Kreider wins first ever Rod Gilbert Award as Mr. Ranger

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Derek
Rod Gilbert on an old cover of Sports Illustrated.

Prior to last night’s game, the Rangers presented a special new award. The Rod Gilbert Award goes to the player who exemplifies what being a Ranger is all about.

Rod Gilbert is probably the most iconic Blueshirt. As part of the memorable GAG Line, he spent his entire Hall Of Fame career on Broadway, scoring 406 goals with 615 assists for a franchise best 1021 points.  Nobody had more goals or points as a New York Ranger. Gilbert also is the franchise leader in even strength goals (298) and game-winning goals (52).

It was not only his consistency as a player that made him a fan favorite. But how he conducted himself off the ice. Gilbert always interacted with the fans. He became the Rangers Ambassador. A role he held with pride by representing the team well.

Many fans had memorable experiences with the legendary Hockey Hall Of Famer. That’s who Gilbert was. Always greeting everyone with a smile and even discussing the game with the fans. Dad met him plenty of times. I got a photo with him too at a team event. Awesome stuff.

It is for that reason that following his passing last summer that the organization decided to create an award named for Rod Gilbert. One that would honor his memory and everything he meant to the franchise.

Before the Rangers hosted the Canadiens on a night they also acknowledged recently passed hockey legend Guy Lafleur, who spent one year in Manhattan following a distinguished career with Montreal, they had a special presentation.

Adam Graves joined Rod’s wife Judy Christy who made the announcement. Before revealing the first ever winner, she mentioned how big a fan her late husband was of this player. Then, said how proud she was to present the Rod Gilbert Award to Chris Kreider.

Rod Gilbert Award Winner Chris Kreider gives interview on MSG Network. Photo by New York Rangers

A night removed from being near tears after winning the Steven McDonald Award as voted by the fans, a happier Kreider smiled as he came out on the ice in street clothes before hugging Judy and taking a picture. It was wonderful.

With nothing on the line for the Rangers, Kreider was one of seven regulars Gerard Gallant decided to rest. Andrew Copp, Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Artemi Panarin,  Jacob Trouba and Mika Zibanejad all sat out. A deserved night off for all.

Especially Kreider, whose 52 goals matched Graves for the second most by a Ranger in a season. His 77 points are a career high and 26 power play goals along with 11 game-winners are new team records for a single season.

It sure has been a special year for the Boston, Massachusetts kid who once was selected 19th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft. Having never reached 30 goals with 28 the most, Kreider has been a model of consistency.

With the departure of Pavel Buchnevich, who has had a career year in St. Louis, it’s been Kreider that has stepped to the forefront. He’s led by example on and off the ice. The only thing left for him to receive is the captaincy. Something that looks like a foregone conclusion once 2022-23 begins. That’s a long way off.

Right now, there’s plenty of business for the Rangers to take care of. After tonight’s slate of games with both the Caps and Pens in action, we’ll have a better idea how much meaning tomorrow’s season finale against Washington will mean. It’ll either be them or Pittsburgh in the first round starting either next Monday or Tuesday.

It’s been an exciting season. One that’s restored pride to the Rangers jersey. There’ll be a real postseason. The first in five long years. Zibanejad still hasn’t forgotten how 2017 ended. Good. Holdovers like him and Kreider shouldn’t. They want to make this year special.

Seeing the success of those two in particular has been great to watch. The growth and maturity of the Broadway dynamic duo are a big reason for the team’s success. They are two of the biggest leaders. Along with Fox, Trouba, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and key addition Barclay Goodrow, there are plenty of high character players who have been instrumental.

Igor Shesterkin also didn’t play on Wednesday. The Vezina favorite got a night off. It remains to be seen if he’ll get the final start of the regular season tomorrow. He’s been unbelievable. The certain Team MVP is the most important player headed into the playoffs. They wouldn’t be here without him.

That sure is true of Chris Kreider. Congratulations to him on such special honors. It is well deserved.

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

Hurricanes storm past Rangers to capture Metro Division, Kreider wins Steven McDonald Award, Late comeback falls short, Copp and Panarin exit early for precaution, MSG broadcast disappoints

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Derek

There’s a lot to get to tonight. In losing 4-3 to the Hurricanes despite being down both Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp the final two periods, the Rangers gave a valiant effort.

Ultimately, it’ll go down as a one-goal loss to the first place Hurricanes. They wrapped up the Metro Division by coming into The Garden and laying claim to their second straight division title. That means Carolina will be the first seed and likely face the Bruins in the first round. The NHL Playoffs begin next Monday, May 2.

There’s no shame in losing. Especially when Gerard Gallant had to scramble his lines once Panarin and Copp exited to protect minor injuries. It’s upper-body for Panarin and lower-body for Copp. If this were next week, Gallant indicated they would’ve played. Better to proceed with caution with what’s ahead.

Despite using only 10 forwards while the Canes had a baker’s dozen and the full allotment on the back end, the Blueshirts managed to slice a 4-1 deficit to one thanks to Alexis Lafreniere scoring his 18th at 18:58 with Igor Shesterkin on the bench.

They didn’t go down easy. Not on a special night where they honored the memory of Steven McDonald by having son Conor present the prestigious Award to a very deserving Chris Kreider. The NYPD Sergeant who followed in his late father’s footsteps, said he was very happy to see Kreider receive the award.

Emotions ran high before opening face-off at 33rd and 7th. The Steven McDonald Award embodies everything you want to see from a Ranger who goes above and beyond the call of duty like the many police officers who sacrifice their lives to protect this city everyday.

It’s been in existence since 1987-88. We all know the story of former NYPD patrolman Steven McDonald, who was shot in the line of duty by a teenager in 1986. He was paralyzed from the neck down and a quadriplegic due to the unfortunate circumstances. Somehow, he found it deep in his heart to forgive the teen who eventually apologized.

It’s that tremendous character and human spirit that made McDonald so synonymous with the fabric of New York City. I always looked forward to his speeches near the end of the season. He truly was amazing. Although he’s since passed on over five years ago, his spirit and legacy lives on in our hearts.

Seeing a homegrown kid like Kreider win the award was special. The longest tenured Ranger who’s close to the family, showed a lot of emotion when Conor announced him as the winner. In an interview with Dave Maloney during intermission following a wonderful first period, he teared up while speaking about how much it meant to him to win.

In a season where he’s been unbelievable, it was fitting that Kreider scored a goal during the second period to cut the deficit to 2-1. That goal gave him 52 for the season. He’s now tied Adam Graves for the second most goals ever scored by a Blueshirt in a season. With two games remaining against Montreal and Washington, he needs two to tie record holder Jaromir Jagr. Three to pass him.

It’s hard to think about anything else aside from how Kreider reacted to winning the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. There was a game that they lost. But to see him score a beauty of a goal by out maneuvering Pyotr Kochetkov for a sweet backhand tuck, that was magical. Poetic too when you think about what the true captain has meant to this team.

As much as we recognize the remarkable play of Shesterkin for where they are, Kreider has 52 goals. That’s insane! The next closest is Mika Zibanejad with 29. Where would they be without the consistent production of Kreider, who at 30 has finally gotten rewarded for all his hard work? 52 goals. 26 power play goals. 11 game-winners. 77 points.

It speaks for itself. Shesterkin is the Team MVP. Even if he allowed four goals on 36 shots against a tough opponent, he remains a virtual lock for his first Vezina. Something that would be well deserved for the electrifying 26-year old Russian. He made a bevy of big saves to give our team a chance. Of course he did.

With them now knowing they can do no better than second place in the division with a date guaranteed featuring either the Caps or Pens next week, it’s possible that Gallant might opt to rest Shesterkin for Game One.

Alex Georgiev should definitely get the start tonight against the Canadiens, who are coming off a very emotional tribute to legend Guy Lafleur. If you haven’t seen it, please do. It was amazing. A 10-minute standing ovation following the emotional video tribute which was perfect. The Habs care about their history and tradition.

I wish I could say the same for Madison Square Garden and the Rangers organization. They really did a former legend a disservice during the third period of tonight’s broadcast on MSG. It was abominable.

As far as the game versus the Carolina Rangers [six dressed including Antti Raanta as the backup], I had no complaints. The first period delivered some of the best hockey we’ve seen. Playoff intensity. Splendid goaltending. Great skating. Edge. Scoring chances.

At the start, the first good chance was created by Zibanejad. He skated around the net and fed Frank Vatrano in front for a good opportunity that Kochetkov denied in tight. For a 22-year old with less than two games of NHL experience, the Canes’ goalie prospect played well. Kochetkov finished with 31 saves on 34 shots.

Following some early stops from his younger Russian counterpart, it was Shesterkin’s turn to make the big saves. On a bad clearing attempt by Filip Chytil, the dangerous Teuvo Teravainen got in and made two fakes that Shesterkin didn’t go for. He came up with the clutch stop on a tough backhand.

Nino Niederreiter would later ring one off the far goalpost. Always a pleasant sound for goalies. Not shooters. Niederreiter would be heard from later in a different aspect.

While pressuring booing target Tony DeAngelo, who earned them in this one, Vatrano got his stick into the Canes’ defenseman to earn a tripping minor. That gave the Canes a power play.

On it, they had a couple of good looks. They move the puck well. That created a chance for Martin Necas, who instead of shooting went for the pass. It didn’t work. Then Igor stoned rookie Seth Jarvis, who’ll be seeing him in his dreams after tonight. He was robbed several times.

After dodging the Carolina power play, then it was the Rangers’ turn to finally get some attack time. It was quite memorable. You had Panarin put on a series of moves on proven shutdown defenseman Jaccob Slavin. With the crowd loving it, Panarin made one final dance move and nearly had Zibanejad for the first goal. Credit Kochetkov for tracking the play and making the key stop.

One thing I noticed in a high shooting period where the teams combined for 25 shots (14-11 Canes) is Kochetkov took away the bottom part of the net. That’s what most of these goalies do. If there was an area they could’ve been better at, it was getting traffic. They didn’t test Kochetkov enough upstairs.

Part of that was due to how well the Hurricanes defended the net front. They didn’t allow many unchecked Blueshirts to get free. There weren’t many rebounds either. They were kept to the outside by a well schooled team.

The refs then got tricked into calling Ryan Reaves for holding on Brady Skjei. He pulled the old Jamie Langenbrunner Special. That’s where a player pulls an opponent’s stick into them and gets the call. Langenbrunner was the master at that. But it was usually hooking.

It should’ve been two each. Utterly ridiculous. Not coincidentally, Skjei got a real tough shot on Shesterkin where the Canes peppered him on their second man-advantage. He stopped eight power play shots in total in the period.

Finally, the Rangers got a call. This time, Skjei was nabbed for a hook on Zibanejad, who made sure to sell it to the blind duo of Corey Syvret and the always unreliable Chris Lee. Lee has been brutal for years. I don’t bash officials often. But I can’t stand Lee. He and Syvret had a bad night.

This moment got to me. That would be a teary-eyed Kreider talking to Maloney about the significance of the McDonald Award. It was something.

Following a successful kill that freed Skjei, who had a good game, the Canes were penalized again. Jordan Staal hooked into Jacob Trouba enough to hand the Rangers a second consecutive power play early on in the second period.

If there was one noticeable difference, it was the aggressive nature of the Canes’ penalty killers. They really do a good job pressuring up top. The Rangers got a couple of chances down low. But passes for Kreider just missed. That was due to the Canes’ aggressiveness.

Then Necas took down Barclay Goodrow for a third consecutive penalty. This really was the opportunity the home side blew. Kreider had the best chance, but Kochetkov denied him point blank by closing it up.

Following that save, Adam Fox made a nice move at the Carolina blue line and got tripped. No call. He hustled to keep the play alive. But eventually, the Canes’ relentless pressure led to Sebastian Aho nearly setting up Teravainen shorthanded. Shesterkin made a tough save on a high labeler.

It was following that kill where things unraveled. The Canes really upped the intensity. They started forechecking and keeping our players pinned in. Eventually, it led to Vincent Trocheck breaking the ice after Ryan Lindgren fell down. Skjei found Trocheck open for a one-timer into an open side with K’Andre Miller caught in no man’s land.

It was following that goal where I was incensed. Fox was blatantly tripped. This one had to be called. But in typical fashion, it wasn’t. I know the power play stunk. But that should’ve been a five-on-four.

At that point, both Copp and Panarin were done for the night. I still would’ve loved to see what Gallant could’ve come up with had they gotten a fourth straight power play in that spot. They were only down a goal.

Of course, right after the miss came a second Canes’ goal. Fittingly, it was Derek Stepan who took a weird shot from the slot that took a funny deflection off of Jordan Martinook in front to make it 2-0 at 13:48.

Give Chris Lee and his partner the assist for blindness. They weren’t finished messing up the game.

Even with things working against them, you had a spark from the Zibanejad line. Twice, Kreider was stopped by Kochetkov. However, he would finally break through when off a broken play, he took a Vatrano lead and went backhand deke to slip home number 52 at 16:56.

But with the crowd that included Dad and his friend Tommy back into it, they fell asleep on the next Canes’ goal. Another subtle play by Skjei was followed by a tip pass from Trocheck leading to Teravainen finally getting one past Shesterkin high blocker for a crusher with 1:41 left.

That made it 3-1. With a few seconds to go, chaos ensued behind Kochetkov’s net. After Skjei got physical with Zibanejad after a late bid with a strong check, Niederreiter got involved. He shoved down Zibanejad.

Somehow, he didn’t get an extra for this. Instead, they gave Fox and him matching roughing minors. This was absolute madness. It’s some of the worst officiating I’ve seen this year.

Also getting involved was DeAngelo at the buzzer. He gave Miller a chop to the leg. This enraged the Rangers bench. Reaves came over and exchanged words with DeAngelo, who really drew the ire of the fans. If he wasn’t the enemy before, he sure is now. DeAngelo embraced being the heel. The boos were louder in the third.

Maybe the most disappointing part was that before they could get going, Aho scored his 37th only 32 seconds into the final period. He was set up by Jarvis and Slavin.

That goal really was too much to overcome. It made it 4-1. For most of the third, it felt like a glorified exhibition. The Blueshirts seemed to pull back while the Hurricanes finished every check. That irked me.

But in a game where Shesterkin made many great saves to keep it from being a blowout, the Rangers never quit. They never do. It’s not in this team’s DNA.

Even without two of their best forwards, they found a way to get back in it. On a good Zibanejad forecheck, he got the puck over for Miller who found Trouba for a long point shot that took a good carom off Jesper Fast. That made it 4-2 with 6:48 remaining.

The goal for Trouba gave him a new career high with 11. He’s one point away from 40. It would be the second time if he got it. He hit 50 for the only time with the Jets in ’18-19.

With no more penalties or nastiness, the Blueshirts kept coming at Kochetkov. Eventually with Shesterkin off, Lafreniere was able to put home a Kreider feed to make it 4-3 with 62 seconds to go.

It was a valiant effort. Even though they never found the tying goal, they forced the healthier Canes to hold on for the win. They made them earn it.

My biggest disappointment with the home broadcast was the complete ignorance of Bill Cook. They even put up a graphic showing that Kreider with his 229th goal was now ninth on the all-time franchise list.

Even Sam Rosen didn’t mention Cook by name. It’s like he doesn’t exist. This is an organizational failure from the top. They only care about 1994 and acknowledge the 1971-72 team due to what it meant to fans like our Dad growing up.

Believe it or not, there was plenty of Rangers history before Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield. It isn’t only Ed Giacomin, Harry Howell, Andy Bathgate (Dad’s favorite Ranger), Brad Park or any of the retired ’94 heroes we love.

How many of our fans know about Camille Henry being sixth on the all-time franchise goal scoring list ahead of Brian Leetch and Mark Messier? Dad could tell you all about him.

Without those who came before them, there are no New York Rangers or any Madison Square Garden at 34th Street Penn Station. That’s not where they originated. History is all but ignored like the plague by the organization.

Despite all the great things they do which include a night like tonight honoring Steven McDonald, the jersey retirements, the Garden Of Dreams, it is a total disservice to true fans of the team to not acknowledge the entire history.

The Bread Line of Bill and Bun Cook with Frank Boucher are responsible for so much of the franchise’s success. So is Lorne Chabot, Dave Kerr and Lester Patrick. Sean McCaffrey of bluecollarblueshirts.com has harped on this for a while. He has a book covering the full history.

They never even thought to honor Emile Francis for what he did restoring pride to the Rangers in the 60’s to set up the 70’s. They let him pass away and made one acknowledgment. Brutal.

We all love seeing Henrik Lundqvist add his excellent views on what’s coming up for this team. He’s a joy to watch just like his playing days. He’s a King. I wish they didn’t overlook their own rich history. That’s where they won three of four Cups.

I’m done. I find myself disappointed over this oversight. Shame on the fools who run the statistics and history of the Rangers. They suck!

There’s another game tonight. It’s against a true Original Six franchise who recognizes their entire history.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Pyotr Kochetkov Canes 31 saves on 34 shots

2nd 🌟 Brady Skjei Canes 2 assists, 4 SOG, +1 in 21:40, a pest throughout

1st 🌟 Chris Kreider NYR goal number 52 to tie Graves for 2nd most in a season by a Ranger, assist, 6 SOG, Steven McDonald Award Winner

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

Devils 2021-22 season recap: Another season of more valleys than peaks

Posted on April 24, 2022 by hasan4978

Yes I know there are still three games left in the 2021-22 season, but for all intents and purposes our season was over three months ago. Two of these games left are also against non-playoff teams and the other one against Carolina we could only possibly play spoiler on seeding if you care about that (Derek might), but it’s unlikely – especially after the Devils shockingly clamped down the Canes for fifty-four minutes yesterday, then suffered a complete meltdown blowing a 2-0 lead and losing in OT. So basically what you’re looking at is an early start for the 2022-23 preseason, complete with auditions for younger players like Nolan Foote, Kevin Bahl, Nikita Okhotyuk and Fabian Zetterlund who’ve debuted in the last few weeks to mixed results – mostly good for Okhotyuk and Zetterlund, okay for Bahl and ugly for Foote.

I already took a look back (and forward) at players and coaches in my last post, so this will be more of a general team overview month-by-month, with as much enthusiasm as I can muster for a season where the team has 62 points in 79 games, and that’s with eight OT/SO losses added in.

October (record: 4-2-1) – For the second year in a row things got off to a promising start as the Devils won their first two games of the year at home including arguably the highlight of the season on Opening Night, Jack Hughes’ OT winner (and stick-throwing celebration) against the Blackhawks. Unfortunately after getting their second win against the expansion Kraken four nights later, Hughes suffered a shoulder injury (missing approximately six weeks), in what proved to be a harbinger for the rest of the season for both player and team. New Jersey lost two of the next three games, including the lowlight of the month against Calgary – giving up four goals in less than twelve minutes to start the game, though they eventually made it a game somehow, losing 5-3. Still, wins over the Sabres – with rookie Nico Daws having a spectacular debut – and Penguins helped the Devils stay above water for the month.

November (record: 5-5-3) – Even without Hughes, the Devils were able to keep their strong start going through mid-November after an impressive three-game winning streak against the Sharks, Panthers and Islanders saw the Devils reach their high-water mark at 7-3-2, eerily similar to the Devils’ 6-3-2 start to last season before the roof fell in. For the next month, the script repeated itself as the Devils went 3-12-3 through a Christmas/COVID break in December, closing November winning only two of their last eight games, one against a Flyer team on a ten-game losing streak of its own. Clearly the highlight of the month was the Devils blistering a hot Panther team with goals in a 7-3 home win, while the lowlight was our tenuous goaltending situation coming to a head with Jonathan Bernier going on IR for good after hip surgery, and losing Scott Wedgewood on waivers meant we only had Mackenzie Blackwood left, and he went on and off of IR all year until mid-January when he disappeared nearly for good until the Devils announced he would return for two of the final three games this season, whoopdie damn doo.

December (record: 3-8-1) – There weren’t too many highlights this month as the Devils lost nine of their first ten games, including six straight in regulation – before the Omicron variant ravaged the Devils and most of the rest of the NHL enough to cancel and postpone a myriad of games around the Christmas break. Despite Hughes’ return the offense was just pedestrian ‘led’ by a miserable power play that prompted chants of firing assistant coach Mark Recchi – a first as far as I can tell, while the goaltending continued to struggle apart from Blackwood’s second shutout of the season (the team’s only pair of goose eggs). I guess you have to say the highlight of the month was our wild 6-5 OT win against the Oilers on New Year’s Eve, despite blowing four leads and needing a late Yegor Sharangovich goal just to get to OT, before Hughes scored yet another 3-on-3 winner, sans stick toss this time. Our lowlight was clearly the six-game losing streak that pretty much ended any semblance of a season.

January (record: 3-9) – After closing December with two wins coming off their extended holiday break and COVID recuperation the Devils actually continued their mini-surge with two wins in their first three games of January, but of course the good times wouldn’t last as the Devils would lose ten of their next eleven games. Our only win in that stretch was a shocking 7-4 pond hockey party against the division-leading Hurricanes on the 22nd. Three days earlier however, we saw the lowlight of the month when the Devils suffered a terrible loss at the Rock against Arizona, and it proved to be Blackwood’s last game for over three months as he finally went on IR and hasn’t come back until this Tuesday, allegedly. Another important injury occured early in January when Dougie Hamilton went on the shelf with a broken jaw, concussion and eventually his own COVID stint. All told, Hamilton missed six weeks and the player who came back hasn’t been the same guy who played up until then.

February (record: 4-5) – Compared to the previous two and a half months, going 4-5 doesn’t seem so bad, but the month got off to a particularly inauspicious start when the Devils were hammered 7-1 by the Leafs, then after the All-Star break Hughes came back with COVID, so he missed a couple more games. At least the team temporarily started treading water, mostly thanks to an offense which started heating up and scoring 7, 7, 6 and 7 goals in the Devils’ four wins of the month. Which they pretty much needed to do since our goaltending – by now some combination of journeyman Jon Gillies and raw rookie Daws – was floundering even worse. Our high point of the month was a two-game stretch in early February where we beat the Canadiens and Blues, scoring seven goals in each game and causing Montreal to make a change at head coach after our 7-1 blowout emasculated them.

March (record: 5-9) – Starting the month 3-3 continued our brief surge of .500 hockey, highlighted by a rousing comeback from 3-0 against the West-leading Avalanche to win 5-3 at the Rock. That game came in the middle of a surprisingly solid homestand where the Devils won three of four, only losing a tight 2-1 game against Winnipeg. Of course when the team went back on the road then things went off the rails again, with eight straight losses away from the Prudential Center in March – including a Western Canada swing where the scores looked like a Novak Djokovic first-round match at Wimbledon (6-3, 6-3, 6-3), and the low point of the month if not the season…an 8-1 drubbing at Boston on the last day of March.

April (current record: 3-6-3) – Our road meltdown in March carried over to the Prudential Center in April as the Devils began the month with four straight home defeats, including my least favorite of the season…the meltdown against the Panthers where the Devils held a 6-2 lead in the third period then somehow, someway through hideous goaltending and a prevent defense, it all disappeared in the New Jersey smog as the Devils lost 7-6 in a game that was more symbolic and annoying than meaningful.

Ironically, April’s been the inverse of March so far with the team looking competent on the road after a 3-1-1 trip while losing seven straight games at the Rock heading into Friday’s Fan Appreciation Day finale. Hughes and defensive revelation Jonas Siegenthaler getting injured and missing the rest of the season didn’t help either. If there was a highlight to this point it was probably the win in Vegas where the Devils played major spoiler to a Golden Knights team on the bubble, but being this is April and the team was way out of it I didn’t bother to watch any of the West Coast swing games.

Well that’s all I got…onto Fan Appreciation Day and the draft I guess, and probably not much posting here unless there’s actual news perhaps (i.e. a decision is made on the coaching staff).

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

First place no longer on the line Tuesday, health the key for Rangers in final week, NHL hypocrisy on injuries

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Derek

It was a missed opportunity for the Rangers this weekend. Without forwards Andrew Copp and Filip Chytil, they lost to the Bruins 3-1 on Saturday.

Combined with the Hurricanes sweeping the Devils and Islanders, the Rangers now trail them by four points with three games left in the final week of the regular season. First place won’t be up for grabs when they do battle this Tuesday in Manhattan.

In order for them to still have a chance at first in the Metro, the Rangers need to win and get help. That would mean the Devils beating Carolina on Thursday. At the moment, the Canes have 112 points and are two up in regulation wins (45-43), which is the first tiebreaker. They also have the ROW (regulation overtime wins) sealed off.

Essentially, the Rangers would have to finish with more points than the Canes to grab the top spot in the division. It’s still possible. With three games remaining including the critical one on Tuesday, they can still catch the Hurricanes. A regulation win and then another versus Montreal the following night at MSG would draw them even with both teams having one left.

Then, it would come down to the final game. While the Canes host the Devils on Thursday, the Blueshirts battle potential first round opponent Washington this Friday.

The edge would probably go to Carolina in terms of the match-ups. But you never know. Although it looks like the Devils are in full tank mode following a 3-0 shutout at home to the Red Wings, the game still has to be played.

At this point, all of this might not matter. What does is that the Rangers have guaranteed home ice for the first round. If it’s the Penguins or Capitals, having a deciding Game Seven at The Garden is a good thing. So is having the first two games. But as we know, anything can happen in the playoffs. Especially considering how competitive the Eastern Conference is.

Regarding yesterday’s loss to the Bruins, I wasn’t too surprised. After learning that both Copp and Chytil suffered injuries during the third period of the blowout win over the Islanders (figures), that meant a weaker lineup. For reasons only known to him, Gerard Gallant dressed Julien Gauthier over Jonny Brodzinski. Greg McKegg also played. At least he can play penalty kill and take face-offs.

While our side was down a couple of key regulars, the Bruins got back top sniper David Pastrnak and key defenseman Hampus Lindholm. That gave them a boost. Pastrnak scored in his return. Taylor Hall also did when he got behind Ryan Lindgren for a breakaway goal beating Igor Shesterkin top shelf.

It wasn’t the best defensive effort from Adam Fox, who got caught cheating up. That left Lindgren chasing Hall for what proved to be the game-winner. On the Pastrnak goal, he beat both K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba.

The third Boston goal saw Craig Smith use his speed to get a shot on Shesterkin that turned into a rebound for Trent Frederic. On that one, it was the third pair of Patrik Nemeth and Braden Schneider who were beat.

That came after Mika Zibanejad got his 15th power play goal from Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere. Lafreniere also drew a delayed call with a great move inside. That allowed Kreider to set up Zibanejad for his 29th that made things interesting.

However, the second consecutive power play was abysmal. They got nothing going. The Bruins did a better job on the penalty kill. They didn’t allow any setup time. The entries were bad. So was the puck management.

Usually, Gallant will use his timeout to rest his top unit for a key power play. He opted not to. They just didn’t get it done. They did pull Shesterkin down a pair late. But even following a Zibanejad face-off win that led to puck possession time, they really couldn’t get anything done. Credit Boston.

I liked the effort from our players late. You had Artemi Panarin make a save on an empty net attempt. There was some hustle shown. Brad Marchand still got a wide open look. But he hit the goalpost. Maybe having gone nine straight without a goal played mind games. Ironic when it comes to The Rat, who looked disgusted when he returned to the bench.

It isn’t like the Rangers didn’t create scoring chances. They did. Linus Ullmark made some superb saves. He had Zibanejad’s number on a few during the first two periods.

Ullmark also got over to rob Frank Vatrano on a good pass from Zibanejad. Vatrano always puts himself in good position to do damage. A tremendous pickup by Chris Drury to complete the Zibanejad line. Frankie V has that shoot first mentality which makes Zibanejad and Kreider even better players.

Without the good Copp, Turk opted to play Dryden Hunt on the Panarin line with Ryan Strome. As we’ve seen during the season, that isn’t a good option. Nothing against Hunt, who plays an honest grinding style which fits perfectly on the fourth line. But it’s a big drop off.

Eventually, Gallant moved up Lafreniere onto the Bread Man line. It was a nice reward by the coach after Lafreniere was instrumental on the Zibanejad tally. Speaking of which, one more goal and he gets 30. It would be the third time in his career.

Considering what a well rounded player he’s become, Zibanejad deserves it. He’s had more explosive years. The ’19-20 season comes to mind when he caught fire scoring 41 along with 75 points over 57 contests before Covid.

However, he’s never been a better player than now. Gallant recently heaped praise on Mika by calling him, the team’s best 200-foot player. A huge compliment for the center, who now looks like a bargain with his next contract an AAV of $8.5 million beginning next season.

Who would you rather have now? Zibanejad or Jack Eichel. It isn’t even a debate. Funny how sometimes, the best moves you make are the ones you don’t. Thank God.

As far as what happens with Strome and Copp, I’m not concerned about it. It’s all about now for the Blueshirts. As in what they have the potential to accomplish the rest of this season.

It all starts in May. If Copp needs another game off, you rest him. Think big picture. Ditto for Chytil, who can’t seem to avoid the injury bug. I feel like it’s how he’s built. If he wants to survive over the long-term in the NHL, he’ll need to get stronger. The setbacks have hurt his development.

As for Kaapo Kakko, your guess is as good as mine. Gallant hinted that he could get back in for a game before the conclusion of the regular season. We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath. When it comes to transparency, this organization may as well be related to Benedict Arnold. They can’t be taken at their word.

Unfortunately, that’s most teams now. Everything is “lower-body”, “upper-body” or “undisclosed.” It’s all top secret. How is this still a thing when they push a zillion gambling promotions during games? It’s hypocritical. I’m no fan of prop betting or wagering. But it is what it is. There needs to be more clarity on injuries. When will the NHL change their policy?

Not only does it hurt the addicted gamblers. But affects fantasy hockey. You never know how long a player is out. They’re listed as week to week or day-to-day. That really helps. The whole dishonesty is a disservice to fans. It’s so hard to get a timetable.

All of this is confusing. When it comes to the Rangers, the final three games are all about health. They don’t want to be in a tough situation like the Hurricanes.

Playing without starter Freddie Andersen already, they lost Antti Raanta to a lower-body injury during today’s game. He went to get across on a Kyle Palmieri wrap try, but landed awkwardly. It looked like a tweak to possibly the groin. Howie’s assertion in our Twitter thread.

The Canes wound up using new rookie Pyotr Kochetkov for the second straight day. He came in relief and stopped seven of eight shots. An unproven goalie prospect who was taken in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, it’s a tough spot for Kochetkov to he in. He’ll likely be facing the Rangers on Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1518295322358951936?t=OA_w_MZ9Yvom2d-kqbG5SA&s=19

As much as I’d love to see Kreider chase down Jaromir Jagr and get the three goals to tie his record for a season, or even pass him, it’s all about the postseason.

That goes for all of the Blueshirts. How many starts will Shesterkin make this week? It probably depends on Tuesday. Expect him to be in versus the Canes. The Habs could be a potential opponent for Alex Georgiev. But that assumes a lot.

What about resting Adam Fox? I doubt they’d do it. But they can manage his minutes if necessary. It all depends on how things shake out.

Individual statistics are secondary to team goals. The ’21-22 New York Rangers have a big one. Let’s enjoy the last three games for what they are. It’s part of something much bigger.

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

History Made: Panarin sets record for most assists by a Ranger forward, Kreider ties Cook on all-time franchise list

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Derek

It’s been a history making year for the Rangers. In their latest win- a satisfying 6-3 triumph over the Islanders- Artemi Panarin made some history.

The 30-year old Russian assisted on all three of Andrew Copp’s goals during the first period. After setting up the first two with great passes, he started the play that led to Copp recording a natural hat trick late in the period.

On a Panarin lead pass to Ryan Strome, who made a perfect backdoor feed for a Copp tap in, that scoring play allowed the Bread Man to set a new team record for the most assists by a Ranger forward in a season.

His third helper of the period allowed him to pass Hall Of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. Both of who each had 72 helpers in different seasons. Messier did it in ’91-92 when he won the Hart Trophy in his first season on Broadway. Gretzky achieved it in ’96-97 when he teamed with Messier and single season record holder Brian Leetch to lead the team to the Conference Finals.

Before the night concluded, Panarin added a fourth assist on a Strome goal in the second period. That gives him 74 with four games left. Only Sergei Zubov and Leetch are ahead of him for the most assists in a season. Zubov recorded 77 during ’93-94 while Leetch set the franchise record with 80 apples in ’91-92.

This leaves four games on the remaining schedule for Panarin to try to catch Leetch. He also needs four points to become the seventh Blueshirt to reach 100 over a season. The last player to hit the century mark was Leetch when he had 102 points (22-80-102) in ’91-92. The year he won the first of two Norris Trophies.

For ’21-22, Panarin leads the Rangers I’m scoring with 96 points (22-74-96). A new career high established on Thursday night which eclipsed the 95 he totaled in ’19-20. The Covid shortened season where he went 32-63-95 in 69 games before the NHL paused play.

Also continuing to make history in a career year is Chris Kreider. At 30, the former 2009 first round pick has already established career bests in goals (51), points (74), power play goals (26), game-winners (11) and shots (245).

Late in the second period, Kreider scored goal number 51 when he converted a rebound of an Adam Fox shot on the power play. It padded his team record to 26 power play goals. His goal also became the game-winning goal. A team record 11th for a single season.

With the goal, Kreider also made some history by tying Hall Of Famer Bill Cook for 10th on the all-time franchise list. It was the 228th goal of his career. That puts Kreider in a tie with Cook. A nice achievement for the career Ranger.

The 51 goals are the third most by a Blueshirt in a season. By scoring on the man-advantage, he passed Vic Hadfield (50). With four games remaining, he is one away from tying Adam Graves (52) and needs three to tie record holder Jaromir Jagr (54).

With three assists, Adam Fox became the fourth Ranger to have 70 points in ’21-22. It’s the first time that’s happened since ’93-94 when Zubov, Messier, Leetch and Graves all went over 70 in ’93-94. As a team, the Rangers have done it four times including in ’71-72 and ’91-92.

Fox is also the first Ranger defenseman to eclipse 70 points since Leetch in ’00-01 when he had 79 (21-58-79). With four games left, Fox has 72 points (11-61-72). He played in his 200th career game Thursday night. In 200 games, Fox has 161 points (24-137-161).

MOST ASSISTS IN SEASON (NYR)

1. Brian Leetch 80 ’91-92

2. Sergei Zubov 77 ’93-94

3. Artemi Panarin 74 ’21-22

MOST ASSISTS BY FORWARD SEASON (NYR)

1. Artemi Panarin 74 ’21-22

2. Mark Messier 72 ’91-92

3. Wayne Gretzky 72 ’96-97

MOST PPG SEASON (NYR)

1. Chris Kreider 26 ’21-22

2. Jaromir Jagr 24 ’05-06

3. Vic Hadfield 23 ’71-72

MOST GWG SEASON (NYR)

1. Chris Kreider 11 ’21-22

2. Don Maloney 9 ’80-81

3. Mark Messier 9 ’96-97

4. Jaromir Jagr 9 ’05-06

5. Ryan Callahan 9 ’11-12

6. Brad Richards 9 ’11-12

7. Rick Nash 9 ’13-14

ALL-TIME FRANCHISE GOAL SCORING LIST (NYR)

T10. Bill Cook 228

T10. Chris Kreider 228

9. Brian Leetch 240

8. Steve Vickers 246

7. Mark Messier 250

6. Camille Henry 256

FOUR 70-POINT SCORERS FRANCHISE HISTORY (NYR)

1. 1971-72 Jean Ratelle (109), Vic Hadfield (106), Rod Gilbert (97), Brad Park (73)

2. 1991-92 Mark Messier (107), Brian Leetch (102), Mike Gartner (81), James Patrick (71)

3. 1993-94 Sergei Zubov (89), Mark Messier (84), Adam Graves (79), Brian Leetch (79)

4. 2021-22 Artemi Panarin (96), Mika Zibanejad (79), Chris Kreider (74), Adam Fox (72)

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

The Good Copp gets a natural hat trick to highlight Rangers’ win over Islanders, Panarin adds four assists to hit career best 96 points, Strome gets number 20, Kreider ties Cook on all-time Rangers goal list

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Derek
A Good Copp Hat Trick: Andrew Copp is mobbed by excited teammates following his third straight goal that gave him a natural hat trick to highlight a 6-3 Rangers’ victory over the Islanders in Elmont. AP Photo via NYRangers.

It was a good night in Elmont. A pretty memorable one for Andrew Copp. His natural hat trick in a great first period highlighted a Rangers’ 6-3 win over the Islanders at UBS Arena in Long Island.

Since coming over from Winnipeg, the good Copp has been a great fit with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. Tonight demonstrated why. The cohesive trio were dangerous every time they had the puck against the Islanders. They had no answer for that line.

While Copp recorded his second career hat trick (first as a Ranger), Panarin added four assists to give him 74 for the season. The 74 apples are the most ever by a Ranger forward in a season. He has four games left to chase down Brian Leetch’s record of 80 set in ’91-92.

The four helpers helped Panarin set a new career high in points with 96 for ’21-22. In the Covid shortened ’19-20 season, the Bread Man had 95 before the pause. Now, he has a shot at hitting the century mark for the first time in his brilliant career.

Also an instrumental part of the scoring line is Strome. Although it hasn’t been his best year, he was able to score a career high 20th goal and add an assist to give him 52 points in 70 games. During the postgame seated next to Adam Fox, who had three helpers, Strome was pleased to finally get 20 goals in a season. He’s got three over the last two games.

With all three clicking, it creates a dilemma for opponents this postseason. They can either shadow the Panarin line and try to match up, or go up against the Mika Zibanejad line that features top finisher Chris Kreider and Frank Vatrano. This is a good thing for the Blueshirts.

Speaking of which, Kreider ended a three-game drought by scoring number 51 on the power play. That would be his 26th power play goal. Also a single season franchise record. In notching that goal, he tied Bill Cook for 10th on the all-time goal scoring list as a New York Ranger.

That goal was number 228. In tying a Rangers legend and Hall Of Famer in Cook who of course wasn’t acknowledged by MSG Network, Kreider can now set his sights on ninth next season. He is 12 goals away from Leetch on the all-time list. Steve Vickers is eighth with 246 and Mark Messier is seventh with 250. Something to keep an eye on down the road.

If you love and appreciate team history like I do along with Dad, Justin and friend Sean McCaffrey of bluecollarblueshirts.com, then there’s a lot to look forward to. Franchise history is something I’m going to devote more time to. Maybe not a book like McCaffrey or the revered Stan Fischler. But it’s important for our fans to know the full history of the Rangers.

Also, with Fox adding three assists, he joined Panarin, Zibanejad and Kreider to become the fourth Ranger to record 70 points in the same season. Something that’s only been done four times in franchise history. The last one coming during ’93-94 when Sergei Zubov, Messier, Leetch and Adam Graves achieved it during the Stanley Cup year. The other two are ’91-92 and ’71-72.

Every one of those seasons were special. The Rangers played for the Cup in ’72. Then won the President’s Trophy in ’92. Obviously, they won the Cup in ’94. What will the ’21-22 Rangers do? That is a good question. It’s always good to be part of such history. If they play their cards right, it could be special.

Beating the Islanders at their barn was important. Especially when you consider how tough the last two games were. Both losses at MSG including that uncompetitive one in which Gerard Gallant blasted their effort. He got his team’s attention. They’ve played better since.

The latest victory kept the Rangers in a first place tie with the Hurricanes. They were 4-2 winners over the Jets to keep pace. Both teams have four games remaining. Carolina still holds the first tiebreaker with one more RW (regulation wins). They meet next Tuesday at The Garden.

What we do know is at the very least, they will have home ice in the first round. Pittsburgh cannot catch them. Neither can Washington. The Rangers will play for home ice in the first two rounds. If they get it, that’s two potential Game 7’s in their building.

Regardless of the standings, any date with the Islanders can’t be taken lightly. From the very start, they were ready for their bitter rival. In what proved to be a great start, it was all Blueshirts in the first period.

Gallant opted for backup Alex Georgiev for this one. Why not. He’s been winning lately and has had success versus the Isles. He was opposed by Semyon Varlamov. The goalie whose mastery over our side was mind numbing. Something had to give.

Entering play, the Rangers had that shutout streak of three games in a row going. Varlamov was aiming to keep putting up zeroes up versus his favorite opponent.

In the early going, Kreider got a great scoring chance. On a good pass from Vatrano, he was denied by Varlamov point blank. Following the stop, Adam Pelech clearly high-sticked Kreider. No call. How in the heck do they miss it? At least it didn’t matter.

Following that miss by the blind mice, Jacob Trouba made a nice outlet to Panarin on an Islander turnover. Panarin easily gained the zone and made a brilliant backhand feed for an easy Copp finish for his first of the period at 3:43.

Seemingly every time that line was on for a shift, you felt like something positive would happen. The puck was sticking to Panarin like velcro. It was a magnet. The magic continued.

Just over four minutes later, Fox moved the puck for Panarin. Of course, he skated around until he was able to make an absolute gem of a pass for a wide open Copp at the side of the net. Bang! Two-zip before eight minutes had been played.

Meanwhile, Georgiev had no trouble with the Islanders. He quietly made eight saves in the first period. It never felt like he was seriously threatened. That’s a credit to how well the team played in front of him.

Copp wasn’t done. Late in the period, Panarin started the play that would wind up turning into a hat trick. He got the puck up for Strome, who then made a sensational pass by Noah Dobson right on the tape for another Copp finish. It was a tap in to give him the natural hat trick with 1:47 left.

Speechless. That’s how I felt watching it. They honestly could’ve had more. That’s how dominant they were. The Islanders couldn’t stop them.

By the end of the first, the game felt over. In actuality, it wasn’t. These are the Islanders. You figured if they had any pride, they’d at least come out with something better than that disengaged performance.

For 10 periods, our goalies didn’t allow a single goal. It had to end eventually. That quickly, Brock Nelson ended it at 200:43. He was able to score 37 seconds into the second period to finally put a puck by a Ranger goalie. There was nothing Georgiev could’ve done. That made it 3-1.

He did make a key save moments later. Believe it or not, it came on Ross Johnston. The Isles’ checking line came in transition. Matt Martin made a good cross-ice feed for a Johnston one-timer that Georgiev got across and shut down to keep the Rangers up two.

After that big stop, the period was fairly even. I would say the Islanders had a slight edge. It wasn’t by much. They played more inspired. But Georgiev was strong making nine of 10 stops to keep them at bay.

Late in the period, Kyle Palmieri shoved Ryan Lindgren down into the boards to earn two minutes in the sin bin for interference. The power play hasn’t been as effective lately. They’re not getting many looks. However, they made Palmieri pay for his foolishness.

On a very simple play, Zibanejad got the puck up top for Fox. He shot for a rebound and got the desired result when the puck went off Varlamov right to Kreider for his 51st at 17:15. The rebound goal is eerily reminiscent to a goal Graves scored at Edmonton when he got two to set the record passing Vic Hadfield.

It’s nice to see Kreider get 51 the way he gets many. From right in front of the net. The hard work has paid off. He’s now the third highest Rangers’ goal scorer for a single season. One more and he ties Graves. Three more and he can match Jaromir Jagr.

With less than a minute to go in the second, Strome got his 20th from Panarin and Fox. It came thanks to some more artistic passing with Panarin leading Strome in where he beat Varlamov to make it 5-1. That was basically the game.

The third was garbage time. The only thing I wanted to see was no Ranger get caught in a vulnerable position. That didn’t happen.

After Nelson got his second of the game when he snuck a wrist shot from the slot by Georgiev for a power play goal set up by Mat Barzal and Noah Dobson, the Islanders never got any closer.

Instead, Ryan Reaves got a nice Easter gift from Alexis Lafreniere by scoring his fourth to restore a four goal lead with 8:07 remaining. On a three-on-one created by both Lafreniere and Barclay Goodrow, the puck perfectly. Then, Lafreniere patiently wanted for Varlamov to over commit, sliding the puck across for a Reaves finish.

He was all smiles. Why not. He’s been a good team guy and veteran leader in the room. He and Lafreniere have a good relationship. It was a nice reward for Reaves.

But on the next shift, the Rangers got caught napping. Zdeno Chara and Dobson combined to set up Josh Bailey for an easy goal that cut it to 6-3 with 6:38 left. That was it.

As time wound down, the Ranger portion of the 17,255 stood and saluted their team. It was a much better way to close out the season series. Ironically, the road team won all four meetings. It’s not surprising. Home ice means very little when these teams meet.

By making 26 saves on 29 shots in a good performance despite the statistics, Georgiev won his seventh straight decision. If it’s the last start he makes as a Blueshirt, thanks for the memories. That’ll depend on how the remaining four games go.

Here’s the rest of the schedule:

Saturday 4/23 at Bruins 3 PM

Tuesday 4/26 vs Hurricanes 7 PM

Wednesday 4/27 vs Canadiens 7:30 PM

Friday 4/29 vs Capitals 7 PM

If you’re wondering about the Canes, they visit the Devils Saturday at 12:30 PM. Then are at the Islanders Sunday at 1 PM in a back-to-back. Then it’s the Rangers Tuesday in a first place battle. The final game is at home versus the Devils next Friday at 7 PM.

The first tiebreaker remains regulation wins. ROW (regulation overtime wins) is second. We’ll see how things shake out.

For now, let’s continue to enjoy these Blueshirts. Embrace what’s ahead.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1517324585959579650?t=o_gzIsWIFbe-Bq5EzZJnyg&s=19

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

Shesterkin, Rangers make it three shutouts in a row for first time in 50 years, Strome tallies twice in latest win, Panarin adds two assists

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Derek

History has been made again. In a feel good story that’s seen the team surprise by challenging for first place, the Rangers continue to win hockey games at a high rate.

The latest highlight was their 3-0 shutout victory of the Jets made it three straight games with a shutout. Something that hadn’t been done in 49 years by the franchise. After following up Alex Georgiev’s shutout of the Flyers with one over the Red Wings, Igor Shesterkin pitched his second consecutive shutout last night.

His 31 saves made it three in a row by Ranger goalies for the first time since the 1972-73 season. It was between Feb. 4-10, 1973 that the combination of Gilles Villemure and Ed Giacomin pitched three straight shutouts by identical 6-0 scores in wins over the Flames and Islanders, who they beat twice over a home and home series to highlight a 10-game win streak.

This time, mark the dates between April 13-19. The first two were 4-0 victories over the Flyers and Red Wings. The third came on Tuesday night by a 3-0 count at MSG. After Georgiev stopped all 28 shots versus the Flyers, Shesterkin has stopped the last 51 in home wins over the Red Wings and Jets to record his fifth and sixth shutouts. That’ll cap off a Vezina season for the unflappable 26-year old goalie.

While all of this is nice including Chris Kreider still searching for four goals in the remaining five games to tie Jaromir Jagr, it doesn’t mean a whole lot. The numbers which now include the team’s first 50 win season since ’14-15 are what they are. It isn’t about that. It’s what happens afterwards starting in May.

At the present, they again find themselves tied for first with the Hurricanes. With each having five games left including one pivotal head to head meeting on April 26th at The Garden, Carolina holds the first tiebreaker with one more win in regulation (43). Both have 106 points.

The next games for each are Thursday night. The Rangers will try to beat their kryptonite in the Islanders at Elmont while the Hurricanes host the same Jets, who are all but eliminated from the playoffs.

The same situation for the Islanders, who live to beat the Rangers even if it’s for pride. It’ll be their third Stanley Cup game. They’re two-for-two so far. It would be nice for the Blueshirts to flip the script. I actually have no expectations. If you don’t expect anything, you don’t set yourself up for failure. But possibly surprise. How’s that for a concept.

Anyone who thinks tomorrow’s game doesn’t matter isn’t paying attention. I could care less about first place. The Islanders play the tenacious checking style our team is gonna see in the postseason. Winning at that would be a confidence boost.

Beating hapless opponents such as Philadelphia, Detroit and Winnipeg doesn’t appeal. At the end of the day, they’re wins. That means they did what they’re supposed to do by getting the two points. In beating these cupcakes, it means the Rangers are winning against the teams they should. That’s why they’re competing for home ice over the first two rounds.

Of the three wins, last night was the toughest. That’s because the Jets were still alive. So, they actually played better overall than I’m used to seeing. They were more cautious and tighter defensively over the first half of the game. That meant not many scoring chances on either side and a kind of vanilla game.

However, with one great rush by Mika Zibanejad and set up of a Ryan Strome power play goal, the game changed. Following a play started by Artemi Panarin with Zibanejad neatly passing for a good Strome deflection on an undisciplined penalty former Ranger Morgan Barron took [high-sticking], things finally opened up.

It was almost too much for the Rangers, who were clumsy defensively in the final few minutes of the second period. Unless you think giving up wide open chances to Nik Ehlers and Kyle Connor are a positive. The only good part was Shesterkin, who bailed out K’Andre Miller twice on Ehlers’ opportunities in both the second and third. It wasn’t one of his better nights.

He wasn’t alone either. How many times did the Jets counterattack with speed and nearly tie it up due to blown coverages? Thankfully, Shesterkin covered up the tracks with some sparkling saves where he got across to shut the door. He definitely had to work for the shutout.

It wasn’t until some puck wizardry from Panarin with under eight minutes left in the third period allowed Adam Fox to skate into open space and fire home a wrist shot past Eric Comrie to give them some breathing room that things cooled down. It was Fox’s first goal in 13 games. He has 11 for the season along with 58 assists. One more point and he hits 70. A figure Panarin, Kreider and Zibanejad already have eclipsed.

With two assists, Panarin now is up to 70 apples for the season. Not only is it a career high. But he joined exclusive company. The Bread Man is the first New York Ranger to record 70 assists in a season since Wayne Gretzky back in ’96-97. Sergei Zubov achieved it in ’93-94 and Mark Messier did in ’91-92. Brian Leetch had 70 assists three times.

For ’21-22, Panarin leads the team in scoring with 92 points (22-70-92). He probably won’t reach the century mark. Something he would’ve done if not for Covid in ’19-20 when he wound up with 95 points (32-63-95). The main thing is he’s heated up at the right time.

Even better, Andrew Copp continues to pile up points. The good Copp racked up two more assists including a primary helper that resulted in Strome’s empty netter that put a bow on the victory. Since being acquired from Winnipeg, Copp is 5-10-15, plus-11 in 14 games as a Blueshirt.

He is up to a new career high 50 points including career bests in goals (18) and assists (32). Copp wasn’t playing a top six role with the Jets. He was top nine where he went 13-22-35 in 56 contests. Aside from the production, he has excellent chemistry with both Panarin and Strome. They were in fact the best line last night.

The only other thing I didn’t like was Ryan Reaves. He didn’t belong on the ice against a fast skating opponent like Winnipeg. I know Gerard Gallant loves him. But when you watch Reaves caught out of position on a Blake Wheeler opportunity that Igor swallowed up, it’s due to the difference in speed.

Play Reaves against teams like the Islanders. Not skill teams who are too fast for him to make an impact. Hint. Pens. Canes. Potential match-ups in the first two rounds depending on what happens. That also applies to the Lightning and Panthers.

I’d prefer Jonny Brodzinski on the fourth line for certain games with Kevin Rooney and Dryden Hunt. Brodzinski is a better skater and can create more. Reaves is only going to be effective against plodding teams who play physical. Think Washington.

If you don’t think Tyler Motte is missed, you aren’t watching. Rooney is a solid checking pivot. In a perfect world, your checking line would be Rooney with Hunt and Motte. That would leave both Reaves and Brodzinski as valuable extras.

A better observation. Braden Schneider had a strong game. He’s extremely confident with the puck. Even better, he really allows Patrik Nemeth to play his game. So, if that’s the third pair at the start of the first round, I’m fine with it. I would expect Gallant to give Justin Braun another game or two. Maybe Braun gets back in for the Islanders.

I thought the third line had several effective shifts. The best coming when a forechecking Filip Chytil stayed with the puck and came around the Winnipeg net for a sneaky backhand wraparound try that Comrie make a good save on to get a stoppage.

Chytil continues to impress with his more straight ahead game by using his speed to get in on the cycle and create scoring chances. He’s locked up a spot with Barclay Goodrow, who is such a key glue forward for this roster. He can win face-offs, kill penalties, deliver a big check and play the same agitating style that made him so valuable for the Lightning.

Alexis Lafreniere was okay. He got two shots on goal. One came off a great Shesterkin outlet where he was able to get a long shot on Comrie for the save. The other was off transition where he took a tough high shot from the circle that Comrie was able to blocker away.

Lafreniere has chemistry with Chytil and Goodrow. With Kaapo Kakko out for the rest of the regular season, this is his chance to prove he belongs. His 17 even strength goals are noteworthy. He’s tied with Panarin for second on the team behind Kreider, who paces them with 22 goals at even strength.

If you were to go off the last two years, only Kreider has more even strength goals (31) than Lafreniere and Panarin, who each have 29 combined. Zibanejad clocks in at 25. That’s significant.

We all know Lafreniere isn’t a finished product yet. He still averages under 14 minutes per game. He’s not getting top power play minutes. It’ll continue to be minimal as part of the second unit which features Chytil, Copp, Frank Vatrano, Jacob Trouba and sometimes Kakko if healthy. It depends on what the staff decides. I don’t see how there’s a spot for both Lafreniere and Kakko. Let Gallant worry about that.

There’s really not much else to add. Shesterkin can cover up the mistakes. But he shouldn’t need to. I would look for them to play better defensively versus the Islanders in the final meeting of the season.

I’ve seen a few of our chat on Twitter worry about the Islanders taking liberties. I’m not worried about that. That’s what you have Reaves for. He’ll play. It’s also the perfect opponent because the Islanders have Matt Martin and Ross Johnston. You have to keep those guys honest.

This isn’t last year. We know what to expect. A hard checking game. The only thing I’d suggest is for our players to be aware of where they are. Be aggressive and forecheck the Isles. The more proactive they are, the better they can get out unscathed.

My three stars have been up for a while. If you want to vote on the Steven McDonald poll, go right ahead.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1516508150681251857?t=rTfgaB-pO5cIqrqsANFn6Q&s=19

I voted for Kreider. You can easily make a case for three or four players. Maybe even five. But remember. Shesterkin is Team MVP. His season will be etched in Rangers lore. Let’s hope that’s a good thing for the rest of the Spring.

https://twitter.com/BattleOfHudson/status/1516595462647730202?t=0t-6X4zoqjdXp-d99scrvA&s=19

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

Devils’ 2021-22 season crawls toward an official closing next week

Posted on April 18, 2022 by hasan4978

I admit it, I’ve become almost completely disengaged from this Devils season. And why not, considering they were eliminated from the playoffs at least three months ago (heck, most of the East was more or less eliminated two months ago – it’s almost unheard of to have every playoff spot decided with six or seven games left) and other sports are in full bloom with the beginning of the MLB season, the upcoming NFL Draft and the NBA playoffs – with the nationally polarizing quest of the Brooklyn Nets to win a title. Not to mention the fact the Devils are at the tail end of a five-game West Coast swing, barely two weeks after an unconscionable meltdown against the Panthers which was almost my last game attended this season, other than both Wings games next week.

Make no mistake, I’m going next week mostly because A) I have club seats for Fan Appreciation Day and have a friend going with me, and B) because I want to use as much of my food and beverage card as possible in any other game(s) I go to. I might wind up going Saturday as well if I can’t sell those tickets (again mostly to cash in on the f/b card), but against the mighty Hurricanes I’ll probably be plotting my exit around the second intermission. Given my general apathy, it’s hard to know what to write about. Maybe it’s a little early for a full season wrapup post but let’s be honest, what is going to happen in the last seven games of the season that’s going to have a major impact on next season, barring something catastrophic like a major injury? Heck, it’s harder to muster up enthusiasm for low-pressure games when you have Jack Hughes on the shelf again, after his star turn the previous two months…not to mention defensive pillar Jonas Siegenthaler, who broke his hand at around the same time and is also out for the rest of the year. It’s also become boring to do draft lottery watch when even having successful high picks haven’t helped this organization out of its decade-long malaise.

I’m more in the mood for a little bit of a look ahead to next year anyway before closing the book on this season, especially since that’s mostly what these last seven games (and the previous couple of months) have become about. Not to mention the AHL playoffs for our prospects, as well as the recently concluded college hockey season for Jack’s brother Luke, in a heartbreaking OT loss at the Frozen Four. At least we’ll be almost assured of seeing big games if Luke stays in college for one more year, although Michigan won’t be as stacked next season, with some of their other studs like Owen Power making the jump to the NHL. There’s no indication yet Luke will follow immediately, but it seems likely he’ll be playing in the NHL by the start of the 2023-24 season at worst.

Utica is cruising to the playoffs after their historic start in the AHL, hopefully they’ll have a deep playoff run themselves. It’s been a while since any city’s fans of a Devils affiliate have seen a deep Calder Cup run but for guys like former first-rounders Alex Holtz and Nolan Foote, defensive prospects like Kevin Bahl (who’s recently improved his play at the NHL level), Reilly Walsh and Nikita Okhotiuk, plus our young goalie duo of Nico Daws – who’ll presumably be sent back down before the AHL postseason – and Akira Schmid…any playoff experience they get can only help. It’s still hard to get into prospect games you can’t readily watch or listen to without paying a fee though. Not to mention actually going to a minor league game is more prohibitive travel-wise now than it was in the days of them being in Albany, which in itself was almost a three hour drive.

It’s safe to say at least a handful of players on the AHL team plus Luke and perhaps an overseas player or two can put themselves in the mix for a spot on the NHL roster next camp. Especially since it’ll take far less time to list guys who will definitely be with the team next year, than it will be to play guesswork on the rest of the roster. For example, I’m not sure there’s a single goalie in the organization you can make a definitive case should be here next year. Mackenzie Blackwood may help his cause if he comes back and has a few good games down the stretch, but there’s also the rumors of discontent between player and team regardless of his health status. He certainly hasn’t helped his standing in the organization on the ice the last two seasons regardless of any off-ice drama. Jonathan Bernier’s under contract for next year but can you really count on him at his age, after a major hip injury? Nico Daws has stabilized his game a little bit after short-circuiting for a while but you’d still rather have a 22-year old get another full season in the AHL than throwing him back into the fire, or giving him menial games as an NHL backup.

On D there are only a couple more sure things to be on the roster through next year. Obviously Dougie Hamilton’s one of them but I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little concerned over this recent stretch where he’s had just four points in his last nineteen games. He started well early before his run of injuries, and certainly playing with a facial cage is probably hindering his game but still, you’d think a guy with his talent could get more points by sheer osmosis, especially with our top forwards swimming in points over that same stretch. We need him to rebound next year though, he’s not going anywhere with six years left on his deal. Siegenthaler has less contract security but a lot of equity built up after a solid season, I’d even put him slightly above Damon Severson in terms of chances to stay but that’s only because of Severson’s pending UFA status after next season.

Management’s going to have to decide what to do with Severson coming off a bit of a breakout year offensively (eleven goals and 42 points in 73 games so far), along with fellow D Ryan Graves who’s also a UFA after next season. There’s only so many guys you can give UFA money to, even with forwards Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier already looking like quasi-bargain signings. And wither Ty Smith? After struggling most of this season, he’s been showing more flashes of his rookie form lately. Still, a long and rough sophomore slump which finally led to a couple of recent benchings has got to concern the franchise at least a little. And it shows how far he’s fallen I almost forgot to even give PK Subban a cursory mention…nice guy, solid locker room leader by all accounts, but I doubt he’ll be back next season. If anything, maybe he’ll even get a jump on his next career in the media unless he gets an opportunity to play a back-end role for a contender.

Up front, clearly Hughes and Hischier are keepers and obviously the best part of another terrible season has been the dual breakout of both our recent #1 overall picks. Hughes put up 26 goals and 56 points in just 49 games (which is the only mild concern tbh…the GP total) while Nico’s finally blossomed into the uber two-way force many thought he could be, with 20 goals and 58 points in 66 games. Yet you could argue neither one was the team MVP this year given the breakout of Jesper Bratt, who’s only put up 70 points in 70 games. My only concern with Bratt’s breakout is contract-related, after he and his agent played hardball and Bratt bet on himself, now he’s set to cash in and I doubt any hometown discount will be in the cards, the way it was with Jack and Nico to a degree. Although not on the level of those three you also have to put Dawson Mercer in the ‘definite’ column for next year, after a solid rookie season with 16 goals and 41 points in 75 games – all as a teenager.

After that is when you start getting into conjecture. Yegor Sharangovich’s second half has been encouraging, after a slow start that got him benched for a few games. Still, how much can you complain about a 23-year old winger with 38 goals and 73 points in his first 123 NHL games (about a season and a half)? While I’d like to see Miles Wood healthy next season, he’s also coming up on UFA status and who knows how much missing all but three games this season with his own injuries and hip surgery will affect him going forward? He looked great in his brief return, before going on the shelf again with an undisclosed ailment. Perhaps a future replacement/complement will be Fabian Zetterlund, a big body who showed a scoring touch in Utica (24 goals and 52 points in 58 AHL games) and has contributed in his brief stint as a Devil so far. While I still remain a skeptic of this player, I can’t deny Jesper Boqvist has played better recently. Still, is eight goals and nineteen points in 49 games really enough production to hand him the third-line center role and keep Mercer on the wing? And Nathan Bastian’s story was one of the feel-good ones of the season, as his eleven goals in 65 games provided some tangible production to go along with his physical presence. You never know with fourth-liners though, sometimes their production randomly spikes then goes back downward after.

Among guys I’m less invested in coming back are mercurial forwards Pavel Zacha and Andreas Jonsson. As far as the former goes, enough is enough already. I’m a bit tired of seeing Zacha disappoint on our dime. If we’re ever going to take a step forward as a team we need to get rid of players like Zacha who constantly needs the right fit or the right motivation to compete. As far as Jonsson, I do think he competes but he’s been completely invisible in his two years as a Devil other than his Bratt and Mercer-induced surge of scoring the first month of the season. Since getting Bratt taken off his line, Jonsson’s production has flatlined again, to the point where I almost typed in Marcus Johansson instead of Andreas Jonsson (another perimeter winger who couldn’t hack it long-term here). I’d put Tomas Tatar as a Jonsson plus…a guy who will compete and can score a little, but no longer gives you enough production to be anything more than a stopgap if needed through the remainder of his contract, i.e. next season. Jimmy Vesey and his 14 points with a -23 in 66 games will almost surely be a one and done with the Devils, and may be playing his final NHL games this year. After a decent rookie season, Janne Kuokkanen’s played himself into irrelevancy this year. I’m not a huge fan of Michael McLeod…to me he’s like a Dave Steckel, with speed. All he’s really good for is faceoffs, and when you have two franchise centers you don’t really want to carry another guy who can only win faceoffs.

Last but not least (in terms of importance) is the coaching staff. I’ve bounced back and forth on Lindy Ruff all year, mostly cause I’ve always been a fan of his before he got here, and he’s a high-class individual. But let’s face it, after two of the worst seasons in franchise history it’s hard to justify bringing back the same head coach and the same staff for a third straight season. I get you can lump some of the issues of last season on COVID and the wonky division format and some of the issues of this season on goaltending woes but still, it’s ultimately a results-based business and nobody knows this more than an NHL lifer like Lindy. Since he didn’t exactly hire his own staff, his staff’s job security isn’t necessarily going to be tied to his, which I’m not sure is a good thing. Especially when it comes to Mark Recchi, who’s somehow managed to have a woeful power play this year despite three forwards having major breakout seasons…and also somehow managed to have a mediocre power play in Pittsburgh with two of the best forwards ever there. I’m less anti-Alain Nasreddine than Recchi but come on now, how many assistants on losing teams really get to stay through two staff changeovers?!

So that’s basically my thoughts on the organization going forward. Maybe I’ll have a look back on the season in general at some point next week, but there’s not really much positive to go through that isn’t individual player based (and that I haven’t already touched on here – a la Hughes, Nico and Bratt’s breakouts, Mercer’s promising rookie season and Siegenthaler being a revelation). It was nice for the three weeks or so they looked like they were improved early in the season…just like last year’s illusory 6-3-2, this year’s illusory 7-3-2 start was swept under an avalanche of losing streaks.

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

Lafreniere’s pair including highlight reel goal help Rangers tie for first place, Kakko exits with ugly leg injury, Amirante and playoff memories at MSG

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Derek

A promise was kept. Following a game off, Alexis Lafreniere returned to the lineup for Saturday’s afternoon tilt against the Red Wings. He didn’t disappoint.

Unaffected by coach Gerard Gallant sitting him out on Wednesday, the 20-year old left wing delivered on Saturday with two goals. That included one for the highlight reel in a 4-0 win for the Rangers over the Red Wings at The Garden.

The latest victory allowed them to move into a first place tie with the Hurricanes. That was due to the Canes later losing 7-4 last night to the Avalanche. Both the Rangers and Hurricanes have six games remaining. That includes one big meeting at MSG on April 26.

Whatever happens, the Rangers are going to host Games One and Two of the first round next month. It’s just a question of will they potentially have home ice for one round or two. Not that it means too much. It all depends on the match-ups and how they do.

While it was a memorable day for Lafreniere after scoring his 16th and 17th goals with the latter one to behold, it was one to forget for Kaapo Kakko. A few days removed from a two-goal game that looked like a step in the right direction, he crumbled to the ice and fell awkwardly.

Kakko suffered an ugly leg injury. It didn’t look good. He left the game after taking five shifts (5:06). Considering that he missed almost three months due to a hand injury, this is a double whammy. Hopefully it isn’t as bad as feared. Especially for the 21-year old former second pick who seems to be jinxed.

Right now, let’s not worry about that. The Rangers will know more by the end of the holiday weekend. If Kakko can’t return this week, they know Lafreniere can play on the third line with Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow. He finally showed more confidence by scoring twice.

When asked about his return, he talked about staying focused and just playing his game. It all worked out for the mature former top pick. With six games left, Lafreniere has an outside shot at 20 goals. That would be a nice way to conclude his second season. Especially with the postseason ahead.

In a game I didn’t see, the Rangers handled their business against the Red Wings. This was the second consecutive 4-0 win over a non-playoff team. After Alex Georgiev blanked the Flyers, Igor Shesterkin did the same to Detroit. He only had to stop 20 shots for his fifth shutout (7th career).

It’s exactly how it should go. They dominated a lesser opponent to win on Kids Day. I forgot that was even still a thing. No wonder it was such an early start.

They even did the wave. Something that’s now frowned upon by nincompoops who are never happy. I say let fans do what they want. Especially if a grown bald man can dance on a big screen.

The important thing is they won and gave the younger fans something to cheer for. Those are the ones who’ll remember it. Maybe they’ll be along for the ride when things start up in May. You always want kids to become part of the next generation of Ranger fans. It’s the right time.

As for myself, I am not a fan of early starts. That dates back to my days at ESPN when we had those ABC games. I hated the NBC ones and wasn’t even working. Hockey is better for spectators later in the day. 12:30 PM on a Saturday of a Passover/Easter weekend is nuts. Parking must’ve been horrible. To those who went, kudos.

I haven’t been to one game. I don’t know if that’ll change. I’ve gotten used to watching at home. I know Justin and Dad will probably go to a playoff game. We’ll see. The last game we went to was versus Ottawa. The late John Amirante was in the building for that. He is sorely missed.

A thought echoed by friend Madison Miller who has her own podcast. She loves the Rangers and understands how much of a strong connection Amirante had to the fans. That’s why he was brought back for that special national anthem five long years ago. There was no one quite like him. Why doesn’t he have a banner like the God awful Phish? A Sean McCaffrey reference.

The Rangers could’ve scored more than four goals from the highlights I saw. There were some other close calls with Chris Kreider denied twice by Thomas Greiss of number 51. They also hit a couple of posts.

Mika Zibanejad finally got his 14th power play goal. It came off a perfect Adam Fox pass on a five-on-three. Kreider picked up an assist.

It was the 28th for Zibanejad in a season he’s been more of a setup man. He’s never been a better player. At 28, he’s the team’s best overall forward who has become a well rounded player you can trust at five-on-five, power play and penalty kill. He has 77 points in 76 games and a plus-31 rating. The 49 assists and 77 points are career highs.

Frank Vatrano continues to excel. The bargain from the Panthers scored early in the second period to make it a 2-0 game. On it, Fox got the puck to Zibanejad who moved it up for Vatrano, who snapped a beauty top shelf for his seventh as a Blueshirt.

All Vatrano has done is become the perfect complement on the first line to Zibanejad and Kreider completing a good scoring line. His speed and uncanny ability to get off that shot makes him a threat. He can also get the puck over for open teammates. The goal gives him 100 for his career.

Shesterkin was busier in the second. He made 11 saves to keep the Rangers ahead by two. That left it up to Lafreniere in the final period.

After starting on the checking line in place of Ryan Reaves with Kevin Rooney and Dryden Hunt, he was back with Chytil and Goodrow. That would be a good thing for the Rangers.

He’d gone eight straight games without a point. Prior to that, he had a career best six-game point streak that came mostly with Zibanejad and Kreider. Now, he needed to prove something on the third line where he’ll most likely be.

Sure enough, it was Lafreniere who put in his 16th from Goodrow and Chytil at 4:37 to increase the lead to 3-0. That had to feel good. What happened next is one they’ll be talking about for a while.

Despite his production while playing in a secondary role with second power play time, Lafreniere has the skill, skating and compete to become a star. We see it in his maturity at handling a complex situation. He has produced at even strength. An area they’ll continue to need come playoffs.

On a good play started by Goodrow who moved the puck to Patrik Nemeth (in for Justin Braun), Lafreniere took a feed and then completely faked out Dylan Larkin by going between his legs before whipping a backhand past Greiss for his second of the game with 5:43 left.

It was a jaw dropping play by a special player who hasn’t lost any confidence. The Garden crowd gave him a loud ovation for the highlight reel goal. Teammates were wowed by it. That included a couple of more accomplished stars in the postgame.

As for Lafreniere, he was all business afterwards. There’s a very calm demeanor to him. He’s very even keel. He knows what’s expected. Maybe that’s why Gallant knew the healthy scratch wouldn’t bother his young pupil. He’s still learning and handles himself well.

While picks like Tim Stutzle and Red Wings’ rookie Lucas Raymond are ahead of him due to what their roles are, I don’t think it’ll be long before Lafreniere catches them. I see a young player who will excel once he is given the same opportunity.

Maybe that’s why I’m not so down about where Laffy is in his development. He understands how he must compete both defensively and offensively. Gallant wants him to become a good overall player. That’s a good thing. He can evolve getting more favorable match-ups with Chytil and Goodrow on the third line.

I believe that line can become a weapon. It’ll be a key to how the postseason goes. It’s not only about your established stars. The playoffs are a different animal. We know from past years that heroes can emerge.

Even without Tyler Motte or possibly Kakko, I like the fourth line. They have an identity. Getting Rooney back when Motte sent down was timely. He fills a similar role killing penalties while playing center on the checking line. Whether it’s Hunt with Reaves or the better skating Jonny Brodzinski, I have full confidence they’ll be alright.

Also alright is Braden Schneider. A confident first-year defenseman who gets better and better all the time. He knows when to go. He isn’t shy about stepping in and shooting like the one he nearly scored on. He is referred to as, “Baby Trouba,” by teammates who love his physicality. It’s hard to believe he’s 20.

As they enter these last two weeks of the regular season, it sure has been fun. I’m so excited about the playoffs. The idea of meaningful hockey again with big crowds at The Garden is one that never gets old.

It’s almost time. I’m ready!

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

Kakko’s two pair make Gallant look like an Ace, tough decision awaiting

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Derek
Kaapo Kakko sports the Broadway Hat following his two goals that highlighted a 4-0 Rangers’ win over the Flyers. AP Photo by NYRangers via Getty Images

There was another game on the schedule. That was a good thing for the Rangers, who easily won by a count of 4-0 over the hapless Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love.

It was an easy rebound win for them. Especially against a bitter rival that has no identity. Funny enough. Didn’t that happen in the Big Apple once Alain Vigneault left? Poetic. Isn’t it? Does he leave all his former teams in total disarray?

As brutal as the Flyers are, they’re still considered an NHL team. They did get the better of the Rangers in the last meeting at MSG. A disgraceful and distasteful 5-4 shootout loss.

The bottom line is you take the two points and move on. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Braden Schneider took a puck to the chin in the first period. But returned for the second and third unscathed.

With seven games to go following tonight’s match on TNT, Gerard Gallant played a different card in his lineup. Rather, he dealt a new hand by getting Filip Chytil back and moving Alexis Lafreniere to the press box.

That meant Kaapo Kakko got another look on the third line with Chytil and Barclay Goodrow. In just his third game back, Kakko made Gallant’s new lineup a winning hand. He scored twice in the second period to provide exactly what the master motivator was looking for.

The two pair he scored were his first goals since Dec. 15 when he also tallied twice in a victory at Arizona. It nearly was his first career hat trick. But helpless Flyers’ goalie Felix Sandstrom made two good saves on consecutive tries during that lopsided second.

For Kakko, it was the best he’s looked in a long time. The two goals restored his confidence. He was looking shot more and wound up with four on goal in six attempts. Exactly the way the former second overall pick must play to stay in the lineup.

What does it mean for Lafreniere? That might be better left for Gallant to answer. He’s the one who calls the shots. As was noted in an earlier post from Wednesday about him being scratched, Turk has ulterior motives for what he does. Lafreniere could find himself sitting once again. That’s the unfortunate part of a deeper roster.

Since the key additions of Andrew Copp (empty net goal) and Frank Vatrano to upgrade the top six, it’s no longer a lock that both Kakko and Lafreniere will play when the playoffs start. Unless Goodrow goes to the fourth line, which would hurt face-offs, it’s likely one of the prized two lottery picks could sit for Game One.

Putting either on the fourth line would be misguided. The checking line is better suited for gritty and physical players. Kevin Rooney, Dryden Hunt, Ryan Reaves and Jonny Brodzinski certainly fit that description. Tyler Motte would be locked in. Instead, it remains to be seen how long he’ll be out.

Given that his play has come significantly up, Chytil should be a lock to start the postseason. He’s using his skating and skill to get in on the forecheck and create goals like the one he set up Kakko on with a beautiful pass that made it 2-0.

The choice is between Kakko and Lafreniere. If what we saw tonight is the real Kakko, then he has a good case. A year older than Lafreniere, he’s not an explosive skater and hasn’t proven to be a consistent scorer. However, his ability to forecheck and play sound defensively are strengths that can work on a third line.

Lafreniere is also effective on the forecheck. A bit more slick with the puck, he can find open space and finish checks. More of a shooter so far, his game has improved under Gallant. His intelligence and maturity show a player who doesn’t let anything bother him. When he is put back in the lineup, we’ll see how he responds.

In a perfect world, you’d have Goodrow on a checking line with Rooney and a combination of Hunt, Reaves and Brodzinski. That would allow for the three kids to play together like last year. The problem is Chytil isn’t good on face-offs. Goodrow is much better and also adds necessary grit with playoff experience to the third line.

With the Flyers needing a reason to get upset, they went after Goodrow during scrums. The two-time Stanley Cup winner is very effective at agitating opponents with playful banter.

He also can back it up with bravado. Ask P.K. Subban, who had to answer for his cheap shot that ended the season for Sammy Blais. Goodrow is one of those glue guys you love if he’s on your side or hate if he’s against you.

By picking up an assist, it allowed him to set a new career high in points (27). A flustered Travis Konecny took Goodrow off the ice early with the game decided.

Goodrow went 8-for-10 on draws with two assists and finished a plus-three in 11:17 along with 12 penalty minutes. A winning player who’s been worth every penny since he was acquired last summer.

The strong play at five-on-five combined with superb penalty killing and defensive instincts make him an easy player to like. It’s no wonder Goodie became so popular in Tampa. He also was well liked in San Jose. He’s brought the same leadership to the Blueshirts.

By handling their business last night, the Rangers are up to 102 points. Two closer to guaranteeing home ice in the first round. Seven clear of Pittsburgh. Two behind Carolina. Who knows. Maybe that second meeting on April 26th at MSG will decide the Metropolitan Division.

For now, it’s whoever is next on the remaining schedule. That would be the Red Wings on Saturday back at 33rd and 7th. We’ll see what that brings.

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