Rangers handle the Penguins minus Crosby, Shesterkin gets fourth shutout, total team effort to put distance, Pens have meltdown at the end

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Derek

If ever there was a message sent, it was in tonight’s game. Facing a potential first round opponent for the fourth and final time over a month, the Rangers handled the Penguins 3-0 at The Garden.

The win allowed them to take the final three meetings and win the season series. Let’s chalk that up as bookkeeping. While it’s nice to have the mental edge over an old rival, we have to keep proper perspective.

Based on the ridiculous actions of the Pens at the end of the game, they tried to send a message that this isn’t over. Maybe not. With 10 games left for each team, the Rangers could see the Pengwhines again in May.

I don’t normally refer to a team by such a name. But it sure applies after Thursday night. Let’s just say I’m a little fed up with their antics following the second period and the mind numbing conclusion tonight.

They want to jump our best goalscorer at the buzzer. It comes off weak. It was nice to see Chris Kreider get up and purposely point with two fingers to the scoreboard. The perfect response to the frustrated Pens’ madness.

I guess losing to our team has gotten to them. They did skate without Sidney Crosby (illness) and defenseman John Marino. Obviously, Crosby is a lot more important to them. The franchise captain didn’t take warm-ups after missing the morning skate. It was obvious he wouldn’t play.

Should no Crosby take away from what the Rangers did? No. You go out and play the game. They did exactly what they had to do. Igor Shesterkin stopped all 30 Pens’ shots to earn his fourth shutout of the season. He didn’t have to stand on his head. It was a total T-E-A-M effort.

The way they defended the net front for Shesterkin made it much easier on him. I counted four big saves during the game. One that was seen on ESPN Plus. I put it on my tablet so I could actually see the action better. It still isn’t the same experience as watching it on the tube. Don’t tell the NHL or MLB. That’s all I’ll say on streaming.

When I say it was a team effort, you know that our side played well. They frustrated the Pens, who had trouble getting anything on the inside. Shesterkin was able to see the shots. He stopped them and also silenced reporters who were ready to write a book on his demise. The affable Russian Czar at least was honest in the postgame about his recent play.

Here’s the thing. At one point, he had a ridiculous .940 save percentage. Not even Dominik Hasek ever did it during his legendary Hall Of Fame career. The closest he came was .937 in ’98-99 en route to a fifth Vezina and third place finish for the Hart. A trophy he won twice. Hasek is still the best goalie I’ve ever seen. Don’t forget he won all six Vezinas and both Harts on the Sabres.

The point is in today’s more high scoring, speed oriented offensive game, it’s much harder for a goalie to put up such gaudy numbers. Even following his slide, Shesterkin still has a .935 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against-average (GAA). His record is up to 33-10-4. Remarkable stuff from the unflappable 26-year old fourth round gem the Rangers stole in the 2014 NHL Draft.

By giving him Tuesday off in favor of Alex Georgiev, who turned in a good game, Gerard Gallant made a wise decision. He’s keeping Shesterkin fresh down the stretch. The right move regardless of who they wind up drawing in the first round. Shesterkin paid back Turk by denying bids by Jake Guentzel, Evan Rodriguez and Jeff Carter.

There’s still a chance at first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes trailed 3-1 against the improved Sabres before rallying back with four straight to pull out a 5-3 home win. That kept them two up on the Blueshirts. Carolina has an extra game left and hold the first tiebreaker with 40 regulation wins to the Rangers’ 38. It could come down to the two games they play at MSG on April 12 and 26. The latter likely more meaningful.

While all of this is nice, let’s remember that no matter where they wind up, there’s still a job to do next month. It’s self-explanatory. Play their game and stick to the system. One that took a while for them to execute under Gallant. There’s structure. If they execute it, then these New York Rangers can beat anyone.

As a friendly reminder to fans and readers of the blog, it won’t be easy. Playoff hockey usually isn’t. So, whether it’s the Penguins, Lightning or even the Bruins, expect it to be tough. That’s why the Pens had a meltdown and acted like babies at the conclusion of Thursday’s game. They were completely frustrated. That’s good.

You want potential opponents to show that emotion. That means you’re hard to play against. In the four regular season meetings, the Rangers not only took the final three. They only allowed four goals. Even better, Shesterkin was in for all four going 3-1-0 with a 1.01 GAA and .960 save percentage. He allowed four goals on 101 shots in 238 minutes.

If you think about it, the only Pens’ win came in controversial fashion on a phantom call that led to a Evgeni Malkin power play goal back in Pittsburgh during the first meeting on ABC. A playoff style game that deserved overtime. If you don’t think he’s in their heads, all you had to do was observe their extra passes in the third period to notice it.

When it comes to sports, 90 percent of it is mental. We’ve seen hot goalies get into an opponent’s mind before. Henrik Lundqvist versus the Capitals. Mike Richter vs the Devils. Tim Thomas vs the Canucks. You can include Hasek, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. The play of the goalie can affect shooters.

In terms of potential first round opponents, don’t discount Tristan Jarry or the top goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. He is that until proven otherwise. In my opinion, Vasilevskiy is the best goalie of this era. We’ve also seen unknowns get hot before. The playoffs are unpredictable.

As far as Thursday night goes, the Rangers hosted the Penguins at the World’s Most Vaccinated Arena. Well, it probably still is despite the changes. If only that included loyal workers who lost their jobs. The emergency medical workers, policemen, firefighters, teachers, etc.

Enough about that. Interestingly, the ESPN game actually started earlier than expected. Usually, they drop the puck around 7:08 PM. This was faster. When I looked at my tablet, it was 7:06. It was a welcome surprise compared to the nauseating delays on TNT.

If only we can get those kind of starts once the postseason starts up. Without Crosby, the Pens had Malkin between Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Here’s how they lined up:

One Penguin made their NHL debut. That was forward Filip Hallander. ESPN highlighted the rookie taking his pregame lap before teammates joined him. That’s always cool to see. One hockey tradition I love.

The first period was a feeling out process. It was eerily similar to the first match-up last month. You had both aces in net doing their thing. As expected, it was a tight checking, playoff style kind of period. That is how it was played.

My one takeaway is that the Pens aren’t the same team without Crosby. That was noticeable throughout. What makes him so great is he’s still a top five player. As good as Malkin, Kris Letang, Guentzel and Rust are, he drives it. What’s gonna happen when Crosby hangs it up one day? He’s still got good years left. But you get the point.

Where as the Pens still are so reliant on their 34-year old meal ticket, the Rangers boast stars in their prime. Artemi Panarin scored a gorgeous goal for his 20th in the deciding second. He’s been on a roll. Kreider factored in along with Mika Zibanejad on the game’s first goal scored by key pickup Frank Vatrano. Adam Fox had an impact without recording a point.

This is all positive stuff. Having players in their prime including Shesterkin can make a big difference. That’s without worrying what Alexis Lafreniere will become or Braden Schneider, who is here to stay. Since adding Vatrano, Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte and Justin Braun, there’s a lot to like about this core. One that is better with Ryan Strome back on the second line.

Whatever they decide to do with Kaapo Kakko, I don’t care. I am not even sure where he fits. Maybe Gallant will try him with Lafreniere and Filip Chytil. But I really like the chemistry they have with Barclay Goodrow. A glue guy who really got Malkin off his game near the end.

We’ll see how bad the Motte injury is. He took a tough hit from Anthony Angello late in the third period. The hit came from the side and didn’t make any head contact. It was clean. Unfortunately, Motte was caught in a prone position and left the game. Gallant had no update. Let’s hope he is only out short-term. Motte has become a key penalty killer and active checker who fits in seamlessly.

I’ll admit even having the game on the tablet, it isn’t easy to follow. Part of that is due to it being a smaller screen. While a very evenly played first period was going on, I also had an eye on an excellent game won by Denver over Michigan at the Frozen Four. It went to overtime. Carter Savoie won it.

I like the Frozen Four. I don’t care for John Buccigross on the call. He’s much better in studio. Don’t tell ESPN that. But that was a great game. I felt bad for the Michigan players. The Pioneers were the better team than the Wolverines. So, they’ll play Minnesota State for the championship on Saturday night. Too bad college hockey fans got jerked around.

ESPN airs too many games. It didn’t help that it was Opening Day. We have ESPN U. So, I guessed right and flipped to it to see the conclusion. All while peeking in on the Rangers and Penguins.

That was the save Shesterkin made on Guentzel. It was his best of the game. There were some other key stops. But that was the one that really told the Pens they needed to do something special to beat him.

Early on, Guentzel absorbed a Jacob Trouba hit against the boards. Unlike most of his hits, this one wasn’t clean. He led with his elbow and got sent off for elbowing. It was a sharp penalty kill that limited the Pens to one shot. A Mike Matheson try from distance that Shesterkin plucked out of the air.

Following the successful kill, the third line got a pair of scoring chances. First, Lafreniere was denied by Jarry. Then, Chytil got a step on Matheson and drove hard to the net. But Jarry denied him point blank before Chytil’s momentum carried him into the Pittsburgh netminder. It was clean. Play on after the stoppage.

Danton Heinen tried a wraparound that Shesterkin got across and denied. Then, it was Jarry’s turn to make a stop on Dryden Hunt. Halfway through the period, a pinching Trouba drew a tripping minor on Rickard Rakell.

Instead of doing anything with the man-advantage, it was man disadvantage. This was maybe the worst I’ve seen from the top unit. They did nothing. No setup time. No shots. Lousy entries. Easy Penguin clears. The second unit was no better. Brutal.

If you thought special teams would matter in this one, you were wrong. Neither team established much on the power play. The Pens went 0 for 3 while the Rangers took the collar in two forgettable five-on-four’s where they never registered a shot. As well as he played overall, is Adam Fox allowed to SHOOT THE PUCK? Holy moly.

Funny enough, when Fox took a shot during five-on-five, he hit the post. I wish he looked shot more on the power play. It can’t always be pass with him. He has 10 goals and none have come on the five-on-four. Nine even strength. One shorthanded. Think of how much better he could be if he shot occasionally on the power play. That’s what makes Cale Makar better. He is always a threat.

Late in the period, Kreider got ahead of the play and had a good rush. But his shot just missed with eight seconds to spare. That close to number 48. I expected it to go in. Vatrano also missed wide before the buzzer sounded.

Shots were 10-9 home team. There really wasn’t much separating them. It was hard fought. Both Shesterkin and Jarry made the saves. The defense was solid. Plus you had the physicality you’d expect in such a meaningful game. The Pens knew the importance. They didn’t want to fall six points behind in the standings.

Whatever was said between periods, it was the Rangers who came out sharper in the second. Right away, Zibanejad got the puck up for Kreider on a three-on-three rush. However, both Brian Dumoulin and Malkin got caught puck watching.

When Kreider had a pass deflect in front, it came right to Vatrano who in one motion swept a backhand underneath a still sliding Jarry for the game’s first goal 24 seconds in. Make that six goals for Frankie V. He’s 6-2-8 in a dozen games since coming over from the Panthers. Julien Gauthier has 3 in 47. Kakko five in 37.

Buoyed by the early goal to take the lead, the Rangers continued to make life difficult on the Pens. After a couple of stops from Shesterkin on Rodriguez and Rakell, they blocked shots and turned up the physical play.

On one shift where Brian Boyle thought he had an opening, Schneider quickly closed it by leveling him with a solid hit that shook the big man. Boyle did go back at Schneider. Playoff caliber hockey.

It was that kind of game. Overall, the Rangers blocked 17 shots. They were led by a more assertive Fox, who had five. Partner Ryan Lindgren also played inspired by adding four. When they play like that, they’re a much tougher pair for opponents to deal with.

There were quite a few hits delivered by Angello and Mark Friedman. The Pens finished with 28 hits while the Blueshirts had 22 led by the gritty Goodrow (5). He was a pest. That’s exactly why I wanted Chris Drury to get him last summer. Goodie is worth it. That combination of skill, grit and toughness wins.

If there was a key sequence, it came nearly at the halfway point. Following a near miss by Rust on a tip-in, Shesterkin made a routine stop on Rodriguez to get a face-off. On a win from Copp, the second line came up the ice in transition.

Trouba led Copp, who drew attention while the Pens got distracted. Chad Ruhwedel puck watched Copp, who eventually was able to make a good pass to a wide open Panarin. He cut in and roofed a backhand past Jarry at 9:47 to make it 2-0.

You could’ve tuned out after that. There was no way the Pens were coming back. Not with Malkin skating around aimlessly without a single shot. Shesterkin wasn’t having it. After denying Rodriguez, he then robbed Guentzel on the doorstep to familiar “Ig-or, Ig-or,” chants. For good measure, he gloved a Matheson shot later.

As the period expired, the Rangers nearly scored. But it was too late. That’s why Jarry didn’t bother. He heard the horn and knew the play was over. What wasn’t was the obvious anger some Pens had at the end of the second. It didn’t work.

Shesterkin made early saves twice on Carter. He’s still a good player. While former 2003 first round pick Ryan Getzlaf calls it a career with the Ducks, veterans like Carter and Corey Perry are still hanging around continuing to be effective players. Full credit to each. Look at Boyle. He was in that draft too. He still can play a checking role.

As usual, the Rangers didn’t have many shots in the third. However, they got the best opportunity. On a smart play, Zibanejad came around the net and nearly snuck a wraparound by Jarry. But he came up large to give his team a chance.

Pittsburgh would get the next five shots all at five-on-five. Shesterkin wasn’t cooperating. To be fair, most of these saves were ones he saw. They were defended well. The Rangers were good defensively. They protected the house. You rarely saw Guentzel by himself directly in front. Rust was also not a factor. A rarity for a good player.

Finally, Malkin was able to draw an interference on Trouba. It was questionable at best. That’s all I’ll say. I saw a lot of our fans complaining including the incomparable Howie. He hates every ref. I enjoy his rants.

The Penguins didn’t do much with the power play. Not unless you consider a long Letang point shot that Guentzel missed a threat to our goalie. The penalty kill was outstanding. Kreider, Goodrow and Motte all made key defensive plays.

Motte played his usual spunky game. Unfortunately, he exited following the Angello hit that changed things. With Motte down and hurting, teammates responded during a scrum. Nothing happened. They reviewed the Angello hit and made the right call of an interference minor.

Instead of putting the game away, the Blueshirts had a power outage. It was infected by Penguins. Was the ice covering up 🐧 underneath the surface? Who knows. A Batman reference. Danny Devito would be proud along with Burgess Meredith.

With under five minutes to play, Jonny Brodzinski got his stick into Rakell to take one of those needless holding minors. Following a Shesterkin denial on Guentzel, he missed the net on a good pass. That is the Igor factor. We’ve seen it before.

Then in the neutral zone, Malkin lost his cool with Goodrow. The two started wrestling in front of the benches. The linesmen finally blew the play dead to regain control. But not before Matheson jumped in on Goodrow. Somehow, the idiots calling the game thought Kreider could’ve been third man in. Did they even watch? He only came in due to Matheson.

At the end of the day, both Malkin and a chatty Goodrow each received matching roughing minors. I loved it. It never gets old seeing Malkin lose it.

Eventually, Mike Sullivan lifted Jarry for the extra attacker. Following missed empty nets by Copp and Trouba, it was Hunt who hit it from inside his own zone to finish off the Pens with 38 seconds left. A nice reward for a tenacious player.

Predictably, after a Hunt check on Marcus Pettersson with a couple of seconds remaining, it was a bunch of angry Pens that jumped Kreider near the side boards after the final buzzer sounded. Sheer lunacy.

My favorite part is after Kreider got up and shook it off, he had some choice words before using two fingers to point to the scoreboard. It was the Rangers that got the two points. The defacto captain handled it like a champ.

Even following the traditional wave of the sticks to salute the crowd, the Pens stayed on the ice and waited. This was minor league stuff. They really wanted to start a brawl. Pengwhines.

There is nothing else left to add. This was a satisfying win. One that was expected. Especially without Crosby playing for the Pens. Even though Shesterkin made 30 saves including a few of the key ones I mentioned, there was never any sense that they would beat him.

It was an easy win because the Pens were already defeated. At least that’s how it looked. There are three weeks left in the season. Then playoffs. The first real postseason since 2017. MSG will be rocking.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1512263205443284992?t=SYLzTEHxSPMLdKbUM7uHcg&s=19

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

Power Play comes through in routine win over Devils, Kreider gets number 47, Schneider delivers

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Derek
Chris Kreider became the new single season Rangers’ team leader in power play goals by scoring his 25th to break Jaromir Jagr’s record set in 2005-06. AP Photo by NYRangers via Getty Images

In a game that lacked emotion, the Rangers came away with a 3-1 win over the Devils before almost a split up crowd in Newark on Tuesday night.

The win coupled with losses from Pittsburgh and Carolina moved them closer to first in the Metropolitan Division. With 11 games remaining, they trail the Hurricanes by two points and are four up on the Penguins.

Whatever happens in the fourth and final meeting on Thursday at MSG, it won’t determine where they wind up in the standings. With two home matches also left versus the Canes later this month, that could actually decide how the division shakes out.

Entering last night’s game, the Rangers were looking to snap a two-game skid. Less than their best in losses to the Islanders and Flyers served as motivators. Though they didn’t play great, the attention to detail was much better.

In a game against their Hudson rival, the Blueshirts used special teams to pull out the road victory at The Rock. Despite controlling much of the play early on, they were unable to beat rookie Nico Daws. He made some good stops to keep it scoreless.

Alex Georgiev got the start in net. He had a good night. Even if it wasn’t too busy, the backup made some key saves when his team needed it most. He finished with 20 saves on 21 shots.

This also marked the return of Ryan Strome to the lineup. He was back centering the second line with Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp. Strome made a difference. He had a big takeaway to break up an early Devils’ opportunity and would later factor in on the scoring.

With Strome back, Ryan Reaves was scratched. The first line remained intact while the third line had Barclay Goodrow with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere. Jonny Brodzinski anchored Dryden Hunt and Tyler Motte.

Gerard Gallant made one change on defense. For the first time since acquiring him, he had veteran Justin Braun on the left side with Braden Schneider. The experiment went well. Braun made no mistakes while Schneider had one of his best games. That pair should stay intact for tomorrow which means Patrik Nemeth will again sit.

Early on, the Rangers held a 7-1 edge in shots. They couldn’t beat Daws, who was sharp. As usually happens when the opposing goalie is hot, the first big scoring chance you give up results in a goal against.

On a play in the neutral zone, Jacob Trouba turned over the puck. Yegor Sharangovich intercepted his pass and broke in on Georgiev to score a nice goal by going backhand deke at 6:56. It was unassisted. The 20th for Sharangovich.

But in a game that young superstar Jack Hughes missed due to a low grade MCL sprain that’ll keep him out the remainder of the season, the Devils lacked enough creativity to make it tough on the Rangers.

After falling behind before seven minutes elapsed, it was some physicality that turned things around. During a shift, Schneider caught Jesper Boqvist with a good clean hit that knocked him down.

Sharangovich immediately responded by challenging Schneider. It was a big mistake by the Devil goalscorer. In his first NHL hockey fight, Schneider landed some clean rights to knock down Sharangovich. After receiving an extra two for instigator and a misconduct, he never returned. I’m not sure why. It didn’t look bad.

For once, the refs actually got it right. An instigator was handed out along with a misconduct halfway through the first period. It gave the Rangers a power play. On it, they took 62 seconds to tie the score.

With Strome back on the vaunted top unit, he was the recipient of some splendid passing. It started with Panarin moving the puck down low for Chris Kreider, who made a one touch feed in front for a Strome finish to tie it at 11:07.

The Devils weren’t done taking bad penalties. Pavel Zacha reached around and grabbed Adam Fox in the offensive zone to go to the box for holding. It didn’t take long for the Rangers to cash in.

On another set play, Fox got the puck over to Panarin. He then passed down low for a remarkable deflection at the side of the net from Kreider that allowed him to become the new single season record holder for most power play goals scored by a Ranger. It was his 25th surpassing Jaromir Jagr (24), whose record stood since ’05-06.

It was also Kreider’s 47th of the season. With 11 games remaining, he needs three to become the fourth Ranger to hit 50. Jagr holds the record with 54 that also came in ’05-06. Just an amazing year for the emotional leader of this team. On the same day I voted for him for the Steven McDonald Award, he came through to make history.

After outshooting the Devils 13-7, the Rangers struggled in a lackluster second. In fact, they only managed one shot and didn’t forecheck. That was despite no Sharangovich. Jimmy Vesey would also go down when he missed Schneider on a hit and landed awkwardly into the boards. It didn’t look good.

Instead, it was the Devils who were better five-on-five. They were good coming out of their end and created opportunities both of the rush and on the forecheck. That included a good shot from Zacha that Georgiev handled.

He’d also make a tough save on a Nico Hischier try that went off the mask. It was a high riser. Those are tricky. His best save was when he robbed Zacha on a backdoor by kicking out the left pad against the goalpost. A splendid stop that kept the Rangers ahead.

Despite dictating the play, the Devils were unable to generate much else. They spent some time in the Rangers’ end. But full credit to our side for defending well. They didn’t give up much. Hard as it is to believe, the shots were 6-1 Devils over the whole period. Absurd.

Equally absurd was how putrid the Devs’ power play was. It has been an issue all season. They entered 26th having given up a league high 11 shorthanded goals. After Copp tripped Ty Smith, it was abominable. There were zero shots or chances.

In fact, the only chance came when Trouba sent a clear off the boards to put Strome on a two-on-one with Brodzinski. Looking pass all the way, he finally took the shot and had Daws beaten. But it hit the post. That prevented a 12th shorthanded goal allowed by a team that has zero confidence on the man-advantage.

I’ve seen Hasan rant plenty about their powerless play. It’s not hard to understand why. They give up shorthanded chances daily. Opponents attack them up top. That’s either Dougie Hamilton being added. Now, they’re without Hughes. The season can’t end soon enough for the Devils.

Even though they got only a Hunt long shot on Daws, the Blueshirts gained momentum from the easy penalty kill. They had no cycle in the period. It didn’t matter. They still took a 2-1 lead into the third.

Needing to step it up, at first they backed up. That allowed the Devils to generate a couple of more chances. But Georgiev denied Zacha. Then both Hischier and Tomas Tatar missed wide. The Tatar one looked like it would’ve been a sure goal. He wasn’t able to hit the net.

Following a Hamilton shot that went wide, Copp got the puck up to Schneider. After gaining the Devils’ zone, he passed across for a Braun one-timer that went through traffic past Daws for his first as a Ranger. Both Strome and Panarin were in front.

The unexpected Braun goal at 3:55 took the wind out of the sails of the Devils. Even though they outshot the Rangers 8-3, you never had the sense they’d score again. Not just because their offense was anemic. But also due to Georgiev, who was sharp throughout. Aside from his usual breakaway goal allowed, he made the stops and had strong rebound control.

They got one more power play when Fox got caught out of position and hooked into Jesper Bratt. However, the next two minutes were a waste in futility for the home side. They again accomplished nothing. I don’t know how it’s possible that Hall Of Famer Mark Recchi can be in charge of such a lousy power play. Wow.

It was the hard work and tenacity of the Rangers’ penalty killers that easily killed it off. Motte had a good clear and attacked down a man. He doesn’t have any points since coming over from Vancouver. But he works his ass off. One of these days, he’ll get rewarded.

With over 90 seconds left, Lindy Ruff lifted Daws for an extra attacker. The six-on-five didn’t last long. Tatar took down Frank Vatrano with 50 seconds to go.

That allowed the Blueshirts to close out the game. There were plenty of cheers from the Ranger fans that attended. It was loud. They gave P.K. Subban a tough time during the game. They got their money’s worth.

Afterwards, Gallant said the obvious. There wasn’t a whole lot going on. It was more defensive minded. Maybe that was by design. The Devils are better at playing the once. That’s how they won the last match-up 7-4.

This was boring. But a win is a win. It sure beats the losses to the Islanders and Flyers. Games where they didn’t play the right way. It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t have to be.

When the Pens visit MSG, that’ll be more intense. Pittsburgh just lost twice to Colorado. They should be in a foul mood. Plus the game means something. They don’t want to fall six behind for second. I imagine that’ll be much more fun.

If there’s one disappointment, it won’t be on MSG. As much as I get on the telecasts, it sure is better than watching on ESPN Plus. Ugh. I’ll have to put it on my Tablet to watch. Hopefully, it’s another playoff style game. Exactly what I prefer.

Henrik Lundqvist was part of last night’s broadcast. It’s so much better when he’s in studio with Steve Valiquette. He isn’t pushing his analytics as much. They work well together and crack jokes. Plus Lundqvist doesn’t bs. He gives good insight. I hope MSG signs him full-time next year.

There’s nothing else to add. Congrats to Chris Kreider! I can’t think of a more deserving Ranger to set a new power play goal team mark. He’s worked so hard. It’s paid off. I hope fans vote him for the prestigious Extra Effort Award. Igor Shesterkin is Team MVP. Kreider deserves it.

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

Kreider passes Jagr to set new Rangers’ single season record for power play goals

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Derek

During the first period of tonight’s game versus the Devils, Chris Kreider scored a power play goal at 17:57 of the first period.

The goal was Kreider’s league-leading 25th power play goal of the season. In doing so by neatly redirecting an Artemi Panarin pass at the side of the Devils’ net, it allowed him to pass Jaromir Jagr for a new single season franchise record in PPG’s.

The goal was his 47th. That moves him within three of becoming part of the exclusive Rangers’ 50 Goal Club. It only features Vic Hadfield (50), Adam Graves (52) and Jaromir Jagr (54).

Kreider becomes the first NHL player to notch 25 power play goals since Alex Ovechkin in ’14-15.

The Rangers lead the Devils 2-1 at the start of the second period.

Posted in Battle News, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Third period comeback gets Rangers a point in disappointing shootout loss to woeful Flyers, Jones outplays Shesterkin, defensive issues a concern

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Derek

No matter what way you slice it, this wasn’t good enough. Not when you’re coming off a lifeless performance in a shutout loss to the Islanders. Not after the coach called out his players and even made it a point in practice.

Simply put, there’s no way the Rangers should’ve lost to the woeful Flyers in shootout fashion by a count of 4-3 at MSG. It doesn’t matter that they mounted a third period rally to get a point. It wasn’t enough against a last place rival who were tired from playing in a back-to-back.

Even though they got all three goals in a stronger third that was highlighted by consecutive goals a dozen seconds apart from Mika Zibanejad and Andrew Copp, they still didn’t win. Instead, Martin Jones turned back the clock with 43 saves and foiled Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Filip Chytil in the shootout to earn the game’s First Star.

Not exactly the result they were looking for. Of course, Gerard Gallant will take the point and move on. He noted the positives from a game his team came out flat in to quickly fall behind 2-0.

Even Igor Shesterkin let in a beach ball early to Cam York that deflated the team. He hasn’t been automatic lately. His slump has coincided with the team playing inconsistently. Especially defensively. There have been too many lazy turnovers leading to odd-man rushes and blown coverages. That needs to get fixed.

It didn’t help matters that Owen Tippett completely undressed K’Andre Miller by going around him like a statue before scoring his first as a Flyer to make it a two-goal deficit. It wasn’t a good night for Miller or partner Jacob Trouba. The normally reliable pair got caught out of position by a on rushing Tippett another time only for Shesterkin to bail them out.

Even in a first period where the shots favored the Rangers by 13-8, they were too sloppy. There were defensive lapses that led to more Flyers’ opportunities. Fortunately, Shesterkin settled down to make some key stops by halting breakaways. Tippett had at least three during the game.

Complicating matters was Jones. Once a number one goalie with the Sharks, the veteran backup turned in a great performance. He made many big saves on his way to stopping 43 of 46. The 46 shots were a season high for the Rangers, who got better during the contest.

The astonishing aspect is aside from outshooting the Flyers 46-26, the Rangers out-attempted them 86-37. It’s not like they played badly. However, Jones made several great stops and also had the goalpost helping him out. The Rangers hit the post at least five times including three in the first period.

Following the 3-0 debacle to the Islanders, Gallant made a few changes to the lineup. As expected, veteran defenseman Justin Braun replaced Braden Schneider on the third pair with everyone’s whipping boy Patrik Nemeth.

According to the experts, if Nemeth were scratched, the Rangers would run the table and win the Cup. Do they even watch him play? He isn’t that bad. Last game wasn’t the best for him or Schneider. But everyone stunk.

This warped logic also applies to Ryan Strome, who’s been missed on the power play. He also is a much better offensive player than Jonny Brodzinski, who I like due to the straight line game he plays. But he isn’t a top six forward. Last night, he played with Artemi Panarin and Andew Copp.

The most puzzling move was reinserting Julien Gauthier. Why? He adds nothing. This isn’t meant to be disrespectful. It takes a lot to make the NHL. He is a former first round pick selected by Carolina. The issue is despite his strong skating that creates good scoring chances, Gauthier often blows it. He isn’t exactly known for his checking. He can draw penalties. But does little else.

Even Sean McCaffrey of bluecollarblueshirts.com was baffled by Turk’s decision. Coming out of the lineup were Greg McKegg and Dryden Hunt. The latter who always brings a lunch pail work ethic. If you’re going to sit someone without Strome, Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney, it shouldn’t be Hunt.

The lines were as follows:

Panarin-Copp-Brodzinski

Kreider-Zibanejad-Vatrano

Lafreniere-Chytil-Gauthier

Motte-Goodrow-Reaves

The D pairs were self-explanatory. Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox. K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba. Patrik Nemeth with Justin Braun. It was the top two pairs that struggled with defensive assignments and botched coverages.

Back in net was Igor Shesterkin. As I previously mentioned above, he hasn’t been sharp recently. He’s allowed a few questionable goals. That’s not to say he’s to blame for the sudden inconsistency. It’s the way the team is currently playing. But his goals-against-average is up to 2.14 while the save percentage is .933. Superb numbers that should still have him ahead of Jacob Markstrom and Freddie Andersen for the Vezina.

Realistically, the Blueshirts should’ve handled the last place Flyers. I was thinking they’d win 5-2. Instead, Jones started the game on fire. He made key stops with his team playing the second game of a back-to-back after getting thrashed by Toronto 6-3. The same game interim coach Mike Yeo made news by scratching Keith Yandle, ending his record consecutive games played streak at 989.

My opinion on Yandle is that he was so close to 1,000. Why not let him get it? I know he’s had a lousy season. Let’s face it. He’s not the same player the Rangers acquired back in 2015 from the Coyotes for a package that included Anthony Duclair. Unfortunately, he’s nearing the end of his career. The Flyers are atrocious. They want to go in a different direction by taking a look at what they have. So, Yandle’s incredible streak ends at 989. He handled it like a pro.

The irony is Yeo probably won’t be in Philadelphia for next season. He’s accomplished nothing since replacing Alain Vigneault behind the bench. The former Minnesota and St. Louis coach has made the postseason a few times, but never guided a team that far. The Blues fired him and Craig Berube took over and guided them to their first Cup.

If one were to take a look at how the Flyers play hockey, you’d come away very unimpressed. They can’t defend at all and leave the goalie out to dry. Let’s just say their surprisingly quick start allowed them to come away with the two points, which still required a skill competition. That’s how awful they were protecting a three-goal lead.

McKayla Maroney would be unimpressed with the Flyers. She’s a hockey fan who’s gone to Kings games. Gif via Geico commercial.

The problem for the Rangers is whatever malaise they had against MSG kryptonite Semyon Varlamov, it continued to afflict them for the first two periods on Sunday night. They couldn’t score. Jones was suddenly Martin Brodeur and Dominik Hasek. Ridiculous.

While they were continously turned away by Jones, the Flyers got on the board first. Following an icing, Copp lost a draw to journeyman Nate Thompson. The puck came back to Cam York, who took a weird shot that seemed to be in slow-motion. It somehow snuck past Shesterkin, who couldn’t believe it. Nobody could.

This was the definition of a soft goal. One of the worst I’ve seen Shesterkin give up. York got his third from Thompson, who picked up his first assist of the season… Mind numbing.

That shocking goal seemed to deflate the Rangers. They were in a malaise. Before a minute had elapsed after the goal, Kevin Hayes made a pass up for Tippett. Acquired from Florida in the Claude Giroux deal, he faked Miller out and fired a wrist shot past Shesterkin glove side for his first as a Flyer. Ugly.

Actually, the replay showed that initially, Tippett was thinking pass. But the puck came back to him. He then beat Miller and fired past Shesterkin. A bit fortuitous.

Just like that, the Flyers led 2-0 on consecutive goals from York and Tippett 50 seconds apart. A look at the bench showed a befuddled Gallant, who had to be seething. This isn’t how this team has been. They usually respond well to losses. Especially after being called out by the coach.

Despite holding a 13-8 edge in shots, they trailed by two after one period. It was around this time that I was struggling to get into my fantasy baseball draft. It was auction format. Eventually, I figured it out. With that serving as a distraction with the game on downstairs, I hardly paid attention to the second period.

It’s hard to bid on players and watch a game for a blog. That’s why I didn’t bother putting anything up last night. I decided to wait so I could gather my thoughts. Apologies to anyone who actually reads this post.

While drafting, I could tell that the Rangers came out and played a much better second. Just from the call by Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti, they really dominated the action.

The trouble was Jones wasn’t cooperating. He stopped 19 more shots in a lopsided second where our side created much better scoring opportunities. He denied Panarin on a couple of big chances. Chris Kreider was also stopped on a deflection.

Maybe the best chance came from Filip Chytil. Looking rejuvenated since Alexis Lafreniere was added back to his line, Chytil had a great shift. The one time I actually looked up, he used his speed to break in on Jones. But his backhand hit the post. That close. He stuck with the play to set up a Miller point shot that Jones easily covered. I thought both Chytil and Lafreniere had good nights.

There wasn’t much puck luck. They also had the game’s first two power plays in the second part of the middle stanza. But weren’t able to break through. The man-advantage fizzled instead of sizzled. It hasn’t been as effective since Strome went down. He might not finish wide open chances. But he’s a good setup man.

In regards to him, Gallant hinted that he might return yesterday. But Strome didn’t. My guess is he’s getting closer. Maybe we see him back either tomorrow in Newark or for the Pens Thursday. As for Kakko and Rooney, it sounds like they’re getting closer.

In terms of what lines were going, both the Panarin and Chytil units were effective. It looks like Copp is getting used to playing with Panarin. He plays a more straight ahead North American style. That means less East/West. But he knows where to find the Bread Man, who looks for a driving Copp towards the net. The early success they’ve had bodes well.

The Miller-Trouba pair had a rough night. They got victimized once by Tippett, who nearly turned them into traffic cones on another breakaway. Good thing Shesterkin stopped him. He had to deal with Tippett a few times due to numerous breakdowns. Despite allowing one bad goal and one stoppable one, he kept the Rangers in it. Even though the final statistics read three goals allowed on 26 shots, Igor stayed focused.

Once the third hit, it was a question of how tired the Flyers were. They have no structure. Guys were breaking in and getting point blank shots on Jones, who continued to bail his teammates out. It was ridiculous.

But just 44 seconds into the third, a horrible miscue from Ryan Lindgren allowed Travis Sanheim to cut right in and feed Joel Farabee for a tap in that made it 3-0 Flyers. It was appalling. There was way too much gap left by the forward covering for Adam Fox. It looked like Barclay Goodrow. But actually was Copp, who was too late.

Trailing by three versus a lousy opponent, the Rangers never gave up. Instead, they picked themselves back up. On the next shift, Miller moved the puck for a Trouba shot that Panarin got enough of to tip it past Jones at 1:22. That cut it to 3-1.

But before they could mount a furious rally, Ryan Reaves took a needless minor for hi-sticking over a minute following Panarin’s 19th goal. Personally, I like what Reaves has added. He’s a high energy guy who’s a character and positive influence.

However, he shouldn’t be in the lineup once Strome, Kakko and Rooney return. Gallant has better options. Reaves has said he understands better at this point of his career. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Following a successful kill, they then sent Panarin to the box for one of those iffy hooks. I didn’t care for that call. Did he do it? By the book, yes. But was it blatant? No.

In a ridiculous league where they miss mich worse stick infractions and allow thuggery like what happened to Troy Terry the other night that’s encouraged by fools like Tyson Nash who think vigilante justice is good, it’s a joke. And Jay Beagle got nothing. I’m glad Trevor Zegras spoke out. God forbid they protect the skilled players over just absolute trash.

As for the Panarin penalty, it was our side that created a couple of dangerous shorthanded opportunities. Copp had a close call, but Jones denied him. Kreider and Zibanejad nearly connected on another rush. That’s how bad the Flyers are. They’re very fragile.

Once things returned to even strength, you knew the Rangers would come back. But as time ticked down, the Flyers were doing their best to hold on. They limited the shots and chances to the outside for the most part. But the predictable implosion was just ahead.

With under five minutes left, Frank Vatrano got a hard shot on Jones, who couldn’t control the rebound. That allowed Zibanejad to bury home his 27th at 15:28.

Back within one and the crowd suddenly alive, they got it tied in short order. It only took a dozen seconds. On a play started by Goodrow, he got the puck up for Panarin, who skated into open space before whipping a pass for Copp one-timer that tied the game with 4:20 left.

It was way too easy. But demonstrated how inept the Flyers are. It also highlighted why I wanted Copp. All he did was drive the middle and Panarin found him wide open for the game-tying goal. He’s been a home run so far. Aside from the production, go listen to what he said above about last night. Very honest. He made some good observations about how the Stanley Cup playoffs are.

A little after the Copp goal, the Blueshirts were given an opportunity to win it in regulation. Put on their third power play, they didn’t put the Flyers away. It was disappointing. That’s all I’ll say.

With time winding down in regulation, a sloppy Philadelphia turnover in their zone gave Brodzinski a chance to be the hero. It didn’t go. So, they went to overtime.

It certainly was entertaining. Both sides had chances to end it. Maybe the most frustrating was when Panarin was open and instead of shooting, fiddled around with the puck and got nothing. I don’t understand. He had a good game. But why not take the shot?

Kreider got nabbed for hi-sticking with 34 seconds left in OT. The Flyers got one good shot from Farabee on Shesterkin that he stopped. But were unable to connect. A huge block in front from Trouba allowed the Rangers to clear. That was it.

In the shootout, the trio of Zibanejad, Panarin and Chytil couldn’t beat Jones, who was in a zone the entire night. After stopping both Cam Atkinson and Tippett in the first two rounds, Shesterkin was beaten by Hayes with a wrist shot.

That left it up to Chytil. He made one too many fakes before Jones got over to deny his forehand bid.

A frustrating night. The point at least put them two up on the Pens with 12 to go. But Pittsburgh will play before Thursday as will the Rangers.

Next up are the Devils. They don’t have to be reminded what happened last time. The Devils might be without star Jack Hughes after he exited yesterday’s game with a leg injury on a Oliver Wahlstrom hit. It wasn’t dirty. But was one of those yikes moments. Let’s hope Hughes is okay.

If he doesn’t play, that doesn’t mean anything. By now, this team should have learned the lesson about these games. If you don’t bring your best, you can lose. Any given day. That’s how it works.

We’ll see if Gallant decides to stick with Shesterkin or save him for the Pens. I wouldn’t be surprised if Alex Georgiev gets the call. If he does, the team must play better than they have lately.

Three Stars 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Owen Tippett Flyers goal (1st as Flyer), 3 SOG, 3 breakaways, 3 hits, +1 in 16:15

2nd 🌟 Artemi Panarin NYR goal (19) plus assist (63), 7 SOG, 15 attempts, +1 in 23:19

1st 🌟 Martin Jones Flyers 43 saves on 46 shots, 3 for 3 in shootout

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

Sabres’ Tribute to legendary play-by-play voice Rick Jeanneret wonderfully done

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Derek
RJ! Buffalo Sabres’ legendary voice Rick Jeanneret is presented with a hockey stick by Kyle Okposo following their emotional 4-3 home win over the Predators on RJ Night. AP Photo by Buffalo Sabres via Getty Images

On Friday night at KeyBank Center before a sellout home crowd of 19,070 strong, the Buffalo Sabres celebrated the Hall Of Fame career of broadcasting legend Rick Jeanneret.

The voice of the Sabres for over half a century, Jeanneret had his special night before a great atmosphere that included many former Sabres alumni. Appropriately titled RJ Night, the organization retired his microphone to the rafters with a much deserved banner next to the retired Sabres’ jerseys.

If you’ve seen a Buffalo Sabres game throughout the years, then you know the voice of Rick Jeanneret well. I was introduced to him by close friend Brian in 1996 when we had one of our hockey nights with our friends John, Tim and Harry.

Whether it was in Sayreville or South River, New Jersey, it was always a treat to tune in and watch a Sabres game on Empire Sports Network. I didn’t know who Jeanneret was. Having only known Sam Rosen and Doc Emrick, whose voice is missed by hockey fans, getting to know Rick was quite an adventure. He called the games with a passion unmatched.

The epic calls had an enthusiasm and energy that have made Buffalo Sabres’ games entertaining for years. It is similar for Rosen, who still is the voice of the Rangers. With the longtime play-by-play broadcasters of our teams, you can feel it in how they call the plays. The love they have. Whether it was Doc Emrick with the Devils and then nationally, or Gary Thorne, that enthusiasm is what makes them special.

That’s Jeanneret. He has always been able to raise the level to get viewers genuinely excited about what they’re seeing. It’s hard to believe he’s been doing the only job he ever wanted for 51 years in Buffalo. At the only place he ever wanted to be. Something the very classy and respectful legend was sure to tell the fans on Friday night.

“I have only three words,” he told all the fans who’ve listened, watched and supported him over the years. “I Love You!”

The feeling is mutual. It is exactly how I feel too even as a Ranger fan. He has made an art out of calling hockey games. He’s also kept things light like Emrick and Rosen, who now pokes fun at himself after mistakes on names. To last so long in this business, you need personality. That’s what makes them great.

I think what separates RJ is that he’s done it for so long with the same team. Since almost its inception in 1970, he’s been a special part of the franchise. Having started on radio in 1971-72, he’s been the constant voice for Sabre fans. For a quarter of a century, he was the radio voice. In ’95-96, he became front and center on television. By the following season, Rick was both the radio and TV play-by-play man of the Sabres.

One of the unique characteristics I noticed early in viewing games with our South River Fantasy Hockey League brethren, was how fun Jeanneret made those games. When there was a play made, you could feel it through the eyes and mouth of RJ. Whether it was a goal, big save, huge hit or fight/brawl, the passion was always there. You felt the energy and electricity come through the TV set.

When talking to Brian, who’s as huge a Sabres fan as I know, he still loves the epic calls of some of those memorable hockey fights. Nobody could call one better than Rick. Shields and Snow remains legendary. That would be a goalie fight between Steve Shields and Garth Snow during an intense playoff game between the Sabres and Flyers. Former Sabre goalie Marty Biron says his favorite moment was his last game in Buffalo when he fought the late Ray Emery in a heated battle with the Senators.

Former Sabre defenseman Brian Campbell raved during a special highlight video package about making a couple of Top 10 lists as called by RJ. Of course, having watched Campbell cleanly lay out Flyer R.J. Umberger, we know which moment he’s referring to. I can still remember Jeanneret beam, “BRIIIIAAAAN CAMPPPPPBELL!!!!!” It was insane. Of course, you felt for Umberger, who suffered a concussion on the huge open ice hit.

There have been many memorable goal calls by RJ. “May Day,” and “These Guys Are Good, Scary Good!”, are two of my favorites. Both coming in the postseason. The first is Brad May scoring the series clinching goal in overtime on a great pass from Pat LaFontaine from the seat of his pants on Mother’s Day to eliminate the Bruins in 1993.

The second being in the second round of the 2006 Playoffs when Jason Pominville scored a shorthanded goal to oust the Senators. The astonishing thing is when they went down a man, I told Brian I felt a shorthanded goal coming. Somehow, it happened right afterwards. Pominville went around both Daniel Alfredsson and Wade Redden to win the series that sent the ’05-06 Sabres to the Conference Finals.

How I wish that had turned out differently for every Buffalo fan. I can’t think of a single fan base who deserves to see a championship more than Brian and the loyal and extremely passionate fans who root for both the Sabres and Bills. It could be soon for the Bills, who are led by Josh Allen.

The Sabres are finally on the right track. They play hard for coach Don Granato and won that emotional game over the Predators 4-3 to honor Rick Jeanneret. It created this special moment below.

If you didn’t get choked up seeing the whole team celebrate their victory with a special team photo with RJ on the ice, I don’t know what to say. I’m glad they won. It was his night. Seeing how much he means to those players including future captain Alex Tuch, tells you everything. Kyle Okposo presented him with a stick following the win in the locker room (seen above).

I also highly recommend the video tribute packages MSG put together. One included some of his memorable calls. The other featured former players and broadcasters praising RJ’s dedication. His wife Sandra said it best. He turns into a 30-year old. It’s home for him. Well put.

There is one thing I wish could’ve happened for our forever friend. Not just a Stanley Cup and Super Bowl victory. But for Brian to have met the man, myth and legend. He is a wonderful person. I had the privilege of meeting him once while working a Devils home game against the Sabres in February 2001.

Fittingly, it snowed and the Buffalo team bus arrived late. I remember being in the press room to make photocopies for the production truck. There was Rick Jeanneret standing there waiting for copies. I introduced myself and told him about Brian and how big a fan he was. Of course, also mentioned how I became one too of his work. He said thank you and shook my hand.

That’s RJ for the city of Buffalo. A man of the people. I know he’s had a very limited schedule in his final year due to a myriad of health issues that have unfortunately been there for a while. And yet you wouldn’t know it. Once he spoke and his smile told us everything.

You could also see how humbled he was over being honored. This isn’t a man who likes to be front and center. A sharp contrast to his legendary calls that are forever part of Buffalo Sabres folklore. Rick is genuine and real. A truly authentic person.

I’m glad he had his moment. He sure deserves it. There are three more games of RJ left after today. I’ll be sure to catch a couple including the final act.

Congratulations to Rick Jeanneret on an amazing career! Forever one of the best voices to call a hockey game.

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

Devils’ horrible three-day stretch spotlights same old issues

Posted on April 2, 2022 by hasan4978

At about 3 PM today (three hours ago) I really thought I was gonna be sitting here writing a positive blog for a change. And why not, with the Devils on top of the East-leading Panthers 6-2 after a rousing two periods where Yegor Sharangovich scored a hat trick, Jack Hughes scored his 26th goal of the season (he’d be around 35 if he hadn’t missed 1/4 of the season!) and even struggling forwards Andreas Johnsson and Janne Kuokkanen found the back of the net in a forty-minute blitz that got Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky pulled after two periods. Sure, the team had just taken it on the collar in an 8-1 loss at Boston, giving up six(!) goals in an embarrassing second period, and overall on the road they’ve been a ghastly 8-24-2 throughout the season. Still, they had won three in a row at the Rock coming into this afternoon’s matinee and sported an okay 16-14-3 record at home on the season. And despite two bad goals given up in the first forty minutes it seemed as if new goalie Andrew Hammond – our seventh different starter on the season! – was well on his way to a win in his debut as a Devil.

Overall it looked like a good week for yours truly at the Rock, after Hughes scored twice in a Devils’ shootout win over Montreal on Sunday night (with me wearing my new black Hughes jersey, no less), fans and players alike at least had three off days to enjoy the win. During the middle of that stretch, the team held an autograph session for season ticket holders. Having it from 7-8:15 meant you probably weren’t going to get a ton of signatures but you still could get anyone you wanted, assuming you arrived early enough. Which was almost an issue for me given that by the time I arrived in Newark at 6:30 there were no spots left in the garage, which meant I probably was going to have to try my normal lot a few blocks away and hope they stayed open till 8:30 or so on a non game-night. If that didn’t work, then I probably was going to scrap it rather than schlep around town hoping to ‘only’ pay around $15-20 for parking. Fortunately I was able to find a newly open spot as I was making the trek down out of the garage.

I wanted to get captain Nico Hischier’s signature on my other new jersey, since I had enough reward points on my account to get one jersey but a shipping mistake gave me a points refund so I actually wound up getting two jerseys for the (free) price of one. Gone are the pre-COVID days where fans would try to snag selfies and shake players’ hands in these autograph sessions…now they’re corded off and the autographed material is passed to them and back to the fans by arena workers in masks. You could look at that two ways, not as much personal interaction other than messages of support from a few feet away, but the flip side is it helps the lines move along quicker at least. After about forty-five minutes I got my jersey signed and wished the captain well. All fans also got a complementary copy of the Hockey News magazine featuring the Devils younger players, which was nice.

Since Dawson Mercer was on the cover I figured I might as well get him to sign that since I really hadn’t brought much else to have other players sign, so I went to his area which also had Mackenzie Blackwood. I had Mercer sign the magazine and Blackwood sign my giveaway hat from the Montreal game (I’m not big on hats anyway), and that was pretty much it from that standpoint. Right before I got up to the players, I noticed a couple of team volunteers were going around asking people to play trivia, after I got through my line with no time left for other autographs I found them and wanted to take my stab at it with two options, take a current team question or a history question. I opted for the history and fortunately it was one I had a pretty good idea on – what team did Scott Gomez score his first hat trick against? Since I knew he had a famous one against the Rangers in his rookie year I guessed that and got the prize bag which included a hat, a souvenir t-shirt and a Blackwood bobblehead of all things. All in all it was a well-run event, and despite the Boston fiasco on Thursday I was still feeling good after the win last Sunday, the autograph event and a rare solid matinee performance through two periods today.

Then the rest of the game happened.

I would say I’ve gotten used to fiascoes like this as a Devils fan over the last decade, but blowing a four-goal lead in the third period and losing in OT is almost a new low for this franchise. I say almost only because it doesn’t quite compare to the Winnipeg home opener fiasco in 2019. The similarities are almost eerie though…in that game we gave up four goals in just under thirteen minutes starting in the final seconds of the second period with a 4-0 lead, on our way to a shootout loss that set the tone for the entire 2019-20 season. Today we gave up four goals in just a hair over thirteen minutes starting with Brandon Montour’s deflection at 5:34 and culminating in Alexander Barkov’s unscreened one-timer from basically the side boards at 18:36 that completed the regulation meltdown, and portended the inevitable finish 1:45 into OT with Gustav Forsling’s floater that completed Hammond’s miserable debut (and perhaps only start as a Devil, it was that bad) and a dumpster fire of a finish.

This afternoon’s meltdown (on the heels of the Thursday rout) wasn’t so much a tone-setter as the home opener in 2019 was, if anything the last two games were a fitting synopsis of everything wrong with the Devils in one snapshot. It’s too easy to start in net but you have to start there with this year’s team. You can make all the excuses you want for the goaltending this year – our top two guys got hurt, our two AHL kids should have been two years away from the NHL but were forced into service and the other three guys including Hammond were basically waiver wire fodder. Technically Hammond was acquired in a trade – the only sign of life GM Tom Fitzgerald showed during the deadline – but really a 34-year old goalie who hadn’t played an NHL game in three years before this season is basically waiver fodder, and he showed why today.

I get having your two starting goalies go down early in the season is a loss almost nobody could survive but Fitz didn’t help matters giving away Scott Wedgewood on waivers early in the season when both starters were being held together with tape and bailing wire. Obviously Wedgewood isn’t a starter in the NHL either, but clearly he would have been a better option than rolling out scrubs like Hammond or Jon Gillies and would have kept us from potentially using raw kids like Nico Daws and Akira Schmid as cannon fodder. To be fair to Daws, he actually has solid numbers at the Rock. On the road however? Yeesh

Home: 7-1, 2.34 GAA, .920 save percentage

Road: 1-8, 4.36 GAA. .866 save percentage

Not that any of the other goalies have been much better on the road, but that’s about as stark a difference as I can remember – which I’d attribute to a young goalie’s growing pains. I wouldn’t have actually minded at all if coach Lindy Ruff had shown some stones and pulled Hammond for Daws in the third period today. I know we have another game tomorrow and this game means little in the standings – really for either team, for different reasons – but come on now, you gotta make sure you hold onto a game at 6-2 in the third period with younger players still trying to learn how to win. It sure didn’t help that the skaters turtled and played a prevent for almost the entire third period but maybe if you didn’t have your goalies leaking in goals on a regular basis, they wouldn’t be treating a 6-3 lead with fifteen minutes to go as if it was a 3-2 game with two minutes left. Ruff himself should have called timeout at 6-4 to try to settle the team down and remind them not to go into a shell but the timeout came one goal too late, at 6-5.

What also would have been nice is if the team’s powerless play could have added one more goal, though somehow going 0-for on the PP a game in which you score six goals is remarkable in itself. Still, this team’s power play woes have been constant for two straight years under assistant Mark Recchi, and there’s really no excuse not to change the team’s system, coaching (or both). You could excuse last year as being a COVID/divisional play hot mess but not this year. Especially with two PPG players and a supposed PP ace on the point in Dougie Hamilton though he’s been a bit of a hot mess himself post-injury. Whatever the reason, it’s kind of embarrassing that it’s Damon Severson and not Hamilton on PP1, and more so given that it’s still not working.

Really it’s time to change the whole staff though Fitz may well die on the Lindy hill the way predecessor Ray Shero more or less went down with John Hynes. While I can’t really fault the GM for that much in these two offseasons, he’s got his work cut out for him now to make sure the team takes a next step next year and gets off the treadmill to nowhere. Coaching changes will probably (or should) be needed sooner or later. Even Fitz himself at least seemed to understand he needs to overhaul the goaltending position given some of his post-deadline comments. And they can’t sit on their laurels elsewhere either, they need another couple of top six wingers – hopefully prospect Alex Holtz fills one of those spots, a couple of depth forwards and at least another top four defenseman since I’m not sure Severson or Ryan Graves should really be long-term answers in the top four. Severson’s always been inconsistent defensively if durable, and decent offensively. Graves isn’t quite as good offensively and not much better defensively. At least one of them is probably a placeholder for Jack’s younger brother in Michigan but as the third period showed today, when you’re trying to clamp down on a lead those guys probably aren’t who you want to guide you to the promised land of a victory long-term.

Short-term though? Things still suck. And Severson was dead on about how shameful it was that nobody’s going to remember the Sharangovich hat trick, and that the player himself will think back on this game as a terrible loss. Even as annoyed as I am at this team after today’s fiasco I do recognize at least they have some pieces to build around now, unlike other bad seasons coming to a conclusion. It’s up to the organization to make sure we don’t waste any more productive years from Hughes, Nico and Jesper Bratt in the never-neverland of meaningless winter and spring games.

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

Unacceptable loss to Islanders very frustrating, Gallant and Panarin trash effort, disappointment extends to MSG broadcast

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Derek

In a word, tonight’s game was unacceptable. How many more times do we have to see this team lose the same freaking game to the god damn Islanders?!?!

God forbid they win a home game against the Islanders. I tweeted this before when it was already 2-0 and basically game over.

Of course, they couldn’t stop themselves from talking up the 24 comeback wins between periods. That means jack shit when this team plays these guys. I wanted to throw the remote control through the TV screen.

Shut up! Nobody cares how many times Adam Fox leads a rush. Steve Valiquette and his ridiculous clear sighted statistics. Or analytics. I don’t care about the 24 comebacks. If they can’t beat the Islanders in a dull, checking game when they’re not making the playoffs, what the flying fuck!

Shutout again by Semyon Varlamov for a FOURTH consecutive time at MSG! That’s embarrassing. Did he even have to sweat on the 27 saves? You know the answer. Zero net front presence. Not enough hunger to win at the ugly grinding game the Barry Trotz Isles play.

The final score was 3-0. Last time out, it was 2-1 on Saint Patty’s Day. That at least was competitive. They fought tooth and nail. But gave up a late goal to Kyle Palmieri. The coach and players weren’t dissatisfied with the effort.

These kind of games aren’t always easy on the eyes. But they have to get used to it. In the wins over the Pens and even the Canes, the Blueshirts were fine.

Although we can be honest and give a nod to overly critiqued Alex Georgiev for the win at Carolina. Don’t remind Ron Duguay. He’s ridiculous. I’ve lost respect for him with his views on Georgiev, who isn’t in an ideal situation. I hope he winds up elsewhere and makes Duguay eat crow.

If you do a podcast and are a Rangers alumni, you support the entire T-E-A-M. Duguay is a hypocrite. I don’t care about his relationship with Sarah Palin. That’s for losers. It’s like the moronic MSG telecast celebrating a Ranger and Islander fan. Can they be any more predictable?

It’s bad enough they play “Strike It Up,” for obnoxious super fan Larry Goodman. He’s a self promoting lunatic! I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. But the ridiculous lengths they go to push self-serving loons is absurd. Give me a fan who doesn’t need to be the center of attention and appreciates the team history.

By now, you probably understand this isn’t your conventional game summary. Yes. The Islanders got the first two goals from Casey Cizikas and noted sniper Matt Martin, who was left all alone early in the second on a Mat Barzal pass, it made you wonder if any Blueshirt was on the ice.

If you’re letting Martin score on Igor Shesterkin from a wide open slot due to miserable defensive coverage on only the Isles’ sixth shot, you’re not winning. The turnover Dryden Hunt had didn’t help.

Barzal is the last guy you want to see with the puck in transition. He also stole the lunch money from Braden Schneider and Patrik Nemeth early in the third when he blew right in and roofed a backhand past Shesterkin to end the suspense.

Alexis Lafreniere, who did have a solid game offensively, also was late on the coverage. He got caught puck watching. It was a total team effort. I won’t blame one player. They weren’t good enough. Something Gallant noted in a brief postgame.

How come whenever they face Barzal, he makes our defense look like a bunch of statues? They looked like traffic cones. Of course, that highlight reel goal also happened to be his 300th career point.

April Fools Day is supposed to be fun. Don’t tell Mets fans. It sure applies to the Rangers tonight. They really didn’t do enough to distract Varlamov. It was Groundhog Day at 33rd and 7th. They shot pucks into the crest and when there were rebounds, they were Julien Gauthier’d by Filip Chytil.

What is a Julien Gauthier? It’s when a player blows a scoring chance by missing the net wide. Or in Chytil’s case, hitting a goalpost within eight feet. That actually happened with the team down three.

You also had a steamed Gallant referencing the lack of physicality until the third when Ryan Lindgren delivered a hip check that Anders Lee didn’t like. They already were down 3-0 at that point. Lee would knock down Lindgren high. He’d later be held accountable by the ultimate team guy Barclay Goodrow.

We saw Artemi Panarin dance a lot without much success. And yet Joe Micheletti thought he was having a great game. But in the next breath, he and Sam Rosen couldn’t wait to bow down and pay the Islanders every compliment. It was maddening. Why don’t they hand them the trophy. It was their Stanley Cup.

The Islanders aren’t going to the playoffs. Thank God. I will spare you my thoughts on that. If they didn’t field an AHL roster in the Turkey Eve meeting on home ice, our team might be 0 for 3 in the season series. I wish I was joking. There’s one meeting left in Elmont. They better win.

In failing to do so on Friday night, they missed an opportunity to go back to three points up on idle Pittsburgh. They trail by a point for second in the division.

By now, it’s obvious Rangers vs Pens is a foregone conclusion. Home ice could matter. But I’ll take my chances with Shesterkin against Tristan Jarry. It is a fascinating match-up. But it isn’t only the goalies. It will probably be a great series.

For now, there’s still 13 games left. We’ll see how things shake out. The Rangers are off today. They return to The Garden to host the God awful Flyers. That better be a victory. They stink. But our side must show up ready to play.

If they don’t, it’s their own fault. Rather than say anything else derogatory, I’ll refrain further. This summary is a reflection of what our side put in. Which wasn’t much.

No three stars. Unless you’re an Islander fan or Sam and Joe waving the dark navy blue and bright orange pom poms. This was bad. It can’t be repeated.

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

The Good Copp delivers in overtime, Rangers edge Red Wings in ugly fashion, Kreider ties Jagr’s Rangers record for power play goals

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Derek

It doesn’t matter how you win. That’s the takeaway from tonight’s 5-4 overtime win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Motown. Considering how much of a struggle it was, the Rangers will take the two points and move on.

They earned their NHL best 24th comeback win of the season thanks to some late heroics from Chris Kreider and Andrew Copp. The victory moved them three points ahead of the idle Penguins and within three of first place Carolina.

With 14 games remaining, the Rangers are up to 44-19-5 and 93 points. They still have two home games versus the Hurricanes in April. Both are at home on April 12 and 26. Between that, they got the Islanders on April 1st on Friday at MSG. April Fools’ Day better go better than the last meeting.

Playing for a second straight night in a back-to-back following the emotional rollercoaster win over the Pens, it wasn’t easy versus the Red Wings. To be honest, I expected it. Detroit had an extra day off to stew over an 11-2 drubbing against the Pens. Unsurprisingly, they played much better in the Original Six match-up.

As expected, Gerard Gallant opted to start backup Alex Georgiev for the second time in three games. By resting Igor Shesterkin, it allows them to keep him fresh. Georgiev didn’t have a particularly good game. He allowed four goals on 26 shots. Two of the goals were ones he should’ve had.

At least he made some key stops late to help the team win a third straight game. Maybe we’ll see him on Sunday against the Flyers. However, Gallant might want to give Shesterkin both the Islanders and Flyers to get back into a rhythm. They have next Monday off before paying a visit at the Devils in six days.

Facing a struggling opponent that’s lottery bound, Gallant decided to dress Greg McKegg over Jonny Brodzinski. Not what I would’ve preferred. But Turk is the coach. Maybe he wanted to get the Keg Man back in. He centered the fourth line of Tyler Motte and Ryan Reaves, who seems to rise to the occasion on national TV. He’s now scored all three of his goals on TNT.

On a bit of a broken play, Reaves came away with a loose puck and beat Alex Nedeljkovic from in close for an unassisted goal at 3:23. That gave the Rangers an early lead.

But in a choppy period where they didn’t play well, it was the Red Wings who struck back. On a Taro Hirose forecheck, Michael Rasmussen took a pass and beat Georgiev through the wickets to tie it up at 9:59. His shot went off Jacob Trouba and right through Georgiev, who gave up a bad goal.

There has been a bad trend lately. The penalty kill continues to give up power play goals at an alarming rate. Despite having good personnel, this is an area the coaching staff must fix. Special teams are crucial in the postseason. They allowed the Wings to go 2-for-3 on the man-advantage.

With Copp off for tripping, Detroit cashed in late when Jakub Vrana took a good Moritz Seider feed across and ripped a wrist shot from the right circle past Georgiev with three seconds left in the power play. It was way too easy for Seider to make that diagonal feed to set up Vrana for a 2-1 lead with 2:37 left.

The better part was the immediate response by the Blueshirts. Filip Chytil tipped in a Patrik Nemeth shot for his first goal in 13 games. That came only 11 seconds later to even the score. Braden Schneider picked up a secondary helper giving him points in two straight games.

Considering the recent improvement, Chytil deserved that goal. It’s been a tough year. But his play has picked up. He has a goal and two assists over the last four games. Since Gallant moved Alexis Lafreniere back down with Barclay Goodrow, the third line has been more noticeable. They’re doing a good job creating chances off the cycle.

It also was Lafreniere who won the offensive draw back to Schneider to help set up Chytil’s seventh. Even though he didn’t pick up a point, the big face-off win allowed them to tie the score. A well executed face-off play.

Whenever Kaapo Kakko returns, I’m not sure I’d change that line. He might find it hard to crack the lineup. It all depends on if he’s back to full strength. The current lines are going well.

That’s without Ryan Strome, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Maybe Kakko can replace Dryden Hunt. But Hunt adds grit and is a good fit on the bottom line. Right now, he’s on the second line until Strome returns.

With only seven seconds remaining in the first, McKegg took an unnecessary tripping minor to hand the Red Wings their second power play. Once the teams returned for the second period, Detroit only took 29 seconds to go back ahead.

On another smart read from Seider after receiving a Lucas Raymond pass, he drew everyone to one side before finding a rotating Tyler Bertuzzi up top. Bertuzzi had time and space to fire a slap shot by Georgiev blocker side for his 26th. Georgiev wasn’t screened on the play. He just didn’t challenge enough.

It was still another blown assignment by the penalty killers. These follies can’t continue. What’s that now? Nine of the last 10 games an opponent has scored on the power play. They have to do a better job. Tighten it up.

With a secondary assist, that gave Raymond 30. He also has 20 goals which means the rookie is up to 50 points. That allowed him to become the first Red Wing rookie to record 20 goals and 30 assists in a season since the legendary Sergei Fedorov. Can you believe the Red Wings still haven’t retired number 91? Wow.

The Rangers again came back to tie it up later in the period. Before they did, an extended shift where Kreider was out with the fourth line had the Wings pinned in. But a terrific defensive play from Seider a minute in a half into his shift got them out of trouble. He was able to take away the puck from Kreider. Not easy to do.

Following that shift, out came Artemi Panarin with Zibanejad and Frank Vatrano. He made the most of it. On some sustained pressure by Vatrano behind the net, he was able to center for a Panarin one-timer that beat Nedeljkovic far side with 7:45 left in the second. His 18th goal.

If he thinks shot more, that makes the Bread Man more dangerous. With two more helpers tonight, he’s up to 62. That gives him 80 points. Imagine if Panarin shoots more. A scary thought considering it hasn’t been his best season.

On the next shift, Nedeljkovic was able to deny a Copp backhand. On the opposite end, Georgiev stopped Danny DeKeyser from long distance. Raymond had a better chance, but sent his shot wide.

Jacob Trouba delivered one of his big open ice hits when he leveled Rasmussen. Another clean check. This time, there was no retaliation. Just the Red Wings going back at Trouba when they could. That’s hockey.

Off a good rush, Lafreniere skated into open space and fired a wrist shot wide. It was a good opportunity. Hit the net and maybe he scores. His confidence is growing. We’re seeing him carry the puck more and get off that shot. A positive.

After a stoppage, it was an aggressive Lafreniere who forced Gustav Lindstrom to hook into him. That gave the Rangers their first power play. That it came with 2:22 remaining in the second isn’t a good look. Neither was the five-on-four.

They got one chance early. Zibanejad was unable to lift the puck in tight to beat Nedeljkovic, who made the save. That kept it tied at three headed to the third period.

If you were looking for a better third, it didn’t happen right away. Instead, the Red Wings again re-took the lead thanks to a face-off play. Pius Suter beat Zibanejad to get the puck back to Marc Staal. The former Ranger was able to fire a shot that took a Detroit bounce right to Adam Erne, who fired a backhand off Adam Fox past a frustrated Georgiev at 5:56.

For a while, it looked like they’d come up empty against a bad team. Lafreniere took a tripping minor to put the Wings back on the power play. Thankfully, the penalty kill finally got the job done. That gave them a chance to come back.

One thing we know is this team doesn’t give up. No matter how they’re playing, they usually find a way. That’s exactly what they did on Wednesday night.

A little after Nedeljkovic stopped Kreider twice, Lindstrom took down Hunt. That would prove to be the turning point. On the man-advantage for a second time, Zibanejad tried a set play for a Kreider deflection at the side of the net. But Nedeljkovic gloved it.

However, the combination of Fox and Panarin worked the puck down low for Kreider. Looking back door, he had his pass bank in off Seider past Nedeljkovic for his 46th goal to tie the score at four with 3:38 remaining.

The power play goal was number 24 for Kreider. He tied Jaromir Jagr’s franchise mark for a single season set in ’05-06. He’s now four away from the 50 Goal Club. There are 14 games left. It would be great if Kreider joined the Rangers’ exclusive list that includes Vic Hadfield, Adam Graves and Jagr.

On another shift spent on the top line, Panarin received a Zibanejad pass in perfect shooting position. Instead of one-timing it, he opted to pass for Vatrano, whose shot was stopped by Nedeljkovic. That is one Panarin has to shoot. He had the better scoring opportunity.

With under a minute left, Chytil had a nice rush and got off a tough backhand that Nedeljkovic handled. He’s more confident with the puck. A good sign. Maybe they made a wise decision not moving him. Especially if the third line continues to perform. Secondary scoring is going to be needed.

The game would need overtime. During the three-on-three, the Red Wings had the first couple of chances to end it. But on a night that he struggled, Georgiev twice denied Bertuzzi to come up large.

Finally, Copp won a defensive draw back to Panarin. He then let the Bread Man work his magic. Copp then lost Bertuzzi in coverage. As Panarin flew down the right wing, he made a bullet pass for Copp that he sniped over the right pad of Nedeljkovic for the overtime winner at 1:34.

Copp called game. He now is up to seven points (2-5-7) in five games. The guy I was pushing for has fit in perfectly. He can play anywhere and makes things happen. Without Strome, he’s centering the second line and they’re not missing a beat.

The 42 points (15-27-42) are a new career high between the Jets and Rangers. He’s increasing his value. What a pickup by Derek Felix Chris Drury! It’s not often I get it right. I’ve watched the good Copp for a while. He makes a difference.

https://twitter.com/NYRStatsInfo/status/1509367545425506307?t=agvfsA4pYTiH9Sz64L_KuQ&s=19es a difference.

Onto Friday. The Islanders are back in town for another game at The Garden. Last time out, they got the late goal to win a goalie duel in regulation. Needless to say, every game matters. The Rangers will have to play better to get the win.

Battle Of Hudson Three Stars 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Moritz Seider Red Wings 2 primary assists, 2 takeaways, 3 blocks, +1 in team high 23:44, deserves the Calder

2nd 🌟 Andrew Copp NYR scored OT winner (2nd as a Ranger), 5 SOG, 9-and-6 on draws, +2 in 17:37

1st 🌟 Artemi Panarin NYR goal (18) plus 2 assists (61, 62), +3 in 17:50

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

Kevin Weekes breaks down the wild conclusion to last night’s game

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Derek

The end of last night’s game is still being discussed in some hockey circles. Why not? It’s not everyday that you have such a wild conclusion to a game.

Fortunately, the Rangers held on for the 3-2 win over the Pens to move into second place in the Metropolitan Division. I doubt they had missing at least four empty nets and needing a gigantic Igor Shesterkin save on Jake Guentzel in coach Gerard Gallant’s manual.

The ridiculous sequence where Andrew Copp passed over for Mika Zibanejad followed by Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow was how not to close out an opponent. But it sure was entertaining. If you can stand the excitement.

Kevin Weekes broke it all down on NHL Network. The best part was the praise he gave Rickard Rakell for how he played goalie by getting up against the near goalpost. Yes. It’s okay to acknowledge that. Even if it drove our fans nuts. Here is Weekes’ illustration below.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1509266214379560973?t=LbYZQVeF1SM0IxF8kmwZJg&s=19

My response got a like from Weekes. Hopefully one day soon, he’ll be hired as a Team President or GM. He deserves it. The former goalie is a wealth of knowledge. He has many contacts around the league and is now breaking trades. He’s the man!

Do you think if Copp did it over again, he would take the shot instead of being unselfish by passing over for Zibanejad? It was open! Hopefully, Gallant had the team go over how to score into an empty net prior to tonight’s game in Detroit.

The game isn’t on MSG. It’s on TNT which means face-off isn’t until 7:45 PM. That’s national TV for you. Hopefully, there won’t be any weird camera angles that make the viewer feel drunk.

Enjoy the game. See you later.

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

Rangers hang on for big win over Penguins in crazy finish, Kreider gets 45th, Vatrano stays hot

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Derek

The chaotic sequence at the end of an intense rivalry game summed it up perfectly. When the buzzer sounded as a Kris Letang desperation shot sailed wide, the Rangers had held off the Penguins’ late comeback attempt to earn a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh.

What a dramatic conclusion it was. If you love rivalry games that have significance, this was it. As much as they controlled large portions, the Rangers could never put away the pesky Pens.

The likely first round opponent got a Sidney Crosby power play goal and made their push. Having been shutdown by a stingy Ranger defense following the Crosby tally that made it a one-goal game with 9:23 left, the Penguins lifted Tristan Jarry after an icing with 2:32 remaining. What happened next was wild.

Even after a Crosby face-off win with a six-on-five attack, the Rangers got in the lanes and took everything away. The crazy part is they had at least four cracks at the empty net. Whether it was Kreider having a shot blocked or Barclay Goodrow flat out missing, they couldn’t score on an open net. Even without Ryan Strome, this was like watching Julien Gauthier fire blanks on a breakaway.

https://twitter.com/JayRose_/status/1508996057950306310?t=V3KUvj0eR_p_WO2RnQcMag&s=19

All the great chances to put it away and they somehow kept the Pens alive. Evgeni Malkin checked Mika Zibanejad from behind. He was milking the clock. The only missed call in what was a good officiated game. Had they given up a tying goal, Gerard Gallant would’ve fumed at the bench. Thankfully, it didn’t come down to that.

They can thank Igor Shesterkin for making a clutch save to stone Jake Guentzel on the doorstep. He made that one huge stop to deny Guentzel of forcing overtime. That close to regretting all the shots at the empty net they blew.

Shesterkin wasn’t called on for too many saves. There was a long stretch where he didn’t see any rubber. The Pittsburgh crowd groaned at their team for a lack of shots during a tentatively played second period. However, they picked it up by getting 11 on net in the third. Shesterkin stopped 10 of 11 on his way to 23 saves for his 32nd victory.

Despite totally outplaying their opponent in a lopsided first period, the Rangers couldn’t beat Jarry. Unlike Friday’s 5-1 win on home ice where they got three quick ones before five minutes elapsed, they had trouble with a much sharper Jarry. In fact, his brilliant play was the difference early. He made nine saves including absolute gems to rob Frank Vatrano and Zibanejad.

So effective was the forecheck that it gave the Pens fits. After an initial good start, they really struggled with the new Gallant lineup. Without Strome, Andrew Copp centered Artemi Panarin and Dryden Hunt. That line was excellent.

Filling in on the fourth line was ex-Penguin Ryan Reaves. He played with Jonny “Soda” Brodzinski and Tyler Motte. The latter had another strong game. It won’t be long before he gets one. He works so hard. What a steal for Chris Drury. A fourth round pick for a player Turk can use anywhere.

One Blueshirt that didn’t need an invitation to shoot the puck is Jacob Trouba. He never hesitates. He attempted at least four in a terrific first period. Jarry had to make some tricky saves on low Trouba shots. He also would have the benefit of a goalpost later in the period.

On the flip side, Shesterkin came up with his best save when he stayed right with Bryan Rust to deny his backhand deke. It was the result of a Vatrano turnover at the point. Rust broke in and instead of going shot, went for the deke and backhand that a too quick Shesterkin slid across and got.

Despite icing the puck repeatedly, it was the Pens who grabbed the lead. On a Letang pass across, Brian Dumoulin had his long shot redirected by Brian Boyle for his ninth with 5:36 remaining. Not much Shesterkin could’ve done. The sound strategy paid off. Boyle got position on Ryan Lindgren for the gritty goal. That’s who he’s always been.

Then off a Alexis Lafreniere forecheck behind the net, he moved the puck up top to K’Andre Miller. He then got it to Trouba for a one-timer that rang off the goalpost. He was the best Ranger in the period. Trouba really had an outstanding game. He was involved later on.

Late in the first, Motte would get another opportunity to score. But his shot from the right circle hit the outside of the net. He keeps getting chances due to his speed and awareness. Eventually, he’ll get rewarded. The attention to details is why I love this pickup. When Kevin Rooney returns in April, he’s not coming out of the lineup.

The score remained 1-0 Pens at the end of one. That was despite a 9-5 edge in shots for the guests. Even though they trailed, you had to come away feeling good about their effort. Braden Schneider did the intermission interview and indicated so. He also discussed what he has to do to stay in the lineup.

Also during intermission, Henrik Lundqvist couldn’t help but feel for Kevin Lankinen while John Giannone did the MSG 120. The Blackhawks blew a 4-0 lead and 5-4 lead to lose 6-5 in regulation to the Sabres. The game-winner banked off the back boards and then Lankinen, who broke his goal stick in frustration. Sean McCaffrey of bluecollarblueshirts.com loved what Lundqvist said.

I laughed at it as well. We know Lundqvist would’ve done the same. How can anyone forget some of his emotional outbursts after bad goals or missed goalie interference calls? Henrik had that fire. He showed it. He was one of us.

Last night was Garden Of Dreams Night. Nobody does it better than MSG when it comes to raising money for underprivileged kids. It was a rousing success. Lundqvist didn’t have to shave his head. A side bet with Steve Valiquette if they didn’t raise at least $100,000 for the worthy Garden charity. McCaffrey even put his money where his mouth was after winning on some of his wagers.

The Garden of Dreams is the best thing they do. It puts people who need help first. Something Lundqvist always did. No matter what kind of game he had, he is a selfless person. Congrats to all involved.

I also want to note that Eugene Melnyk passed away on Sunday. He was the owner of the Ottawa Senators. Melnyk was sick. Not much was known. It was handled privately. He was 62. Very sad news. They had a moment of silence before the Ottawa at Nashville game. Sending my thoughts to the Melnyk and Senators family.

Most of my game stories, I don’t usually have to make such important notes. But Melnyk was part of the NHL family. The hockey community mourns his loss. I sure hope the Senators can continue to survive. Their rebuild is starting to produce some good players. It won’t be long before they’re back to respectability.

Back to the game. If the first was largely controlled by the Rangers, the second period was a hard one to summarize. That’s because it consisted of two different parts.

The first half saw the Pens pay closer attention to defense by making it more of a deliberate pace. They also forechecked more. The odd part was the lack of shots. At times, they passed a few up due to Shesterkin. One of the obvious reasons is unscreened shots don’t work. They tried to get bodies to the net.

The other reason for so few shots was the improved Ranger defense. They are doing a better job coming back and taking away the inside. Particularly from Trouba and Miller, who each logged over 25 minutes. They were matched up a lot against the Crosby line. They were held in check at five-on-five.

It was becoming frustrating watching Jarry make the key stops. That included one on Panarin, who had a second straight very good game. By that, I mean overall. He didn’t make bad decisions with the puck and was active defensively even registering two hits. If he plays like that in May, that could bode well.

Lindgren took an interference minor by grabbing an attacking Guentzel. I didn’t like the penalty because he avoided a Guentzel hit to lose the puck. It was soft from a player who is better than that.

This put the Pens on the power play. But instead of getting momentum off it, they were turned away by the aggressive Rangers’ penalty kill. That included Copp and Barclay Goodrow. Zibanejad with Kreider along with the duo of Motte and Brodzinski. Motte’s hustle helped kill it off to keep the deficit at one.

Following that, a diving play from Schneider broke up a Pens’ two-on-one. It was a crucial defensive gem by the rookie. Especially with Pittsburgh looking to increase their lead. A huge sequence.

The second part of the period is when the game changed. Needing a good forecheck shift, the Rangers got it from the third line. Lafreniere and Filip Chytil applied pressure down low. They changed for the Panarin line, who continued to keep the Pens hemmed in.

Able to change for the Zibanejad line, Trouba kept the play alive with a great pinch. The puck came to Kreider, who was able to get it in front for Zibanejad. Drawing defenders, he quickly passed across for a Vatrano finish in the slot to tie the game at 13:32.

That’s three consecutive games with at least a goal for Vatrano. Since Gallant moved him onto the top line, he’s been tremendous. I should point out that Dad always was a fan of Frankie V. When that move was made, he loved it. Florida didn’t need him. But boy. Did the Rangers get scoring help. He’s up to five goals in only seven games.

Less than four minutes later, a big Trouba hit took a Pen off the puck in his end. That allowed Copp to move it up for Panarin, who gained the Pittsburgh zone and pulled up. With the Pens backing in, he found the trailing Schneider for his second goal to give the Rangers the lead with 2:56 remaining. An outstanding play by everyone involved.

So in what amounted to a feeling out process, the Blueshirts figured it out and led by a goal after two periods. But before the two sides skated off, the Pens again showed frustration. A Guentzel shot to Lindgren resulted in three roughing minors. He and Mike Matheson got matching roughs while Guentzel got the extra for starting it. That proved large.

Handed a power play for the first time to begin the third with a fresh sheet of ice, the Blueshirts made Guentzel pay for his selfish penalty. Sixty-six seconds into the man-advantage, Kreider was able to put home a wide Adam Fox carom past Jarry for his 45th goal. It also was his 23rd power play goal.

He is five shy of becoming the fourth Ranger to reach 50 goals in a single season. Kreider is one away from tying Jaromir Jagr for the most power play goals by a Ranger in a season. It’s been astonishing to watch him. Good for him. He is the real captain of this team. He’s certainly led by example.

Following the Kreider tally that put them up by two, some sustained pressure from the Pens resulted in Shesterkin denying Rickard Rakell from in tight. That was a big save.

On a quick transition, Kreider got the puck and let go of a good wrist shot from the circle. Jarry had trouble with it. He was able to keep it out. But it’s why I want Kreider to take shots from that exact spot. He passed up a wide open one prior by passing for Zibanejad, who tried a pass that didn’t work.

Goodrow lost position on Rust taking him down for an easy call. Again, the penalty kill took care of business. They were active throughout and broke up plays to get some big clears. The hard work featured both Copp and Motte out-hustling Pens to loose pucks. I can’t emphasize how huge those moves were.

Unfortunately, Copp got too aggressive on one offensive shift behind the Pens’ net. He got his stick into defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to trip him up. An ill advised offensive zone minor. Or Ryan Strome. If you don’t know by now, that’s sarcasm. Strome is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Somewhat predictably, the Pens took advantage of their third power play very quickly to make things interesting. Able to control the puck off a face-off, they finally got it set up. With the crowd urging them to shoot, Evgeni Malkin got the puck over for a Crosby point shot that beat a screened Shesterkin for his 25th.

Guentzel provided the screen. Letang and Malkin picked up assists on the Crosby power play goal that cut it to 3-2 with 9:23 left in the third. Crosby quietly has 70 points in 58 games. The goal gave him 98 career points versus the Rangers. He’s five away from 1,400.

After the goal, the Pens got momentum. With the fans encouraging them, a long Matheson shot hit the post. Shesterkin never saw it. That close to a tie game. But his best friend was there to give him some help. Ask Marc-Andre Fleury. He always thanks his goalposts. I bet he’s thrilled to be out of Chicago and in Minnesota.

The Rangers didn’t back up afterwards. They were solid in the neutral zone and standing up at their blue line. The attention to detail allowed them to attack the Pens and kill valuable time. It looked like they would wrap it up without a problem.

Then Trouba iced a puck with 2:32 remaining. At that point, Mike Sullivan wisely lifted Jarry for an extra attacker. What followed was chaos. Pittsburgh native Doc Emrick would’ve been proud.

A Kreider block of a Malkin shot with a minute and a half left looked like the end for the Pens. But Zibanejad hit the crossbar. Then Kreider had two attempts blocked by a diving Rakell. The crazy finish wasn’t over.

Following a Motte block of Letang, here came Goodrow ahead of everyone. But he couldn’t bury the shot from an angle. Instead, it hit the post. He then had another shot ring off the post for another miss with 42 seconds left.

It was absurd. Were they about to blow the game due to all these misses on the empty Pens’ net? They came close. Finally on another insane sequence, Guentzel got the point blank chance in front. But Shesterkin made the crucial save to stop his backhand with under 23 ticks to go.

Guentzel got one more shot from a tough angle that Shesterkin easily closed up with under five seconds remaining. The Pens had one last chance. Off a Jeff Carter face-off win, the came to Letang for a one-timer that missed the target.

Game over. What an ending. What a game. It really felt like three games played over 60 minutes. The Rangers deserved the two points in regulation and got it. They were better to take a second straight over their rivals. They now jump over Pittsburgh into second place in the division with 91 points.

As I told Sean when the insanity ended, I don’t care about that. Only getting the win. To think there’s 15 more games to go before the real season starts. They trail the Canes by five due to Carolina getting a point in an entertaining 4-3 overtime loss at the Lightning. Both have 15 left, but the Hurricanes hold the tiebreaker with two more regulation wins (38-36).

The two do meet twice down the stretch. Thanks to Alex Georgiev, they’ve split the first two in Raleigh. We’ll see what happens in NYC. I don’t know how it’ll play out. But these Blueshirts are improved. They can forecheck more and are tougher thanks to Drury’s additions. I feel better about their chances.

Next up are the Red Wings in your classic trap game. Similar to Buffalo on Sunday. As the players know, you can’t take the opponent for granted. If you do, then you get the ugly result they earned at the Devils. Detroit is coming off an 11-2 drubbing to the Pens. They’ll be ready.

My guess is Gallant will go with Georgiev. It’s a back-to-back situation and the perfect chance to get Shesterkin a night off. Keeping him fresh down the stretch is vital. No matter where they wind up, Igor is the key to the season. He can also rest other players if necessary. We’ll see.

This lasted longer than I anticipated. I hope whoever reads it appreciates what I put into it. It was a game worthy of a more detailed recap. Especially given that it was the Pens. They’ll see them one more time I over a week at MSG on April 7. Another big game.

Battle Of Hudson Three Stars 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Braden Schneider NYR scored 2nd NHL goal off smart read, 3 blocked shots, key defensive play, +1 in 12:01 in 19 even strength shifts

2nd 🌟 Chris Kreider NYR team best 45th goal plus 🍎, 4 SOG in 8 attempts, 3 hits, +1 in 17:47, 23 PPG lead league, one shy of Jagr for Rangers’ single season PPG record

1st 🌟 Jacob Trouba NYR 3 SOG in 6 attempts, 4 hits, takeaway, 2 blocked shots, +1 in 25:05 including 22:49 at even strength, a beast throughout

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