Rangers two for two in New Year: Back up victory over messy Cats with good third period comeback over Hurricanes, Canada versus Czechia for WJC gold, goalie interference reversal mars USA in ugly loss to Canada

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Derek

So far in ’23, a lot has happened. So far, so good for the Rangers. After taking care of the messy Cats in a mind-numbing game on New Year’s Day during football Sunday, they had their best win of the season in coming back to defeat the first place Hurricanes 5-3 on Tuesday night at a more lively MSG.

Even though they didn’t draw a sellout, the crowd was much more into the first meeting between the new rivals. Considering that the Hurricanes entered having not lost a game in regulation in their previous 17, this was a good test. Especially coming off the memorable seven-game second round series victory last Spring.

You could feel a buzz at The Garden through the TV screen. A good sign that the fans who spent lots of money to go see the big divisional match-up were emotionally invested. They knew how good Carolina is. There’s a reason they’ve consistently won games. They’re a hard-working team with a relentless style. Plus they entered leading the Metro with 56 points.

The Rangers needed this game. They’re jockeying for playoff position in a very closely fought division. By rallying back from a one-goal deficit to hand the Canes their first such defeat when leading after two periods, the Blueshirts demonstrated that they have some moxie. Indeed, character and resilience were on display in a superb third period by the Broadway hosts.

In getting the game’s last three goals highlighted by K’Andre Miller’s redirection of a Mika Zibanejad point shot on a good play set up from Kaapo Kakko, this was the kind of win that can point them in the right direction.

Following a disjointed first period that saw the Hurricanes score two of three goals on strong plays on the wall and in front with both Miller and partner Jacob Trouba victimized, the Blueshirts played a more inspired second.

Although they could only score once on a Zibanejad shot pass that went right through rookie Pyotr Kochetkov for a key power play tally that evened it briefly before Jalen Chatfield had the fortune of his shot going right off Filip Chytil’s stick past Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers competed much better.

They held an 11-7 edge in shots and were able to create more offense than the lackadaisical start in which Kochetkov could’ve had a beach chair and read a newspaper on Brighton Beach. He did make at least one good save on a Chris Kreider deflection of an Adam Fox shot. But it was pretty quiet.

At least in the middle stanza, Kochetkov was forced into some tough stops. Like elder Russian counterpart Shesterkin, who delivered the big saves during the key moments en route to 20 stops, he had to work harder. That was a welcome change we’d see more of in a dominant third period the Manhattan hockey club controlled.

Despite some tacky calls by the officials including one we’d never seen work an NHL game before, it was hard fought. A listen to Jimmy Vesey during intermission when interviewed by MSG reporter Michelle Gingras told the story. He was pleased with the second noting the improvement. The surprising checking forward would get a just reward a day later re-signing with the Rangers for two years, $1.6 million ($800,000).

If there was a notable difference between the teams, it came via the power play. Similar to last Spring, the Blueshirts had the advantage on special teams. Not only did they easily kill all three Candy Canes’ power plays. But they cashed in going 3-for-5 on the man-advantage.

That even included only the second power play goal by the second unit. A play in which captain Jacob Trouba fired a shot way wide that banked in off two Canes for just his third goal of the season. But then came a bad step up by Miller that allowed Andrei Svechnikov to easily set up Martin Necas for a 2-1 lead 16 seconds later with 3:18 remaining in the first.

Zibanejad would get the second PPG unassisted when he skated in and tried to make a pass for a cutting Vincent Trocheck in front. But with Kochetkov anticipating the pass, the puck instead missed Trocheck and went underneath the surprised goalie to temporarily tie the score with 3:15 left in the second.

That was short-lived due to Chatfield taking a feed from Teuvo Teravainen and letting go of a right point shot that Chytil accidentally put in his own net. He stuck his stick out and it worked as a perfect deflection by a shocked Shesterkin 29 seconds later to again give the Hurricanes the lead.

Due to the line of Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere and Vesey being ineffective, Gerard Gallant switched it up for the final period. Unhappy with the defensive work of Chytil, he bumped up reliable veteran Barclay Goodrow between Lafreniere and Vesey. As for Chytil, he was in the doghouse getting one even strength shift on the little used checking line with Sammy Blais and Julien Gauthier.

Turk opted to shorten his bench and mostly go with three lines. That included Artemi Panarin on the second unit with Trocheck and Vitaly Kravtsov. With the rookie starting to play better (assisted on Trouba goal), that line was effective. However, it was a Panarin solo effort that allowed him to score for the fifth time over the last eight games.

On some strong play from both Fox and Ryan Lindgren down low, Panarin took a pass behind the net and skated all the way around to the top and let go of a seeing eye wrist shot from long distance that fooled Kochetkov to draw even for the third time. His 11th goal came only 36 seconds into the period, going right through the wickets.

Able to ride the momentum despite Kochetkov recovering to make some good saves, it was an aggressive Miller pinch that pushed the puck behind the net for Kakko. He would come out and send a back pass for a covering Zibanejad up top. His long one-timer would go off the stick of Miller for the clutch go-ahead goal with 9:33 remaining.

It was Miller’s third of the season. His first goal in seven since Dec. 17 in a road win at the Flyers. Part of a season best seven-game winning streak that helped turn the season around. In fact, since 12/5, they’ve lost only twice in regulation. The other defeat coming at the Lightning in a goalie duel between Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy on Dec. 29.

When Miller fed Chytil for a power play empty net goal after a dubious broken stick call on Jordan Martinook that was incredible or incredulous if you looked at his reaction along with coach Rod Brind’Amour, the Rangers improved to 10-2-1 in the last 13.

They exited back to the locker room to a standing ovation from the crowd who stayed. Despite some mishaps that left him and Trouba minus-three at one point, a happier Miller was named the game’s First Star with a goal and assist. A nice reward for sticking with it. Zibanejad got the second star with a goal and assist including his team-leading 19th. Kakko grabbed the third star with a helper and strong play in over 16 minutes.

It was a satisfying victory for the Rangers, who moved ahead of the Capitals into third place with 48 points. They’re up to 21-12-6 in 39 games. With 20 coming at home, they’ll hit the road for two games including a trip up to Montreal later tonight. That’ll be followed up by a visit to Newark for the third and final regular season meeting versus the Hudson rival Devils on Saturday at 1 PM.

It’s hard to believe they’ll really be done with both of their closest rivals. They already completed the three-game series with the Islanders by taking the final one before the holiday break 5-3 at MSG. The Isles won two of three. Now, they’ll play the Devils for the third and last time during the 82-game schedule. The teams have split the first two both at 33rd and 7th.

It’s incredible that these close bitter rivals aren’t playing more times. I’ve voiced this all before. The schedule remains an eyesore. It’s like the way “goaltender interference” is interpreted. There’s some foreshadowing for you on a polarizing topic I’m sick of.

At the moment, the Metro Division has the Canes at the top with 56 points in 38 games. They lead the second place Devils by five after they soundly defeated the fading Red Wings 5-1 last night. Nico Hischier celebrated his 24th birthday with a goal and assist. Vitek Vanecek made 32 saves with his shutout broken up by Lucas Raymond with two minutes left.

By virtue of one fewer game played, the Rangers sit in third with 48 points over 39 games. The Capitals also have 48, but in 40 games. They fell to the hot Sabres in overtime the other night. Alexander Ovechkin got two more goals to continue his chase of Gretzky. But Tage Thompson completed a hat trick to get the win for Buffalo, who suddenly are up to 40 points.

With the Caps in the first wildcard, the Islanders remain in the second by virtue of their 6-2 laugher over the defense optional Canucks. If you caught any of it, you know how bad Vancouver is. No wonder Thatcher Demko got hurt. They’re the worst defensive team in hockey. Yes. I’d even rank the Ducks higher. At least they’re younger. The Islanders are in fifth holding the second wildcard with 46 points in 39 games.

The Penguins are a streaky team. At times, they look like a contender due to the brilliance of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin along with Tristan Jarry. Then, there are moments where they look like a pretender with bad losses. Not that the one to the Bruins during the Winter Classic was bad. But they blew a 1-0 lead losing to the league’s best team 2-1 on two pair from Jake DeBrusk. He put in the winner from Taylor Hall with over two minutes remaining at Fenway Park.

The Pens currently are sixth in the division with 44 points in 37 games. They hold games in hand on every team ahead of them inside the Metro. We’ll see about the injury to Jarry. Kris Letang is still mourning the loss of his father. Condolences go out to the Letang family.

At the moment, all of the Metro top six have more points than the Sabres (40), Red Wings (39), Senators (39) and the league’s biggest disappointment the Panthers (39). In regards to the Cats, they have little chemistry and don’t play much defense or get consistent goaltending. It has to be recent USA hero Spencer Knight in net over Sergei Bobrovsky.

If things don’t turnaround in Florida, the blame should be placed directly on GM Bill Zito. He broke up a terrific roster that won the President’s Trophy in ’21-22. The Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster trade hasn’t netted desired results. But he’s been excellent recently recording a hat trick in old fashioned shootout win over the Coyotes.

Aleksander Barkov hasn’t been entirely healthy. His goal output is low. The defense is a mess. By subtracting MacKenzie Weegar, who fit perfectly in the uptempo system they like to play, it weakened the defense. Aaron Ekblad hasn’t been the same since returning from an injury. Only Brandon Montour has performed well. Marc Staal is a third pair D who plays penalty kill. Reunited with older brother Eric Staal, who’s getting too many minutes, it’s a tall ask from veteran coach Paul Maurice.

It’s hard to fathom that they let go of Jack Adams candidate Andrew Brunette and replaced him with Maurice. He’s a good experienced coach who preaches tighter checking. The way the Cats are constructed doesn’t fit his style. Production is down mostly for most forwards including Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett. Anton Lundell hasn’t been consistent in Year Two.

There’s not much edge without Mason Marchment, who’s doing for the first place Stars what he did for the Panthers. A salary cap victim, he got his contract in Dallas, who must be taken seriously. Florida has also been without veteran team leader Patric Hornqvist. Although he’s nearing the end, when he plays, you notice him battling in front and during scrums.

A final conclusion on the mediocre Panthers. They don’t play with much emotion. If you caught any of the Rangers’ 5-3 win over them, that was evident. Sure. They kept it interesting by pulling within a goal twice. But you never got the sense the Rangers were ever in trouble. Especially with Bobrovsky in net. He gave up one from old friend Panarin right between the legs to make it 5-3 and take the wind out of his team’s sails. They skated around aimlessly.

The dissection of the messy Cats is one that many predicted. However, I don’t think anyone believed they’d be this bad. Seventh out of eight teams in a mediocre Atlantic where the top three have separated themselves from the pack, isn’t what anyone could’ve expected. Their power play also is mindless without Jonathan Huberdeau, who’s had a tough time adjusting to Darryl Sutter in Calgary along with Weegar.

In terms of the World Junior Championships over in Halifax and New Brunswick, USA took Group B by defeating Finland. Czechia won Group A by not losing in regulation which included an overtime defeat to Sweden. They also surprised tournament favorite Canada early on.

Both groups were more competitive due to the improved play of Czechia and Slovakia. Switzerland also was competitive in Group B making it unpredictable. It made for more entertaining games during preliminary action. When you can have both Canada and USA upset by Czechia and Slovakia respectively, that makes it a better WJC.

Even as I caught most of USA, I wasn’t overly impressed by what I saw. Outside of Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud, Red Savage and ’23 Draft Eligible goalie prospect Trey Augustine, they weren’t as imposing.

You saw it in the loss to Slovakia, who got superb goaltending from Adam Gajan (undrafted). He nearly backstopped Slovakia to a mammoth upset of Canada in the quarterfinals.

Only Connor Bedard saves them with a highlight reel goal that’s still getting replayed. He’s amazing. Deking three players including the goalie for a remarkable overtime winner should be impossible. Not for Bedard, who broke Eric Lindros’ Canadian record for most points and passed Jordan Eberle in most goals. He could only applaud the feat.

If you were looking for a story, it’s being written by Czechia. While USA stumbled against the more imposing Canada; whose physicality turned around a two-goal deficit into a 6-2 win in the semifinals, Czechia showed so much determination in finding the tying goal from defenseman David Jiricek with 38 seconds left to force OT.

It took everything for them to find a perfect shot to break up the shutout for spectacular Sweden netminder Carl Lindbom. He was that close to a third shutout. Instead, one more icing doomed his team. That allowed the desperate Czechs to get the perfect setup when David Spacek found Jiricek for a heavy one-timer that beat Lindbom underneath to send it to overtime.

In the three-on-three, the Swedes dominated. They had every opportunity to still prevail like they did in Group play. However, the brilliant goaltending from Tomas Suchanek wouldn’t allow it. Another undrafted netminder who turns 20 in the Spring, was the story. He stoned Sweden at every turn including denying Isak Rosen twice one on one.

It wasn’t until over a minute left that Czechia got their first shot on goal. After coming out of their zone in transition started by Spacek, he moved the puck up for Matyas Sapovaliv. As he moved through the neutral zone, he found Jiri Kulich isolated on one defender.

Kulich then made a great move to beat him and he fired a wrist shot that went far side past Lindbom to win it at 69:10. His clutch goal in the final minute of the 10-minute overtime made Czechia a 2-1 winner. They celebrated while the stunned Swedes were reduced to shock and tears.

That’s the essence of the tournament. There’s always a tale of two sides. Especially when it’s so closely fought. Sweden defended extremely well during the second and third period. They limited the Czechs’ chances to the outside with few rebounds. A great glove save from Lindbom on a Jiricek laser looked like it would be the save of the game.

However, an unnecessary icing led to the turning point. Spacek got a great pass over for a Jiricek blast that Lindbom couldn’t stop. The blue line of Czechia that features Jiricek, Spacek, Stanislav Svozil, Jiri Tichacek as a potent top four make them the best defense in the WJC. It’ll be interesting to see if they’re a factor in the gold medal game versus Canada.

As far as USA who couldn’t handle Canada’s grit and physicality after predictably overwhelming Germany, it was a classic case of not being tested in the previous round. While host Canada had their hands full with the impressive Slovaks who rallied back from a two-goal deficit to force OT before losing to the Connor Bedard Show, USA won easily over Germany 11-1. It’s tough to go from that opponent to top heavy Canada in the next round.

While I liked the cycling and hard work they did for most of their goals during the tournament, I wasn’t fond of a small blue line that got exposed. There were too many instances where despite their team speed, the back end anchored by Devils prospect Luke Hughes were soft.

It really showed last night with the more aggressive Canadians targeting Hughes with some thumping hits. Every single one clean that sent a message. Hughes never really had the tournament most thought. While he did score three times and assist on another goal, he struggled with the combination of Canada’s speed and ferocious play. Credit them for sticking to a game plan Hughes shrugged off prior to the big game.

There wasn’t enough size or physical presence to the American blue line. I get that the game has changed. There’s so much emphasis on speed, skating with defensemen acting as rovers. However, that is a risky style. Players can get caught. We saw it during the loss to Slovakia. Hughes struggled to get back and had some issues.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of attention to detail in front of Augustine, who supplanted Kaidan Mbereko in net. The defense was leaky allowing the front exposed. They were beaten on goals against. Never was it more visible than during Canada’s semifinal win. They scored almost all of their goals from directly in front.

That included face-off plays in which Bedard finished off his ninth due to getting position in front. A quick response to a Kenny Connors rebound goal that had made it 2-0 less than two minutes before.

Although they escaped the first still ahead, you could tell that once Canada upped the intensity, USA was on the ropes. They were like a punch drunk fighter. When a similar offensive zone drew resulted in Logan Stankoven beating four USA players to a loose puck in front only 47 seconds into the second, it again showed the team’s biggest weakness.

They still got on a power play with the game even. But Canadian netminder Thomas Milic thwarted Jimmy Snuggerud twice and then denied Chaz Lucius on a breakaway to keep the game tied.

As Canada continued to press the attack with relentless pressure, top American draft prospect Adam Fantilli was all set up for a goal. But his shot rang off the crossbar and stayed out leaving the building buzzing by the close call. Fantilli would get another crack at it.

On another face-off this time in the Canadian end, they won the draw and quickly moved the puck without any USA resistance. An Olen Zellweger pass to an open Fantilli saw him move the puck across the ice for Zach Dean.

As Dean got a step on the USA defense, nobody took a cutting Fantilli who easily buried the Dean centering pass by a helpless Augustine for a 3-2 lead. He looked like John LeClair on that play who often got those power forward goals from Lindros.

The turning point for USA came when Jackson Blake appeared to score on a Hughes rebound past Milic. The goal would’ve tied the score and given the Americans much needed momentum.

Instead, Canada challenged for goaltender interference. This controversial video review really changed the game. Although Blake made some contact on his turnaround rebound, it didn’t affect Milic whatsoever. This was a clear case of another soft call going against USA. IIHF rules are much stricter. This was a bad call that left Blake and father Jason Blake in s state of shock. They never recovered from the overturned goal.

Nobody ever likes to complain about officiating. However, there was no justification for disallowing that goal. It still didn’t excuse USA for more lackadaisical defensive play. They were their own worst enemy. The lack of checking is what really allowed a relentless Canada to finally get a measure of revenge for three straight losses including for the gold medal.

On the fourth straight goal, you had Bedard and Stankoven combine to throw the puck in front. A rolling puck came right to Joshua Roy, who was able to beat Augustine with a backhand while there were two teammates down and another two puck watching. That was a crusher. It made it 4-2.

It was Roy who was the best player scoring twice and assisting on two others. He’s always been underrated. He’s a complementary player who does a lot well. That includes being defensively responsible. He nearly had a shorthanded goal too.

Although my 6-3 prediction looked pretty poetic, I decided to watch the beginning of the third. I shouldn’t have. It was another goaltender interference challenge that negated an early USA goal.

Rutger McGroarty thought he had jarred a rebound loose from underneath the pad of Milic. The initial shot was a low one that the Canadian netminder had under his right pad. However, it was hard to tell if it was frozen. What complicated the play was a loose stick in the crease which created a distraction.

McGroarty poked at the puck and appeared to put it in. That would’ve cut the deficit to 4-3. The issue was the ruling on the video review. They never fully explained what negated the goal. Did he push Milic’s at pad to put the puck in? Instead, all we got was a bland explanation from the officials which really was the end of it.

I don’t usually checkout of these games. Especially USA/Canada. The best rivalry in hockey. I’d had enough. The overturn of Blake’s goal was still hard to grasp. You could make a better case for disallowing the McGroarty one. I’d seen enough.

If they had to have Canada in the final so bad due to all of the fan support up north, fine. They didn’t need any help. They still would’ve won. They were the better team. I knew what it would end up at. So, I shut it off and went out.

It takes a lot for me to give up on a game. I was incensed by the officiating and not thrilled with the soft play from USA. They lost too much from the last team that went undefeated in Group play only to lose to Czechia in the quarterfinals last summer. That was a better team.

Hughes stunk defensively most of the WJC. He didn’t have an impressive tournament. He’s exceptional at creating offense. But his defense and weaknesses with physical play were exposed. I didn’t think he deserved one of USA’s best three players. Maybe he’s not yet ready for the NHL. He needs to get stronger.

I would’ve gone Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud and Trey Augustine, who was blameless last night. He kept it competitive and was the biggest surprise. Red Savage honorable mention. He really works hard.

Cooley got better during the tournament. However, I didn’t particularly care for his hand gesture when he got the game’s first goal to the fans. That was idiotic. Have some class. It was only the first goal. I did notice later him out of position on one of the Canadian goals. He’ll be a very good player for the Coyotes. Cut the obnoxious attitude.

Canada is supremely skilled. Bedard is otherworldly. But you have Stankoven and Roy who’ve fit perfectly on the scoring line. Shane Wright has the size and skill to be a power forward. He’ll benefit from this experience and be a better player for the Kraken. Brennan Othmann is always around the net, has good speed and vision. He hasn’t scored much, But has the look of a promising future for the Rangers.

Zellweger and Brandt Clarke are the top defensemen. Zellweger looks very polished while Clarke possesses a great shot, but isn’t there yet. The D can be exploited by a more aggressive team that attacks the net. Czechia should. USA didn’t stick to the game plan.

It’s USA vs Sweden for bronze this afternoon. Canada and Czechia for gold. The first appearance in the final for the Czechs since 2001. I’ve been rooting for them. That would’ve still been the case had USA advanced. They’re the best story. I’d love to see them win. It’s a rematch from Group A that Czechia took. Hopefully, we get an exciting game minus anymore dopey controversial rulings.

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Devils ring in the new year with goals, and mixed results

Posted on January 2, 2023 by hasan4978

First, for the good news…the Devils are still five points up on a playoff spot with a game in hand as we move from 2022 to 2023. And though yesterday’s shootout loss to the Hurricanes wasn’t ideal (especially as it extended our home losing streak to seven in a row), at least three points out of the two weekend games were a slight improvement over recent results. Ultimately though, this weekend was still more frustrating than encouraging – starting with Wednesday’s loss to the Bruins in the second of a rare home mini-series.

Whereas in the pre-Christmas game at least the Devils’ offense managed a third-period surge, in the second meeting with the Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark kept the door slammed shut throughout, aside from one Nico Hischier goal in the third period that finally woke up a post-holiday sellout crowd that was generally tense and frustrated. Small wonder, given the team’s lack of finish in a game the Devils dominated the opening thirty minutes before failing to score, then proceeding to give up a goal that sapped the energy from both the team and the crowd in the middle of the second period. Admittedly, even the Hischier goal didn’t get me as fired up as a spectacular save by Vitek Vanecek a few minutes later, one so proposterous I couldn’t help but think ‘okay, we’re gonna win this game now’:

Of course, the Devils did not win the game as a Patrice Bergeron tip-in goal that went off of Vanecek and the post before going in with under five minutes remaining led to an eventual 3-1 defeat – with of course Pavel Zacha sealing the win on an empty-netter. It was alarming in the sense that we couldn’t even win a game after we get the momentum back on both sides of the ice and get the crowd energized?! Not to mention that it was the Devils’ sixth straight home defeat (all regulation losses). What’s puzzling about the Devils’ home woes is that they did start 10-3-1 at the Rock before this recent skid.

Whereas the road has been sweet for the Devils all year, as they improved to 13-2-1 away from the Prudential Center with a wild 4-2 win over the Penguins Friday in which the main takeaway on the ice was the Devils’ special teams (and Vanecek) stepping up, killing off nine Penguin power plays and even scoring shorthanded. It’s a cliche but it’s true, your best players need to be your best players and that was the case on Friday night with Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Nico getting all four goals, Hughes’s empty-netter sealing a game that was marred by two inexperienced referees getting whistle-happy to the tune of fifteen power plays. It’s somehow telling in a weird way that it was the Penguins getting a bench minor for abuse of officials after Hughes’ second period goal that got the Devils on the board, and the Penguins were the ones that would get NINE power play attempts in the game.

However it occured, a win is a win and one that was still very much needed after losing eight of nine with seemingly every other team in the Metro on a winning streak at the same time, or at least enough teams to somehow put what seemed to be a sure playoff berth in serious jeopardy. Following up our win in Pittsburgh with two points at home against Carolina wouldn’t be easy, and somewhat controversially coach Lindy Ruff started Mackenzie Blackwood on New Year’s Day over Vanecek, after he had turned in two good performances last week following Blackwood’s stinker in the first Bruins game before Christmas. Giving Blackwood chance after chance wouldn’t annoy me so much if there wasn’t a clear double standard between both goalies – i.e. Vanecek getting benched for two games in a row after winning three straight earlier in the season while Blackwood got to play out his winning streak.

In spite of my misgivings, Blackwood responded with a mostly solid game yesterday (sans a scary puck handling snafu on goal number two), and one that was needed since for a rare time the Devils didn’t dominate the CORSI battle – getting outshot 47-28 by the Metro leaders – who also had the benefit of Derek Stepan turning back the clock to his Ranger days with two goals. Unfortunately for the Canes, Antti Raanta couldn’t turn back the clock similarly, as a few soft goals helped keep us in the match. Maybe it was some form of payback for Ullmark’s stoning us time and again against the Bruins. Again though, it was the Devils’ key players getting the goals with Jesper Bratt contributing a pair to go along with Jack and Nico each lighting the lamp once themselves.

Still, the Devils couldn’t clamp down a game they had a late lead in, thanks in part to a weird sequence caused by a nonexistent embelishment call on Jonas Siegenthaler – probably more stupid game management since the refs didn’t want to give a late power play in a tie game – that eventually led to the Devils having to kill off a five-on-three, and being unsuccessful at the penalty kill this time. Blackwood actually made a bunch of stellar saves in the third period and overtime to preserve the tie, but in the Devils’ first shootout of the season they looked every bit like a team who hadn’t had a shootout in months with Tomas Tatar, Bratt and Hughes all failing to score in the skills competition as the game was finally lost.

I can’t say Sunday’s game (especially being outplayed for the most part) is any kind of a sign that our freefall is over, but at least we managed points in consecutive games for the first time in a month. The next step is to actually build off it and get points off of both Detroit and a battered Blues team before the next Hudson showdown with the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. At least the cavalry seems to be arriving – apart from John Marino who’s still week-to-week to return – with Ondrej Palat returning to practice, not to mention Ryan Graves’ surprise return to the lineup yesterday after a scary-looking injury in Florida a few games back. Palat, in particular would be a sight for sore eyes, maybe with another legit top six wing in the lineup then coach Ruff will finally unstaple the ineffective Erik Haula from the Hughes line.

However it comes, just go and get a result on Wednesday and break the home schneid Thursday, let’s turn our three points into the start of a turnaround.

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Lafreniere benching the latest in a puzzling season, A look at Rangers history of drafting and developing players, Vasilevskiy outduels Shesterkin as Lightning take shootout 2-1

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Derek

Leading up to what turned out to be a playoff caliber rematch in the second season meeting with the Lightning, there was plenty to unpack for the Rangers. An organization that’s clearly at a crossroads even as they end the calendar year sitting just outside the second wildcard behind the resurgent Islanders.

If you thought they’d finally figured it out after winning eight of nine prior to the holiday break, you were wrong. The first two games indicate otherwise. A bigger issue that’s been plaguing the organization for years.

Of course, I’m referring directly to Alexis Lafreniere becoming a healthy scratch in the 37th game of a puzzling season. The former 2020 number one overall pick had a bad game in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Caps. However, he wasn’t alone. But even in Year Three where he has only score five goals yet still has 17 points in 36 games, its the 21-year old who’s been singled out after a disappointing loss.

At least he now knows how Vitaly Kravtsov feels. In and out of the lineup whether it was due to injuries or second-year coach Gerard Gallant opting to keep another former first round pick up in the press box, it’s clearly a trust issue when it comes to the handling of the recently turned 23-year old Russian.

In similar fashion, Lafreniere has not been given a clearly defined role in his three years as a Ranger. An indictment on the organization who still can’t seem to figure it out. When it comes to the younger players, they have to put more trust in them. They’ve always given Kaapo Kakko more rope than Lafreniere, who’s been forced to play the off wing in a failed experiment that hurt his overall game.

When you luck into a consensus number one pick, you do everything possible to give them the best chance to succeed. For some reason, the Rangers have done the opposite. It’s resulted in Lafreniere losing his confidence. A mature player who always says the right thing in interviews even if it’s not going well, he remains a question mark at this point in his young career.

What is he? That’s something the Rangers need to find out. It wasn’t that long ago that Lafreniere showed improvement at the end of his second season finishing with 19 even strength goals and totaling 31 points. It was also while teaming with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko that he performed well contributing two goals and seven assists during the 2022 Playoffs. A surprising run that saw the team come within two games of playing for the Stanley Cup.

Lafreniere has played in 171 career games. He has yet to score a power play goal. A fact that’s shocked other team’s fans who are quite familiar with the success he had winning two MVP’s in the QMJHL and producing 10 points (4-6-10) for Canada in the 2020 U20 World Junior Championships. Great things were expected for him.

It hasn’t happened yet. Before anyone makes the ridiculous observation that he can’t play in New York City, that’s not it. He has the high character and maturity to handle the pressure packed environment in the Big Apple.

This is more about how the Rangers have gone about it. The process isn’t working. Not after Garden CEO James Dolan made an abrupt change by replacing John Davidson and Jeff Gorton with Chris Drury and basically snake Glen Sather, who still is lurking in the background. They also made the necessary move to bring in Gallant to replace David Quinn, who lacked experience to steer the group where they wanted to go.

While I respect Gallant, whose experience certainly has helped, there are more questions than answers in Year Two. There’s no doubt that last season, things went extremely well. Carried by Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin, who stole many games in the first half to provide the Rangers with an impressive record, they went onto post a 52-24-6 mark with 110 points to finish second in the Metro Division.

It really helped to have Shesterkin standing on his head most nights en route to a 36-13-4 record in 53 games (52 starts) with a 2.07 GAA, .935 save percentage and six shutouts. He was remarkable. Having Alexandar Georgiev as a steady backup post 15 wins in 33 appearances also allowed Gallant to give his ace netminder enough rest. He doesn’t have that luxury in Year Two. Georgiev became a cap casualty and now stars for the Avalanche. Jaroslav Halak can’t play as many games.

In his first year as Team President and GM, Drury did an outstanding job. He made a good hire in Gallant who guided the Panthers to the playoffs and took the Golden Knights all the way to a Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. He also made key additions by signing Barclay Goodrow and dealing for Ryan Reaves. Even Dryden Hunt worked out well in the Gallant system.

Adding key pieces Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Motte and Justin Braun really solidified the Blueshirts. They provided secondary scoring and depth that proved crucial last Spring. With the Big Four of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox performing at a high level along with Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, Ryan Strome and underrated checking pivot Kevin Rooney, it all came together.

Sometimes, things fall into place. That superior depth post trade deadline kept the pressure off Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere. The former Kid Line built momentum late in the season and rode it during the playoffs to help make key contributions in all three rounds. They were an effective third unit who got pucks in behind opponents and created offense off the forecheck.

Up until recently, Gallant had reunited that line and played them more. They were instrumental during the season high seven-game win streak. But following the shutout loss to the Capitals which he termed, “We were garbage,” during a candid postgame, Gallant broke up that line and benched Lafreniere in favor of Sammy Blais. The less said about Blais, the better.

Whether you agreed with the lineup changes, it felt like desperation from an experienced bench boss who’s tinkered with his lines all season. There’s no consistency. That can’t be good for team chemistry. It’s one thing to adjust in game depending on the situation. But quite another to panic the way he’s done.

It has to be confusing for some players. Maybe not the established stars and key veterans I cited. But for younger kids like Lafreniere who’s been moved around like a nomad, and Kravtsov who can go from sitting out to playing his way from the checking line into a top nine role, there has to be frustration. They haven’t gained the trust of the coaching staff.

It’s easy for some to point to the numbers. Kravtsov has two goals with an assist in 17 games despite standing out on Thursday night by being involved in a breakaway that Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped and beating Victor Hedman on a great move to get in and just miss on another chance.

He also led Julien Gauthier for an early opportunity that he missed wide on. Gauthier was also denied on a breakaway by Vasilevskiy (45 saves) later in a great game the Lightning won 2-1 over the Rangers in a six round shootout.

While Kravtsov showed a lot more confidence with the puck in 15 shifts including 11:58 at even strength and another 47 seconds on the struggling power play (1 for its last 17 including an epic failure on a four-on-three in overtime), all Lafreniere could do was watch from the press box.

What did he learn exactly? His next game won’t be until 2023. That was the final game of the calendar year. The Rangers next play the Panthers on New Year’s Day this Sunday. Hopefully, Lafreniere will return to the lineup and respond well.

Why is it okay for Gallant to play Kravtsov on the fourth line, but not Lafreniere? He did it last year. Lafreniere played through his struggles and worked his way back up with Chytil and Kakko. He will go to the corners and compete for pucks while taking the body. He’s also stronger on the wall and adept at takeaways to keep plays alive. The problem is he’s not finding enough room or shooting enough.

There’s been all kinds of reaction about not just Lafreniere. But about how the Rangers have handled young players who were selected high. Development again has come to the forefront. While they have done a good job with goalies (Lundqvist, Georgiev, Shesterkin) and defensemen (Fox, Lindgren, Miller, Schneider), developing their forwards who were selected high remains a problem.

https://twitter.com/Cville300zxtt/status/1608679567639875584?t=1p6MhBfrN5NaJLvGJ6_Euw&s=19

I feel like both Jeff who celebrated a birthday, and Jared are onto something. Jared responded to an original post from Alex (FutureCanes), who I think nailed it about the way this team drafts and develops players. Don’t forget. Fox and Lindgren were trades. Fox played collegiate at Harvard and never played in the AHL. Lindgren did before finally earning his keep after Libor Hajek failed to establish himself during ’19-20.

It’s important to note Benoit Allaire. His influence on the successful Hall Of Fame career of Henrik Lundqvist, who was very driven, certainly helped him become one of the game’s best goalies. What he did with Georgiev was impressive. He signed as a free agent. After spending time in Hartford, he became a part-time starter before Igor Shesterkin was called up and eventually supplanted him.

You have to wonder why they rushed Kakko in that rookie year. He struggled mightily. I understood the rationale behind the rebuild after the letter. But given how lost Kakko was, why didn’t they send him down? They had that option due to him being European. It probably would’ve been better for his development. Look how long it’s took for the 2019 number two pick to improve.

They also could’ve optioned Lafreniere due to the abbreviated 56-game schedule in his rookie season (’21). But after spending some time on the fourth line, he finished with a dozen goals and showed signs under Quinn before he was fired. All due to what happened against the Islanders and then the Tom Wilson incident involving both Pavel Buchnevich and Panarin. Sather and Mark Messier got in Dolan’s ear about allowing that to happen to their star player.

When they committed to the rebuild, it really sounded like Davidson and Gorton wanted to see it through. Despite spending a ton on both Panarin ($11.64 million) and Trouba ($8 million), they seemed to want to remain patient. Many would ask why give Panarin all that money if you’ve promised to rebuild. Ditto for Trouba, who they acquired from Winnipeg and immediately signed him long-term with a full NMC through ’23-24. It’s moderated the final two years of the contract. Panarin has a full NMC with his deal expiring in 2026.

Did they expect Lafreniere to fall into their lap following the three-game humiliation to the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round? Of course not. They made the decision to extend Kreider on what now is a bargain with his $6.5 million cap hit which runs through 2027. His NMC becomes a moderated no-trade starting in ’24-25.

When they came so close with Panarin finishing third for the Hart and Zibanejad erupting for a career best 41 goals including a memorable five-goal game I attended with family and friends prior to COVID pausing the ’19-20 season, I think it altered the organization’s view. They believed they could return to the postseason in ’20-21. Despite Kakko not being fully developed and Lafreniere in his first season, it felt like a rush job.

That’s always been an issue with rebuilding here. Look no further than the Dark Ages when the Garden went dark between ’97-98 thru ’03-04. They took ridiculous suggestions from Larry Brooks who basically suggested Valeri Kamensky, Stephane Quintal, Sylvain Lefebvre, Brian Skrudland and Mike Keane. Aside from Lefebvre, all failed.

Theo Fleury would’ve been successful if not for all the off ice issues that plagued his career. It’s astonishing that he was leading the league in scoring and had seven shorthanded goals with what was happening away from the rink. God bless him for overcoming years of sexual abuse, depression and substance abuse to become a true survivor. One of my favorite memories was meeting Fleury at a book signing at Borders with family. He couldn’t have been nicer.

In all of that time during that Error, it was first Neil Smith who kept making the mistake of overpaying players who either were close to done or didn’t want to be here (Quintal). Hockey is different here. Who could forget that? Ask Bobby Holik. There was no structure or consistency.

Even bringing in Eric Lindros backfired due to getting his bell rung after looking like the dominant force who terrorized opponents in the 90’s. They traded for an injury prone Pavel Bure. He looked great, but didn’t last long.

There was also Alexei Kovalev II. That didn’t work. Instead of logic prevailing, they played him out of position on left wing and never had him play the point on the power play. He was gone quickly to Montreal for the forgettable Jozef Balej (hype machine) and draft pick failures. Of course, Kovalev produced as a Canadien.

This was already after Trader Neil was gone for Sather. Smith’s great work was taking Pavel Brendl and then giving away Marc Savard to Calgary and moving up to grab Jamie Lundmark. A player who did well with the Wolf Pack when I was up in Bristol at ESPN. But after a good camp, he was blocked by Messier II. One of the worst moves of the Slats Error. As much as I love Messier, he played too many minutes and didn’t take a backseat.

It’s hard to believe this all happened. I left out the Czech Mates. That was short-lived. Petr Nedved, Jan Hlavac and Radek Dvorak were fun to watch. But as good as they were offensively, they didn’t really back check.

There wasn’t much of a system either in those days. They truly wasted the remaining prime years of Rangers legends Brian Leetch and Mike Richter. It was sad. Too many poor choices whether it be coach (Muckler, Low, Trottier) or players (Malakhov, Dunham, Karpa, Ulanov, Fraser). Not much luck either with injuries to key young players like Stefan Cherneski, Dan Blackburn, Tomas Kloucek and Hugh Jessiman.

Manny Malhotra was butchered as well. Even though John Muckler was proven correctly on the kind of player he became, they definitely didn’t help him develop. I’m glad he had success in Columbus and Vancouver where he was a trusted checking center who could win draws and kill penalties. He’s now a Leafs assistant coach. Good for him.

You also had the nightmare of Slats not bothering to ask Leetch if he would be open to a trade at the ’04 deadline. He instead dealt the greatest defenseman the franchise ever had on his birthday without communicating to the Maple Leafs. That went over well. The return was Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen, a first round pick that became Lauri Korpikoski and an ’05 second.

They then mishandled both Korpikoski and Immonen. The latter eventually returned home before having a successful career in the KHL. Korpikoski was barely a blip on the radar when they foolishly dumped him to Rangers West the Coyotes for Enver Lisin. Korpedo had some decent seasons in the NHL while Lisin lasted 57 games and totaled six goals and 14 points. He went back home.

Even if Korpikoski didn’t have the career of former Devil Travis Zajac (taken a pick later), he had a solid career putting up 201 points in 609 games. The team wasn’t patient. The crazy aspect is this was when they finally got good due to Lundqvist, Jagr, Martin Straka, Fedor Tyutin, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Michael Rozsival, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Sean Avery.

When it comes to most first round picks, the Rangers don’t have the best track record. They seem to do better finding players later such as Callahan, Dubinsky, Derek Stepan, Petr Prucha, Lundqvist and Shesterkin. Artem Anisimov was a good player they took in the second round. Eventually, after a good season with Dubinsky, they were packaged to Columbus for Rick Nash in a deal that also netted Pavel Buchnevich. Too bad Buchnevich couldn’t be kept and all they have left is Sammy Blais.

If you want to point to successful first round picks, Kreider tops the list. He’s one of the best power forwards and a great leader. It’s nice to have a homegrown talent blossom as he moves up the all-time franchise goal scoring list. After Kreider, there’s J.T. Miller, Marc Staal, K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider.

They’re getting better. But there’s always an Al Montoya or Lias Andersson that is etched in the bad memories. At least they got a second round pick which turned into Will Cuylle, who’s doing well on the Wolf Pack. Montoya was a Sather Cuban cigar special. That draft kind of sucked.

We see the growth of Chytil, whose game continues to be on the upswing. That’s what remaining patient can do. Kakko no longer is lost. He has more confidence and makes plays with the puck. The nine goals might not seem like a lot. But he is on track to reach 20. That would be progress. He was effective on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Kreider in last night’s shootout loss to the Bolts.

As for Lafreniere, who knows where his head is at. So much of the game is mental. It isn’t easy getting moved around from line to line. Or being miscast on the right side when his natural position is left wing. That set him back. He must be more noticeable during shifts.

One scout in a recent piece asked, “What kind of player does he want to be?” Is it a gritty forward who drives the net and finds rebounds and deflections. He will go to the net. We’ve seen it. Or can he improve enough with his skating to create more time and space to get off his wrist shot? It’s not like he isn’t capable of scoring in transition off odd man rushes. He has during his Rangers career.

The concern is that he is where he is currently. Not looking as confident or playing consistently enough. He shouldn’t have sat out on Thursday night. But that was the coach’s decision. To give him a chance to take in a game from above. Sometimes, that can work. It should light a fire under Lafreniere. How will he be handled when the Rangers return to the ice to take on the Panthers in two days?

Even if you still are optimistic about this team after the run they had last Spring, there’s no reinforcements coming at the moment. There’s also no guarantee that if Drury risks it all for 34-year old future Hall Of Famer Patrick Kane at the deadline, it’ll work. He has a full no-move clause in his contract which expires. Same as Blackhawks teammate Jonathan Toews.

I think you have to ask the tough question. Is this roster as constructed good enough to seriously contend? They’ve played 37 games and sit outside the top eight behind the Islanders with 44 points. Both the Isles and Caps passing them in a very tight division. Only five teams can make it from a division. So, even if Florida doesn’t turn it around or there’s no fourth team competing from the Atlantic Division, you’re looking at six Metro teams for five spots.

It isn’t going to be easy. When they put forth a good effort as they did in the tough 2-1 loss to the Lightning in a shootout where both Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy were terrific, there’s hope. That they’ve played two of their best games against the rival Bolts highlights that they’re capable. Even if Tampa isn’t quite as deep without Ondrej Palat or Ryan McDonagh.

Fact is following a fluky Zibanejad goal (5th even strength) that saw Kakko and Lindgren touch the puck before Erik Cernak accidentally had it deflect right to Zibanejad for a great one-timer, they never scored again. Even totaling 46 shots and creating a ton of quality scoring chances that included three breakaways, they couldn’t beat a superb Vasilevskiy again.

There was a sneaky Kravtsov pass off the boards that sent Gauthier in only to see him miss wide. There was a very visible Kravtsov getting behind for a breakaway only to have his shot shrugged aside by the blocker of Vasilevskiy. You had Gauthier in again on an outstanding play by Fox only to have his shot denied by the great Lightning netminder.

Chytil had some of the best chances. He was flat out robbed by Vasilevskiy on a one-timer from a sharp angle where you couldn’t believe it. But the acrobatic former Vezina winner who’s won two Cups got over to make a great save to stone Chytil.

The power play continues to fizzle. Another 0 for 3 extending the misery to 1 for its last 17. No worse than a gifted four-on-three in overtime. There must’ve been three or four missed shots including a pair from Panarin and one from Zibanejad, who expressed his disappointment about not scoring the winner with an open net. He always gives great interviews. He wasn’t satisfied with the point they got.

High and wide or off the goalpost or crossbar could be a good title for the 2022-23 New York Rangers. They rank second in missed shots behind the Hurricanes, who always blow chances as we witnessed last Spring. But they’re winning and are in first place.

Vincent Trocheck has been good so far. But I’ve never seen a player hit as many posts or go high and over the net like him. He could have 20 goals by now. Similar to some of the opportunities he blew with Carolina. If he could hit the net more, who knows.

Of course, there were a couple of goalposts in the game. Panarin had a shot from distance beat Vasilevskiy only for it to ring off the crossbar. Then, in an entertaining six round shootout, Kakko had a chance to win it. After Panarin had evened it in the third round to reply back to Brayden Point, who also tied the contest in the third period, Kakko made his patented move. But his deke and backhand hit the post.

Of all people, Alex Killorn was able to beat Shesterkin stick side to give the Bolts the win. Fox tried to patiently out-wait Vasilevskiy. But his backhand attempt short side was foiled by the cat-like reflexes of the goaltender.

Obviously, it’s frustrating not to get two points in a game they played well enough in. Shesterkin still had to make 39 saves on 40 shots. His best work came when he denied Steven Stamkos in front and stoned Point. He also had to stop Anthony Cirelli off a face-off win point blank. The Rangers got killed in the dot losing 34 of 55 draws. They won 38 percent.

There was also some physical edge. Jacob Trouba stepped up and had an awkward hit on Vladislav Namestnikov that incensed Zach Bogosian. He took himself out of the play to go after Trouba. It led to Jimmy Vesey having Blais all set up. But he predictably missed wide. It didn’t even come close. He remains stuck on zero goals in his Rangers career.

A tough Blais hit on Cernak along the boards sent him to the locker room. He looked to be in some discomfort. He never returned. Pat Maroon went after Blais during a shift. But nothing happened between the former Blues teammates who won a Cup together in 2019.

The two teams combined for 86 shots (46-40 NYR), 160 attempts (82-78 NYR), 35 missed shots (19-16 NYR), 80 hits (40-40) and 39 blocked shots (22-17 NYR).

The game was hard fought. But the Rangers will be kicking themselves for some of the chances they didn’t cash in on. They had three power plays to the Bolts’ one. The officiating favored them with two missed calls on Rangers during the third that drew boos from Lightning fans. One a blatant trip that went undetected.

The penalty on Victor Hedman for tripping Chytil in overtime wasn’t a great call either. The Rangers had enough chances to take advantage. They couldn’t. Panarin tried a sneaky wrist shot late in the four-on-three that Vasilevskiy made a nice leg Save on. They out-shot the Lightning 5-3 in overtime.

There also were a couple of sequences during a 19 shot second period where they left you exasperated. Zibanejad passed up a wide open shot for another low percentage East/West pass for Kreider that went nowhere. It’s those kind of shooting opportunities that leave fans wanting more. It’s too predictable.

Every skater had a shot except Jonny Brodzinski, who took an undisciplined tripping minor behind the Tampa net in the first. When Lafreniere returns, maybe he comes out instead of Blais. Barclay Goodrow can slide down and center the fourth line. He didn’t exactly do much with Trocheck and Panarin.

There isn’t anything else to add. This became more a column about the past history of the Rangers organization when it comes to first round picks and personnel decisions.

Given what’s been happening, it had to be done. Now, they don’t play until the New Year. That’s a game they gotta have. Regardless if Aleksander Barkov came back and posted a hat trick with five points in a Panthers 7-2 rout of the Canadiens. They’re not good defensively and can be exploited. The goaltending isn’t great either. No excuses.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1608661144046309380?t=q3zCVynYgAi_QQ45LO9TtA&s=19

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Gallant won’t change power play despite accurate critique, Lafreniere struggles

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Derek

Gerard Gallant had a critique of the power play today after practice. He thinks it’s too predictable. He’s right.

On one hand, the Rangers coach pointed out the obvious to USA Today beat reporter Vince Mercogliano. They can’t use the same two plays. That being either Adam Fox or Artemi Panarin passing the puck over to the left circle for the Mika Zibanejad one-timer.

The other usually is Fox shooting for Chris Kreider in front for a tip-in. Panarin also has started shooting more which helps. They also like to run a simple play in the slot for Vincent Trocheck. He’s been effective with seven power play goals on either shots, deflections or rebounds. He ranks second behind Zibanejad (10) on the team.

If there is a noticeable difference from last season, it’s Kreider with only four. He hasn’t been able to score as consistently on the man-advantage. They haven’t been able to execute the high to low play much. A disappointment for a top unit Gallant relies on. Maybe that’s what he meant about getting more traffic in front.

With the power play only 1 for its last 14, that is a concern. Interestingly, Kreider is having more success at even strength. He’s scored 11 of his team-leading 16 there. He also has one shorthanded tally. He’s been separated lately from sidekick Zibanejad, who’s been cold. He has no goals over the last eight games. His last three all came on the power play including a pair at Vegas on Dec. 7 and one versus Chicago on Dec. 3.

During that stretch, Zibanejad still has six assists. He’s still contributing. He’s also been getting plenty of scoring opportunities. They’re just not going in. He’s due. When he doesn’t score on the power play, it’s not as effective. Ten of his fifteen goals have come on it. They just can’t be too predictable as Gallant cited.

If there’s a disappointing aspect, it’s that the top center only has four even strength goals. Hardly the kind of production expected from such a quality player. They need more from him at five-on-five.

When you look at the team’s power play production, it’s coming mostly from three players. Of the 25 they’ve scored, Zibanejad, Trocheck and Kreider have combined for 21 power play goals. Panarin is next with two. Fox and Filip Chytil each have one with the latter highlighted due to it being the lone PPG scored by the second unit. A unit that’s gotten more looks since Vitaly Kravtsov has been added to Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba.

With the man-advantage slumping, they’re down to 17th in the league clicking at 21.9 percent. That breaks down to 25 for 114. A far cry from where they should be. Especially given the personnel they feature on the number one unit.

My question for Gallant is why won’t he consider a change. He indicated to Mercogliano, “No… These guys are too good to put somebody else in there.” If that’s the case, then shouldn’t they be better? Adding Trocheck to replace Ryan Strome has helped lead to more PPG’s in that spot. But it’s not as consistent.

Obviously, Kreider hasn’t been able to duplicate his career season. He scored 52 goals including a single season franchise record 26 power play goals in ’21-22. However, if the five-on-four was functioning better, the real leader of the team would have more than four on the man-advantage. Some of it has been bad luck. But he’s the net front presence Gallant is alluding to.

Is that more a criticism of Kreider or is he displeased with how it’s run up top. There’s an awful lot of passing between Fox and Panarin. Fox is a terrific quarterback who is unselfish to a fault. As good as he is, Fox needs to shoot the puck more. He should have more than one power play goal. Most of the time, he makes shot passes for deflections.

The power play issue is one that must be resolved. Even having won eight of nine games before Christmas, one bad loss exposed the issue. When they don’t convert, it hurts the team. In defeats to the rival Pens and Caps, they went a combined 0 for 8. Conversely, Pittsburgh and Washington scored three times in six chances. A losing formula.

The disappointment of Alexis Lafreniere isn’t going away either. He has five goals in 36 games. Way too few for the former 2020 top pick. All five have come at even strength. Of course they have. In 171 career games, he’s never had a power play goal.

Can you imagine this happening in any other organization? It’s absurd. Lafreniere remains a secondary player on a team reliant on proven veterans. So, like Kakko who has shown improvement in Year Four with nine even strength goals second behind Kreider, Lafreniere remains on the second unit that includes Chytil, Kravtsov (for now) and the miscast Trouba. It should be K’Andre Miller or Braden Schneider.

That doesn’t explain the lack of goal production. Lafreniere is 21. He was coming off a good second year where he scored 19 goals on 110 shots (17.3 percent). In his rookie year, his shooting percentage was 17.9 (12 on 67). This season, it’s a paltry 7.9 with only five scored on 63 shots. Hardly enough.

Is it a lack of confidence? He hasn’t been looking shot much. Whatever it is, it can’t continue. At some point, the Rangers need more from Lafreniere. Regardless that he still has 17 points with 16 coming at even strength, it isn’t pointed in the right direction. Yes. He did finally pick up a power play assist. His third power play point of what’s been an underwhelming start to his career.

When they had him fall into their lap due to a flawed two part lottery system, the Rangers weren’t prepared to add a third left wing behind Kreider and Panarin. That’s meant Gallant at times shifting the younger player to the off side. An experiment that didn’t help.

With him averaging a shade over 15 minutes, it’s up to Lafreniere to figure it out. He must find more space and not pass up shots for low percentage passes that result in turnovers similar to the ones we’ve seen from leading scorer Panarin.

Lafreniere needs to simplify his game. I don’t mean finishing checks which he does as evidenced by the 70 hits. He does take the body. It means thinking shot more when opportunities present themselves. It also means getting in front and scoring a garbage goal. Something he’s capable of. Time is ticking in Year Three.

The Rangers visit the Lightning tomorrow night. Face-off is after 7 PM.

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Gallant: “We Were Garbage”

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Derek

How to sum up tonight’s listless performance. “We Were Garbage.” Those were the accurate words of displeased coach Gerard Gallant on his team’s lackluster play in a 4-0 shutout loss to the red hot Capitals after the Rangers heard it from the crowd at MSG.

Sometimes, it’s really that simple. Playing for the first time since the Christmas break, the Rangers didn’t have it. It wasn’t all bad. They had some chances during the first part of the rivalry game against Darcy Kuemper. But were unable to cash in failing on two power plays and missing the net on some other opportunities.

Special teams were lousy. They were 0 for 5 on the man-advantage. On the flip side, the Caps went 1 for 3. They also tacked on a shorthanded empty netter for good measure to conclude the scoring.

The first of four regular season meetings against a team they’ll likely be competing with for the playoffs, the Blueshirts failed the test. Instead, it was #AllCaps like their hashtag. As the game went on, they dictated the terms by outplaying and out-hustling the Rangers.

It wasn’t pretty. After a decent start, they ran into penalty trouble. Ryan Lindgren was already off for slashing Conor Sheary when Chris Kreider held Alexander Ovechkin to create a five-on-three.

On it, Ovechkin actually was the decoy. The league’s second all-time goal scorer watched as Marcus Johansson got a piece of a loose puck that Jacob Trouba accidentally put in his own net. Trying to carefully move the bouncing puck away from the crease, he made the mistake of putting it in past a helpless Igor Shesterkin.

That was the only goal of the first. The Rangers got their own power play when Nick Jensen closed his hand on the puck with 7:25 left. Despite some good zone time, they couldn’t beat Kuemper. He stopped Mika Zibanejad twice on slap shots and turned aside Kreider and Vincent Trocheck.

The second unit also came close. But Filip Chytil just missed as time expired. It was a blown opportunity. They moved the puck well. But never hit the net. It looks like that unit is getting better. They’re being given more time. It’s just about getting results.

Back at full strength, both Chytil and Kaapo Kakko were stopped by a sharp Kuemper, who made his second start after missing time after an injury on Dec. 3. It was actually Charlie Lindgren who filled in nicely, helping the Caps go on a run. They’ve turned their season around. Credit Kuemper for not being rusty. He stopped all 32 shots he saw for his 28th career shutout.

Late in a period they held a 13-8 edge in shots, the Rangers got sloppy on consecutive shifts. First, Anthony Mantha got loose for a dangerous chance. But Shesterkin made a huge save to deny him. Then, they left Alexander Alexeyev wide open in the slot. Fortunately, his wrist shot hit the crossbar. Shesterkin also had to make a save on Lars Eller before the period expired.

Trailing by one, they got a second opportunity on the five-on-four when Zibanejad was taken down by Dmitry Orlov. However, they again came up empty-handed. Despite three power play shots including a pair from Kreider and a late one from Vitaly Kravtsov, they still couldn’t solve Kuemper.

Shesterkin would make a key save to deny a Mantha backhand. He was a factor throughout. After saves on Chytil and Kakko by Kuemper, the Rangers looked to be on the verge of breaking through. However, the Caps really took over from that point. Shots were 18-10.

Afterwards, the Rangers barely mustered any offense. With the Caps winning most of the face-offs which were an issue, they were the better team getting the next five shots on Shesterkin, who did as good as he could to keep it at one goal.

In a more physical contest where checking was tight and hitting picked up, it favored the more detail oriented Capitals. They did a good job in the neutral zone and at their blue line taking away time and space.

One of the rare moments where there was a scoring chance was when K’Andre Miller transitioned from defense to offense. However, his shot went wide. As the second continued, several shots missed the target. In fact, Mike Rupp noted along with John Giannone during intermission that the Rangers missed 15 shots. They couldn’t shoot straight.

Julien Gauthier got one of the best scoring chances. Using his speed in the neutral zone, he broke in and got a tough shot on Kuemper that he stopped. After the play was blown dead, they went upstairs just to make sure the puck didn’t go in. It never did. It took longer than expected.

On another opportunity, Eller rang one off the goalpost. The second the Caps hit. But it didn’t alter anything. It continued to be a stronger defensive game from Washington.

There was one close call. But Trocheck missed high and over the top on a good set up. He then went down to the ice. Bent over in pain, he was clearly hurting.

In what amounted to an eye opening mistake, both Kakko and Artemi Panarin (invisible otherwise) made a poor line change. They didn’t realize Trocheck was hurt. This allowed the Caps to come back down with a four on two rush where they scored to go ahead 2-0 with 2:59 remaining.

On the play, Dylan Strome got the puck up ice and passed for a Sheary shot that rebounded off Shesterkin right to a pinching Erik Gustafsson who rebounded the loose change home at 17:01.

In what turned out to be a failed risk by the Rangers bench, Gallant decided to challenge for goaltender interference. On the play in question, Sheary was in the crease and made a little contact with Shesterkin. From my vantage point, it wasn’t enough. It looked like it didn’t affect Shesterkin’s ability to play the Gustafsson shot.

However, the way the rule is described, I thought it might get overturned. The league has gone out of their way to over protect goalies. We’ve seen it in recent time. When they upheld the goal, I was surprised. Not because I felt it shouldn’t have counted. But due to the description.

I thought they got it right. In my opinion, they need to alter the wording so the officials don’t sound like idiots when explaining why the goal counts. This led to confusion from incensed fans who can’t tell the difference when a goalie is impeded and not. This is an NHL problem.

They should make it clearer on what really is goalie interference and what isn’t. Sheary hardly made any contact which is why I felt they got it correct. Despite the whining from a fan base who booed Ovechkin like it was 2012. He’s an all-time great. The year is 2022 going into 2023. Ridiculous. New fans don’t get anything.

Due to the failed coach’s challenge, it led to a Caps power play. Although they killed off the delay of game penalty, the Rangers couldn’t quite escape the period down two. Instead, they left too much gap for Eller to gain the zone and pull up and fire a shot that went high blocker on Shesterkin to increase the deficit to three at 19:23. A crusher.

On the scoring play, Mantha got the puck up for Eller, who cruised by a lazy Kakko stick check to fire home his seventh with too much room given by Miller and Trouba. Honestly, that goal was on Kakko. He should’ve taken Eller up high. He let him pull up for the open shot.

As much as I’ve liked how he’s played lately, Kakko didn’t do a good enough job. Was Panarin even in the picture? He was moved onto a line with Trocheck and Kakko by Gallant, who shuffled the deck. Somehow, neither forward got punished.

Panarin did nothing last night. Oh. He attempted 10 shots and four reached the net. But he wasn’t much of a factor. The lack of attention to detail included two giveaways and left him on for two goals against. As a team, the Rangers had 14 giveaways including three from Zibanejad, who didn’t do enough either.

There were too many passengers. Even Lindgren (penalty) and Adam Fox were minus-two. They’re not superhuman. They’re a terrific top pair who really carry the back end. Although Miller has been much better lately. Trouba is still frustrating. Ben Harpur and Braden Schneider are a decent third pair.

I didn’t like how unnoticeable Alexis Lafreniere was. At this point, it’s increasingly frustrating how he only has five goals. The sad aspect is he has two more points than Kakko, who’s been better.

Lafreniere was a consensus top pick Canada hyped to the moon. Five goals in 36 games in Year Three is ridiculous. It’s sad. He gives the effort. But you’d think by accident he’d have eight or nine by now. He doesn’t think shot enough, falling into the pass mode we see too often from more established stars. It can’t continue.

The final period stunk. The Caps won every battle. They were the aggressor and defended like they were coached by Barry Trotz in 2018 during their Cup year. Not Peter Laviolette. I gotta give him credit. I didn’t think he could get the Caps to play this defensive style. They’re tenacious. That’s why they’re winning games.

The Rangers did manage 12 shots in the third period. But I never got a sense they’d score on Kuemper. He was a brick wall. Not enough traffic in front. If he saw it, he stopped it.

The other bothersome thing was the lazy turnovers the Caps forced just from all out effort in the neutral zone and on the forecheck. It was pathetic. Shesterkin still had to make six saves. It wasn’t good enough.

They did get a couple of late power plays. Even though Gauthier was mugged during an active shift he was on with Zibanejad and Kreider. They gave the Rangers two more opportunities. Even a six-on-four with Shesterkin off early didn’t get it done.

Instead, Sheary blocked a Panarin shot and despite being in pain, he fired the puck down the ice for an empty net shorthanded goal with 3:02 remaining that summed up the game. One team was more determined and played like it. The other had too much egg nog. Christmas hangover?

Now, they must go to Tampa Bay on Thursday and then play Florida on New Year’s Day. A bit weird that there’s no game on New Year’s Eve. NHL scheduling. Geniuses.

No three stars tonight. It’s not worth it. If I did it, it would be All Caps. No pun intended.

There’s World Junior hockey on NHL Network. USA faces Slovakia tomorrow. One of two games. Canada hosts Germany. I’ll try to have something up on Day Two. The best game was actually Switzerland coming back to defeat Latvia 2-1 in a shootout. Czech Republic is 2-0 after blitzing Austria 9-0. Sweden won 1-0 over Germany and Finland turned back Slovakia 5-2.

That’s going to do it. Happy Kwanzaa!

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Czechia upsets Canada, USA needs big third to defeat Latvia

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Derek

Day One of the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships didn’t disappoint up north in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.

Group play got underway on Boxing Day without any problems. However, there were some surprises on the first day of preliminary action. Depending on who you support, it was exciting to watch.

The biggest story coming out of Monday’s four games was Czechia upsetting tournament favorite Canada 5-2 in the night cap at Halifax.

A team that’s been underestimated coming in despite a strong showing at the ’22 WJC where they reached the semifinals after upsetting USA, the Czechs were determined to prove a point against crowd favorite Canada. By the conclusion of the opening game in Group A, it was Czechia who were the better team earning the victory before a stunned crowd of 10,030 at Scotiabank Centre.

“They outworked us,” acknowledged Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann to the media. “You can’t take any team lightly. They had a good game, so credit to them.”

Czechia had the better of the play at five-on-five and took complete advantage of a controversial match penalty to Zach Dean for an illegal check to the head. They converted twice near the conclusion of a five-minute major and got superior play in net from Tomas Suchanek (undrafted). He earned Czechia Best Player with 36 saves on 38 shots.

Entering play that already seen Switzerland upset Finland 3-2 on an overtime winner by Attilio Biasca in the day’s first action, Canada boasted a top heavy roster that features eight returnees from their gold medal team including future star Connor Bedard and also has added captain Shane Wright, who went fourth to the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft.

With a top line of Bedard centering Wright and Othmann along with a potent second line of Dylan Guenther (Coyotes), Logan Stankoven (Stars) and highly rated 2023 Draft Eligible prospect Adam Fantilli, there’s no questioning Canada’s scoring depth and skill. Joshua Roy (Canadiens) on the third line. Key Habs D prospect Olen Zellweger and Kings blue liner Brandt Clarke certainly can get involved.

Despite that, perhaps the experts forgot about the Czechs. They have their own strong blue line that includes David Jiricek (Blue Jackets), Stanislav Svozil (Blue Jackets) David Spacek (Wild), Jiri Tichacek and David Moravec (’23 Draft Eligible). Suchanek is back for his second WJC as are Jaroslav Chmelar (Rangers), Jiri Kulich (Sabres) and Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights).

All of that experience was on full display. Following a nice Wright power play goal on a tip-in of a Zellweger shot that Guenther set up halfway through the first period, Svozil pinched down and perfectly found a wide open Spacek for a tap in at 17:48. Nobody picked him up.

Shockingly, the Czechs struck again 35 seconds later when Moravec let go of a point shot that went through a maze of players by Canadian starter Benjamin Gaudreau to put them in front 2-1 with 1:37 left in the period. Bedard lost a defensive draw to Marcel Marcel. Adam Mechura moved the puck over for Moravec who got his first of the tournament.

Despite a quick start, Canada found plenty of resistance from a feisty Czechia. They battled hard by finishing checks and playing aggressively. Prior to the tying goal from Spacek, they had come close to breaking through on Gaudreau. Canada’s defense didn’t have a good game. By that, the forwards didn’t do their part either.

If they didn’t realize they were in a game, Czechia sure got the message through in the first minute of the second period. On another well designed play, a wide open Svozil finished off a Spacek cross ice feed by wristing one past Gaudreau from the left circle for a 3-1 lead. No forward picked him up. It was a breakdown.

But before they could get comfortable, a bad turnover in the neutral zone allowed Wright to send Bedard in alone. The 17-year old phenom didn’t disappoint. He calmly beat Suchanek with a laser high glove to pull Canada back within one just 45 seconds later. It was astonishing.

Each side had a goal wiped out. The Czechs early on for goalie interference. Canada had one overturned when Czechia wisely challenged for offsides. That prevented Canada from tying it back in the first. Boos were heard from the pro Canadian crowd. But it was the right call.

Down by two, Canada came with pressure on a shift. It was Dean who belted Ales Cech with a tough hit against the back boards knocking him down. It was shoulder to chest. However, IIHF rules are very strict. The issue with the hit was Dean extended his arms making contact with the head of Cech.

After reviewing the play to determine if the hit was a match penalty for an illegal check to the head, they confirmed the call. A frustrated Dean got the gate and plenty of fans didn’t agree. I felt that it merited two minutes for roughing. But the IIHF is very different from the NHL. They go out of their way to protect players. I can understand why.

For a while, the Canadian penalty kill was getting the job done. After a couple of timely saves from Gaudreau, they got some clears and even looked to attack shorthanded. But as the Czech power play started to wind down, they struck twice 33 seconds apart.

First, Jiricek threw a backhand pass in front from behind the net that Chmelar got a piece of. He was able to stick with it batting in his own rebound to make it a three-goal lead at 28:14.

Then, on a nothing play started by Suchanek, Jakub Kos got the puck over to Matous Mensik. He surprised a napping Gaudreau with a weak shot that went short side through him to make it 5-2 with 11:13 to go in the second.

That was it for Gaudreau. He was lifted in favor of backup Thomas Milic. He played well in relief stopping all 10 shots. Gaudreau allowed five goals on 17 shots. It’s a good bet that Milic will be in net when Canada takes on Germany on Wednesday.

Although Czechia did a good job defending by getting sticks on pucks to keep the explosive Canada at bay, the hosts still created enough scoring chances to threaten.

In particular, Bedard was dangerous throughout. He tried every magic trick including a Michigan that was denied by a sharp Suchanek. Those came early on. He also put on some strong moves to get off shots. For the game, he led all skaters with 11. It speaks to how dynamic he is.

The Czechs had to kill off a couple of penalties. On one, Bedard had Othmann all set up with a no look backhand pass. But the Rangers prospect shot the puck back into a sliding Suchanek. He’d also have some bad luck later when he again was fed by Bedard, but hit the near goalpost. It was that kind of night for Othmann and his Canadian teammates.

When they weren’t narrowly missing, Suchanek was there to make the big saves. Especially in the first five minutes of the third period. Canada put an all out full court press. However, they were either denied or went wide.

Even though they controlled some of the third with more shots and opportunities, Canada never dominated. Instead, the Czechs were able to settle down and do a solid job back checking. They defended the inside extremely well and countered when possible.

It was a splendid effort. They gave up 38 shots. However, they also totaled 27 for the game. Proving this was no fluke. Even when Canada pulled Milic with over three minutes remaining, they never drew closer. A credit to how well Czechia played.

Canada also showed frustration by taking the last three penalties including tripping by Clarke in the offensive zone with 69 seconds left. That finished it off. The Czechs were happy to control the puck and pass it around as time wound down. Afterwards, they celebrated the well earned victory with winning goalie Suchanek.

Wright got Best Player for Canada with a goal and assist. As mentioned earlier, Suchanek deservedly was recognized as Best Player for Czechia. He was the difference along with a more disciplined team that excelled scoring three times at even strength to only once by Canada.

Canada has Tuesday off before they take on Germany tomorrow. Czechia doesn’t. They’ll take on Austria tonight. Considering how well they played combined with Sweden winning 11-0 over Austria, it’s a game Czechia will be favorite to win. We’ll see how that goes.

Earlier yesterday, USA used a three-goal third period to defeat Latvia 5-2 in Group B play at Moncton. They played before 4,927 spectators at Avenir Centre in New Brunswick.

It didn’t come easy. With Patriks Berzins doing all that he could in net, the returning Latvian goalie made a lot of good stops throughout the contest. He finished the game making 41 saves on 46 shots.

USA wasn’t at their best early. They weren’t able to forecheck consistently during a scoreless first period. Captain Luke Hughes (Devils) struggled turning over pucks and getting caught deep. He didn’t have a good day.

He still led American skaters in ice time with 19:08 over 24 shifts and scored his first goal of the tournament to put the finishing touches on a better third.

Trey Augustine started in net for USA. A ’23 Draft Eligible like Kaidan Mbereko who was the number one goalie in Edmonton last summer, he played well finishing with 15 saves on 17 shots. With a day between their second preliminary match against Switzerland, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Although they didn’t put any pucks past a sharp Berzins during the first, USA had some chances. Cutter Gauthier (Flyers) and Jimmy Snuggerud (Blues) came the closest. Both stood out with strong games. Gauthier had five shots while Snuggerud led all skaters with eight.

Following a tightly played scoreless period, Snuggerud opened the scoring 24 seconds into the second when he took a pass from Logan Cooley (Coyotes) and was able to sneak a rebound by Berzins for his first of the tournament. It was a greasy goal by a player who was around the Latvia net often.

Before they could relax, Anri Ravinskis evened it up 4:35 later. On a play where Hughes got caught stepping up, Latvia made a great counter in transition to score a pretty goal. The play started by Gustavs Ozolins (not to be confused with Ozolinsh) up to Ravinskis allowed him to work a give and go with Rainers Rullers with him passing back for a cutting Ravinskis who easily buried the puck into an open side to tie the score.

As the second moved on, USA began to pile up the shots. They’d out-shoot Latvia 17-2 at one point. Eventually, Sean Behrens took a back pass from Red Savage (Red Wings) and snapped a long one-timer through traffic by Berzins to give the Americans their second lead at 29:17. Dylan Duke added an assist on the scoring play.

But after failing to convert on the power play with Ozolins off for high-sticking, they again saw a resilient Latvia draw even. On only their second shot of the period, Niks Fenenko took a pass from Rullers (2 assists) and stepped in for a good wrist shot that beat a screened Augustine to tie it with 5:36 remaining in the second.

At that point, the partisan Canadian crowd began sensing upset. They were rooting for the underdog to pull it off against their biggest rival. It’s no secret that USA isn’t well received by Canadian fans. That has everything to do with the rivalry. It’s too bad they’re not in the same group for a second straight WJC. Hopefully, the big match-up will still happen next week.

Even as they continued to improve their attack, Berzins was there to shutdown USA who had to be frustrated. The game remained tied after two periods.

At that point, there were thoughts of the Czech upset in the quarterfinals last August. That ruined a previously undefeated preliminary round. The difference being is that was an elimination game. This wasn’t. The Czechs are also better than Latvia. Something Canada found out.

The third period was much better. Playing with a sense of urgency, USA never allowed the “Lat-via, Lat-via!!!”, chants to bother them. They would get the last three goals of the game in a dominant period.

On a misplay in the neutral zone, Jackson Blake and Behrens sent Chaz Lucius in on a counter. His backhand caught Berzins off his angle going far side to put USA in front at 41:57.

Less than five minutes later, it was Savage who rebounded home a Duke shot past Berzins short side to double the lead with 13:12 left. That gave an effective Savage a goal and a helper. He works hard. Duke picked up his second assist of the game.

A few minutes after they didn’t capitalize on a Ravinskis cross-checking minor, Charlie Stramel and Jack Peart moved the puck over to Hughes up top. He found enough room to take a wrist shot that went low off the far goalpost and in at 53:29 for his first. It wasn’t exactly a bomb. But an eerie looking goal that put the captain on the scoreboard.

That was it for the scoring. Although it wasn’t what you’d call a great performance, USA worked through to get the win in their first game. As we’ve already seen in one day, that first game can be tricky. They’ll take it and move on.

Best Players were Berzins for Latvia and Snuggerud for USA. Excellent choices. Each received a painted hockey stick during the presentation. A nice honor. That’s what makes this tournament special.

Day Two is underway. In a big game, Finland is tied at one with Slovakia. Sweden faces Germany this afternoon. Switzerland looks to go two for two when they battle Latvia. Czechia plays Austria tonight.

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Bedard headlines 2023 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, Devils and Rangers prospects well represented

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Derek

Christmas time means the world’s best hockey prospects get together to compete in the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships. The prestigious tournament will take place in Halifax and Moncton between December 26 through January 5.

Unlike last year when COVID-19 interrupted the tournament in Edmonton leading to a postponement, it’s expected to go on as scheduled. With all the bitter cold weather, hopefully there aren’t any issues.

The 2022 WJC was rescheduled for last summer. Canada proved to be the best team, taking gold by defeating Finland in a great game 3-2 in overtime.

Current Blue Jackets rookie Kent Johnson scored the golden goal to win it for Canada after Finland rallied from a two-goal deficit to force OT. Ducks rookie Mason McTavish won the tournament MVP by pacing all scorers with 17 points. He also saved the potential Finland winner prior to Johnson’s winner by batting a puck out of mid-air. It was pretty memorable.

While both players have graduated to the NHL playing for two of the league’s worst teams, Canada still boasts a potent roster. Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann is a holdover from the gold medal team. Along with Dylan Guenther (Coyotes), Joshua Roy ( Canadiens), Olen Zellweger (Ducks), Logan Stankoven (Stars), Zach Ostapchuk (Senators), Nathan Gaucher (Ducks), Ethan Del Mastro (Blackhawks) and headliner Connor Bedard (projected top pick in ’23), there’s plenty of experience for a repeat.

With recent Kraken fourth pick Shane Wright added to the roster along with Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach, the Canadians are strong favorites to win the tournament. Especially if the much improved Bedard continues to light the lamp as he’s done in exhibition games. He looks even more dangerous. Possessing both the explosive skating and quick release, this could be the coming out party for the consensus top pick for the 2023 NHL Draft. Chances are you won’t be able to take your eyes off him.

With defensemen Brandt Clarke (Kings) and Nolan Allan (Blackhawks) added to a deep roster, Canada should be a handful. If there’s a question, it’s in net where they’ll rely on Benjamin Gaudreau (Sharks) and 19-year old Thomas Milic (Undrafted). Canada is coached by Dennis Williams.

The only shadow cast on the Canadian team is the recent investigation into Hockey Canada on former players who are accused of sexual assault from past tournaments. It’s a serious issue Rick Westhead has covered.

For the current roster, it’s unfortunate that this story is not going away. The more that comes out, the worse Hockey Canada looks. Good friend Anne Laurie can’t look past it. Despite games being played in New Brunswick, she won’t be attending any due to the mitigating circumstances. I don’t blame her. It’s extremely disappointing.

I can only hope that none of the current players are overshadowed by what’s happening off the ice. They are representing their country. I’ll be curious to see if the story is mentioned with TSN broadcasting the games. There are some quality people who are involved. Will they address the topic?

Considering how quick some in the media are to critique Alexander Ovechkin after he surpassed legendary Gordie Howe for second all-time with 802 goals to only trail Wayne Gretzky, you wonder if they’ll have the same no-nonsense approach with Hockey Canada.

It’s easy to question Ovechkin for his past support of Russia President Vladimir Putin. However, do any of these so-called journalists understand what it’s like to have family living in Russia. I seriously doubt it. Or did some of the critics including a popular NY Post columnist conveniently forget the ordeal Artemi Panarin went through a couple of years ago with his family?

It’s hard for a future Hall Of Famer to control what’s going on back home. The war in Ukraine is unforgivable. The act of a madman whose health has come under question. Hopefully, there’ll be a peaceful resolution soon.

In terms of Devils and Rangers prospects, there are plenty who’ll be represented up north. Luke Hughes highlights the list. The 2021 number four pick by the Devils is in his sophomore year at Michigan. After a big freshman year where he scored 17 goals and had 39 points in 41 games, the 19-year old defenseman is 3-15-18 in 20 games.

A great skater who can transition in a hurry, Hughes has a good shot and isn’t afraid to jump into the offense like a forward. He will captain Team USA in Moncton, New Brunswick. At the recent 2022 WJC, he looked the part tallying a goal and five assists. Unfortunately, they were upset in the quarterfinals by Czechia 4-2.

One of six players returning including Coyotes ’21 third pick Logan Cooley along with Red Savage (Red Wings), Jack Peart (Wild), ’23 Draft Eligible goalie Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College), and ’23 Draft Eligible Charlie Stramel (Wisconsin), Hughes will fill the leadership role.

Rangers 2022 fourth round pick Noah Laba is on the team. He’s a freshman on Colorado College. In 17 games, he’s scored seven goals with four assists and 11 points. It’s hard to say what his role will be. Especially with newcomers Tyler Boucher, Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty and Jimmy Snuggerud arriving.

The blue line has several new players including undrafted Luke Mittlestadt. A player to watch who has 13 points in his freshman year for Minnesota. Devils ’22 second round pick Seamus Casey has done well so far on Michigan with 16 points (4-12-16). Interestingly, USA teammates Dylan Duke (Lightning), Gavin Brindley (’23 Draft Eligible) and McGroarty also play for the Wolverines along with Hughes and Casey. They are again well represented.

Rand Pecknold takes over behind the bench replacing Providence College coach Nate Leaman. Pecknold is the Quinnipiac coach. He’s been behind the Bobcats bench since 1994. He guided them to 17 straight winning seasons. They made two Frozen Four appearances in 2013 and 2016 losing in the national championship game both times. He’s the 33rd coach to win 400 games in Division 1.

It’ll be the second consecutive WJC that doesn’t include Russia. They continue to be penalized for the war in Ukraine. What that has to do with kids who play hockey I don’t know. It’s Canada’s loss.

No Matvei Michkov in the tournament. He’s only one of the top prospects eligible for next year’s Draft. He just turned 18 over two weeks ago. While most of the focus is on the remarkable talent of Bedard, Michkov is a slick skater with superb scoring instincts. He’s currently in his third year playing for Sochi HC in the KHL. He spent the previous two with St. Petersburg SKA.

Michkov is highly rated by everyone including legendary Bob McKenzie who has him number 2 behind Bedard. Elite Prospects ranks him fourth. TSN’s Craig Button has him fifth. The only catch with the diminutive Russian is he likely will stay in Russia until 2025. So, whoever selects him will have to wait. He’ll continue to hone his skills in the KHL.

With Russia out of the tournament, it again loses some of its juice. That creates an easier path for world powers Canada, Sweden, Finland and USA. Group play looks easier for USA. They take on Latvia later today on Day One of preliminary action. Slovakia, Switzerland and Finland are in their group. It’s Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Germany and Austria in the other group.

On Boxing Day, there are four games. Finland versus Switzerland at 12 PM (11 EST) in Moncton. Sweden vs Austria at 2:30 PM (1:30 EST) in Halifax. Latvia vs USA at 5 PM (4 EST) in Moncton. And it’s Czechia challenging Canada at 7:30 PM (6:30 EST) in Halifax. All games can be seen on NHL Network. Circle the final one due to Bedard and Wright. Plus Blueshirt fans will want to see Othmann.

Czechia also features NYR prospect Jaroslav Chmelar. The ’21 fifth round pick has six goals and four assists in 18 games for Providence College. He got a writeup on the official Friars site. Top Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek is back on Czechia to anchor the blue line. Remember. They stunned USA last August to advance to the semifinals where Canada ousted them 5-2 en route to the gold.

Other Rangers prospects are Adam Sykora and Kalle Vaisanen. Sykora will play for Slovakia who boasts recent Devils second pick Simon Nemec. The other promising young defenseman who could make their back end lethal once he and Hughes join the big club. Nemec had four assists in five games in the ’21 WJC. He skipped 2022 to prepare for NHL training camp. So far, he is 3-8-11 in 24 contests for Utica in the AHL.

Other Devils prospects include Petr Hauser representing Czechia and Topias Vilen playing for Finland. If you haven’t already, the Devils had a whole preview of the WJC including their five prospects led by future defensemen Hughes and Nemec. Plus Casey. It’s that promising trio that Devils fans should be keeping an eye on.

If you have the time to catch some of the games, it should be worth it. No matter what’s happening that I disagree with regarding the hypocritical Canada and IIHF, it’s a great tournament. From the playing of the anthems for the teams who win to the presentation following games, there’s plenty to admire about the WJC. Let’s enjoy it.

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Rangers give fans a Christmas gift in comeback win over Islanders in final meeting, Gauthier and Goodrow spark eighth win in nine, Kakko gets winner to redeem himself, the ridiculous NHL schedule

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Derek
Barclay Goodrow gets position on Robin Salo to score a goal that tied the score three minutes into the third period. The Rangers came back to defeat the Islanders 5-3 at MSG. AP Photo by Noah K. Murray via NY Post Getty Images

Whenever the classic crosstown rivals get together, it makes for an entertaining game. Very early in the season, it was the Islanders who took the first two games from the Rangers including a third period comeback on Nov. 8 at MSG that was one of the low points so far.

Fast forward five weeks later and this time, it was the Rangers who turned the tables on the Islanders with a third period comeback to prevail 5-3 in front of a sellout crowd at The Garden on Thursday night.

Trailing by a goal after a frustrating second period where they had the better of the play except on the scoreboard, the Rangers used a three-goal third to take the third and absurd final meeting on Broadway. It was their eighth win in nine games to go into the Christmas break feeling good about themselves.

Not long ago, they were a mediocre 11-10-5 and looking lost. However, a great stretch over nine games that’s included wins over the Golden Knights, Avalanche, Devils, Leafs and now the Islanders has them up to 19-11-5 with 43 points through 35 games. That ties them with the Penguins, who remain in third place due to having two games in hand. They lost to the Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime.

Currently, ten points separates first place from sixth in the crowded Metropolitan Division. The Canes lead the pack with 50 points in 34 games. The Devils have 46 in 34 after dropping a 4-3 decision to the league-leading Bruins on Friday night. Then, the Pens and Rangers each have 43, but our side has played two more games (35-33). The resurgent Caps are up to 42 following wins over Ottawa and Winnipeg that moved them ahead of the Islanders, who rebounded last night with a 5-1 win over the sore loser Panthers. They have 40 points in 35 games.

It was important for the Rangers to bounce back from a tough one-goal loss at Pittsburgh. A winnable game that didn’t go their way. To finally get a win on home ice versus their kryptonite is meaningful. It snapped a five-game losing streak to the Islanders at MSG. Their last victory at home versus the Isles came on Jan. 16, 2021. A 5-0 shutout for Alexandar Georgiev in the second game of the 56-game abbreviated ’20-21 season.

In fact, it was only the second time Igor Shesterkin has beaten the Islanders in his career. He entered the game with a 1-7-1 record with a 3.15 GAA and .884 save percentage in nine appearances. When Anders Lee, Mat Barzal and then Alexander Romanov scored three goals on nine shots for a 3-2 Isles’ lead, it looked like it was going to be another forgettable tale.

Fortunately, Shesterkin didn’t allow anymore goals. In fact, he stopped the final nine shots to pick up his second career win against the Isles. He made 15 saves on just 18 shots. That speaks to how disciplined the Rangers were defensively. They didn’t give up much against an undisciplined Islanders who took six penalties to hurt their cause.

Following a day off, coach Gerard Gallant decided to healthy scratch Sammy Blais for his bad penalty that proved costly on Tuesday night. Back in the lineup was Julien Gauthier. After sitting out three straight, the energetic right wing was chopping at the bit to contribute. He played arguably his best game by scoring a beautiful goal on a breakaway and setting up Barclay Goodrow for the all important tying goal three minutes into the third period.

At the start, Goodrow was with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin for the fifth straight game. But Gallant made a switch that worked. Instead of keeping the gritty Goodrow up on the top line, he flipped him down to the checking line and bumped up rookie Vitaly Kravtsov to the first line. It worked out well.

Although he didn’t have a point, Kravtsov was noticeable throughout the game when teamed up with Zibanejad and Panarin. The birthday boy turned 23 yesterday. He was involved on the forecheck and had a couple of near misses. One close call came on a delayed call when he fired a shot wide from the slot. The other chance came later when he just missed wide on a tip of a Ryan Lindgren point shot.

While the first line was around the puck in the Islanders zone, it was the new checking line that featured Goodrow with Gauthier and Jonny Brodzinski who made an impact. They were heard from before the night was over.

Gallant stuck with Ben Harpur on the third pair over Libor Hajek. Harpur brings more physicality and hasn’t hurt himself playing with Braden Schneider. He also would factor in during the comeback with two assists to earn the Broadway hat.

If there was a frustrating aspect early, it was the Rangers’ inability to take advantage of their superior play. More often than not, they took it to the Islanders, who were without regulars Adam Pelech, Kyle Palmieri and Cal Clutterbuck. They’d also later lose key checking pivot Casey Cizikas to an injury. He didn’t return for the third.

Be that as it may, they still had to contend with Ilya Sorokin. A goalie who’s given them trouble. He entered 3-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and .938 save percentage. He hasn’t started as many games versus the Rangers due to the uncanny dominance of veteran backup Semyon Varlamov. He’s out with an injury. Veteran Cory Schneider was the backup.

For most of the first period, the Rangers were on the attack. Islanders captain Anders Lee took an ill advised slashing minor on Ryan Lindgren in the offensive zone.

On their first power play, it was Artemi Panarin who got the two best chances. After having a slap shot denied by a sharp Sorokin, he had the misfortune of having a laser clang off the goalpost. Following a couple of Isles clears, the second unit came on. They were unable to get any shots as the penalty expired.

With Jonny Brodzinski in the box for taking down Scott Mayfield, the Rangers had a strong penalty kill. They didn’t allow a shot. The Islanders five-on-four was too predictable. Mika Zibanejad also got in the path of a Noah Dobson shot. The easy kill kept the momentum with the Blueshirts.

There weren’t many shots early. The Islanders were able to limit the Rangers to the outside, allowing Sorokin to make the saves. Even with them dictating the terms due to a better forecheck, the home side was kept off the board.

It wasn’t until some rare sustained pressure from the Long Island rival that there was a goal. On a long Alexander Romanov shot that he allowed a rebound to, Igor Shesterkin was unlucky when Lee got to the loose puck and banked it in off Lindgren for his 11th at 12:48. Exactly the kind of goal we’re used to seeing from the Islanders.

On a good offensive shift from the first line where Panarin drew a holding minor on Mayfield, they had Kravtsov set up in the slot. But he missed wide. The second power play of the period saw a more aggressive Panarin continue to shoot the puck. Sorokin made a tough save on a good shot. Dobson had a clearing attempt go straight out for a delay of game to hand the Rangers a two-man advantage for 32 seconds.

On the five-on-three, Sorokin made three saves including one on a Chris Kreider tip-in. His best actually came when he got a piece of a good Adam Fox shot to send it wide. Back to a five-on-four, Fox and Zibanejad combined to setup a Panarin one-timer that beat Sorokin to draw even at 17:14. That gave him three goals in the last four. He’s definitely playing much better. A good sign.

Shesterkin had to deal with a Zach Parise bid on the next shift. Parise was able to get around Jacob Trouba and test Shesterkin with a backhand that he handled. He only faced five shots in the period. Sorokin made eight saves on nine.

The second started promising. A Kravtsov takeaway led to a Zibanejad try that Sorokin calmly shutdown to get a stoppage. A strong shift by Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko saw them control the puck deep in Isles territory. Kakko came out from behind the net and skated all the way up top. However, he made a costly mistake.

Josh Bailey was able to force him into a turnover. He then pushed the puck towards Mat Barzal, who sped away from Kakko for a breakaway goal. One on one with Shesterkin, his fake was enough for Igor to bite. That allowed Barzal to go to the backhand for his fifth at 2:31 to give the Islanders their second lead.

On the bench dejected by his turnover, Kakko got a good talking to from Kreider. This was an example of great leadership. He screwed up. Having a veteran like Kreider there to talk to him really helped. He would later mention how it was only the second period. The game wasn’t over. As fate would have it, he would redeem himself much later.

Ahead by a goal, the Isles looked for more. But after stopping Lee from distance, Shesterkin made a crucial save to deny Dobson point blank to get a stoppage. That was a big stop a few minutes into the second. The Rangers couldn’t afford to fall behind by two.

On a good rush by rookie Simon Holmstrom, the young forward passed up a wide open shot for a low percentage pass that went nowhere. This was a critical mistake. It allowed Barclay Goodrow to get the puck up for Julien Gauthier. He turned on the jets and beat Sorokin on a breakaway by going backhand five-hole to tie the game for the second time at 5:30.

Instead of possibly 3-1, it was 2-2. Goodrow had been shifted to the checking line. He made an impact. The lead pass for Gauthier’s fifth was only the beginning for the key forward who Gallant can trust anywhere in the lineup.

But before they could relax, the Islanders came right back. Following a Brock Nelson missed tip-in that went wide, they kept coming. With Kravtsov able to change late along with Zibanejad, Panarin got stuck out there. On some good sustained pressure down low, Barzal moved the puck up to Romanov for a shot that beat Shesterkin stick side at 8:45.

On the play, Braden Schneider accidentally screened his own goalie. That was enough for Romanov to get his first as an Islander to restore a one-goal lead. He was acquired in a three-team deal with Montreal and Chicago last summer. Kirby Dach went to the Canadiens. It’s worked out well for them. Romanov is starting to round into form for the Isles. That might explain the Blackhawks.

The period was already entertaining. There had been three goals. But it was frustrating from a Ranger perspective because their mistakes wound up in the back of the net. They had to come back and take this game.

It was the last one against their biggest rival thanks to the ridiculous NHL schedule. They’ll also be done with the Devils on January 7. Brilliant. It’s unbelievable how bad the league is when it comes to scheduling enough rivalry games. They care more about having our teams face non-Conference opponents twice and usually in short order. It’s a joke.

If you can’t have at least six games against your closest rivals, there’s something wrong. I suggest each division play each other six times. That’s not a lot. Seven opponents. That’s 42 games. It would put more of an emphasis on divisional play. Isn’t that what most fans want?

You don’t need to see Connor McDavid more than once. I’d also make the other division just a home and home. That’s 16 games. That would put the total at 58, leaving 24 for the West. You could still book two games for eight teams from the other conference.

Regardless of the scheduling issues that leave fans wanting more, the Blueshirts kept getting chances on Sorokin. Trailing by a goal for the third time, Trouba was stopped from distance. Chytil went wide with a shot in closer. A delay of game on Romanov handed them another five-on-four.

On it, the Islanders penalty kill was content to let the top unit move the puck around and take away the middle. This made it difficult for them to execute those East/West plays they prefer. Sorokin made his best save of the game by getting over to deny a Zibanejad slap shot from the left circle. A terrific sprawling stop. He’d also deny Zibanejad once more. That was it for the Rangers power play.

Shortly after it expired, Chytil was out when the whistle blew. The Rangers got caught with too many men for a bench minor with 4:16 left. This was a critical point. They needed a big penalty kill. Shesterkin came up with three saves shorthanded including a key one on Nelson. He’d also turn aside Oliver Wahlstrom late.

In between, both Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey created shorthanded opportunities. But a sharp Sorokin shut them down to keep his team in front. He made a dozen saves on 13 shots in a busy second. At that point, he’d outplayed his close friend Shesterkin, who had allowed three goals on 13 shots. But he did steady towards the conclusion.

Before the period concluded, the gritty Pageau made sure to catch Kravtsov with a good hit after a dump in. That’s how the game is played. At least Kravtsov absorbed it and was fine moving forward. He finished with 12:14 of ice time including 1:34 on PP2.

Down a goal to their bitter nemesis, the Rangers owed the Islanders a third period. The last time out, it was all Isles as they got three unanswered to prevail 4-3 in regulation. It was time for a role reversal.

As if it to confirm that, the checking line struck to tie the game for the third time at the three-minute mark of the third. On a Harpur pass down for Gauthier, he was able to get off an innocent looking wrist shot from the circle that changed direction off Goodrow by Sorokin to level it up again.

It definitely caught Sam Rosen by surprise. All it was was a simple play where Gauthier took the shot. Goodrow was in the right position on Robin Salo to have the puck go off him and in for his eighth with 17 minutes remaining. Goodrow can play anywhere and be effective. He has enough experience to understand how he’ll be used. He’s a winner. He’s quietly having a good season. Grit and intangibles matter.

A couple of shifts later, Trouba had an opening. After taking a Miller pass, he had room to shoot the puck. However, he thought it would get blocked. Instead, he went around the Islanders net for a tricky wrap-around that Sorokin kept out. That led to a stoppage. It was a good play by Trouba. His game has begun to steady lately. With Miller playing better, that’s a positive sign at the break.

On another shift, Miller got open, but had his shot go wide. A minute later, Romanov hooked just enough into Zibanejad at center ice to get called for a minor. He wasn’t happy. It was a bit tacky. But that’s how it’s called.

After a face-off loss to Pageau and clear from Isles defenseman Sebastian Aho (the other one), the Rangers quickly transitioned into the Islanders zone and got it set up. Yet another goalpost was struck. This time, Zibanejad had a ripper ring the goalpost. No team has had more shots draw iron. It’s insane.

They were able to get a couple of more shots. That included a nice pass in the middle for a Trocheck shot that Sorokin handled and covered up. Another good save. He’d also get a piece of a Lafreniere tip-in.

Following a Shesterkin overplay that resulted in a dangerous turnover, he had to scramble back and stop a long Aho try. He has a habit of over handling pucks. He’s still good at outlets. But sometimes gets overly aggressive.

With less than eight minutes left in a tie game, the Rangers got a bit sloppy. A turnover by Vesey almost cost them. Brock Nelson had a shot go off the crossbar. On the next shift, more scary play allowed Pageau to gain the zone and have a good wrist shot ring off the crossbar. It was the Isles turn to have tough puck luck.

That’s the kind of rivalry game it was. A bit of everything except a scrap. Vesey would get nailed from behind by an undisciplined Mayfield, who astonishingly protested the obvious cross-checking call.

But on their sixth power play, the Rangers couldn’t shoot straight. Panarin missed wide twice. Trouba also had a shot go over the top. He did get the one shot on net from distance that Sorokin handled. Penalty killed.

Just when it looked like the Islanders were out of trouble, K’Andre Miller made a brilliant play at the blue line. Stepping up at the right time, he somehow sent a brilliant pass across that found the stick of Kakko, who buried it for the game-winner with 2:47 remaining.

What a play and goal it was. Kakko’s ninth gave the Rangers their first lead. Judging by his emotional reaction, you could see how much it meant. It started out roughly for him. But the 2019 second pick has found his game. He’s got five goals and seven points in eight games. That’s exactly what they need from him.

Shesterkin was called upon to make one more key stop. He didn’t have many, but denied the sneaky Pageau on a backhand. The important aspect is he did make timely saves following the three he allowed.

With Sorokin off for a six-on-five, Trocheck showed his strength. After winning a big draw against Pageau, he took a Goodrow feed and warded off Barzal to send the puck into an open net with 1:32 left in regulation. That sealed it.

Despite centering the third line since Gallant made a switch, Trocheck has excelled. A solid three zone player, he’s up to six consecutive games with at least a point. Over that stretch, that includes four two-point games. He’s 3-7-10 over the last half dozen. He has 13 points (4-9-13) over the last nine during the same span where the team has won eight times. A winning formula.

Trocheck would also block a shot with the Isles looking to pull within one. He’s the kind of player you can trust late in games. A compliment for a guy who gets the jersey dirty. That’s why they signed him. It’s nice to see Vinny T working out.

This was a really good win. Not just because it was the Islanders. But it also came on the heels of a tough one-goal loss to the Pens. It was vital to rebound and go into the holiday break with eight wins over their last nine.

The division has tightened up. Especially with the Caps finding their game. They’ve been sparked by the brother of Ryan Lindgren. Charlie Lindgren is the one making the big saves with Darcy Kuemper out. He’s winning the games.

Congratulations to Alexander Ovechkin on making history by scoring twice during last night’s win over Winnipeg. He tied and passed the legendary Gordie Howe for second all-time with 802 goals. He now only trails Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history. Ironically, 92 behind. The unbreakable single season record the Great One once had for Edmonton.

With 22 goals so far and doing it with key players out, Ovechkin continues to amaze the hockey world. He truly is a blessing to a league that sometimes is too vanilla. A passionate superstar who plays with the enthusiasm of a kid, it’s astonishing how good Ovi still is. There’s a chance he could tie or break Gretzky’s league record of 894 goals sometime in ’22-23. If or when he does, it’ll be extraordinary.

It truly is great for hockey. Who ever would’ve thought the Great Eight would still be going strong all this time later. He’s been a breathtaking player since he entered the league in ’05-06. It’s astonishing what both Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are still doing. That they came in as back-to-back top picks remains unbelievable. Cherish them while we still can.

With it officially the break, get ready for the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships in Halifax and New Brunswick. Canada boasts a very strong squad featuring Shane Wright and future 2023 top pick Connor Bedard. He’s already wowing hockey fans with jaw dropping goals in tune-ups.

With USA being captained by Devils prospect Luke Hughes and Slovakia led by Simon Nemec, it promised to be a good tournament. I’ll try to have more on what to look for before it starts on Boxing Day.

To everyone. Wishing a Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!!!!! Stay warm.

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Another loss dampens the holiday mood in Newark

Posted on December 24, 2022 by hasan4978

The good news is at least our long six-game losing streak finally ended in Florida with an emotional win against a team still using a fluke injury as an excuse to play thuggish. Derek chronicled the rematch (and Florida shenanigans) well enough in the previous blog here so I won’t even get into that any more except to say breaking the slide against the Panthers was extra sweet, all things considered. Especially having to come back to do it. More than anything it was a relief though, with the home-and-home against the Bruins looming I knew we weren’t exactly out of the woods yet, especially with everyone else around us in the division on mini-heaters of their own.

Sure enough, we were in for more angst last night in an avoidable 4-3 loss. As has been the case a lot in recent years, goaltending (on both sides of the rink) was the story starting with Linus Ullmark continuing his ridiculous season in Boston with another gem of a performance, making 37 stops last night and arguably keeping the Bruins in the game when the Devils got off to a fast start. In the first period, the Devils outshot the NHL’s best team 11-5 with Jack Hughes opening the scoring on the power play, but despite that and another twelve shots in the second period they were unable to press their advantage. Ullmark made all sorts of ridiculous stops, from Miles Wood on a breakaway in the first period to Nico Hischier on a two-on-one early in the second, and so forth.

In fact, things quickly turned from sweet to sour in a second period where no fewer than four goals got past Mackenzie Blackwood. In fairness, it wasn’t all his fault…certainly not the first goal. In fact, the first goal you could probably put on stonehands Erik Haula. Bad enough he loses a faceoff to Patrice Bergeron in the defensive zone, that’s gonna happen against one of the best faceoff guys in the league. But to not even cover him and let him drift into the middle of the ice for a quick deflection goal to tie the game? Inexcusable. And Boston’s fourth goal in their second-period wave you can put straight on the shoulders of rookie defenseman Kevin Bahl, whose faulty clearing attempt led to a turnover right in the slot and another bang-bang goal (this time by Jake DeBrusk) that ended Bahl’s night. Even announcer Bill Spaulding basically called the benching right before the third period, alluding to ‘we’ll see how much time Bahl gets in the third after his turnover late in the second’.

Then we get to the middle two goals of the second period…goal number two was all on Blackwood, from his own faulty attempt at an outlet to failing to control a dribbler of a shot, somehow losing his stick in the process and then letting the rebound go five-hole for a David Pastrnak goal and a Bruins lead they’d never quite relinquish. Goal number three I’d probably slice up equally between Blackwood and a suddenly struggling Jonas Siegenthaler, with the latter inexcusably allowing Pastrnak to cut inside and have an open slot area, and the former allowing Pastrnak to beat him shortside blocker for his second goal of the game.

By the time the water receded, the Devils were down 4-1 and Blackwood had burned through any amount of goodwill he earned with his streak-busting performance in Florida. You can’t even attribute the four-goal period to having defensemen John Marino and Ryan Graves out of the lineup and playing two rookies in their place. Not when it’s the veterans making mistakes on three of the goals, and not when you win the territorial battle against a team that was an incredible 26-4-2 before last night’s game. Even Lindy Ruff sounded exacerbated by the goaltending in the postgame, maybe we’ve finally gotten to the place where Blackwood doesn’t have a long leash anymore.

Not that it seems like any of the goalies have a long leash at this point. Vitek Vanecek’s poor game in Carolina bought Blackwood a golden opportunity to reclaim his starting job straight off of IR, while Akira Schmid basically got numbers gamed back down to Utica despite his mostly strong play. Even if you want to say Vanecek’s recent slump was him regressing to the mean of him being an average goalie before this year, average still would have been more than good enough to win last night. Proof arriving in the third period when Vanecek did come in and allowed no more goals, while the Devils managed to finally put a couple past Ullmark – both on rebounds off deflected shots. Tomas Tatar’s putback gave the Devils a pulse with just under nine minutes left in the game, then Yegor Sharangovich’s rebound goal made it a game again at 13:47 of the third. Even against a good goalie like Ullmark, if you go to the front of the net and hunt for rebounds, eventually you’ll find a couple.

Still, the last ditch surge proved to be too little, too late when Ullmark shut the door again in the final minutes, and the Devils had yet another frustrating defeat to ruminate over – their seventh in eight games. Tatar summed up the frustration with last night’s loss (and some of the Devils’ recent play in general) pretty succinctly in the postgame.

New Jersey’s once-double digit lead in the Metro is long gone as the Hurricanes breezed past them right back into first place after Tuesday’s 4-1 shellacking in Carolina. Not that I ever really cared about the division, as we learned time and again when the Devils were consistently good seeding hardly matters once the playoffs begin. Our main goal is still just making sure we get to the playoffs at all. In a brutal division where the Islanders have 40 points in 35 games and are on the outside looking in, the Devils’ seemingly insurmountable playoff cushion after a 21-2-1 surge has shrunk to just six points over the Isles heading into Christmas.

On the one hand, at least we can be thankful that the Devils still have meaningful hockey at all heading into the New Year, which hasn’t been the case in the last four seasons – all of which the Devils were pretty well out of it by the calendar turn, with no sign at all of turning the bus around. On the other hand, if they somehow blow the playoffs this year, that’s actually worse in a way than the irrelevant seasons of the recent past. At some point this organization has to learn how to win, no more talk about how the next prospect in the draft will be the one to fix the problems, no more let’s just wait for these players to mature. They’ve already shown enough that the time should be now to take the next step, there’s no excuse left if they don’t.

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Tkachuk, Panthers pull bush league move on Hischier in loss to Devils

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Derek

On Wednesday night, the Devils faced off with the Panthers for the second time over five days. Unlike the 4-2 home defeat they suffered this past Saturday, the Devs rallied in the third period for a 4-2 victory at Florida.

That wasn’t the story of the rematch. It was during the first period of the game in Newark that Nico Hischier injured Aleksander Barkov during a face-off. The play in question was on a draw where he accidentally made contact with Barkov’s knee. The star center left the game and hasn’t returned to the lineup since.

If you look at the replay enough, there’s no intent. It’s during a battle for a face-off. The injury to Barkov was unfortunate. The contact is incidental. Of course, his teammates didn’t see it that way. Although nothing over the top materialized, they targeted Hischier for the remainder of the game.

With the teams facing each other once again last night, you knew things could get out of hand. Unlike the Panthers who boast some tough players including star power forward Matthew Tkachuk, the Devils aren’t fully equipped to get into a physical game. Their lack of grit has been exploited during the recent six-game losing streak.

They came in not scoring as much and allowing more goals against. For two periods, the Devils only got one shot past Sergei Bobrovsky. Jesper Bratt ended a six-game drought by scoring on the power play to even the score in the first period. It was an important goal after another poor start that saw five Devils skaters watch Eric Staal rebound a loose puck past Mackenzie Blackwood before five minutes expired.

Interestingly enough, there also was a fight prior to Bratt’s tying goal. After being high-sticked by Anton Lundell, Erik Haula didn’t take kindly to it. He went after Lundell. The two unlikely combatants squared off in what amounted to a wrestling match. It definitely was odd. But maybe provided a spark. Bratt converted his 11th from Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton five seconds later on the man-advantage.

For much of the first two periods, the offensive minded Cats controlled most of the action. They generated quite a few high danger scoring chances. With the Devils losing Ryan Graves early to a lower-body injury and playing without key defenseman John Marino, they gave the Panthers too much space. This led to some point blank opportunities for the home side.

Blackwood had just returned the other night. He replaced starter Vitek Vanecek during a 4-1 loss at Carolina. Making his first start since Nov. 3, he was up to the challenge. The injury prone 26-year old netminder made 34 saves on 36 shots. That included some gigantic ones including a key denial on a Sam Reinhart break-in. Without his strong goaltending, the Devils don’t come back.

They fell behind by a goal when Eetu Luostarinen took a nice Sam Bennett feed and beat Blackwood blocker side with 3:48 left in the second period. As previously mentioned, it could’ve been worse. Blackwood made 13 of 14 stops. In fact, 24 of his 34 saves came through two periods.

In the third, it was the Devils that took the game from the Panthers. Following a gigantic save by Blackwood on Ryan Lomberg, Bratt evened matters with his second of the game less than three minutes in on a Dougie Hamilton pass. He was able to find the short side on Bobrovsky.

Yegor Sharangovich put them ahead with under 10 minutes remaining when he neatly deflected home a Jonas Siegenthaler point shot. It was the first goal for the streaky goal scorer in 10 games. His last two came on Nov. 28 in a win over the Rangers.

As the game reached the final minute and a half, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for an extra attacker. Unable to find the equalizer, they turned their attention to Hischier.

Following some nice hustle from Tomas Tatar who sealed the win into an open net, Tkachuk went after Hischier. It got nasty as the stronger Tkachuk bullied Hischier, who had his back turned. A no-no in that situation.

After Tkachuk rag dolled Hischier, he was escorted off the ice for roughing and a misconduct. It was thuggish behavior by a star player who has a checkered past with Calgary. He will push the envelope and get away with stuff. It came off as bitter. There were also matching misconduct penalties on Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour and Damon Severson.

The Panthers have pulled this act before with the Lightning. The former two-time champs knew how to handle it. By getting the better of them in the playoffs. It’s bush league. What would you expect from a bunch of sore losers?

Vigilante justice isn’t always warranted. Hischier is a clean player. What happened with Barkov was unlucky. Hopefully, he can return soon for the Panthers. The third and final meeting isn’t until March 18 at Florida.

By then, who knows if it’ll even still be an issue. However, it might make sense for the Devils to toughen up their roster. The win yesterday was much needed. With back-to-back home games against the number one overall Bruins with the first one tomorrow before the holiday break, they definitely had to get a win. Especially in a Metro that’s heating up with the Hurricanes, Penguins and Rangers playing better. The Islanders and Capitals aren’t far behind.

The Devils are currently tied in points with the Canes. Each have 46. But the Devs have played one more game. It’ll be two games at hand after tonight with Carolina visiting Pittsburgh. They haven’t faced any adversity until now. With a tougher schedule to end the calendar year, we’ll see how they hold up.

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