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Blogs • Rangers • Rangers Thursday Thoughts

Jan 16, 2020

Rangers Thursday Thoughts: I’m Thankful Artemi Panarin Isn’t an Islander

The Rangers won two out of their three games over the last week, but they’re going to need to continue to play at that same pace for the rest of the season to turn a rebuilding season into a playoff season.

A very productive week for the Rangers as they went 2-1, winning both home games and losing on the road to the defending champion Blues. It’s going to take winning two out of three for the rest of the season for the Rangers to change a rebuilding season into a playoff season, but they have set themselves up to at least have a chance at playing past Game 82.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers as usual.

1. Monday night’s win over the Islanders was very close to not happening. Not because of anything that happened in the actual game, but because of what happened last summer when reports started to come out on June 30 that Artemi Panarin was going to sign with the Islanders. Those reports thankfully turned out not to be true as Panarin used the Islanders as leverage, eventually signing with the Rangers and leaving about $1 million per season on the table to be on the Rangers side of the rivalry.

Panarin showed Islanders fans what could have been in the first meeting between the two teams with a five-point night in the Rangers’ 6-2 win. Those five points now have him on pace for 122 points, one point less than Jaromir Jagr’s Rangers record.

Here are the Rangers’ points leaders for the last six full seasons since the lockout-shortened season:

2018-19: 74 (Mika Zibanejad)
2017-18: 53 (Mats Zuccarello)
2016-17: 59 (Mats Zuccarello)
2015-16: 61 (Mats Zuccarello)
2014-15: 69 (Rick Nash)
2013-14: 59 (Mats Zuccarello)

Panarin has 26 goals and 41 assists and his 67 points have already passed the full-season totals for four of those six seasons. There’s a very good chance by next week’s Rangers Thursday Thoughts that he has passed all six. It’s very rare that any free-agent signing in any sport works out, but the first year of Panarin couldn’t possibly be going any better than it is.

2. When Matthew Barzal is on the ice, I’m scared. I’m not scared at the level of Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby or Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid, but I’m still scared, and I’m even more scared when Barzal is on the ice in 3-on-3 overtime. There was a very real possibility Rangers fans would have had to spend the next seven-or-so seasons worrying about not only Barzal on the ice, but Panarin on his wing at the same time. It makes me nervous even thinking about it even though it’s no longer a possibility. Panarin choosing the Rangers over the Islanders drastically changed the future of this rivalry, and changed it for the better for Rangers fans.

3. The goaltending problem is still a problem. More and more trade speculation surrounding Alexandar Georgiev is coming out and the rumors are only going to gain steam as the deadline gets closer and closer, but the Rangers have to resolve the situation. I know there is faction of media and fans who think they could wait until the offseason to figure out their goaltending future, but that will mean another five-plus weeks after the deadline of one of the three watching each post-deadline game from the press box. How many hot dogs do they want Igor Shesterkin to eat exactly?

4. Shesterkin played his first two games as a Ranger, winning both and hasn’t played since and isn’t expected to play on Thursday in Long Island. If he does end up playing on Sunday against Columbus, he will have gone 10 days between starts. I understand the benefit of being in the NHL, learning how to be in the league and learning in practice from Henrik Lundqvist and Benoit Allaire, but nothing equals the experience and development of playing in actual games.

5. The situation is even worse for Lundqvist. Lundqvist played on Jan. 2 and on Jan. 11. He had nine days off between games and was tasked with facing the defending champion Blues on the road. to no surprise, the Rangers were easily beat. Either Shesterkin or Lundqvist is going to play on Sunday against Columbus, and given the rotation, it seems like it’s going to be Shesterkin, which means at the earliest, Lundqvist will play again on Jan. 21 against the Islanders, 10 days from his most recent start.

The whole thing is going to be taken to another level when the team has a 10-day layoff between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31 due to the All-Star break and the team’s scheduled five-day break. It’s all ridiculous and only gets more ridiculous with each passing day it’s not resolved.

6. Tony DeAngelo’s hat trick and five-point night last Thursday was extremely fun to watch and even with back-to-back pointless games against the Blues and Islanders, he’s on pace for 20 goals and 46 assists. As I wrote about Kaapo Kakko last week, immediate success isn’t always a guarantee for first-round draft picks, as DeAngelo was six years ago (19th overall). Now in only his second full NHL season after going up-and-down in the first two seasons he saw NHL action, DeAngelo has finally realized the potential that was the Lightning saw from him out of the OHL to select him with the first-round pick, the Coyotes saw in him to trade for him and the Rangers saw in him to acquire him for Derek Stepan. DeAngelo’s offense-first style of play doesn’t come without faults, as he was unable to clear the front of the net despite being on the man-advantage when Shesterkin couldn’t control a rebound to tie that game against New Jersey the game at 1, but DeAngelo more than made up for his defensive lapse with his career night.

7. No one wants the Rangers to allow more shots per game than any other team in the league, especially the three goalies, and I’m sure they are trying daily to make adjustments so a team as bad and offensively-challenged as the Devils aren’t able to record 49 shots against them like they did last Thursday. But on the other end of their league-worst shot prevention is the fact the Rangers’ defensemen have more points than any other defensive group in the league.

8. David Quinn clearly wishes his team played more like Barry Trotz’s Islanders and were capable of playing defensive-minded hockey every game, but that’s not who this team is, and that’s OK. The Rangers should accept that they are an offense-first team that is more like the Maple Leafs and Panthers and they don’t have to try to be the Islanders or Stats. Both of those teams wish they had some of the scoring ability of the Rangers, while the Rangers wish they could score three goals and have a guaranteed victory like those teams. The goal eventually is for this defensive group to play more defense, but for now, this style of hockey is fun to watch, even if it’s going to be hard to every be a true contender with such inconsistent defense.

9. The Rangers have scored 27 goals in their last five home games (all wins) and have scored only 12 goals in their last four road games (all losses). This is clearly who these Rangers are for this season: a team relies on its offense and goaltending to win games, while almost completely disregarding defense. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. If they’re able to maintain their offense as their young defense gains continues to learn and develop, then they will have themselves the championship contender the rebuild was done to create. Dont’ try to make DeAngelo, Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba something they’re not, and try to hold them back from their offensive instincts.

10. The Met is so strong and so deep, it’s ridiculous. While Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto are able to beat up on Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa and Detroit, the Met’s only misfit is New Jersey and they have played much better for the last month. The Rangers find themselves 12 points out of a division playoff berth in the Met and eight points out of the second wild-card berth (with two games in hand on the Flyers).

The Rangers went 2-1 since last week’s Thoughts and they’re going to need to basically continue winning two out of every three games for the remaining 37 games in order to reach the playoffs. At 22-19-4 with 48 points, they’re on pace for an 88-point season. The Flyers are now on pace for 98 points, so if 98 points get you the last playoff spot, the Rangers need 50 points in their remaining 37 games, or 1.35 points per game. That translates to a 23-10-4 record. Once again, it’s not impossible, but it’s going to take the same play they gave over the last week for the rest of the season, and it all starts with winning the Battle of New York.

Podcasts • Rangers

Jan 15, 2020

Rangers Podcast: Blowout in First Battle of New York

Arthur Staple of The Athletic joined me to talk about the Islanders and the Battle of New York over the next week.

After not playing for the the first four months of the season, the Rangers and Islanders met on Monday night at the Garden and will meet a total of three times in eight days. The next meeting will be Thursday at the Coliseum and then again on Monday at the Garden.

The Athletic Islanders beat writer Arthur Staple joined me to talk about the Rangers’ 6-2 win over the Islanders at the Garden, the former possibility of Artemi Panarin and Matthew Barzal on the same line for the Islanders, the Barry Trotz defense-first style of play, who is the Islanders’ No. 1 goalie, what Lou Lamoriello will do in the next six weeks before the trade deadline and what expectations are for the team after last year’s second-round exit.

Jan 13, 2020

Yankees Podcast: A Postseason Series Against the White Sox?

White Sox Dave of Barstool Sports joined me to talk about the White Sox’ offseason and a possible postseason return.

For the last few years it’s been the Indians and Twins the Yankees have worried about from the AL Central. The AL Central has sent four teams to the postseason in the last three years and the Yankees have eliminated three of them. But things are changing in the midwest and it might be the White Sox who are the team to beat in the AL Central.

White Sox Dave of Barstool Sports joined me to talk about the White Sox’ heavy-spending offseason, the additions of Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion and Dallas Keuchel, the breakout seasons from Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada, the career turnaround of Lucas Giolito, the future for Blake Rutherford, a possible Yankees-White Sox playoff series and the White Sox becoming the best baseball team in Chicago.

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My book The Next Yankees Era: My Transition from the Core Four to the Baby Bombers is now available as an ebook!

Podcasts • Rangers

Jan 11, 2020

Rangers Podcast: One Goalie Has to Go

Brian Monzo of WFAN joined me to talk about the Rangers’ recent play and resolving the goaltending situation.

The Rangers returned home from their three-game, Western Canada losing streak to win two straight over Colorado and New Jersey to extend their home winning streak to four, scoring 21 goals in those four games. But now it’s back on the road to St. Louis to play the defending champion Blues and then an odd scheduling quirk with three games against the Islanders in eight days.

Brian Monzo of WFAN joined me to talk about the Rangers’ recent play, comparing Artemi Panarin’s Rangers tenure to that of Jaromir Jagr, Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash, line combinations, what to do with the three-goaltender situation and how David Quinn is doing in his second season.

Blogs • Giants

Jan 10, 2020

Joe Judge Just Might Be What Giants Need

Joe Judge said all the right things at his introductory press conference, looked the part, sounded the part and has made the region he wants to accurately represent believe in him for now.

The last time I felt good about the Giants prior to Joe Judge’s introductory press conference on Thursday was three years ago. In those three years, the Giants have gone 12-36, unceremoniously benched Eli Manning for Geno Smith, fired one general manager and two head coaches, traded the most explosive wide receiver in the league, ridded themselves of every former high pick and free-agent signing, wasted draft picks on unnecessary trades and allowed the general manager responsible for nearly all of this mess to keep his job. These last three years are why I had no confidence in ownership to hire the right head coach after they gave us Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur in back-to-back selections.

Maybe they screwed up once again in hiring Judge and maybe the team will be just as bad as it was under the last two idiots though I’m not sure being as bad is even a possibility. We won’t know until at least September when the Giants take the field for a regular-season game, but for now, I’m on board with the Judge hire. How could any Giants fan not be after hearing from him on Thursday?

Judge looked professional (something McAdoo didn’t) and sounded professional (something Shurmur didn’t). He spoke the way you want a football coach to speak and made it clear the Giants aren’t going to be a three-ring circus under him the way they were under his two predecessors. Based on the way he commanded the room and controlled his opening words as Giants head coach, I would put it at 3-to-1 that he fights a player during his Giants tenure, and my money would be on him.

Judge described himself as an no-nonsense football mind from my father’s and maybe even my grandfather’s generation. He spoke at length about how he expects his team to play and prepare and spoke to the media in a tone as if he were trying to fire up the beat writers to take the field.

There were two statements Judge made which immediately made me accept him as Giants head coach and I’m sure got him off on the right foot with every Giants fan.

“What I’m about is an old-school physical mentality. We’re going to put a product on the field that the people of this city and region are going to be proud of because this team will represent this area.”

After winning 42 of their last 112 regular-season games, there has been nothing to be proud of when it comes to the Giants. They have become the Browns of the NFC and are very close to becoming the Browns overall. I have felt embarrassed seeing fellow fans wear Giants apparel in public and have wondered how anyone could pay, attend and sit through a home game these last few years.

Putting a product on the field that the Tri-state area can be proud of means putting a winning product on the field. The Giants have had one winning season in the last seven and were embarrassed in their only playoff game during that time. There has been too much losing for too long for anything other than wins to matter and Judge seems to recognize that.

I don’t think we’ll hear any renditions of the repetitive lines of McAdoo like “I have to watch the tape” or Shurmur’s “We have to be better” from Judge. He knows this area and these fans are too smart to believe or buy into the BS that has been spewed to them by the last two head coaches. I don’t see Judge easily finding positives after inevitable losses the way Shurmur was able to as if everything is fine when the score said otherwise.

“We will play fundamentally sound, we will not beat ourselves. That is our mission right here.”

This is the opposite of the Giants’ mission under Shurmur. I think his actual mission was for the Giants to beat themselves with undisciplined penalties, nonsensical clock management and ill-advised challenges. It wouldn’t surprise me if there had been a sign above the locker room door reading “BEAT OURSELVES” that every player hit on their way to the field during the Shurmur era. Just saying these words gave Judge more success as head coach of the Giants than Shurmur had in two full seasons.

My entire life the Giants have been a team that has beaten themselves. Whether it’s been something like a huge turnover followed by a turnover of their own on the next play, an offsides penalty on a crucial third-and-4 or blowing three- and four-score leads in the fourth quarter, the amount of self-inflicted heartbreak over the years has been unbearable. If Judge is finally the head coach to change this, the Giants will have undoubtedly hired the right person.

Judge said all the right things, looked the part, sounded the part and has made the region he wants to accurately represent believe in him. We’re eight months away from evaluating Judge’s ability to win actual games, but he couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for a franchise and fan base that desperately needs him to work out as the head coach he described on Thursday.

On Tuesday, I wrote:

I don’t have any confidence the Giants got this hire right given every personnel, roster, draft and trade decision they have made over the last seven years. But I want them to be right. I want to have a Giants season last past September. I need them to be right.

It might have just been a January press conference, but for now it seems like they might have finally gotten it right.