Kreider’s exciting overtime goal allows Shesterkin to get shutout in a great goalie duel with Hart

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Derek
Best Buds: Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider celebrate Kreider’s overtime winner in an exciting Rangers 1-0 shutout win over the Flyers. AP Photo by New York Rangers via Getty Images

If you love goaltending, then tonight was your kind of hockey game. For over 64 minutes, nobody could score on either goalie. It was indeed an old fashioned goalie duel between Carter Hart and Igor Shesterkin at MSG.

For most of the game, it was the brilliant Hart who stole the show. Playing for John Tortorella’s Flyers, he stood on his head for long stretches.

That included a lopsided second period where the puck never seemed to leave the Flyers zone. It literally stuck to Rangers sticks where they pressed the attack after a ho-hum first that was sleep inducing.

Despite a huge edge in territorial play that produced 14 shots to just the Flyers’ four, they couldn’t solve Hart. If he wasn’t stopping everything sent his way, he had plenty of help from his best friend, the goalpost. The Rangers hit four posts during regulation. That included Chris Kreider having his shorthanded rush get denied by the clanking sound of the iron.

It also happened to Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, who played a very assertive game as did Kaapo Kakko. Neither had much puck luck with Hart, who was a brick wall until the final frantic minute of overtime.

In what probably felt like a well deserved reprieve for a player who’s been snake bit, Kreider got a do-over. On a Zibanejad pass forward that sent him in one-on-one with Hart for the game, Kreider scored the exciting overtime winner to send the Rangers to a much deserved 1-0 win over the Flyers.

As amazing as they were in controlling most of the play, they still needed two enormous saves late in regulation from Shesterkin to even reach overtime. Both times, he robbed Kevin Hayes. First with the glove and then by making a last ditch sprawling save to deny Hayes of a certain goal with 71 seconds left in the third period.

Even though he wasn’t too busy, you have to give Shesterkin plenty of credit for staying focused long enough to get the reward. When Kreider faked forehand and went backhand finally beating Hart with 53 seconds left, it gave Shesterkin his first shutout of the season. He only needed 19 saves to earn his ninth career shutout. He had six last season.

On his overtime heroics, Kreider told NY Post beat writer Mollie Walker, “Mika, I thought he was going to come with me, little panic set in when I saw he was just giving it to me and letting me take it.

Zibanejad playfully replied: “That’s pure trust right there.”

It made sense that Zibanejad was tired. It was the end of their shift. Kreider was behind all three Flyers skaters and had enough left to make a sweet move and deke to get his fourth of the season.

Entering the match off a successful 2-0 road trip with wins over Dallas and Arizona, the Rangers looked to keep it going against the surprising Flyers. Coached by Tortorella, who preaches team defense and could care less about analytics which have his team way down giving up the third most shots allowed in the league along with the third fewest shots for, they entered with a 5-2-1 record good for 11 points.

As long as Tortorella gets maximum effort from his players in all three zones, he doesn’t care. He even has offensive defenseman Tony DeAngelo buying in by blocking shots. He’s never been known for his defense. But throughout this game including an extended shift over two minutes for him and partner Ivan Provorov, he made subtle plays defensively.

At the start, there wasn’t a whole lot happening. You had the Rangers getting some shots from the outside. Hart made the saves on all nine he faced in what amounted to a mind-numbing period. The Flyers backed up and clogged the neutral zone and hardly gave up anything.

Lafreniere nearly had a cutting Adam Fox for what would’ve been an easy goal late in the first. But his pass didn’t work, hopping over Fox’s stick. Hart was out of position. Ironically, the closest call came when Ryan Lindgren bailed out an over committed Shesterkin on a wrap-around with a well timed block in front. Lindgren had a strong game.

Following a sleep inducing period where the shots favored the Rangers 9-7, they really turned up the heat in the second. From the very first shift, Hart had to contend with a Miller wrist shot and then deny a tricky Kakko backhand in tight.

That set the tone. The ice would be tilted for almost the rest of the period. It included Lafreniere getting a takeaway and missing a deflection wide. Quite a few Blueshirts missed the net. They couldn’t shoot straight. If they had, they might’ve reached double the 14 shots they were credited with.

“Shot wide,” seemed to be the theme as called by Sam Rosen. Part of it was how the Flyers defended. They went into a cocoon, taking away most of the inside. Lafreniere would get another good chance in front, but sent a backhand wide. It was frustrating.

Despite all the dominance, Scott Laughton came on a counter due to a Julien Gauthier turnover. Owen Tippett sent him the other way. But his wrist shot was easily handled by Shesterkin, whose net must’ve sounded like a library. All the action was at Hart’s end.

An attacking Kakko drew a tripping minor on Wade Allison. The top unit did everything but score. Both Zibanejad and Kreider were denied twice with Hart getting across to stop the heavy one-timer from Zibanejad. He would also deny a Kreider tip-in.

By the time the second unit came on, there was barely any time left to do anything. That remains a gripe for me. I think you need two units to be successful in the playoffs. As lethal as the top unit is, they can’t always do it. Especially when they over pass and become predictable.

Sometimes, Gerard Gallant has to trust the second unit. Maybe whenever Filip Chytil is cleared, that finally happens. I’m tired of seeing Lafreniere and Kakko get the leftover crumbs. That philosophy has hurt both production wise. At least they’re each playing in the top six and creating opportunities.

At the halfway mark, you had the Rangers all over the Flyers. For two minutes, they had puck possession. The Flyers couldn’t clear the puck. They hardly had it. All period, they kept forechecking. But Hart kept stopping the puck as if he were a programmed robot. It felt like he was a cyborg from The Terminator. Or the T 1000.

While DeAngelo and Provorov were stuck out for a long shift, the Rangers even changed players. The closest they came was when Zibanejad rang one off the far goalpost on a nice set up from Kakko. K’Andre Miller then fired wide on a follow-up. A bit later, Lafreniere had another tip-in miss.

The only momentum for the Flyers came when Artemi Panarin knocked former Ranger Justin Braun’s helmet off in the offensive zone for roughing. A ridiculous penalty. He takes some bad ones despite not being penalized much.

Instead of doing something on the power play, the Flyers proceeded to lose the puck at the point. Following a desperation DeAngelo keep on a dive when he wasn’t getting booed, Lindgren sent Kreider alone for a shorthanded breakaway. He made the right play, but had his wrist shot go off the goalpost.

The penalty kill continued to create the better chances. Hart made a shorthanded save on a Miller bid from distance. Back at full strength, the Blueshirts continued to search for a way to beat Hart. He came up with a tough stop on a tricky Zibanejad deflection.

Frustration started to boil over late in the period. During an active shift, Lafreniere exchanged slashes with Provorov which got the crowd going. He would later get into it with former Islander Kieffer Bellows during a scrum. You also had Travis Konecny exchange pleasantries later on with Jacob Trouba. He’s feisty.

As the period concluded, a huge scrum behind the Rangers net ensued. All ten skaters were involved. You had Gauthier taking up for Fox and an incensed Lindgren going after Konecny and Kevin Hayes. Lindgren got the extra minor to put the Flyers on the power play to begin the third.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1587604089055186945?t=wGL0_HcAnzojVt0IhBu68Q&s=19

To their credit, the penalty kill came through to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard. Shesterkin only had to make two saves including a tough one on a low DeAngelo shot with traffic. Braden Schneider took care of the man in front and cleared the puck.

Not long after, this time Braun took down Trocheck to go to the box. Trocheck got the best chance early into the power play. But on a perfect Kreider centering feed, he sent a one-timer high and wide. It was ridiculous. Thirteen feet out and he can’t hit the net. Is he suffering from Ryan Strome syndrome? Just checking.

A bit later, it was actually Lafreniere who got a great opportunity with the second unit. But his backhand hit the post. The fourth such instance that happened. Puck luck was on Hart’s side.

During a stoppage, the Garden cheered when they showed Giants head coach Brian Daboll on the video board seated next to GM Joe Schoen. They deserved it. Nobody had the Giants 6-2 at basically the halfway point.

One of the only things that bothered me was Panarin’s predictability. He doesn’t shoot the puck enough. When he at least looks shot, it can open up the lanes for his East/West passes. The Flyers got their sticks on an awful lot of them. That’s how this team plays. They could easily have had 50 shots on Hart. Maybe they win in regulation.

With time winding down, DeAngelo accidentally cleared a puck just over the glass. After a conference, the on ice officials made the proper call for delay of game. Finally, Panarin shot and Hart made a good save to stop him. Panarin also had another attempt blocked.

During the five-on-four, it sure looked like a Flyer cleared another puck straight out. They batted it. But they thought it made contact with a Ranger. Instead of a possible five-on-three, the Rangers couldn’t muster anything else.

Right after, Trouba turned the puck over at the Flyers blue line. Here came Hayes the other way. But his shot was denied by the quick glove of Shesterkin with 2:27 left. A huge save that bailed Trouba out. He’s definitely struggling. The captain has to cut out the mistakes.

On an even more dangerous chance created by a Tippett steal, Hayes had the game on his stick. With Shesterkin down, it looked like he’d score. But at the last moment, Shesterkin managed to rob Hayes on a backhand that would’ve made it 1-0 with 1:11 remaining. That save allowed the Rangers to reach overtime.

During the three-on-three, it was all Blueshirts. Despite some good chances to end it, Hart kept making saves. He denied a Miller bid in tight and padded away a tough Kakko shot. It really felt like both goalies would share a shutout with it going to the shootout.

But on a Konecny miss, he got trapped along with Hayes and Provorov. Zibanejad simply pushed the puck ahead at center ice for Kreider to skate into. He did the rest to send the Rangers home winners. In doing so, that’s three in a row. That’s a winning streak. It has happened before. That line will never get old.

While the media gave the third star to Hart which was ridiculous, I had him the game’s first star. He made 35 saves. So, here were my three stars. Same players. Just a different order.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1587621232152875009?t=2GRUeUGrmYRG_nEJwZhCgQ&s=19

Up next are the unbelievable Bruins. How good are they? They fell behind the Pens 5-2 before coming all the way back to win 6-5 in OT at Pittsburgh. They really have it all going. David Pastrnak is on fire now. Taylor Hall is scoring again.

So is Jake DeBrusk, who once wanted out. Even Pavel Zacha is contributing. Hampus Lindholm had four points including the winner last night. Even without Charlie McAvoy, they’re winning. Brad Marchand also returned early and hasn’t missed a beat.

They will be a handful on Thursday night at MSG. A 7:30 PM start time on ESPN Plus. If it’s not on TV, I’ll just tune in on ESPN Radio. There is no more way to stream games without getting the ESPN Plus app. Oh well. Either way, we’ll see how it goes.

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Solving the five-on-five issue

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Derek

Coming off a good weekend with consecutive wins over the Stars and Coyotes on the road, the Rangers are feeling better about themselves. They enter tonight’s match versus the Flyers at MSG with renewed confidence.

Even though he hasn’t been able to match his remarkable play from last season, Igor Shesterkin is 5-0-2 in seven starts. That means he’s largely responsible for the 12 points the Blueshirts currently have. They have yet to post a win or even a point in Jaro Halak’s three starts.

Playing for the third time in four days, it would seem that Gerard Gallant should stick with Shesterkin. He was pretty good against Dallas and Arizona, stopping 48 of 53 shots. The 26-year old Russian netminder has a 2.55 GAA and .913 save percentage. Riding him against the division rival Flyers and old nemesis Boston makes sense. Neither is a back-to-back.

While the play of last year’s Vezina winner has been satisfactory, it’s been the hot start by Artemi Panarin that has provided much of the offense. Buoyed by a three-point game to become just the third Ranger to record three points on a birthday, the just turned 31-year old leads the team in scoring with 16 points (5-11-16).

Half that production has come on the power play. He’s 1-7-8 on the man-advantage and 4-4-8 at even strength. The second line which comprises new center Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere playing the off wing have been the team’s best at five-on-five so far. Of his nine points, six have come at even strength for Trocheck. All five of Lafreniere’s points are even strength.

However, that scoring line has also been caught on the ice for several goals against. Astonishingly, Panarin and Trocheck are minus players despite good starts. Lafreniere is even. Attention to detail remains an area that can improve. They aren’t the only players who’ve been guilty of not back checking.

By now, we know how lethal Mika Zibanejad can be on the power play. Possessing a lightning quick one-timer from the left circle, he can get it off at warp speed. Since starting the season with a beautiful shorthanded goal against the Lightning, his other five goals have come on the power play. In fact, eight of a dozen points are via the five-on-four.

While that’s great production, it also means that Zibanejad isn’t getting it done at even strength. With no goals and three assists through 10 games, that’s an area he must pick up. Sidekick Chris Kreider is 2-1-3 at even strength and 1-3-4 on the power play. Kaapo Kakko has scored both his goals at even strength and added a helper. He plays on the little used second power play unit.

If they’re to be successful, the Rangers need more production at five-on-five. Even though they’ve improved due to better face-offs leading to more puck possession, they haven’t been consistent. Over half of their 21 goals at five-on-five have come in wins over the Wild, Ducks and Stars. They totaled 19 goals in the three wins. One goal came during four-on-four and another on a six-on-five situation during a delayed call.

The Blueshirts have converted nine times out of 38 on the power play for 23.7 percent. Half a dozen came in the three victories mentioned above. Mika Zibanejad got the game decider on a five-on-four advantage in the one-goal win over the Coyotes.

Of the seven defensemen who’ve played including third pair sub Libor Hajek, who’s gotten into three games for rookie Zac Jones, it’s been the second pair of K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba who have struggled the most. Each have been caught on for 11 goals against at even strength.

A key defensive tandem Gallant relies on for match-ups, both Miller and Trouba have had issues over the first ten games. Miller has been pushed off the puck behind his net and been caught out of position, leading to either goals against or penalties taken. Trouba also has had trouble getting caught on pinches and not being where he should be on several goals.

While that has also been an early issue for Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox on the top pair, they have been steadier than Miller and Trouba. When there are glaring mistakes from the top four Gallant leans on while limiting five-on-five minutes for his third pair (Jones/Hajek-Schneider), it’s been noticeable.

If there is an area they want to tighten up, it would be the back checking of the forwards. Whether it’s been the second line caught puck watching or flying the zone, or players not coming back in time to help out the defense, those are lapses that can be corrected. Hopefully, they can improve their coverage with the Flyers visiting later followed by the surprising first overall Bruins on Thursday. Discipline will be a key to success.

Of the 21 goals scored at even strength, the bottom six have chipped in half a dozen including one from former Ranger Dryden Hunt. Barclay Goodrow and the still missing Filip Chytil each have scored twice. It’s the latter who’s missed due to his straightforward approach where he can combine his speed and skill with the willingness to work below the dots.

Somewhat curiously, Adam Fox has seven even strength points (2-5-7) while only registering two power play points (assists). But his work on the point is pivotal to the man-advantage. It just so happens that most of the power play goals have involved the forwards with Zibanejad and Panarin leading the way with eight power play points.

The Rangers are tied for 17th in penalty killing. Despite not taking many penalties, they’re 23 for 29 (79.3 percent). They’ve allowed three power play goals each at home and on the road. Zibanejad has the only shorthanded goal getting it back in the first game versus the Lightning.

The power play is ranked 12th due to being contingent on the five-man top unit that features Fox, Panarin, Zibanejad, Trocheck and Kreider. They’ve given up a shorthanded goal.

The second unit isn’t used enough to make a dent. When Chytil returns, does that change? They’ll then have the Kid Line intact with likely Jones and Trouba manning the points. Although the idea of utilizing Vitaly Kravtsov (whenever he’s cleared) would make for a more interesting second unit without Trouba, who should be used primarily for five-on-five and penalty kill.

If you look closely at the current third and fourth lines, only Goodrow and recent Hartfield call-up Julien Gauthier have scored goals. At least Sammy Blais has tallied a couple of helpers recently to provide some offense. There isn’t much offense coming from Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Carpenter and Ryan Reaves. Of the three, Vesey is the most capable. He set up a Fox goal for his one point.

If they’re hoping for help eventually, Will Cuylle is off to a good start with the Wolf Pack. In six contests, he has two goals and two assists. Jonny Brodzinski leads the Pack with six points (2-4-6). Defenseman Matthew Robertson has four assists.

In case you’re already concerned about Halak, first-year pro Dylan Garand has posted a 2.68 GAA and .911 save percentage in three games. Journeyman Louis Domingue is 2.92 and .908 in his three appearances.

The real solution to possibly solving the lack of scoring depth is top prospect Brennan Othmann. The 19-year old former 2021 first round pick was just named OHL Player of the Month. He became the first Flint Firebird to ever receive the honor.

In October, Othmann posted 10 goals with 13 assists totaling 23 points to rank second in OHL scoring. His 10 goals ranked first along with 67 shots on goal. He recently became only the fourth player in Firebirds’ history to record his 150th career point. He set a Flint record in ’21-22 with 50 goals and 97 points. He led them to their first ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals.

Othmann will turn 20 next January 5. He won’t be eligible to play professionally until the Firebirds’ season concludes. He’s a left wing. Given that they’ve managed to play Lafreniere out of position on his off wing, what will be the plan once Othmann arrives? Let’s not worry about it right now.

The Flyers game is a 7 EST start. The Bruins game is 7:30 PM. Another ESPN Plus exclusive. I guess I won’t be able to watch since I don’t subscribe. It could be a radio night. They’ll have Friday and Saturday off before the Red Wings visit for one of those perplexing 5 PM games on football Sunday. At least the Giants are off.

Then, the Islanders visit on Election Day. So, that means the best rivalry will have already completed two of their three games before Thanksgiving. Good job NHL schedule makers. The balanced schedule is a disaster. Calgary and Edmonton have already played twice. They have one left. De-emphasizing rivalries makes no sense. Larry Brooks had a column on it, basically borrowing my six-games per division opponent idea that I’ve suggested repeatedly.

That’s gonna do it for now. Back later.

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College atmosphere excites players in Rangers win over Coyotes at Arizona State

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Derek

For one night at least, hockey was played on a college campus. The Rangers enjoyed this unique experience while defeating the Coyotes 3-2 at Mullett Arena on the Arizona State campus.

For the Coyotes, who hope to get a new arena approved in Tempe, it was the second home game at the college venue. They held their home opener on Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets.

A game that included franchise great Shane Doan dropping the ceremonial first puck with son Josh Doan taking part. The Arizona second round pick plays for the Sun Devils in his sophomore year. The elder Doan played for both the original Jets and Coyotes after Winnipeg left for Phoenix in ’96-97.

With only approximately 5,000 seats for fans who attended last night’s NHL game, you had plenty of energy from the crowd. It’s an atmosphere that’s unique due to it having a college environment. For former NCAA players who played in college arenas, they enjoyed the experience. It’s not every day you can go back to school while cashing an NHL check.

“I mean, it had to be 70-30 Rangers fans, right?” K’Andre Miller told NY Post beat writer Mollie Walker after Mika Zibanejad connected on the power play for the game-winner with 7:04 left in the third period. “That’s pretty much a home game.” 

He was right. There were plenty of fans who showed up in Rangers jerseys who made plenty of noise with “Let’s Go Rangers” chants and even “Potvin Sucks” chants. You also had the Arizona State marching band playing during the game. So, you’d hear cool drum beats which allowed for dueling chants in support of both teams. Yes. The Coyotes had their fans too who lent support on All Hallows Eve.

Overall, 4,600 was the paid attendance for the second game at Mullett Arena. In the hyped up season opener against the new Winnipeg franchise, mullets were handed out to fans making it look like a game from the 80’s and 90’s. For the second game, there was more of a Halloween feel with people dressed up in costumes. You even had the mascot decked out in all orange covered up.

Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti got a kick out of it. The MSG broadcast was done remotely from the studio at The Garden. The second straight road game Sam and Joe called the action back home. It’s disappointing that they didn’t make the trip for Dallas and Arizona State even though the latter would’ve probably been a bit challenging to call. The Covid Error has cheapened production.

Most importantly, the Rangers came out with the two points against a subpar Coyotes team that gave an honest effort. They just aren’t too good. However, they came back from a one-goal deficit to grab a 2-1 lead in a busy second period that was highlighted by each team scoring twice.

Despite holding an edge in play during the first period where they out-shot the Coyotes 15-7, the Rangers were unable to get one past former Nashville backup goalie Connor Ingram. Not exactly a household name, he gave a good account of himself in getting the start over Karel Vejmelka. Ingram stopped 36 of 39 shots.

During the first period, it was mostly the cohesive second line of birthday boy Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere that generated offense. They were on the puck a lot and had opportunities to score. In particular, Trocheck was busy totaling eight shots for the game. He was all over the ice throughout.

The Rangers also turned it up on their first power play. With Liam O’Brien off for cross-checking Zibanejad, the vaunted top unit had their chances. Ingram denied Trocheck, Zibanejad and Chris Kreider with his team down a man. He made a fifth save on Jacob Trouba after the power play expired. The second unit came on late.

In a rarity which was the right call by coach Gerard Gallant, he went back to Igor Shesterkin for a second straight game. It marked only the second time in his career that he started both games of a back-to-back. He held up well finishing with 18 saves on 20 shots. A marked difference from facing 33 shots and making 30 stops in a 6-3 win at Dallas.

Even though it’s early in the schedule, it’s time to get Shesterkin into a rhythm. Gallant didn’t give the rating Vezina winner a day off in favor of veteran backup Jaro Halak. It made sense to get Shesterkin his seventh start in the first 10 games. They wanted to sweep the two-game road trip before coming home to host the surprising Flyers tomorrow night.

Although he wasn’t too busy, Shesterkin still made some key stops. He even had to make a pair of saves early on against former Ranger Patrik Nemeth. One of his best came when he denied Zack Kassian on a Coyote flury later in the contest. They played better in the second period.

A better face-off team thanks to the addition of Trocheck, who’s been an upgrade over Ryan Strome, the Blueshirts are faring better on draws. They went 31-and-26 for the night. Zibanejad was their best going 12-and-5. Barclay Goodrow was 6-and-4. Trocheck finished 6-and-7. Former Arizona first round pick Barrett Hayton dominated by winning 10-of-12. He hit a goalpost in the first period.

Following a scoreless first, the Rangers struck for the game’s first goal. On a good shift from Panarin, he was on the puck. Circling around, he finally found a sneaking Lafreniere at the side of the net for a tip-in to make it 1-0 at 1:31. It snapped a five-game goal drought. Lafreniere has points in his last two games. He’s 2-3-5 in 10 games. Hopefully, the good weekend will get him going.

Leading by a goal, Panarin was over aggressive on a forecheck by taking a hooking minor on Troy Stecher in the offensive zone. The Coyotes made him pay. On a good passing play started by Matias Maccelli, he moved the puck down low for rookie Dylan Guenther. Guenther then centered in the slot for a Lawson Crouse one-timer past the glove of Shesterkin to even the score at 6:45. The goal wad the first Arizona shot of the period.

Buoyed by the power play goal, the Coyotes played more aggressive hockey. Nick Bjugstad just missed on a tip-in. Kassian had a shot blocked by Zac Jones. Nick Ritchie was stopped by Shesterkin.

Following a big save by Ingram to rob Trocheck off a quick transition, it was Bjugstad who skated the other way into the Rangers zone and got a tricky shot on Shesterkin that he couldn’t handle. The rebound was missed by Ryan Lindgren, who fumbled it. That allowed Bjugstad to grab the rebound and flip a backhand past Shesterkin to put the Coyotes ahead at 11:27.

Clayton Keller and Guenther picked up the assists. For Guenther, it gave him two helpers for the game. It was his first career two-point game. A ninth overall pick in the 2021 Draft, the 19-year old is up to five points in his first seven games.

After falling behind, the Rangers picked up the hitting. Back in the lineup due to the possible concussion Vitaly Kravtsov suffered despite the ridiculous organization’s dishonesty (hello Filip Chytil), Ryan Reaves had a couple of good hits during an active shift. So did Sammy Blais. He’s playing on the checking line with Ryan Carpenter and Reaves.

The third line featured Saturday’s unlikely hero Julien Gauthier with Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey. They were okay. Goodrow and Gauthier had chances with the latter using his speed to get in and force Ingram to make a tough save. You know what you’ll get from Gauthier, who hustles and plays the game hard.

On a good opportunity for Kreider in front, he passed instead over for a Kaapo Kakko one-timer that Ingram got over and kicked away. I would’ve preferred Kreider take the backhand shot. It was directly in front. Those East/West plays allow goalies to recover. They anticipate the extra pass.

After Trocheck was denied from in tight, Shesterkin came up with two big saves on Hayton. The play in the second was back and forth. Shots favored the Rangers 12-10. Shesterkin also stopped the dangerous Shayne Gostisbehere. The ghost still is a viable threat. He entered the game as the leading scorer of the ‘Yotes with eight points (4-4-8).

Following another good stop from Ingram on Trocheck, who couldn’t score despite having the most opportunities, Adam Fox made a terrific stretch pass to Panarin, who had a step on Gostisbehere. Able to ward off Gostisbehere, he fired a good shot that beat Ingram short side inside the near post. That tied the score with 1:53 left. It was his fifth. A nice birthday present for the just turned 31-year old Russian.

That was a big goal. It allowed the Rangers to go back to the smaller locker room tied. Just from a momentum standpoint, it was important. Ingram had played well. Panarin was able to sneak one by with little wiggle room.

The Rangers controlled the third period. With the exception of an early opportunity for Kassian, who Shesterkin stopped, it was the road team in the traditional white, red and blue jerseys who took over.

They forced Ingram into some tough saves. That included a Gauthier rush and stuff in try where Ingram held the near post to get a stoppage. He would later deny a Miller backhand and stop Kakko.

A close call came when Ingram thought he had a Fox shot covered. With none of the other skaters and goalie realizing the puck was still loose, Fox raced to it and just missed putting the Rangers ahead. It was that close.

Ultimately, Jones drew a hooking minor on Guenther that sent the Rangers to the power play. It took only 27 seconds for them to go ahead for good.

On just a great misdirection play, Kreider took a Panarin feed in front and tipped a no look pass over for a wicked Zibanejad one-timer that found twine for his sixth with 7:04 remaining in regulation. Normally, Kreider would try for the tip-in. But this time, he made a slick play to make the misdirection pass for the easy Zibanejad finish. He now has five power play goals. Is he in line for a similar season as Kreider last year?

Kreider would come close to scoring in a second straight game. But Ingram made the stop to keep the Coyotes within one. Although he isn’t scoring as much, he does have four assists to go with three goals for seven points in 10 games. Sooner or later, the goals will come. He continues to work hard in front.

With over four minutes left, Shesterkin made his last save when he denied Crouse. On the next shift, Kreider used his strength and speed to draw a minor penalty on Travis Boyd for interference with 3:29 to go.

Although they didn’t score, two minutes elapsed leaving very little time for the Coyotes to pull Ingram. He didn’t come off until there were 51 seconds left. Arizona never got any chances.

On a good defensive play, Kreider took a crack at the empty net. He narrowly missed. The final seconds wound down allowing the Rangers to win their second in a row to sweep the weekend away from NYC.

It was a good recovery after their slump. They took care of business. Up next are the Flyers. They’re winning games under old friend John Tortorella. It’s mostly due to Carter Hart. He is standing on his head. The Flyers give up a lot of shots. It’ll be interesting tomorrow night.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Dylan Guenther ARZ 2 assists for 1st career 2-point game

2nd 🌟 🤩 Mika Zibanejad NYR game-winning PPG (6th goal)

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Artemi Panarin NYR goal (5) plus 2 🍎 for 3-point game on birthday

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Gauthier and Jones spark Rangers in big win over Stars to end winless streak, Miller struggles continue, Kravtsov suffers possible concussion

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Derek

It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t have to be. The most important takeaway from today’s matinee in Dallas is that the Rangers ended their winless streak at four by defeating the Stars 6-3 before 18,532 at American Airlines Center.

They took advantage of Jake Oettinger exiting the game with the score even at two in the second period. The Rangers would beat Dallas backup Scott Wedgewood four times on 17 shots over the remainder to post an important win on the road.

It stopped an 0-2-2 stretch where they’d only scored five goals with three losses coming at home. Plus the recent shutout at their home away from home at UBS Arena. Unlike those games, they rediscovered their offense by scoring half a dozen including going 2-for-5 on the power play. A big improvement.

There are many positives to take out of this game. Chris Kreider snapped a six-game scoring drought by getting his third of the season. He also helped set up a goal on the power play for sidekick Mika Zibanejad, who also erased a four-game slide without a point by finishing with a goal and two assists. It was much needed for both.

Zac Jones scored his first career NHL goal to break a 3-3 tie with under nine minutes remaining in regulation. He would add a helper 19 seconds later on a Julien Gauthier goal that sparked the team to three straight goals in 2:07. It was the first two-point game for Jones, who was moved up to the second pair with Jacob Trouba during the crucial third period by Gerard Gallant.

Playing his second game of the season, Gauthier finally got rewarded for his hustle by helping keep a loose puck alive that led to Jones’ game-winner. He then followed it up with a great individual effort by getting to a Sammy Blais flip pass and beating Wedgewood to put the puck into an empty net to make it 5-3. That’s huge for his confidence and hopefully will lead to more offense.

Vincent Trocheck scored twice and added an assist for a three-point game. His second goal came on a delayed call when Alexis Lafreniere and Zibanejad combined to get the puck across for a one-timer into an open side during a six-on-five situation. It was a beautiful play with Zibanejad one-touching the Lafreniere pass over for an open Trocheck for the third consecutive goal that put it away.

Igor Shesterkin returned to the net after getting the Islanders game off. He was solid throughout making 30 saves on 33 shots. The only hiccup was allowing top Stars finisher Jason Robertson to beat him through the pads off a face-off that tied the game at three late in the second.

There were a couple of negatives that came out of the game. K’Andre Miller continued to struggle. He was on for three more goals against with Trouba. While you couldn’t pinpoint two of the goals on him per se, he didn’t pick up Mason Marchment on the game’s first goal scored 1:09 into the game. Eventually, Miller was demoted by Gallant to the third pair where he finished up playing with Braden Schneider.

The other concern is yet another injury to Vitaly Kravtsov. Cleared to return from whatever was ailing him, he played sparingly on the fourth line in place of Ryan Reaves. However, it was on a shift during the second period that he got injured. Going for a puck in the corner which was due to hustle, Kravtsov was leveled by big physical defenseman Jani Hakanpaa- sending him down to the ice.

Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay rushed out on the ice to tend to Kravtsov. He eventually got up, but limped off the ice to the locker room. Considering that his head was exposed, it hit hard on the boards by Hakanpaa, whose hit was clean. It was an unfortunate play. There was no update on Kravtsov’s status.

Obviously, it’s another “upper-body” injury. Similar to Filip Chytil, who didn’t make the trip after leaving practice early yesterday, it’s not hard to imagine that Kravtsov suffered a possible concussion. Although the team keeps such information private, we pretty much know that Chytil has one. If we don’t see Kravtsov for a while, one can assume that it’s likely due to a head injury.

So far, his return has been nothing but bad luck. An iffy hit by Victor Hedman in the season opener against Tampa Bay ended his night early. He missed over a week before coming back to play against Columbus and Colorado. Kravtsov took a hit during a shift in the third period and didn’t finish Tuesday’s game. He sat out versus the Islanders. Now, another injury which looks serious. He must feel jinxed.

I hope he won’t be out too long. The health of a player is always important. Especially when it involves hits like the one Hakanpaa delivered during a puck battle. It happens. Hockey is a tough sport. It isn’t always a dirty play that causes serious injuries. Ask Marc Staal, who was concussed by older brother Eric during a game. He missed significant time.

Aside from the Kravtsov injury, it was nice to see the Rangers light the lamp half a dozen times against a good team. A good response to the 3-0 shutout despite getting 41 shots on Ilya Sorokin. They definitely benefitted from Wedgewood replacing Oettinger, who left with an unknown injury. The Stars also were without top defenseman Miro Heiskanen.

It doesn’t matter. You still have to go out and play the game. The bottom line is they took care of business. It was crucial to get back in the win column. Especially when you look at how tight the Metro Division is. The noticeable improvement of the Devils and Flyers not withstanding. After visiting Arizona State tomorrow night to face the Coyotes at Mullett Arena, the Rangers will see those John Tortorella Flyers on Tuesday.

The start of the game wasn’t exactly what you want to see. On a Stars offensive shift, the second line lost a board battle along the wall. Even worse, they all flew the zone leaving Trouba and Miller by themselves. That allowed Marchment to receive a Tyler Seguin pass and beat Shesterkin with Miller lost in coverage.

However, the Rangers were able to draw even. On a good low shot from Schneider, the puck took a bounce off Nils Lundkvist to Kakko, who had it come right to Kreider for an easy finish at 8:41.

Ironic that it was Lundkvist since he was facing the Rangers for the first time as a Star. He played over 20 minutes and had three shots in the game. He also took a penalty and drew one in the first period.

With the game still tied, Stars forward Ty Dellandrea purposely skated through the crease and tripped Shesterkin down to the ice with 18 seconds left. He had to be tended to. Fortunately, he was okay to continue. The Rangers were incensed. Of all people, Artemi Panarin went after Dellandrea leading to matching roughing minors. Dellandrea received the extra two for the original.

With the power play carrying over to the second period, they made Dellandrea pay for his cheap play. After Kakko hustled to keep the puck alive, Adam Fox moved it down for Zibanejad who sent it across for a Trocheck one-timer past Oettinger 59 seconds into the period.

But the lead was short-lived. The Stars came right back 29 seconds later with Roope Hintz able to get to a rebound off a Joe Pavelski tip to beat Shesterkin. On the play, the Stars were able to win the battle along the boards to get the puck up top for Robertson. Trouba, who lost a battle to Pavelski then was too late to pick up Hintz, who tied the game at 1:28.

In a recurring theme, the Rangers kept going after Dellandrea. They wanted to get the message across loud and clear. Shesterkin is off limits. Trocheck and Dellandrea got into it for matching roughs. Kreider especially let him know about it throughout the game. Exactly what you love to see.

Another Stars penalty allowed the Rangers to go back to work on the five-on-four. This time, it was Zibanejad who was able to redirect a Panarin feed past Wedgewood to give the Rangers another lead with 5:42 remaining. Kreider won the draw and then Panarin found open space to pass in front for a neat Zibanejad tip-in.

But late in the period, Robertson struck to score unassisted off an offensive draw. With a little bit of a mix-up in coverage due to a loose puck, he took advantage to snap a wrist shot underneath Shesterkin at 18:46 to send the game to the locker room tied at three.

The third was played mostly at five-on-five. Although the shots favored Dallas 8-7, it was the Rangers who made the big plays to win the game.

On a forecheck, Gauthier raced to keep a puck alive. That allowed Trocheck to find an open Jones at the point for a good shot that beat Wedgewood to break the tie score with 8:42 left. That gave him goal number one in the NHL. Congrats to Zac.

With the crowd still buzzing, Jones got the puck to Blais, who tried one of those lob passes. It worked. With Wedgewood aggressively coming way out of his crease, he was beaten to the loose puck by a flying Gauthier who then went around and put a good shot into the empty net for his first of the season to suddenly make it 5-3.

We’ve seen Gauthier miss those chances plenty of times. Or go wide. This time, he was able to score to make it two straight goals in 19 seconds. It stunned the crowd.

On a strong offensive shift, they drew a delayed penalty on the Stars. However, being the patient puck possession team they are, they kept moving it around. On a quick reset, Panarin made a nice play at the Dallas blue line to get onside and slip the puck ahead for Lafreniere.

He then passed in front for Zibanejad. Instead of shooting it, he redirected a nice pass for Trocheck to bury for the second of the game at 13:25. That finished it off.

After killing a Blais penalty, Barclay Goodrow decided to knock down easy target Dellandrea with under a minute left to go off for roughing. It didn’t matter. The game was over. It was the right time to get an extra shot on Dellandrea for his shenanigans.

Next up are the Coyotes. They played their first home game Friday night on the campus of Arizona State at Mullett Arena. In a nice touch, they had franchise great Shane Doan at center ice with son Josh Doan, who is a Sun Devil the Coyotes drafted. The elder Doan dropped the ceremonial first puck before face-off against the Winnipeg Jets.

Whatever your feelings are towards the ‘Yotes playing their games at Arizona State with a cap of 5,000 seats, it definitely is a unique situation. They’ll have a college environment at home. Something you don’t see in the NHL. It actually could be better than what existed at the old arena where there were many empty seats.

Is it ideal? No. But that’s what’s happening. Commissioner Gary Bettman refuses to relocate the Coyotes. The hope is they’ll get a brand new arena built that will keep them in the Desert. That’s supposed to happen. It must for there to finally be financial stability.

The Rangers and Coyotes will face-off at 8 EST tomorrow night. Arizona might not possess much talent. But they do work hard. So, the Blueshirts can’t take them lightly. Will Turk give Shesterkin a back-to-back? I would. But it’s his decision.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Vincent Trocheck NYR 2 goals (3rd, 4th) plus 🍎, 9-5 on draws, +1 in 20:40

2nd 🌟 🤩 Julien Gauthier NYR 1st goal of season plus 🍎, +1 in 10:45

1st 🌟 🤩 ⭐️ Zac Jones NYR 1st career NHL goal and 🍎, +3 in 15:38

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Statement win for Devils and Vanecek against Colorado

Posted on October 28, 2022 by hasan4978

If you’d told me a couple weeks ago as the Devils were sitting at 0-2 that they would win five out of their next six and improve to 5-3 I would have laughed at the absurdity. Even now I’m still a bit shaky in terms of my belief in this team, in part because I’m still 0-2 in attended games (missed tonight’s game due to car issues after being on the IL for last week’s two home wins) and in part because let’s face it, the Devils have gotten off to good ten-game starts the last couple years as well. Until tonight you could attribute our recent streak to a cupcake schedule, and even Colorado was missing a few key guys – at least offensively. Still, a win is a win, especially when it’s a taut 1-0 shutout against a lot of guys who did just win a Stanley Cup.

What you have to say is encouraging about tonight’s game is that a lot of the ills that have plagued this franchise in recent years looked like strengths against a talented Avs roster – starting with Vitek Vanecek whose twenty-four saves were just enough for his second straight win and first shutout as a Devil. After a rocky start in the home opener two weeks ago, Vanecek won over the home crowd tonight with some key saves, especially on the Avs’ power play which the Devils managed to keep in check going 6-6 on the kill. Special teams had been another reliable bugaboo in recent years, until tonight. Not only did the Devils keep the Avs’ man advantage quiet (including a tense last-minute 6-on-4 after an ill-timed Tomas Tatar penalty), but New Jersey also scored their lone goal on the much-maligned PP with Jack Hughes’ wrister beating Avs goalie Pavel Francouz to break a scoreless tie early in the third period.

Other improvements include the Devils’ prowess in the faceoff dot tonight – a total of 34 faceoff wins in 48 chances (71%) including Nico Hischier going an insane 16-17 on the draw, tying a team record by none other than Bobby Holik:

It might have been in the salad days of Holik and John Madden where the Devils were last this good on faceoffs, with Nico and new acquisition Erik Haula leading the way for the Devils’ top three overall rank in faceoff wins on the season so far. Also a vast improvement has been the D as a whole, with a healthy Dougie Hamilton and last season’s breakout in Jonas Siegenthaler joined by this season’s breakout in John Marino, who earned the third star with another strong performance tonight leading the team with 22:01 in icetime, including an insane (and critical) 6:58 on the PK.

If Marino didn’t get the third star you could have actually given it to Nathan Bastian, after he had three critical blocked shots and a pivotal screen on the Hughes goal. New Jersey got contributions from role players and stars alike, which you need to beat teams like the Avs and hang with the big boys on a consistent basis. While they’ve certainly been consistent defensively this season and are getting better on special teams, you’d still like to see a little more offense going forward. Tuesday’s breakout in Detroit was nice, but still abnormal for this season where the Devils have scratched out eighteen goals in the other seven games. As always, goaltending is still a question mark but with Mackenzie Blackwood’s three-game winning streak and Vanecek’s strong last two games maybe the Devils at last have a tandem worth sticking with.

Clearly that’s going to be a hot hand approach though and right now that’s Vanecek, who’ll likely start on Sunday against the Blue Jackets, which is a pivotal game before the Western Canada swing. You’d like to beat a middling Jackets team even if in previous seasons big teams like them have been poison for our small, skill lineup. Perhaps that’ll be the next thing to change from prior seasons though. Can’t say I’ll be at that game either (not with it conflicting against Jets-Patriots) so you can probably chalk that up as a win too, hah. However they come for now, just so long as they give us a reason to believe.

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Trouba: We’re going through a little bit of a stretch here, a little adversity, Rangers drop fourth straight, Sorokin shuts them out in loss to Islanders

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Derek

The big headline coming out of tonight’s game was what Jacob Trouba said following another loss. In what amounted to a fourth straight defeat, the Rangers were shutout 3-0 by Ilya Sorokin and the Islanders at UBS Arena.

Winless in their last four (0-2-2), they’re having some issues. As I’ve hinted at in previous posts, the lack of attention to details is a concern. For the most part, that wasn’t the problem in Wednesday night’s loss to their blood rival on TNT.

Instead, it was a lack of finish. If one thing is becoming clear early on, it’s that the Rangers don’t have as much scoring depth. The subtraction of key deadline additions Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp and even Tyler Motte are being felt. Oh BTW. Motte has six points on Ottawa so far in an expanded top nine role.

With injuries to key third center Filip Chytil and brittle rookie (at least so far) Vitaly Kravtsov, the roster is already being impacted negatively due to the salary cap. With Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider going cold, most of the offense is dependant on Artemi Panarin. He can’t do it all. As good as he’s been thus far, it’s a lot to ask from him. Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere also have cooled off despite that line continuing to generate offense.

Coupling matters, Lafreniere remains stuck on one goal and Kaapo Kakko on two despite the latter nearly breaking a scoreless tie in the first period with a great power move. Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat Sorokin, who recorded his 11th career shutout by stopping all 41 shots.

It seems both young players are getting chances nightly. But they’re not going in. That can’t continue. It’s vital for the kids to contribute for the Rangers to be successful. Copp and Vatrano aren’t coming through that door. At 3-3-2 through eight games, they’ve come back to earth.

Although coach Gerard Gallant was pleased with the effort indicating that they did get good looks, he wasn’t thrilled with how the power play performed. Despite getting three opportunities, they were too predictable against a strong Isles’ penalty killing unit.

They stifled Kreider by marking him and took away the Panarin pass across for the Zibanejad one-time option. Sorokin still made eight saves on the three power plays including a couple of key ones on Adam Fox and Trocheck. That was the last man-advantage when the Blueshirts trailed by two after Josh Bailey redirected an Adam Pelech feed.

A scoring play where neither Trouba or struggling partner K’Andre Miller bothered to take Bailey in front. The new captain was very candid in his assessment of where they are currently with a two-game road trip at Dallas and Arizona this weekend.

He told Mollie Walker of The NY Post, “We’re going through a little bit of a stretch here, a little adversity. We’re going to face it and work through it.”

Right now, I think most fans appreciate his honesty. Whether it’s turning over pucks, failing to capitalize on their scoring chances, or lapses in concentration such as the one where the top line all watched the Bailey goal that helped the Isles ice the game, they must be better. To a man, they would acknowledge that they can be a little harder in front of the net and tougher in their end.

Gallant didn’t say anything too pointed. But the one quote below to Walker really is on point about the lack of offense.

It speaks to needing more grit from the forwards. That includes a bottom six that currently is a mess without Chytil. Only Barclay Goodrow is a scoring threat. The rest must bring their lunch pail to each shift like Hartford recall Julien Gauthier did. He was up for Kravtsov, who is hurt again.

If that doesn’t change starting in Dallas on Saturday against a tough Stars team that doesn’t give up much and boasts their own promising young netminder in Jake Oettinger, then it doesn’t matter what the lineup is. For the second of a back-to-back, Gallant surprisingly went to Jaro Halak. Maybe he wanted to give him the nod against his former team where he had success. He wasn’t the problem.

Halak stopped 26 of 29 shots. None of the three goals were soft. Although giving up a pair to the hated Kyle Palmieri really irks me. I can’t stand him. He’s become a cheap player. For some reason, he seems to like playing Halak. He scored twice more on him including breaking a scoreless tie at 8:44 of the second. He would tack on by beating Halak off a clean face-off win to make it 3-0 with 4:38 left. One that went in and out so quick, they buzzed down to stop play and count the dagger.

Gallant also went with Libor Hajek for a second game in a row over Zac Jones. Both took warm-ups. But Jones was slotted as the extra skater. So, he sat for two consecutive games. Why? I don’t know. But it wouldn’t have mattered. The fact is we’re talking about the third pair. They’re not going to make up the difference.

With Gauthier filling in for Kravtsov on the third line that Goodrow anchors with Jimmy Vesey, that meant there were no major changes to the other lines. The problem is that third line could be a fourth line. What does that say exactly about the depth? Not much.

At least Ryan Reaves got some face time with the NHL On TNT where he did one of his pregame interviews with the panel minus the yutz Biz. Henrik Lundqvist filled in. It was nice to see him on national TV. Some of our fans are a bit ridiculous thinking he should only do games on MSG. The Rangers were on TNT. What’s the problem?

As Colin Stephenson of Newsday laid out, every line and D pairing remained the same. Substitute Gauthier for Kravtsov. A Gauthier who played well. He hustled like usual and of course had one of his traditional break ins where he does everything but score. He also drew a penalty. I like how he plays. But by now, he should’ve figured out how to score at this level. No wonder nobody wants him.

Maybe part of the issue is Gallant not making any tweaks. He sees nothing wrong. I can understand how he’d be happy with the exciting barn burner they had against the Avalanche. That was splendid hockey by both teams. But if your top six is slowing down, you might want to consider changing it up. Unless he flips Lafreniere and Kakko on the road, there’s not much he can do.

In a game the fancy stats favored his team who had 41 shots to the Isles’ 29 and out-attempted the Long Island hosts 72-54 while creating better quality chances, none of it mattered. But my CORSI. The thing is if you don’t score despite the edge in play and possession, it means jack bleep. You can take all the nerdy analytics and stick it you know where.

The Rangers win more face-offs and get more shots on net. But they’re not exactly getting any garbage goals. That’s where the need for grit is. Sammy Blais is on the fourth line with an assist and no goals. Ryan Reaves and Ryan Carpenter have no goals, but play small roles. Goodrow has two and can contribute. Vesey picked up an assist on the Fox goal Wednesday night. He has no goals either. And Gauthier just came up.

If you subtract the two goals from Chytil and pair from Goodrow, nobody else has scored in the bottom six. That puts too much emphasis on the top six. Right now, they’re not burying their chances.

When you combine how anemic the power play has looked during the losing streak, it means they’re not getting much done on special teams. An important area they excelled at in ’21-22. The top unit is too predictable. Opponents know what they’re gonna do. Key on Kreider and take away the cross-ice pass for Zibanejad. It’s stale. At least on the third five-on-four, we saw a different wrinkle.

You subtract two young players with skill and there’s not a whole lot of offensive punch. Even with the edge in play, they were unable to beat Sorokin, who is a good goalie. He can make the saves. When you are getting shutdown by James Reimer and Daniil Tarasov in losses, that’s problematic. Those are the games you have to win.

Maybe this is going to be a tougher year. We know some teams have improved. That means less pushovers. You can’t just assume they’re banking two points against the Devils, Flyers, Red Wings and Senators, whose offense is explosive despite losing Josh Norris for possibly the season. Ditto for the Sabres, who aren’t an easy opponent.

I would say the Caps, Panthers and Lightning aren’t as good. The Maple Leafs are unpredictable. The Hurricanes look like the best team so far followed by the surprising Bruins minus Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. The Pens look good too even though they’ve come back to earth out in Northwestern Canada.

It’s more competitive top to bottom. However, there’s a lot of parity. Especially in the Metro Division. So, there’s no reason to panic. But I’m glad Trouba acknowledged the obvious. That they are going through a tough time. If they weren’t, they would’ve rolled both San Jose and Columbus.

Of the eight games, the best ones have been Game 1 versus the Lightning, and Game 7 versus the Avalanche. Those were complete efforts where they went toe to toe. Not to say they didn’t play well against the Islanders last night. They did. But there wasn’t enough bodies in front on Sorokin to bother him. He made the saves as you’d expect from an elite goalie.

The Islanders got their first two goals on breakdowns by creating havoc. The Rangers got lost in coverage. They have to play more like a five-man unit. You can’t have only some players pulling their weight.

If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was when Turk stuck the checking line out with the third pair for two shifts. On one, they gave up a scoring chance in transition where both Hajek and Schneider got blown up. What the heck were they doing out there down two with five minutes left? The same for the fourth line.

At that point against an experienced checking team who can protect leads, you have to roll three lines and your top four D. Even if they’re not all going. It didn’t make any sense.

Once Palmieri buried his second which nobody on the ice saw at least in stripes, they blew the horn and put time back on the clock. By that point, it didn’t matter. The game was over.

There were a lot of minuses. The top line and second pair all were on for two goals against. The second line stood around and watched on the first goal. This is what it is right now. A team that’s not on the same page. That includes warrior Ryan Lindgren, who took another bad reaction penalty to being pressured.

Maybe the result could’ve been better had Fox’s long one-timer from the point not drawn iron early in the third. I thought that was going in. To my frustration, it didn’t. Had it, it ties the score. Maybe it plays out differently. That’s how it’s gone.

While he wasn’t too critical in the postgame, I imagine Gallant will have a message for his team as they hit the road this weekend for a second slate of back-to-backs. He knows they need to get greasy goals. Getting those puck bounces is all about better effort. That was a key characteristic of last year’s team. They need to find it and get back to their identity.

No three stars. There’s no point. When Gauthier is the most noticeable forward, that speaks volumes. It’s time for them to get into gear.

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Georgiev outduels Shesterkin in great game, Fox’s effort gets Rangers a deserved point in ESPN exclusive that didn’t disappoint

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Derek
Georgie Stops Laffy: Alexandar Georgiev makes a save on Alexis Lafreniere during his return to MSG. He had 44 saves in the Avalanche’s 3-2 shootout win over the Rangers. AP Photo by Colorado Avalanche via Getty Images

Everyone knew what tonight’s game was all about. The focus was on the opposing goalie wearing the familiar number 40 in Avalanche colors. Former backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev was determined to beat the Rangers in his return to MSG before a capacity crowd.

In what was a great game featured exclusively on ESPN with the not so fan friendly 8 EST face-off (unless you were a Colorado fan in mountain time), Georgiev made 44 saves on 46 shots and stopped three of four shooters to outduel Igor Shesterkin (42 saves on 44 shots) 3-2 in the shootout to send the Avalanche to the win over the Rangers.

Truth be told, Shesterkin made the more difficult saves to give his team a chance. Due to the continued bad trend of turnovers and allowing wide open slot chances, he more than made up for his one bugaboo when he overplayed a loose puck that led to a Logan O’Connor shorthanded goal 59 seconds into the third period.

Without Igor, this could’ve been ugly. Think a more crooked number in favor of the more potent Avalanche, who even without captain Gabriel Landeskog, are a handful. Yes. Even in a game they had a 46-44 edge in shots, the Rangers could’ve come away without a point. Shesterkin bailed them out time and time again.

Instead, in what was an exciting third period that saw the two teams combined for 31 shots (17-14 NYR), the Rangers were able to get it tied thanks to a terrific all around shift from Adam Fox. In his end while defending one of the game’s best players, he knocked Nathan MacKinnon off the puck inside the Rangers zone to start an odd man rush.

Moving the puck up for Barclay Goodrow, who passed for Jimmy Vesey, who was back in the lineup due to Filip Chytil (head) being out, Fox made at beeline for the Colorado net. With Vitaly Kravtsov driving the net to take Devon Toews out of the play, that made it an easy pass for Vesey to hit Fox for the slam dunk past former teammate Georgiev. That tied the score at two with 5:57 left in regulation.

It was a magnificent shift for Fox, who is a special player. While he might not possess the dynamic speed of counterpart Cale Makar, who factored into the scoring by setting up Val Nichushkin for a power play goal, Fox makes up for it with his high IQ. The great instincts he has make him one of the game’s premier defensemen in a young man’s league where blue line cornerstones are barely of legal drinking age.

The beauty of the sport is when it pits the best against the best. On that particular shift, not only did Fox make a great defensive play to take the puck away from MacKinnon on the boards. He then skated up ice, made a perfect read and beat Makar to the net for the put away. It doesn’t get any better than that.

I’ve been critical of Fox defensively so far. He is a very aggressive player who will pinch up. However, he is capable of making the right reads like he did on MacKinnon to start the game-tying goal with under six minutes left. That’s the kind of high caliber player he is. A true difference maker.

Afterwards, he talked about getting back to work. The Rangers travel to UBS Arena in Elmont later tonight to renew acquaintances with the blood rival Islanders in the second of a back-to-back. That doesn’t matter. They need to come away with a win. The game will be televised on TNT at 7:30 EST. Another national TV exclusive.

At 3-2-2, the Rangers currently sit sixth in the Metro Division with eight points. That ties them with the Devils, Caps and Flyers in points. First place has the Hurricanes with nine points in one fewer game played than the Pens (lost two straight in Alberta). Five total points separate first from last place which is where the Islanders currently sit. It’s a division with more parity.

If the main storyline centered around Georgiev facing his former team and Shesterkin, a minor one was Dryden Hunt returning a week later after the Avalanche claimed him off waivers. The gritty depth forward was used on the fourth line by the Avs. He had one good early shift where he won a puck battle and later forced Shesterkin into a tough save on a low shot. In 10 shifts (6:43), he had two shots, four hits and took a minor penalty.

During a stoppage less than four minutes in, MSG recognized Georgiev for his five seasons on the video board. He gave a wave to acknowledge the crowd who cheered him. Of course, there still are some bitter fans who were crying over his big game that earned him the game’s First Star. That’s what we’re dealing with.

Gerard Gallant made one change to the lineup. As hinted on by the reliable Mollie Walker of the New York Post, he went with Libor Hajek on the third pair in place of Zac Jones. It was the second time he sat out for Hajek, who they want to keep fresh. That’s probably better than how Hajek was handled last season.

Considering that Hajek put in another solid unspectacular effort while paired up with Braden Schneider, they were fine in the 14 to 15 shifts they got. It was almost exclusively at even strength. Schneider took a 36-second shift shorthanded. Neither was used too much.

Instead, Gallant leaned heavily on the top four. K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba and Fox all played over 25 minutes while Ryan Lindgren had 20:09. It wasn’t surprising. They faced an elite team, who even without Landeskog are a lot to deal with due to how they play.

The game didn’t disappoint. Played at a high tempo, there were plenty of scoring chances and transition created by each side. That meant lots of work for the goalies. Once teammates, the pair of 26-year olds Georgiev and Shesterkin stayed busy. Both were sharp throughout making key saves.

The Avs had the edge in the first period. They fired 20 shots on Shesterkin, who stood tall while under pressure. He did well stopping 19 including a highlight reel diving stop to deny Mikko Rantanen on a breakaway which came later in the game.

It was a huge save at that point. The Rangers trailed by a goal. Trouba turned over the puck on a face-off and hooked Rantanen, who got a glorious chance. But a diving Shesterkin robbed Rantanen on the backhand by sliding across.

Previously, the Avalanche made Kaapo Kakko pay for the game’s first penalty when he went off for hooking Rantanen. With the Rangers four-man penalty killing unit stuck out for over a minute, they were unable to make a defensive play to clear the puck. That tired them out.

With the quartet of Miller, Trouba, Goodrow and Ryan Carpenter trapped in their end, eventually the potent Avs made a good retrieval that led to the first goal. MacKinnon moved the puck up for Makar at the point. After skating around to find a shooting angle, he finally sent the puck towards the net where an unguarded Nichushkin redirected the pass for his fifth power play goal at 11:40. It was his seventh goal in the Avs’ first seven games.

The Avalanche continued to create opportunities in the Rangers end. But Shesterkin stood tall. The great save to deny Rantanen was the best one of the game. It came halfway through the second period.

There were other key stops during the opening 20 minutes. On what was a phantom call on Lafreniere for high-sticking Makar when replays clearly showed it was the errant stick of Colorado teammate Toews, fans were beside themselves as was Gallant. The play in question can’t be reviewed unless it’s a double minor. One of the most ridiculous rules in hockey. That must be changed. Imagine if the Avs had scored.

Instead, Shesterkin was asked to make a few saves including a pair on Bowen Byram and Evan Rodrigues. He also stopped Rantanen from distance to keep the Rangers within striking distance.

Late in the first, Hunt took an interference minor on Carpenter. The Rangers would have a full two-minute power play to begin the second period.

They did nothing with it. The first unit was abysmal. They got nothing set up. You also had Zibanejad, Panarin and Fox overstay their shift. This remains an issue under Gallant, who never shows any confidence in his second unit. It isn’t like they don’t have personnel. Lafreniere, Kakko and Kravtsov are on it. Chytil is when healthy. So is Jones when he plays. Goodrow replaced Chytil and Trouba was the lone defenseman.

A bumper play down low for Kravtsov just missed connection. A better pass and he gets a quality chance against Georgiev, who by that point was locked in. As his 11 saves demonstrated in the first, he wasn’t leaking rebounds. He was making the saves and controlling them.

The Rangers picked it up. Elevating their physical play with captain Trouba leveling Artturi Lehkonen with a clean hit that drew “Trou”, chants from the crowd, they began to finish checks. Sammy Blais had a good hit deep in Colorado territory. He played mostly with Carpenter and Ryan Reaves at even strength. However, he’d factor in on the tying goal late in the second.

While Shesterkin wasn’t called upon to make as many saves, he stopped all seven shots he saw. On the opposite end, Georgiev made his best save by denying Lafreniere on the doorstep off a good Trouba pass in front. He held his ground to stop a tricky Lafreniere backhand.

It was on a face-off win from Trocheck that Trouba had a hiccup. He let the puck get by him. That sent Rantanen in alone on Shesterkin, who slid across to rob the dangerous Avalanche scorer of a sure goal. They followed it up with a strong kill. The Avs had no shots. Strong work from Fox, Zibanejad and Goodrow resulted in easy clears.

On a good cycle down low started by Panarin, Trocheck took the puck hard to the net to draw a delayed call. He nearly scored. But Georgiev was able to get a pad on the shot that just kept it out.

On the power play, the Rangers thought they had one. Following a clean Trocheck win, Chris Kreider had a tip-in that looked like a sure goal. However, Georgiev reacted quickly to get a piece of it and then dove on top of the loose puck to keep it out. It was on the goal line. Kreider couldn’t believe it. You could see the frustration. He’s been snake bit so far.

Georgiev, who knows the Rangers power play as well as anyone, continued to stymie his ex-teammates. He easily got over to deny a Zibanejad one-timer. Then stopped Panarin from distance by making a glove stop. A play where he was trying for a Kreider redirect. For good measure, he made another save on Panarin.

The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play. Georgiev made 12 saves in total. He was a brick wall. The special teams went in favor of the Avalanche.

With frustration starting to boil over, a good rush allowed the Rangers to draw even with 1:54 left in the period. Blais moved the puck up for Trouba, who made a perfect pass for a Goodrow finish on the doorstep that had Georgiev still moving side to side. He was able to slip it just over Georgiev for the equalizer at 18:06.

Finally with the crowd into it and riding momentum, Panarin got a step on Josh Manson, who had no choice but to grab him for a holding minor with 36 seconds left in the second. The power play would carryover to the third.

With 1:24 remaining on the five-on-four, the Rangers got three shots on Georgiev in the opening minute of the third. But he stopped Panarin and then Kreider twice.

Following a Colorado clear into the corner, an overly aggressive Shesterkin went too far out of his net. With Andrew Cogliano applying pressure, he turned the puck over. Cogliano fed O’Connor in the slot for a shot that beat a still recovering Shesterkin for a shorthanded goal at 59 seconds to give the Avs their second lead.

Still on the man-advantage, the Rangers second unit got some looks. But Georgiev made a few more saves including a pair on Kakko and one on Lafreniere point blank. It was that kind of night for the power play. Georgiev deserves a lot of credit for it. He knew what was coming.

In what can best be described as an old fashioned shootout, the teams turned it into a track meet. The Rangers threw the kitchen sink at Georgiev. The Avalanche continued to get opportunities due to sloppy play from the Rangers. They gave up too many slot chances. That must get corrected. And fast with the annoying Islanders on tap tonight.

Shesterkin made a couple of key stops on Lehkonen with the second big following a Fox turnover. He would come up big later on.

The Blueshirts turned up the heat. But Georgiev held up by making saves on Panarin and Goodrow. Following a MacKinnon miss in tight, a flying Panarin raced up ice and sent a high backhand wide of the net. Trocheck was then denied on a deflection.

The amount of pace in the third period was something to behold. It was exciting fire wagon hockey. Following an easy Georgiev glove save on a long Zibanejad try, it was Igor’s turn. He thwarted Toews twice and then stopped Rodrigues. The big saves continued on MacKinnon, who looked for the dagger.

With the crowd anticipating something happening, Fox made it happen with the play of the game. A clean hit took MacKinnon off the puck. He then made a good outlet for Goodrow who gained the Colorado zone and fed a cutting Vesey. He then had a wide open lane to go backdoor to Fox for the sweet finish to tie the game with 5:57 remaining.

Both sides continued to go for it. On one end, Georgiev stopped a Trocheck wrap-around. Then denied a Panarin bid. Shesterkin made one more save on Nichushkin. Trocheck then sent a high backhand wide. Neither side got anything remotely close in the final minute of regulation.

Overtime was good. Of course it was. Playing three-on-three, they exchanged early chances. Shesterkin stopped Rantanen on one end while Georgiev made a tricky save on a Trouba tip-in.

Both Panarin and Zibanejad were stopped by Georgiev. Panarin drew a hook on MacKinnon who skated into the box. The four-on-three was the opportunity to win it. But the Avs held over the last 1:29.

Zibanejad had one of his rockets go high over the net. He was looking to beat Georgiev high glove. He challenged him. Zibanejad couldn’t hit the target. Erik Johnson made a key play defensively with a hit on Kreider to take away the puck and get a clear.

Cogliano actually wound up with a shorthanded try that Shesterkin handled. That did it for the 65 minutes of hockey. It was disappointing that it wasn’t decided. But that’s how well both goalies played. They each faced over 40 shots with the teams combining for 90 total. The Rangers holding a slight 46-44 edge.

In the shootout, MacKinnon missed high and wide in the top of the first. Then Kakko was stopped by Georgiev. Out came Makar in Round Two. He tried to go backhand deke, but Shesterkin had none of it making the save. Zibanejad tried to pick high glove, but Georgiev held his ground.

In the third round, Rantanen went wrist shot to beat Shesterkin to put the pressure on. But Panarin coolly faked and then out-waited Georgiev to tuck the puck in forcing extras. Astonishingly, Rodrigues came out and pulled off a reverse Pavel Bure move going forehand deke and tucking the puck past Shesterkin as they collided from the momentum. A beauty goal.

It finally came down to Lafreniere. One of the best Rangers all night, he tried to go forehand deke on Georgiev. But he aggressively challenged and made the pad stop to clinch the victory for the Avalanche.

He was pumped. Why not. He later said that the game meant a lot. He really enjoyed playing at MSG and loves the environment. He also was appreciative of the opportunity he’s gotten.

It’s hard to complain about last night’s game. It came against the champs. They’re a great team. It was high tempo and action packed. The only concern is the continued defensive lapses we’re seeing. They have to do a better job back checking. Limit mistakes. Get back to tight checking. That’ll be a key to the Islanders game.

I also would like to see more net front presence. That’s usually Kreider’s job. He had some chances on the power play. But right now, he’s squeezing the stick tight. It isn’t going in. There wasn’t enough traffic on Georgiev, who proved a point. There needs to be more grease. Think Rocky.

I’d look to tweak the first line. They’re not in sync. Zibanejad has been quiet lately. He and Kreider aren’t getting enough done at five-on-five. Kakko has two goals, but maybe he should be moved to the third line. Who would I elevate? Lafreniere. He makes things happen. But if so, then try Kravtsov with Panarin and Trocheck. I doubt Gallant is ready to make that change.

For now, the lineup up front will feature the same dozen players. That’s what happens when you have injuries and are hindered by the cap. Look for Jones to return tonight replacing Hajek. I imagine Shesterkin will get this game and face Ilya Sorokin. Why not. He was strong yesterday. Time to get him going.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1585104846687830016?t=NDBxI8AIHEdaxoxgNYmSKg&s=19

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Georgiev return one to watch, faces Shestyorkin tonight as Avalanche visit Rangers

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Derek

For five years, Alexandar Georgiev called the Big Apple home. Once an unknown goalie who wasn’t drafted, the Bulgarian honed his skills in Finland where he played for TPS Turku from age 18 to 21.

It took three years for the Rangers to notice the young netminder overseas. After posting impressive numbers for one of the premier teams in Finland that included 13 victories, a 1.70 GAA and .923 save percentage in ’16-17, Georgiev was signed as a free agent by the Rangers on July 19, 2017.

During what was a down season for the big club, Georgiev played in 37 games for the Wolf Pack where he went 14-13-2 with a 2.98 GAA and .908 save percentage. He got the call from the Rangers to come up.

In a year where Henrik Lundqvist still played most of the games, Georgiev eventually got into 10 contests in his first NHL action. Despite posting a 3.15 GAA, he went 4-4-1 with a .918 save percentage. Even on a team that missed the postseason for the first time since ’09-10, he showed enough for the organization to believe he could be a key part of the future in goal.

It’s never easy for a newcomer when they come into a tough situation. Especially during a challenging time when the Rangers made the right decision to rebuild. Fans saw many players change uniforms and go help other teams who made the playoffs.

Even harder was that the Henrik Lundqvist Era was coming to an end. The face of the Blueshirts who led them to 11 of 12 postseason appearances, three Conference Finals and their first return to the Stanley Cup Finals since ’94, Lundqvist was getting older. It wasn’t easy for him to go through the rebuilding process. Some wear and tear started to show during ’18-19. He still appeared in 52 games, but saw his GAA rise to 3.07 and save percentage lower to .907.

In his first full season, Georgiev got into 33 games. Of his 30 starts, he won 14 games while posting a lower GAA (2.91) and higher save percentage (.914) than his legendary professor. He also recorded the only two shutouts that season. David Quinn’s first on Broadway.

But just when it seemed maybe Georgiev could be the heir apparent to the King’s throne, along came top Russian prospect Igor Shestyorkin. In a season where the now 37-year old Lundqvist struggled, Quinn made the transition to Georgiev as the number one goalie.

While he for the most part played well in 34 games (32 starts) to lead the team in wins (17), he wasn’t dominant. With Shestyorkin making the quick adjustment to professional hockey by dominating in Hartford, he eventually earned a call-up to the Blueshirts. Things really changed once he got some starts.

For a while, Quinn mostly rotated Georgiev and Shestyorkin with Lundqvist sadly the third wheel in what had to be a horrible situation for the all-time winningest netminder and record holder in franchise history. As hard a decision as it was for Quinn to make, it proved to be the correct one for the team during ’19-20.

Until he got into an accident with Pavel Buchnevich, Shestyorkin was clearly the goalie taking the league by storm. He’d already built up quite the fan support prior to having to miss time due to injury. In what proved to be the unconventional Covid interrupted season where the Rangers played 70 games, Shestyorkin went 10-2-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .932 save percentage.

Georgiev was 17-14-2 with a 3.04 GAA, .910 save percentage and led the Blueshirts with two shutouts. Lundqvist recorded the final one of his brilliant career on Feb. 1, 2020 when he shutout the Red Wings 1-0 at Little Caesars Arena. He finished his career with a franchise record 64 shutouts.

When the NHL followed up the NBA by announcing the pause in the season due to the pandemic, nobody knew when sports would return. Fortunately, hockey was able to come back in August 2020. They would have a brief camp and exhibition before getting ready for the expanded playoff format. Instead of just 16 teams and 8 in each conference, it became 24 with there being Stanley Cup Qualifiers for half the field.

An injury Shestyorkin suffered in a tune-up against the Islanders lead to him being sidelined for the first two games of the Play-In series against the Hurricanes. A team they’d handled during the regular season, that wasn’t the case during the best three out of five preliminary round.

In a questionable move that probably was due to loyalty, Quinn chose to start Lundqvist over Georgiev in the first two games of the series. It didn’t go well. They were outplayed badly and dropped the first two games by scores of 3-2 and 4-1.

What ever chemistry they had prior to the stoppage when Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin were on a tear was completely gone a few months later. They weren’t the same team. When Shestyorkin was cleared to start the third game, it didn’t matter. They were a beaten team and played like it. A brutal third period saw the Hurricanes storm the Rangers for three goals with Sebastian Aho putting it away.

It was definitely an ugly way to end a feel good season. Perhaps the long layoff hurt the young team. They never were in sync. So, they got swept by Carolina in three straight to lose the Qualifier. However, somehow lucked into landing the top pick in the very complicated two part lottery system. Alexis Lafreniere was the prize.

Entering the Covid abbreviated 56-game schedule, Georgiev was hoping to get a fair chance. However, it was obvious that he felt the pressure due to Shestyorkin. He wasn’t as consistent and allowed questionable goals.

Then came the controversial incident with Tony DeAngelo that resulted in the defenseman getting dismissed by the organization. That was due to Georgiev having a miscommunication with DeAngelo that led to the Pens winning the game 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 30, 2021. DeAngelo had words for Georgiev that turned ugly with an incensed goalie going after the polarizing defenseman.

It didn’t end well. Even with the management team of John Davidson and Jeff Gorton deciding the best course of action was to end the Rangers career of DeAngelo, the incident had a long lasting effect on Georgiev. He wasn’t the same goalie. That meant more inconsistency and misplays behind the net with the puck. He definitely lost some confidence.

While he struggled, Shestyorkin continued to improve. He got into 35 games including 31 starts. Shestyorkin went 16-14-3 with a 2.62 GAA, .916 save percentage and two shutouts. Able to make the bigger saves, Igor established himself as the clear-cut number one goalie.

Georgiev played 19 games including 18 starts that season. He finished 8-7-2 with a 2.71 GAA, .905 save percentage and two shutouts. Due to some of his struggles, veteran Keith Kinkaid was called upon to make seven starts. He went 3-2-1 in nine appearances while posting a 2.59 GAA, .898 save percentage and a shutout.

The disappointing season upset Georgiev. He requested a trade. Obviously, he wanted the opportunity to become a starter in the league. He knew he wasn’t going to get it in NYC. Despite that trade request being public, the Rangers kept him on as the backup behind Shestyorkin last season.

In what was a memorable ’21-22 for Shestyorkin under new bench boss Gerard Gallant, he went 36-13-4 with a 2.07 GAA, league best .935 save percentage and six shutouts. It was eerily similar to the Vezina season Lundqvist had under John Tortorella in ’11-12. He won the Vezina as well and finished third for the Hart. Exactly the scenario for Lundqvist a decade earlier.

For Georgiev, it was up and down. He still got into 33 games making 28 starts. Despite winning 15 games and recording two shutouts, he wound up with a 2.98 GAA and .898 save percentage.

There were still some games where he was brilliant including the performance of the season when he made 44 saves in a 2-0 shutout at Carolina on 3/20/22. A game they were dominated in. In some ironic way, it reminded me of his uncanny dominance of the Maple Leafs in Toronto and his impressive play against the Islanders. When he played more, Georgiev showed the potential to become a starter.

Following the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final, Georgiev was ready to move on. With him restricted during the summer and a year away from unrestricted status, it was obvious to everyone he would get moved. He got that wish when out of all teams, the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche decided to take a chance on him. Georgiev was acquired by Colorado for two third round picks and a fifth round pick on July 7, 2022.

The Avalanche signed Georgiev to a three-year deal with an average cap hit of $3.4 million. Credit to GM Joe Sakic for not overpaying. At 26, Georgiev still has to prove himself as a number one goalie. He’s the number one for the Avs with popular veteran Pavel Francouz the backup.

So far, so good. Georgiev will return to MSG for tonight’s nationally televised game where he’ll be opposite Shestyorkin. That’ll be fun to watch. He’s made four starts so far for his new team. Georgie is 3-0-1 with a 2.76 GAA and .908 save percentage. Half of those starts have been very good. There have been some highlights where he showed the good form that made the Rangers believe in him.

Most interesting is that it’s Georgiev who enters the match with better numbers. With the Rangers struggling with consistency so far, Shestyorkin is also 3-0-1 like Georgiev. But he has a 2.75 GAA and .901 save percentage. They’ll be linked forever.

Ironically, it’s Shestyorkin who’s a couple of months older. He will turn 27 on December 30 this year. Georgiev blows out the candles on his 27th birthday next February 10. Despite having more NHL experience, he’s younger. He also was undrafted. Shestyorkin went in the fourth round 118th in 2014.

Each netminder has over 60 career wins. Of course, the numbers favor the rating Vezina winner who took his team as far as they could go last Spring with Georgiev in a ball cap on the bench. He did make his first two postseason appearances faring well in relief by stopping 29 of 31 shots. He’s sure to finally get starts next year during the playoffs.

BY THE NUMBERS

Georgiev 61-48-12 2.76 .908 8 SHO

Shestyorkin 65-29-8 2.33 .927 8 SHO

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Devils take two steps backward against Caps

Posted on October 24, 2022 by hasan4978

If you had told me after the first twenty-nine minutes of tonight’s game that I’d be storming out of the arena at the end of the second period booing the team off the ice yet again, I wouldn’t have believed you. After all the Devils had won three in a row coming into tonight, and scored first in an opening twenty minutes they largely dominated. Heck they pretty much dominated the first half of the game but in a familiar theme, shots and territorial advantage don’t ever translate into goals for us. In what’s also become a familiar refrain, every defensive mistake wound up in the back of the net in a brutal nine minute stretch that turned a 1-1 game into a 5-1 laugher. Yes the Caps are still better than the Devils, but this isn’t the 2010-18 Caps guys…this kind of stuff shouldn’t happen, especially with being shut down by another no-name goalie (Charlie Lindgren) until a couple of junktime goals in the third period which made our eventual 6-3 loss look like it was more competitive than it was.

Make no mistake about it, once the second goal went in, the team quit on the game for the remainder of the period, therefore I quit on them after the period was over. It’s one thing to be awful, it’s another to cave in once things didn’t go your way offensively. Whether it was Damon Severson with a bonehead turnover on goal #2, Jesper Bratt with a bonehead turnover on goal #3, Mackenzie Blackwood barely moving on three straight short-side goals or Jack Hughes (whose slow start is now up to six games with just three points) making dumb turnovers left and right, it just wasn’t a good day for almost anyone on the roster. Except maybe Nathan Bastian, who did score the first goal on a nice rebound play and could have had another later on in the first period.

It’s after games like this that I go on soapbox rants about how you can’t trust the advanced stats or shot totals as anything predictive of future success. Not with this team anyway. Maybe with other teams, but when you have a grand total of zero 30-goal scorers on the roster (yes I know Jack obviously prorated as one with 26 in 49 games last year) and your geriatric coach sees fit to scratch one of your top prospects in Alexander Holtz who might just be able to help with this little thing we’re lacking called scoring, then you’re gonna see more and more games like this where the Devils continue to annoy the analytic community and frustrate their fans.

Perhaps the only good thing about tonight’s disaster is finally the eleven forward and seven defenseman lineup can die now, as can the running into the ground of Blackwood – who hasn’t exactly shown even the durability to handle five straight starts, never mind earning the benefit of the doubt to be the guy just because he had a couple of good games and the team played good defense against some bottom-feeders. Of course Lindy Ruff will probably annoy me further by sitting Kevin Bahl while giving underwhelming penalty machine Brendan Smith carte blanche in the lineup cause after all, coach on the hot seat’s gotta have his vets in the lineup. I’m almost positive instead of Holtz as the twelfth forward, we’ll probably get Jesper Boqvist tomorrow, or maybe Fabian Zetterlund if we’re lucky but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Aside from my annoyance over the team in general comes the annoyance over having missed both home ‘wins’ last week on the COVID IL, then getting off it just in time to see another crapfest at Prudential Center with Colorado looming on deck Friday as our next inevitable home loss where we probably find a way to outshoot them 35-25 and lose 5-2. I should be used to this by now but it’s still annoying. While I’m obviously expecting the worst for that game, it would be nice if this team actually nutted up and beat the Wings in Detroit tomorrow. It’d be doubly nice if the coach decided to play Vitek Vanecek, and he decided not to suck – otherwise we’re gonna get more of our .871 starting goalie being ‘the man’

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Following latest bad loss, Rangers searching for answers with Avalanche in town tomorrow

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Derek
Rookie Kent Johnson celebrates his goal in the third period as the Blue Jackets dealt the Rangers a bad 5-1 loss. AP Photo by Columbus Blue Jackets via Getty Images

What was worse? The Yankees blowing Game Four in predictable fashion to get swept by the hated Astros, or the Rangers again stinking it up in their latest bad loss to the Blue Jackets, who played a back-to-back, but won comfortably.

Both were mind-numbing. Obviously, the Yankees bowing out in four to their archenemy in the Bronx leaves a stench to end the New York baseball season. Aaron Judge couldn’t get any big hits. Aaron Boone couldn’t manage. A few of the players couldn’t play simple fundamental baseball in the field.

On the flip side, you have the Rangers who have been underwhelming so far. They’ve only played six games. The last three have been tough on the eyes. Particularly the last two defeats both coming on home ice to the lowly Sharks and Blue Jackets. Neither of which they played well in. A point hammered home by puzzled coach Gerard Gallant.

While baseball has now ended (does anyone care for the Phillies-Astros World Series) giving way to a very interesting off-season for both the Yankees and Mets, we’re still in the early stages of the hockey season. It’s not even Halloween yet. That’s a week from now. So, you can still check out some spooky houses and pretend to be Jason, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, or personal favorite Heath Ledger’s Joker. The women have more creativity. Although I’m preferential to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman.

The reality is the Rangers have only played six games in this ’22-23 season. Although they got off to a 3-0 start, there were things that were a concern in blowout wins over the Wild and Ducks. Mostly in the defensive zone. They seemed to coast in the third periods of those games. It finally caught up to them in the home defeats to San Jose and Columbus. Winnipeg was a back-to-back and they probably deserved better.

However, the lackadaisical play in consecutive home losses to the Sharks and Blue Jackets is worrisome. You don’t want to fall into bad habits. In each, inconsistent defensive play allowed their opponents to take control. It happened on the Sharks’ tying goal in a second period they controlled. It again reared its ugly head on consecutive goals from the Jackets that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-1 ugly loss.

Both defensemen and forwards have not been in sync. There’s been examples in almost every game where opponents are scoring off easy chances without much resistance. Sam Gagner was allowed three shots at it before beating backup Jaro Halak in the Winnipeg loss. Radek Simek beat two Rangers to score the tying goal last Thursday. Then Erik Karlsson was left alone for an easy put away in overtime as three skaters watched him get the winner.

Columbus had been beaten handily by the Pens 6-3 on Saturday night. They gave up the last five goals. But on the second of a back-to-back, they had no problem exposing the Rangers’ issues. While some pointed to Halak getting the start over Igor Shestyorkin and giving up one soft goal to Andrew Peeke, what do they have to say about the easy goals Eric Robinson and Kent Johnson got 44 seconds apart to finish off the Blueshirts?

It isn’t about one player. Gallant made that point in a brief press conference last night when asked about Halak. Of course, the proud veteran wasn’t pleased with his performance. He allowed five goals on 21 shots. He called it not one of his best efforts. But if you look closely, the Rangers are out-shooting opponents and out-chancing them in these games.

That doesn’t necessarily mean total dominance. Not when there are noticeable defensive lapses that let opponents off the hook. They aren’t on the same page. Barclay Goodrow talked about playing the system earlier today. However, he couldn’t pinpoint one reason for the recent struggle.

Outside of a 3-1 win over the Lightning in the opener, Gallant hasn’t been pleased with what he’s seen. Too many lost battles. Too many lapses in concentration. He wants them to play faster. Turk was very pointed in his remarks that he felt they looked too slow. He even thought they looked like the team who played the night before. A ringing indictment of their play.

It doesn’t help matters that an undetected high hit to the back of Filip Chytil made head contact early on to end his night. He left after playing 11 seconds. How they missed the clear interference on Cole Sillinger is beyond us. Even if accidental as it looked on replays, that has to be called.

Chytil suffered a head injury. According to New York Post beat writer Mollie Walker, he’s expected to miss at least the next four games. That means out for the Avalanche and Islanders on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, won’t travel for the Stars or Coyotes. Not good. Especially given the lack of depth due to the salary cap.

Without Chytil, Gallant mixed and matched his lines. With the top line going cold, he even tried leading scorer Artemi Panarin with Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko. Chris Kreider saw time with Goodrow and Vitaly Kravtsov, who took 15 shifts logging 11:33 in his return since the upper-body injury he suffered on Opening Night on a Victor Hedman hit. He was a little more active on a few shifts in the third. But both his attempts were blocked by a disciplined Columbus defense. They rejected 21 Rangers’ attempts.

Down to 12 forwards now that Dryden Hunt has joined Colorado which means he will return to MSG tomorrow night with Alex Georgiev, Jimmy Vesey will be back in the lineup after sitting out Sunday night. Gallant wants him to play solid two-way hockey. He’ll get an opportunity on the third line with Goodrow and Kravtsov.

At least he’ll go back to the more familiar top six, which means Mika Zibanejad between the slumping Kreider and Kaapo Kakko. Panarin returns to the cohesive second line that includes Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, who can use a goal. He does a lot of good things during shifts. But they need him to produce.

Goodrow is the jack of all trades for this team. He can play anywhere. So, having him center the third line is fine. He’s a bit better on face-offs than Chytil. But not as explosive. However, he makes up for it in grit. Having Vesey with Kravtsov is interesting. Maybe they’re hoping to see the preseason version of Vesey. He was in on the forecheck and created offense.

Sammy Blais joins the checking line with Ryan Carpenter and Ryan Reaves. That’s the closest thing to a Crash Line. Having both Blais and Reaves take the body should inject energy. Carpenter has been solid in the fourth line center/penalty killing role that Kevin Rooney once filled. For Blais, it could be a better fit. He hasn’t looked like a top nine forward. Let him get back to doing what he does best. .

As for the defense, only Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren are staying committed to playing their end. They let you know they’re there. Partners Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller are frequently getting caught out of position. Or in Miller’s case, taken off the puck like Sunday night which resulted in a goal against. He has to play stronger. Especially when it’s Gustav Nyqvist winning the battle.

The third pair has been up and down. I can’t say it’s due to Zac Jones, who’s skating can get him out of trouble and lead to transition. Braden Schneider is off to a poor start. He’s been beaten for a few goals due to his positioning. He is only 21. His main job is to play smart defensively and take the body. He’s been thinking too much offense. In order for it to work, he has to get back to what we saw after he came up last January.

With the schedule picking up, it’s time for the Rangers to raise their level. They sure can elevate their play. Even with a thin roster, there’s enough experience to make the necessary adjustments. They know it won’t be easy. There’s a target on their backs. It’s up to the players to respond to the challenge.

It promises to be interesting to see what they do tomorrow with the defending champs visiting The Garden. Then, the archenemy Islanders, who have their own issues. But as we know, they get up for these rivalry games. They’ll also be rested. That doesn’t matter.

It’s time for this version of Turk’s Blueshirts to show the resolve we saw in Year One. It starts Tuesday night on national TV.

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