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Jan 9, 2020

Rangers Thursday Thoughts: Goalie Resolution Remains Unclear

This season was never supposed to be about wins and losses or the playoffs, but the Rangers have a chance to reach the postseason if they get it together starting now.

During the Yankees season, every off day I write “Off Day Dreaming” which is essentially my current thoughts about the team, and do a similar thing for the Giants after each of their games. I wanted to do something similar for the Rangers season, and decided to make it a weekly thing, so here is the first installment.

1. The Rangers beat the Avalanche 5-3 on Tuesday night at the Garden. The win ended the Rangers’ three-game losing streak, all of which came in Western Canada, despite nearly erasing a six-goal deficit against in Edmonton, successfully erasing a two-goal deficit and another one-goal deficit in Calgary and playing the most complete game possibly all season and winning the expected goals in Vancouver. The Rangers’ slow starts against the Oilers and Flames were why they came away with zero of a possible four points to begin the road trip, and they were just unlucky in going pointless against the Canucks.

But to return home and overcome yet another slow start, trailing by two just 6:34 into the game against arguably the best offense in the league (only Washington and Toronto have scored more goals than Colorado and both have played one more game) was impressive. That’s how this Rangers team has played all season, losing games to inferior opponents and winning games against the league’s best.

2. In the height of the most recent Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in the late-90s and early 2000s, the Yankees would never allow a rookie starter to make their debut on the mound against the Red Sox. Igor Shesterkin’s call-up timing wasn’t necessarily a surprise given his play in the AHL and possible threat of returning to Russia. It was time for Rangers’ top prospect to show what he can do in the NHL. But to give him his first career start against the top offense in goals per game in the league with a defense that allows more shots than any other team in the league in front of him was certainly not ideal.

Shesterkin drew an ovation very early in his debut for his puck handling abilities and half-ice outlet pass, but 4:44 into the game, he allowed a goal on a deflection and not even two minutes later got beat on a breakaway by Nathan MacKinnon, who could be considered at worst a Top 5 scorer in the world. Six minutes and 34 seconds into the Shesterkin era and the Rangers were trailing early for the fourth straight game and trailing by two early for the third time in four games.

Shesterkin settled in, allowing only one more goal in the game, which came in the second period on a play he had zero chance of defending, and shut out the Avalanche in the third period despite an onslaught of shots, preserving the Rangers’ one-goal lead through an early third-period penalty kill and for the final couple minutes of the game with an extra attacker. I think anyone would have signed up for three goals against for the rookie in his NHL debut against that offense with this defense. Add in his ability to buckle down after the first few minutes, defend both posts at the same time and handle the puck like a third defenseman on the side of and behind the net, and I think every Rangers fan should be happy with what they saw.

The only person who wasn’t impressed by Shesterkin was Mike Milbury, who was part of NBC Sports’ broadcast team for the game. Milbury commented that Shesterkin “didn’t look comforable” and “didn’t look like the superstar in waiting.” Immediately following those comments, Shesterkin stopped a barrage of shots and went on to earn the win.

3. Now that Shesterkin has played for the Rangers, the goaltending situation clock, which had already started has been sped up. The Rangers are going to have to make a decision on what to do, and I feel like it’s going to come down to Alexander Georgiev getting traded, and I’m more than OK with that.

If Henrik Lundqivst were going to waive his no-trade clause, he most likely would have done it during either of the last two seasons. Now that the Rangers are trending in the right direction and were able to speed up their rebuild through the draft lottery and by signing Artemi Panarin, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and if Lundqvist wasn’t willing to move during the last two miserable years, I don’t think he’s going to suddenly have a change of heart.

I want nothing more than for Lundqvist to win the Stanley Cup. He has earned it and more than deserves it, and had the team been better constructed for his first decade in the league, he likely would already have one. If he were OK with going to somewhere like Colorado or Toronto, two teams which are goaltending away from possibly winning it all, I think it would be a win for both parties: he and the Rangers. It would take a miracle season for the Rangers to win the Cup between now and Lundqvist’s Rangers career ending, and his only chance now seems to be elsewhere.

But if Lundqvist wants to remain a Ranger for this season and next season (and possibly beyond), the move then would be to move Georgiev. (This isn’t about one game, which is Shesterkin’s career resume.)

4. For as painful as it was to watch the Rangers following their statement nearly two years ago before they traded away every tradeable asset for two seasons, they are that fun to watch now. The wins might not always be there, but the core pieces are in place for the future, and to watch a Rangers team that doesn’t have trouble scoring goals since Jaromir Jagr, Michael Nylander and Martin Straka were tearing it up for the Blueshirts helps get through the cold, dark northeast winter. No deficit is insurmountable (and there have been a lot of deficits, especially early ones this season) and one- and two-goal deficits don’t feel like three- and four-goal deficits the way they have for basically all of the Lundqvist era.

5. Panarin is the main reason for that with 23 goals and 35 assists in 42 games. His 58 points put him on pace for 113 as he only been held off the scoresheet in nine games. (The Rangers have lost seven of nine when Panarian is held pointless.) In the last six games, Panarin has 13 points, and that includes two games (Calgary and Vancouver) in which he didn’t record a point. The Bread Man has been better than advertised and worth every but of his $11.6 million average annual salary. Now we just have to hope his prime isn’t wasted with poor roster construction the way the team’s veteran superstar’s was.

6. I understand the reason for balance and separating Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, but how about screwing balance and putting the two together? Yes, Ryan Strome is having a career year centering Panarin, but think about the type of season Zibanejad would be having if he were playing with Panarin. Panarin is having a career year with Strome as his linemate and has played a lot with Jesper Fast as his other linemate, which makes Panarin’s season and point pace even more ridiculous. The Bruins have given the middle finger to balance by putting Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand together and it has worked out OK for them.

7. Why not take it to another level with screwing balance and put Kaapo Kakko with Panarin and Zibanejad? You want to boost the No. 2 pick’s confidence, which has frequently been reported as a problem? Put him with the best two players on the team and let him show why he was worthy of the second overall pick and why he could have easily been the first overall pick.

8. The benching of Kakko in Calgary for a third-period penalty despite the Rangers trailing by a goal, which led to Greg McKegg, who will one day tell his grandchildren how he still isn’t sure how he played so much for the Rangers, was both unnecessary and absurd. It shouldn’t take Larry David to be the voice of reason when it comes to Rangers analysis, but that’s exactly what the comedian has become. Here’s what he said on The Michael Kay Show this week:

“Why did he bench Kakko in that third period? First goal in 14 games, and an assist. He benches him because he takes a bad penalty? Come on. That’s ridiculous … But you think putting him on the bench is going to make him … you don’t think he knows that he took a bad penalty? He knows. Benching him isn’t going to do anything. They needed another goal.”

Everything David said was spot on. I hate a lot of the lessons David Quinn tries to teach, especially when experience for the youngest team in the league is the lesson they need the most. I also hate the favoritism he displays on who gets benched and who doesn’t get benched for “bad” penalties or third-period penalties. Where was Strome’s benching on Tuesday?

Kakko is going to be fine. His 16 points in 38 games are fine. The expectations that come with being the No. 2 pick are usually unattainable for any 18-year-old. Joe Thornton was the No. 1 pick and had seven points (!) in his first season. Tyler Seguin was the No. 2 pick and had 22 points in his first year. Nathan MacKinnon (No. 1 pick) scored 16 goals in his fourth season and didn’t become a point-per-game player until his fifth season. There are far more examples of No. 1 and 2 picks struggling to begin their careers than there are No. 1 and 2 picks playing like superstars right from the start. I’m not worried about Kakko, and no one should be. I am worried about his playing time being taken from him for a penalty though.

9. For all the negative things I have written and said about Marc Staal over the last few seasons, he has been playing much better of late. That’s not a great consolation prize for his salary and contract, but I can’t fault him for signing an extension he was offered. That’s on the team. Staal will always be coupled with Dan Giardi as part of the duo the Rangers wrongfully extended while letting Keith Yandle and Anton Stralman walk and then needing to trade away Ryan McDonagh because of the Girardi and Staal extensions. His healthy scratch earlier in the season (on Dan Girardi night of all games) was years overdue and welcomed, but in recent weeks Staal has upped his overall game and has been better of late. (I still don’t trust him and don’t want him out there in the final minutes of a close game.)

10. The Rangers are 20-18-4 with 44 points and are on pace for an 86-point season, which would be an improvement off last year’s 78 points, but it won’t be enough for a playoff berth. I know this season isn’t about wins and losses and reaching the playoffs, but as long as the Rangers have a chance, it’s hard not to think about getting postseason hockey for the first time in what will be three years. Right now, the Flyers hold the second wild-card spot and are on pace for 97 points. For the Rangers to reach 97 points, they would have to earn 53 points in their remaining 40 games, or 1.325 points per game. That translates to a 24-11-5 record, and even at that record, they still might not get in. Reaching the 100-point plateau would guarantee them a spot, but that would take a 25-9-6 record. It’s not impossible, but it’s not likely either.

Podcasts • Rangers

Jan 8, 2020

Rangers Podcast: The Igor Shesterkin Era Has Begun

Kevin DeLury of Go Rangers Radio joined me to talk about Igor Shesterkin’s debut and the state of the Rangers.

After a three-game Western Canada road trip in which the Rangers nearly came back from a six-goal deficit, successfully erased a two-goal deficit and played one of their most complete games of the season, they still lost all three games. Waiting for them upon their return home was the Avalanche and the league’s best offense, but the Rangers got back in the win column in Igor Shesterkin’s NHL debut.

Kevin DeLury of Go Rangers Radio joined me to talk about the Rangers’ impressive win over the Avalanche, the surprising call-up of Igor Shesterkin and his debut performance, predictions for how the Rangers will handle their goaltending situation, David Quinn’s approval rating and being patient with Kaapo Kakko.

Blogs • Rangers

Dec 2, 2019

Rangers Finally Headed in Right Direction

The Rangers might not be a playoff team, but they’re finally headed in the right direction, which didn’t seem possible a year ago at this time.

I got on an early-morning, day-after-Thanksgiving Amtrak to Boston to watch the Rangers play against the league-best Bruins. The decision to battle through a hangover and a stomach full of heavy holiday food as if I were battling Zdeno Chara for position in front of the net to travel a few hours and a few hundred miles to watch the rebuild Rangers play the contending Bruins felt regrettable the second the train left the station. It had been just over a month since the Bruins ran the Rangers out of their own Garden with a 7-4 road win in which the Bruins looked like were from a different league. Now here I was, not in the best conditions, voluntarily traveling to see a potential repeat of that game.

For the last six weeks, the Rangers have been a much different team since that late-October loss, going 10-4-2 in that time (mostly without Mika Zibanejad who was hurt in the October loss to Boston) with impressive wins over Tampa Bay, Nashville, Carolina (twice), Pittsburgh and Washington. The Rangers have, at times, looked like a team which was able to skip the early, depressing phases of a full rebuild by miracously acquiring the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft and landing the best available free agent in the offseason, and at other times, have looked like the team with the youngest average age in the league, backboned by an inexperienced defense. It’s the Rangers team that beat Tampa Bay and Nashville in back-to-back games, upset Washington and came back from four goals down in Montreal to stun the Canadiens that made me want to get on that train, full knowing that the team which laid a pair of eggs against Ottawa in November might make an appearance.

The Rangers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in Boston and increased it to 2-0. But with the seemingly impossible way two-goals leads have been getting blow in the league this season coupled with the Bruins having not lost a home regulation game since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins were down but far from out. After receiving a lucky bounce in which Henrik Lundqvist put the puck in his own net, the Bruins were on the board in the final two minutes of the second, and less than five minutes into the third, the game was tied. The Rangers wasted a 5-on-3 in the second and a four-minute power play in the third, and when David Quinn sent the unusual combination of Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich and Adam Fox out in overtime, a loss was inevitable. Seconds after those three hit the ice, the goal horn was going off and “Zombie Nation” was blaring.

It was a crushing loss considering the two-goal lead and the two advantageous power-play opportunities, but from a big-picture perspective, it was a well-earned point on the road against the best team in the NHL a month after that same team embarrassed the Rangers. Even better for the big picture was the Rangers’ ability to bounce back with a 4-0 win game less than 24 hours later in New Jersey against their well-rested rival.

A year ago, the Rangers also played on the day after Thanksgiving in what was a 4-0 loss the Flyers. That Rangers team went on to lose 42 of their remaining 62 games, finishing with the fifth-worst record in the Eastern Conference and the least amount of regulation wins in the NHL. It was an expected outcome in the first full season of the rebuild and a glimpse into what might be a very long road to getting back to the playoffs. It felt like the Rangers were in the beginning of an extended dark era with no real timeline for when the next time their season might have an 83rd game. The final years of Lundqvist’s career were wilting away like the rose in the glass case in Beauty and the Beast and the Rangers were going to have to succesfully hit on an unprecedented amount of draft picks for several years to escape their lack of talent.

The chance to draft Kaapko Kakko, sign Artemi Panarin and use Winnipeg’s own first-round pick to acquire Jacob Trobua quickly changed the Rangers’ fortunes and future. Those three offseason acquisitions combined with the reliable Mika Zibanejad, a breakout season from Strome, Tony DeAngelo and Pavel Buchnevich finally realizing their potential, the already-arrived offense of 21-year-olds Fox and Ryan Lindgren, Filip Chytil’s 0.50 goals per game and Lundqvist beating the crap out of Father Time has sped up the rebuild and has the Rangers on the playoff bubble through 30 percent of the season.

I expected to see a lot more games like the late-October loss to Boston this season than I expected to see games like the late-November loss to Boston and the quick turnaround win over New Jersey. I expected the Rangers to certainly be more enjoyable to watch than they were last season and for a few surprising upsets along the way, but I didn’t expect this kind of success, this often, even if the season is only two months old. Each game feels like a playoff game as this roster has little margin for error and each win feels like a major accomplishment in a division with the Capitals, Islanders, Flyers, Hurricanes and Penguins in windows in which they’re expected to play deep into the spring.

This nearly six-week run which started back on Oct. 24 with an offensive barrage in a 6-2 win over Buffalo could very well come to an end and the other shoe could drop, leaving the Rangers alongside Ottawa, New Jersey and Detroit in the standings, where they were thought to end up before the season began, but I don’t see it. I don’t see this Rangers team going back to the basement of the conference or the league. They might not be a playoff team, but they’re finally headed in the right direction, which didn’t seem possible a year ago at this time.

Blogs • Rangers

Nov 26, 2019

It Will Always Be Weird Seeing Mats Zuccarello in Another Uniform

I can still see Mats Zuccarello standing at center ice waiting to begin his shootout attempt in his first NHL game with Sam Rosen setting the stage. “In his first NHL game, here he comes,

I can still see Mats Zuccarello standing at center ice waiting to begin his shootout attempt in his first NHL game with Sam Rosen setting the stage.

“In his first NHL game, here he comes, in against Dan Ellis, to keep it alive … slows down … fakes … SCORES!”

A skilled, undrafted Norwegian forward, Zuccarello’s shootout success in the AHL had become a major selling point in New York, where the Rangers desperately needed help in obtaining the extra point. And in his NHL debut, the eventual fan favorite started building his fan base.

It was upsetting to see Zuccarello get traded last season to Dallas and it was beyond weird seeing that familiar smile light up wearing victory green, silver, black and white after assisting on a Tyler Seguin goal in his Stars debut. For as weird as it was seeing Zuccarello play for the Stars last season, it was just as weird seeing him wear a different shade of green in his return to Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

Nearly two years ago, Zuccarello watched as the core of the Rangers continued to be destroyed with Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller joining Ryan Callahan, Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi in Tampa Bay and Rick Nash being sent to Boston. Entering the 2018-19 season, Zuccarello’s impending free agency made him a coveted trade asset for the Rangers and the idea of him being separated from the Rangers and his best friend Henrik Lundqvist literally started to ruin his life off the ice and diminish his play on it.

There was still hope the front office and Zuccarello could come to terms on an extension at some point last season, but when the news broke on prior to the trade deadline that he would be a healthy scratch, it became clear Zuccarello had played his last game as a Ranger. There was still a sliver of hope the Rangers could re-sign him in the offseason, but as a soon-to-be 32-year-old who likely wouldn’t be part of the next competitive Rangers team, coupled with the fact the Rangers let him go in the first place, it was always highly unlikely.

It took an incredible amount of poor personnel decisions, bad big-money contracts, horrible trades and nonsensical negotiating tactics for Zuccarello to end up in Dallas and now Minnesota. It should have never ended the way it did for Zuccarello in New York and had the Rangers been able to knock off the Devils in 2011-12 or been able to hold a two-goal lead or win an overtime game against the Kings in 2013-14 or hadn’t lost Game 7 at home to the Lightning in 2014-15 then none of this would matter now. The Rangers would have accomplished their goal, they wouldn’t have wasted Lundqvist’s prime and they would have won in the small timeframe they had to win. Instead, those three seasons are remembered as what could have been rather than what was.

Like Lundqvist and the other staples of this recent Rangers team, Zuccarello deserved better than to watch the best years of this core be wasted by jettisoning out the wrong players, and most egregiously, extending the wrong defensemen. Zuccarello deserved better than to spend the 2017-18 season on a team built as if it could still win and he deserved better than to play his last season for the Rangers on a team secretly hoping it would be bad enough to pick at the top of the draft.

Unlike his Dallas debut when a Rangers blue undershirt could be spotted below his shoulder pads clashing with the Stars’ color scheme, there was no hint of Zuccarello being an ex-Ranger on Monday. That is until he watched a highlight video of his own Rangers career on the big screen as the building gave him an extended standing ovation, eventually leading to him leaving the bench for the ice to salute the crowd. There he was, the fan favorite and former core member, in another uniform, thanking the Garden for thanking him. And there he was, watching the Rangers pick up a comeback win against his Wild, a win he could have and should have been a part of.

Blogs • Podcasts • Rangers

Nov 20, 2019

Rangers Podcast: Erik Erlendsson

Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider joined me to talk about the recent history between the Rangers and Lightning.

The last six years of Rangers-Lightning trades and free agency have caused me to root heavily against the Lightning in the playoffs. If Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman and J.T. Miller couldn’t win in New York, I didn’t want to see them win somewhere else. But now with McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk as the only ex-Rangers on the Lightning, my fear of them winning has faded.

Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider talk about the Lightning’s recent blowout win over the Rangers, getting over last season’s first-round sweep after the historical regular season, the play of Kevin Shattenkirk, the recent history of Lightning-Rangers trades, the Lightning legacies of Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan and expectations this season.