Devils, all of hockey still in a COVID cloud on New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 31, 2021 by hasan4978
https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1476957631860326401?s=20

Not exactly the news I wanted to see getting home from a half-day of work before watching the Devils take on the Oilers in their second post-break game. It’s one thing when players get put on the COVID list, but when it’s your 60+ year old coach that’s a little different in terms of concern level. Even if Lindy Ruff is presumably vaccinated and boosted a la almost the entire NHL. While this season’s wave of COVID hasn’t even been as bad (so far) as last season’s was for the Devils on the whole with only three players currently on it, the sheer amount of people testing positive around the league just casts a pall on this part of the hockey season at least.

Especially after the WJC had games forfeited and eventually the whole tournament canceled. I can’t say I get into watching the prospect All-Star games in general, but I was even less inclined to pay attention this year given the COVID recess that both sidelined the NHL through the holiday and canceled the women’s version of the WJC. People in charge of running the tournament starting with the IIHF need to answer for why they thought they could pull off the men’s tournament without a true bubble in place and a far more contagious variant running rampant. Not to mention if only one or two positive tests per team were going to be enough to constitute a forfeit, how did anyone think it would be possible to have a legitimate tournament play out? Either have a real bubble with draconian forfeit rules, or no bubble with large taxi squads and a willingness to play on.

All of these leagues and sports seem to be making it up as they go along without much regard for consistency, and in the NHL’s case they have the added complication of multiple Canadian teams and that country’s different rules and standards compared to our own. In the case of our sport, we’re going to have to find a happy medium between trying to curb the spread and just continually sidelining asymptomatic players in a league where supposedly 99% of players and staff are at least vaccinated, thereby reducing the symptoms for the vast majority of symptomatic players to cold/flu territory. You can’t have it both ways and exercise extreme caution while still trying to make decisions based on financial considerations. Canadian teams having games postponed because they can’t have fans in the building is just the latest example of the NHL wanting its cake and eating it too. So if teams are healthy enough to play now then get ten guys on the COVID list when it’s rescheduled they have to play with a bunch of AHL fill-ins because the NHL and teams wanted more fans in the building?

By the same token, it isn’t ideal to have home-ice advantage in some arenas and not in others based on different rules in each city and province. Unfortunately, this is the world we still live in at the moment. First priority in every decision whether to postpone or play should always about be health and safety but second priority shouldn’t be financial, rather it should just be finding a way to play 82 games with as close to optimum rosters as is possible given realistic safety protocols and the normal wear and tear of an NHL season. If a team like say, the Islanders misses the postseason by a couple of points they’ll have a justifiable beef given the NHL made them play a few games early in the season with far from an optimum roster simply because they didn’t want to compromise home dates when tickets for the new Belmont arena were in higher demand.

It’s not an ideal world for anyone including the fans. After nearly a half season of shall we say loose requirements for fans to attend the Prudential Center, the protocols are getting beefed up at the arena with a mask mandate in effect immediately post-holiday pause and a vaccine mandate to go into effect on January 10, per the city of Newark. I’ve already made my complicated feelings known about the mask mandate, I actually do welcome the vaccine mandate though. That won’t affect me in the least since I’ve already got my green card for the Prudential Center indicating my vaccination status, nor will it make me look any more forward to the next time going to the arena wearing a mask. I’ll probably have to go to at least a couple games this month given the market for tickets at this point – everything considered – is practically nil.

I won’t be going this afternoon but that was mostly due to the fact I didn’t know how late I would have to work today so a 1 PM start probably wasn’t going to be ideal. It turned out I wound up leaving at 11:30 so I could have easily made the game, but to be honest I’m just as ambivalent watching a game in a near-sellout crowd at the moment as I am doing it in a mask. While I’m not especially afraid of getting this variant – particularly soon after getting my booster – it’s still at best an annoyance I don’t want to deal with. Plus you factor in this is also cold and flu season, and with cases spiking it’s hard to get instantaneous results on a COVID test, so you basically are forced to quarantine even with the flu or a cold.

While ticket prices have plummeted since I sold my pair of seats (one of the rare times where I made out by selling early), I’m still expecting today to be a near sellout given the fact most people have – or can get – this afternoon off. Unless there are a lot of no-shows given fear over the spread of the variant, there’s no way I really want to be in a crowd with bumper to bumper traffic in the hallways and people behind me all game long. Games like next Thursday against Columbus or the following Monday against Tampa where there’ll be maybe 10000 people in the building? I don’t feel as crowded upon then, especially with an aisle seat and the ability to move around the arena to an even more open area if need be.

This is more than I wanted to go on about the variant, but hopefully the last time I’ll need to drone on it, though I’m sure I’ll comment on my first post-new year game assuming I do go to the Rock next month in a mask. I’ll have to go to at least one of the next two games to pick up my long-sleeve t-shirt holiday gift from the Devils and probably wouldn’t be able to sell all my tickets next month regardless. There still isn’t really enough team-related news to discuss, although they did manage to break a six-game losing streak by wining their first post-break game against the Sabres 4-3 the other night with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt leading the way with respective three-point nights (each with a goal and two assists). For Bratt, he’s continuing his star turn and contract drive while hopefully Hughes can use Thursday as a springboard to achieve more consistent production of his own.

That’s about as high a note as I can end this blog on, hopefully everyone has a happy and safe New Year!

Posted in Devils | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Duclair, Cats’ big third period spoils Shesterkin’s return in tough one-goal loss

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Derek

Finally, there was hockey played. For the Rangers, the early Christmas break allowed Igor Shesterkin and Artemi Panarin to return. But also meant no Ryan Lindgren and Kevin Rooney due to COVID Protocol. Both regulars were missed.

However, the Rangers were in good position to improve to two-for-two against the Panthers. But they blew a one-goal lead after two periods by allowing three Florida third period goals in a tough 4-3 loss on the road. A one-goal defeat that was winnable.

It happens. You’re not always going to be able to protect leads in the third period. Even in a home loss to Vegas where they got beat in a shootout, the Rangers didn’t handle prosperity well. Coincidentally, that was the last game they played before games were postponed.

Even with a 12-day layoff, they played well enough to win against one of the league’s elite teams. Let’s put it this way. The effort in the second meeting against the Cats was much more consistent than the one where they relied on Shesterkin to steal a 4-3 home decision on Nov. 8.

Unlike that game, the teams were on even terms. The Rangers didn’t get outplayed or outshot in the rematch. It was a simple case of Shesterkin having a rare off night while counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky stole the show. This time, it was the former two-time Vezina winner who came up with the difference making gems that allowed his team to post a sixth third period come from behind win.

Goals from MacKenzie Weegar, Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair reversed a 2-1 Ranger lead into a 4-2 deficit with 5:20 remaining in the third. Despite not playing their best, the Rangers didn’t give up. With Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker, Chris Kreider was able to find a loose puck for his team-leading 19th of the season with over 44 seconds left in regulation.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for a comeback. To their credit, the Panthers defended well and protected the one-goal lead to pull out the hard earned victory on home ice. A place they’ve only lost three times. They improved to 15-3-0 at FLA Live Arena (seriously?). If there is a consolation, the Rangers are the better road team. Even though they lost, they fell to 11-5-2 away from MSG. The Cats are only 4-4-4 on the road.

Normally, I don’t look at such things following tough losses. But if we aren’t honest about how this team handles business on the road, then we would be ignoring a positive fact. The truth is in Year One under coach Gerard Gallant, this team knows how to play away from The World’s Most Vaccinated. Even if they had about 40 percent of the crowd due to all the Ranger fans who live down South, more often than not they’re in these games. It was no different Wednesday night.

The difference between winning and losing can be very minute. The little details matter. Unlike most games we’ve seen, there was no edge in special teams. They were crap throughout. Both sides took the collar in two power play opportunities. This came down to even strength play and the two Russian netminders.

Considering they hadn’t played since Dec. 17, the Rangers looked okay early. In fact, after wasting an early power play, they got a few key saves from Shesterkin, who made his first start since Dec. 3 against San Jose. It was in that one that he was forced out due to a groin injury. Alex Georgiev relieved him and split a shutout. Shesterkin believes he needs to do more stretches. This isn’t the first time he’s had issues with his groin. The same thing happened last season.

One thing about the Panthers. They have a relentless attack. They’re extremely good in transition due to their skating ability combined with the skill they possess. They had Aleksander Barkov back for this match. In fact, all four centers played. That hasn’t happened often. One through four, the quartet of Barkov, Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen is as tough as any in hockey. Don’t forget Sam Reinhart can play center too. They’re a handful.

While Shesterkin took care of a dozen shots sent his way including a tough one from Duclair up high, Bobrovsky also was busy. He faced 15 shots in a wide open first that probably more favored the Cats. Despite that style, it was Artemi Panarin who made a brilliant play to score a highlight reel goal at 11:08.

Following a Jacob Trouba outlet to Ryan Strome, he made a nice lead pass for Panarin who did the rest. Able to make a great move to the outside on Aaron Ekblad to get in, he then went to the backhand and slid the puck between Bobrovsky’s pads for his 10th. It was an unbelievable play by a great player. Panarin had it working throughout.

https://twitter.com/AlexJCasares/status/1476352367973085185?t=wcGfgeGd3cqfponriUaSZg&s=19

Leading by one, the Rangers had a chance to go up more. Libor Hajek was able to stay on his feet and escape with the puck in his end. Verhaeghe reached in and tripped him to send them on their second power play. Unlike the first, this time they got good setup time. The top unit did everything but score. Bobrovsky made critical stops on Panarin, Zibanejad and Kreider to keep Florida within one.

That was a turning point. Against a great offensive countering team like the Panthers, who are never out of a game, I really felt the Rangers needle to score in that spot. They came close, but ultimately didn’t due to Bobrovsky (14 first period saves including 5 for 5 on PK).

After the teams combined for 27 shots and a lot more attempts, the second was more under control. The tempo was more deliberate. Each side settled in and played more cautiously. Unlike the first, defense wasn’t optional. Shots and scoring chances were harder to come by.

Even after Strome slashed Bennett in the defensive zone, the Rangers did a good job on the penalty kill. Shesterkin was never threatened. Credit the penalty killers for being aggressive and getting key clears to change on the fly. The Panthers did nothing with their first five-on-four.

Despite the successful kill, the Rangers allowed the Cats to regain momentum quickly. On a good offensive shift from the third line, Ryan Lomberg set up a quick Gustav Forsling low shot that Shesterkin couldn’t control. With Hajek in front and Strome too late, a wide open Lundell put home the rebound for his sixth at 5:09 to tie the score.

The very next shift, the Panthers got a great point blank opportunity to take the lead. Off the face-off at center ice, Mason Marchment stole the puck from K’Andre Miller and broke in on Shesterkin, who stopped his initial shot and then stuffed the rebound chance. On the play, only Trouba was back scrambling to try to get to the other side. It was all about Shesterkin there. He also was contacted from an attacking Marchment, who braced himself. Nothing malicious there.

Following that sequence, a Kreider shot was denied by a sharp Bobrovsky. Things settled down. The Rangers tightened up after a stoppage. The Cats found it tough to get shots through on Shesterkin. The defense did a much better job containing the neutral zone and limiting the Florida counter attack.

With not much happening, Panarin made another terrific play that led directly to Zibanejad scoring for a third consecutive game. After a smart play by Hajek to keep the play alive in the offensive zone, a slick Panarin lifted the stick of Radko Gudas and stole the puck. Coming in with lots of speed two-on-one, he then threaded the needle across for a Zibanejad one-timer past a helpless Bobrovsky for his eighth at 12:43. That gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

These are the kind of superstar plays Panarin made in his first two seasons on Broadway. Like I said, the jump was back. He really looked like the elite player he is. Worth the price of admission. It’s also nice to see Zibanejad finishing again. It was the third straight game he had a goal and assist giving him six points (3-3-6) over three. That’s what they need from the number one center.

Things got a bit testy late in the second. Throughout, Cats’ pest Patric Hornqvist was running around hitting Rangers while mucking it up during a few heated scrums. That’s who he is. Whether it was with Pittsburgh or Nashville, he’s always right in the middle of the action. He even exchanged pleasantries with Ryan Reaves during a stoppage as both went back to their benches. He is a chip off the old block.

Finally, it boiled over. After Hornqvist delivered a clean check on Adam Fox that was a little high, Hajek went right after him in defense of his teammate. During a scrum behind the Ranger net, Hornqvist remarked, “What. I’m not allowed to hit [Fox].” He had a point. We see clean hits all the time answered quickly. It’s nothing new. I have no problem with the hit or Hajek defending Fox. That’s hockey now.

Of course, Hornqvist got no penalty afterwards. Instead, both Hajek and Lomberg each received two minutes each for roughing with 48 seconds left in the period. The teams skated four aside for the remainder of the period and first 1:12 of the third. However, nobody knew how important those penalties would wind up.

Still playing while both players were serving their penalties, they finally were able to return to action. The trouble was Hajek came back out and wasn’t able to change. That meant he was the third defenseman on for an extended shift with Trouba and Miller. Playing as a forward high, Hajek was on when the Panthers had one of their counters that resulted in Weegar tying the game at 5:56.

On the play, both Marchment and Luostarinen combined to find Weegar open for a good shot that might’ve tipped off Dryden Hunt by Shesterkin. Either way, it’s normally a shot he has. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop it. Weegar’s first of the season gave Florida new life with 14:04 left in the third.

Despite that tying goal, it was the Blueshirts who would get a couple of great chances to reclaim the lead. First, Strome took off and let go of a wrist shot that rang off the goalpost. That close. Then, a good keep in from Alexis Lafreniere created a two-on-one down low. Filip Chytil passed for Julien Gauthier on the doorstep. But a hustling Bennett broke it up.

Afterwards, with plenty of players back for a Florida transition, Verhaeghe let go of a wrist shot in the circle that snuck right between the pads of Shesterkin for the go-ahead goal with 9:29 left. This was a horrible goal to allow. It was a low shot that didn’t have a lot on it. But he let it go through him. Making matters worse, Gudas picked up an assist as did Forsling.

With over five minutes to go, it was another Florida quick hitter that helped put it away. With the Strome line again out, they got lost in coverage. A Bennett perfect feed for an open Duclair saw him go top shelf for his 10th to make it 4-2 in favor of the Panthers with 5:20 remaining. He also made the defensive play to start it before doing in his former team.

The thing about the Panthers is they have a strong supporting cast. In a game where Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau were held in check along with Ekblad and Reinhart, it was the depth players who got it done. Lundell, Weegar, Verhaeghe and Duclair scored the goals while Forsling (2 assists), Gudas, Marchment, Lomberg and Luostarinen hit the score sheet along with Bennett. That depth is what will present a problem for whoever they draw in the playoffs.

The Rangers got nothing from their supporting cast. Only the main characters. While the fourth line created a few opportunities including one for Reaves and another for Barclay Goodrow, the third line didn’t get enough done. As much as I like them, two shots (both from Chytil) isn’t scaring anyone. There were positives from Lafreniere, who is willing to go to the hard areas. But he needs to show more.

Even though he wound up with an assist when a Zibanejad shot accidentally tipped off him for a late Kreider goal that made it interesting, I didn’t like Kakko’s game. He didn’t do enough to impress. The statistics say three shots and a plus-two with an assist. But he wasn’t that noticeable. It’s up to Kakko, Lafreniere, Chytil and Miller to improve their production. Gauthier can be included because he creates enough chances.

That’s really what the season is going to be about. We know what the stars can do. It’s the young core that will have to step it up. The games only get harder. They got the defending champion Lightning on New Year’s Eve. That’ll be a big one for Goodrow, who’ll get his Stanley Cup ring and a video tribute from the first class Bolts. He was part of back-to-back championships. It’ll be special.

In terms of where we are with games returning, there’s still way too many cancellations due in large part to Canada. There’s 80 games at last count to make up. They can’t keep postponing games. That won’t work. Let’s hope things turnaround.

I also have close friends who have COVID-19. Most are vaccinated including close friend Brian, who’s triple vaxxed. It really is scary. Sending my best to all of our friends. Take care. For anyone out there, be careful.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨

3rd 🌟 Anthony Duclair, Panthers (game-winner at 14:40 of 3rd, 10th of season)

2nd 🌟 Artemi Panarin, NYR (goal and helper in a virtuoso performance)

1st 🌟 Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers (30 saves on 33 shots including some clutch stops in the 3rd)

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

Truthful commentary from frustrated players on Canada’s strict rules hurting NHL, questions persist on adjusting COVID Protocol

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Derek

With another game postponed as NHL play resumed tonight, there’s no end in sight to the COVID issues hurting the league. While other major sports such as the NFL and NBA revise their rules to make recovery quicker for asymptomatic players in protocol, the NHL is finding it more difficult.

That’s due to having seven Canadian teams. With the enforcement tougher north of the border, many games have been postponed. With the NHL in a bind having to make up in surplus of 50 games now that the Olympics are out, February will be a busier month. Many games will be rescheduled for the period the league originally put aside for Beijing.

Some players are starting to show frustration with the slow process at dealing with new CDC recommendations for reducing the number of days a player can miss. In the NFL, it’s now five days if a player is asymptomatic and tests negative. That means Carson Wentz could still play for the Colts versus the Raiders despite being unvaccinated. A fair way to go about it.

Lightning NHLPA player representative Alex Killorn spoke out about the serious issues the NHL is facing. He was very honest and specific about the way the Covid Omicron variant is being handled in Canada, where Team USA was forced to forfeit their Group B game against Switzerland earlier this afternoon due to a mandatory self quarantine after three players tested positive at the U20 World Junior Championships in Edmonton.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s NHLPA representative Alex Killorn had this to say about his thoughts and where he placed the blame.

“Either something’s got to change or we’re just going to have to deal with it and just know that the product’s going to be inferior that we’re putting on the ice…

It seems like it’s always Canada that’s the reason that a lot of things don’t happen, so I don’t know if we’re going to be able to do that. But it seems reasonable that we would do that and implement it as soon as possible.”

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1475936000971005964?s=20

It’s painfully obvious that the way Canada is being governed isn’t helping the cause. I’ve communicated with plenty of acquaintances who live in Ontario. They’re extremely upset with how little they can do. For one friend, she couldn’t even see her family for Christmas. Definitely a hard time for people who live up North.

When it comes to canceling games due to locking down the border which means no American teams can travel, it only makes one wonder how they’re ever going to be able to pull off a full 82-game schedule. What if things don’t change? There are plenty of NHL players in COVID Protocol. It is complicated. There doesn’t seem to be a solution to fix the problem.

If Hockey Canada and the IIHF can force USA to forfeit a game when every other available player was negative, why can’t the NHL force Canadian teams that can’t play to forfeit home games? I know it will never come to that as it would put into question the integrity of the league. But what happened with our young players at that tournament is an absolute joke.

Furthermore, the same IIHF decided to cancel the U18 women’s tournament. How is that exactly fair? So, it’s okay to allow men’s hockey players to compete in a pandemic, but not women? Where’s the logic? There is none. I could care less what they told Ray Ferraro, who obviously has to toe the company line during the TSN broadcast with Gord Miller. But it’s sad that they pushed back the 18 and Under women’s tournament.

https://twitter.com/scottmayfield2/status/1475921891911245828?t=uhwLi7P_a6YpKL9ZiC9LVA&s=19

None of these developments are good for hockey. We all love the sport and want what’s best. Instead, we’re seeing the worst due to utter confusion at every level over how to handle a pandemic that’s almost two years in. At some point, they have to make it easier for the players.

The bottom line is they can’t keep postponing games. That won’t work. Even without the ridiculous Olympic interruption that no other major sport has to worry about, many arenas have other events booked that they’re committed to. They have to play the games and make up every single one missed.

In regards to realignment, that’s a resounding no. Stop catering to Canada. They got their way last year. We all now know how tainted the Canadiens’ run was. Carey Price covered up a lot of mistakes. But they only reached the Stanley Cup Final due to playing in the North Division.

If you already are in the middle of a season, you can’t change the divisions. This isn’t musical chairs. It’s a real sport with established divisions and two conferences. Let’s keep it that way.

I’m not going to bother with Brad Marchand’s criticism of the NHL not being able to allow the players to compete in the Olympics. I was against it due to China and their ridiculous three week quarantine for any player who tests positive. Imagine the amount of pressure an Olympian will experience. It’s absurd.

Ryan Strome also had some interesting commentary on the league issues. Here’s what he thought about things.

From My Instagram Story.

Undoubtedly, players are concerned about what will happen. There’s still over half the season to play. That is if they do play the full amount. What we are left with are only more questions. At some critical point soon, the NHL must provide the answers.

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

A Christmas Wish

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Derek

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 ☃️🎁❄✨⭐ everybody!!!!! We all need a little Christmas spirit in our lives. So, you better not be naughty. Not now anyway.

I could go off on the NHL right now due to my thoughts on how the league is handling the COVID Protocol. But why bother? If they want to continue to push games back until at least next Tuesday, December 27th as of this writing, then go right ahead.

While somehow the NBA plays with much fewer rotation players in light of the mild Omicron variant along with the NFL still going about business, hockey is being extremely cautious due to the overly strict rules in Canada. That could become a serious issue that damages the regular season due to the traditional divisions.

But let’s leave all of that for another day. Later today is Christmas. For all my Canadian friends struggling to even see family, my heart goes out to you. Best wishes. Make the best of it. To anyone here who have had their plans ruined, don’t let it tarnish this day.

‘Tis the season

For Believing

And daydreaming

Let it be the reason

We spread holiday cheer

As Santa’s reindeer are near

Full of gifts for all

As the pretty lights shine above

Inspiring us to have a ball

Shining stars always spread love

I have a Christmas wish

That made my list

For hockey to return

And bring dangles, dekes, goals and saves

As the crowd rises up

Singing holiday cheers with a shot cup

Oh Santa comes down our chimney

And leaves our stockings full

Like the Christmas cookies we left

Saint Nick will laugh and bellow ho, ho, ho

To his reindeer and little helpers

As they take off in the gray skies

Suddenly snowflakes will magically appear

To be seen this morning

Bringing smiles and laughter everywhere

That indeed it is a white Christmas

For all who believe in the magic

And one day the puck will drop

Once again on the ice very soon

We’ll get through it I promise

And feel as high as the moon

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

May God bless us all on this day

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

NHL COVID restrictive measures leads to more cancellations, Canada closing its border, early Christmas Break, no Olympics, plus a look at hockey history nicknames

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Derek

In predictable news that was expected, the NHL’s new COVID restrictive measures lead to more cancellations. With spikes in COVID due to the new Omicron variant, Canada also decided to close its border. That means no games between American teams and Canadian teams.

For how long nobody knows. Ultimately, with a dramatic increase in players testing positive around the league, the NHL decided to pause play earlier. Only one game was played on Tuesday night with the Lightning completing a come from behind 4-3 win over the Golden Knights in a potential Stanley Cup preview at T-Mobile Arena. At least it was a proper sendoff for hockey fans who could see it (thanks ESPN). I watched on NHL 66. It was worth it.

As Hasan detailed in his previous post yesterday, the Christmas Break comes early for hockey. With as many as 50 games postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak stemming from the contagious Omicron variant, that means the NHL and NHLPA had to reexamine Olympic participation. With so many games needing to be made up, the best solution was opening up February when they were supposed to be on break for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Confirming the obvious, the NHL and NHLPA announced that they won’t be participating in Beijing. It’s just as well. Given all the unknowns about the pandemic along with the possibility of a player who tests positive having to quarantine for three weeks due to China policy, it never made sense to go. I’ll withhold my opinion on their country because this isn’t the right forum. I’ll only say I feel for Peng Shuai. A tennis star athlete who sure represented China well.

Obviously, the Rangers don’t have a game tonight on December 22 against the Canadiens. Instead, they have the entire week off including the traditional Christmas break through the weekend. Their next scheduled game is home for the improved Red Wings on Monday, 12/27. That is expected to be played. The NHL revealed that teams could return to practice on Boxing Day. The same day the World Junior Championships get underway in Red Deer and Edmonton. I can only wish the kids who are partaking for their respective countries the very best. It truly is a great tournament. NHL Network will have coverage.

If you love following prospects as much as I do, check it out. There won’t be any other hockey on December 26. I’ll have a preview up on Hockey Prospects. I’ll also link it up here. Let’s call it a Christmas present. If your team is not looking playoff bound such as the Devils, then there’s gotta be prospects playing in the U20 IIHF WJC. Due to the pandemic, there will only be one exhibition game for each country. Let’s hope there aren’t any issues in the bitter cold out in Northwestern Canada.

Is it disappointing that we won’t see NHL players take part in the Olympic Games? Of course. We’ve gotten used to seeing our favorite stars play for their country since ’98 in Nagano. The Dominik Hasek Tournament. That’s what I refer to it as. The ’02 Games in Salt Lake City were memorable. Who would’ve ever thought we’d see USA challenge Canada for gold? While they did fall short, it was fun to see Mike Richter go up against Martin Brodeur one final time. You had other memorable moments like Henrik Lundqvist with the save on Olli Jokinen in ’06 Torino to win gold for Sweden. Zach Parise force sudden death in 2010 before Sidney Crosby beat Ryan Miller to win gold again for Canada.

There sure have been some great headlines to come from NHL participation in the Winter Games. Now, it’s about what’s best for business. Having lost so many games already, there was no realistic way for the league to make it work. We didn’t know what could’ve lied ahead. For any athlete participating in Beijing, I can only wish them the best. The same unknowns apply to any participant who’s made every sacrifice to chase their Olympic dreams.

With hardly any hockey the past couple of days, it’s given me time to see my best friend who traveled back from North Carolina to visit his family and friends. He isn’t vaccinated. That’s his choice. The thing about it is I respect people’s choices. That’s part of who I am. He chose to do what was best for his family which includes two great boys including one who shares a birthday with me. An ironic coincidence. Even though we couldn’t do much, we met up last night near our old grammar school and caught up for a while outside. All the same, it was great to see him. Family and Inner Circle are what matters most in life. Let’s not forget that.

As for hockey, NHL Network showed the classic documentary The NHL: 100 Years. That was great to re-watch. I absolutely love how they document the history of the NHL from its inception to surviving once the Original Six became established post World War II. People forget there were other teams like the New York Americans, Montreal Maroons, Pittsburgh Pirates who played. Ultimately, they didn’t survive. What they were left with were the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

I feel like the history of the NHL isn’t discussed enough. Unless you’re like me or buddy Sean McCaffrey, who did a book on the full history of the Rangers which is ignored by Madison Square Garden like the plague, the unique past of the sport we love is something to behold. Don’t forget there were the original Ottawa Senators who were champions too. I highly recommend The NHL: 100 Years to any devoted puck fan. Think about classic names such as Eddie Shore, Bill and Bun Cook, Frank Boucher, Howie Morentz, Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, Red Kelly, Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk, etc. There’s too many to list.

It makes me fully appreciate that I interned for U.S. Hockey Hall Of Famer Stan Fischler. Being up in his old apartment in Harlem, I was always mesmerized by all the hockey books and his other passion of trains when I made the trip from my Staten Island home that’s closer to the Outer Bridge than Manhattan. I never would’ve known about Frank Mahovlich or his brother Pete. Or been to Nassau Coliseum for a morning skate and taken in hockey history even if it was at enemy territory. I think it’s poetic that I wound up working production truck for the Devils in ’00-01. I wasn’t afraid to talk to Martin Brodeur or legendary Larry Robinson or joke around with Doc Emrick and Chico Resch.

I learned a lot under Fischler, who deserves his rightful place in Toronto as well. But as I know all too well from the bias with the Hockey Hall Of Fame that inducted noted Selke winner Guy Carbonneau before much better players such as Alexander Mogilny and Jeremy Roenick as well as the much overlooked Steve Larmer, it’s expected. They don’t always do what’s right. To me, Stan The Man will always be a legend. The Maven doesn’t need a plaque in Toronto. I saw how dedicated he is and astonishingly still is while living with grandchildren in Israel. His enthusiasm and charm are characteristics you can’t teach.

We could reference The Bread Line or Sauerkraut Line. I listed The Production Line above. You know. Nicknames for great lines used to be a hockey tradition. The Perfection Line just isn’t it. How about the New England Clam Chowder Line? Or the Killer B’s Line. What about the Avalanche of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen? What should they be called? Probably are the most dominant line in the current game. I guess I’m a sucker for cool nicknames. Maybe we need to again be more creative. Not just with The Rat, Brad Marchand.

There’s so much talent in today’s game. The unconscionable duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton. The Great Eight, Alexander Ovechkin, who continues to chase Wayne Gretzky. Sidney Crosby is no longer Sid The Kid. But still plays the game well enough to lead a surprising bunch of Pens. What about Auston Matthews? Shouldn’t someone with his remarkable release have a nickname? You got Bread Man for Artemi Panarin. Steven Stamkos is Stammer in Tampa. Following last night’s rocket from his office on the power play, I referred to him as Stammer The Hammer.

What would you call Andrei Vasilevskiy? I watch a lot of Bolts games and it’s his stellar play in net that has Tampa right at the top in the East despite no Nikita Kucherov or Brayden Point. Is he merely Vasy or Kitty as most diehard Lightning fans refer to him as? His reflexes are quick like a cat. Maybe that works. Other goalies have better numbers this season. Nobody is more valuable than Vasilevskiy is to their team. Maybe except Carey Price. I had to. Look at how miserable the Canadiens are without him.

Nicknames for the game’s best are fun. In the 90’s, you had The Russian Rocket for Pavel Bure and Golden Brett for Brett Hull. The Big E for Eric Lindros. Moose for Mark Messier. The Great One for Gretzky obviously. Super Mario for Mario Lemieux which was cool if you loved Nintendo. It worked. Finnish Flash for Teemu Selanne. Alexander The Great by legendary Sabres’ announcer Rick Jeanneret for Mogilny.

The Next Generation is here with Trevor Zegras front and center. I think I’m going to go with Mr. Unpredictable or The Highlight Machine. Lucas Raymond is silky smooth in Detroit. How was he behind Alexis Lafreniere again? Sorry Laf. He’s gonna have to prove himself. I like Tim Stutzle in Ottawa. Terrific skater with great moves and a dynamite shot. Is Moritz Seider still off the board? Looks like the Red Wings knew as did Steve Yzerman. No wonder they’re in the mix.

There are many exciting stories so far. Not just the Rangers being relevant again. But teams like the Ducks being led by Zegras, Troy Terry and Jamie Drysdale. The surprising Sharks behind James Reimer, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and the reemergence of Erik Karlsson. The Canucks suddenly winning again due to Bruce “There It Is” Boudreau and Thatcher Demko. Who had the Flames being good? Johnny Gaudreau sure is gonna make them pay along with Matthew Tkachuk.

There also was the sudden departure of Paul Maurice in Winnipeg, who just felt it was time for a new voice. Only time will tell if he’s right. Dave Lowry takes over. Kyle Connor is a superstar and Connor Hellebuyck is still elite. But he needs help from the defense. Less surprising was Alain Vigneault going bye bye in Philadelphia. It wasn’t a good fit. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in Montreal. The Blackhawks play harder now, but still leave Marc-Andre Fleury out to dry too much.

That’s going to do it for now. To everyone out there. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 🎅

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

Devils, NHL postpone games until after Christmas break

Posted on December 21, 2021 by hasan4978

In something that seemed inevitable for days, the NHL yesterday finally acknowledged the reality that a pause was needed for an NHL season already unbalanced by multiple team shutdowns and canceled blocks of games. Nobody thought we’d get to this point a couple weeks ago, but with the number of teams already shutting down due to a number of positive tests – while others like ours played with severely compromised rosters (more on that in a moment) – it’s the only sensible thing left to do, although due to travel there will still be two games played tonight before the mini-pause takes place. I’m not quite sure if it’s well-timed or ill-timed considering the holiday break provides even more vectors for multiplying infections. Although there’s been no official announcement yet, rumors are flying the NHL will decline to participate in the Olympics this year which is the only intelligent decision to make, all things considered – including the number of postponed games that will have to be made up after this stretch.

This decision should have been made days ago, the NHL was pretty much making it up as it went all year – starting with the Islanders – in terms of who was immediately sent to a medical timeout and who they told screw you, go play the games. Of course we were one of the latter teams. To be fair, it’s not like we had a ton of COVID cases (especially compared to last year) with just a handful of guys in protocol, and ironically all came back to practice yesterday just before the news of the team and league shutdown. However, when you couple COVID with the flu/cold season also beginning, and the natural injuries each roster will have by December then even a few COVID positives can make things dicey as it did for us. Add in the fact that the minor league team also had a number of positives and it limited the callups we could do, and that made things even worse.

Things reached a nadir this weekend when the Devils played with a 19-man roster as several key players were out and they were unable to call up a single player from Utica – until the next day when Chase DeLeo was recalled, only for DeLeo to not play at all when Jesper Bratt returned from his illness. Maybe playing with a 19-man roster doesn’t sound so bad, but then you factor in that several of the players who did play were either sick or just returning from sickbeds to the ice. Coach Lindy Ruff admitted after last Monday’s game against the Flyers that it was the first time he had to put together lines based on who had enough stamina to play a regular shift and keeping all the players who were either playing sick or returning from illness on different lines.

What made last week even more annoying was after the Devils got beaten up in Detroit on Saturday, the next day the Wings were given a pause due to their own outbreaks, while we had to play a travel back-to-back and the league turned down our initial request for cancellations due to a compromised roster and the few healthy skaters on it being taxed beyond normal limits. Finally after losing to the Penguins at the Rock on Sunday, the league acceded to GM Tom Fitzgerald’s repeated pleas to halt the Devils schedule, literally on the morning most of our COVID cases came back to practice. That said, the GM admitted in his post-pause presser that it would have been asking too much for these players to come back for a game last night after only one practice.

Also in that presser was predictable support for the head coach and putting the onus on the players to turn the season around after heading into the holidays on a six-game losing streak. It’s not really the time or place to argue with the GM on how good he thought the team looked early in the season, except to say even when the Devils were still puttering around .500 you knew they still had some issues. Issues that were not going to be fixed with Jack Hughes’ return alone, especially if Hughes continues to play like a swashbuckler who has no idea what to do on the ice. His raw numbers are iffy enough (three goals and five points with a -11 in eleven games since returning to the lineup), but you just can’t make mistakes like he did on Sunday, when a lazy cross-ice pass led to yet another shorthanded goal against, the sixth so far against the Devils this year compared to just eleven goals actually scored on the power play. I would say maybe he’s another one of the sick guys that have been discussed, except that he really hasn’t played much better than this on a consistent basis throughout most of his three years so far as a Devils.

At least we get a few day break from watching this Devils team, although when play resumes things are going to be different – and I don’t just mean increased player protocols but increased fan protocols as well.

I can’t say I’m totally surprised at this point. It’s both understandable and annoying, understandable due to the sheer rise in case numbers, but annoying due to the fact that I’ve already been to twelve games this year in a largely unmasked crowd after getting over my preseason skittishness over the lack of a real negative test/vaccine mandate for the fans. As a vaccinated + boosted person, I’m not really looking forward to having to watch games with a mask on after the New Year (I’d already sold my tickets for the NYE game, so my next home game would be on the 6th), especially to watch a team where losses are mounting about as fast as COVID cases state-wide. I also don’t envy the ushers and arena workers having to try and enforce an in-season mask mandate with a ton of yahoos in the crowd that don’t take kindly to being told what to do.

Even in bad seasons I’ve never gone out of my way to count the number of home games left the way I have just now (twenty-three, including the postponed Thursday game against the Habs). Hopefully by the end of the non-Olympic break there’ll be enough reason to lift the mask mandate by then but will the team be even worth watching then or in the meantime? That’s another story. It’ll be interesting to see just how badly ticket sales tank in the last 2/3 of the season given everything – team losing yet again, mask mandates, increased prices for marquee games – hah. Too bad both our Ranger home games are in late March/early April, they’ll no doubt be MSG South games given the Rangers’ current position in the standings and ours. Those will likely be sell and cash out games and I don’t usually do that with Ranger games but really now, how much ‘fun’ will it actually be when the game means very little and you know there’s gonna be a heavy opposition fan presence in your own building?

I just looked up when my last Ranger home game was, actually it was November of 2019 since we played them twice early in the pre-pandemic part of 2019-20 at home, and that was just before the firing of John Hynes. Not exactly a lot of fun involved in that game either, seeing as it was a 4-0 Ranger shutout. There aren’t a lot of actual must-games to go to at this point, I kind of want to go to see them play other bad teams like Arizona and Montreal just to up my chances of seeing some more home wins, since I’ve only been at one home win since the first week of November. After starting the season 4-1-1, my in-person record is 1-3-2. Forget about promos, hah…the only real giveaways are on St. Patty’s Day (a Mackenzie Blackwood bobblehead) and maybe Fan Appreciation Day, if they deign to give us more than a soda or even 20% off at the Devils Den of their overpriced by 30% merchandise for having to watch this team. There’s Travis Zajac night in mid-March but there’s a chance I might not even be able to make that game regardless…tbd.

So few actual promos, a mask mandate and a ton of losses…should make everyone run out of their chairs to want to see the Devils live in 2022!

Posted in Devils, NHL | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Devils and NHL limp towards holiday and possible league-wide pause

Posted on December 18, 2021 by hasan4978

Right now it’s hard not to be apathetic about the state of the Devils as a team on the ice, and sports/society as a whole off it with the Omicron COVID variant wreaking havoc on three major sports at the same time, despite the majority of all players and coaches being vaccinated. It would take a whole separate blog that delves too far into the political or moral realm to discuss the merits of the current protocols in all the major sports at the moment and debate which teams should have games canceled/postponed and which shouldn’t. To sum up my feelings on the larger issue, it’s hard not to see us coming to a day soon where we just start allowing players to play if they’re vaccinated and asymptomatic. All the information to this point (emphasis on the latter) suggests that this new variant, while it’s more contagious could actually be milder than the original strands, and at the very least poses minimal danger to those who are vaccinated and boosted.

If we didn’t have mass cancellations and postponements across the major sports would we all be feeling as helpless right now? Probably not as much, although the skyrocketing case numbers throughout the country in general are both worrying and incredibly misleading. Sure the number of infections may be skyrocketing up, but to this point the number of hospitalizations has only increased marginally, and mostly in the unvaccinated population. To a certain level I don’t envy all these sports, we’re almost learning about this new variant on the fly and continually assessing the level of risk for everyone. There almost has to be a better way than this though. Multiple games moved this NFL weekend, teams playing with short rosters all over the NBA, no fewer than five teams having pauses already through Christmas in the NHL with others like us playing with short rosters.

Despite the team-wide outbreak last year and now complete vaccination numbers this year, the Devils have been hit with a 1-2 punch of both COVID and non-COVID illness this week. It’s almost impossible to keep track of who’s out with what. Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves, P.K. Subban and Jesper Boqvist are all on the COVID list, Mackenzie Blackwood has a neck injury and is out for tonight’s game, backup goalie Jonathan Bernier is out long-term with a serious hip condition that may well lead to surgery (so much for having the reliable 1B vet, again) and Jesper Bratt was a late pre-game scratch with non-COVID illness. Other guys have been fighting illness all week, including Blackwood himself during the whipping by the Flyers on Tuesday.

For reasons beyond my understanding, the Devils were unable to call up anyone from Utica to fill out the roster despite the fact they were able to play their own game last night, so we’re basically playing with sixteen skaters on the front end of a back-to-back, plus enforcer Mason Geertsen. With our short lineup and crappy play in general lately (not to mention the sight of the third jerseys), I have little interest in watching tonight’s game – despite the realization that we may well be headed for another shutdown – albeit what should be a more temporary one than the complete halt the world came to in March 2020. Ironically if there’s any league best positioned for a pause, it’s the NHL given the three open weeks they have in February that almost certainly will not see NHL players go to the Olympics at this point with everything going on off the ice, health wise and politically.

UPDATE: It took now-former Devils beat writer Corey Masisak to give some more context over why the Devils were unlikely to be able to make a callup from Utica

Le sigh. I can’t say I’m looking forward to going to next Thursday’s game, though the struggling Habs may be one of the few teams we can match up with at the moment – assuming the league hasn’t paused by then or they don’t become one of the individual teams that has to pause their season. I already cashed out on tomorrow’s game and the expected New Years Day beatdown against the Oilers, as much because I don’t want to be a statistic right now as because of the team’s poor play. There won’t be a huge crowd for a weeknight game against the Habs so I’m not as worried about people being on top of me that night sadly.

If on the off chance last night’s game against Vegas was my last home game of 2021 and/or for a few weeks after, at least it wasn’t the total beatdown I feared and I got to hang out and have some fun with one of my buddies and her friends who don’t go to games very often. Not that I ever really thought we had a chance to beat Vegas, although things looked interesting after Jack Hughes put home a rebound from a Dougie Hamilton shot just 1:41 into the game to give us the early lead in a five-minute period we dominated.

After that, it was all Vegas for the rest of the first and into the early part of the second when they took the lead after goals by Dylan Coghlan (on an extended power play in the first) and William Carrier in the second. I even got to witness a bizarre occurrence when after yet another failed power play in the second, the crowd let out very audible ‘Fire Recchi!’ chants. For those of you who aren’t really following the team, Mark Recchi is one of our assistants who ostensibly runs the power play, although I’ve gone from blaming him myself for the state of the power play to just feeling like he’s a scapegoat for larger organizational issues. Still, I was a bit bemused all things considered, it’s not like I have any real loyalty to Recchi or like 90% of the roster at this point.

Despite the still hopeless PP, the Devils stabilized the game a little and it wasn’t completely out of reach at 2-1 after two. That is until Vegas overran us in the first ten minutes of the third, with first Wild Bill Karlsson turning on the jets past slow as molasses Ty Smith, and beating Blackwood shortside for the first of two eh goals in a less than minute span in the third period. Nicolas Roy’s shortside floater just thirty-three seconds later caved the roof in and seemingly put the game out of reach at 4-1. Just when I’d pretty much given up all hope for the night, the PP actually came to life with Tomas Tatar scoring just over halfway through the period. Even then I wasn’t all that excited and not because I missed the goal talking with my friend Sandi (ironically, she was asking about the Chico Resch Colorado Rockies jersey on the person in front of us), I was more like ‘okay, now you guys finally decide to score on the PP?’. I didn’t even stand up to cheer that goal, but I did actually stand up a couple minutes later when Jimmy Vesey lucked into a shorthanded goal off his chest that got the Devils to within one.

Still, despite the Devils’ improved play and game effort in the third they came up short yet again and suffered one final indignity when after Vegas scored an empty-netter to make it 5-3, Hughes’ apparent goal with ten seconds left was overturned because of an offside. Then a senseless endgame fight happened as we were leaving, because Lindy Ruff decided to be a sore loser and put out Geertsen on the last shift and it just prolonged an already messy ending, in part due to a clean hit on Hughes minutes earlier. Derek in his last blog detailed – with the help of a Mike Rupp tweet – how Hughes sometimes puts himself into harm’s way allowing himself to get popped unnecessarily. It’s a fair concern, if you’re around six feet tall and 180 pounds especially you gotta keep your head up and not just be a swashbuckler going anywhere and everywhere on the ice. His recklessness is both part of what endears fans to Hughes and what tests our patience, when he does things like taking unnecessary hits or making senseless passes to nowhere. He’ll have to get better at the latter to fulfill his potential as a star and the former to stay on the ice enough to be a franchise building block.

Maybe I’ll turn on the last two periods now that I’m almost done venting here. Like I said up top, we may be having another break soon although this is not March 2020 all over again, that’s just silly media-driven fatalism. We didn’t have knowledge, a vaccine or known treatments in March 2020. Still there is a certain amount of indignance I’m feeling toward the thought of another virus-induced break in both sports and society at large. Maybe I haven’t been the most careful or introverted person in the world, but I have gotten the vaccine/booster and was as careful as I needed to be until getting the vaccine, and still have been somewhat careful and lucky enough to not get it to this point (at least as far as I know). I’m not the most outgoing person in the world either, and was more fine than most with the shutdown in the months immediately following in the start of the pandemic but at this point I almost feel like we’re all gonna get it over time anyway with how quickly this one is spreading, so at least I’ve given myself the best chance to get through it if I do, and that’s about all any of us can do at this point. That and try to encourage everyone around us to trust our doctors and not what we read on social media.

Posted in Devils, NHL | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Howden’s Revenge: Former Ranger keys Golden Knights comeback win, Zibanejad has best game so far, Georgiev strong in shootout loss

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Derek

Revenge is a dish best served cold. That’s exactly the lesson Brett Howden taught his former team. The much forgotten fourth liner had a big game in helping the Golden Knights come back to pull out a 3-2 win over the Rangers in a shootout at MSG Friday night.

As fate would have it, it was the fourth line center who had his best game for Vegas by scoring a goal and winning a key face-off to set up the tying goal that forced overtime. In fact, Howden was named the game’s Second Star when the night ended. Well deserved.

While it wasn’t so much that they played poorly, the Rangers didn’t put the hammer down against a team playing the second game of a back-to-back. After not having their strongest first period with Howden able to get his third by beating Kevin Rooney to a rebound following a good Alex Georgiev save, the Blueshirts responded with a more inspired second period.

Using a key penalty kill of a Mika Zibanejad penalty late in the first that was sparked by some splendid work from Rooney and Barclay Goodrow, they turned it on in the second. Playing a much quicker pace by skating and attacking a tired opponent, the Rangers turned things around.

On the opening shift of the period, Zibanejad used defenseman Zach Whitecloud as a perfect screen to fire a good wrist shot past Vegas backup goalie Laurent Brossoit to tie the score just 17 seconds in. It was his third goal in five games and made it two straight with a goal. An encouraging sign for the streaky top center.

The play was made possible thanks to a smart transition up ice. After receiving a pass from Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller moved the puck up for Chris Kreider, who made a nice tip pass to send Zibanejad into the Vegas zone for his seventh of the season. Exactly what the doctor ordered.

As expected, the Rangers were without Artemi Panarin, who’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He didn’t take the morning skate. The team’s leading scorer wasn’t the only regular out. Rookie Nils Lundkvist sat out his fourth straight game due to illness. While they continue to term it non-Covid related, I’m guessing that he has the flu. Given the crazy weather we have, what else could it be? Libor Hajek skated in his place on the third pair.

Also getting the start was Georgiev, who was outstanding after getting Wednesday’s win off at Arizona. Keith Kinkaid admirably filled in. While Igor Shesterkin did practice, it looks like the plan is to give him a few more days to recover. With the next game not until next Wednesday against Montreal at home, I wouldn’t expect to see Shesterkin until after the Christmas break. The next game following December 22 isn’t until Dec. 27 versus Detroit.

Without Panarin, Gerard Gallant reinserted Filip Chytil into the lineup. He initially started on the left wing of the third line with Goodrow in the middle and Julien Gauthier on the right side. However, with his team unable to establish much in the first period, Gallant moved Chytil to the right side of the second line with Ryan Strome and Alexis Lafreniere. Hunt dropped down to the third line. A better match.

Another interesting note is that the game had only one referee with Pierre Lambert calling the game by himself with the help of linesmen Bryan Pancich and Ryan Dansby. For whatever reason, the other assigned ref Kendrick Nicholson didn’t work. Was it Covid related? For whatever it’s worth, I thought Lambert did a good job. It isn’t easy in today’s faster game for one ref to work. While he did miss a couple of calls, he didn’t get in the way of a good game.

Early on, Georgiev had to get over to deny Howden from a tough angle. Howden centers William Carrier and Keegan Kolesar. They’re your typical grind line that the Golden Knights use. Even without Ryan Reaves, that checking line still works pretty consistently. Howden not only shined throughout, but won 7-of-10 face-offs in 12:17 of action. He was the best Golden Knight on a deep roster that features Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo.

On a strong shift by their fourth line, Vegas took the lead when Kolesar got the puck to Carrier, who cut in and forced Georgiev into a tough save. Howden beat Rooney to put in the rebound for his third at 6:49. Sure. It figured he’d score in his Garden return. There were some boos. But nothing overwhelming.

With Vegas continuing to control the pace early, Zibanejad hooked Evgenii Dadonov to put the Golden Knights on the power play. It was at the middle point of the first that the game began to swing. Buoyed by some aggressive penalty killing from Rooney, Goodrow, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, the Rangers had the puck in the Vegas zone to kill off precious time. Georgiev made two stops on the power play before Zibanejad returned.

A couple of better forechecking shifts helped the Rangers turn the tide. On a gritty cycle from the combination of Goodrow, Hunt and Gauthier, a Hunt shot through traffic was deflected by Gauthier off a screened Brossoit, who still made the save. That was the best shift of the period.

After getting outshot 12-9, it was the Rangers who responded well in the second frame. With Zibanejad flying, he took a Kreider one touch pass and let go of a good shot through Whitecloud that found twine to even the score. The shot had some giddy up on it. His seventh at 17 seconds changed the momentum.

The Rangers continued to come at the Golden Knights in waves. By limiting the turnovers that plagued them in a flat first, they were able to generate sustained pressure inside the Vegas end. Able to attack more vigorously, Zibanejad drew a slashing minor on Nicolas Roy.

While on the power play, the first unit which again included Kaapo Kakko instead of Panarin was able to move the puck around the box well. After a near miss from Zibanejad for Kreider, this time he took a Strome cross-ice pass in the left circle. Without any hesitation, he swung the puck between two Vegas players’ skates for a great Kreider tip in for his 11th power play goal at 10:25. His team-leading 18th gave them the lead.

After Kreider scored, a Pietrangelo high-stick on Zibanejad during a delayed penalty handed the Rangers a second consecutive power play. Unlike the first one, they were unable to score. That would prove significant.

In a dominant second where they outshot the Golden Knights 11-4, Brossoit held his team in it. The Rangers never were able to find the knockout blow they needed. It would come back to haunt them.

In a game where Zibanejad was going with a team high seven shots and a dominant night on face-offs (15-for-19), the Blueshirts never got another goal. They defended well with a hustling Lafreniere breaking up a counterattack by making a diving play and then clear. When he got back to the bench, he was bent over. That kind of effort doesn’t go unnoticed.

On another defensive play, Hajek rushed back to stop a Vegas chance following a sloppy turnover from Patrik Nemeth. Hajek had a solid game in 13:16. He definitely didn’t hurt his cause.

When the Golden Knights got good shots on Georgiev, he was splendid. He really made some good saves throughout and deserved a victory. Unfortunately, his teammates couldn’t quite get it for him.

Hanging onto a one-goal lead in the third period, the Rangers tried to protect it. It wasn’t intentional that they played more cautiously. Something both Gallant and Zibanejad alluded to in the postgame. But it just happened. Instead of coming with the same attack they showed in the previous period, they allowed the Knights to hang around.

While neither side accomplished much of anything in the first part with shots favoring Vegas 2-1, the Golden Knights were more effective on the forecheck. Even as Georgiev made some stops, you knew this strategy was doomed.

Eventually on a key defensive draw, a rare Zibanejad loss to Howden led to the game-tying goal. After Howden won the face-off back to Nicolas Hague, Chytil gambled by going for the steal. Instead, he missed the puck which allowed Hague’s pass over to an open Dylan Coghlan to get through. Coghlan drove a shot high to the far side past Georgiev to tie the game with 5:16 remaining.

It happened that quickly. Chytil’s mistake resulted in the Coghlan tying goal with a good screen set in front. That goal definitely hurt. But in a conservative period they only got two shots on Brossoit while Vegas had 10 on Georgiev, the Rangers paid the price. You don’t let good teams hang around. They never put Vegas away.

There were a few iffy moments late. But the Rangers and Golden Knights would require overtime. The three-on-three was unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

It was electrifying. Without Panarin, Gallant went with four different sets of forward tandems. That included Kakko and Lafreniere, who both earned time. Even Chytil and Gauthier saw a late shift. Astonishingly, there were 11 combined shots in the overtime.

Each side created a number of chances to end it. The best came when Pacioretty had a breakaway on Georgiev. One-on-one with the Rangers’ backup, he tried to go five-hole. But a patient Georgiev shut it down and then denied Pacioretty on a point blank rebound to create a buzz in the crowd. He’s not usually good on breakaways. But that’s how locked in he was.

Zibanejad just missed connection with Kreider on a tip try. On another opportunity, Kakko got a step with under a minute left. But he was too predictable by going wide. That allowed him to be taken off the puck. He likes to hang onto the puck and go around the net. Similar to the style he succeeded with on the wider ice surface in Europe. I would’ve liked to seen him take the puck hard to the paint like Gauthier.

After such a breathtaking three-on-three, it went to a shootout. In it, Gallant picked his best three shooters. After Georgiev got across to deny Roy on the backhand, Brossoit got a piece of a Kakko shot with his blocker. In Round Two, Georgiev again stoned Pacioretty to more cheers. But Brossoit took away Zibanejad’s forehand by making the glove save.

It came down to the third round. In it, Marchessault made a smart move by skating in on the left. Instead of going high glove, he went stick side for the only goal. In the last attempt, Strome tried to go low on Brossoit who turned it aside to give his team the win.

Even though they lost to get only a point, both Gallant and Zibanejad had some good takeaways. They played a good game against an elite team. Of course, they should’ve won. But this is a game they can build on. I really liked how Zibanejad played. Kreider also had two points.

Now, they will get a break. With the Omicron variant being passed around like a plague, it’s probably better for the Rangers to have the time off. They played a tough stretch of games. While it wasn’t what they hoped for due to going 1-2-1, they still have a good 19-7-4 record through 30 games. That’s 42 points. Not a bad place to be.

THREE STARS 🌟 🤩 ✨

3rd 🌟 Alex Georgiev, NYR (28 saves on 30 shots including 26 of 28 at even strength)

2nd 🌟 Brett Howden, VGK (3rd of season plus 🍎, 7-for-12 on draws, +2 in 12:17)

1st 🌟 Mika Zibanejad, NYR (7th of season plus 🍎, 7 SOG, 15-for-19 on draws in 21:50)

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

A Devilish Jack Hughes Issue

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Derek

It hasn’t been a good December for the Devils. On Thursday night, they lost their fourth in a row by a score of 5-3 at The Prudential Center in Newark. Thus far, they’re 1-6-1 for the month. That won’t get it done.

With the team struggling to win games, there has to be more pressure on coach Lindy Ruff. A very experienced bench boss, he’s in his second year with the Devils. They’re the third team he’s coached. Most of his success came with the Sabres where he guided them to to the ’99 Stanley Cup Final and two appearances in the Eastern Conference Final. An impressive resume for sure.

However, time might be running out. Although it’s only Year Two for Ruff, expectations were higher due to key additions Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves, Jonathan Bernier and rookie Dawson Mercer. Instead, they wasted a promising 7-3-3 start. Over the last 16 games including last night, they’re 3-10-3. That poor stretch has them seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 10-13-5 record.

A bigger issue that should concern the Devils’ Red Army is the kind of big hits Jack Hughes takes. In his third season, the 20-year old former 2019 top pick is an elite skater with great skills. The trouble is he hasn’t always been healthy.

After a good start with two goals and an assist in the first two games (both wins), Hughes absorbed a heavy hit from Jeremy Lauzon in that second game against the Kraken. He landed awkwardly into the boards and suffered a dislocated left shoulder. That cost him 17 games.

Hughes returned six weeks later on Nov. 30 versus the Sharks. In nine games since coming back, he has tallied three goals and two assists for five points. That included scoring his fifth goal of the season on Thursday night. He also had a second goal wiped out due to an offside late in regulation.

The problem is he took another big hit a few minutes earlier. While carrying the puck over the Vegas blue line, Hughes got caught with a clean hit from defenseman Zach Whitecloud. While it was a little high, the contact was through the upper chest knocking Hughes down. He was okay.

Once his apparent second goal was reversed with under 20 seconds left, Mason Geertsen was sent out for a face-off. You didn’t need to be an expert to know what would happen. He got into it with both Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb. Pietrangelo got a few shots in ln Geertsen before Robin Lehner erupted by taking his mask off and looking for any dance partner.

This was the kind of chaos that could’ve been avoided. However, due to Hughes taking a hard hit, the Devils wanted to defend their meal ticket. That’s part of hockey now. Even if a hit is clean, teams will come to the aid of a player and stick up for them. Especially if it’s an established star. Nathan MacKinnon took a heavy hit from Jacob Trouba last week. Gabriel Landeskog immediately challenged him.

With Hughes being so young, the Devils can’t afford to lose him for long stretches. The hit he took from Lauzon wasn’t a penalty either. But Geertsen immediately engaged Lauzon with both squaring off early in the second period. Each received 15 minutes total including fight majors and misconducts.

There’s nothing wrong with teammates having each other’s backs. It shows character. Something former Devil Ken Daneyko loves. You need to have that. Protecting Hughes is understandable. He’s not the biggest guy and already signed a long-term contract extension that’ll pay him an average of $8 million beginning in ’22-23 that won’t conclude until 2030.

Here’s the thing. Hughes must do a better job at recognizing where he is on the ice. As former Devils’ 2003 Stanley Cup hero Mike Rupp put it on NHL Network, the top center has to be more cognizant so he isn’t absorbing such heavy hits frequently. Rupp made a good point about Patrick Kane. Not the biggest in stature either, you never see Kane get caught. He’s very aware on the ice and doesn’t put himself in a vulnerable position.

The Blackhawks star remains one of the game’s most dangerous scorers. Also a former top pick in 2007, he’s gone onto a brilliant career helping the Hawks win three Stanley Cups. With 411 goals and 701 assists for a total of 1,112 points, the 33-year old Kane is a future Hall Of Famer. He’s been able to stay healthy and have a great career.

Hopefully, Hughes can go onto have a great career in New Jersey. However, he needs to do a better job at avoiding these big hits. It’s important for the franchise that he doesn’t put himself at risk. The potential is there. For him to become the player he’s capable of, being able to stay on the ice is crucial.

Of course, he needs more help. It can’t only be Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt producing along with Andreas Johnsson. Dawson Mercer is a nice story in his rookie year. But he’s in a slump like the team. The Devils are still waiting on recent first round pick Alex Holtz. He’s developing at Utica in the AHL. He could become the finisher Hughes needs to be more successful.

With eight points (5-3-8) in 11 games, Hughes seems to be on the right track. In the abbreviated ’21 season, he finished with 11 goals and 31 points over 56 games. That was an improvement from his rookie season when he had only 21 points (7-14-21) and finished a minus-26 in 61 games. In that ’19-20 COVID-19 interrupted season, he took a big hit from former Flyer Matt Niskanen.

On the play where he was shoved into the boards, Kyle Palmieri challenged Niskanen and fought him. Another clear example of Hughes taking some punishment in a vulnerable position. But that was Year One. He’s now in his third year. At some point, he must do a better job by avoiding certain areas that can put him at risk.

With still 54 games remaining, it would be nice for the Devils to have Hughes take part in the majority sans the latest COVID outbreak that’s going around due to the new Omicron variant. We’re seeing many players wind up in Protocol. Some games have been postponed including tomorrow’s Bruins/Canadiens tilt. Boston can’t travel due to Covid issues.

That will remain a concern for the NHL along with other major sports getting hit. For the Devils, they need Hughes to avoid injuries and provide fans with a glimpse of what’s to come. Hopefully, he can adjust and stay healthy. The future depends on it.

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

Coyote Ugly! Kakko’s big night along with Kinkaid’s clutch saves allow Rangers to win over Yotes, Zibanejad and Kreider pick it up without injured Panarin

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Derek

Nothing came easy for the Rangers last night in Glendale, Arizona. Facing the league’s worst team, they struggled mightily. Despite a flat performance, they finally responded in crunch time to pull out a undeserved 3-2 win over the five win Coyotes at Gila River Arena.

Let’s get this out of the way. No win is bad. Even though they played about as poor a game as possible against an opponent who had nothing to lose and everything to gain, the bottom line is the Rangers rose up when it mattered to get the two points. At the end of the day, that’s two more points than they had entering play.

The one-goal victory snapped the first two-game losing streak in regulation. Consecutive losses to the Predators and Avalanche. Two playoff teams with good records. Encouraging is they continue to beat the opponents they’re supposed to. The more concerning issue is that they haven’t fared well versus teams with good records. That must change soon. The Golden Knights are in town Friday. It’ll have to be a much better effort.

The more positive takeaway is the Rangers found a way to win without Artemi Panarin, who left the contest in the second period. They termed it a lower-body injury. In the postgame, coach Gerard Gallant said Panarin is day-to-day. Whatever context that means who knows. We’ll have a better idea tomorrow if he can play against Vegas. He only logged seven minutes before exiting.

Give credit to Keith Kinkaid. Making his first start of the season to give Alex Georgiev a night off, the likable veteran came in and made 29 saves on 31 shots to pick up the win. He definitely played well by making some key stops that helped his team out when they needed a lift. It isn’t easy for a journeyman to play as well as Kinkaid did. Like friend Robert Kraze Davis would say, “He’s Kingkaid.”

Finally, Kaapo Kakko delivered a big game. His two goals including the game decider that came on the power play with 2:18 to go were clutch. Both goals were scored from the same area in the paint. That’s where the former 2019 second pick has to be to have more success. I called him out earlier in the game for passing up a wide open shot. Maybe I should go after other players to bust them out of slumps. It worked.

As you can see, I delighted in eating crow. Make mine a double. Kakko ×2! His fourth and fifth goals ended an 10-game drought. The two points were also his first since Dec. 1. He needed to score. It definitely gave him a confidence boost. Without Panarin after the Coyotes took an ill advised bench minor with under three minutes left, Gallant used Kakko in his spot. It paid off when he was the recipient of a great feed from noted playmaker Chris Kreider for the winner.

In a true rarity, Kreider was the setup man Wednesday night by assisting on three goals. There goes his Cy Young status. He’s now 17-7. All kidding aside, it’s nice to see him pad his assist total from four to seven. He did some grunt work on the tying power play goal from Mika Zibanejad with 5:46 remaining. Zibanejad’s sixth was enormous. He also picked up a helper on Kakko’s first of the game halfway through. Goals have been hard to come by for Zibanejad. Maybe he can finally get going.

For a while, it really looked like they’d become the sixth Coyotes’ victim. After Kakko put in a rebound of a Zibanejad shot set up by Kreider at 10:40 of the second period, the Rangers were unable to take the lead. Despite finally awakening from a malaise, they couldn’t quite go ahead. Scott Wedgewood made 14 saves with some gems coming following the Kakko tally. He denied Alexis Lafreniere in close to keep it even headed to the third.

With 0.2 seconds left in the second, Jacob Trouba hi-sticked Clayton Keller after a lost defensive face-off. A frustrating way to end the period after it was Trouba who provided a spark when he got into it with Antoine Roussel near the benches. That seemed to ignite the flame. The Rangers played better following that exchange. Trouba seems to be the pulse of this team. Whether it’s a big hit or strong reaction during a scrum, he’s providing needed leadership.

Although he didn’t get a point on the night and was victimized by Keller on an Arizona go-ahead goal at 8:47 of the third, Trouba again played a good game. He was very active during his shifts and registered two shots while attempting seven altogether. He also recorded two hits and two blocks in 22:47 of ice time. His overall game has been much better this season.

On the Keller goal, it was the fourth line that turned over the puck in the neutral zone. That led to former Blueshirt Anton Stralman (yes, he still plays) starting a nice passing play with Nick Schmaltz drawing a sliding Trouba over before finding a cutting Keller backdoor for a backhand tuck past Kinkaid for a 2-1 Coyotes lead with 11:13 remaining.

The way the Yotes responded up to that point in the third, it felt like the backbreaker. This had the feel of one of those ugly losses that you can’t get the bitter taste out of your mouth from. Had this been the previous year, they lose this game. Especially without Panarin.

Instead, they dug deep to pull it out. Of course, a losing team like Arizona helped out by taking two undisciplined penalties. With less than seven minutes left, Phil Kessel interfered with Kevin Rooney to go to the box. It took the Rangers’ reformed top unit a minute to tie the score.

With Kakko on in place of Panarin along with Fox, Zibanejad, Kreider and Ryan Strome, they got it set up. Going back to an old formula that once was successful, Kreider got the puck up to Fox, who then moved it over for a simple Zibanejad wrist shot from the left circle that went right through Wedgewood for the all important game-tying goal at 14:14. Kreider was in front. However, a better goalie stops it. Zibanejad will take it.

With the game tied, Kinkaid made a couple of key stops before the Coyotes saw their collective shadow (Groundhog Day reference) like Bill Murray’s memorable Phil character keeps repeating the same annoying day over and over. Arizona got caught with six skaters out for an easy too many men on the ice minor.

Unlike the mugging they got away with previously on Dryden Hunt before Keller came down and scored, the refs and linesmen had to make the obvious call. Let’s just say I wasn’t a big fan of the officials. They missed a couple of obvious infractions on the Yotes.

On another man-advantage with 2:59 left, this time they worked the puck around perfectly for Kakko’s game-winner. On another good passing play, the puck came to Strome, who moved it to Kreider down low. He came out in front and drew a defender down before sliding the puck across for a Kakko tap in at 17:42. A perfectly executed power play goal that had Kakko and pleased teammates all smiles coming back to the bench.

Finally ahead for the first time due to Loui Eriksson opening the scoring late in the first with a shorthanded goal, they no longer were chasing the game. Instead, they were able to protect the one-goal lead to close out an ugly victory. Coyote Ugly.

The only thing I didn’t get was why Patrik Nemeth was out for the final shift with Trouba. They really don’t trust K’Andre Miller at this point? Oy. I’d much prefer Miller used in that spot with Trouba, who even took a defensive shift at the end of the second with Ryan Lindgren. I don’t want to see Nemeth anywhere near such a close game.

I couldn’t understand why he and Libor Hajek took a regular shift with over seven minutes remaining trailing by one. It was strange. Hajek actually saved a goal earlier in the game with his stick. He played over 14 minutes. He doesn’t scare me as much as Nemeth, who nearly received 18 minutes. I guess they had to play them due to it being their third game in four nights. I don’t see the point in using the third pair minus Nils Lundkvist down a goal.

I’m relieved that they won. The last thing they needed was to enter Friday’s tough match-up at MSG with a three-game losing streak. The Golden Knights are hot right now. Max Pacioretty is playing lights out while Chandler Stephenson is piling up points. Historically, the Rangers have done okay against Vegas. The last meeting was a 5-0 shutout on Dec. 8, 2019. You know facing the former team he coached to a Stanley Cup Final appearance in the inaugural year will carry extra meaning for Gallant. I’m sure he wants to stick it to them.

In any event, before I close the book on the win last night, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fireworks that happened at the buzzer. Maybe it was just frustration on their part. But the Coyotes acted like some losers by starting a fight. Trouba and Roussel were separated while Kessel of all people got the better of Lindgren. Eventually, the teams separated. The next time the Rangers are supposed to see Arizona is on January 22 at The Garden. Keep it circled.

One other note. Gallant healthy scratched Filip Chytil. He hasn’t been getting it done. Maybe this was the coach just sending a message. Instead of Chytil, Greg McKegg took his place in the lineup. The Keg Man was okay. He gives an honest effort. However, after Panarin went down, I half wondered if Turk might regret sitting Chytil. But they came back and won. I’m curious to see if he’ll be back in Friday. How will he respond? That’ll be interesting.

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