devils in points (55) for a share of second in the division.

The overtime was another crazy sequence. This was Zibanejad being one of the better two-way centers even though he rarely gets any credit for it. He kept going and that hard work and hustle led to this incredible finish by the game’s best defenseman.

Adam Fox is that guy. He’s the man for this team. I know Erik Karlsson is having a great year and good for him. Really. After all he’s been through. On a bad Sharks team. You have Josh Morrisey. Rasmus Dahlin. Charlie McAvoy. Cale Makar. Etc. But for my money, it’s Adam Fox who’s the best candidate for the Norris. We’ll see where things wind up.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Jake Oettinger, Stars 29 saves on 31 shots in brilliant performance

2nd 🌟 🤩 K’Andre Miller, Rangers scored game-tying goal (5) at 19:59, SOG in 6 attempts, +1 in 23:45

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Adam Fox, Rangers scored overtime winner (9) at 1:16 plus 🍎, +2 in 28:38

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Fox sparks comeback win for Rangers in shootout over Zuccarello and Wild, Panarin gets winner for two big points, Gauthier and Kreider leave game with injuries

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Derek

At this point, every game matters. In what amounted to an entertaining game between two good teams, it was the Rangers who persevered enough to come back and edge the Wild 4-3 in the shootout at a lively MSG.

Considering the importance of starting the second half of the remaining eight games before the All-Star break with this the first of a three-game home stand, the win wasn’t easy for the Rangers to get. They earned it by twice rallying back from deficits to force overtime.

After failing to take advantage of a four-on-three power play gift on an iffy Wild bench minor, they needed a shootout to solve Marc-Andre Fleury. Back in net after taking a short leave of absence due to losing a close personal friend, the future Hall Of Famer was at his best. He finished with 40 saves on 43 shots to earn Third Star honors.

Fleury played like he had something to prove. I would imagine he wanted to dedicate the game to his friend. It’s never easy to deal with loss. Having just paid my final respects to a close neighbor I knew forever, it definitely hurts. Getting over the shock isn’t easy. At least they’re at peace.

Whether you think the 38-year old can still play at a high level or not, Fleury was tremendous. It was his first appearance of the new calendar year. His last game came on New Year’s Eve in a Minnesota win over St. Louis where he stopped 29 of 31 shots. It’s been a tough year for Flower. But he kept the Wild in the game by making some big saves including 18 during a dominant Rangers second period.

The previous meeting came way back on Oct. 13 when the Rangers put up a touchdown and kicked the extra point for seven past MAF in Saint Paul. At various points during the second game three months later, it looked like the Wild were determined to come out of The Garden with two points.

They got stellar goaltending from Fleury and played the physical game they’re known for. It was that hard-hitting, tenacious style that caused some problems for the Rangers, who aren’t known for that game anymore. During a stoppage, MSG recognized the contributions of Ryan Reaves, who stood up at the Wild bench and saluted the crowd who cheered the popular former Ranger.

Fittingly, Reaves would later combine with teammate Brandon Duhaime to double team Julien Gauthier with a big hit that sent the right wing down. He left the contest after taking only two shifts for 1:47 with a lower-body injury. Coach Gerard Gallant had no update on his status.

There would be another damaging hit much later in the action that could be cause for concern. That involved key finisher Chris Kreider, who took a tough hit to the upper body during the third period which sent him to the locker room. He also didn’t return. No update was provided on Kreider either. Hopefully, it isn’t serious.

What was a very competitive game which they came back to win hopefully won’t have any ramifications over the next few weeks. Now, having an All-Star break and a bye week could come in handy. Especially if they lose Kreider for some significant time. His 19 goals are tied with Mika Zibanejad for the team lead. A key leader, they can ill afford to lose him.

As for the game itself, let’s just say there was a lot of seesaw action. In the first period where both teams attacked, they combined for 24 shots (13-11 Wild). The Rangers certainly had their chances to strike early. But were unable to connect on consecutive power plays at the start.

With Matt Boldy off for kneeing Filip Chytil, it was a stingy Wild penalty kill that got the job done. After a couple of shot blocks from captain Jared Spurgeon, Fleury only had to make one save on a Chytil shot during the first two minutes shorthanded.

However, a strong move from Kaapo Kakko towards the net forced former fan favorite Mats Zuccarello to slash him just enough to nullify a scoring chance. That handed the Blueshirts a second straight man-advantage.

They came close to scoring a couple of times. Following a couple of misses from Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad, Adam Fox hit the goalpost on a long shot. He then had another shot denied by Fleury, who got some early puck luck and even tapped the post after a very close call. Goalie superstitions.

After successfully killing two penalties, the Wild began to gain momentum. Zuccarello tested Igor Shesterkin with a backhand. He was also stopped on the rebound of a Ryan Hartman shot. Zuccarello’s hard work during that shift sent Chytil off for hooking.

Similar to the Rangers, the Wild didn’t get many clean looks with Zuccarello getting one shot on Shesterkin that he handled. Fox did some yeoman work in front blocking two shots to help the penalty kill get it done. That kept it scoreless.

As the period went on, it was the Wild who were finding their game. They’d eventually take a 10-5 lead in shots. The Rangers missed the net quite a bit despite 24 attempts. They did catch up getting six of the last nine shots. However, they would fall behind due to some strong work down low by Minnesota.

On a good forechecking shift by the Joel Eriksson Ek line, he took a Marcus Foligno pass behind the net and then came out to feed Jon Merrill for an open shot that beat Shesterkin for the game’s first goal with 7:24 left. The former Devils defenseman got his second. It’s hard to believe he’s become successful. Credit to him I guess. It is a Ranger tradition to allow either first goals to no names or give up ones to guys like Merrill.

The second line had a couple of good offensive shifts in the Wild end. On one, Vitaly Kravtsov was shutdown by the blocker of Fleury on a good opportunity. Seconds later, Vincent Trocheck had a backhand go off the goalpost. There was a brief moment where it looked like it might cross the goal line. But Fleury kept it out and thanked the post as play continued.

A couple of minutes later, it was the Wild who took advantage of three Rangers forwards getting caught up ice. Reaves started a counter by moving the puck up for Sam Steel. He then made a good pass to Kirill Kaprizov, who came into the Rangers zone with speed. Using a good fake shot, he surprised Shesterkin by letting go of a wrist shot that went high short side inside the top of the net to make it 2-0 with 2:17 remaining.

Kaprizov is an incredible player. By using that shot fake as deception, it didn’t look like he’d shoot. He even caught me by surprise when he changed the angle and froze Shesterkin just enough to get him off the near post to snipe his 24th. A brilliant play by a superstar.

You could see the frustration from Shesterkin after he gave up that goal. He definitely knew he should’ve had it. But it also was an impressive shot by his countryman.

The physicality picked up near the end of the period. As usual, that bruising second Minnesota line was involved. The size and skill combined with the grit makes Eriksson Ek, Foligno and Greenway a handful. They’re a line you don’t want to see in a long series. They finish every check. Panarin absorbed one from Eriksson Ek with under a minute to go.

Although they trailed by two at intermission, I didn’t seem worried. That’s because the Rangers got several looks. They just didn’t go in. My intuition was that if they played similar in the second without letting the Wild win the board battle, they’d come back and score. It was nice to be proven right.

Not surprisingly, they came out faster in the second. The top line would create some early opportunities on the opening shift. After Kreider had a backhand denied by Fleury, he stopped Zibanejad to keep his team ahead by a pair.

After a couple of more saves from MAF, that dangerous Wild second line came very close to making it 3-0. After Greenway was stopped by Shesterkin, Foligno just missed over the top. That was a turning point. The Rangers couldn’t go down three.

On what can best be summed up as one for the highlight reel, K’Andre Miller continued his penchant for scoring on breakaways. On a very smart Jimmy Vesey subtle pass up for him, Miller exploded by Minnesota defenders and then flat out deked and roofed a perfect shot past Fleury to cut the deficit in half at 2:37.

This was another beautiful goal by Miller, who’s gaining a reputation for scoring them. When he gets a head of steam, he shows off that game-breaking speed. You can see why he’s a former forward. He has great instincts. Once he got that Vesey pass and broke in, I knew he was scoring. He’s better than some of our forwards on those.

Trailing by one, the Rangers were down to 11 forwards due to the double hit Reaves and Duhaime put on Gauthier. That forced Gallant to mix and match when he used the remainder of his checking line. You knew Barclay Goodrow would get some shifts up. Jonny Brodzinski was worked in. Back in for Sammy Blais, he was okay. You know what you’ll get from Soda Brodzinski. An honest effort.

Unlike the first period, the Blueshirts really started to dictate the terms. Able to push the pace and pressure the Wild, they really upped their attack. Outside of one good shift from Matt Boldy, who Shesterkin stuffed on a wrap-around and then fired wide through traffic, it was mostly the guys wearing the Blueshirt.

One such opportunity saw Kravtsov all but have Trocheck all set up for a tap in. But he couldn’t quite control the puck at the doorstep. It was a perfect backdoor pass. Trocheck had some tough puck luck, or it’s a tie game. I really like what I’m seeing from that line. They’re finding chemistry. They’re due to break out soon.

Fleury kept making key stops during a much tougher second. He made saves on Goodrow and stayed strong on a Trocheck opportunity in close. But the save of the game came on Kakko back in the first. On just a dominant shift by the top line, Zibanejad had Kakko for a goal. But his one-timer was gloved away by a quick Fleury, who read the play. A glove save and a beauty.

As the second continued, Fox kept getting chances. The way he was reading and reacting to the play, it was only a matter of time. Fleury continued to make saves to keep the Rangers at bay.

Then came a good call by the refs. They get killed a lot. But Alexis Lafreniere clearly embellished after taking light contact from a visibly frustrated Duhaime. He was getting the original for a trip. But Lafreniere received two for diving (embellishment) because that’s what it was. Greg Louganis would’ve been proud.

The teams would play four-on-four for the next two minutes. It worked out better for the home side. On what was a terrific defensive play by Panarin (freeze frame this statement), he stopped the Wild and that allowed Fox to come in two-on-one with Trocheck. He picked his spot going under Fleury’s blocker to tie the game with 4:10 left.

The goal was unassisted. It was just a brilliant shot by Fox, who was outstanding. They can talk about Erik Karlsson and all of his points. They can talk up both Josh Morrissey and Rasmus Dahlin with both being fantastic. Or even Cale Makar. I’ll take Fox over all of them. It’s my opinion that he’s the best defenseman in the sport. To each their own.

With under 30 seconds left, Shesterkin almost messed up. He let up a juicy rebound on a long Duhaime shot which old friend Reaves nearly deposited on the backhand. Then, Duhaime had a better look at a rebound. But Shesterkin shut the door to keep it tied after two.

The third period was what you’d expect. Not as wide open with tighter checking. That favored the Wild, who seem to like playing that style of game.

Shesterkin had to stop Eriksson Ek on a wrap-around early. Fleury stayed with another tricky Fox shot.

Shortly after two Wild shot blocks including one from Jonas Brodin, he sent Steel the other way. He moved the puck up for Mats Zuccarello, who had enough sense to test Shesterkin with a wrist shot from the right circle. As he went to glove it, the puck came loose and took a Wild carom into the Rangers net at 4:33.

It was without question a bad goal. All Zuccarello did was keep it simple. He had no one to pass to. So, he did the smart thing and got rewarded with his 17th to give the Wild a one-goal lead with 15:27 remaining. Someone mentioned how he’s no longer pass happy. I replied that it’s because he plays on the Wild. Easy enough.

Playing from behind again, the Rangers struggled to get through the neutral zone. Being checked diligently, they went a while without a shot. A Kaprizov tricky backhand was harmlessly gloved by Shesterkin for a stoppage.

Minnesota almost doubled their lead. But following a bad Kakko turnover, Zuccarello missed wide on a great chance. It was one of those teachable moments where Kakko skated into space and then cut to the middle and lost the puck. Luckily, it didn’t cost him.

The big and mean Wild were finishing checks. Duhaime on Panarin and Reaves on Kravtsov, who also avoided the Foligno train during another shift by keeping his head up.

Kreider left for the locker room halfway through the period after taking a hit to the shoulder. That left Gallant two men short. Down to 10 forwards, he really had to scramble. One chess move that paid off was having Barclay Goodrow take a shift with Chytil and Vesey.

On an extended shift where the new third line dominated the Wild second line into exhaustion, they kept firing shots at Fleury. Goodrow came close on one after Chytil was stopped. Keeping the play in the Minnesota zone, eventually the puck came to an open Fox. What he did next was sheer genius.

With nobody in the vicinity, Fox aggressively took the puck towards the net and nearly tucked it around Fleury and in. Instead, the puck took a funny bounce in the crease with a maze of players. I knew it would wind up in the net. It was just a matter of how.

It really looked like the puck went off a diving Foligno and in for what looked like Fox’s second goal. But it must’ve also touched Chytil, who was right there in search of the rebound. They credited Chytil with his 12th from Fox and Miller. That tied the score with 6:25 left in regulation.

That was an unbelievable shift by the trio of Chytil, Goodrow and Vesey. It came following a Wild icing. They were on for 1:39. But in between, there was a face-off that allowed them to stay on. Persistence paid off with the huge tying goal from Chytil, who is beginning to have a knack for scoring clutch goals. He is continuing to improve. I hope they can keep him.

There weren’t many open looks for the remainder of the period. You had plenty of checking. Everyone was involved. The game was destined for overtime. The fans who went got it.

Without Kreider, Gallant moved Lafreniere up to the Zibanejad line with Kakko. Although it’s clearly still a struggle for him, he’s working hard. Late in regulation, some good puck pressure forced a turnover that created an opportunity for Kakko. That’s what he must get back to.

In the three-on-three, Shesterkin stopped Boldy. Then, Trocheck was denied by Fleury. Trocheck had a game high eight shots and 13 attempts. He played extremely well. Hopefully, he can get a goal next game.

On a strange play, the whistle blew from the opposite side where Zuccarello was. Too many men was the call. Wild coach Dean Evason was incensed. It looked like it was one too many. But the puck wasn’t there and Zuccarello was close to the bench. I can see why they disagreed with the penalty.

After Gallant took his timeout to rest his big four that featured Fox, Zibanejad, Trocheck and Panarin, they never could create the quality chance needed to beat Fleury. It wound up being Trocheck testing him from everywhere including a tricky shot from an angle the veteran carefully saved. He stopped Trocheck five times.

Following a timeout from Evason to give his penalty killers a breather, Fox missed a chance for the win front point blank range. Then, Panarin had two attempts go wide. He has a good shot, but it doesn’t always hit the target.

As the four-on-three power play expired, I wondered if maybe Gallant should’ve stuck Chytil and Kakko out or even Kravtsov. The top unit minus Kreider didn’t fool anyone including Fleury who stayed home on Trocheck. Sometimes, Turk sticks with his guys too much. Try something different. What do you have to lose?

After a last second save was made from Shesterkin on who else but Zuccarello, who I think heard some boos and not just the familiar, “Zuuuuuc,” the hockey portion was over. It was shootout time.

Up first was Kakko. Coming in with speed, he wanted to go to his patented backhand deke. However, he lost control of the puck on the forehand. With Fleury anticipating it, the puck went right through him for a goal in the top of the first. Kakko didn’t even smile. That was funny. He called it, “Lucky.”

In the bottom of the first, it was Zuccarello versus Shesterkin. He came in and instead of going deke, pulled up and beat Shesterkin underneath the pads to tie it.

In Round Two, Fleury stayed right with Zibanejad on his forehand deke to deny him with a nice pad save. Out came Kaprizov. A dangerous shooter, he tried to simply shoot over Shesterkin’s glove. But he came in too deep and Igor easily gloved it for the big save.

Everyone knew it would be Panarin for Round Three. You could hear the excitement in that building. He came in converting 62.5 percent. That’s ridiculous. Maybe Fleury knew he had to be aggressive. With Panarin coming in from the right side, Fleury guessed wrong and went for the poke check. That allowed a patient Panarin to whistle a backhand over Fleury into an open net for the lead.

Down to their last shooter, Evason opted for Frederick Gaudreau. He actually was 3-for-6. However, he tried to beat Shesterkin on a deke to the backhand. But Igor got across to deny him for the crucial second point.

It was nice to see the team pick him up. So many times, Shesterkin stands on his head. The offense came through to bail him out. A welcome change. Sometimes, there are going to be games like that even for a great goalie like Igor. He still made 29 saves on 32 shots and stopped two of three Wild shooters to get the win.

That was a key victory. With the race in the Metropolitan Division remaining tight due to the Devils winning 5-3 over the Hurricanes and the Pens getting a nice comeback 5-4 victory over the Canucks, it wax important to come away with the ‘W.’ The Islanders dropped a shootout 2-1 at he to the Stars. Jason Robertson got the winner.

Currently, here’s how it looks:

1. Hurricanes 41 GP 57 Pts

2. Devils 41 GP 55 Pts

3. Rangers 42 GP 53 Pts

4. Capitals 43 GP 52 Pts

5. Penguins 40 GP 48 Pts

6. Islanders 42 GP 47 Pts

It’s six teams seriously competing for possibly five spots. Especially with the Atlantic still looking in all likelihood to be 1-3 with the Bruins, Leafs and Lightning. The Sabres have dropped two straight.

The Panthers won over the Avalanche, who could be in trouble. They only have 12 regulation wins and 43 points. Though I can’t see them missing, can you imagine if the defending champs did? They’ve been plagued by injuries.

Detroit also won in a high scoring game 7-5 over Winnipeg to end a losing skid and get to 41 points. Both the Sabres and Panthers each have 42. But Buffalo has only played 39 games. So have the Red Wings. Florida possesses the most talent. The defense and goaltending remain iffy.

Next up for the Rangers are the Stars. We know how good they are. A first place team in the Central up three on the Jets, they boast some of the game’s best players featuring Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger in net. Along with Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Mason Marchment and Miro Heiskanen, they’re a handful. Hintz didn’t play last night.

Nils Lundkvist will see his former team for the first time at MSG. He has four goals, eight assists and 12 points in 39 games so far.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Marc-Andre Fleury, Wild 40 saves on 43 shots incl. 18/20 in 2nd

2nd 🌟 🤩 K’Andre Miller, Rangers goal (4) plus 🍎, 3 SOG, 3 hits, +2 in 25:03, 2-4-6 during 4-game point streak

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Adam Fox, Rangers goal (8) plus 🍎, 6 SOG in 11 attempts, +1 in 28:11

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Can Lafreniere rebound in the second half to save his season?

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Derek

When they somehow lucked into winning the two-part 2020 NHL Lottery after getting eliminated by the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Qualifier, the Rangers knew Alexis Lafreniere would be the number one pick in the Draft.

Even after former GM Jeff Gorton and Team President John Davidson decided to extend Chris Kreider, which meant the two top left wings would remain Kreider and $11.64 million man Artemi Panarin, there was no way the Rangers could pass up the overwhelming consensus top pick in Lafreniere.

A very talented young player who dominated the QMJHL by winning MVP twice along with helping lead Canada to gold at the 2020 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships (WJC), Lafreniere was expected to become an impact player in the NHL. Instead, it’s been a struggle for the still young 21-year old Rangers forward.

One of the issues that might’ve hurt him was the ’19-20 season concluding later due to the pandemic. Like many young players, he wasn’t able to play any competitive hockey during the Fall. That delay was probably reason enough for the Rangers to assign Lafreniere to Canada where he could’ve played in the ’21 WJC. They didn’t allow him to return.

In hindsight, that was a mistake. Having Lafreniere play against his peers in the prestigious tournament would’ve benefited him. He could’ve helped Canada defend their gold medal. It also would’ve allowed him to get into game shape in preparation for the abbreviated 56-game 2021 schedule. A big miscalculation by an organization that doesn’t always see the big picture on handling its best prospects.

At the time, David Quinn was entering his third season as coach. After taking positive steps with the key additions of Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba and arrivals of Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox, it looked like the Blueshirts were on the right path back to the playoffs.

The hope was that 2019 second pick Kaapo Kakko would improve on a tough rookie year. Lafreniere would come in and provide the scoring balance they lacked. The issue became how could he receive enough playing time behind a core that included Mika Zibanejad, Kreider, Panarin, Ryan Strome with Fox added to a top power play unit which became one of the league’s most potent.

Without ideal power play time and playing secondary minutes, Lafreniere found it tougher to break in. He even had a stint on the fourth line. A place Quinn also put Kakko when he wasn’t producing. It left fans frustrated with the process for younger players. That also included Filip Chytil, who for the most part centered a third line where both Kakko and Lafreniere wound up.

After he recorded 12 goals and nine assists for a total of 21 points all at even strength over 56 contests, Lafreniere entered Year Two with more expectations under new bench boss Gerard Gallant. A more experienced coach who tries to motivate the younger players through discipline, he’s made examples of Kakko, Lafreniere and newcomer Vitaly Kravtsov at different moments over the past year and a half. If they make mistakes that hurt the team, shifts can be missed occasionally. Or they can get dropped down.

Nobody can complain over the success the Rangers had in ’21-22. They went from no postseason four years running to surprising many by rallying from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Pens in a hotly contested first round where they eventually took advantage of their goalie edge along with Sidney Crosby missing the third period of Game Five and all of Game Six due to an upper-body injury sustained on a Jacob Trouba hit.

Although he didn’t explode in his second season due to being behind the top six, Lafreniere made strides by scoring 19 more even strength goals placing second on the team behind Kreider, who scored 23 times at even strength in a career year where he scored 52 goals including a single season franchise record 26 power play goals.

That Lafreniere had that kind of success playing mostly five-on-five on a third line with Chytil and Kakko proved that he was learning. He seemed to have a clear role on a team that won 52 games and totaled 110 points to finish second in the Metropolitan Division.

It felt like the then 20-year old left wing was on the right track. He played aggressively by using his speed and grit to get in on the forecheck and win puck battles. He definitely finished checks and went to the hard areas to score most of his goals. The chemistry Lafreniere had with Chytil and Kakko carried over into the playoffs where they contributed during series wins over Pittsburgh and Carolina. Their play was instrumental during the run to the Eastern Conference Final where they ultimately fell short against Tampa.

If there was one gripe about how he was handled by the coaching staff, it was the lack of power play time. Coach Gallant leaned heavily on his vaunted top unit that then featured Fox, Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider and Strome. The second unit was hardly used. That didn’t help Lafreniere or Kakko, who basically had to score almost every goal at even strength. That included Chytil, who wound up with 8-13-21 at full strength. He had one power play point. Kakko scored a power play goal in an injury riddled third season where he tallied 18 points (7-11-18) over 43 games.

Once new Team President and GM Chris Drury added key secondary scorers Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp and checking forward Tyler Motte at last year’s trade deadline, it locked the kids into their secondary scoring role. It wasn’t a bad place to be. They all were young, and there was less pressure. They were underestimated in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chytil had a terrific postseason scoring seven goals and adding two assists for nine points in 20 games. Lafreniere did his part contributing two goals and seven assists for nine points. Kakko was strong on the forecheck, totaling two goals and three assists for five points. Although they didn’t always score, they put together strong shifts by cycling the puck and working the walls. This led to penalties drawn and more scoring chances as well as possession time.

Entering ’22-23, there was every reason to believe that Lafreniere would take the next step as a player. Many pundits including myself thought he could hit 25 to 30 goals and 50 points. I also had Kakko penciled in for 20 goals and Chytil around 25.

But in an unpredictable year where the team started poorly before picking it up over the last month to move up in the standings, there’s been little consistency. They can go from beating quality opponents to losing games to some of the league’s also rans. They’re capable of coming back to win games and also capable of imploding in mystifying losses.

It’s definitely not been easy in Year Two under Gallant. With unrealistic expectations due to the amazing run last Spring, some fans think it’s Cup or bust. I don’t. Last year, everything broke right for them to get far. Winning two series against a third string goalie and backup. They came oh so close against the championship caliber Lightning before running out of gas. Ondrej Palat be damned.

Strome left for Anaheim and was replaced by Vincent Trocheck. An upgrade due to his overall game and strength on face-offs. The issue is he doesn’t have good chemistry with Panarin, who has had a bit of an uneven season despite leading the Rangers in scoring. On the other hand, Trocheck has really come on during this stretch and proven his worth as a great team guy.

The lines have been mostly mixed up by Gallant, who has a tendency to panic when things don’t go well. It isn’t like last year where you knew he could pencil in Kreider and Zibanejad together while Panarin and Strome were on line two. Vatrano filled the right wing on the top line while the versatile Copp did the same for the second line, making the Rangers a much more balanced team. Motte was a great fit on the checking line with Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves, who makes his return to MSG when the Wild visit tonight. That should be interesting.

Reaves fell out of favor under Gallant, who loved him both in Vegas and New York City. It became a numbers game with Jimmy Vesey earning his stay by solidifying himself in a checking, penalty killing role. He was extended last week for two years at a fair average cap hit of $800,000.

Drury adding Ryan Carpenter to replace Kevin Rooney never made sense. A Gallant guy who played for him in Vegas, he didn’t have the skating necessary to stick in a checking role. Sammy Blais hasn’t been the same player since tearing his ACL due to P.K. Subban. He plays hard continuing to deliver big hits and forecheck. But he has no goals and is on the fourth line.

Jonny Brodzinski temporarily replaced Carpenter due to his speed and grit. He’s been an extra lately with Blais playing alongside Goodrow and the surprising Julien Gauthier. It’s his re-emergence that allowed the organization to part ways with Reaves, who was dealt to Minnesota who wanted him. He gets regular shifts and plays the same high energy role he did last season in NYC. You know he’ll have extra juice for this game.

While they’ve settled on a fourth line, there still are questions. Lafreniere got mixed in the shuffle. He went from third line to a few games up with Zibanejad and Kreider to playing the off wing with Trocheck and Panarin. The experiment with the Bread Man messed him up. His attention to detail suffered along with his play.

Perhaps being moved around so much by Gallant didn’t help Lafreniere. His role remains undefined. The opposite of last year when he seemed to make steady progress under Turk. He’s been used primarily on the third line back at his natural position for a while. He works best with Chytil, who’s on target for over 20 goals and 40 points.

With Kakko now being featured on the top line where his strong wall play has been a good fit with the reunited Kreider and Zibanejad, it’s Chytil between Lafreniere and Vesey. A player who’s consistently worked hard for his seven goals and seven assists. Vesey knows who he is and plays the same tenacious style in his second stint as a Blueshirt. There was too much pressure the first time which he couldn’t live up to.

With Lafreniere stuck on five goals in 40 games that even included Gallant sitting him out for a game for the first time in his career, the word “bust” has been tossed around by frustrated Rangers fans. Of course, it’s been underwhelming for a good, mature kid who says all the right things even when it’s not going well. He’s handled it well despite how it’s gone.

It’s my belief that it’s all mental. Confidence can be so fragile for athletes when they slump. Even the best players have been through it. Clearly, Lafreniere isn’t where he wants to be. With 18 points including a new personal best 13 assists during an uneven first half, there’s still half a season remaining.

That’s enough time for him to figure it out. Lafreniere is most effective when he’s aggressive on the forecheck and finishing checks. We haven’t seen that edge as often. He is capable of getting in and winning those battles beneath the dots. Lafreniere must get back to that consistently along with driving the net for tips, deflections and rebounds. That’s a key part of his game.

Skating remains an issue. He doesn’t possess that extra gear which we see from ’20 third pick Tim Stutzle, who’s become a star on Ottawa as a center/wing. It definitely has helped Stutzle develop that he’s given top line minutes along with power play duties on a rebuilding club that also features power forward Brady Tkachuk, scoring wing Drake Batherson and injured center Josh Norris. But the Senators have underperformed after adding Claude Giroux and Cam Talbot. They don’t look playoff bound.

Can Lafreniere be better? Of course. It’ll take that extra effort for him to snap out of it. Even in a game he earned a primary assist in on a Vesey goal, he received heavy criticism due to a turnover during three-on-three in overtime that allowed Damon Severson to beat Shesterkin on a two-on-one rush in a Devils’ 4-3 come from behind victory.

It was harsh. Did he make a mistake trying to make a tough pass across for Chytil? Sure. He did. Lafreniere got blown up by Jonas Siegenthaler on an incidental hit. That led to Severson winning it. Mistakes happen during the hectic overtime format. We’ve seen more established stars mess up leading to OT losses. Hello, Panarin?

It was total overreaction due to it being Lafreniere. It’s been that kind of season for him. That doesn’t mean he can’t turn it around. He needs to show more during shifts to prove he can make a difference. The notion of giving up on a 21-year old who was hyped to the moon is ridiculous. That would be a typical Dolan move.

What Lafreniere can use is a goal. He is without one over the last 12 games. That’s after going 2-1-3 in wins over St. Louis and Vegas. With only five helpers since, that isn’t enough production for a young player who much was expected for.

Has he been jerked around? Undoubtedly. Going line to line and playing out of position because the team’s highest paid player won’t shift over to the right side isnt conducive. It’s pathetic how much they’ll bend over backwards for Panarin. A great player. But a frustrating one who can disappear in big spots. The over passing and East/West plays that cause more problems when opponents defend him well. He didn’t bury his chances along with Zibanejad on Saturday.

Would a stint in the AHL with Hartford have helped? Absolutely. The Rangers have never considered it. They should have for Kakko when he was lost in his rookie year. Lafreniere could’ve benefited from some time with the Wolf Pack. He would’ve gotten top minutes including power play.

Look how long it took Chytil to develop into a better player. Injuries aside, you see a more confident center who knows when to shoot and when to pass. He also gets his nose dirty. Something that started last postseason.

Sometimes, patience is required for young players to develop. That means putting them in the best position to succeed. They’ve done it with both Chytil and Kakko. They haven’t yet with Lafreniere. Who’s at fault? It isn’t only about the player.

Here’s a polarizing question for our fans. What exactly is going to happen when Brennan Othmann arrives? You’re talking about a logjam at wing. Are they gonna screw him up too? If you’ve seen him play for Canada who repeated at the WJC winning an exciting gold medal game over Czechia 4-3, then you know how capable he is.

What about Will Cuylle? In his first full pro season, his nine goals are tied for the team lead. On a low-scoring team, Cuylle ranks second in Wolf Pack scoring with 16 points (9-7-16). The feisty left wing also has 34 penalty minutes playing the strong game hrs known for. He’s only 20. Othmann just celebrated his 20th birthday last Jan. 5. Cuylle will turn 21 February 5.

Given the way the Rangers have handled some of their top prospects with the general exception of goalies (Lundqvist, Shesterkin) and defensemen (Staal, Del Zotto, Sauer, McDonagh via Mtl, Fox, Lindgren via Bos, Miller, Schneider), one wonders if they’ll do a better job in helping those aforementioned promising forwards make the smooth transition.

For now, we’ll continue to track the progress of Lafreniere. Hoping for better.

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Rangers blow game to determined Devils in bad fashion, Hudson rival turn tables in overtime comeback win in final meeting, Goodrow’s brutal giveaway proves costly in loss, Turk’s Buddy System

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Derek

There are games that a team loses and they’re just shrugged aside. Then, there are bad losses like the one the Rangers had in Newark earlier this afternoon. They blew a two-goal lead after two periods to lose in brutal fashion 4-3 to the more determined Devils in overtime at The Prudential Center.

In the third and final meeting of the regular season due to the ridiculous NHL schedule, it was the Jersey side of the Hudson Rivalry that dug deep to prevail on Damon Severson’s overtime winner at 2:47. The veteran defenseman picked up a loose puck in his zone ane came two-on-one and rifled the unassisted goal by hard luck loser Igor Shesterkin to snap the Devils’ eight-game home losing streak.

By rallying back from a 3-1 deficit on goals from stars Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes (2 goals and assist), the Devils gave their fans plenty to cheer about in a great atmosphere of 16,514 that was fairly split between both sides. That’s what makes it a unique rivalry. To hear Severson tell it, nothing beats these games.

Too bad there aren’t more. You know. If common sense actually prevailed in a league that prioritizes playing the other conference twice and the division in their conference basically as many games (3) as division rivals. Well, at least in our case, the Rangers have now concluded their regular season series with the Islanders and Devils. Both lasting three games. At least there’s four versus the Caps with three remaining.

In losing the game, the Rangers blew an opportunity to pass the rival Devils in the standings. However, once they choked away the two-goal lead and went to overtime, it guaranteed that the Jersey side of the rivalry would stay in second place due to a game at hand and the first tiebreaker of regulation wins.

Instead of picking themselves up and winning it, they found a way to lose. Mika Zibanejad missed high and wide on a breakaway on Vitek Vanecek early in the three-on-three, it was just a matter of time before the Devils won it. Neither Zibanejad or Artemi Panarin could beat Vanecek, who steadied after allowing three goals on 15 shots. He stopped the last 19 including all 11 in the third period.

For all the talk about the edge they have in net, Shesterkin lost twice against the Devils in the three match-ups. He allowed three or more in every game, giving up 11 goals on 109 shots (.899 save percentage) with a 3.61 GAA. It isn’t about him as much as it is about how his team has played. An indictment on the team defense and checking.

The Devils were without key defenseman John Marino (week-to-week) and checking forward Nathan Bastian. The Rangers had a full lineup, but still didn’t prevail. It wasn’t about the younger players making mistakes either. Rather experienced veterans who played a role in the Devils coming back.

Barclay Goodrow is the biggest scapegoat. A reliable checking forward who Gerard Gallant trusts to use in close games, it was his bone-headed mistake that let the Devils back in the game.

After Julien Gauthier had scored his sixth from Adam Fox and Goodrow to give the Blueshirts an undeserved 2-0 lead early in the second period, it was Goodrow who made a big mistake.

Following a failed power play with Miles Wood off for interference, Goodrow inexplicably threw the puck from inside the Devils zone back to the Rangers zone. His foolish back pass somehow wound up right on the stick of Hughes, who then scored his 25th unassisted at 9:24 to get the Devils back in the game. The goal should’ve read:

NJD Jack Hughes (25) EV from NYR Barclay Goodrow at 9:24.

It was mind-numbing. Why Goodrow passed back without noticing that he had no teammate open but Hughes is a mystery. I’m not interested in the explanation. However, I do have a question for the coach. We’ll get to that later.

Up till that point, it was Shesterkin who kept the Devils off the scoreboard. He made 19 big saves in a lopsided first that included a five-on-three for 1:27. He had to be very good during the opening period.

Jimmy Vesey got the Rangers off to a good start by scoring against his former team just 1:34 in. A few days removed from a well deserved contract extension for two more years, Vesey was the recipient of a good feed from Alexis Lafreniere in the Devils zone. He then made a nice move and beat Vanecek stick side for his seventh.

It’s amazing how well he’s played. Good for him. Credit Jacob Trouba with a key secondary helper. He made a good outlet up to Lafreniere, who was able to set up Vesey for the opening tally.

Following the goal, it was mostly Devils. They sure dictated play during a hectic first for Shesterkin, who was dialed in. He denied Hughes twice and then stopped Nico Hischier in tight on a tough backhand rebound of an Ondrej Palat shot. He recently returned to the Devils lineup.

That’s how the period went. It was Shesterkin called upon often to make big stops. It included a few more on Hischier, Bratt and Hughes when they were on the power play. Bratt came close to tying it. But his shot rang off the crossbar with over a minute left.

Somehow, the Blueshirts escaped the period leading by one. They could thank their goalie. Shesterkin has had to work extremely hard in many games. Too much so. He shouldn’t have to bail out this team time and time again. The defense must be more consistent along with puck management and team discipline. If that doesn’t improve, they have little chance of getting far in the playoffs.

After being out-shot 19-9, they were better during the second period. Able to pick up their play, the Rangers doubled their lead thanks to some nice work from the checking line. After Fox took a Goodrow feed in transition, he made a great pass in front for a cutting Gauthier, who did the rest by sticking with it to score a nice goal that made it 2-0 at 3:28.

It was a great effort. Gauthier has improved on these kind of power moves to the net and gotten rewarded. While he isn’t the best finisher, he certainly has made the organization look good for believing in him. He earned a spot after being recalled and has been a good secondary scorer. Combine that with Vesey and that’s 13 goals from two unexpected sources.

But in a better period they held an 11-6 edge in shots, they couldn’t convert on a key power play. Then came the costly Goodrow mistake. I don’t know what he was thinking. It was a very bad decision to back pass in that spot. I’m not a fan of that play. It can only lead to trouble.

Goodrow’s pass allowed Hughes to easily pick it off and cut in on both an unsuspecting Ben Harpur and Braden Schneider and zip one past Shesterkin upstairs to cut it to 2-1 with 10:36 remaining. It was mindless.

Although Chris Kreider would finish off his 19th in front on a K’Andre Miller rebound thanks to a great cycle started by Mika Zibanejad, it was still only a two-goal game. It should’ve been more.

That Goodrow error was ridiculous. Of course, he never missed a shift. That only applies to select younger players when they mess up. Something every fan of this team would notice at a critical point later.

The Rangers could never put the Devils away. As much as some of our fans bag on their goaltending, Vanecek seems to have a habit of making big saves when his team needs it. He stopped Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and Gauthier to keep his team alive. That was a good signing by Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald.

It really could’ve been over. However, Vanecek never allowed the fourth goal. He made a few more big saves to keep the deficit at two in the third.

The Rangers also failed miserably on a power play with Dougie Hamilton in the box for a phantom hook on Trocheck. It was a weak call. Par for the course in this soft and softer league.

Instead of taking advantage, they did absolutely nothing. Panarin missed on a good chance wide from an area he has to hit the net on. Fox had a shot blocked that led to a key Devils clear. The second unit came on with 42 seconds left and never got set up. It was a wasted opportunity.

The turning point came when Kaapo Kakko was nabbed for a tacky slash on Hughes in the neutral zone. Honestly, it wasn’t much. Similar to the Hamilton call. If that’s how they’re going to call it, it cheapens the game.

Be that as it may, the Devils cashed in on their chance. On a good passing play started by Hughes, Hischier found an open Bratt at the top. He fired a laser high inside the post to score the power play goal with 11:32 remaining. That cut it to one.

It only took another 2:04 for the Devils to draw even. On a key face-off win from Dawson Mercer who beat Goodrow, Ryan Graves had a shot deflect right to Hughes who buried it for his second of the game to tie the score.

It was an unlucky bounce for Shesterkin. But that can happen when you fail to finish off a good opponent. The Devils had lost eight consecutive games on home ice. Maybe they were owed a break. They sure got it. Who else would they want with the puck in that spot? With 26 goals, Hughes is on pace for 53 goals.

With the game tied and less than 10 minutes remaining, things tightened up. Even with Trocheck off for a slash on Jonas Siegenthaler, it was the Rangers who got the best opportunity shorthanded. Zibanejad broke free for a bid, but missed over the top. Part of a frustrating day for the top guns.

Predictably, Gallant did something that irked fans. Well, maybe the better word is divided. Not everyone loves Vitaly Kravtsov due to what happened last year in Hartford. However, he went back home and had a good playoffs in the KHL. Then, has handled all the kid treatment well. Even having missed time due to injuries and mysterious scratches, he’s earned a spot on the second line.

Despite again being active on some shifts and nearly setting up Panarin for a goal that would’ve put the game out of reach (Bread Man missed a backhand over the net), Kravtsov was replaced by Goodrow with the game tied. He never saw another shift with 8:18 remaining after Trocheck took a penalty.

Now, here’s the issue. Didn’t Goodrow make a brutal puck decision that led to Hughes’ first goal? Didn’t he also lose a key defensive draw to Mercer, who doesn’t play much center in his second year? That also resulted in Hughes getting his second to tie the game.

I like Goodrow. He’s been a good Ranger. I understand why Gallant loves him. He’s a trusted vet he can rely on and move around. However, he deserved to sit. I’m not alone in this line of thinking.

Chris is one of the really good fans of this team. I’ve known him for over a decade. He is knowledgeable and makes sense. I’m going to introduce something new. Turk’s Buddy System.

What is it? It’s simple. If the coach loves you, you play no matter what. Outside of Kreider, who was demoted during a game to the fourth line because he can take it, no veterans are held accountable. They can turn over pucks, take undisciplined penalties or be invisible during shifts. Gallant will not bench them.

This isn’t exclusive to Panarin, Zibanejad and other key personnel. It extends to Miller, who as good as he’s been offensively lately, he remains an enigma in his end. He’s a defenseman. They rely on him for top minutes. Sometimes, you have to shake it up. We’ve seen Schneider bumped up occasionally. But despite being more solid than Miller, he doesn’t get as many minutes. That should change soon.

We all understand that when push comes to shove, Gallant will cut down to three lines and four or five defensemen. He did it this afternoon. It sure didn’t help them win. Playing Goodrow over Kravtsov was foolish. He went conservative for the point. Well, how did that work out coach? You got burned.

In overtime, we never saw Kakko or Kravtsov. Why would we? Kakko got punished for a weak penalty and Kravtsov was done for the day. Why stick with your most gifted forwards during a three-on-three when you can limit your options?

This is why Rangers fans can’t have nice things. It perfectly explains why nobody ever properly develops. Lafreniere got a shift in OT. That came after Zibanejad reset and then turned on the afterburner to skate in on Vanecek. Of course, he missed wide. No finish from Mika on Saturday.

The duo of Chytil and Lafreniere stayed out for an extended shift. They came on with 3:22 left. After Fox replaced Schneider, critical mistakes were made. Following a save from Shesterkin on Hughes, Lafreniere carried the puck into Devil territory. Looking to make a pass for Chytil, he was blocked by Severson.

It became worse when Lafreniere got blown up inadvertently by Siegenthaler. For the contingent who claimed interference, it wasn’t. The hit was accidental after Lafreniere lost the puck. With him down and Chytil behind, Severson wisely picked up the loose puck and skated two-on-one with Hischier.

Afterwards, he said he was looking pass. However, Fox took it away. Severson made a good shot to win the game.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1611828814291632128?t=lpRVSd8vxzzFlIoC05hAZQ&s=19

There isn’t anything else to add. Lafreniere didn’t really have an opening on his attempted pass. I thought it was a poor choice. However, seeing one reaction to his miscalculation made me sick to my stomach. You can be a fan of this team and critique his play. Don’t cross the line with name calling or post offensive terms. That’s childish and pathetic.

It definitely reflects poorly when any fan resorts to that. Especially on a social platform. I won’t say anything else. Lafreniere hasn’t delivered in Year Three. But geez. It’s a damn game. Not life or death. I’ll be attending a wake for someone I knew growing up. That’s very different from the way some overreact to losses. Let it go.

Instead of moving ahead of the Devils into second in the Metro Division, the Rangers got a point and temporarily are ahead of the Caps for third. At the halfway point, they’re 22-12-7 with 51 points. One up on the Caps. Two behind the Devils, who hit the road. Five up on the Islanders, who lost two ugly games in Edmonton and Calgary. The Pens remain seven behind having dropped three in a row. They have three games in hand.

We’ll see what happens. For now, the Rangers return home on Tuesday for Ryan Reaves and the Wild. That should be interesting. The first place Stars also visit Thursday. That’s two good games to start the second half.

Believe it or not, the countdown is on once Game 42 is played. It won’t be long before we’re in February with the trade deadline around the corner. The next few weeks will determine a lot. We’ll find out much more about this team. Ditto for the other five playoff contenders in the division.

Losses like Saturday afternoon happen. The Devils did what they had to do to get the win. Give them credit. It wasn’t good enough from a Rangers perspective. Time to move on.

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Devils rally to win another wild Battle of the Hudson game in OT

Posted on January 7, 2023 by hasan4978

Finally, our long state nightmare is over…the Devils’ home losing streak ends at eight after a roller-coaster 4-3 come-from-behind win in OT over the Rangers this afternoon. I was tempted to just let Derek do the game recap and I’m sure he probably will add some thoughts later, after what was a brutal (from his standpoint) loss…but this game was so wacky – not to mention meaningful – it deserves a double recap here.

I suppose you wouldn’t expect anything less when these two teams play, especially when they’re on a more even playing field this year than they’ve been most of the last decade – though as I said in a prior blog a lot of times you can pretty much throw the records out when these two teams play anyway. Both games at the Garden earlier this year were also roller-coaster rides, with the Devils winning the first meeting after falling behind by two barely three minutes into that one, while the Rangers came from two down in the second game after scoring a pair of goals seven seconds apart.

While I’m sure both teams wanted to win this matinee special, tangibly this game was probably bigger for the Devils than the Rangers, given the fact we’re about to go on a two-week road trip and have been slumping lately (albeit with a couple of road wins mixed in), while they’ve been playing well the last few weeks for the most part. In fact, a Ranger win would have put them in front of us in the standings for the first time since mid-October, before our thirteen-game heater.

Given all that, the game could hardly have started worse for the Devils – or the fans in attendance – when Vitek Vanecek allowed a shockingly poor goal by one-time Devil Jimmy Vesey, after Vesey deked his way around ex-Ranger Brendan Smith to get to the left side of the ice before beating Vanecek short-side. I somehow had the feeling the Rangers would score first, but this soon on this type of a goal? And to Vesey of all people, a guy who basically was just roster filler for a season here and looked to be on his way out of the league after last year before being revitalized back in Ranger blue?!

If the early deficit was predictable, so too was how the rest of the period turned out with frustration piled upon frustration. It was bad enough the Devils managed to outshoot the Rangers by more than double (19-9) in the first period without finding their way to a single goal, but they even failed to score on an eighty-seven second long 5-on-3. I don’t want to hear that the conversion rate for 5-on-3’s is ‘only’ thirty percent, how many of them were nearly a minute and a half long?! That whole period felt like one big sick joke.

A sick joke that continued into the second period as the Devils continued to pepper Igor Shesterkin with little to no success in the middle frame, and still fell further behind after what seemed like an innocuous play at first when Barclay Goodrow’s long pass wound up being tape to tape onto Adam Fox’s stick and Fox’s nice drop pass set up Julien Gauthier for what turned out to be a nice deke and hand-eye play in front to score the Rangers’ second. At the arena it looked like just a dribbler that found its way through Vanecek but it was actually a deke where Gauthier almost lost the puck but regained it in front to put it home for his sixth goal of the season. At this point I was rolling my eyes wondering when, exactly were we going to start turning our chances into goals?

When in doubt, there’s at least almost always Jack Hughes to count on – and the Devils’ star brought our portion of the crowd back to life again midway through the second period – with assistance from whoever it was that turned the puck over right onto Hughes’ stick, and he split the D for what turned out to be a mini-breakaway goal, his 25th of the season.

I joked to a friend the Rangers were probably going to quadruple-team Hughes going forward. Finally at least we had some hope back, although I still didn’t have much hope that anyone not named Hughes was scoring. And what little momentum we got from that goal died again less than four minutes later when Chris Kreider put home a rebound from a K’Andre Miller shot, restoring the Rangers’ two goal lead. All told, the Devils somehow managed only one goal on thirty-three shots in the first two periods. Give Shesterkin all the credit in the world, but you could have told me Jaroslav Halak was in net and I’d believe you given our propensity to be shut down by just about ‘anyone’ at home lately.

As far as the crowd goes, I actually figured there would be more Devil fans than there were given the team’s overall position in the standings, in comparison to past years where it was predictable that we’d inevitably cash out on games which had little tangible meaning for us anyway. It was still uncomfortably close to 50-50 on a decent – for January – Saturday afternoon though, although to be fair Devils fans did represent nicely in at least the first game at the Garden just after our long winning streak had ended. Still, part of me wondered if there was a few more Ranger fans in the building would it feel enough like a road game to get the best out of this team?

I didn’t exactly have the crazy first two games in mind as the third period slogged on to what seemed like an inevitable conclusion several minutes in, after all the Devils had been playing much better a few weeks ago during those games…actually the second game at the Garden (the come-from-ahead OT loss) had pretty much started our December malaise. At least Vanecek had started to redeem himself from the horrible-looking opening goal as the Rangers started to put more pucks on net late in the second and in the third period, fortunately good Vitek returned and kept us within shouting distance until finally came a breakthrough, and on a power play no less. This time, it was Jesper Bratt whose one-time slapper off a Nico Hischier feed dinged the camera in the net and came out, but clearly a goal which pulled the Devils within one at 8:28.

Whereas I still felt a bit meh about our chances after we pulled to within 2-1, this one felt like the start of a rally. Sure enough, the pressure finally resulted in another break when a Ryan Graves point shot deflected off Dawson Mercer and right onto the stick of Hughes with an open net waiting. Not only did Hughes cash in to tie the game, but then immediately tugged on the NJ logo to celebrate with the crowd.

Asked about the jersey tug and the crowd after the game, Hughes said he was representing the state with the logo pull and referred to the crowd just making a lot of noise and going nuts after his tying goal without fully realizing what it was about. I’m sure he was more or less referring to when the dual chants started, with the ‘Let’s Go Rangers!’ from the visiting fans followed by ‘Let’s Go Devils!’ several times in a row which was both hilarious and annoying. But hey this is an actual rivalry, and not a faux rivalry dependent on either individual players or teams happening to meet in the playoffs a couple of times.

Inexorably the game went to OT, and ironically the Devils outscored the Rangers 2-0 in the only period they were outshot in during the game, though they narrowly avoided disaster when Damon Severson’s dangerous pass through his own crease just missed deflecting off the skates of an unsuspecting Vanecek. In another situation maybe you’d be happy with just getting a point out of a game you were trailing 3-1 in, but a moral victory wasn’t going to be enough today. They needed an actual win with the home losing streak still needing to be dealt with, not to mention having to fend off teams in the standings. Early on it looked bad as the Rangers got a breakaway – at this point I forget who it was and who got blown by on the play – but Vanecek stood tall one more time and gave us a chance to win.

Finally, maybe even deservedly they did get that all-important W after a great individual play from of all people Severson, who was nearly the goat a few minutes earlier but left the Rock a hero after both stripping Alexis Lafreniere to start a two-on-one the other way, then converting on the two-on-one for an emotional OT winner.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1611828814291632128?s=20&t=1xVP9jit0V5igXoV2L9CNw

After all my kvetching over our home losing streak was it…actually worth the wait to end it this way? Assuming it starts us going in the right direction again, I’d say yes. Of course playing in Carolina the next game (and the first of a long road trip) after this kind of an emotional win doesn’t do us any favors. That’s next week’s problem though, at least we have a couple of days to savor finally getting off the schnied at home in a fun, albeit stressful afternoon at the Rock. But would you want it any other way in a rivalry?

Posted in Battle Of Hudson, Devils, NY Rangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Devils’ jekyll and hyde nature leaves them stuck in limbo

Posted on January 6, 2023 by hasan4978

If there was a more perfect prism to view the last month of Devils hockey, these last two games provided it. Considering the Devils are 14-2-1 on the road and 10-10-2 at home with eight straight losses at the Rock, maybe we shouldn’t have expected any different than what the team gave us this week – which was a dominant 5-1 win in Detroit on Wednesday followed by more frustration against a banged-up Blues team last night in a 4-3 defeat. I’m at a loss to even begin to explain the Devils’ sudden bipolar nature where they turn into the Hulk on the road and mild-mannered Bruce Banner at home.

Since the Detroit game was first, let’s start with the good news of the week, our nearly drama-free win on Wednesday. Granted, the Devils were outshot by the Wings and scoreless after the first period but as we’ve seen on multiple occasions this year (and would again the following day), shots mean very little if you don’t convert them. Almost everything found the back of the net in the last two periods of the game in Detroit though, starting with power play goals by Dougie Hamilton and Nico Hischier – both off of Hamilton point shots – the latter being a tip-in by the captain, prompting a bow and arrow celebration from one exuberant Devils fan in the building.

Hischier had a two-point night on his birthday despite a hand injury suffered in the previous game against Carolina which limited his usage on faceoffs to power play only. In the third period the Devils tacked on with finally some of the secondary scorers chipping in, led by a newly constructed fourth line of Michael McLeod, Alex Holtz and Miles Wood which combined for the first two goals in the third. All three combined on the first goal, with a Holtz pass to Wood on a two-on-one being stopped by Ville Husso, but the Detroit goaltender was out of position when Holtz was able to corral the rebound and feed McLeod with an open net waiting. Holtz got a deserved reward for arguably his best game of the season seconds after another power play ended when a nice entry from Damon Severson and feed from Wood led to Holtz having time and space to score his third goal of the season. For good measure, Jack Hughes added his 22nd goal of the season to make it 5-0, a nearly spotless game only spoiled by Vitek Vanecek losing a shutout with two minutes remaining when Detroit got one power play goal of their own.

At least Vanecek had another strong game with 32 saves including key stops early before the Devils’ power play got the offensive show rolling. Unfortunately with a back-to-back at home the next night it was unlikely Vanecek would play both ends of it, especially given his career high in games played (AHL and NHL) is 42 last year, and he’s already played 25 games this year in just under half a season so barring injury he should set a career high. The days of Marty playing 70+ are long over with, not just with the Devils but in the NHL in general. Instead of Mackenzie Blackwood against the Blues however, we got the return of Akira Schmid when Blackwood took a shot off his hand in practice and was scratched from an almost certain start last night. While Schmid earned a lot of respect for his play during his first callup, he hadn’t been nearly as stout since returning to the AHL and was now being called back up to play on short notice.

With a third-string goalie playing in less than ideal circumstances, the Devils needed to step things up against the Blues. They tried, but as has been the case often this season got frustrated by another highlight-reel goaltending performance, this one from Jordan Binnington who partied like it was a playoff run (since that’s the only time he usually plays well). Having a 3.21 GAA and .894 save percentage didn’t suggest we would see playoff Binnington appear at the Rock last night, but appear he did. Unfortunately, the early-season Schmid did not appear with him. Despite outshooting the Blues 39-19 last night, and having the shot edge in every period it proved to be yet another frustrating defeat.

Not all the goals against were on Schmid, certainly our ‘top pairing’ of Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler (a combined -5 last night) need to be better, and coach Lindy Ruff even called out Hamilton by name in the postgame, as well as rookie Fabian Zetterlund who was a healthy scratch.

Still, when you basically allow three quality chances against in the first two periods you’d like to see more than one save on them, especially when the other goalie makes approximately eight saves out of ten quality chances against him. Actually, the worst goal on Schmid was probably the Blues’ go-ahead goal in the third when Brandon Saad beat him through the legs. It’s hard to be critical of a rookie who shouldn’t have been playing this many games in the first place, and I feel like we’re in the movie Groundhog Day after I was saying the same thing about Nico Daws last year when he fell off after initially playing well as a rookie callup.

Of course just as much blame for last night lies with the offense who did just enough to lose, with newly-minted All-Star Hughes being the entire offense in the first two periods with two more goals, but nobody else could convert – whether it was Tomas Tatar getting robbed by the glove on the doorstep or McLeod flubbing an empty-net chance after a nice feed by Erik Haula, or Dawson Mercer failing to even register a shot on net after getting a short-handed breakaway in the third period, a play that was described harshly by the coach.

Hard for me to entirely agree with Lindy here, given the Blues already tied the game, and the fact it was hardly the only frustrating miss on the evening. What was doubly annoying is the fact the Devils had two wins and an OT loss in their previous three games, seemingly coming out of a month-long malaise – and also had the long-awaited return of Ondrej Palat to the lineup last night, to boot. Of course they won both those games away from the Prudential Center, while they haven’t sent the home fans happy since beating the Blackhawks on December 6, exactly a month ago today. And if they don’t beat the streaking Rangers (eleven wins in fourteen games) tomorrow, they won’t get another chance to end the home losing streak for another two weeks. I wanted to call tomorrow’s game a must-win but given the bubble cushion is still seven points at the moment, I’ll stop short of that and say it’s imperative we’re not sitting on a nine-game home losing streak for another two weeks before a long road trip awaits.

Given the fact the rest of the division is still streaking, a split against two non-playoff teams didn’t ultimately do us much good this week. Sure, the margin to the playoff bubble is still seven (with the Penguins having a game in hand) but I’m not sure we can rely on the Devils being a .900 team on the road all year, especially with a five-game trip coming up starting with a Carolina pitstop before a four-game West Coast swing. If you think the Devils are the 2011 New York Giants reincarnate where they can just win every game on the road all year well vaya con dios, you can’t rely on those type of historical anomalies long-term, especially in a long 82-game season compared to a sixteen-game one.

Of course, it would be nice if Vanecek got more of the home starts at this point given that he’s only started three of the eight losses, and didn’t even get a decision in the Islander loss while the other two games he was the victim of insane goaltending (or lousy finishing by us) against the Flyers and Carter Hart, and the Bruins with Linus Ullmark. He’ll almost certainly start tomorrow’s game, which should help but they’re more than capable of getting frustrated by Igor Shesterkin, assuming he’s in net as well. Or Jaroslav Halak, or anyone else the Rangers put in net. In a rivalry, frequently the records don’t matter – and in this case, the record’s pretty well even after the Devils were lapping the field fifteen games ago – all that matters is getting more goals than the other team. You wouldn’t think the Devils had scored sixteen goals in the last four games given all the hand-wringing over the offense, but other than the Detroit game there hasn’t been enough secondary scoring, and for all the chances they got last night you gotta get more than three with the third one being a Nico goal on a 5-on-3 after we fell behind by two.

There have been too many games like last night in general where the advanced stats zealots pound their chest and say the Devils ‘dominated’…well that ain’t gonna help when you fail to win, especially when the home crowd continually leaves the arena annoyed. If you want the crowd not to tense up and get even more negative, take it to the Rangers tomorrow. Fans are looking for a reason to cheer, give us that.

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Chytil, Blueshirts take care of Canadiens, Canada repeats in unbelievable conclusion edging Czechia in sudden death to win gold st WJC

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Derek
Shane Wright celebrates with the trophy after Canada’s dramatic 3-2 gold medal win in sudden death over the resilient Czechia in a memorable World Junior Championships in Halifax and Moncton. Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann won gold with two assists. Photo courtesy NHL Network

Last night was a hockey night. Anytime you can get the marquee event at the World Junior Championships in a great gold medal match while there’s a good slate of NHL games, that’s about as good as it gets for the sport.

It didn’t disappoint. While the Rangers prepared for their game against Laval Montreal up at Bell Centre, the puck dropped on an intriguing final played between tournament host Canada and the impressive Czechia up in Halifax.

On the heels of a wild bronze medal game won by USA 8-7 over unlucky Sweden in overtime on a hat trick goal from Chaz Lucius, tournament favorite Canada went up against Group A foe Czechia in a rematch. The same team that dealt them their only loss. It was 6-3.

Out of that defeat, they discovered that backup Thomas Milic was the goalie they’d lean on after he played well in relief of Ben Gaudreau. The undrafted 19-year old out of British Columbia was brilliant throughout the tournament by winning all six starts he made and posting a 1.76 GAA with a .932 save percentage.

Even though they pulled away from USA in the much hyped semifinal winning 6-2, it was much closer. Milic made 43 saves on 45 shots to really make a difference. He made big stops on Jimmy Snuggerud and stoned Lucius on a key breakaway when it was anyone’s game. After being overlooked twice, Milic should be selected in the 2023 NHL Draft. He gave Canada the clutch goaltending needed to succeed.

Czechia boasted their own great story in net. Tomas Suchanek was also undrafted the prior two years. The unheralded netminder was the only goalie to make every start in the tournament playing every minute. His clutch play helped Czechia upset Canada in their first meeting. He kept his team afloat in the stunning come from behind 2-1 overtime win over Sweden. He finished on the All Tournament Team posting a 1.52 GAA and a .934 save percentage.

Undoubtedly, it was the surprising revelations of both Milic and Suchanek that were instrumental in getting their teams to the gold medal match last night. Without their brilliant play, neither makes it. Even with Connor Bedard setting all kinds of records, Canada would’ve been cooked without Milic.

While much of the focus was on Bedard who entered the big game with a tournament best nine goals, 14 assists and 23 points, it was actually the strong supporting cast that got the job done to make Canada the first repeat winner since 2009.

It sure didn’t come easy. Czechia was an experienced team with a lot of character and resiliency. Like they had in their remarkable comeback win to stun Sweden, who must be heartbroken after how they lost the bronze medal to USA, the pesky Czechs again showed their steely determination in nearly shocking an overwhelming pro Canadian crowd at a raucous atmosphere in Halifax.

In a tightly contested first period, Canada used their dangerous power play to grab the lead. With key Czechia defender David Jiricek off for holding, Brennan Othmann and Brandt Clarke combined to set up Guenther for one of his lethal shots that beat Suchanek to make it 1-0.

Although Czechia would get a couple of chances, they were unable to beat Milic. He’d replaced Gaudreau in the 5-2 preliminary loss on Boxing Day. The Czechs did all their damage against Gaudreau, who was reduced to cheering on his teammates from the bench.

Following some strong saves from Suchanek who robbed Logan Stankoven and denied Joshua Roy shorthanded, Shane Wright made an impact with a highlight reel goal that a power forward can score.

Skating at center one on two, he gained the Czech zone and made a strong move cutting inside two defenders to get off a wicked backhand that beat Suchanek high glove inside the goalpost to give Canada a 2-0 lead at 24:35. An absolute beauty from a player who will benefit from playing the WJC. He was reassigned by the Kraken to Kingston of the OHL. He’s expected to be traded to a playoff contender.

Although the captain of Team Canada didn’t dominate like the younger and generational talent Connor Bedard, the ’22 fourth pick showed some why he was highly thought of. He centered the second line playing with best friend Othmann and Guenther. He definitely has the look of a two-way pivot capable of scoring at even strength and on the power play.

Wright finished with seven points (4-3-7) including the beautiful goal on his 19th birthday. Ironically, bestie Othmann turned 20 yesterday. They share a birthday. Too bad they won’t play together for the Rangers. That would’ve been a dynamic duo. You could see the chemistry they had together.

While Montreal can’t seem to figure out what to do with top pick Juraj Slafkovsky, Seattle has made the right decision with Wright. Big difference between a second-year expansion team and a puzzling Original Six franchise that needs better direction to become relevant again. My friend Anne wants them to keep losing so they can have a better chance at Bedard. Can you blame her?

Leading by two, Canada could’ve padded their lead with Jakub Brabenec off for a tacky interference call. Even TSN’s Gord Miller and Mike Johnson didn’t think much of the penalty. However, it was moot over a minute later when they got caught with too many men on a bad line change.

Although Czechia got a power play for 1:29 late in a period controlled more by the forecheck of Canada, they couldn’t do much with it. It wad the aggressive play of the Canadians on the penalty kill that created a shorthanded opportunity. But Suchanek was strong. He was unflappable all tournament. His team needed it in the first part of the third period.

As Canada methodically started to dictate the terms with their cycle game while defending well to protect the house, it really felt like they’d find a third goal and get Milic a shutout. He wasn’t under too much stress. He made timely saves and got plenty of help from his defense which included forwards coming back.

They did get chances to put it away. But Suchanek wouldn’t allow it. His biggest stop came on a Wright high try labeled for the upper portion of the net. He really was steady and controlled most of the rebounds.

Czechia also deserves credit for limiting Bedard. He found it more difficult to find time and space. The defense tandem of captain Stanislav Svozil and David Spacek matched up against the top Canadian scoring line of Bedard, Stankoven and Roy. Every time Bedard made a rush with the fans anticipating something, he was checked well and limited to the outside by a strong Czechia defense. He was held to three shots and without a point.

Bedard shined in a telling postgame interview by taking the spotlight off him and speaking about the team and the great experience.

As time became the enemy for the Czechs, they never panicked. On a great keep by Matyas Sapovaliv, he made a diagonal pass for an Eduard Sale point-blank shot that Milic denied. However, Jiri Kulich was right in front to put the rebound in for his seventh goal to make it 2-1 with 7:30 remaining. The Sabres prospect was terrific and played the hero in beating Sweden. He was named to the All Tournament Team.

Less than a minute later, the game was suddenly tied. On a Tomas Hamara shot pass, Jakub Kos redirected the puck past Milic to tie the score. Just like that, the Czechs had rallied with a pair of goals in 54 seconds to shock the crowd.

It was in line with how Czechia played. They had clearly been one of the best teams during the two weeks. Their experience helped. Having a top four blue line that features Jiricek, Jiri Tichacek, Svozil and Spacek, who looks like a steal by the Wild in the fifth round last year, they were a strong team that competed well. They defended better and back checked. They also forechecked as we saw on the consecutive goals that put Canada on the ropes.

There was a brief moment late in regulation where it looked like Czechia would pull it off. They were going for two wins against Canada. Something even past USA teams couldn’t accomplish. It’s hard to beat as polished a team as Canada twice in a short tournament.

With less than 15 seconds left in regulation, it nearly happened. They needed a gigantic pad save from Milic to even reach overtime. Czechia was that close.

Unlike past years, they now play three-on-three in sudden death until someone scores. No more shootout. So, had they needed a second 20-minute overtime, they would’ve played it until there was a hero. My only issue is that it should be at least four-on-four. Three-on-three is too wide open. Plus the resets are frustrating. Ask any NHL fan.

Unlike the OT they played versus Sweden where they couldn’t complete passes and were on their heels the first eight minutes with Suchanek bailing them out, Czechia went for it. They didn’t hold back.

It made for a more exciting three-on-three overtime. You had both sides looking to end it early. While Czechia did go back to reset for personnel changes, it was smoother. Canada did the same. Czechia nearly won it on one good chance. But Milic made a save. He finished with 24 stops on 26 shots.

Perhaps the biggest play was made by Brandt Clarke. He blocked two Czech shots which looked dangerous. Bedard also made a key defensive play. Even though he didn’t score, he still played well defensively.

It was Clarke who stopped a rush by Kulich at the blue line that led to the winning goal. After he shutdown the aggressive Kulich, it trapped two Czechs causing a two-on-one rush for Canada.

Guenther and Roy came down the ice with only one Czechia defender back. Finally, Roy feathered a perfect pass across in the wheelhouse of Guenther who scored by burying the one-timer upstairs against a helpless Suchanek, who could only lay down on the ice in pain at the unbelievable ending. Guenther scored his first even strength goal at 66:22 to play the ultimate hero for a joyous Canada, who mobbed him.

It was a great scene. The celebration was something to behold. If you love this tournament, that game gave you everything you wanted. The favorite ahead looking poised to repeat without any doubt. A resilient opponent who never gave up and stunned everyone to draw even. A dramatic overtime with a memorable conclusion. An exciting ending to a great WJC. Class exhibited by the winner who shook hands with the hard luck loser who managed a few smiles despite how close they were. Respect earned.

Unlike last summer when it was Kent Johnson who scored the golden goal to save Canada after they blew a two-goal lead in the third against Finland, this time it was Guenther. When asked about the gold medal winner, he sounded genuinely surprised. He didn’t even take his gloves off. The Coyotes rookie with three goals should form a good duo with USA top player Logan Cooley, who went 7-7-14 to finish second behind Bedard in scoring and be named to the All Tournament Team.

The crowd was so loud and great. Having the rescheduled tournament in a junior hockey town was way better than an NHL one like Edmonton. Fans filled the arenas and made lots of noise. There were chants and even songs that were sang. It looked like an awesome environment.

Kudos to both Halifax and Moncton for hosting following Russia losing the rights due to the war in Ukraine. It’s a shame that their kids are being punished for the irrational actions of a madman. They deserve to participate in the tournament. Similar sentiment echoed for Alexander Ovechkin, who’s being crucified by bitter reporters who are very judgmental on a complex situation they have no clue on. Ask Artemi Panarin about that after they forced him to take a leave of absence from the Rangers due to a false accusation.

I can’t imagine having family in Russia. It must be pretty scary and uncomfortable for players who play in the NHL. Maybe journalists should butt out. Stick to what they’re more familiar with than making wild assumptions on an all-time great who’ll go down as the greatest goal scorer ever. Ovechkin is up to 29 goals. He’s 37 and on pace for over 50 again. That’s ridiculous.

Regarding last night’s game up in Montreal, the Rangers had one objective. Come out with two points against a bad hockey team. Do it without any injuries. They were successful winning 4-1 over the Canadiens in a place that was once the House of Horrors. Not anymore.

The Habs have really struggled lately. Coached by Hall Of Famer Marty St. Louis, they don’t have much team defense, goaltending or scoring depth. If you can shutdown the top line of leading finisher Cole Caufield, captain Nick Suzuki and former Blackhawk first round pick Kirby Dach, you have a very good chance of winning.

Montreal skated without Brendan Gallagher and Mike Hoffman which made it even more difficult for them. They came off a long seven-game road trip in which they dropped the last five games in regulation to finish 1-5-1. Outscored 26-8 over the last four including a 9-2 drubbing against the Ovechkin Caps where the Great Eight recorded a hat trick and even posed for a picture with the Montreal Moms, they were no match yesterday for the Rangers.

With the gold medal match at intermission due to starting a half hour earlier, I watched a good chunk of the first period. It was a bore and snore fest. Absolutely nothing happened that was noteworthy on the ice. Even Joe Micheletti sarcastically remarked to Sam Rosen, “I’m not sure who’s keeping the crowd out of this game.”

At that point, the Habs had no shots through the first 12:52. It would extend to nearly 17 minutes. The only problem was the Rangers didn’t exactly play well either. Perhaps they were lulled to sleep too. The classic rivals combined for a paltry 10 shots with the Blueshirts ahead 6-4 in a blah period that had no hitting or penalties. Holy crap.

As I was locked in on the second period of Czechia versus Canada, Vitaly Kravtsov made a bad line change to get nabbed for a bench minor. As punishment, he served the minor for too many men. Remarkably, it actually resulted in the game’s first goal for the Rangers.

On a bad turnover by the Canadiens, they allowed public enemy Chris Kreider to get a clean breakaway from the center ice. He cut in and beat Jake Allen with a wrist shot stick side for his 18th unassisted at 7:43 of the second. It was a shorthanded goal. Kreider trails team leader Mika Zibanejad by one for the lead in goals.

While veteran backup Jaroslav Halak made a few saves en route to 17 on a light night facing his original team he once carried to the Eastern Conference Final, the Blueshirts went about their business methodically.

On a good shift by the second line, Kravtsov passed the puck up top for Braden Schneider. He then moved it down low for Artemi Panarin. With some room on the side, he went back up to Schneider for a wrist shot that beat Allen with Vincent Trocheck providing a screen directly in front.

Up by two, they looked for more and got it. On a rather simple play that was started by Jimmy Vesey, his wide shot off the boards cams right over to Ryan Lindgren. He then found an isolated Filip Chytil for a one-timer from the high slot that went high glove on Allen for his 10th at 13:27. That gave the Rangers two goals in 59 seconds to increase the lead to 3-0.

After two periods, the Habs had totaled 11 shots. Only a couple could be classified as scoring chances. Halak made timely stops on Joel Armia and Evgenii Dadonov. Jake Evans missed an open net late in the second.

Ahead by three, the only thing they wanted to do was not get too cautious. They maintained the three-goal lead for over half the period.

That included killing off a Panarin tripping minor. It was cut short by Kreider drawing a slash on rookie Arber Xhekaj with 27 seconds left on the Montreal man-advantage. After some four-on-four, the Rangers failed to capitalize on the power play.

Shortly after that, the Habs made a nice play in transition to finally break the Halak shutout. Evans got the puck up for a fast moving Xhekaj who gained the Rangers zone. He sent a shot towards the net that deflected right to Armia in front. He was able to put home his first on the play to cut it to two with 5:14 remaining.

Of course, it was the first of the season for Armia. Always a hard-working player who hustles, he hasn’t played as much under MSL. So, he was all smiles when he got his first goal in 27 games. He hadn’t scored since April 11, 2022 against Winnipeg. A former team he was dealt to from Buffalo in the Evander Kane deal. Yes. It was a while ago. Kane has since moved on from San Jose to Edmonton where he’s on LTIR.

With under three minutes left in the game, Armia took a cross-checking minor on Lindgren. The Canadiens had to pull Allen for a five-on-five to have any chance. Eventually, the Rangers took advantage when off a face-off in their zone, K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox combined to feed Chytil, who scored into an open net from the red line for his third goal in the last two games. He also scored a power play empty net goal to put away the home win over Carolina who lost to Nashville last night despite getting 67 shots on Juuse Saros in regulation. He made 64 saves. That’s insane.

Aside from Ovechkin getting his 29th this season to stay hot as he pursues Gretzky with the Capitals winning again 6-2 over lowly Columbus, everyone else that’s in the division race lost. The Devils fell again at home to the Blues 5-3 despite two more goals from the dazzling Jack Hughes. The Penguins lost 5-2 in Vegas to continue their Jekyll & Hyde season. The Islanders lost at Edmonton 4-2.

At this point, the Rangers find themselves tied with the Caps in points with 50. However, they’re third due to one less game played. Both teams trail the Devils by a point for second. New Jersey has developed this weird habit of losing at home and winning on the road. They’re 10-10-2 (10-12) at home while boasting a 14-2-1 record on the road.

None of that means anything. When the two Hudson rivals do battle for the third and absurdly last time tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM (genius schedule makers), the winner should be in second place in the Metro. The Devils only need one point to stay there. They’ve also played one fewer game (39) to the Rangers’ 40. The Devils have two more regulation wins (21-19). The most in the division. That’s the first tiebreaker.

The question is are the Devils going to be able to rebound from their recent lull. They’ve won three of their last 10 games. Fortunately, the Islanders and Pens are consistently inconsistent.

The Caps aren’t. They’ve somehow managed to win a lot over the past month. They’re still waiting for Tom Wilson to return. Nicklas Backstrom (hip resurfacing surgery) plans to return. He had the same surgery as tennis star Andy Murray. If it works, it could open some doors for other players who have bad hips. I highly recommend Emily Kaplan’s piece on Backstrom. It’s excellent.

While the Islanders are at 46 and the Pens remain at 44, can the Sabres make up ground? They had two games postponed due to the awful snowstorm that blanketed most of the Midwest and Northeast upstate.

Buffalo has been rolling thanks to the stellar play of first time All-Star Tage Thompson. He and Alex Tuch have formed a potent duo. They are scoring a lot along with Jeff Skinner and Norris candidate Rasmus Dahlin. If they add a defenseman or key forward to a good young nucleus, they’re a team to keep an eye on. The Sabres have 40 points in 36 games entering Saturday’s home game against the Wild.

With Detroit fading and Florida continuing to puzzle, the Senators could also sneak up. Alex DeBrincat is finally scoring. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson are all playing well. It’ll depend on the goalie. They’ve hung around and are still hopeful Josh Norris can return eventually. Anton Forsberg recently won two straight starts. Cam Talbot is the number one goalie.

At the moment, one can fairly assume the top three of the Bruins, Maple Leafs and Lightning will all represent the Atlantic Division. They remain the top three with Florida taking a big step back. Their season isn’t over. They boast enough star talent to get back in it. But it says here that Spencer Knight should get most of the starts over Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Rangers have tried to make Alexis Lafreniere feel better. Vincent Trocheck presenting him with the Broadway hat following a recent win was a nice gesture. The rumors that the Canucks are interested in the former 2020 number one pick don’t mean anything. They also asked for Braden Schneider last year in a package for J.T. Miller, who’s not taking all the losing well. Can you blame him?

I still feel it’s critical for the Rangers as an organization to figure out where Lafreniere fits best. He’s 21. Not 25. Don’t throw him away. Most reports are that they’re not considering a trade. Something I believe would be a big mistake. They haven’t traded Kravtsov and he’s coming around. You can see the confidence growing. Obviously, you don’t want him making mistakes like the line change everyone killed him for. It’s a learning moment.

Considering that the Predators dropped Eeli Tolvanen and he’s since put up points (2-1-3) in every game for the Kraken, that’s proof teams should remain patient with young players. They also won all three games since he joined them.

You never know how it’ll turn out. Chytil took time to develop into a reliable player. He’s in Year Five. At 23, it’s clicked. He has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 32 games. He needs four more goals to set a new career high and five more assists to do the same. The most points he’s had over a single season is 23. He did it twice at 19 and 20. Making $2.6 million ($2.3 million cap hit) in a contract year, he’s raised his value. It’ll be interesting to see what happened over the second half.

If he can score enough in the remaining 42 games, Kaapo Kakko can justify the $2.1 million salary he’s signed through ’23-24. He has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 40 games. It would be nice to see more consistent goal production from the improving 21-year old forward.

The Rangers have interesting decisions this summer to make on Chytil, Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, who’s picked up his offensive play over the last month. Are any of the key restricted free agents worth long-term investments? It’ll depend on how they finish and the salary cap which isn’t increasing that much next season.

Igor Shesterkin was named to his first All-Star team yesterday. He should’ve made it last year. But the way it’s set up isn’t exactly great. Having a field of four teams playing three-on-three for a pool of money isn’t as appealing as the classic five-on-five format where it was either East versus West or North America vs World. That rewarded more deserving players.

There will always be something lacking from this street hockey style. The skills competition remains good. That’s the best part of All-Star Weekend. Ditto for the watered-down NBA where defense optional and the three-point shot have ruined the game.

It’s a miracle that Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin is alive. I think everyone who follows sports have been preoccupied with the freak accident that happened to Hamlin on Monday night during the Bills/Bengals game in Cincinnati.

I didn’t see it. It wasn’t even a hard tackle. But he took the brunt of the hit on Tee Higgins to the chest which resulted in him going into cardiac arrest after passing out on the field. It really sounded bad.

The EMT’s who performed CPR and used a defibrillator saved Hamlin’s life. They are to be commended on everything they did. It truly is a miracle. That Hamlin went from critical condition with 50 percent breathing capacity to now being able to talk to some of his Bills teammates is remarkable.

He even asked if they won the game. It was wisely stopped thanks to the coaches of both teams and players who realized this was much bigger than football. We’re talking about someone’s life.

Damar Hamlin is only 24. So many prayers and well wishes have come his way. They’ve now raised over $7 million on what once was a toy drive for children whose goal was $2,500. It’s amazing the progress he’s made so far.

Hopefully, things continue to improve. I’m sure there’s a long way to go. Never take what the people in the Healthcare medical field do for granted. They are true shining stars. Thank you to them.

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