Category: New York Rangers

Rangers Weekly – 10/23 – 10/30

After a very successful start to the season, although not without its challenges, the New York Rangers earned themselves a 3-1-1 record to start the season.

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This past week, the Rangers looked to keep their positive momentum going in games against the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, and Columbus Blue Jackets. How did the Broadway Blueshirts fair in their three matchups this week?

Let’s dive in. The start of this weekend went from depressing to absolutely exhilarating within three minutes and twenty seconds. The Rangers were down 2-0 heading into the third period with a goal from Nick Paul and a goal from Josh Norris paving the way for a Senators victory… or so everyone thought. It started with Chris Kreider tipping home a pick in front from an Artemi Panarin shot to cut the Ottawa lead to 2-1. Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox would join in on the fun after. Fox sent a perfect pass to Lindgren in front of the net who snapped it home to tie the game. Finally Barclay Goodrow would score the biggest goal of his Rangers career so far when he deflected a Sammy Blais shot in the high slot for a 3-2 Rangers lead. The Rangers would then hold on and win the game 3-2. It was an impressive comeback win for the Blueshirts who are already looking harder to play against this season.

The Monday night game against the Flames was much less fun from a New York perspective. The Flames strangled and cut the Rangers off at almost every turn and had the neutral zone locked down. The Flames would get goals from Chris Tanev, Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund and two from Andrew Mangiapane. The lone Rangers goal in a miserable 5-1 loss would come from Dryden Hunt, his first as a Ranger. It was clear after having a perfect four game road trip, the Rangers needed a break and it showed in this game. They were turning the puck over at an alarming rate and none of their passes seemed to be connecting. It was an off night for the team and everyone from the coaching staff to the players knew it was a stinker. Not every game is gonna be pretty over the course of the season and this one was certainly one to forget.

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The Rangers would have a date Friday night with the Columbus Blue Jackets and it was a complete 180 from the Monday night game against Calgary. The Rangers were the hungrier team, they won puck battles and with the return of both Ryan Strome and Kaapo Kakko this week, the team is finally back to full strength. Strome would make his presence felt early in this one when he took a beautiful feed from Artemi Panarin and snapped a shot past Elvis Merzlikins for a 1-0 Rangers lead in the first period. Nils Lundkvist would collect his first NHL point on the play with a secondary assist. Just a few minutes later Adam Fox would add to his defending Norris trophy resume when he somehow found a streaking Alexis Lafreniere with a gorgeous pass from the wall. Lafreniere would slap the puck past Merzlikins for a 2-0 Rangers lead. The team was flying.

The Rangers would get two power-play goals in the third period from none other than Chris Kreider, who now leads the NHL in power-play goals this season. Kreider is one of the best net front presences in the league and he is proving it in spades this year on the power-play. The Rangers would go on to win 4-0 behind a 31 save shutout from Igor Shesterkin. They are currently third in the division behind the Hurricanes and Capitals.

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New York Rangers Weekly – 10/13-10/22

It was quite the offseason for the New York Rangers. Chris Drury was named the new President and General Manager. Pavel Buchnevich was shipped to St. Louis for Sammy Blais and a 2nd round pick in 2022. Ryan Reaves was brought in to make the team tougher to play against and Barclay Goodrow was traded for and then subsequently signed to a six year deal to give the Rangers Stanley Cup winning depth. Prize prospect Nils Lundkvist finally made his way over to New York and Gerard Gallant was hired to be the bench boss. How have these moves worked out so far? Let’s jump into the first week of New York Rangers hockey. 

The Rangers season began with a bloodbath against the Washington Capitals… wait what? You mean there wasn’t a fight? Reaves didn’t fight the always controversial Tom Wilson? The bloodbath that many thought would happen and the fight that everyone was waiting for between Reaves and Wilson never occurred and the Rangers would get beat down 5-1 in a season opening loss. They seemed to be behind the play the entire night and they were chasing pucks rather than controlling the play. Chris Kreider’s power-play goal would be the lone bright spot in a game that the team would rather forget. Back-up Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev had a forgettable night and has not started since and it’s clear the team still needed time to get used to Gallant’s system of hockey. Caps rookie Hendrix Lapierre would score his first NHL in the Rangers loss.

Record: 0-1-0

Next up, the Rangers would take on the Dallas Stars in their home opener at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers would ultimately play a much better game here, getting two goals from 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox and another goal from Chris Kreider. Igor Shesterkin looked much better than Georgiev and the team looked to have a little more jump in their step than the night before. Stars rookie Jacob Peterson would score his first NHL goal, a trend that always seems to happen to the Rangers. Radek Faksa would score for the Stars as well. The game entered overtime with the score deadlocked at two goals at piece but it was the Stars who would have the last laugh on a chilly Thursday night in New York. Miro Hesikanen would send the puck past Shesterkin in overtime to send the Stars home with a 3-2 OT win. The Rangers played a much better game but it’s clear there were still kinks of their game that needed to be worked out. 

Record: 0-1-1

Nothing like a trip to the Bell Centre against the hapless Montreal Canadiens to get this team their first win of the season. Chris Kreider would open the scoring with his third goal of the season in the second period, on the power-play of course. Jonathan Drouin would get the Habs on the board in the third. With the game tied 1-1 it looked like overtime may be looming yet again but the number one overall pick from the 2020 NHL draft had other plans. Alexis Lafreniere would break a 1-1 tie after finishing off a slick feed from Mika Zibanejad on a 2-on-1 opportunity to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Lafreniere has looked like a different player this year already and it’s great to see the number one overall pick start to come out of his shell. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec native said he felt great scoring in Montreal in front of friends and family. Kevin Rooney nailed the empty net for a 3-1 Rangers win. Shesterkin would save 31 shots and Gerard Gallant would grab his first win as head coach of the New York Rangers. It was a fun night in Montreal. 

Record: 1-1-1

Next up, the Rangers would visit the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Centre in downtown Toronto. Mika Zibanejad would go top cheddar on Jack Campbell for an early 1-0 Rangers lead and Michael Bunting would tie the game in the second for the Leafs but lets be real here, this game was the Igor Shesterkin show, let’s give the man his due. Shesterkin made 40 saves, robbing the Leafs on multiple high danger chances throughout regulation and overtime. Speaking of the overtime, the Rangers and Leafs put on one of the most thrilling 3-on-3 OT’s I’ve ever seen and the Rangers would ultimately get the last laugh. After Shesterkin committed robbery after robbery in overtime, robbing Matthews and Nylander and others, Artemi Panarin would have the last laugh. Panarin would score at 3:48 of overtime with a blistering snap shot that sailed past Campbell to give the Rangers a 2-1 win. They all hopefully paid for Igor Shesterkin’s dinner and hopefully everyone on the team appreciated the gutsy performance he put in. After starting the season with two losses, the Rangers suddenly have two wins.

Record: 2-1-1

The road trip rolls on as the Rangers visited the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, 10/23. In the opening minutes, newly minted second line center Filip Chytil (Ryan Strome is out for COVID protocol reasons) snapped a backhander past Jusse Saros for a 1-0 Rangers lead. Chytil, one of the Rangers two first rounders from 2017, has gotten better and better each season in the league and he looks primed to have a big year. Head Coach Gerard Gallant put Chytil between Lafreniere and Sammy Blais to form a young, big, skilled second line and that first goal wouldnt be the only time that line made their presence known. Predators rookie Phil Tomasino would tie the game in the second period off a flukey kind of shot for his first NHL goal. The Rangers would take the lead back when Adam Fox, Blais and Lafreniere made some magic on the ice together. Fox would dish the puck to Blais who then toe-dragged the puck around Preds defenseman Alexandre Carrier. Blais would then dish the puck to Lafreniere who snapped a shot past Saros for a 2-1 Rangers lead. It was a beautiful goal and the Rangers would not relinquish the lead. Barclay Goodrow would seal the win with an empty netter for a 3-1 Rangers win. Igor Shesterkin would again have a huge night with 28 saves. That’s three straight road wins for the Rangers and three wins overall on the season. They are currently second in the Metro division. 

Record: 3-1-1

Editor’s Note: Saturday October 23rd’s game against the Ottawa Senators will be included in next week’s Rangers Weekly.

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Caps v. Rangers – Rising Up The Ranks

New York Rangers (0-0-0 0pts) v. Washington Capitals (0-0-0 0pts)

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Game Recap:

The puck has dropped on a new season and what a better way for the Washington Capitals to kick start thier season then against their Metropolitan Division rival New York Rangers. To start the game the Rangers would control the play and out shoot the Caps 5 to 1. Caps rookie Hendrix Lapierre would get called for high sticking, along with matching double minors to Sammy Blais and Trevor van Riemsdyk for roughing, to give the Rangers the first powerplay of the game. The Caps would kill it off and then secure a powerplay of their own which would see TJ Oshie score the first Capitals goal of the season and the 1-0 lead. The Caps would look to go up by two on a beautiful wrister by Nick Jensen, but would have it called by due to being offsides on a challenge by the Rangers. The Caps and Rangers would do a battle back and forth, but a Chris Kreider penalty would give the Caps the powerplay to end the period.

In the second period the Caps would start the period with 56 seconds of powerplay time, but would be unable to convert on the remaining time. Shortly after the Rangers would get on the powerplay off of a Lars Eller tripping penalty, but the Caps would play a solid penalty kill. Including a dtickless Tom Wilson blocking a shot, to allow the Caps to kill the penalty and keep thwir one goal lead. After some solid back and forth between both teams it would be an Alexis Lafreniere tripping call to put the Caps back on the powerplay and the Rangers would pay for it as Justin Schultz would snipe it from the point yo give the Caos their second powerplay goal. Then seconds later Hendrix Lapierre would score his first career NHL goal to give the Caps the 3-0 lead. After the pair of goals, both teams would trade powerplay opportunities, but both teams would kill the other’s powerplays.

In the third period the Rangers would continue their march to the penalty box as Sammy Blais would take his second penalty of the game, and this time Alex Ovechkin would strike on the powerplay for his first of the season and 731st career NHL goal to tie Marcel Dionne for 5th all time on the NHL’s all time scoring list. Midway through the third period the Rangers would get on the powerplay and Chris Krieder would finally break through a very solid Vitek Vanecek to break thw shutout and get the Rangers back within three. However, it would be for naught as Alex Ovechkin would net his second of the game and his 732nd career NHL goal to take sole possession of fifth place on the all time goals list, and give the Capitals the 5-1 victory over the Rangers.

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Lineups:

New York Rangers:

Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Chris Kreider

Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Kaapo Kakko

Barclay Goodrow — Filip Chytil — Dryden Hunt

Sammy Blais — Kevin Rooney — Ryan Reaves

Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox

K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba

Jarred Tinordi — Patrik Nemeth

Alexandar Georgiev

Igor Shesterkin

Scratched: Julien Gauthier, Libor Hajek, Nils Lundkvist

Injured: None

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

Anthony Mantha — Lars Eller — Daniel Sprong

Conor Sheary — Hendrix Lapierre– T.J. Oshie

Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson

Trevor van Riemsdyk — Justin Schultz

Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen

Vitek Vanecek

Ilya Samsonov

Scratched: Connor McMichael, Beck Malenstyn, Matt Irwin

Injured: Nicklas Backstrom (hip)

First Period:

NYR Penalty – 1:52 – Sammy Blais 4 minutes for Roughing

WAS Penalty – 1:52 – Hendrix Lapierre 2 minutes for High Sticking

WAS Penalty – 1:52 – Trevor van Riemsdyk 4 minutes for Roughing

NYR Penalty – 3:55 – Patrik Nemeth 2 minutes for Slashing

WAS PPG – 4:39 – TJ Oshie (1) from Alex Ovechkin (1) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (1)

NYR Penalty – 18:56 – Chris Kreider 2 minutes for Slashing

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Second Period:

WAS Penalty – 1:59 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR Penalty – 11:29 – Alexis Lafreniere 2 minutes for Tripping

WAS PPG – 12:38 – Justin Schultz (1) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) and Alex Ovechkin (2)

WAS Goal – 13:02 – Hendrix Lapierre (1) from TJ Oshie (1) and Conor Sheary (1)

WAS Penalty – 15:36 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR Penalty – 17:53 – Jacob Trouba 2 minutes Holding

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Third Period:

NYR Penalty – 2:20 – Sammy Blais 2 minutes for Cross Checking

WAS PPG – 2:37 – Alex Ovechkin (1) from Anthony Mantha (1) and John Carlson (1)

NYR Penalty – 3:53 – Ryan Lindgren 2 minutes for Holding

WAS Penalty – 3:53 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Tripping

WAS Penalty – 7:27 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Cross Checking

NYR PPG – 9:13 – Chris Kreider (1) from Ryan Strome (1) and Adam Fox (1)

NYR Penalty – 9:57 – Barclay Goodrow 2 minutes for High Sticking

WAS Penalty – 10:05 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Tripping

WAS Goal – 12:01 – Alex Ovechkin (2) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (1)

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Opening Night; Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers

Predicted GoaltenderRecord (Career)GAA / SV% (Career)
Washington CapitalsVitek Vanecek21-10-42.69 / .908
New York RangersIgor Shestyorkin26-16-32.59 / .921

After what has seemed like an impossibly long off-season full of trades, acquisitions, signings, and retirements, we have finally made it to Opening Night. The Washington Capitals are getting set to take on the rivaled New York Rangers in a home opener for the ages, especially considering all that took place between these two teams last season. The Washington Capitals went 36-15-5 in 56 games and the New York Rangers, 27-23-6 overall. Throughout the preseason, the Caps went 2-3-1, and the Rangers, 4-2-0. Washington’s two wins came at the tail-end of the six-game preseason set. Two of the Rangers’ wins came in overtime, both losses were blow-outs; one 4-0 shutout by the Islanders, and a 7-1 a$$ whooping from the Devils.

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Final team rosters were due to the league Monday evening. Opening Night Rosters were released Tuesday morning, and can be found below;

Courtesy of Washington Capitals
ForwardsDefensemenGoaltenders
Sammy BlaisAdam FoxAlexandar Georgiev
Filip ChytilLibor HajekIgor Shesterkin
Julien GauthierRyan Lindgren
Barclay GoodrowNils Lundkvist
Dryden HuntK’Andre Miller
Kaapo KakkoPatrik Nemeth
Chris KreiderJarred Tinordi
Alexis LafrenièreJacob Trouba
Artemi Panarin
Ryan Reaves
Kevin Rooney
Ryan Strome
Mika Zibanejad
New York Rangers

Notably, for Washington, Hendrix Lapierre, the Caps’ first-round draft pick in the 2020 Entry Draft, who had an astounding training camp, made the final cut. That left Connor McMichael seemingly to sit on the outside looking in, as of Monday, he and Beck Malenstyn were reassigned to the Hershey Bears (Capitals AHL affiliate). However, due to Nicklas Backstrom being placed on the long-term injury list, both McMichael and Malenstyn were recalled to the Caps, and are expected to play in the home opener.

  • Connor McMichael
  • Hendrix Lapierre
https://twitter.com/CapitalsPR/status/1447937000301076500?s=20

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, who had been claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Sabres just days ago, was reacquired by the Capitals on Monday. Sounds eerily similar to the big-brain moves made by GMBM to reacquire Vitek Vanecek after losing him to Seattle in the Expansion Draft, no? In case one forgot, the trade that sent Brenden Dillon to Winnipeg resulted in the Caps’ receiving two 2nd round draft picks in return. One of those draft picks, a 2023 2nd-rounder, was given to Seattle in exchange for Vanecek.

Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov look to be the youngest goaltender tandem in the NHL, and while Vanecek has more than proven his worth and value as a starter, Samsonov has left much to be desired. Especially after all that happened last season.

A handful of Caps are on the radar to have strong seasons and impressive appearances. Anthony Mantha, after joining the Capitals in a blockbuster trade that sent Jakub Vrana to the Detroit Red Wings, put up two goals in his final two preseason appearances, including an overtime game-winner. The power forward also tallied four goals and four assists in 14 games with Washington at the end of last season, and is starting to show how well he fits into the organization. Condolences to Jakub who will miss quite some time with a nagging shoulder injury. Daniel Sprong and Conor Sheary were two of Washington’s most efficient goal-scorers last season, and we predict they’ll continue to rack up the point this year. Sprong nearly tied a career high in goals last year with 13 (in just 42GP) and scored at a rate of 0.31 goals per game, good enough for 3rd on the team. Sheary put up 14 goals in 53 games, and scoring at a rate of 0.26 goals per game, marked the second-highest rate of his career (0.38 across 2016-17 season). 

Nicklas Backstrom was designated to the long-term injury list, and Michal Kempny, who has played just two games since the 2019-20 season, was sent to Hershey as well after clearing waivers. Kempny suffered a number of injuries, all to the left leg, and has since been rehabilitating the leg and working on conditioning. It is possible we will see him back in Washington at some point this season. Alex Ovechkin’s status for the Home Opener is still to be determined after suffering an injury in the Caps’ final preseason game against the Flyers. Ovechkin is listed as day-to-day, but he did participate in the Caps’ optional skate on Tuesday morning.

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The New York Rangers made a number of deals as well, in the off-season and since the start of preseason, including the acquisition of Ryan Reaves from the Vegas Golden Knights, terminating the contract of Tony DeAngelo, signing Filip Chytil to a two-year contract, and most significantly, signing Mika Zibanejad to an eight-year, $68 million-dollar extension, valued at $8.5M per year. Talk about a big pay day for a player who’s averaging 27 goals per season, skewed by an impressive 41-goals-in-57-games showing across the 2019-2020 season. The Ranger’s biggest questions this season is their goaltending; Alexandar Georgiev has been mediocre at best since joining the Rangers, and went 8-7-2 in 2020-21. The year prior, Georgiev tallied 17 wins and 16 losses (2 OTL). Igor Shestyorkin put up 16 wins and 17 losses (3 OTL) last season after winning 10 of 12 starts the year before. 

The Rangers are hoping to see more production from Alexis Lafreniere, New York’s 2020 1st Round Draft pick who was drafted 1st overall. Lefreniere tallied 12 goals and nine assists in 56 games last season. Three of his 12 goals came against the Capitals. Expectations are also high for former 2nd overall draft pick Kaapo Kakko who posted just 9 goals and 8 assists in 48 games played in 2020-21. Rangers’ fans believe 2021-22 will be a breakout year for Kakko. And of course, there’s Artemi Panarin who exceeded a-point-per-game last year with 17 goals and 41 assists in 42 games. His numbers in 2019-20 were even more impressive; 32 goals and 63 assists for 95 points in 69 games, good enough to earn him 3rd in voting for the Hart Trophy. Panarin tallied five power play goals in 2020-21. Defenseman Adam Fox won the 2020-21 Norris Trophy for best all-around defenseman, and is expected to put up huge numbers again to add to his career 89 points and +41 rating in 125 games.

Reaves, who suffered a leg injury in New York’s 6-2 preseason win over the Devils, is listed as day-to-day, but was practicing with the team as of Monday. Similarly, Ryan Strome is also day-to-day, and his status for Wednesday, too, is undetermined. 

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The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers will play on Wednesday October 13th, at 7:30 EST, and can be watched on TNT.

2021-22 Team Preview – New York Rangers

2020-21

Record: 27-23-6 60 points – 5th Place in the MassMutual East Division

Playoffs: Did Not Qualify

Key Losses

F – Pavel Buchnevich, D – Brendan Smith, F – Colin Blackwell, Coach – David Quinn, F – Brett Howden

Key Additions

Coach – Gerard Gallant, F – Barclay Goodrow, F – Ryan Reaves, D – Patrik Nemeth, F – Sammy Blais, D – Jarred Tinordi, D – Nick DeSimone

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2021-22 Preview

In just over a month’s time, the NHL will be dropping the puck on opening night of the 2021-22 season. The New York Rangers are one of the most intriguing teams entering this season and had a controversial offseason to say the least. They enter this new season with a new coaching staff, a more experienced and tough bottom six forward group, a top-six forward group that features superstar winger Artemi Panarin, a defense led by 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox and fresh off a new contract extension: number one goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Let’s jump right in. 

Before we get to the lineup analysis, the Rangers made a huge move this offseason by firing David Quinn and hiring Gerard Gallant as their new head coach. Gallant brings years of experience behind the bench and has coached in the Stanley Cup final, coming within three wins of the Cup during the 2017-18 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. Gallant is a huge upgrade over the former Boston University coach and will provide this up and coming group of Rangers with structure and a system designed to get the most out of their lineup. Gallant was the top free agent coach on the market and the pull of New York was too strong to resist. 

Let’s tackle the forward group first. The Rangers forward group overall is a mix of skilled veterans, young players ready to bust out and some experienced grinder types that make life tough for their opponents on the ice. This summer, the Rangers traded forward Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues for Sammy Blais and a second round pick in 2022. Over his time with the Rangers, Buchnevich turned himself into a staple of their top-six forward group. He developed his offensive instincts over his five seasons in New York while also learning to become a two-way force as he got older. Buchnevich was traded from the Rangers for a few reasons. 

The first reason is cap space. The Rangers have some important contract decisions coming up with Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox’s extensions looming. They also want to be open in case an elite center, like Jack Eichel, can be acquired. Salary cap space is one of the best weapons to have in the NHL today, especially with the flat cap, so you can be assured this was a huge factor in the Buchnevich trade. Secondly, both Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov are two of the young stars that need more and consistent ice time. Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, has had an up and down first two seasons in New York. His first season, he was one of the top five worst defensive forwards in the league according to analytical models. His second season though, he was rated as high as the second best overall defensive forward in the league behind Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane, according to analytical models. Kakko took a huge step forward in his development last year and now with a coach like Gerard Gallant who will put him in more positions to succeed, the offense will come. 

Vitali Kravtsov is in a similar position to Kakko. He was the Rangers top pick in the 2018 draft and he had a so-so rookie year but the important thing is he didn’t look out of place. Kravtsov getting a top-six role and getting to play with any combination of Alexis Lafreniere, Panarin, Zibanejad, Kakko or Ryan Strome will help unleash his offensive instincts at the NHL level… or so the Rangers hope. They are betting a lot on their two young studs at right wing. Thirdly, the Rangers and their new management led by General Manager Chris Drury made it a point to get tougher to play against this offseason. Sammy Blais is the type of guy that this Rangers lineup needs. He’s fast, tough, goes to the dirty areas of the ice and has Stanley Cup winning experience. Blais might not be liked right now by Rangers fans but with his style of play the New York faithful may just come around. Barclay Goodrow, signed to a six-year deal with a 3.6 million AAV, and Ryan Reaves, acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, each bring a tough, grinding type play to the bottom six and Goodrow has two Stanley Cup rings. He knows how to win. It is the Rangers’ hope that these new, grittier acquisitions will compliment their fast and skilled top six forward group. 

Moving on from the Buchnevich fallout, the Rangers will also be counting on 2020 first overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere, to bust out and show exactly why he was one of the most dominant athletes in CHL history. Lafreniere had a slow start to his first NHL season but towards the end of the season he began to catch fire as the Rangers played down the stretch. Analytically, he’s already shown he can drive offense at the NHL level. He’s 19 years old. He’s going to be the face of the franchise in a city craving it’s first Stanley Cup in almost 30 years. There’s obviously huge pressure on the kid’s shoulders but Lafreniere is a player who thrives on the pressure and is going to be a can’t miss player in the league for years to come. A full season of playing alongside Mika Zibanejad will do wonders for him. The last big storyline for the forward group is Chris Kreider learning to accept his role as a dominant third line player. When he was signed to a massive extension during the 2019-20 season, former GM Jeff Gorton didn’t have any idea he would be getting Lafreniere in that year’s draft. Kreider is now the third best left winger on his team. Lafreniere and Panarin are far more skilled than Kreider. Kreider will now need to put some pride aside and use his speed and size to create chaos on a third line with young center Filip Chytil and Goodrow that can hound opponents. Kreider can be a nice secret weapon on the Rangers third line. Now, let’s move onto the defense. 

Any discussion of the New York Rangers defense begins with Adam Fox. Fox, the reigning Norris Trophy winner is one of the best defenseman in the NHL. In just his second season in the league he won the best award a defenseman can win beating out the likes of Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Colorado’s Cale Makar. He can control the play at both ends of the ice. He creates offensive chances better than almost any other defenseman in the league. He can quarterback the hell out of a power-play and he plays hard night in and night out. Fox is going to be a star defenseman for years to come and the Rangers are lucky to have found one of the key ingredients needed to win a Stanley Cup: a dominant number one defenseman. 

Teaming with Fox this season should be fellow young defenseman, K’Andre Miller. Miller, as a rookie, got votes for the Calder Trophy and looked pretty impressive at times during the season. He of course had his bumps but he rarely ever left the top four of the Rangers defense. He mostly teamed with Jacob Trouba during the year but this season he should ascend to the left left defense spot next to Adam Fox on the Rangers top pair. Miller’s size and Fox’s skill will be a really impressive pair on defense and then Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba can be the second pair who will be a more physical presence. That leaves the Rangers third pair which will be made up of two newcomers to the squad. Swedish defenseman Patrik Nemeth was signed this offseason to provide stability on the third pair but the real story is who will be played the right side on the third pair. Nils Lundkvist, the reigning SHL defenseman of the year, will be joining the Rangers this season. He is regarded as one of the top defense prospects in all of hockey and one of the best players outside of the NHL. Lundkvist and Fox will be manning the Rangers’ two power-play units for years to come. Lundkvist has great on-ice IQ, a sneakily good shot and has already proven himself against men in Europe. Lundkvist’s rookie season is going to be very interesting to watch and he could be in the conversation for the Calder Trophy if he can carve out a role on the power-play. The Rangers defense is still growing but they are already pretty solid. 

Finally we get to the goaltenders and really, this one is simple. It’s Igor Shesterkin’s net. He just signed a five-year extension and despite some early struggles this season he settled down and proved himself enough that the Rangers are willing to bet he is the guy to lead them in their Stanley Cup chase the next five years. Alexandar Georgiev, who has reportedly requested a trade, will be the backup and if he does get traded Keith Kinkaid is waiting in the wings. Bottom line: Shesterkin is good and the Rangers will go as far as he takes them. 

Projected Lineup

Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Kaapo Kakko

Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Vitali Kravtsov

Chris Kreider — Filip Chytil — Barclay Goodrow

Sammy Blais — Kevin Rooney — Ryan Reaves

K’Andre Miller — Adam Fox

Ryan Lindgren — Jacob Trouba

Patrik Nemeth — Nils Lundkvist

Igor Shesterkin

Alexandar Georgiev

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Capitals v. Rangers – Oshie’s Hat Trick the Perfect Tribute

Washington Capitals (33-14-5 71pts) v. New York Rangers (26-21-6 58pts)

Game Recap:

Back at Madison Square Garden for the final regular season game against each other, the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers would start with an explosion as we would finally see the fallout from the last 48 hours. Right off the bat we would see a good old fashioned line brawl to start the game, and then 49 seconds later, public enemy number one, Tom Wilson would drop the gloves with Brendan Smith. We would see two more fights before getting to the five minute mark of the game that would see a total of 72 penalty minutes in 4:14 of play. By the time we would get to the end of the first period we would see a total of 100 penalty minutes and five powerplays.

In the second period things would settle down a little bit. TJ Oshie, returning after the passing of his father earlier in the week, would score 12 seconds into the period to get the powerplay goal to give the Caps the 1-0 lead. Then after Pavel Buchnevich would get a five minute major and a game misconduct for cross checking Anthony Mantha in the face, Oshie would strike again on the powerplay to grow the Caps lead to two. Before the end of the period the Caps would grow their lead to three as Nic Dowd would deflect a John Carlson point blast for the goal.

Come the third period the Rangers would finally get on the board as Alexis Lafreniere would score on a broken play to end Vitek Vanecek’s shutout bid. Morgan Barron would strike for his first career goal, but Oshie would net the hat trick after hitting the empty net to give the Capitals the 4-2 victory, and pay an amazing tribute to his father.

Lineups:

Washington Capitals:

Anthony Mantha — Nicklas Backstrom —
Conor Sheary — Lars Eller — T.J. Oshie
Daniel Carr — Michael Raffl — Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson
Brenden Dillon — Trevor van Riemsdyk
Nick Jensen — Zdeno Chara

Vitek Vanecek
Craig Anderson

Scratched: Ilya Samsonov, Daniel Sprong
Injured: Alex Ovechkin (lower body), Justin Schultz (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Evgeny Kuznetsov

New York Rangers:

Vitali Kravtsov — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich
Alexis Lafreniere — Ryan Strome — Kaapo Kakko
Morgan Barron — Filip Chytil — Colin Blackwell
Phillip Di Giuseppe — Kevin Rooney — Julien Gauthier

K’Andre Miller — Adam Fox
Tarmo Reunanen — Brendan Smith
Libor Hajek — Zac Jones

Alexandar Georgiev
Igor Shesterkin

Scratched: Anthony Bitetto
Injured: Chris Kreider (lower body)

First Period:

WAS Penalty – :01 – Garnet Hathaway 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – :01 – Nic Dowd 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – :01 – Carl Hagelin 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – :01 – Kevin Rooney 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – :01 – Colin Blackwell 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – :01 – Phillip Di Giuseppe 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – :50 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – :50 – Brendan Smith 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – :50 – Brendan Smith 2 minutes for Instigating

NYR Penalty – :50 – Brendan Smith 10 minute Misconduct

WAS Penalty – 4:14 – Michael Raffl 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – 4:14 – Anthony Bitetto 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – 4:14 – Lars Eller 5 minute major for Fighting

NYR Penalty – 4:14 – Ryan Strome 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – 11:24 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Slashing

WAS Penalty – 12:18 – Zdeno Chara 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR Penalty – 15:56 – Pavel Buchnevich 2 minutes for Slashing

WAS Penalty – 15:56 – Tom Wilson 10 minute Misconduct

NYR Penalty – 15:56 – Kevin Rooney 10 minute Misconduct

NYR Penalty – 18:13 – Pavel Buchnevich 2 minutes for High Sticking

End of FirstWAS – 0NYR – 0
Shots1311
Faceoff Wins167
Hits410
Powerplay0/30/2

Second Period:

WAS PPG – :12 – TJ Oshie (19) from Brenden Dillon (16) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (2)

NYR Penalty – 4:39 – Pavel Buchnevich 5 minute major for Cross Checking

NYR Penalty – 4:39 – Pavel Buchnevich- Game Misconduct

WAS Penalty – 4:39 – Anthony Mantha 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

WAS PPG – 8:26 – TJ Oshie (20) from Dmitry Orlov (11) and Nicklas Backstrom (38)

WAS Goal – 14:48 – Nic Dowd (11) from John Carlson (34) and Dmitry Orlov (12)

WAS Penalty – 15:46 – Zdeno Chara 10 minute Misconduct

End of SecondWAS – 3NYR – 0
Shots2513
Faceoff Wins2715
Hits1014
Powerplay2/50/2

Third Period:

NYR Goal – 1:15 – Alexis Lafreniere (11) from Filip Chytil (13)

NYR Penalty – 7:48 – Ryan Strome 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR Penalty – 7:48 – Ryan Strome 10 minute Misconduct

NYR Penalty – 13:44 – Phillip Di Giuseppe 2 minutes for Interference

WAS ENG – 18:20 – TJ Oshie (21) from Carl Hagelin (10) and Dmitry Orlov (13)

NYR Goal – 18:44 – Morgan Barron (1) from Zac Jones (2) and Libor Hajek (2)

End of ThirdWAS – 4NYR – 2
Shots3521
Faceoff Wins3720
Hits1118
Powerplay2/70/2

Rangers v. Capitals – Similar Script, Different Result

New York Rangers (12-13-4 28pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-6-4 44pts)

Game Recap:

Back in DC for the second game of their back to back with the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals look to continue their winning ways as Tom Wilson returns from his seven game suspension. In the first period both teams would get some powerplay opportunities, but neither team would score on them to gain the advantage. However, late in the period Pavel Buchnevich would strike to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead as they headed into the first intermission.

In the second period the Caps and Rangers would trade powerplay opportunities, but both teams penalty kills were up to the task, plus Ilya Samsonov and Keith Kinkaid played lights out hockey to keep the game at 1-0 in favor of the Rangers.

In the third period we would see the Caps take a penalty, but after killing it off it would be John Carlson scoring to tie the game at one. However, after killing a penalty of their own, Mika Zibanejad would strike to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead, and then Brett Howden would get the empty netter to secure the 3-1 victory over the Capitals. This game mirrored the game that was played the night before, but with a different result. Both Ilya Samsonov and Keith Kinkaid played spectacularly in net for their respective teams.

Lineups:

New York Rangers:

Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Colin Blackwell
Alexis Lafreniere — Filip Chytil — Kaapo Kakko
Brendan Lemieux — Kevin Rooney — Brett Howden

Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek — Brendan Smith

Keith Kinkaid
Alexandar Georgiev

Scratched: Julien Gauthier
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Phillip Di Giuseppe

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Daniel Sprong
Conor Sheary — T.J. Oshie — Richard Panik
Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Justin Schultz
Zdeno Chara — Nick Jensen

Ilya Samsonov
Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Injured: Lars Eller (lower body)

First Period:

NYR Penalty – 1:57 – Alexis Lafreniere 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 5:16 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Slashing

NYR Penalty – 9:20 – Artemi Panarin 2 minutes for Holding

NYR Goal – 17:49 – Pavel Buchnevich (11) from Adam Fox (16) and Mika Zibanejad (12)

End of FirstNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots79
Faceoff Wins1213
Hits312
Powerplay0/10/2

Second Period:

NYR Penalty – 5:54 – Brett Howden 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 15:41 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Boarding

End of SecondNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots1517
Faceoff Wins1724
Hits621
Powerplay0/20/3

Third Period:

WAS Penalty – 1:44 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Interference

WAS Goal – 5:55 – John Carlson (7) from Tom Wilson (11) and Nicklas Backstrom (22)

NYR Penalty – 8:12 – Brendan Lemieux 2 minutes for Cross Checking

NYR Goal – 17:28 – Mika Zibanejad (7) from unassisted

NYR ENG – 19:32 – Brett Howden (1) from Ryan Strome (14)

End of ThirdNYR – 3WAS – 1
Shots2529
Faceoff Wins2736
Hits1431
Powerplay0/30/4

Rangers v. Capitals – Ovi to the Rescue

New York Rangers (12-12-4 28pts) v. Washington Capitals (19-6-4 42pts)

Game Recap:

Coming into the weekend the New York Rangers would come to town to faceoff with the Washington Capitals for a back to back series. In the first period it would be a very quiet period until the last five minutes when we would see Nicklas Backstrom get called for tripping to give the Rangers the first powerplay of the game, and it would be Artemi Panarin with the one time snipe to get the Rangers on the board first. Afterwards the Caps would get their first powerplay, but would not be able to capitalize on the opportunity as the Rangers would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Come the second period, it would be another quiet period. No goals or powerplays, but after a hard, clean hit on Ovechkin we would see a small flare up, but nothing major as the Rangers would hold the 1-0 lead.

In the third period the it would remain a tightly contested matchup, but come the final 7 minutes of regulation Alex Ovechkin would not strike once, but twice by burying the loose puck in the crease to give the Capitals the 2-1 victory over the Rangers. The Rangers would out shoot the Caps 33 to 18 in the game, but the Capitals would be able to get the dirty goals and Vitek Vanecek would come up big to gain the victory.

Lineups:

New York Rangers:

Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Colin Blackwell
Alexis Lafreniere — Filip Chytil — Kaapo Kakko
Brendan Lemieux — Kevin Rooney — Brett Howden

Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek — Brendan Smith

Alexandar Georgiev
Keith Kinkaid

Scratched: Julien Gauthier, Tarmo Reunanen
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (lower body), Anthony Bitetto (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Phillip Di Giuseppe

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Daniel Sprong
Conor Sheary – Nic Dowd — Richard Panik
Carl Hagelin — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Justin Schultz
Zdeno Chara — Nick Jensen
Trevor van Riemsdyk

Vitek Vanecek
Ilya Samsonov

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Lars Eller (lower body)
Suspended: Tom Wilson

First Period:

WAS Penalty – 15:21 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR PPG – 16:42 – Artemi Panarin (8) from Ryan Strome (13)

NYR Penalty – 17:32 – Filip Chytil 2 minutes for Hooking

End of FirstNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots85
Faceoff Wins68
Hits912
Powerplay1/10/1

Second Period:

NYR Penalty – 11:36 – Brendan Lemieux 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

WAS Penalty – 11:36 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

End of SecondNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots1911
Faceoff Wins1417
Hits1824
Powerplay1/10/1

Third Period:

WAS Penalty – :31 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 10:46 – Richard Panik 2 minutes for Holding

WAS Goal – 13:18 – Alex Ovechkin (13) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (10) and Justin Schultz (12)

WAS Goal – 16:27 – Alex Ovechkin (14) from John Carlson (20) and Zdeno Chara (7)

End of ThirdNYR – 1WAS – 2
Shots3318
Faceoff Wins2128
Hits2332
Powerplay1/30/1

Rangers Bi-Weekly – Feb 24th to Mar 7th

Welcome back to Rangers bi-weekly! It’s actually been a much better two weeks in Rangers town than even I expected so let’s jump right in and see how the Broadway Blueshirts have been handling some recent adversity thrown their way. 

February 24th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Score: Rangers 3, Flyers 4

No Artemi Panarin, No Kaapo Kakko, No Jacob Trouba, No Filip Chytil. The Rangers had to go to battle with one of the top teams in the NHL down four of their best players and going into this game, I truly thought it wasn’t going to be close and that the Rangers would suffer an embarrassing loss against the Flyers. They proved me way wrong. Yes, they lost but they managed to stay competitive and when they needed one of their leaders to step up, he did. Chris Kreider was the Rangers entire offense of the night when he scored a hat trick in the 4-3 loss but he looked like a man possessed. When Kreider gets this way, and embraces his speed, he is one of the best players in the league. He has a big contract to live up to and this season he is showing that the Rangers made a smart investment. Kreider is a physical freak who continues to show, even going into his 30s, that he will be a great asset for the team going forward. The fact that the team kept it a one goal game without many of their most important pieces is the big positive to take away here.

February 26th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Score: Rangers 6, Bruins 2

This was easily one of the most fun Rangers games all season and it was the first with fans back in attendance. The Garden was rocking as the Rangers scored six times against what many consider to be the best team in the NHL. The Bruins always seem to be this juggernaut of the eastern conference but the Rangers on this day, flexed their offensive muscles. Still no Artemi Panarin but it did not slow them down one bit. 

Phil Di Giuseppe would begin the Garden party when he tipped a Julien Gauthier shot past Tuukka Rask. I wish Gauthier’s initial shot had gone in to help build his confidence but hey, can’t complain about a one goal lead. Ryan Strome would join the party next and was set up with one of the best passes I’ve seen all season from any player. Alexis Lafreniere sent a beautiful pass to Strome who snapped the puck past Rask for 2-0 Rangers lead. Just an awesome start. After a Bruins goal, the Rangers would strike back and score the next four goals. Colin Blackwell, Chris Kreider (Again!), Pavel Buchnevich and Jonny Brodzinski would all score in a 6-2 win. The Rangers caught some fire and looked to continue to flaunt their new found offensive prowess again next game against the Bruins. 

February 28th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Score: Rangers 1, Bruins 4

After two games of positives, it all came crashing down in this one. The Bruins stymied the Rangers at every turn and the Rangers did not look so good in a 4-1 loss. Colin Blackwell would score the Rangers lone goal in this one. Blackwell has been one of the best signings in recent years as he was essentially signed off the scrap heap and has been a nice middle six contributor for a team that needed guys to step up. Blackwell has played on just about every line this season and he has proven to be a more than capable contributor on this New York Rangers club. Let’s move on to happier times. 

March 2nd, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres

Score: Rangers 3, Sabres 2

This was a wild one with three of the games five goals coming with the first three minutes of the first period. Pavel Bychnevich would continue his torrid scoring pace and strike first. Sam Reinhart would get one back for the Sabres but Buchnevich would bank a shot off of Alexis Lafreniere to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Lafreniere would collect his third goal of the season and he seems to really be finding his game. The first overall pick had a rough time scoring during the early part of the season but now he is stapled to the top line and second power-play unit so he is getting way more opportunities as the season has gone one. 

Chris Kreider would score once again keeping himself red hot to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the second period. Kreider, I can’t say this enough, has just been dynamite since Artemi Panarin took a leave of absence from the team. He has truly stepped up as a leader on this team and I hope he does indeed get named the next captain of this franchise. Tobias Rieder would score a meaningless goal as the Rangers sailed to a 3-2 win

March 4th and March 6th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils

Scores: 6-1 Rangers and 6-3 Rangers

You wanted feel good and dominating wins? You got it Rangers fans. Two straight road games at “the Rock” would extend the Rangers winning streak to three games and man does it feel good to stick it to the Devils. The Rangers were all over this club for two straight games and they put up 12(!!!) goals on them. Chris Kreider would score a hat trick in the March 4th game (his second straight hat trick on the road). Pavel Buchnevich and Brendan Smith would score as well but my favorite goal of the first of the two games was when Alexis Lafreniere lasered a shot past Aaron Dell for his fourth goal of the season. It was a beautiful snipe and reminded you just how much skill this kid has.

The game on March 6th was more of the same greatness. Adam Fox would score one of the best goals this season when he went from end to end on the power-play and snapped the puck past the New Jersey goalie. What a goal from the Rangers number one defenseman. Ryan Strome would score twice and Filip Chytil would chip in a nice skillful backhand tally in front as well. Libor Hajek would score his first of the season and his two career goals have been against New Jersey. Just an awesome two games of domination against a major rival. The Rangers were finally over NHL .500 after their March 6th win against NJ. 

March 7th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Score: Rangers 1, Penguins 5

Just an absolute dud of a game. The Penguins won.  Not too many good things happened. Let’s move on. 

The Week Ahead

March 9th, 2021: NYR vs. PIT

March 11th: NYR vs. BOS

March 13th: NYR vs. BOS

Devils Weekly: Another sucky week (with a good ending)

To quote John Tortorella “I’m not gonna break it down for ya”. Misery followed the New Jersey Devils after they lost back to back games at home last week against the Washington Capitals. They flat out did not play well at all in all facets of the game this week as they took on the NY Islanders and NY Rangers (twice), then finally the Boston Bruins. The game against the Islanders wasn’t as bad as their performances against the Rangers. They gave up two third period goals and unfortunately made a comeback effort that was way too late. The only bright side of the result was the Devils avoided being shutout by Semyon Varlamov and the Islanders.

Against the Rangers saw very poor play as the Devils gave up twelve goals in two games against their Hudson River rivals. There’s really not much else I can say other than that they flat out sucked and played awful. The defense and goaltending was absolutely terrible. New Jersey had to get their game together and find a way to play a much better game against the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Fortunately, the Devils played obviously their best game of the week as they beat the Boston Bruins in a nail biter shutting them out 1-0. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood played out of his mind making forty saves and Kyle Palmieri scored the game winner late in the third period. The Devils finally found their game and got a win after a five game losing streak. New Jersey was committed to playing a full sixty minute game and played a much better game defensively.

How they doin’? My thoughts on the week:

As I said, the past five games has not been fun to watch if you are a New Jersey Devils fan. What has concerned me the past week is the defensive play and structure, MacKenzie Blackwood’s play since returning, and obviously the pathetically dead last ranked penalty kill in the NHL. Fortunately at the end of the week, the defense looked much better and played with more structure and better positioning as they kept the Bruins off the board. This game showed this is exactly how the Devils D needs to play on a consistent basis.

As far as MacKenzie Blackwood, to be fair I think he’s still trying to get his timing and positioning back since returning from the COVID-19 protocol list. I think it would have been smart to have him play with AHL affiliate Binghamton to ease him back into playing. You can tell Blackwood isn’t all the way back to his top notch form just yet. Hopefully we’ll get to see that form from Blackwood real soon.

The penalty kill is absolutely frustrating to watch. It’s been a total disaster this whole season and it’s not getting better. Not having Nico Hischier lately in the lineup hasn’t helped as he’s the team’s best overall all around player and is a big piece to the penalty kill. However, I do think Lindy Ruff and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine (who runs the PK) need to look at changing or tweaking the approach because clearly what’s being done isn’t working.

What’s ahead:

3/9/21: New Jersey Devils @ Washington Capitals

3/11/21: New Jersey Devils @ NY Islanders

3/13/21 & 3/14/21: New Jersey Devils vs NY Islanders