In the Rangers' improbable comeback win over Minnesota on Monday night, aside from the five goal third period outburst, the thing everyone will take away from the game were the two ejections to Rangers players, the reasons behind them, and the subsequent discipline that could or will come from them.
I was lucky enough to get through to the "War Room" on Sirius/XM NHL Radio yesterday and had the pleasure of a brief discussion with hosts Mick Kern and Peter Berce regarding the two plays, and before my call was taken, they discussed how the Kreider hit could be construed as a "hockey play gone bad." When my call was taken, I enhanced their viewpoint by saying, in my opinion, it was a BAD hockey play gone bad. As youth players learning how to check properly, you learn that the numbers on the back of the uniform are off limits. I know what kind of player Chris Kreider is. He's full speed, and a monster of a physical specimen. He is one of those players who I truthfully do not believe has any idea how strong he is. The shove that sent Brodin into the boards took him off his feet and launched him about 10 feet, which normally would give you enough time to brace yourself, but with the force of Kreider's strength, 10 feet acted more like 5 feet, and Brodin took a short flight with a bad landing. It was called a Boarding Major with a Game Misconduct, which is an important determination as compared to the second hit we will discuss. As Kreider has never been suspended, but did injure Carey Price in the playoffs last year, albeit I felt then and still feel he was tripped into him by Alexei Emelin, I thought there might be a 1-2 game suspension coming his way, but the NHL Department of Player Safety ruled that by slowing slightly and bracing for the hit, Brodin attempted to reverse the hit, so they determined his role was partially responsible for the result.
My take in a nutshell - it was a bad hit by Kreider, and he caught a break from the Department of Player Safety. You have to be smarter in that situation, and putting yourself in their shoes, if someone ran McDonagh into the boards that way, Rangers fans would be screaming bloody murder. Chris Kreider, you should buy a lottery ticket - you are a lucky man.
The second hit was the John Moore hit on Erik Haula that knocked Haula out of the game. This was a bad looking hit. John Moore came across on a player in a compromised position as he was following through on his shot. He delivered a shot that from the perspective of the back referee looked squarely to the jaw of the player, knocking him off his feet. I point out the perspective because that's who called the penalty - the back referee, The front referee may have been following the puck, but did not have his arm up. A second replay I saw from the Minnesota feed showed what appeared to be more contact to the chest, with the force snapping the head back, which is natural body physics when you take that kind of a hit. Moore was given a Match Penalty for intentional contact to the head. Match penalties are different from major penalties, in that they carry an automatic suspension until review, pending a hearing.
My take on the Moore hit - the onus is on the player delivering a body check to deliver it legally. The player was in a compromised position, and it seemed a little predatory. John Moore will never be confused with John Scott, but hits like these, of which he has two now, put him in the Pittsburgh/Vancouver era Matt Cooke class. I like John Moore, and I think he has a strong upside, but you have to learn how to do things, otherwise you won't be around long. That being said, Matt Cooke has played over 1000 NHL games so maybe I'm wrong on that, but I see a 6-10 game suspension for John Moore on this hit, unless he can somehow prove by the second replay I saw that he hit him in the chest.
As of this writing, Moore has not had his hearing with the NHL yet. I will go on a limb and predict 8 games for Moore, with the caveat that if the replay does indeed show chest contact as opposed to head contact, it will be less. As it stands, I say 8 games for John Moore.
What do you think? Comment here, tweet me at @newbluereview or if you're linking through Facebook, comment there.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
New Blue Review - Game #9: A Wild one, beginning to end.
The Rangers returned home from Montreal with a .500 record, lots of questions, and an unfamiliar opponent awaiting them as they faced the Minnesota Wild on Monday, October 27. It seemed in the first period, the Rangers left their game at the border, being outshot 13-5, and killing off two penalties. The penalty kill would get a LOT more practice however. With 16 seconds left in the first period, Chris Kreider was by no means "Easy Kreider" as he went in to forecheck on Minnesota's young star defenseman Jonas Brodin. Kreider made initial contact with Brodin and with what can only be described as reckless disregard, shoved him into the backboards, nearly causing a human explosion. Kreider was given a Boarding major and a game misconduct.
In the 2nd period, the Rangers were able to kill off the remaining 4:44 of the major power play, but the momentum of the power play manifested in the opening goal of the game. Justin Fontaine slid a pass from the left wing across the crease to a rushing Nate Prosser, who deftly deflected the pass through the best efforts of Henrik Lundqvist and into the net for the 1-0 lead at 5:29 of the second period.
The Wild would double the lead to 2-0 just 55 seconds later. Matt Cooke, fresh off the bench for a player change, found himself completely unchecked in front of the net. Unfortunately for the Rangers, Justin Fontaine found him as well, and Cooke one timed a centering pass short side on Lundqvist, and the Rangers were looking at a two goal deficit, and looked like a team that had no idea how to play positional hockey, but it was about to get even worse.
Less than a minute after the Cooke goal, Minnesota again threatened the Rangers zone, and Erik Haula took a drop pass and fired a shot toward the goal. John Moore, slightly tardy to his defensive assignment, completely blasted Haula with an extended forearm/elbow which snapped Haula's head back, and flipped him in the air. Moore was assessed a Match Penalty for deliberate contact to the head, and the Rangers not only were shorthanded for five more minutes, they were now down two players.
The Rangers are lucky that Minnesota have an abysmal power play, which makes no sense when you can throw out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. They have not scored a power play goal all season, and would continue that trend, as the Rangers killed off the major portion of the Match penalty. Again, the momentum of the power play paid dividends as the Wild finally extended to a 3-0 lead as Jason Pominville, in an ode to Rick Jeanerette, "increased the population of Pominville by one." His wrist shot from the slot rattled the back of the net, and that's how the period ended. Again, the Rangers were badly outshot in the frame to the tune of 11-3, or an ugly two period total of 24-8.
I can only imagine what was said in the intermission, but whatever it was, a fire was lit between 7th and 8th avenue, and the Rangers came out for the third period with a new focus - and due to ejections, new line combinations. One of which was Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello surrounding Derick Brassard, and within three minutes, that combo helped break the ice. Nash made a strong play along the right wing wall, feeding the puck to Zuccarello, who bought a little time and then feathered a pass to Kevin Kline. A Fish Called Wanda again got a good rating as Klein fired a slapshot through a Rick Nash screen past Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper to get the Rangers on the board for a 3-1 deficit at 2:52 of the third period.
The floodgates were cracked a little at this point, and proceeded to be cracked a little more. Brassard fed Matt Hunwick at the point, and Hunwick sent a wrist shot to the net. Kuemper, fighting through another Rick Nash screen, stopped the puck, but the rebound dropped to the ice where the Rangers leading scorer, with one backhand swipe, sent it under Kuemper, and just inside the left goalpost to cut the lead to 3-2. Nash's 9th of the season, tying him with Corey Perry of Anaheim for the NHL lead in goals again, came at 4:48.
Minnesota quieted the raucous Madison Square Garden crowd briefly, and did it within a minute of the Nash goal. Suter took a pass from Charlie Coyle, faked a shot, feeding Nino Neiderreiter in the high slot. The former Islander sent one in on Lundqvist, but Jason Zucker, cruising thought the goal mouth, got the shaft of his stick on it, deflecting the puck past Lundqvist for a 4-2 Wild lead. The goal was Zucker's team leading 5th of the year.
That could have been the nail in the coffin, but a desperate Rangers team playing desperate hockey woldn't give up, and at 7:54 closed the lead back to one goal. Carl Hagelin took a pass in the slot and released a hellacious wrist shot that Kuemper never saw until it was past him. Bad luck for Hagelin though as he rang the crossbar with the shot. Derick Brassard played "Johnny on the Spot" and was the only one who saw the puck hit the crossbar and drop straight down. As Kuemper and his defense looked for the puck, perhaps thinking the initial Hagelin shot had gone in, Brassard swept the puck into the yawning open net to make the score 4-3 at 7:54.
The Rangers continued their unlikely comeback, and at 16:12, history was made. Kevin Klein fed Matt Hunwick, who looked up and sent a perfect cross ice pass to a streaking Anthony Duclair on the right wing. The Duke took the pass in stride, and with a release that was quicker than a hiccup, snapped one that handcuffed Kuemper, squirted through him and into the net for his first NHL goal, and more importantly a 4-4 tie.
As the Garden Faithful were just about to sit, the roof nearly came off the place less than minute later as the Rangers completed the comeback. Mats Zuccarello pitchforked the puck high in the air, into the Wild zone, where Derick Brassard corralled it behind the net. Zuccarello then snuck away from the left side of the ice across the crease to the right post, took a smart little feed from Brassard, and roofed the puck past a stunned Kuemper for the Rangers fifth goal of the period, and an improbable 5-4 lead.
The Rangers, desperately trying to hold the lead, iced the puck on two occasions in the last minute, but Lundqvist made one final save on a Charlie Coyle shot directly off a face off with 2 seconds left to secure the strangest victory in quite some time for the Rangers.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash. He set up the first goal, scored the second, and seemed to energize his makeshift linemates in the third period, which brings me to....
PLUS - Derick Brassard. "Brass" took the mantle of best player on the ice for the Rangers. He ended the night with a goal and two assists, as did......
PLUS - Mats Zuccarello. The Hobbit came into the game with one assist. He set up the first goal, fed Hagelin for the wicked shot that Brassard finished off, then made a smart play getting the puck deep, finding open space, and burying the winner.
PLUS - Matt Hunwick. With John Moore ejected, Hunwick responded with two assists and played an excellent game.
PLUS - Anthony Duclair. The Duke already has partial ownership of the city as part of the "royal court" with the King. His goal looked like what I expected it to. Speed and a quick release.
MINUS - Chris Kreider - I'll get into that in depth.
MINUS - John Moore - see "Chris Kreider"
The Rangers now have a long break before they once again take the ice on Saturday, November 1 against the Winnipeg Jets. A New Blue (P)Review will be forthcoming.
In the 2nd period, the Rangers were able to kill off the remaining 4:44 of the major power play, but the momentum of the power play manifested in the opening goal of the game. Justin Fontaine slid a pass from the left wing across the crease to a rushing Nate Prosser, who deftly deflected the pass through the best efforts of Henrik Lundqvist and into the net for the 1-0 lead at 5:29 of the second period.
The Wild would double the lead to 2-0 just 55 seconds later. Matt Cooke, fresh off the bench for a player change, found himself completely unchecked in front of the net. Unfortunately for the Rangers, Justin Fontaine found him as well, and Cooke one timed a centering pass short side on Lundqvist, and the Rangers were looking at a two goal deficit, and looked like a team that had no idea how to play positional hockey, but it was about to get even worse.
Less than a minute after the Cooke goal, Minnesota again threatened the Rangers zone, and Erik Haula took a drop pass and fired a shot toward the goal. John Moore, slightly tardy to his defensive assignment, completely blasted Haula with an extended forearm/elbow which snapped Haula's head back, and flipped him in the air. Moore was assessed a Match Penalty for deliberate contact to the head, and the Rangers not only were shorthanded for five more minutes, they were now down two players.
The Rangers are lucky that Minnesota have an abysmal power play, which makes no sense when you can throw out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. They have not scored a power play goal all season, and would continue that trend, as the Rangers killed off the major portion of the Match penalty. Again, the momentum of the power play paid dividends as the Wild finally extended to a 3-0 lead as Jason Pominville, in an ode to Rick Jeanerette, "increased the population of Pominville by one." His wrist shot from the slot rattled the back of the net, and that's how the period ended. Again, the Rangers were badly outshot in the frame to the tune of 11-3, or an ugly two period total of 24-8.
I can only imagine what was said in the intermission, but whatever it was, a fire was lit between 7th and 8th avenue, and the Rangers came out for the third period with a new focus - and due to ejections, new line combinations. One of which was Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello surrounding Derick Brassard, and within three minutes, that combo helped break the ice. Nash made a strong play along the right wing wall, feeding the puck to Zuccarello, who bought a little time and then feathered a pass to Kevin Kline. A Fish Called Wanda again got a good rating as Klein fired a slapshot through a Rick Nash screen past Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper to get the Rangers on the board for a 3-1 deficit at 2:52 of the third period.
The floodgates were cracked a little at this point, and proceeded to be cracked a little more. Brassard fed Matt Hunwick at the point, and Hunwick sent a wrist shot to the net. Kuemper, fighting through another Rick Nash screen, stopped the puck, but the rebound dropped to the ice where the Rangers leading scorer, with one backhand swipe, sent it under Kuemper, and just inside the left goalpost to cut the lead to 3-2. Nash's 9th of the season, tying him with Corey Perry of Anaheim for the NHL lead in goals again, came at 4:48.
Minnesota quieted the raucous Madison Square Garden crowd briefly, and did it within a minute of the Nash goal. Suter took a pass from Charlie Coyle, faked a shot, feeding Nino Neiderreiter in the high slot. The former Islander sent one in on Lundqvist, but Jason Zucker, cruising thought the goal mouth, got the shaft of his stick on it, deflecting the puck past Lundqvist for a 4-2 Wild lead. The goal was Zucker's team leading 5th of the year.
That could have been the nail in the coffin, but a desperate Rangers team playing desperate hockey woldn't give up, and at 7:54 closed the lead back to one goal. Carl Hagelin took a pass in the slot and released a hellacious wrist shot that Kuemper never saw until it was past him. Bad luck for Hagelin though as he rang the crossbar with the shot. Derick Brassard played "Johnny on the Spot" and was the only one who saw the puck hit the crossbar and drop straight down. As Kuemper and his defense looked for the puck, perhaps thinking the initial Hagelin shot had gone in, Brassard swept the puck into the yawning open net to make the score 4-3 at 7:54.
The Rangers continued their unlikely comeback, and at 16:12, history was made. Kevin Klein fed Matt Hunwick, who looked up and sent a perfect cross ice pass to a streaking Anthony Duclair on the right wing. The Duke took the pass in stride, and with a release that was quicker than a hiccup, snapped one that handcuffed Kuemper, squirted through him and into the net for his first NHL goal, and more importantly a 4-4 tie.
As the Garden Faithful were just about to sit, the roof nearly came off the place less than minute later as the Rangers completed the comeback. Mats Zuccarello pitchforked the puck high in the air, into the Wild zone, where Derick Brassard corralled it behind the net. Zuccarello then snuck away from the left side of the ice across the crease to the right post, took a smart little feed from Brassard, and roofed the puck past a stunned Kuemper for the Rangers fifth goal of the period, and an improbable 5-4 lead.
The Rangers, desperately trying to hold the lead, iced the puck on two occasions in the last minute, but Lundqvist made one final save on a Charlie Coyle shot directly off a face off with 2 seconds left to secure the strangest victory in quite some time for the Rangers.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash. He set up the first goal, scored the second, and seemed to energize his makeshift linemates in the third period, which brings me to....
PLUS - Derick Brassard. "Brass" took the mantle of best player on the ice for the Rangers. He ended the night with a goal and two assists, as did......
PLUS - Mats Zuccarello. The Hobbit came into the game with one assist. He set up the first goal, fed Hagelin for the wicked shot that Brassard finished off, then made a smart play getting the puck deep, finding open space, and burying the winner.
PLUS - Matt Hunwick. With John Moore ejected, Hunwick responded with two assists and played an excellent game.
PLUS - Anthony Duclair. The Duke already has partial ownership of the city as part of the "royal court" with the King. His goal looked like what I expected it to. Speed and a quick release.
MINUS - Chris Kreider - I'll get into that in depth.
MINUS - John Moore - see "Chris Kreider"
The Rangers now have a long break before they once again take the ice on Saturday, November 1 against the Winnipeg Jets. A New Blue (P)Review will be forthcoming.
New Blue Review - Game #8 Win streak doesn't clear customs.
In a game that I finally got to watch on DVR today due to travel issues, the Rangers went into Montreal on Saturday October 25 with a three game winning streak, They came out with a one game losing streak after dropping a 3-1 decision to the Canadiens.
The Rangers did accomplish something I hadn't seen in a long time - a shorthanded two man breakaway. Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty completed what seemed like 47 passes back and forth before Plekanec finally buried the puck into the net behind Henrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead at 12:06.
Roughly five minutes later, Carl Hagelin parked near the front of the net, found a loose rebound from a Dan Girardi shot, and made no mistake, tying the game 1-1, which carried to the end of the period.
The second period only saw one goal, proving to be the game winner. Lars Eller, the enigmatic Canadiens forward, found a loose puck on a scramble in front of the net and with Lundqvist sprawled on the ice, found the back of the net for a 2-1 lead. That lead could have gone the other way, had the Canadiens not had Carey Price in net. Not a minute before the Eller goal, Derick Brassard led a 2 on 1, toe dragged the defenseman into the next province and fired a laser to the upper corner, but Price used his glove to snag the puck. Brassard could do nothing but look to the Bell Centre ceiling.
The third period saw Montreal get an insurance goal, as Max Pacioretty took a centering pass from former Ranger Dale Weise and potted his 3rd of the season past Lundqvist for the final 3-1 score.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Carl Hagelin. The speedy Swede is starting to find his scoring touch.
PLUS - Anthony Duclair. The 19 year old, playing in Montreal in front of his family, assisted on the only Rangers goal. This kid belongs.
MINUS - The Power Play. Aside from not scoring, they gave up a SHORTHANDED two man breakaway. Ugh.
The Rangers next game was Monday, October 27 against Minnesota. Review coming up.
The Rangers did accomplish something I hadn't seen in a long time - a shorthanded two man breakaway. Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty completed what seemed like 47 passes back and forth before Plekanec finally buried the puck into the net behind Henrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead at 12:06.
Roughly five minutes later, Carl Hagelin parked near the front of the net, found a loose rebound from a Dan Girardi shot, and made no mistake, tying the game 1-1, which carried to the end of the period.
The second period only saw one goal, proving to be the game winner. Lars Eller, the enigmatic Canadiens forward, found a loose puck on a scramble in front of the net and with Lundqvist sprawled on the ice, found the back of the net for a 2-1 lead. That lead could have gone the other way, had the Canadiens not had Carey Price in net. Not a minute before the Eller goal, Derick Brassard led a 2 on 1, toe dragged the defenseman into the next province and fired a laser to the upper corner, but Price used his glove to snag the puck. Brassard could do nothing but look to the Bell Centre ceiling.
The third period saw Montreal get an insurance goal, as Max Pacioretty took a centering pass from former Ranger Dale Weise and potted his 3rd of the season past Lundqvist for the final 3-1 score.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Carl Hagelin. The speedy Swede is starting to find his scoring touch.
PLUS - Anthony Duclair. The 19 year old, playing in Montreal in front of his family, assisted on the only Rangers goal. This kid belongs.
MINUS - The Power Play. Aside from not scoring, they gave up a SHORTHANDED two man breakaway. Ugh.
The Rangers next game was Monday, October 27 against Minnesota. Review coming up.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
New Blue Review - Game #7 - Rangers hand out a "Mephistophi-loss"
I don't expect a lot of you to know what the title means - but the Devil has many names....Lucifer, Satan....and Mephistopholes. The Rangers out a new name on the Devils Tuesday night....defeated. A furious 3rd period comeback culminated in an OT win for the Blueshirts over the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-3.
The Rangers power(less) play came alive for the first time this season as Chris Kreider tallied off the rebound of a Ryan McDonagh shot at 7:36. Martin St. Louis picked up his 5th assist of the year on the Rangers first power play goal after 17 feeble attempts. Former Ranger Jaromir Jagr was in the penalty box, and the reason I mention this is that roughly six minutes later, the roles reversed. Kreider was in the box for a phantom hook on Jagr, who complained to the referee and got the call. While Kreider was sitting and stewing, Jagr took a deliberate wide shot rebound off of the back boards and scored his first goal of the season at 13:40. The last goal Jagr scored against the Rangers was scored against which goaltender? Answer to follow......(keep in mind Jagr came to the Rangers, was the Capitain of the team, and hold the Rangers single season record for goals scored at 54).
The second period only saw one goal scored, and that was another Devils power play goal. This one was scored by Adam Henrique, who it seems like scores all the time against the Rangers - but in the regular season before this game, in 14 games, he had 2 goals, 0 assists and was a -9. However in the playoffs, it seems like he has 147 goals in 9 games. Either way, Henrique took a pass from Jagr and banked one in off of Kevin Klein, past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Devils the 2-1 lead that they would carry into the third period.
The third didn't start well for the Rangers either, as Jon Merrill took a cross ice pass on, you guessed it, the power play, waltzed in from the right point all the way to just inside the faceoff circle and beat Lundqvist clean, giving the Devils a 3-1 lead. Things did not look great for the Rangers at that point, but the newly energized power play clicked again, as Chris Mueller, promoted from the 4th line, manning the left point on the power play, took a cross ice pass from Derick Brassard and one-timed a shot past Cory Schneider to bring the Rangers within one at 3-2.
With a little over 5 minutes left in the game, three guesses who tied the score for the Rangers. If you guessed the league's leading goal scorer, Rick Nash, you would be right. The Rangers took a gift from Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky, who blindly threw the puck into the slot, where Kevin Hayes rifled one toward the net. Schneider made the save, but left a juicy rebound that Nash grabbed, moved to the backhand, and deposited his 8th of the season for a 3-3 tie.
Both teams hit goal posts before the end of regulation, but for the second time this season, the Rangers were forced to play "ooooooooovertiiiiiiiime" as Sabres announcer Rick Jeanerette would say. The Devils had a glorious opportunity turned away, and the rebound turned back to a rushing Chris Kreider, who played a little catch with Chris Mueller, who gave Kredier the puck back just inside the Devils blue line. Kreider carried the puck across the slot, and dished to a trailing, and wide open, Kevin Klein. A Fish Called Wanda took the pass, cruised down the slot, and beat Schneider clean for the 4-3 OT win.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Chris Mueller. A promotion from the 4th line, and a goal and an assist. Great game for #14.
PLUS - Rick Nash. The torrid start continues. Again, the best player on the ice all night.
PLUS - Chris Kreider. The power play goal was nice, but the heads up pass to Klein for the game winner was a thing of beauty.
PLUS The power play scored twice!! Break up the Rangers power play!
MINUS - The Penalty Kill. All three Devils goals were Power Play goals, mostly because of.....
MINUS - The referees again made themselves more than needed. Sometimes, it's a good idea to call a lot of penalties to reign in aggressiveness. This was not the case. Phantom hooks both ways.
The Rangers are off now until Saturday night when they have their first rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals against Montreal in "le belle province" at 7:00 PM.
The Rangers power(less) play came alive for the first time this season as Chris Kreider tallied off the rebound of a Ryan McDonagh shot at 7:36. Martin St. Louis picked up his 5th assist of the year on the Rangers first power play goal after 17 feeble attempts. Former Ranger Jaromir Jagr was in the penalty box, and the reason I mention this is that roughly six minutes later, the roles reversed. Kreider was in the box for a phantom hook on Jagr, who complained to the referee and got the call. While Kreider was sitting and stewing, Jagr took a deliberate wide shot rebound off of the back boards and scored his first goal of the season at 13:40. The last goal Jagr scored against the Rangers was scored against which goaltender? Answer to follow......(keep in mind Jagr came to the Rangers, was the Capitain of the team, and hold the Rangers single season record for goals scored at 54).
The second period only saw one goal scored, and that was another Devils power play goal. This one was scored by Adam Henrique, who it seems like scores all the time against the Rangers - but in the regular season before this game, in 14 games, he had 2 goals, 0 assists and was a -9. However in the playoffs, it seems like he has 147 goals in 9 games. Either way, Henrique took a pass from Jagr and banked one in off of Kevin Klein, past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Devils the 2-1 lead that they would carry into the third period.
The third didn't start well for the Rangers either, as Jon Merrill took a cross ice pass on, you guessed it, the power play, waltzed in from the right point all the way to just inside the faceoff circle and beat Lundqvist clean, giving the Devils a 3-1 lead. Things did not look great for the Rangers at that point, but the newly energized power play clicked again, as Chris Mueller, promoted from the 4th line, manning the left point on the power play, took a cross ice pass from Derick Brassard and one-timed a shot past Cory Schneider to bring the Rangers within one at 3-2.
With a little over 5 minutes left in the game, three guesses who tied the score for the Rangers. If you guessed the league's leading goal scorer, Rick Nash, you would be right. The Rangers took a gift from Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky, who blindly threw the puck into the slot, where Kevin Hayes rifled one toward the net. Schneider made the save, but left a juicy rebound that Nash grabbed, moved to the backhand, and deposited his 8th of the season for a 3-3 tie.
Both teams hit goal posts before the end of regulation, but for the second time this season, the Rangers were forced to play "ooooooooovertiiiiiiiime" as Sabres announcer Rick Jeanerette would say. The Devils had a glorious opportunity turned away, and the rebound turned back to a rushing Chris Kreider, who played a little catch with Chris Mueller, who gave Kredier the puck back just inside the Devils blue line. Kreider carried the puck across the slot, and dished to a trailing, and wide open, Kevin Klein. A Fish Called Wanda took the pass, cruised down the slot, and beat Schneider clean for the 4-3 OT win.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Chris Mueller. A promotion from the 4th line, and a goal and an assist. Great game for #14.
PLUS - Rick Nash. The torrid start continues. Again, the best player on the ice all night.
PLUS - Chris Kreider. The power play goal was nice, but the heads up pass to Klein for the game winner was a thing of beauty.
PLUS The power play scored twice!! Break up the Rangers power play!
MINUS - The Penalty Kill. All three Devils goals were Power Play goals, mostly because of.....
MINUS - The referees again made themselves more than needed. Sometimes, it's a good idea to call a lot of penalties to reign in aggressiveness. This was not the case. Phantom hooks both ways.
The Rangers are off now until Saturday night when they have their first rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals against Montreal in "le belle province" at 7:00 PM.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
New Blue (P)Review - Game #7 - Welcome to New Jersey
The Rangers, coming off their best effort of the season on Sunday afternoon, take on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark tonight. Face off is 7:00 PM
The Rangers come in at 3-3-0, having won two straight. The Devils are 3-2-0, with two straight losses.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - DEVILS
Jaromir Jagr - the Rangers record holder for goals in a season shows no sign of slowing down, although he has not found the net yet. Look for Jagr to play with a sense of urgency.
Mike Cammalleri - The Devils signed the former Flame as a free agent, and all he does is score goals. He leads the team with 5 tallies so far.
Cory Schneider - It will be very strange to not see Martin Brodeur in net for New Jersey, but Schneider is the man in the Garden State now.
Damon Severson - WHO? The rookie defenseman wants to put his name in the Calder race, and has 3 goals so far on the young season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - RANGERS
Carl Hagelin - Now that he's on the scoresheet, look for Hagelin to go on a streak as he often does.
Ryan Malone - As part of the 4th line, Malone is the type of player that shows up in these games. I expect Malone to have a big impact
Chris Mueller - Also on the 4th line, but coming off an impressive game on Sunday.
There WILL be a live tweet during the game - so check out Twitter@newbluereview.
The Rangers come in at 3-3-0, having won two straight. The Devils are 3-2-0, with two straight losses.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - DEVILS
Jaromir Jagr - the Rangers record holder for goals in a season shows no sign of slowing down, although he has not found the net yet. Look for Jagr to play with a sense of urgency.
Mike Cammalleri - The Devils signed the former Flame as a free agent, and all he does is score goals. He leads the team with 5 tallies so far.
Cory Schneider - It will be very strange to not see Martin Brodeur in net for New Jersey, but Schneider is the man in the Garden State now.
Damon Severson - WHO? The rookie defenseman wants to put his name in the Calder race, and has 3 goals so far on the young season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - RANGERS
Carl Hagelin - Now that he's on the scoresheet, look for Hagelin to go on a streak as he often does.
Ryan Malone - As part of the 4th line, Malone is the type of player that shows up in these games. I expect Malone to have a big impact
Chris Mueller - Also on the 4th line, but coming off an impressive game on Sunday.
There WILL be a live tweet during the game - so check out Twitter
New Blue Review - Game #6 - Toothless Sharks
After finally getting home and watching the game from my DVR, I can now recap the Rangers most complete effort of the year - a 4-0 whitewash of the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon, evening the Blueshirts at 3-3-0.
The first period was a feeling out process, as the Sharks were more than likely a little fatigued from playing the night before, and the Rangers had a little "rink rust" from not playing in three days. The Blueshirts thought they had broken through on Sharks netminder Alex Stalock with less than 4 seconds remaining in the period, as newly called up Chris Mueller banged away at a rebound, however referee Ghislain Hebert (yeah, I can't pronounce it either) ruled that the whistle had sounded before the puck crossed the goal line, so the first period ended as it started.....0-0. The Rangers did outshoot the Sharks, 7-5.
The second period started much the same as the first, but when it picked up, it picked up quickly, and in the favor of the home team. At 13:01, Carl Hagelin took a pass from Dominic Moore and sped up the ice, as he always does. Upon crossing the blue line, he fired a shot that Stalock had trouble corralling, and as the rebound lay there, the Swift Swede swooped in and deposited the puck past Stalock and into the net for his first of the season, and a 1-0 Rangers lead.
The Rangers kept the pressure on, and as the final minute ticked down, Martin St. Louis took the puck from the corner and fired at Stalock's feet. Two whacks at the rebound and the puck was over the goal line; however referee Hebert was positioned in front of the net, and not behind it, so it wasn't detected right away, and when it finally was, video review was used again. This time, the review confirmed the Garden Faithful's opinion. The goal was awarded and the Rangers had a 2-0 lead, and lke Hagelin, St. Louis had his first of the season at 19:16.
A whopping 4 seconds later - and stop me if you've heard this one before - Rick Nash scored again for the Rangers. Off of the faceoff, Nash poked the puck through the defense, bullrushed between them, saw Stalock whiff on a poke check, and one handed the puck through his legs and into the net. 4 seconds, 3 goal lead, and number 7 for Nash. Isn't it nice when the math works out?
Taking a commanding 3-0 lead into the third period, another Ranger recorded his first goal of the season - and the first of his NHL career, Kevin Hayes, the newly appointed center of the "Big & Tall" line between Nash and Chris Kreider circled around the net, was stopped on his initial shot, but rifled the rebound top shelf past Stalock for a 4-0 Rangers lead at 7:18. Henrik Lundqvist stopped everything he faced, and got a little help from his goal post on a Patrick Marleau shot to finish off the 51st shutout of his stellar career.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Kevin Hayes. Aside from his first goal, Hayes wasvery good on the puck, making confident decisions - and, along with the other centers, was excellent in the Face Off circle.
PLUS - Carl Hagelin finally looked like Carl Hagelin and scored a very Carl Hagelin goal.
PLUS - Martin St. Louis again played like he forgets he's only 5'8". He took a whale of a crosscheck to the back of the head and neck on his goal.
PLUS - Rick Nash continued his torrid scoring pace and now leads the NHL with 7 goals through his first 6 games. While everyone around the league talks about Stamkos and Ovechkin hitting 50 goals, Nash is still leading the league.
PLUS - Henrik Lundqvist. Another game where he didn't have to be spectacular, but his first shutout of the season was needed...for his own confidence.
MINUS - Injuries. Dan Girardi blocked a shot that caused a laceration to his leg and is listed as day-to-day. Kevin Klein also suffered a laceration in the third period.
The Rangers head to Tony Soprano-ville for a Tuesday night tilt against the New Jersey Devils.
Friday, October 17, 2014
New Blue Review - Game #5 - Surviving a Hurricane
The Rangers, staring a 1-4 start squarely in it's unyielding face, found their gumption in the third period, and then Henrik Lundqvist remembered he's one of the best goaltenders in the world in the shootout as the Rangers outlasted a beat up but feisty Carolina Hurricanes squad by a 2-1 margin.
A scoreless first period in which neither team played very well led to the second period which again looked like neither team would grab a lead. Oh, but these are the 2014-2015 New York Rangers, who do not make anything easy on themselves. They fell behind 1-0 at 16:53 when Chris Terry (WHO?) ricocheted one past Henrik Lundqvist off of assists from Ryan Murphy (WHO?) and Tim Gleason (I've heard of him). So the Hurricanes, playing without Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, and Jordan Staal took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after two periods.
Apparently, assistant coach Scott Arniel told the TV broadcast team that the Rangers would be fine, that they were playing well, and they just needed a break. Well, at 9:40 of the 3rd, they got one. A Dan Girardi shot from the right point skittered through Mats Zuccarello and deflected off of the stick of Derick Brassard and past an up to that point impenetrable Anton Khudobin to forge a 1-1 tie. Girardi and Zuccarello each notched their first assists of the season on the play, and the score held through the end of regulation.
The new overtime rules, where the ice is dry scraped before the Overtime period and where the teams change ends didn't matter as neither team scored in the exttra frame, so we headed to the shootout, where the Rangers elected to shoot first. Mats Zuccarello, who scores in these things more often than not, led off, coming down the right side, slowing to a crawl - and rifling one into the chest of Khudobin. No soup for you, The Hurricanes started with Alexander Semin, who may have one of the deadliest wrist shots in the game, but is a far cry from the player he used to be in Washington. Leaving the wrist shot in the arsenal, he attempted a backhand deke that Lundqvist snuffed out rather easily. Round 2 brought out Lee Stempniak for the Rangers, who has been surprisingly very very good so far - however not good enough to beat Khudobin. The Hurricanes countered with Chris Terry (WHO?) again, who apparently in his career was 3 for 3 in shootouts. He's now 3 for 4. Lundqvist stopped him as well, leading to Round 3 appearance of the Rangers best player without a doubt so far this season. Rick Nash steamrolled in from the right side, came across the crease, and slipped one past Khudobin to give the Rangers the 1-0 advantage in the shootout. It all came down to the matchup all the paying customers came to see - if they were named Murphy. Ryan Murphy (WHO?) came in and looking like every beer league player I've seen, snapped a wrist shot from the face off dots that Lundqvist turned aside, giving the Rangers the two points in the standings and a 2-1 victory.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash. Again, the best player on the ice the entire game. Lost his four game scoring streak, but buried his shootout attempt.
PLUS - Henrik Lundqvist. The only shot that beat him all night was a deflection. Big saves when needed, and a perfect shootout.
PLUS - Derick Brassard. Pretty tip-in for the tying goal, giving him a 3 game goal streak.
PLUS - Matt Hunwick. For NOT being Michael Kostka.
PLUS - Anton Khudobin. The Hurricane goaltender was every bit as impressive as Lundqvist. If Cam Ward even remotely thinks he should still be the starter in Carolina, they need to trade him for a bag of practice pucks.
MINUS - The Power(less) Play. It is now 0-16 on the season. Decline the penalty and replay the down next time, boys.
MINUS - Jay Harrison of Carolina can't throw a check without bringing his arm up to the chin and face. How he never gets called is beyond me.
The Rangers take the ice again Sunday at home against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop for the Sunday Matinee is 5:00 PM, so you can watch the game AND the Walking Dead!
Look for a (P)Review early Sunday. I apologize for no (P)Review of this one, but I do what I can when I can, and it just didn't happen.
A scoreless first period in which neither team played very well led to the second period which again looked like neither team would grab a lead. Oh, but these are the 2014-2015 New York Rangers, who do not make anything easy on themselves. They fell behind 1-0 at 16:53 when Chris Terry (WHO?) ricocheted one past Henrik Lundqvist off of assists from Ryan Murphy (WHO?) and Tim Gleason (I've heard of him). So the Hurricanes, playing without Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, and Jordan Staal took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after two periods.
Apparently, assistant coach Scott Arniel told the TV broadcast team that the Rangers would be fine, that they were playing well, and they just needed a break. Well, at 9:40 of the 3rd, they got one. A Dan Girardi shot from the right point skittered through Mats Zuccarello and deflected off of the stick of Derick Brassard and past an up to that point impenetrable Anton Khudobin to forge a 1-1 tie. Girardi and Zuccarello each notched their first assists of the season on the play, and the score held through the end of regulation.
The new overtime rules, where the ice is dry scraped before the Overtime period and where the teams change ends didn't matter as neither team scored in the exttra frame, so we headed to the shootout, where the Rangers elected to shoot first. Mats Zuccarello, who scores in these things more often than not, led off, coming down the right side, slowing to a crawl - and rifling one into the chest of Khudobin. No soup for you, The Hurricanes started with Alexander Semin, who may have one of the deadliest wrist shots in the game, but is a far cry from the player he used to be in Washington. Leaving the wrist shot in the arsenal, he attempted a backhand deke that Lundqvist snuffed out rather easily. Round 2 brought out Lee Stempniak for the Rangers, who has been surprisingly very very good so far - however not good enough to beat Khudobin. The Hurricanes countered with Chris Terry (WHO?) again, who apparently in his career was 3 for 3 in shootouts. He's now 3 for 4. Lundqvist stopped him as well, leading to Round 3 appearance of the Rangers best player without a doubt so far this season. Rick Nash steamrolled in from the right side, came across the crease, and slipped one past Khudobin to give the Rangers the 1-0 advantage in the shootout. It all came down to the matchup all the paying customers came to see - if they were named Murphy. Ryan Murphy (WHO?) came in and looking like every beer league player I've seen, snapped a wrist shot from the face off dots that Lundqvist turned aside, giving the Rangers the two points in the standings and a 2-1 victory.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash. Again, the best player on the ice the entire game. Lost his four game scoring streak, but buried his shootout attempt.
PLUS - Henrik Lundqvist. The only shot that beat him all night was a deflection. Big saves when needed, and a perfect shootout.
PLUS - Derick Brassard. Pretty tip-in for the tying goal, giving him a 3 game goal streak.
PLUS - Matt Hunwick. For NOT being Michael Kostka.
PLUS - Anton Khudobin. The Hurricane goaltender was every bit as impressive as Lundqvist. If Cam Ward even remotely thinks he should still be the starter in Carolina, they need to trade him for a bag of practice pucks.
MINUS - The Power(less) Play. It is now 0-16 on the season. Decline the penalty and replay the down next time, boys.
MINUS - Jay Harrison of Carolina can't throw a check without bringing his arm up to the chin and face. How he never gets called is beyond me.
The Rangers take the ice again Sunday at home against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop for the Sunday Matinee is 5:00 PM, so you can watch the game AND the Walking Dead!
Look for a (P)Review early Sunday. I apologize for no (P)Review of this one, but I do what I can when I can, and it just didn't happen.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
New Blue Review - Game #4 - Voted off the Island
The Rangers went into Tuesday Night's tilt against the Islanders hoping to wash the taste of a bad loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their home opener out of their mouths. Unfortunately, Island water leaves a worse taste on the tongue as the Islanders dropped the Rangers 6-3 on the strength of a 4 goal outburst in the third period.
The Rangers got off to a Nash-ty beginning once again as Rick Nash continued his torrid scoring pace with goal #5 off an unassisted rush down the right wing and a hard drive to the net, playing the puck off of Islander goaltender Jaroslav Halak and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
However, as stated in the players to watch, the Islanders evened up the game on a Power Play blast from Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk took a pass from Kyle Okposo and fired his second of the year past Henrik Lundqvist. The first period ended 1-1.
In the second period, the Rangers outshot the Islanders 21-8, but only got one by Halak, as Derick Brassard potted his second of the season off a feed from Chris Kreider. Lee Stempniak also was credited with an assist on the go-ahead goal, as the Rangers took a 2-1 lead at 3:50. The lead was safe until an absolutely HORRIBLE giveaway by Michael Kostka, who wears #4, has the first name of Michael and is just as much of a DelZaster as DelZotto was. Kostka tried to make a cutesy little pass that he flubbed, with Nikolai Kulemin feeding John Tavares for the tying goal at 15:03. The second period ended 2-2, with the Rangers holding a 32-20 shot advantage.
The third period was an absolute catastrophe, as Del Kostka struck again with a giveaway to Kyle Okposo for a 3-2 deficit at ;48. Four minutes later, another player to watch, Brock Nelson scored to make it 4-2. Mikhail Grabovski banked one in off Rangers' defenseman Kevin Kline as he was attemting to break up a 2 on 1 and it was 5-2. Nick Leddy slapped one from the left point for a 6-2 lead, and Rick Nash closed out the scoring as he got his second of the evening and league leading 6th of the year for a 6-3 final.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash - again. What else can be said about his start?
MINUS - Michael Kostka. Two horrible giveaways. Horrible hair. Bad luck number. Henceforth, he shall be "Michael Del Kostka"
MINUS - The coaching staff. Something isn't working - it needs to be fixed.
The Rangers look to get back on the right track tonight with a 7:00 appointment with an even bigger dumpster fire in the Carolina Hurricanes. (P)Review coming up.
The Rangers got off to a Nash-ty beginning once again as Rick Nash continued his torrid scoring pace with goal #5 off an unassisted rush down the right wing and a hard drive to the net, playing the puck off of Islander goaltender Jaroslav Halak and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
However, as stated in the players to watch, the Islanders evened up the game on a Power Play blast from Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk took a pass from Kyle Okposo and fired his second of the year past Henrik Lundqvist. The first period ended 1-1.
In the second period, the Rangers outshot the Islanders 21-8, but only got one by Halak, as Derick Brassard potted his second of the season off a feed from Chris Kreider. Lee Stempniak also was credited with an assist on the go-ahead goal, as the Rangers took a 2-1 lead at 3:50. The lead was safe until an absolutely HORRIBLE giveaway by Michael Kostka, who wears #4, has the first name of Michael and is just as much of a DelZaster as DelZotto was. Kostka tried to make a cutesy little pass that he flubbed, with Nikolai Kulemin feeding John Tavares for the tying goal at 15:03. The second period ended 2-2, with the Rangers holding a 32-20 shot advantage.
The third period was an absolute catastrophe, as Del Kostka struck again with a giveaway to Kyle Okposo for a 3-2 deficit at ;48. Four minutes later, another player to watch, Brock Nelson scored to make it 4-2. Mikhail Grabovski banked one in off Rangers' defenseman Kevin Kline as he was attemting to break up a 2 on 1 and it was 5-2. Nick Leddy slapped one from the left point for a 6-2 lead, and Rick Nash closed out the scoring as he got his second of the evening and league leading 6th of the year for a 6-3 final.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Rick Nash - again. What else can be said about his start?
MINUS - Michael Kostka. Two horrible giveaways. Horrible hair. Bad luck number. Henceforth, he shall be "Michael Del Kostka"
MINUS - The coaching staff. Something isn't working - it needs to be fixed.
The Rangers look to get back on the right track tonight with a 7:00 appointment with an even bigger dumpster fire in the Carolina Hurricanes. (P)Review coming up.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
New Blue (P)Review - Game #4 vs.The New York Islanders
The Rangers, looking to shake off the foul stench of an absolute stinker on Sunday night, take on the vastly improved New York Islanders at MSG tonight at 7:00PM.
The Islanders come in at 2-0-0 with two victories over the Carolina Hurricanes. In their last season at Nassau, before the big move to Brooklyn, the Islanders always play the Rangers tough in the Garden, and will look to do so again.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - ISLANDERS
As long as he's healthy, John Tavares should be a Hart Trophy candidate as MVP of the league. The Islander captain has skill, maturity, and a desire to get his team into the playoffs. Brock Nelson has emerged as a nice power forward for the Islanders, so look for him in front of the net, possibly redirecting shots from the new look defense consisting of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy, acquired right before the season started. Boychuk seems to relish the opportunity and has been playing very well.
The goaltending for the Islanders should be handled by Jaroslav Halak, who has looked solid if not spectacular in the Isles two wins.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - RANGERS
Obviously, after the egg laid on Sunday, Henrik Lundqvist will look to bounce back, as he usually does in these situations. New Father Rick Nash welcomed a baby boy with his wife Jessica, leaving Sunday's game after the 2nd period to be with her, and has 4 goals in the first 3 games. Can he keep the streak alive? The Blueshirts certainly hope so. I am also looking for a strong game from the Captain. Ryan McDonagh needs to lead this team by example, and coming off a sub-par effort against Toronto, he needs to lead his team, with either physical play or offensive play.
Look for live tweets during the game at our Twitter feed @newbluereview.
The Islanders come in at 2-0-0 with two victories over the Carolina Hurricanes. In their last season at Nassau, before the big move to Brooklyn, the Islanders always play the Rangers tough in the Garden, and will look to do so again.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - ISLANDERS
As long as he's healthy, John Tavares should be a Hart Trophy candidate as MVP of the league. The Islander captain has skill, maturity, and a desire to get his team into the playoffs. Brock Nelson has emerged as a nice power forward for the Islanders, so look for him in front of the net, possibly redirecting shots from the new look defense consisting of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy, acquired right before the season started. Boychuk seems to relish the opportunity and has been playing very well.
The goaltending for the Islanders should be handled by Jaroslav Halak, who has looked solid if not spectacular in the Isles two wins.
PLAYERS TO WATCH - RANGERS
Obviously, after the egg laid on Sunday, Henrik Lundqvist will look to bounce back, as he usually does in these situations. New Father Rick Nash welcomed a baby boy with his wife Jessica, leaving Sunday's game after the 2nd period to be with her, and has 4 goals in the first 3 games. Can he keep the streak alive? The Blueshirts certainly hope so. I am also looking for a strong game from the Captain. Ryan McDonagh needs to lead this team by example, and coming off a sub-par effort against Toronto, he needs to lead his team, with either physical play or offensive play.
Look for live tweets during the game at our Twitter feed @newbluereview.
New Blue Review - Game #3 - Hank "Leaf"s Early
The Rangers Home Opener Sunday night against Toronto had all the makings to be a very special night. Unfortunately, it seemed as if MSG Network was showing The Walking Dead as the Blueshirts zombified their way to a 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.
Looking to get on the scoreboard first, the Rangers had a nice first 3 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, they play 60. They also like to play with a full complement of players, That wasn't the case either, as Mats Zuccarello, who has been beat up on in the first two games, sat out with what appears to be a shoulder injury. He's listed as "day-to-day" (aren't we ALL day-to-day?), so Kevin Hayes made his Rangers debut. It didn't help.
The PK gave up the first goal of the game as Cody Franson was left completely open sneaking in from the right point. He rifled one from the top of the circle past the King for a 1-0 Toronto lead.
The Rangers kept it close and got the equalizer as soon to be new Daddy Rick Nash made a great play to stay onside, made a beeline for the far post, and redirected a gorgeous Martin St. Louis pass up and over James Reimer. The 4th Nash-ty goal of the year tied the game at the end of the first.
Things unraveled for the Rangers and Lundqvist in the 2nd period. Phil Kessel took a redirected pass off of a Ranger skate and wired one into the net for a Power Play goal and a 2-1 lead at 5:19. It only took two and a half minutes to double the lead from one to two goals as Nazem Kadri found the twine from in front and a 3-1 Toronto lead. Less than two minutes later, JAmes Van Riemsdyk picked the pocket of Ryan McDonagh, went in on a breakaway, and tucked one just past Lundqvist for a 4-1 lead. The Rangers would again cut into the lead as Lee Stempniak potted one as the Toronto defense pushed the net off the moorings. Video review ruled that Stempniak was in the act of shooting before the net was moved, and a good goal was signaled. However, any momentum from that goal was stifled 59 seconds later, as Toronto took a 5-2 lead on a goal by Tyler "Get The" Bozak (if you don't know that reference, listen to the Mr. Throwback Thursday podcast on iTunes - it's FREE!) Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, perennial Ranger killer David Clarkson scored for Toronto to make it 6-2, and put a bench under the King at 15:13 of the 2nd period. Cam Talbot came in and held down the fort the rest of the way.
Derick Brassard did score a somewhat meaningless goal in the 3rd period to make it a 6-3 final score.
The Rangers take on the vastly improved Islanders tonight at 7PM - stay tuned for a New Blue (P)Review of that game coming up very shortly.
Looking to get on the scoreboard first, the Rangers had a nice first 3 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, they play 60. They also like to play with a full complement of players, That wasn't the case either, as Mats Zuccarello, who has been beat up on in the first two games, sat out with what appears to be a shoulder injury. He's listed as "day-to-day" (aren't we ALL day-to-day?), so Kevin Hayes made his Rangers debut. It didn't help.
The PK gave up the first goal of the game as Cody Franson was left completely open sneaking in from the right point. He rifled one from the top of the circle past the King for a 1-0 Toronto lead.
The Rangers kept it close and got the equalizer as soon to be new Daddy Rick Nash made a great play to stay onside, made a beeline for the far post, and redirected a gorgeous Martin St. Louis pass up and over James Reimer. The 4th Nash-ty goal of the year tied the game at the end of the first.
Things unraveled for the Rangers and Lundqvist in the 2nd period. Phil Kessel took a redirected pass off of a Ranger skate and wired one into the net for a Power Play goal and a 2-1 lead at 5:19. It only took two and a half minutes to double the lead from one to two goals as Nazem Kadri found the twine from in front and a 3-1 Toronto lead. Less than two minutes later, JAmes Van Riemsdyk picked the pocket of Ryan McDonagh, went in on a breakaway, and tucked one just past Lundqvist for a 4-1 lead. The Rangers would again cut into the lead as Lee Stempniak potted one as the Toronto defense pushed the net off the moorings. Video review ruled that Stempniak was in the act of shooting before the net was moved, and a good goal was signaled. However, any momentum from that goal was stifled 59 seconds later, as Toronto took a 5-2 lead on a goal by Tyler "Get The" Bozak (if you don't know that reference, listen to the Mr. Throwback Thursday podcast on iTunes - it's FREE!) Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, perennial Ranger killer David Clarkson scored for Toronto to make it 6-2, and put a bench under the King at 15:13 of the 2nd period. Cam Talbot came in and held down the fort the rest of the way.
Derick Brassard did score a somewhat meaningless goal in the 3rd period to make it a 6-3 final score.
The Rangers take on the vastly improved Islanders tonight at 7PM - stay tuned for a New Blue (P)Review of that game coming up very shortly.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
New Blue (P)Review - Game 3 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
The New York Rangers open their home season tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Face-off is 7 PM at Madison Square Garden.
New York comes in with a record of 1-1-0 after last night's loss in Columbus. Toronto enters the game at 0-2-0.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
For Toronto all the attention should be paid to their forward lines. Phil Kessel is a dynamic player. Phil Kessel is a dynamic player, with a wicked wrist shot.
Joffrey Lupul is back healthy for the Mape Leafs.. Look for him to spur the offense for Toronto.
For the Rangers, look for continued production from Rick Nash. The big winger has three goals in his first two games. It will be interesting to see how the first line shapes up tonight.
Anthony Duclair had his first two assists of his career last night in Columbus. Look for the Duke to continue his offensive output against a weak defensive Toronto team.
Henrik Lundqvist returns to in between the pipes tonight, coming off a season-opening victory in St. Louis on Thursday. The King is 1-0-0 with a 2.00 Goals Against Average and a .920 save percentage.
As a reminder there will be no live tweet during tonight's game, as I have prior commitments. I will watch the game when I return home and there will be a review tomorrow.
Let's hope the Blueshirts can get it done at the Garden.
Let's hope the Blueshirts can get it done at the Garden.
Game 2 review - Jackets too tight.
The Rangers went into Columbus on a high from an opening night win. Reality, and the Blue Jackets, pushed them down a couple of pegs, as the Rangers dropped a 5-2 decision in a game that wasn't that close.
Cam Talbot started in net, and things got dicey very quickly as former Ranger Artem Anisimov (one of my players to watch) rifled a feed from Scott Hartnell (another player to watch - I hate being right sometimes) past Talbot for an early 1-0 lead at 6:24 of the 1st.
At 17:33, the Blue Jackets increased their lead as Nick Foligno spun away from the side wall and fired a shot off a defenseman in front, and swiped the rebound past Talbot as he fell to the ice.
At 5:43 of the 2nd, two milestones happened as Lee Stempniak scored his first as a Ranger, but the big milestone is the assist for Anthony Duclair, as the 19 year old "Duke" notched his first NHL point. Marc Staal also assisted on the goal.
Any hopes of closing the gap were squashed as Cam Atkinson deflected a Ryan Johansen shot past Talbot for a 3-1 lead.
After a Marko Dano goal gave the Jackets a 4-1 lead, the Rangers got back on the board as Rick Nash potted his 3rd of the young season off another feed from Duclair, making it 4-2. An empty netter by Atkinson gave us our 5-2 final.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Anthony Duclair. The Duke got the 2 assists, and nearly his first goal. But rang it off the crossbar. After 2 games, I see nothing that says this young man isn't an NHL player. He even was promoted to the top line with Nash and St. Louis.
PLUS - Chris Kreider. Nothing on the score sheet but 17 minutes in penalties, but Kreider saw his teammates getting abused and stepped up to fight Jack Skille after Skille decked Mats Zuccarello. Zucc was a punching bag all night.
MINUS - Cam Talbot didn't have it tonight. He looked pedestrian on the first goal, which gave the Jackets momentum.
MINUS - The judgment of the Referees was all over the place. Stempniak took a boarding penalty on a clean hit because the Anisimov went down funny and stayed there. After his release from the box, on a delayed penalty, he was railroaded late by Scott Hartnell 2 feet in front of the Stripes, who let it go. Awful job most of the night even had Dave Maloney openly questioning them during the broadcast.
MINUS - When your skilled players are getting pushed around, why are important players like Chris Kreider dropping the gloves? Two fighting majors so far this year - Kreider and Zuccarello. I kept hearing Tanner Glass would fight anyone. I haven't seen it. We need a guy like Paul Bissonette to sheriff for this team.
The Rangers Home Opener is tonight at 7PM against the Toronto Maple Leafs. There will be no live tweet of the game as I have prior commitments. Look for a New Blue (P)Review later today.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
New Blue (P)Review - Game #2 - Another shade of Blue
The Rangers take their unblemished record from St. Louis to Columbus tonight for a tilt against the Blue Jackets. Puck drop is 7:00 PM EST.
The Rangers come in with a record of 1-0-0 (2 points), Columbus enters the game sporting the same record. These teams met 4 times last year, with each team recording 2 victories.
Looking at the rosters, the crossover is bigger here than anywhere else. Columbus features four former Rangers on their roster (Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Fedor Tyutin and Tim Erixon) The Rangers have three former Blue Jackets currently (Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and John Moore).
BLUE JACKETS WORTH WATCHING:
Of course, I'm always interested in how the former Blueshirts do, but Dubinsky is on IR for 4-6 weeks, and Erixon is a scratch more often than not, so that leaves Anisimov, who has developed his game since the trade. He is a big body with good hands and old #42 can give the Rangers fits. Tyutin has been a mainstay in Columbus for a while now, but adds an element of offense to the team. The player to watch is the emerging superstar Ryan Johansen. Having just signed his contract, he's looking to get into game shape, but with unbelievable natural talent, he may still be a factor. Old Ranger nemesis Scott Hartnell is now a Blue Jacket, so look for #43 to stir things up as he always does. Just don't look for the Sideshow Bob hairstyle - he cut it off.
RANGERS WORTH WATCHING:
Rick Nash has 2 goals so far, and is playing in Columbus, which gave him a jolt, and quite possibly caused him to play his best game of the season last year, even dropping the mitts with Matt Calvert.
Cam Talbot makes his season debut in net. The "Goalbuster" looks to build on his very good rookie season, saving Henrik Lundqvist for tomorrow night's Home Opener against Toronto.
I'm also looking for Derick Brassard to step up his play against his former team. Paired on a line with Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin, "Brass" has to hit the net with his shot, and with the Hobbit's passing ability and Hagelin's speed to set up play, look for #16 to light the lamp.
Also, Matt Hunwick should get his first action of the year, replacing the injured Dan Boyle.
Follow the New Blue Review on Twitter at @newbluereview for live tweets during the game.
The Rangers come in with a record of 1-0-0 (2 points), Columbus enters the game sporting the same record. These teams met 4 times last year, with each team recording 2 victories.
Looking at the rosters, the crossover is bigger here than anywhere else. Columbus features four former Rangers on their roster (Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Fedor Tyutin and Tim Erixon) The Rangers have three former Blue Jackets currently (Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and John Moore).
BLUE JACKETS WORTH WATCHING:
Of course, I'm always interested in how the former Blueshirts do, but Dubinsky is on IR for 4-6 weeks, and Erixon is a scratch more often than not, so that leaves Anisimov, who has developed his game since the trade. He is a big body with good hands and old #42 can give the Rangers fits. Tyutin has been a mainstay in Columbus for a while now, but adds an element of offense to the team. The player to watch is the emerging superstar Ryan Johansen. Having just signed his contract, he's looking to get into game shape, but with unbelievable natural talent, he may still be a factor. Old Ranger nemesis Scott Hartnell is now a Blue Jacket, so look for #43 to stir things up as he always does. Just don't look for the Sideshow Bob hairstyle - he cut it off.
RANGERS WORTH WATCHING:
Rick Nash has 2 goals so far, and is playing in Columbus, which gave him a jolt, and quite possibly caused him to play his best game of the season last year, even dropping the mitts with Matt Calvert.
Cam Talbot makes his season debut in net. The "Goalbuster" looks to build on his very good rookie season, saving Henrik Lundqvist for tomorrow night's Home Opener against Toronto.
I'm also looking for Derick Brassard to step up his play against his former team. Paired on a line with Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin, "Brass" has to hit the net with his shot, and with the Hobbit's passing ability and Hagelin's speed to set up play, look for #16 to light the lamp.
Also, Matt Hunwick should get his first action of the year, replacing the injured Dan Boyle.
Follow the New Blue Review on Twitter at @newbluereview for live tweets during the game.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Game #1 Recap - I'd rather feel NASH-TY than feel the Blues!
The New York Rangers, opening their defense of the Eastern Conference Championship and looking to take one more step to secure their first Stanley Cup since 1994 marched into St. Louis to start the 2014-2015 season. They marched out with 2 big points and an impressive 3-2 win over the Blues.
With a healthy roster turnover due to free agency, it was interesting to see who would skate with who, but the first line last night looks like it should stay together for a while. 4:01 into the game, Chris Kreider's aggressive forecheck led to a turnover, and his one handed chip pass found Rick Nash just outside the slot. Nash, a left-handed shot, drifted into the slot and rifled the first goal of the year for the Rangers past Brian Elliott for a 1-0 lead.
After a very disjointed second period that saw more specialty teams play than even strength play, yielding nothing, the Blues tied up the game in the 3rd period in short order. David Backes fired a shot of the blocker of Henrik Lundqvist, but John Moore was a little delinquent in picking up his man, and Jaden Schwartz buried the rebound at 1:32. Schwartz is a touching story - he switched his uniform number from #9 to #17 this year to honor his late sister Mandi, who wore #17 in college for Yale, but lost a 2 1/2 year battle against cancer.
Roughly five minutes later, Rangers fans got to see what they hope is a repeat performance many times over this season. Strong defensive play on the side boards just outside the Rangers blue line led to a Rick Nash cross ice pass to a streaking Chris Kreider on the left wing. With nothing between him and paydirt, "Easy" Kreider steamed in and fired a shot just inside the left post for a 2-1 Rangers lead. In case any Montreal fans were watching, when someone DOESN'T trip Kreider on his way to the net, he doesn't barrel goaltenders.
The lead was relatively short-lived though, as Vladimir Tarasenko took a pass from Paul Stastny, made a nice move inside the blue line, and rifled a shot that deflected off a driving Stastny past Lundqvist into the net, forging a 2-2 tie. Stastny had taken an ugly knee-on-knee attempted hip check from Dan Girardi earlier in the game, but came back to score his first as a St. Louis Blue after signing a big free agent deal to move from Colorado in the off-season.
It appeared that the game may have been heading for overtime, but a lucky bounce gave the Rangers all they needed to ensure that didn't happen. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, the Blues' Alex Pietrangelo banked the puck off the glass, as he has probably done hundreds of times. However, this time, the puck went straight into the air, staying in the zone, and right to Martin St. Louis, who somehow heard Rick Nash calling for the puck, once again in the slot. A no-look, backhand pass right on the tape produced the second Nash-ty goal of the game for #61, and a Rangers 3-2 lead at 18:10. Even with Elliott pulled, the Blues didn't get a sniff at the Rangers net, as a huge block by Captain Ryan McDonagh sealed the win for the Rangers.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - The first line of Nash/Kreider/St. Louis was the best line all night for either team, and scored a combined 7 points with all 3 goals and all 4 assists. Originally an assist was given to Marc Staal on the Kreider goal, but subsequently changed to St. Louis.
PLUS - Lee Stempniak had a decent first game as a Ranger, creating scoring chances and taking point time on the power play.
PLUS - Henrik Lundqvist didn't have to be Superman, but the King was good enough to backstop the win.
PLUS - The Penalty Kill had a perfect 5 for 5 night including a brief 5 on 3 kill.
PLUS - The officials called TWO diving penalties last night - one on Tarasenko and one on Steve Ott. With the new rules in place, they keep diving, Ken Hitchcock will lose some weight - out of his wallet. Coaches get fined if their players dive too much this year.
MINUS - As much as I love him, Mats Zuccarello. Your hands are for shootouts, not punchouts. There are other guys to drop the mitts on this team. If anyone had Zuccarello in the "First Fight Of The Year" pool, you need to give me some lottery numbers. A total of 9 PIM for the Hobbit.
MINUS - Dan Boyle, somehow infected by the ghost of John Tortorella, broke his hand blocking a shot in the early stages of the 3rd period, and is out 4-6 weeks. Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of Matt Hunwick in the next few games.
MINUS - Stop me if you've heard this before - the Power(less) Play went 0 for 3, and the guy that was brought in to QB the PP is now on the shelf.
MINUS - Tarasenko and Ott - stop diving. This isn't European soccer.
The Rangers travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Look for the New Blue (P)Review on Saturday morning.
With a healthy roster turnover due to free agency, it was interesting to see who would skate with who, but the first line last night looks like it should stay together for a while. 4:01 into the game, Chris Kreider's aggressive forecheck led to a turnover, and his one handed chip pass found Rick Nash just outside the slot. Nash, a left-handed shot, drifted into the slot and rifled the first goal of the year for the Rangers past Brian Elliott for a 1-0 lead.
After a very disjointed second period that saw more specialty teams play than even strength play, yielding nothing, the Blues tied up the game in the 3rd period in short order. David Backes fired a shot of the blocker of Henrik Lundqvist, but John Moore was a little delinquent in picking up his man, and Jaden Schwartz buried the rebound at 1:32. Schwartz is a touching story - he switched his uniform number from #9 to #17 this year to honor his late sister Mandi, who wore #17 in college for Yale, but lost a 2 1/2 year battle against cancer.
Roughly five minutes later, Rangers fans got to see what they hope is a repeat performance many times over this season. Strong defensive play on the side boards just outside the Rangers blue line led to a Rick Nash cross ice pass to a streaking Chris Kreider on the left wing. With nothing between him and paydirt, "Easy" Kreider steamed in and fired a shot just inside the left post for a 2-1 Rangers lead. In case any Montreal fans were watching, when someone DOESN'T trip Kreider on his way to the net, he doesn't barrel goaltenders.
The lead was relatively short-lived though, as Vladimir Tarasenko took a pass from Paul Stastny, made a nice move inside the blue line, and rifled a shot that deflected off a driving Stastny past Lundqvist into the net, forging a 2-2 tie. Stastny had taken an ugly knee-on-knee attempted hip check from Dan Girardi earlier in the game, but came back to score his first as a St. Louis Blue after signing a big free agent deal to move from Colorado in the off-season.
It appeared that the game may have been heading for overtime, but a lucky bounce gave the Rangers all they needed to ensure that didn't happen. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, the Blues' Alex Pietrangelo banked the puck off the glass, as he has probably done hundreds of times. However, this time, the puck went straight into the air, staying in the zone, and right to Martin St. Louis, who somehow heard Rick Nash calling for the puck, once again in the slot. A no-look, backhand pass right on the tape produced the second Nash-ty goal of the game for #61, and a Rangers 3-2 lead at 18:10. Even with Elliott pulled, the Blues didn't get a sniff at the Rangers net, as a huge block by Captain Ryan McDonagh sealed the win for the Rangers.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - The first line of Nash/Kreider/St. Louis was the best line all night for either team, and scored a combined 7 points with all 3 goals and all 4 assists. Originally an assist was given to Marc Staal on the Kreider goal, but subsequently changed to St. Louis.
PLUS - Lee Stempniak had a decent first game as a Ranger, creating scoring chances and taking point time on the power play.
PLUS - Henrik Lundqvist didn't have to be Superman, but the King was good enough to backstop the win.
PLUS - The Penalty Kill had a perfect 5 for 5 night including a brief 5 on 3 kill.
PLUS - The officials called TWO diving penalties last night - one on Tarasenko and one on Steve Ott. With the new rules in place, they keep diving, Ken Hitchcock will lose some weight - out of his wallet. Coaches get fined if their players dive too much this year.
MINUS - As much as I love him, Mats Zuccarello. Your hands are for shootouts, not punchouts. There are other guys to drop the mitts on this team. If anyone had Zuccarello in the "First Fight Of The Year" pool, you need to give me some lottery numbers. A total of 9 PIM for the Hobbit.
MINUS - Dan Boyle, somehow infected by the ghost of John Tortorella, broke his hand blocking a shot in the early stages of the 3rd period, and is out 4-6 weeks. Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of Matt Hunwick in the next few games.
MINUS - Stop me if you've heard this before - the Power(less) Play went 0 for 3, and the guy that was brought in to QB the PP is now on the shelf.
MINUS - Tarasenko and Ott - stop diving. This isn't European soccer.
The Rangers travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Look for the New Blue (P)Review on Saturday morning.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Game #1 - A bad case of the Blues.....
Welcome to the 2014-2015 NHL season! Tonight, the Broadway Blueshirts open the season on the road against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO is 8:00 PM EST.
The Rangers faced St. Louis twice last year, coming up on the short end both times. The Blues took a 5-3 decision on their home rink, then came to New York later on and won 2-1 at the World's Most Famous Arena.
So, who should we look out for on St. Louis? For starters, I'd be concerned with Alexander Steen. Steen scored a career high 33 goals last year, and although he isn't flashy, he always seems to find the back of the net. I'm always concerned about the Blues' captain, David Backes. A true captain, Backes will score big goals, drop the mitts, and park himself in front of the net at every opportunity. If it gets to a shootout, you can guarantee #74 will be one of your shooters. T.J. Oshie is the best shootout player on the team, as witnessed by his epic performance against Russia in the Olympics for Team USA.
The defensive corps sports two standouts in my opinion, and they are Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Look out for both of them if and when the Rangers wind up in the penalty box.
The goaltending in St. Louis is handled by Brian Elliott, who is the undisputed #1 goaltender for the first time in his career. We will see if the anointing leads to confidence, or jitters.
The Rangers who I'm looking at closely tonight are the King, the Duke, and the Captain. Henrik Lundqvist, having tasted the Stanley Cup Finals, should come in with a ton of confidence, but he is historically a slow starter. Anthony Duclair is the 19 year old training camp sensation who looks to make an impact in his NHL Regular Season debut. He showed excellent hands, speed and hockey sense in the pre-season, but the training wheels are off now. Let's hope the Duke doesn't get stage fright. The Captain - and for all intents and purposes the obvious choice to be - is Ryan McDonagh who looks to lead his team one step further this year than last year. Look for Captain Mac to continue to improve, hopefully to the point where there is serious talk of him as the first Rangers Norris Trophy winner since Brian Leetch.
I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of the game - if possible I will live tweet the game through the NEW Twitter handle @newbluereview - Give a follow!
Until then, stay Blue!
The Rangers faced St. Louis twice last year, coming up on the short end both times. The Blues took a 5-3 decision on their home rink, then came to New York later on and won 2-1 at the World's Most Famous Arena.
So, who should we look out for on St. Louis? For starters, I'd be concerned with Alexander Steen. Steen scored a career high 33 goals last year, and although he isn't flashy, he always seems to find the back of the net. I'm always concerned about the Blues' captain, David Backes. A true captain, Backes will score big goals, drop the mitts, and park himself in front of the net at every opportunity. If it gets to a shootout, you can guarantee #74 will be one of your shooters. T.J. Oshie is the best shootout player on the team, as witnessed by his epic performance against Russia in the Olympics for Team USA.
The defensive corps sports two standouts in my opinion, and they are Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Look out for both of them if and when the Rangers wind up in the penalty box.
The goaltending in St. Louis is handled by Brian Elliott, who is the undisputed #1 goaltender for the first time in his career. We will see if the anointing leads to confidence, or jitters.
The Rangers who I'm looking at closely tonight are the King, the Duke, and the Captain. Henrik Lundqvist, having tasted the Stanley Cup Finals, should come in with a ton of confidence, but he is historically a slow starter. Anthony Duclair is the 19 year old training camp sensation who looks to make an impact in his NHL Regular Season debut. He showed excellent hands, speed and hockey sense in the pre-season, but the training wheels are off now. Let's hope the Duke doesn't get stage fright. The Captain - and for all intents and purposes the obvious choice to be - is Ryan McDonagh who looks to lead his team one step further this year than last year. Look for Captain Mac to continue to improve, hopefully to the point where there is serious talk of him as the first Rangers Norris Trophy winner since Brian Leetch.
I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of the game - if possible I will live tweet the game through the NEW Twitter handle @newbluereview - Give a follow!
Until then, stay Blue!
Meet the Blueshirts - 2014-2015
Welcome to the 2014-2015 season! The New Blue Review is officially back, as are the New York Rangers starting tonight. We'll have a preview of the game a little bit later, but let's take a look at how the roster shapes up for opening night:
#5 - Dan Girardi (A)
#8 - Kevin Klein
#10 - J.T. Miller
#12 - Lee Stempniak
#13 - Kevin Hayes
#15 - Tanner Glass
#16 - Derick Brassard
#17 - John Moore
#18 - Marc Staal (A)
#19 - Jesper Fast
#20 - Chris Kreider
#21 - Derek Stepan (A) (injured reserve- eligible to return after the 10th game)
#22 - Dan Boyle
#24 - Ryan Malone
#26 - Martin St. Louis (A)
#27 - Ryan McDonagh (C - 27th captain in team history)
#28 - Dominic Moore
#30 - Henrik Lundqvist
#33 - Cam Talbot
#36 - Mats Zuccarello
#44 - Matt Hunwick
#61 - Rick Nash
#62 - Carl Hagelin
#63 - Anthony Duclair
The notables are of course Ryan McDonagh as the new Captain, and the 4 Alternates which will rotate on a game to game basis. Derek Stepan, as stated, is on long-term IR for the first 10 games of the season. The biggest surprise, bar none, is 19 year old Anthony Duclair making the opening night roster. As a 19 year old, the Rangers can keep "The Duke" up for 9 games before sending him back to his Junior team. As an underage player, he can't play in the AHL, so it's sink or swim for the kid.
Some completely worthless but notable roster notes:
Kevin Hayes is wearing #13, only the eighth player in team history to wear the "unlucky number". (As an aside, I pity Jesper Fast - it seems like #19 is far more unlucky, with both Brad Richards and Scott Gomez completely flaming out while wearing that number, and he wore #91 during the pre-season.) The other seven, starting with the most recent, were Dan Carcillo, Nikolai Zherdev, Richard Scott, Valeri Kamensky, Sergei Nemchinov, Bob Brooke, and Jack Stoddard.
Anthony Duclair will be the first player in Rangers history to wear #63.
As long as nothing strange happens in warm-ups injury-wise, the Rangers will be the first team in NHL history to have players wearing #61, #62, and #63 in the same regular season game.
As far as I can see, the scratches for this evening should be Kevin Hayes, Ryan Malone and Matt Hunwick.
Come back for a preview of tonight's game!
#5 - Dan Girardi (A)
#8 - Kevin Klein
#10 - J.T. Miller
#12 - Lee Stempniak
#13 - Kevin Hayes
#15 - Tanner Glass
#16 - Derick Brassard
#17 - John Moore
#18 - Marc Staal (A)
#19 - Jesper Fast
#20 - Chris Kreider
#21 - Derek Stepan (A) (injured reserve- eligible to return after the 10th game)
#22 - Dan Boyle
#24 - Ryan Malone
#26 - Martin St. Louis (A)
#27 - Ryan McDonagh (C - 27th captain in team history)
#28 - Dominic Moore
#30 - Henrik Lundqvist
#33 - Cam Talbot
#36 - Mats Zuccarello
#44 - Matt Hunwick
#61 - Rick Nash
#62 - Carl Hagelin
#63 - Anthony Duclair
The notables are of course Ryan McDonagh as the new Captain, and the 4 Alternates which will rotate on a game to game basis. Derek Stepan, as stated, is on long-term IR for the first 10 games of the season. The biggest surprise, bar none, is 19 year old Anthony Duclair making the opening night roster. As a 19 year old, the Rangers can keep "The Duke" up for 9 games before sending him back to his Junior team. As an underage player, he can't play in the AHL, so it's sink or swim for the kid.
Some completely worthless but notable roster notes:
Kevin Hayes is wearing #13, only the eighth player in team history to wear the "unlucky number". (As an aside, I pity Jesper Fast - it seems like #19 is far more unlucky, with both Brad Richards and Scott Gomez completely flaming out while wearing that number, and he wore #91 during the pre-season.) The other seven, starting with the most recent, were Dan Carcillo, Nikolai Zherdev, Richard Scott, Valeri Kamensky, Sergei Nemchinov, Bob Brooke, and Jack Stoddard.
Anthony Duclair will be the first player in Rangers history to wear #63.
As long as nothing strange happens in warm-ups injury-wise, the Rangers will be the first team in NHL history to have players wearing #61, #62, and #63 in the same regular season game.
As far as I can see, the scratches for this evening should be Kevin Hayes, Ryan Malone and Matt Hunwick.
Come back for a preview of tonight's game!
Saturday, September 27, 2014
A new season - and a renewed commitment.
Welcome to the newly improved, revamped New Blue Review - one fan's take on the New York Rangers and the National Hockey League in general. After attempting to start this last year, I had a few personal things that got in the way of keeping up with it, but no more. This season, you will get a game preview and review for all 82 New York Rangers games and some other tidbits thrown in throughout the year. Even if you are not a Rangers fan, I encourage you to read, because you may find out that there are things about your team I actually respect and admire.
The Rangers season starts on October 9, and it will do so without many familiar faces. Joining Ryan Callahan in Tampa Bay are Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, After a very surprising season which saw him mesh beautifully with Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot received a (what I feel is) ridiculous offer to jump to Edmonton. Derek Dorsett is now a Vancouver Canuck thanks to a draft day deal, Daniel Carcillo is on a Professional Tryout with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brad Richards was bought out and is currently a Chicago Blackhawk.
New faces donning the Blueshirt this year are Dan Boyle, who comes to New York as a free agent after stops in Florida, Tampa Bay and most recently San Jose. Tanner Glass takes on the Dorsett/Carcillo role after doing so for Pittsburgh last year, Lee Stempniak also joins New York after his most recent stop in Pittsburgh. Matthew Lombardi returns from Europe to try and nail down a roster spot.
Unfortunately, the Rangers will be starting the season without projected first line center Derek Stepan. #21 suffered a broken leg and is out 4-6 weeks. Stepan has never missed a regular season game in his NHL/NYR career until now, and the only time has missed was in the playoffs last year after the Brandon Prust cheap shot that broke his jaw.
Of course, the King returns to his throne as Henrik Lundqvist will once again be the primary goaltender for the Rangers. After taking the team to the Stanley Cup Final last year, Lundqvist now knows what the biggest stage feels like and no doubt has a renewed focus to get there and take the "Final" step.
As the season opener draws closer, and the roster takes shape, I'll have more in depth reports.
Get your Blueshirts ready - it's almost time to take up residence in Rangerstown once again.
The Rangers season starts on October 9, and it will do so without many familiar faces. Joining Ryan Callahan in Tampa Bay are Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, After a very surprising season which saw him mesh beautifully with Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot received a (what I feel is) ridiculous offer to jump to Edmonton. Derek Dorsett is now a Vancouver Canuck thanks to a draft day deal, Daniel Carcillo is on a Professional Tryout with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brad Richards was bought out and is currently a Chicago Blackhawk.
New faces donning the Blueshirt this year are Dan Boyle, who comes to New York as a free agent after stops in Florida, Tampa Bay and most recently San Jose. Tanner Glass takes on the Dorsett/Carcillo role after doing so for Pittsburgh last year, Lee Stempniak also joins New York after his most recent stop in Pittsburgh. Matthew Lombardi returns from Europe to try and nail down a roster spot.
Unfortunately, the Rangers will be starting the season without projected first line center Derek Stepan. #21 suffered a broken leg and is out 4-6 weeks. Stepan has never missed a regular season game in his NHL/NYR career until now, and the only time has missed was in the playoffs last year after the Brandon Prust cheap shot that broke his jaw.
Of course, the King returns to his throne as Henrik Lundqvist will once again be the primary goaltender for the Rangers. After taking the team to the Stanley Cup Final last year, Lundqvist now knows what the biggest stage feels like and no doubt has a renewed focus to get there and take the "Final" step.
As the season opener draws closer, and the roster takes shape, I'll have more in depth reports.
Get your Blueshirts ready - it's almost time to take up residence in Rangerstown once again.
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