New York City's NHL Stadium Series

From the desks of:

RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS  ~ THE BRICK CITY DEMONS ~ BROOKLYN'S FOSTER HOCKEY CLUB

Sunday, January 26, 2014

NEW YORK RANGERS

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

AT

YANKEE STADIUM

Bronx, New York

Scene From Sunday Afternoon

FINAL

New York Rangers   7

New Jersey Devils    3

The standings remain a problematic situation for all three local teams.  Heading into tomorrow night's showdown in the frozen tundra of Yankee Stadium, a mere four points separate the Rangers from the Devils, and nine points separate the 2nd place Rangers from the last place New York Islanders.  The Devils play tonight.

After all these years, the Devils still have us asking ourselves - how do they do it?  But the answer is a different this time.  For starters, they have one identity during regulation time, but another beyond that.  New Jersey has 11 OT losses, good for 2nd worst in the league.  If they start converting some of those OT situations, the Blueshirts had better look out.

During Sunday's first period, it looked like New Jersey's geezers had Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers off their game.  Patrick Elias, the all-time Devils scoring leader, who will turn 38-years old in April, opened the afternoon's scoring with a goal 5:36 into the match.  After Dominic Moore tied the game, Elias scored again on a feed from Jaromir Jagr.  Travis Zajac then made it a 3-1 game on another feed from Jaromir Jagr.

Patrick Elias now has 384 goals in his long Devils career.  However, the Devils leading scorer this season is, of all people, Jaromir Jagr, who will turn 42-years old next month.  In the game, Jagr passed his one time former team mate Mario Lemieux, and now owns the 10th spot on the NHL's all-time assists leaders board, with 1,035 for his career.  He has 44 points in 53 games this season, while his 16 goals give him 697 for his career.  Only six players in NHL history have scored 700 or more goals in a career.  Jagr most recently passed Mark Messier on the list.  Since returning in 2011-12, after three years playing in Russia, Jagr has scored 51 goals in 171 games played.

Another Devil chasing the number 700 is Martin Brodeur.  He is 18 victories away.  He was respectfully given Sunday's start at Yankee Stadium.  But his first start ever in an outdoor game, turned into one of his worst.  After the Devils jumped out to a 3-1 lead Sunday, Brodeur went on to allow five unanswered goals, for a total of six on the day.  After the game, Brodeur complained of very poor ice conditions, and the Rangers coach agreed.  Nonetheless, instead of gaining career victory number 683 Sunday, Brodeur earned his 392nd career loss.  Marty will turn 42 years of age in May.  At this stage of his Devils career, there is no getting around the fact Cory Schneider is the better net minder, or, has been playing that way. Schneider started in each of the last five games prior to Sunday.  Perhaps Brodeur will agree to come back next season in a back-up role.

For the Rangers, Michael Del Zotto drew the ire of two coaches, and was dispatched out of town.  Rick Nash is playing with the consistency originally expected of him, but collectively, Henrik Lundqvist and the team were giving up more goals than scored...., until Sunday that is.  They exploded for seven goals in total.

Henrik Lundqvist is arguably having his worst season as a Ranger.  In my view, his newly minted contract, his play this season, and the play of Cam Talbot have created an interesting dynamic.  It will be interesting to watch this unfold.  It's a good thing you haven't heard from me in a month.  You don't want to know what I was really thinking.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

New York Rangers

vs.

New York Islanders

From

YANKEE STADIUM

On Sunday, Rick Nash scored for the 5th straight game.  He now has 27 points in 37 games played, with 18 goals and 9 assists.  Wednesday night, he'll square off against the Islanders John Tavares.  The Isles star has 64 points this season, with 23 goals and 41 assists. Kyle Okposo joins him with 23 goals and 57 points, and Thomas Vanek now has 38 points in 39 games played.  Brad Richards leads the Rangers with 38 points. There's a punchline in there somewhere.

What's with the NHL scheduling three NYR/NYI games in January?  Freakin' brilliant!  I'll be at the game.

Brrrrrr!

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Rangers vs. N.Y. Islanders; The Rivalry - Game 2

From the desks of:

RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS  &  BROOKLYN'S FOSTER HOCKEY CLUB

 

 

 

THE RIVALRY

 

 

Rangers Lead Series 1-0

I - NYR 3; NYI 2

 

NYR  16-17-2  34 points

NYI     9-19-7  25 points
 

 

TONIGHT

 

New York Islanders

vs.

NEW YORK RANGERS

FROM

Madison Square Garden

33rd Street & 8th Avenue

NYC

 

 

New York Islanders:  Let's Just Say Things Are Not Going According to Plan.

 

After giving the Pittsburgh Penguins all they could handle in last year's playoffs, the Islanders short term future was looking brighter than is had in some time.  But after getting off to a 2-1 start this season, the wheels promptly fell off.  The Islanders season has so far been marked by horrific losing streaks.  They have won back to back games only once this season.  Instead, they have launched losing skids of three games, two games, two games, and then a four gamer.  On November 9th, the Islanders followed up an uplifting victory over the Detroit Red Wings, with a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then went on to lose nine more consecutive games.  The Isles finally ended the streak with a shoot-out victory in San Jose, but no sooner took another step back, entering tonight's game losers of their last three consecutive games.

 

So far, Garth Snow's acquisition of Thomas Vanek has been a complete wash, if not disappointing.  In 19 games with the Isles, Vanek has 6 goals, and 7 assists, for 13 points.  Entering Friday's game, Vanek has one point; an assist; in his last three games.  Matt Moulson, coincidentally, also has 6 goals, and 7 assists, for an identical 13 points in 21 games played.

 

For several years, John Tavares and Matt Moulson teamed up to form 2/3 of the top line in the metropolitan area.  If Snow was so intent on breaking them up, he should have looked into shoring up his blue line, or sought to acquire an upgrade in net.  The Islanders are currently 29th in the NHL in goals against.

 

Goalie Ryan Miller will become a free agent in the coming off-season.  The Islanders need to find money and sign him.

 

With a 9-19-7 record, the Islanders currently reside in last place of the Metropolitan Division.  They enter tonight's match with open wounds suffered in Tuesday's brutal loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Kyle Okposo gave the Isle a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period, then Frans Nielsen gave them a 2-0 lead at 10:21 of the 3rd.  They could not however, keep Tampa down.  At 17:07, the Lightning struck with a Valterri Filppula goal.  Then, the heartbreaker came at 19:56 of regulation.  Just four second from an Islander victory, Valterri Filppula scored his second goal in under three minutes to tie the game at two.  The teams played a scoreless overtime, and then Tampa won the shoot-out by a 2-1 margin.

 

New York Rangers: The King Is Under Siege.

 

The Rangers know exactly how that feels.  A sorely depleted Pittsburgh Penguins entered MSG Tuesday night, and took the initial lead midway through the 2nd period.  Slightly less then three minutes later, Carl Hagelin scored on a brilliant breakaway opportunity between the circles.

 

Early in the 3rd session, Pittsburgh went double barrel, on goals from Pascal Dupuis and Brandon Sutter within a minute of each other.  But at 12:43, MatZuccs closed the gap to within a goal.  Then, the home crowd's reward - at 18:14, Derick Brassard scored on a power play, to tie the game at three.

 

The team's played a scoreless overtime, and into shoot-out they went.  With no outcome after three rounds, on they went, but not too much longer.  Brandon Sutter factored again, beating Henrik Lundqvist in the 5th round of shoot-out to win the game for Pittsburgh.  The loss pushed the Blue Shirts back under .500 again, who now sport a 16-17-2 record entering tonight's match.

 

The Rangers also know a thing or two about streaks as well.  Prior to meeting PITT, the Rangers defeated Calgary, however preceded that with a four game losing streak.  The Rangers are 2-6 this month, and have been outscored by a 29-19 margin.  They are at least a single-digit midget in something.  The Blue Shirts rank 7th in the NHL on the penalty kill.

 

There is no way to say this with tact, so, here - after signing his extension, Henrik Lundqvist has sucked.  The Rangers goalie will turn 32 years old this coming March.  He sports a 3.36 GAA this season in games the Rangers lost, along with an .880 save percentage.  Those are foreign numbers to Henrik.

 

Henrik Lundqvist owns a career .920 SV%, and a 2.27 GAA, but has struggled mightily in his 9th season, unlike any before in eight previous years off-Broadway.  His current 2.71 GAA, is by far his highest mark, and is plus-28 over his career worst 2.43 mark set during the 2008-09 season.  Henrik's current .908 SV% so far stands as a career low.  Lundqvist posted a career low .912 SV%  back during the 2007-08 season, but has not dipped below .920% in the last four seasons.

 

 

And...., fire Glen Sather.  That is all.

 

 

 

Mike.BTB

The Rivalry: N.Y. Rangers vs. N.Y. Islanders - Game One

From the desks of:

RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS  and  BROOKLYN'S FOSTER HOCKEY CLUB

 

 

THE RIVALRY

 

Tonight

 

NEW YORK RANGERS

vs.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

FROM

Uniondale

LONG ISLAND

 

 

 

NEW YORK RANGERS: MSG and the Canadiens Outshine the Broadway Blueshirts on Opening Night.

 

The best thing I can say about last night's game is that no one threw themselves off the newly constructed bridges inside Madison Square Garden.  If the Rangers early season funk continues, Jim Dolan might want to consider adding even more safety nets to the overall renovations - quickly.

 

Carl Hagelin will return to the line-up this evening against the Islanders.  He'll be a most welcome return, as the Rangers are desperate to establish any kind of consistent forward line scoring.  The Blueshirts were shut out last night, this time by the Canadiens, for the third time in their first ten games of the season.  They've specifically been shutout by the Habs over their last three regular season meetings.  So, in a sense, some things just haven't changed.

 

While goal posts, the men in stripes, and Montreal goalie Peter Budaj all played their roles in thwarting the Rangers on opening night, the Blueshirts problem is still largely an internal one.  There is no offensive zone sustainability.  Even more alarming to that end, was the ease with which Montreal kept pushing the Rangers off the puck.  The Rangers then had five power play chances, and  came up empty.  In fact, they are 1 for 15 in their last five games.

 

The Rangers got tic-tac-toe'd on a second period Montreal power play, and that was the end of that.  The Rangers put the Habs on the power play six times, so they should be relieved to have only lost by a 2-0 final.

 

 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Still Trolling For Reasons To Like The Thomas Vanek Trade - But On A Different Note, Owner Charles Wang and Garth Snow Are Making The Islanders Matter Again.

 

Yesterday: Garth Snow Rocks The Boat

 

Excuse me for the following comparison, but here I go nonetheless.  Remember how WWI was about trench warfare, and suffering massive casualties for the sake of advancing the front perhaps by only mere feet and yards?  

 

After digesting the Moulson for Vanek trade, I believe more strongly GM Garth Snow paid too much.  If he was inclined to trade draft picks, he could have resorted to just trading them and supplemented what the Islanders already had in hand.  Instead, all he did was switch forwards, for a potentially slight upgrade, and compromise his future drafts.  This season, as well against the Penguins in last year's playoffs, their problem was not with scoring.  The Islanders primary shortcomings are on defense and in the net.  But I guess the decision towards adopting an  - outscore your opponent - tactic has effectively been made.

The first month of the regular season is not yet done, so Garth Snow can feasibly turn right around and trade Thomas Vanek again.  Even if Snow can convince Vanek to sign and stay with the Isles, this all strikes me as an eventual net loss because of the money involved to retain him, and the loss of picks.

Charles Wang lost millions in trying to keep the Islanders in Uniondale, I guess as best as an entrepreneur can.  But Nassau County voted no to the final compromised plan.  In two seasons, the Isles will move into Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  Meanwhile, the Nassau Coliseum will be renovated by the same people who brought us Barclays Center.  Both the Brooklyn Nets and Islanders will play a very limited number of games in the refurbished arena.  What about all this makes sense to you?

All that aside, I applaud and congratulate owner Charles Wang for enduring all he has.  He and Garth Snow are clearly trying to reclaim a proud, yet lost legacy and presence in local New York sports.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Islanders: Garth Snow Rocks The Boat

From the desk of:  BROOKLYN'S FOSTER HOCKEY CLUB


NEW YORK ISLANDERS: GM Garth Snow Pulls Off Bold Move; Sends The Popular Matt Moulson Shuffling Off To Buffalo, In Exchange For Thomas Vanek.

For now, Devils fans, and Rangers fans like myself just have to suck it up.  The Long Islanders are currently the best hockey team in the metropolitan area, and arguably just got better.  Today, the Islanders negotiated an early season trade they feel will significantly improve their scoring.  But GM Garth Brooks is taking an awfully big chance.

Garth Snow traded the very popular and productive Matt Moulson, along with a 2014 1st round pick, and a 2015 2nd round pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for 29-year old winger Thomas Vanek.  He'll immediately join John Tavares to form the most formidable forward line in town.  But for how long?  Vanek will be an unrestricted free agent come July.  So, Garth Snow's new problem is how to keep him.

I'm not about to under-value Thomas Vanek.  I think he's a very good player.  He's a proven scorer.  But I'm not so sure he's immensely better than Moulson at this point, to warrant this large a package.

Thomas Vanek is inside his ninth season in the league.  He scored forty goals in a season twice, and topped thirty goals two other times.  He has 254 in his career.  In last year's shortened season, Vanek scored 41 points in 38 games.

Matt Moulson, like Vanek, is 29-years old, and will also become a free agent in July.  In four plus seasons with the Islanders, Moulson topped thirty goals in a season three straight times, undone only by last year's shortened schedule.  Last year he scored 44-points in 47 games, with 15 goals.

All however is NOT well.  Tavares and Moulson were best friends  There is already rampant speculation Vanek wants to play in Minnesota, while Moulson was perfectly content where he was.

The Islanders are currently tied for second place of the new Metropolitan Division with eleven points.  They have as many goals, 35, as their rival Pittsburgh Penguins, and trail only the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs for the most goals scored in the conference.  Garth Snow should perhaps look into shoring up his blue liners, who have allowed the third most goals in the Eastern Conference.  On that note, one of those picks could have been spent on a goalie maybe?


BTW - Matt Moulson has already scored for Buffalo tonight.




Mike.BTB