N.Y. Rangers: Young Blueshirts Lead Way Against Veteran Islanders

From the desks: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS & THE LONG ISLAND NOMADS

THE RIVALRY

Rangers and Islanders tied: 2-2

I - NYI 4; NYR 0

II - NYR 5; NYI 0

III - NYI 2; NYR 0

IV - NYR 4; NYI 1

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT..!! 

The up-and-coming off-Broadway city slickers trekked out to Uniondale, where they achieve a decisive and rather uplifting victory over the division's top team and their chief local rival.   

Quinn's Kids knot the season series at two but, more importantly, close within five points of fourth-place Boston.  

Meanwhile, the Islanders fall back into a first-place tie with the Washington Capitals, who, as you might expect, defeated the Buffalo Sabres.

Making his first start since Mar. 19 against the Capitals but looking far from rusty, Alexandar Georgiev was sharp as a razor's edge in earning his seventh win of the season.  He faced 32 (even strength) shots on goal and stopped all but one by Andy Greene at 14:53 of the second period.  The Islanders were afforded just one power-play opportunity in which they failed to get off a shot.

Islanders' newly acquired center Travis Zajac generated two shots on goal but was 1/4 on face-offs.  Kyle Palmieri skated a quiet 13:54 minutes and participated in Long Island's lone power play.

The Rangers actually split face-offs down the middle at 29 apiece, which for them is a good thing.  And wouldn't you know, they even mustered six more shots on goal.  If you're so willing, one might even agree Isles' physicality was outdone Friday evening by speed and, dare I say, finesse.  But you didn't get that from me ... Long Island laid 21 hits versus just twelve by the Rangers.  However, the Blueshirts peppered Semyon Varlamov with 35 even-strength shots on goal, of which three got by.

Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko

In what many Rangers find might consider the highlight of the game, 19-year old Alexis Lafreniere opened the scoring at 6:05 of the second period on assists from 21-year old Filip Chytil and fellow 19-year old Kaapo Kakko.  If only Coach Quinn would just leave Lafreniere/Chytil/Kakko alone for stretches and let them develop chemistry together.  I understand they are young and still need a measure of protection, both physically and logistically.  More time together for the sake of familiarity is all I ask.  But here's everything you need to know - Alexis Lafreniere, to date, has seven goals.  His first five goals of the season were assisted by seven different players.  

1. vs. BUF; Colin Blackwood.
2. vs. WAS; Artemi Panarin, Anthony Bitetto.
3. vs. BUF; Pavel Buchnevich.
4. vs. NJD; Mike Jibanejad.
5. vs. WAS; Julien Gauthier, Kevin Rooney.
6. vs. PITT; Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko.
7. vs. NYI; Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko.

Low and behold, goals number six against Pittsburgh and number seven against the Islanders were assisted by Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.  

Speaking of Kaako, his situation has been only somewhat different than that of Lafreniere.  Artemi Panarin has assisted on three of Kakko's six goals, and Ryan Strome and Philip DiGiuseppe assisted on two each.  Which is to say Kakko has experienced a little more stability and consistency insofar as linemates.  Otherwise, similar to Lafreniere, seven different players have assisted on Kaako's six goals, and Filip Chytil was one of them.  He assisted on Kaapo's first goal this season back in January against the Islanders, but not since, and for that, I blame Quinn.  Let the results speak for themselves.

Cycling back to the game ...

Roughly four minutes later, Colin Blackwell netted his twelfth of the season on Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome's assists.  Midway through the third period, 21-year old K'Andre Miller scored on assists from fellow blueliner Jacob Trouba and Panarin's second for the game.  Mika Zibanejad then closed out the scoring into an empty net with 1:12 left in regulation.

Zibanejad, to date, has quietly amassed 31 points in 40 games played.  After scoring just six points over his first 19 games of the season, Mika has since scored 25 points in his last 21 games.

N.Y. Rangers: Monday Night Faux Pas

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

 

MONDAY

Flyers      5

Rangers   4

FINAL

Keith Kincaid Targets Panarin, But Throws a Pick-Six in Overtime Loss to Flyers

The Blueshirts played nine games minus the services of Artemi Panarin.  They achieved a pair of victories each against the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, respectively, two beleaguered squads flapping and floundering about like a fish out of water.  The other five games include one loss against the Philidelphia Flyers, two losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and two against the Boston Bruins. 

Despite the disparity of talent levels between clubs, some might describe what the Rangers achieved as hanging tough until their breadwinner returned to the ice.  Insofar as wins and losses, they did just that.  But I'm just not buying it.  It's been said many times: to be the best, you gotta beat the best, and that's not what happened.  The sixth team in the division beat up on the seventh and eighth place teams in the standings, that's it. 

A stiff jab at 3:47 by James van Riemsdyk followed up with a straight right by Ivan Provorov at 5:05, and the Rangers were down 2-0 in the first period.  

Enter Artemi Panarin, who started slicing up a freshly baked loaf of points.  He finally put the Rangers on the board at 8:12 of the second, then over the next six minutes, assisted on goals from Colin Blackwell and Julien Gauthier for a 3-2 Rangers lead.  However, at 18:27, Gauthier got whistled for high-sticking.  Just nine seconds into the power play, Joel Farabee stuck it to the Rangers by tying the game at three.

• Since returning from his Russian sabbatical, the Breadman has baked four points in two games; three came Monday against the Flyers.

Kevin Rooney scored an uplifting goal at 2:56 into the third.  But Julien Gauthier got whistled at 4:53 for another very costly high-sticking infraction.  A mere ten seconds later, Claude Giroux once again made the Rangers pay for the errs of their ways.

Into over time, they go ...

Keith Kincaid - forced to fill in while Igor Shesterkin remains out with an injury - messed up.  His pass from the goal line to a waiting Panarin at the Rangers blueline was simply too soft, too free and easy, and completely lacking urgency.  As you can imagine, it was picked off by Jakub Voracek, who to took it to the house unassisted.  

It's the equivalent to a quarterback throwing a game-losing pick-six in football.

N.Y. Rangers: Boston Provides Not So Subtle Reminder of Blueshirt History

From the desk: RAISE GRESHNER WITH THE GREATS

Bruins lead Rangers; 3-1

I - BOS 3; NYR 2*

II - BOS 1; NYR 0

III - NYR 6; BOS 2

IV - BOS 4; NYR 1

* overtime

That's Just Boston Being Boston; So What's Our Excuse?

Feeling good about themselves after Friday's convincing victory over Boston, the Rangers received their latest attitude adjustment on Sunday through an assortment of roughing, high-sticking, cross-checking, fights, unsportsmanlike stuff, misconduct, and even goalie squashing.

Brendan Lemieux was the recipient of the misconduct - after the final buzzer!  Someone needed to get after Nick Ritchie, and no later than the clock striking zero, Lemieux was on it.  I'll repeat it: Quinn must give Brendan Lemieux more minutes.

Because this game is a stark reminder, this team is soft.  It's actually rather ponderous that after all these years and decades, physicality is still an issue.  Fans know the deal.  If the Rangers of the early 1970s were just a wee bit tougher, they win a Cup .. Period.  The Cat was hounded over and over about it!  They were called Smurfs by a later generation for a good reason.  More recently, the L.A. Kings ground us into a fine powder.  The thing is, John Davidson was the bridge to the aforementioned eras.  He should know better.  General manager Jeff Gorton came to the Rangers via the Boston Bruins that he personally helped build.  He should know better.  Yet, here we are all these decades later, still waiting for the next Nick Fotiu to walk through the door.  Once again, finesse is losing out over brute force and ignorance.  Just take a look at the division.  These Rangers are indeed young.  But it's the veterans who are no more rugged for the wear than the teenagers.  Who is punishing David Pastrnak for cross-checking Alexis Lafreniere? 

• Alexis Lafreniere posts points in consecutive games for the first time this season; two assists versus Boston.

Thank goodness for Colin Blackwell.  His goal at 10:47 of the third period ruined the shutout for Boston's Tuukka Rask, who faced only 21 shots and made three saves in three power-play opportunities for the Rangers.  Colin Blackwell now has five goals and eight points in just 11 games.  Otherwise, Rangers' centermen joined for eleven shots on goal and just one point.  Ryan Strome, Kevin Rooney, and Brendan Smith joined together for a grand total of one shot on goal.  Mika Zibanejad had three.

Patrice Bergeron did not get off a shot all night, and Brad Marchant was limited to just one shot and an assist.  Five other Bruins centermen joined together for 16 shots on net, three goals, and two assists for five points. 

N.Y. Rangers: Blueshirts Pick Up Against Boston Where Long Islanders Leave Off

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

FEW AND DISTANCED FANS RETURN TO 

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

FRIDAY

Bruins  2

Rangers 6

FINAL

Third Time Is A Charm; Blueshirts Defeat Division Leading Bruins

Brad Marchant, very early in the first period, tried setting the tone for the rest of the evening, pinning Adam Fox in the corner, even dropping his gloves.  But Fox refused to oblige, and Marchant ponderously escaped without a penalty.  Marchant was nonetheless successful, as the shorthanded Rangers on this night decided they weren't having any of it, and so the tone indeed was set.  Big hits, obligatory crosschecks, scrums, and bad words abounded.  

In their first meeting against the Bruins, the Rangers were plus-eight in hits but a woeful minus-16 in face-offs and minus-three in shots on goal en route to a 3-2 loss.  Then despite a tighter 1-0 defeat in the second meeting, Boston was in clear command, outhitting the Rangers 31-22, going plus-five on faceoffs, and a plus-nine on shots on goal.  Through the first two games, each team went scoreless on the power play.  Boston was scoreless in eight opportunities, and the Ranger came empty in six chances. 

On Friday, the correlation between winning face-offs, possession, drawing penalties, and shots on goal works in the Rangers' favor for a change.  The Blueshirts were plus-four in hits, plus-one in face-offs, and plus-one in shots on goal.  In the second period, Colin Blackwell scored the first power-play goal of the series by either team, while Boston was once again held to 0/3 on the man-advantage.

At 13:16, Julien Gauthier opened the scoring assisted by Ryan Lindgren, who clashed with David Pastrnak during the game.  Ryan Strome opened the second period scoring on a beautiful feed from Alexis Lafreniere at 2:32, but Patrice Bergeron scored just 1:30 later.  Afterwhich the roof caved in on Boston.  The Rangers scored twice in the closing two minutes of the second period on a power-play goal from Colin Blackwell, then just twelve seconds later on Chris Kreider's ninth of the season assisted by Strome.  Picking up where they left off, the Rangers strike quickly in the third on Pavel Bushnevich's fifth of the season at 1:45, and Jonny Brodzinski's first goal of the season and only the sixth of his career at the 3:43 mark.  Brad Marchant added an inconsequential goal at 7:51 to cap off the night's scoring.

I'm pleased to see Brendan Lemieux's minutes were increased.  He mustered three shots on goal and, late in the third, got stuffed on a good drive to the net.  Alexis Lafreniere registers just his second point of the season.  Chris Kreider now has five goals in his last three games and a team-leading nine for the season.  Rangers' centermen generated 13 (38%) shots on goal with four goals and two assists for six points.  However, Bret Howden has just one point in his last 13 games and only two for the season.  With three more points against the Bruins, Ryan Strome unexpectedly leads Rangers centers this season with 13 points.

This is the second straight night the Bruins have gotten their doors blown off.  Thursday, on the front end of back-to-back nights, the Long Islanders drubbed the Bruins by a 7-2 final at Uniondale.  The Islanders centermen joined for 14 shots on goal with two goals and three assists for five points.  

The Rangers and Bruins resume hostilities again on Sunday.

N.Y. Rangers: Blueshirts Cannot Overcome Pandemic, Putin, and Penalties

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

WEDNESDAY

Rangers 3

Flyer   4

FINAL

The Rangers are a rebuilding team, right?  

Therefore I don't mind the adversity.

Playing without Filip Chytil and Jacob Trouba due to injury, without Kaapo Kakko and K'Andre Miller due to COVID, and Artemi Panarin playing spy games back in the USSR, you just knew the Blueshirts would be in trouble.  But that's not to say the Flyers weren't missing bodies as well because they were.  

That doesn't excuse eight penalties.  Igor Shesterkin needed to be an octopus out there.  It also doesn't explain their continuing futility on the face-off, outdone by a 35-20 margin.  Face-offs mean possession; possession means potential shots; Philadelphia out-shot the Rangers by a wide 39-27 margin.

See what happens when you loiter around the net?  Sometimes it takes brute force and ignorance, and sometimes it takes a sense of what's happening around you.  Chris Kreider records a hat-trick with two power-play goals and one at even strength, all of the tip-in variety.  Phil Esposito made a career of cleaning up garbage in front to the tune of over 700 goals.  No one ever accused Espo of being the best skater on the ice.

Chris Kreider was assisted by his centermen, finally.  Mike Zibanejad, although still unable to cash in opportunities like last season, assisted on two of Kreider's goals.  Ryan Strome and Colin Blackwell also picked up assists.  All told, Rangers' centermen joined for ten shots on goal and four points.

The Rangers turned over the puck in their own end early in the first period and essentially stayed there until Erik Gustaffson opened the scoring at the 7:38 mark.  Afterwhich, they were resigned to playing catch-up the rest of the way while having to kill 12 minutes in penalties, not to mention two delays of games.  Said another way, it was a very sloppy game.

I'm also a little puzzled why Ryan Lindgren skated a blueline low 14:45 minutes, and Jack Johnson is out there for 19:01 minutes.

Lastly, on this night, with two forwards missing from the lineup, I'm disappointed Brendan Lemieux only got 10:19 of ice time.

N.Y. Rangers: Artemi Panarin Lifts Lagging Mates

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

SHOWDOWN AT HIGH NOON

SATURDAY

Rangers

vs.

Capitals

The Rangers were lucky to come away with two points in their first meeting against the Flyers.  Philadelphia's line-up is still being compromised by COVID.  So, there are questions as to what outfit the Rangers really defeated.  But with regards to what transpired on the ice, the Rangers committed one of the cardinal rules of hockey, not once, but twice, and got away with it.

Never yield a goal in the first two minutes or last two minutes of a period.  

They did just that, allowing a goal in the first 0:59 seconds of the game to Nicolas Aube-Kubel.  Colin Blackwell tied the game on a power-play goal at 3:24 of the second period.  Ryan Strome then put the Rangers ahead with an even-strength goal at the 8:21 mark of the third period.  But with just 1:14 left in regulation, Joel Farabee scored his seventh goal of the season, tying the game at two.  After a scoreless overtime, Artemi Panarin, returning from injury, saved the Rangers' ass with a decisive goal in the shootout.

Playing minus Jacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller, the blueliners still limit Philadelphia to 22 shots on goal and 0/5 on the power play.  The Rangers blocked 27 shots in front of Alexandar Georgiev, who stopped all but two shots.  For reasons I won't get into, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox walked away with a respective minus-two for the game.

There came the point when Coach Quinn was reprimanding Brendan Lemieux on the bench, if I remember correctly, after a neutral zone blunder.  How about Quinn coaches better and gives Lemiex more ice time!  

Yeah, I went there ...

And thank goodness for Colin Blackwell, who miraculously has seven points in only five games.  Artemi Panarin had eight shots on goal, which equals all five Rangers' centermen shots on goal combined.

N.Y. Rangers: Mix and Match Madness

From the desk: RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS

THURSDAY

Rangers    3

Sabres       2

FINAL/OT

Nice way to score your first NHL goal ... Colin Blackwell recovers the puck in the neutral zone and handles it into Buffalo's end.  He finds Alexis Lafreniere on the left wing, who wrists the puck past Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark's stick side at the 2:47 mark of overtime.  It's Lafreniere's first NHL point through his first seven games.  To date, he has taken 13 shots on goal for an average of 1.8 shots per game.  However, four shots came Thursday against Buffalo.  It appears, then, Lafreniere is getting a little more comfortable.  

Now, if only Coach Quinn can just stop shifting Lafreniere up and down the lines.  That said, Coach Quinn, this season, also had Lafreniere switch sides and played him on the right wing.  It just makes me wanna scream, STOP!  Can we please give this kid some stability and line continuity?  The loss of Filip Chytil complicates matters.  Do you want Lafreniere playing with Ryan Strome or Brett Howden?  If you're going to play him on the first line, keep him on the first line.  If you want him playing on the third line, keep him on the third line with Colin Blackwell and Philip Di Giuseppe?  At least Di Giuseppe brings some physicality to the ice.  The point being, stop coaching in a panic, and let's settle the third line.  Start giving the lines some routine and stability.

How about winning some more face-offs!

The Rangers' biggest problem has been in the net.  But as I keep saying ... you can't be disappointed with what you do not expect.  Like the forward lines, just let the young goaltenders play.  Making his fourth start, Shesterkin faced 25 shots and stopped all but two (one even strength, one on the penalty kill) en route to his first win of the season.