Tag: New York Rangers

Rangers Weekly- 11/8 – 11/21

It has been an absolutely wild two weeks in Rangerstown, NYC. When we last checked in with the Broadway Blueshirts they were 6-3-3 but they were coming off a demoralizing loss to the Calgary Flames. Their record was good but it seemed like they were about to fall apart. That couldnt be further from the truth. Since that game against the Flames the Rangers are now 11-4-3 and are solidly in third in the Metropolitan Division. Now lets go back and see how we got here!

New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers – 11/8/21

Igor Shesterkin saved the day here and thatś really the story of this game. The Rangers did score four times but they were outshot 45 to 18 and they nearly gave the game away in the final minutes. Chris Kreider and Adam Fox scored in the first to continue their so far dominant seasons. Kreider has been a revelation this year and is on pace for a career year under coach Gerard Gallant. Adam Fox is generational. The second period featured a highlight end to end goal from K´Andre Miller that showed how dynamic he can be on the blueline and Ryan Strome score as well for a 4-0 lead. The third period was a mess and the game ended with a 4-3 Rangers win. Even with that win, the team badly needed to work on their game.

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New York Rangers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – 11/13/21

Its always fun when a player returns to a city that he left, absolutely lights them up and has fun doing it. Artemi Panarin is a bonafide superstar and in yet another return to the team he spurned three summers ago, he scored twice and was a huge part of a nice turnaround win for the Rangers. Chris Kreider (surprise,surprise) scored two more goals added to his team lead and bringing his total to 11 on the year! Just some amazing play from the big American power forward this year. Adam Fox added two more assists to his total and its very clearly looking like he is going to win a second straight Norris trophy. The Rangers never really allowed the Blue Jackets to be a threat and they wonthe game 5-3 on the back of Igor Shesterkin once again. This was a nice win after almost giving one away last game.

New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils – 11/14/21

This may have take the cake as the most fun Rangers win all season. Win against a rival? Check. Win in dramatic fashion? Check. The start of a Kaapo Kakko breakout? Check. Alexis Lafreniere scoring? Check. Adam Fox being Adam Fox? Check.

The Devils would lead 1-0 after one but the second period was much more even with the teams ending it tied at two. Adam Fox would score a nasty backhander and Alexis Lafreniere would tap home a rebound to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Dougie Hamilton would send a snipe past Alexandar Georgiev to knot the game at two. The third period was awesome and the main reason was Kaapo Kakko.

Kakko came into this game with no points on the season but that would change when he would score on a beautiful rush to the net where he would finish off a great 2-on-1 play with Ryan Strome. Kakko would deke around the Devils goaltender and pot his first goal of the season. Just a beautiful way to get on the board. The Rangers need Kakko to be a big part of the squad to have success. The Devils would tie things up late and then overtime would end scoreless. Onto a shootout we went where we got a sick (SCORPION) save from Alexander Georgiev and seven rounds of fun. Panarin, Kakko, Strome and Kreider would score in the shootout to give the Rangers a 4-3 win. Just an awesome night at the Garden.

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New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens – 11/16/21

I was lucky enough to be in attendance for this one with some friends and this was yet another fun win to be apart of. The Rangers would come out firing and very much looked like the better team throughout the course of the game. Kaapo Kakko scored yet again after snapping home a gorgeous feed from Artemi Panarin for a 1-0 Rangers lead. That’s now a two game point streak for the young Finn. Christian Dvorak would score a lucky tally in the second to tie the game but the Rangers would strike back and strike back quick. Michael Pezzetta of the Canadiens would make the mistake of challenging none other than Rangers fan favorite Ryan Reaves to a fight where he of course would get absolutely obliterated by the elder statesman. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad would take advantage of the energy surge the fight provided and team up to get Kreider his 12th goal of the season. Kreider has been unstoppable this year.

Julien Gauthier scored his first goal of the season and my god was it a beauty. He stripped the puck off a Canadiens player and while falling down back handed the puck top cheese on their goaltender. Just a stunning goal for the young kid who looks like hes starting to put it together. The Canadiens would score just a few second after to cut the lead to 3-2 but that would be it as the Rangers would win yet again and improve to 10-3-3 on the year.

New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – 11/18/21

The Rangers win streak would be halted here as the Maple Leafs would ride 27 saves from Jack Campbell and two goals from Morgan Reilly to give them a 2-1 win. Dryden Hunt scored his first as a Ranger with the assists going to Kappo Kakko (three game point streak!) and Ryan Strome. The Rangers played extremely well this game and even though it was a loss the team looked aggressive and hung with one of the best teams in the NHL. Gerard Gallant praised his team’s effort after the loss saying that “if they play that way, they’re gonna win a lot more games.” The saying is you can’t win them all and this was one game that the Rangers saw they could hang with the best but that they still have some work to do.

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New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres – 11/21/21
Remember how I said the win against the Devils was the most exciting all season? Yeah well… this one might have the title now. This was a back and forth offensive explosion of a game and it was seriously fun to watch (although I’m sure coach Gallant will have a different opinion then mine). Rasmus Asplund and Chris Kreider (shocking I know) scored four minutes apart in the first period. The teams would head to the locker room tied at one. Kreider continues to be a machine this year. The second period would be one of the most wild period of NHL hockey all season.

Vinnie Hinostroza would score early in the second off of an AWFUL turnover from Jarred Tinordi, who should probably never set foot on NHL ice again. He’s that bad. Jacob Trouba would score on a rebound to tie the game at two around eight minutes into the second. Some Rangers fans really get on Trouba but he has actually had a great year and has been really solid defensively. Then at 12:07 of the second the madness would truly begin. Within 1:22 of playing time, the lead would change hands twice and the score would go back to being tied.

Kaapo Kakko extended his point streak to four games with a filthy goal in close. Kakko seems to be in the midst of a breakout and man is it fun to watch. Just 50 second later Tage Thompson would snipe the puck through Jarred Tinordi’s legs and past Alexandar Georgiev for a 3-3 tie. 15 seconds later Rasmus Dahlin would slap the puck past Georgiev for a 4-3 Sabres lead. 17 seconds after that, K’Andre Miller would snap the puck from the blueline past the Aaron Dell to tie the game at four. Wild wild sequence of hockey. We would enter the third period tied at four.

The third period was dominated by the Rangers but the game seemed destined for overtime. The Sabres did all the could to trap the puck in the corner over the waning seconds of regulation but Chris Krider would dig the puck out, slide it to Norris winning Adam Fox who would pass it to Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad would find a sneaking Ryan Lindgren and slide the puck to him. Lindgren would score with 0.4 seconds left on the clock to deliver a 5-4 win for the Rangers! Absolutely exciting win.

Rangers record: 11-4-3!

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Devils Fall in Shootout to Rangers

New Jersey Devils (7-4-3 17pts) @

New York Rangers (9-3-3 21pts)

Game Recap:

After suffering an afternoon defeat yesterday, the New Jersey Devils head across the Hudson River to take on their heated rivals in the New York Rangers for their first matchup of the season. The first period was pretty even between these rivals as they were feeling each other and traded some scoring chances. New Jersey would get on the board first as Jesper Bratt scored on a breakaway on a beautiful pass from Dawson Mercer for his fourth goal of the season to give the Devils a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.

The Rangers tied up the score early in period three as Adam Fox stole a clearing attempt, moved to the backhand and roofed it past Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for his fourth goal of the season. Alexis Lafreniere would gives the Rangers their first lead of the game at the 11:24 mark. Lafreniere tucked the puck into the back of the net off of a rebound shot from Jacob Triuba as the power play expired for his fourth goal of the year and the 2-1 lead for his team. A couple minutes later while on the power play, Dougie Hamilton tied the game up 2-2 for the New Jersey Devils. Hamilton skates to the top of the left face off circle and riffled a shot to the top of the net that would beat Rangers goalie Alexander Georgiev. The score would remain tied 2-2 heading into the third period.

Kappo Kakko gave the Rangers their lead back at the 6:29 mark scoring his first goal of the season. Kakko forced a turnover in the neutral zone, skated in and scored on a nice move on the play. Unfortunately for the Devils, goalie MacKenzie Blackwood had to exit the game after hitting his head and being pulled by a concussion spotter. Backup goalie Jonathan Bernier would enter the game in relief of Blackwood. With 2:44 left in the game, Pavel Zacha would follow the rebound shot from Tomas Tatar that bounced off Nico Hischier and then put the puck into the back of the net to tie the game 3-3. This game would head to overtime.

Overtime was very exciting and saw both the Devils and Rangers exchange offensive chances but were unable to get it done in the extra period. A shootout would be necessary to decide this game and a shootout it was as it went all the way to the seventh round where Chris Kreider would score the winning shootout goal to give the New York Rangers a 4-3 win over their rivals the New Jersey Devils. The Devils look to get back in the win column on Tuesday night as they return home to host the Ottawa Senators.

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Lineups

New Jersey Devils

New York Rangers

Game Highlights

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Final Stats

NJNYR
Shots2741
Hits1522
Power Play1/10/2
Face-Offs49%50%

Next Up: New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators, Tuesday 11/16/21 @ 7pm EST

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Rangers Weekly – 11/1 – 11/7

The good feelings of the first few weeks of the season have now come and gone for the New York Rangers in the last week. The Rangers crashed and burned this week with a 1-2-1 record getting their only win of the week against the Seattle Kraken, lost heartbreakers to the Canucks and Oilers and got blown out of the water in Calgary. Let’s dive in.

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The Rangers got their only win of the week against the Kraken and even that game wasn’t pretty with the Kraken basically getting what I like to call “goalie’d” (when a goalie flat out steals a game) by Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers would skate with a 3-1 lead against the Kraken at Climate Pledge arena. Chris Kreider, Barclay Goodrow and Adam Fox would score for the Rangers as the road trip got off to a decent start. The good feelings would not last long as the Vancouver Canucks would be waiting and they were ready to deliver a gut punch of a loss to the Rangers at Rogers Arena.

The Rangers actually began the game against the Canucks with fire in them and a great compete level. Their top players looked good and they were generating chances against Thatcher Demko, the Canucks young number one netminder. The Rangers would score the first two goals of the game. Artemiy Panarin would send a sweet pass to Mika Zibanejad early in the first followed by Panarin blasting one by Demko with a huge shot from the top of the circles later in the period. Things were going well for the Rangers but in the third period, the downward spiral of the week would begin. The Canucks would score twice within 5:19 in the third period and former Ranger J.T. Miller would score his second of the night in overtime to shove the proverbial dagger in deeper. The Rangers would leave Vancouver snatching a loss from the jaws of victory and wondering where it went wrong. Edmonton would not be an easy task and they were up next.

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This might have been the most depressing game of the week because not only did the Rangers lose in horrifying fashion (get it? Halloween joke? Oh that was last week right? Nevermind then) but they would get embarrassed by the best player in the world. Five goals should be enough to win on any night in the national hockey league but a combination of defensive breakdowns and horrid goaltending from Alexander Georgiev creates for a mess of a situation. The story of this game is simply that the Rangers stopped playing and they let the Oilers claw their way back in.

The Rangers at one point led the Oilers 4-1 and looked better than the had all season. The ill feelings from Vancouver were gone and it looked like they were going to take down one of the West’s best squads pretty easily… and then they didn’t. After goals from Filip Chytil, Kevin Rooney, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers had a 4-1 lead going into the late part of the second period… then Jesse Puljujarvi scored a power-play goal, 4-2. To the third we go. Tyson Barrie would score. Puljujarvi would score again. And just like that within 4 minutes of the third period, the Oilers would tie it up. The Rangers needed to figure something out quick. Mika Zibanejad came up huge and score a big goal to break the tie at 7:18 of the third and the Rangers nearly won the game…. Nearly. At 17:01 of the third period, Connor McDavid took a peek at the Ranger defensive coverage and decided to go 1-on-4… yes that’s right 1-on-4 and he delivered what many are already saying is the Goal of the year. McDavid would deke and slice his way through four Rangers before embarrassing Georgiev with a great move in tight for a goal only the best in the world could score. 5-5. Overtime would come and who else but McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would make their presence felt. At 3:27 of overtime, Draisaitl would rifle a shot past a hapless Georgiev for a 6-5 Oilers stunner. The Rangers had blown a 4-1 lead. Calgary was next.

I’m not even going to spend a lot of time talking about the Flames game. The Flames dominated the Rangers in every single aspect. The Rangers would fall 6-0. Go watch Matthew Tkachuk’s goal, it was probably the coolest thing from this game and the Rangers gave up back to back goal of the year candidates on back to back nights. The Rangers record would fall to 6-3-3 this week. Not a good week in the slightest.

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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)

Q¹
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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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Jerseys

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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Tom Wilson – The Symptom to the Real Problem

This past week in the National Hockey League has been a very interesting one to say the least, and Tom Wilson once again drew the ire of the NHL fan base, outside of Washington that is. However, one has to ask. Is Tom Wilson really the problem, or is he a symptom to a bigger problem that needs to be addressed within not only with the NHL, but also within the NHL Players Association?

The Recap

Starting off with the brouhaha between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers that would see public enemy number one in the NHL Tom Wilson get involved in a scrum that would see him punch Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head, and then lead to both Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin to jump in to make the scrum a bigger ruckus. As a result of this Wilson would essentially rag doll Panarin.

Out of all of this Wilson would get 14 minutes in penalties, and a $5000 fine from the Department of Player Safety the next day. A punishment that the Rangers organization found unacceptable.

On Wednesday the Rangers and Capitals would face each other for the last time during the 2020-21 season, and as everyone expected, it would start off with a bang.

The moment the opening puck dropped we would see an old fashioned line brawl that would see three fights take place. Then 49 seconds later Brendan Smith would challenge Wilson for the fourth fight of the game.

Two more fights would ensue shortly after, and the first period would see a combined 100 penalty minutes by the time it was over. In the second period Wilson would not return to the game after the Capitals public relations team announced that he would miss the rest of the game due to an “Upper Body Injury”. In reality the team pulled him from the game so the game can settle down. However, that wouldn’t stop Buchnevich though as he would high stick Anthony Mantha in the face to get ejected from the game.

The aftermath from Tuesday night’s statement from the Rangers, and from Wednesday night’s game would see the League dole out some punishment the Rangers way. First the League would announce a $250,000 fine against the Rangers for their statement. Then the Department of Player Safety would announce that Buchnevich would be suspended for one game for his high sticking of Mantha.

So as we can see, this past week was a crazy one, and that’s not including Rangers owner James Dolan firing John Davidson and Jeff Gorton as President and General Manager respectively, and promoting Chris Drury to President and General Manager on Wednesday.

The Symptom – Tom Wilson

Since coming into the League Wilson has always played with an edge, and has towed the line quite too often. However, he’s not the real problem here. Sure Wilson is a big, strong player who has the talent to be a top six forward, and a potential 30 to 40 goal scorer, but he’s also the new definition of what today’s power forward is. Too many people the way Wilson plays is a problem, and that everything he does needs to be scrutinized. That’s both fair, and not fair at the same time and here’s why. Tom Wilson is really the symptom to a much bigger problem and that problem is that everything that comes to discipline in the NHL is all ARBITRARY. There is no set standard or true system for how punishment is to be doled out.

Look at Monday night with Wilson and Panarin, and then look at Tuesday night between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. On Monday night Wilson and Panarin were involved in a scrum. Panarin jumped on Wilson’s back, and Wilson responded with slamming him to the ice. On Tuesday night Sidney Crosby and Travis Konecny were both involved in a scrum that would see both men wrestle each other to the ice and then Crosby getting on top of Konecny and grabbing his head and slamming it into the ice 3 to 4 times. Wilson received four minutes for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct, which would then be followed up with the $5000 fine the next day. Panarin would be given two minutes for roughing. Konecny and Crosby both received two minutes each for roughing, and Crosby never had a hearing for slamming Konecny’s head into the ice multiple times.

This notion that Wilson is the problem is wrong, because in reality he is a symptom to the real problem.

The Problem – The Disciplinary System

As I said earlier, the disciplinary system in the NHL is 100 percent arbitrary, and that’s a huge issue. It’s a huge issue because players know that if they do one thing one day it could be a suspension one day, and then someone else can do the exact same thing, but not get a hearing at all or just get a fine. It’s all over the place, and it needs to be reigned in and have checks and balances put in place. We need a real system that has a tiered system that can’t be appealed or brought to an arbitrator after a certain point.

In 2011 Brendan Shanahan created the Department of Player Safety with the intentions to change player behavior and help make the game safer while keeping the game physical. Shanahan in the beginning was aggressive with his efforts, and was giving significant suspensions for hits were capable of causing head injuries. The problem though is that the general managers undercut Shanahan because of their displeasure with the lengthy suspensions. As a result of this suspensions became shorter and discipline became more arbitrary. The scary thing to think about in regards to that, is that everyone is ok with that. They may speak publicly about how it’s a joke, but behind closed doors no one is fighting to change it.

The Factors – The NHLPA and the NHL

Let’s face reality. If anything were to really change, and change for the better, both the NHL and the NHLPA need to come to the table and negotiate a new agreement when it comes to player safety and for how discipline needs to be handed out. However, neither side is going to truly do that because neither side truly wants it. The NHL doesn’t want it because they don’t want to see players, especially star players like Crosby or Connor McDavid, missing games due to suspensions. While on the other side of the coin the PA doesn’t want it because then the players lose out on money that they’d be owed for the games that they would’ve played. Plus the agents of the players don’t want it either because if their client gets suspended, then their client doesn’t get paid, and if the client doesn’t get paid, then the agent doesn’t get paid. So there is a lot riding on this. Also for the PA, with how things are now, they are the biggest hypocrites because whenever there is a big suspension (Wilson’s from October 2018) they always appeal it, and they also make the players who were on the receiving end of the action that was a result of the suspension look bad. Seriously. Go read the first appeal for Wilson’s October 2018 suspension. The PA put some of the onus on the St. Louis Blues player for getting hit. That’s disgusting in it’s own right.

The Solution – A Tiered Disciplinary System

The ultimate solution to fixing this problem is that the NHL and the NHLPA need to come to terms with the fact that they need to accept a tiered system that is more direct and straight forward like the way it is currently for NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment). Rule 64 is a tiered system for how discipline is handed to players, and sometime coaches.

Credit: NHL Public Relations

As you can see for Rule 64 it is all fine based as Diving/Embellishment is not about doing a potentially dangerous, but being unsportsmanlike in an effort to draw a penalty. But imagine having something like this for Rule 48 (Head Hits), or maybe making it for penalties specific like Charging, Boarding, Roughing, and High Sticking. Have the first citation be a fine, then the second citation be a suspension of 5 games, and then 15 games for a third citation. Have it continually increase with every time the player does that infraction. Also fine the coaches after a certain point too. It can be done.

The NHL and the NHLPA also need to give up the constant need for appeals and arbitration to try to have these penalties reduced. It devalues the process and makes it come off as if no matter what, we’ll do whatever it takes to have it shortened or rescinded. It sends the wrong message.

In Conclusion

Say what you want about Tom Wilson. Love him or hate him, every team wants a player like him on their team. More importantly, it’s time to stop the full blown hating on him. It’s time to direct that anger towards the League and the Players Association because they are the ones that need to lead the charge in making those changes and making player safety a true priority by putting a more serious and direct to the point disciplinary system in place. Until that happens, Wilson will still play his game and be a difference maker for the Capitals, but one has to ask. If Shanahan never got undercut by the general managers when he did, would Wilson still be in the NHL today?

(H/T to Daniel Wagner of VancouverIsAwesome.com – Their decision on Tom Wilson shows it’s time to abolish the NHL’s Department of Player Safety)

Editor’s Note: Please keep all comments respectful. I understand a lot of people do not like Tom Wilson and wish him out of the League, but comments are to remain respectful and we encourage more constructive conversations on this topic.

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