Gallant scratches Lafreniere

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Derek

This isn’t exactly how I pictured tonight’s game starting. With Filip Chytil declared ready to return after missing Tuesday’s game, Gerard Gallant decided to scratch Alexis Lafreniere for the Flyers game.

What went into the decision? Only the coach knows the reason for it. Has the production fallen off since Lafreniere was moved off the top line? Absolutely. As usual, he hasn’t hit the score sheet on the third line.

Is it due to anything he’s not doing? That’s hard to say. Lafreniere got three shots on goal in Tuesday’s 4-2 home loss to the Hurricanes in less than 12 minutes. Line mate Kaapo Kakko had none for the second straight game since returning.

Why is the 20-year old left wing being singled out? Who knows. We know Gallant isn’t conventional when it comes to his lineups. There’s usually an ulterior motive. If he’s looking to motivate Lafreniere, I guess. But his work ethic isn’t in question.

In past interviews, Gallant has explained that he was happy with Lafreniere following games where he didn’t see shifts late in third periods. He’s never indicated that he had an issue with how the former first overall pick plays. It isn’t like he doesn’t finish checks.

Instead, the third line will consist of Chytil, Kakko and Barclay Goodrow. So, they’ll be tried out versus the Flyers tonight. As much as I don’t understand the move, it seems like Gallant wants to take a different look and see how the line would look with Kakko on it.

I’m still skeptical on what Kakko can bring. He missed three months and hasn’t looked in sync yet. This late in the schedule, he either has to prove he deserves that trust or maybe he’s the odd man out.

This is the first time Lafreniere is sitting out as a scratch. He played all 56 games last year finishing with a dozen goals and 21 points. In 72 games during ’21-22, he’s got 15 goals with 10 assists for a total of 25 points. All 15 goals have come at even strength.

The second-year forward also has four game-winners. He’s averaged about the same ice time as his rookie season. Stuck behind the star left wing duo of Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin, Lafreniere has seen some time on the right wing. He looked okay playing with Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.

However, the key acquisition of Frank Vatrano was made by Chris Drury to upgrade the right side on the first line. Thus far, the former Panther has been a success with Zibanejad and Kreider. He’s posted six goals and four assists for 10 points in 14 contests.

With Andrew Copp proving he’s a huge difference maker on the second line alongside Panarin and Ryan Strome, that leaves four players for the third line. Goodrow seems to be a good fit with Chytil and Lafreniere. His combination of grit and intangibles along with experience have helped.

There’s no harm in Gallant taking a look at Kakko with Chytil and Goodrow. It’s his third game back. There are seven games remaining after tonight. That doesn’t leave the Jack Adams candidate much time.

It’s true that neither Lafreniere or Kakko fit on the fourth line. At the present, it consists of Kevin Rooney anchoring Dryden Hunt and Ryan Reaves. They also have Jonny Brodzinski as a solid option for Reaves depending on the opponent.

Had Tyler Motte not gotten hurt last week, he’d be a lock on the checking line. His skating and sandpaper are an upgrade. It’s unfortunate that he won’t be available for an unknown time. He also showed off his penalty killing prior to the upper body injury [shoulder].

Whatever happens, it’s kids such as Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere who could play a key role in how far the Rangers go this postseason. It’s up to Gallant to get it right.

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Hurricanes dominant third period the difference in tough Rangers’ loss, Kreider gets number 50, becomes fourth Ranger of 50-Goal Club

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Derek

In what amounted to a bittersweet night, the Rangers lost to the Hurricanes 4-2 at The Garden. The Canes used a strong third period to decide the outcome. With eight games remaining, they lead the Metropolitan Division by four points.

There is one head to head meeting left. It’s in two weeks on April 26. That will also be played at MSG. For now, the Rangers remain in second place with 100 points. They are still five clear of the Penguins, who lost to the Islanders in a shootout. Third place is up for grabs with the Capitals pulling within three of the Pens with two more games left.

The home defeat to Carolina put a damper on a history making night. Trailing by two late in regulation, Chris Kreider was able to steer in a rebound with 1:38 left to score his 50th goal of the season.

In doing so, Kreider joins Vic Hadfield, Adam Graves and Jaromir Jagr as the fourth New York Ranger of the 50-Goal Club. Unfortunately, it didn’t come in a win. But it’s a significant achievement for a focused player who’s the embodiment of this team. Congrats to Kreider!

Photo courtesy MSG Network
Chris Kreider became the fourth Ranger to join the 50-Goal Club.

After he cut the deficit to 3-2, the Rangers pulled Igor Shesterkin for a second time. Hoping for a similar result, it didn’t come. Instead, Sebastian Aho scored an empty netter at 19:54 for the final margin.

Despite the outcome, it was a good game. In a tight checking first period, the Rangers had the better of the play. They were able to generate better scoring chances off the forecheck. Something that wasn’t the case in the previous two meetings in Raleigh.

In a marquee goalie match-up that pitted Freddie Andersen against Igor Shesterkin, both were on from the start. Andersen had to make a few more difficult stops. Shesterkin countered by holding up his end of the bargain.

On a night the Rangers gave a nice video tribute to Jesper Fast after the first stoppage, they also recognized Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith and Tony DeAngelo. There were some boos for DeAngelo. I doubt he cared. Carolina has become Rangers South with Antti Raanta and Derek Stepan also joining those four.

At least they didn’t make a big deal out of it. Outside of Fast, who was here longer, you didn’t hear too much banter from Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti. Though they did mention that teammates liked DeAngelo. It’s all in the past now.

If there was an area that hurt, it was the power play. Given two opportunities to take the lead, the Rangers did nothing on it. The Hurricanes boast the top ranked penalty kill. They showed why.

By sitting back and standing up at their blue line, it made it hard for the Rangers’ top unit to get anything going. There was no setup time. Instead, there were mistakes leading to easy clears. For the game, they went 0-for-4.

Back at even strength, they had the better of the play. But Andersen stopped Mika Zibanejad. He would also deny late bids from Frank Vatrano and Jacob Trouba to keep it scoreless.

The Rangers got off to a great start in the second period. On a rush that began with a good takeaway from K’Andre Miller, he got the puck to Vatrano who was flying. Vatrano then moved the puck to Zibanejad. With Kreider driving the net front, that opened up a lane for Zibanejad to feed a cutting Miller for his seventh goal at 63 seconds.

A well executed play by everyone involved. Miller has scored five of his seven goals since January. He’s been much more active in the second half. That’s led to good results where the blossoming 22-year old defenseman is jumping up on the rush. He’s also a plus-20 since the calendar year changed.

Following his goal, Vatrano held the stick of Vincent Trocheck. But the penalty kill did a good job. They didn’t give the Canes much. When it was over, it felt like five-on-five play would decide it. I was thinking by a 2-1 score. If only that came true.

Even though they didn’t capitalize on the man-advantage, the Hurricanes picked it up. They were tighter defensively. Unlike a first period that saw the Rangers outshoot the Canes 14-8, the second was much closer. Carolina came on to hold a 9-7 edge.

On a good outlet, Panarin carried the puck and patiently held it before skating around the Carolina net. With Andersen over committed, it looked like he could’ve had a wraparound. But DeAngelo recovered just enough to take that option away. Instead, Panarin centered the puck for Ryan Strome who missed with players in front.

That was a key sequence. Had they been able to score there, that makes it 2-0. It probably winds up being a different game. That’s hockey.

Following that, Smith roughed Barclay Goodrow to hand the Rangers another power play. That wasn’t the only instance they came together. Later in the period, Goodrow collided with Smith’s stick. No call was made. It was accidental.

The way the power play performed, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. The third man-disadvantage felt like that scene from Groundhog Day where Phil slams his alarm clock with the annoying, “I Got You Babe,” playing.

My reaction to it was simple. Next time, decline it. You would’ve thought there were five Canes and four Blueshirts. That’s how little they generated. With the exception of Vatrano, who got a tricky backhand on Andersen that he padded away, it was mind numbing.

With the Canes beginning to tilt the ice with their aggressive forecheck, it finally paid off. Following a Shesterkin save on Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov got to a loose rebound and banked the puck in off Shesterkin’s skate to tie the score with 6:22 left.

A fluke goal. For sure. But also a smart play by a good player. Svechnikov saw the opening and went for the bank shot and got rewarded with his 29th. It was a crappy way to lose a shutout. That’s how it goes.

There wasn’t a ton of action. At least in terms of shots. You had DeAngelo test Shesterkin’s glove with a high riser that he snapped out of mid-air. Alexis Lafreniere let go of a long wrist shot that Andersen handled. Lafreniere finished with three shots. He was more involved than Kaapo Kakko, who again didn’t have a single shot in his second game back.

With Goodrow on the team’s mind after he was cut by an inadvertent stick, Kevin Rooney challenged Smith in front of the benches. Nothing happened. It was a good teammate stepping up. Given Smith’s injury history, he shouldn’t be going anyway.

Before the period concluded, Andersen made one last save on Adam Fox. After two, nothing had been decided. It was a hard fought playoff style game.

For whatever reason, the Rangers weren’t ready at the start of the third. It was the Hurricanes who came out and quickly gained control. Following a Shesterkin save on Nino Niederreiter, Skjei stepped up in the neutral zone to hit Goodrow.

With the forwards late changing, Skjei and Sebastian Aho got the puck up for Jarvis. He broke in and beat Shesterkin by going to the backhand top shelf at 1:02. It happened that fast. Both Miller and Trouba were on. But they had no support. Zibanejad was too late.

Before you knew it, the Canes made it two in a row when Jordan Staal whipped a wrist shot past Shesterkin for a 3-1 lead with 13:18 remaining. That came off the work of Fast and Skjei. Both had good nights.

On what was a great individual effort, Miller went around two Hurricanes to get in on Andersen who denied him. Strome just missed a follow-up. Miller drew a slashing call on DeAngelo.

Unlike the first three power plays, the Rangers weren’t on it very long. Following a good Andersen stop on a low Zibanejad shot from the left circle, Strome got nabbed for one of those hooking minors. Nauseating because the refs overlooked worse infractions and called that.

As the second half of the period moved on, it didn’t look like Carolina would let the Rangers back in it. Most of their shots were to the outside. Andersen handled those. The Canes continued to play aggressively up by two. Their defensemen stepped up making it difficult to sustain any attack.

Following an icing, Shesterkin was lifted for an extra attacker. On a face-off play where the puck came back to Fox, his shot was deflected by both Strome and Andrew Copp off Andersen. That allowed Kreider to get position and score number 50 at 18:22. A fitting way for him to get it. Nobody is better in front.

There were loud cheers when Rangers PA announcer Joe Tolleson announced the goal. All for a dedicated player who’s worked his tail off to have this special season. Kreider is one of our own. It’s a great highlight of what I hope will be a big postseason.

As much as they tried after finally getting Shesterkin off the ice again, the Rangers couldn’t get much late. Although Kreider did have a rush and took one of those shots that you hoped would elude Andersen. Always looking for that storybook ending.

It wasn’t to be. Andersen blockered it away. Out came Teuvo Teravainen with Svechnikov, who moved the puck over to Aho for the empty that iced it with six seconds left.

If you’re like me, you have to believe the Rangers will see the Hurricanes again. I’m not talking in two weeks either. These are the best two teams in the division. While you never can predict what will happen, here’s hoping we get a second round date with the Canes.

Up next are the Flyers. A team they lost to last time out. I’m not going to rehash anything else. That’s a game they must bounce back in. It doesn’t matter if it’s a back-to-back. We’ll see if Alex Georgiev gets the call.

Three Stars 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Chris Kreider NYR goal number 50, becomes 4th Ranger to reach 50 in a season

2nd 🌟 Andrei Svechnikov Canes goal (29th) plus assist, 4 SOG, +2 in 14:31

1st 🌟 Seth Jarvis Canes goal (14) plus 🍎, +1 in 13:40

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Rangers Clinch: Dominate Senators to return to Playoffs, Kreider gets numbers 48 and 49, Panarin puts up three points, tie Hurricanes for division

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Derek

It’s official. The New York Rangers are back in the playoffs. They clinched their first postseason since ’16-17 by dominating the Senators 5-1 before a raucous atmosphere at MSG.

This was the perfect way to wrap up a playoff berth. They did it by taking over the game after an early wakeup call when Austin Watson scored only 2:22 in. It was all Blueshirts the rest of the way. They got the game’s last five goals to cruise in style.

There were plenty of highlights. Headlining the list is Chris Kreider. His dream season continues. Facing the defenseless Senators, he flat out dominated. On a night he could’ve had four or five, Kreider scored twice to reach 49 goals. In getting numbers 48 and 49, the true captain is one away from 50.

By hitting 49, Kreider’s now tied with Mike Gartner for the fourth most goals scored by a Ranger in a single season. His next one would make him the fourth ever player in franchise history to reach 50. Vic Hadfield hit 50 in ’71-72. Adam Graves broke his record with 52 in ’93-94. Jaromir Jagr is the current record holder scoring 54 in ’05-06.

Another big headline was the continued hot play of leading scorer Artemi Panarin. He’s caught fire over the last month. Playing a stronger all around game that’s seen him come back defensively and shoot the puck more, Panarin keeps getting better. He scored his 21st goal and added two more assists to give him a career high 67.

The Bread Man needs two points for 90. Twelve to hit the century mark. Something that didn’t look possible two months ago when he was struggling. Since March, he’s turned it on. With a three-point night, Panarin is up to 32 points (7-25-32) over his last 20 games.

Even better, the chemistry he has with Andrew Copp is undeniable. The good Copp continues to pile up the points while adding more of a North American style to the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome. The entire line each had a goal and were a combined plus-eight with five points (3-2-5).

Copp has 11 points (4-7-11) since coming over from Winnipeg. He’s been everything advertised. A good player who makes smart plays with the puck. Since Strome returned, that line is dangerous. It’s a big difference having Copp in the top six. He’s made an impact and helped balanced the scoring along with Frank Vatrano.

Speaking of Vatrano, he didn’t score. But set up Kreider with a perfect lead pass that allowed him to cut in and beat Anton Forsberg for his 49th with 2:31 remaining to put the exclamation point on the big victory. Frankie V adds that speed element and shoot first mentality to the top line that’s made things easier for both Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.

The key additions of Vatrano and Copp have really changed the dynamic of this team. Even without Filip Chytil and Tyler Motte, they’re better equipped. Tonight marked the returns of Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney. One struggled while the other fit back in to help offset the loss of Motte. Rooney can fill the void on the fourth line and penalty kill.

Kakko got his first crack on the third line. He played with Alexis Lafreniere and Barclay Goodrow, who shifted back to center. Goodrow dominated on face-offs winning an incredible 76.5 percent (13-for-17). Goodie was effective on the penalty kill and had four shots. Both Kakko and Lafreniere struggled. They’ll need to be better in the final nine games.

One other change saw veteran defenseman Justin Braun come back into the lineup for Patrik Nemeth. Gerard Gallant is doing what I figured. He’s rotating both Braun and Nemeth in and out on the third pair where they’re working with poised first-year defenseman Braden Schneider. So far, so good.

If you’re keeping track, Saturday’s win allowed the Rangers to catch the Hurricanes. They’re now tied for first in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams have 100 points.

Technically, Carolina has the edge due to having an extra game and the first tiebreaker. But the Rangers have closed the gap. They’re up to 39 regulation overtime wins (ROW) while the Canes have 40. Carolina plays tomorrow against the Ducks at home. The Canes will visit the Rangers on Tuesday.

It was a light night for Igor Shesterkin. He hardly was tested. After only making two saves in a lopsided first, he stopped six more in an uncompetitive second. He did see 13 shots in the third. He finished with 21 saves on his way to his 34th win. He heard “Ig-or, Ig-or”, chants late as the fans saluted him. They’re not here without him.

The game was delayed a few minutes due to it also being on Hockey Night In Canada. MSG Network had it locally.

At least we had Henrik Lundqvist paired with Steve Valiquette, who again went Staterrific with his clear sighted Scienterrific crap. Two words I made up in reference to close buddy JPG. I call him the Statmastah. You can only imagine why. I think Valiquette and him got their degrees in Stateology.

FYI. It’s sarcasm folks. Valiquette likes to use a lot of statistics to make himself look better. While I appreciate the hard work he puts in, it can be a bit much. Especially when he starts citing Expected Crap and defining Stolen Wins. I can deal with the Slot Chances. It at least informs the audience that the Rangers have improved offensively on those rushes off transition.

Lundqvist is more straightforward in his analysis. He uses game insights from a great career. He’s fun to listen to and doesn’t bs. I enjoyed what he said about Ottawa following the second period. He basically said they were very bad and had nothing. It showed.

Everyone who pays attention knows the Senators rely heavily on Anton Forsberg. He’s had a heavy workload. He seems to have found a home in Ottawa, who recently extended him for a couple of years. A smart move since Forsberg sees a ton of rubber and is a good puck stopper. But tonight, he was overwhelmed due to the lack of defense.

The Sens feature some good players who are a big part of their rebuild. Led by captain Brady Tkachuk and top goalscorer Josh Norris (stolen in the Erik Karlsson trade), they have some pieces.

That includes Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Mathieu Joseph (acquired from Tampa for Nick Paul), Shane Pinto (injured) and top defenseman Thomas Chabot Shalom. Chabot has been out a while. Stutzle and Batherson didn’t play either. 

Basically, what happened was expected. The Rangers took care of business. This wasn’t a cautious game plan like recent wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey. It was an all out blitz.

The ironic part was the start. As if they needed to be reminded, the third line got victimized on the only Ottawa goal. On a good early cycle from Parker Kelly and Mark Kastelic, they combined to find Watson open in the slot for the game’s first goal at 2:22.

It was the third pair of Braun and Schneider out. But they were back. Lafreniere missed the assignment. He was late getting back and made a lazy attempt. Too late. Watson buried it for his seventh.

If you were looking for Kakko and Lafreniere to find chemistry, it never happened. Neither registered a shot and were a minus-one.

Kakko added nothing to the third line in his return. It made me long for Chytil. Kakko will have to show more to remain in the lineup. If he can’t, Gerard Gallant should do what’s best come First Round. If that means he sits, so be it. They’re in it to win it.

Following the goal against, Zibanejad got a great opportunity to tie it. Adam Fox made a good pass from the corner to find him in front. But he fanned on the shot sending it wide. It probably would’ve been a goal.

Then came the annoying part of the broadcast. We all love Sam Rosen. But when he and Joe Micheletti start talking over the action, they’re not paying attention. It isn’t cohesive. They began channeling their love of former Blueshirts Michael Del Zotto and Nick Holden. Can you imagine if Artem Anisimov still played there?

The action picked up thanks to the checking line. On a strong shift from Ryan Reaves, who finished a good check on Del Zotto that led to a Dryden Hunt shot that Forsberg denied, Hunt drew a stick hold on Norris.

On their only power play, the Rangers did a whole lot of nothing. They got no shots through to Forsberg. Credit the Sens for doing a good job on the penalty kill. They took away the top unit. When the second unit came on, Lafreniere was open and instead of shooting, passed to nowhere. Not what you want to see.

Despite not doing much, it was the home team who began coming at the Ottawa defense in waves. They used their game-breaking speed and skill to generate chances. However, Forsberg made the stops to keep his side ahead.

For a while, the Senators’ shot total remained on one. Meaning their one shot went in. The Rangers led in shots 7-1. They hadn’t solved Forsberg, who was sharp early.

With less than 10 minutes left in the first, Tkachuk finally ended the Ottawa drought with a good, low shot on Shesterkin. He was able to shut it down for a stoppage.

Off a draw in the Senators’ end, Strome and Copp combined to free up a puck that came right back to Panarin. He let go of a snap shot that deflected off of Colin White past Forsberg to tie the game. The goal was unassisted. Credit the work of Strome and Copp though.

As the period went on, the second line was buzzing. In particular, Panarin who was in full fire mode. He got a tough shot from the slot on Forsberg, but he made a superb blocker save to keep it tied. In the first, the Bread Man had two shots and five attempts. It felt like more.

In the early portion of the second, the dangerous Joseph was able to get a step on Copp. He took a great shot labeled for the upper portion. But it rang off the far goalpost. On the play, Jacob Trouba pinched up. Copp couldn’t cover for him, leaving only K’Andre Miller back on the two-on-one.

With the game still even, Lafreniere made a good play on the forecheck. He carried the puck deep to draw two Senators before feeding it back for a pinching Schneider. With time to shoot, he made a smart pass for a tricky Goodrow redirection that Forsberg gobbled up.

After that sequence, it was Ottawa’s turn. On a rush, they came close to going back ahead. Shesterkin had trouble with a high shot to his blocker, leaking a rebound that just missed. It looked like it hit the outside of the post. Then Fox took down Kastelic.

That was the only power play for the Sens. It was abominable. The improved Rangers’ penalty kill had at least three great looks shorthanded. First, it was Kreider and Zibanejad. With a clear shot, Mika tried to get it over for Kreider. But a sliding Del Zotto made a good play.

Then in came Strome. He had a clean breakaway. He made a good move and tried to beat Forsberg over the left pad. But the Ottawa netminder stacked the pads to deny Strome.

Once they were back to full strength, things opened up. It was mostly Blueshirts. They really turned it into a track meet. That meant eventually, the Sens would get a chance. They did on a three-on-two that an aggressive Shesterkin robbed Norris on point blank.

Back came the Rangers in the opposite direction. Taking a Miller feed, Panarin skated up ice into the Ottawa zone. He moved down the left side before finding the good Copp for his 17th at 6:56. An absolute snipe top shelf that put them ahead.

Over two minutes later, this time Kreider got on the scoreboard. Taking a pass from Ryan Lindgren on a play started by sidekick Zibanejad, he decided to let go of a shot that whizzed by a frustrated Forsberg for number 48 at 9:05.

As Rosen noted, the goal tied Pierre Larouche for the fifth best in franchise history. He scored 48 in ’83-84. Interestingly, JD (Jag) noted that due to him sitting out a few games at the end of that weapon, it prevented him from hitting 50. He could’ve become the first player in NHL history to get 50 with three different teams. Larouche did it with the Penguins and Canadiens.

Firmly in control, the Blueshirts upped the margin to three on another brilliant pass by Panarin to Strome for his 17th at 17:27. Lindgren got the puck to Panarin who then skated past Senators who were standing still.

There seemed to be some debris on the ice that made it difficult to figure out how he got in and set up Strome. No matter. After holding a 13-6 edge in shots, the Rangers led 4-1 after two periods. The total shots were 25-9. Lopsided.

The third was basically a coronation. Unless you were an Islander fan, there wasn’t the slightest chance of an Ottawa comeback. They totaled four more shots (13) than their two period total (9). But Shesterkin was his usual self.

With time winding down, Vatrano sent Kreider in on Forsberg for his second of the game. Another great finish from the former first round pick who’s been unbelievable this season. He sure deserves it.

As the final 2:29 elapsed, the announced sellout crowd paid homage to their heroes. A Clyde Frazier expression. When it was over, Kreider gave fist bumps to every teammate. All business.

It’s all been there under Gallant, who has the right pulse of his team. He never gets too high or too low. He knows when to critique their play and when to ease up. His temperament has been perfect.

I have no clue why Vegas got rid of him. Nothing against Pete DeBoer, who’s a good coach as well. But Turk has done a masterful job. He deserves serious consideration for the Jack Adams.

It’s hard to believe this team has a 47-20-6 record with 100 points. But they’ve earned it.

The never say die attitude of these Blueshirts is one fans can get behind. All the comeback wins. The huge saves from Shesterkin. The big goals. The enormous hits led by Trouba and Reaves. The blocked shots. The tremendous character.

No matter how this ends up, it’s been a delight. We waited patiently for a team that could get back to the playoffs and have a puncher’s chance. These guys do. As long as they stick to the system and play their game, it could be a special year.

Three Stars 🌟 🤩 ✨️

3rd 🌟 Copp/Strome NYR goal each, 5 SOG in 7 attempts, +5, 6-and-6 on face-offs

2nd 🌟 Chris Kreider NYR 2 goals (48 & 49), 49 goals tied for 4th best all-time in franchise history, 5 SOG in 9 attempts, +2 in 15:18

1st 🌟 Artemi Panarin NYR goal (21) plus 2 🍎 (66, 67), 3 SOG in 8 attempts, +3 in 16:03

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Tough hit for Rangers, significant upper body injury to Motte and Chytil also hurt, Kakko practices along with Rooney

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Derek

Today wasn’t a good day for the Rangers. After defeating the Penguins 3-0 with a great team effort, they got some bad news. The injury bug has hit with 10 games left in the regular season.

During Thursday night’s game, key checking forward and penalty killer Tyler Motte absorbed a tough hit from Pittsburgh forward Anthony Angello. In a prone position, the former Canuck was caught up high on a hit from the side that knocked him down. He would exit the contest.

Unfortunately, it appears that the injury to Motte is serious. Coach Gerard Gallant provided an update to reporters. Terming it a significant upper body injury, it’ll keep Motte out the remainder of the schedule.

It doesn’t sound promising. What that could signal is that Motte won’t be available for the first round of the playoffs. While I don’t know the full extent of the injury, my guess is he suffered a shoulder separation. Depending on what Grade it is will determine how long he’s out for.

What a bummer. Acquired from Vancouver for a fourth round pick, the 27-year old Motte has been a good addition to the fourth line. Also a valuable penalty killer, his combination of speed and instincts make him a player who’s fit in well.

Motte is always willing to finish checks and sacrifice for the good of the team. In nine games, he recorded 27 hits and blocked seven shots. While he didn’t register any points, Motte created scoring opportunities off his hard work. He totaled 18 shots on goal.

That gritty style made him a trusted player under Gallant. Motte was averaging 12:33 of ice time per game. Now, it’ll be up to their depth players to offset the loss.

It could fall on Kevin Rooney and Jonny Brodzinski. Rooney is close to returning. He is also a solid checking player that kills penalties. Brodzinski plays the game hard and utilizes his speed to make things happen. A center who is over .500 on face-offs, he can play a supporting role and penalty kill.

Another player who is hurt is Filip Chytil. The 22-year old center had been playing better. He was more noticeable during shifts while centering Alexis Lafreniere and glue guy Barclay Goodrow.

Although it’s been a disappointing season for him, Chytil looks to have locked up a third line supporting role. He’s been using his speed and playing more of a straight ahead game to generate chances.

The latest injury is unfortunate. This is a player who’s had setbacks. Friend of the blog Sean McCaffrey refers to him as Filip Brittle. As much as I hate to say it, that’s a fair assessment of Chytil at this point of his career. He’s never played a full season yet. Not even in the Covid shortened ’19-20 or last year’s abbreviated 56-game schedule.

So far in Year Five, he has seven goals and 12 assists for a total of 19 points over 60 games. A disappointing number considering his capability. Eighteen of the 19 points have come at even strength. Even if you aren’t the biggest Chytil fan, it hurts to lose him. Hopefully, he won’t be out that long.

Without Chytil, Goodrow practiced as the center of the third line between Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. Yes. It looks likely that we could finally see Kakko return to action tomorrow versus Ottawa. He hasn’t played since Jan. 21 at Carolina.

If Kakko does play on Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see how he looks. We know the ugly statistics. Five goals and nine assists in 37 games. But this is a chance for a new season. We’ll see what he brings.

Rooney also practiced today. As Vince Mercogliano noted above. He was back on the fourth line between Dryden Hunt and Ryan Reaves. The extra line had Brodzinski with Greg McKegg and Julien Gauthier.

If we assume those are the third and fourth lines for the Senator game, then you know the rest. I’m not even going to spell it out.

One thing I forgot to mention in last night’s blog is that Gallant went back to Patrik Nemeth with Braden Schneider. I didn’t have a problem with it. Too many of our fans are fickle. Nemeth didn’t make one mistake. Let Turk do his job. He will continue to assess both Nemeth and Justin Braun. Schneider looks like he’ll be penciled in for Game One next month.

If the Hurricanes defeat the Islanders in regulation tonight, the Rangers officially clinch. That would be appropriate. Since I don’t care who they’ll play, Let’s Go Canes. For one night only.

That’s gonna do it for now. This team should have enough depth to be okay without Motte. I hope we get to see him again in a Blueshirt this season. That would mean big time games this Spring.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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