This season is nuts. The current top 10 teams are all killers. Washington has slid down the rankings because they’ve hit a slump while Pittsburgh and Boston (who are just outside the top 10) are on ridiculous runs.

The Rangers are holding strong at 28-11-4. The last 10 game record is 7-3-0. The best record they’ve had in a long time. A lot of people are hating them, expecting a collapse to happen every single game. Much of their record is due to Igor Shesterkin being one of the best goalies on earth but how can you hate a guy for doing his job? When the team has been down he’s been able to keep the score close to give his team a chance. Many times they’ve responded in kind, turning bad starts into victories. In the past few years, those wins never happened. The team is way better than they’ve been but there are still problems.

Not enough 5 on 5 goals for and not enough scoring depth. More players need to be making goals, many guys have strange, lengthy goal droughts. The Rangers special teams are really good and that’s swung a few games in their favor.

Too many slow starts. Sometimes it’s like they are just trying to survive the first 20 minutes. This has been a problem for years and it’s really weird. They hit the ice and it’s like no one told them they were playing a regular-season game. This ain’t practice guys, get moving. This frequently puts them in a game of catch-up.

Too many breakaways against. This leaves all the pressure on the goaltenders too frequently.

The fourth-line D pair is really weak. Patrik Nemeth is straight-up not doing what they wanted him to do. This means he hasn’t been able to help Nils grow, which is why he’s been sent to the AHL to cook some more. Nils is very young so this isn’t too surprising.

Defense in general has been too spotty. K’Andre has been making more mistakes than usual. He does everything he can to make up for each one though. Libor Hajek is okay at best. Braden Schneider could fill in the void. Very new but very promising and it looks like he’s getting more ice time. Thank god Trouba has been playing so well recently.

On offense, both Kakko and Chytil are injured. Sounds like Chytil will be back much sooner, but he’s more of famine than feast player. He just can’t seem to get everything to click. It always feels like he’s one step away from breaking through and he never does. This is like his 4th season. Kakko’s points totals are a tiny bit higher, he was on a bit of an assist streak before he got hurt.

Lafrenière is the same, everyone is waiting for him to pop off and he’s not. But for Kakko and Lafrenière, I think the expectations are really too high for them. Drafted 2nd and 1st in their respective classes everyone expects them to be Sidney Crosby right away but that’s not realistic. Especially for Lafrenière, this is his first full season. Kakko is on his 3rd. Lafrenière made a fantastic goal in OT against LA this week so that one is a feather in his cap and a super boost to his confidence. We just can’t be impatient about developing players.

I’m not sure how much Dryden Hunt is doing. Let’s hope Morgan Barron can help out. He’s in the same boat as Julien Gauthier; they both have amazing potential. You can see a powerful pro player is stirring inside them. Zac Jones has been called back up so he’s another one for that barrel. Zac’s played less than 20 pro games I think. Again, have to wait for these developing players and not pressure them to the point of cracking.

Chris Kreider is having a god-like season. He got a huge re-up contract and gad zooks is he living up to it. He’s having the best season of his career. First in goals in the league (with Washington and Edmundton in a slump, Kreider went by Ovechkin, Draisaitl, and McDavid) with 30, 15 of them powerplay goals!

No matter what happens though, the team is a lot of fun to watch.

In the grand total of things, Colorado, Florida, Carolina, and Tampa Bay seem unstoppable. Colorado is averaging like 5 points a game and their goaltending is getting better. Carolina steamrolled the Rangers in their first meeting. They are crazy fast and aggressive. Pittsburgh has had the depth to keep them from falling behind with their best players out for months. Now that they’re basically at full strength, the team that many people during the off-season thought were at the point of being washed up are racking up the points. It looks like they’ll be in the playoffs no problem. Now if they choke in the playoffs again is another issue. There’s still a lot of the season left and games are already feeling like they are playoff games. Every point matters. The level of talent in the NHL is nuts.

Look at that! After beating the Oilers last night (4-1, what a revenge!) the New York Rangers are in first place in the entire league. This is incredible. The team hit a bit of a slump just before the Christmas break, something like 1-2-1. Then coming back from the break (which was more than a week of no games), lost in a shootout to the Panthers after losing control in the 3rd period and giving up the lead. Rough loss. A few guys got sidelined because of Covid protocol in the following three games. But every single game was won. Shootout win vs Tampa, then a clean win against Tampa again in a home-and-home contest which went right into playing Edmonton.

The Oilers have been struggling for at least 3 weeks now and the Rangers picked up what other teams have been doing to them. Stay close to McDavid and Draisaitl to slow them down because stick checking doesn’t do enough, they’re too skilled (especially McDavid). That pairing is a huge part of their scoring power, the rest of the team isn’t producing enough. Stay out of the penalty box and that takes away a huge advantage with–again–that pair.

The Rangers are absolutely clicking now. Amazing defense, especially last night. Fantastic communication and effort from everyone. If a mistake is made, others are there to help out. Rock solid goaltending from both Shesterkin and Georgiev. More players are getting points. If Chytil and Gauthier can break through…hoo boy. Zac Jones is on the taxi squad and has been put in twice and he did really well. He was thrown in the deep end to defend against some of the best players in the league and he stood strong. He’s been doing great in the AHL and it’s translating into the NHL. Really promising.

Now it’s to the west coast for a 5 game road trip. Exciting times, to say the least. The margin for error is razor-thin, just like at those standings. There are only 5 points between first and 8th place. 2 points for first to fourth place! The Rangers are in first because they have more regulation wins over Washington. Every game is important but the momentum is behind the Rangers now. We’re seeing team depth on ice now and that’s the key to success (just look at Edmonton).

17-5-3

Last night, the Colorado Avalanche stopped the Rangers 7 game winning streak. It’s been a crazy stretch since the middle of November that saw the Rangers come together as a team. This streak was the longest since the 2015 season and put them near the top of the entire league and right underneath the Capitals for first place in the Metro division (the Caps were losing in OT which meant they lost ground slower to the Rangers, who were constantly winning, by getting one point instead of none by losing in regulation).

There’s been great concern since Igor got hurt (groin) a week ago. Georgiev played the last 15 minutes of that game and stopped all 9 shots to maintain the shutout against San Jose. He started the next two games and won those games as well, boosting is meager stats. Last night was a back to back so Adam Huska took over the net for his first NHL game. It was a trial by fire.

A 7-3 loss, the worst game since the shutout under the heels of Calgary. Were the Rangers simply too tired from the late game in Chicago the night before? Probably. Whatever it was, the team defense was horrible after the first period (ending 2-1 Rangers). It’s the kind of game where a lot went wrong and Colorado is a fast team that can and will take advantage of any mistakes their opponent makes. That’s basically what happened. With such a long streak, one loss isn’t a big deal. Have to sweep this one under the rug and move on. At least Nils got his first NHL goal, which was fantastic. It’s a busy schedule all the way up to Christmas…Buffalo tomorrow which shouldn’t be a problem and Colorado again next week (first game against Arizona too, which has to be a blowout by the Rangers).

Onward and upward!

10-4-3

A solid four-win streak that ended with a 2-1 loss to Toronto.

A few days off from the beating Calgary dished out worked well. Talking and working on the issues that are a problem made the team play more like a team. There was a tangible difference from game to game. Much better vision on the ice, fewer high risk plays for no benefit, more shots on goal. Face-off wins even went up. Points were scored and dished out over more players. Kappo Kakko now has two goals and an assist, Hunt and Gautier have their first goals. Chytil is back on the ice and is playing well. Blais suffered a season-ending ACL tear, which damages the depth of the team exposing the need for a really good RW even more (the bungling of Vitali Kravtsov looks even worse now).

Toronto was a big test and it was a good game. Toronto was just the better team for more minutes. The Rangers had a bad first period, picked it up in the 2nd, and had a really strong 3rd. Toronto is currently a tough nut to crack, one of the highest face-off percentages and top special teams. Both proved to be advantages in Thursday’s game.

In the NHL you can’t play well for 20-30 minutes. You have to show up for all 60 and avoid penalties. Buffalo is next and that is an expected Rangers win. It’ll be a disaster if they don’t and they can’t take Buffalo’s bad record for granted, they’ve upset a few teams this season and are ready to pounce on any team that doesn’t show up at puck drop.

The nagging problem at RW is going to be an issue likely until a trade is made. Or maybe change the first line, switching Kreider to RW and pulling Lafrenière up to LW and Goodrow to the second line. It was tried for a little while but I don’t think the amount of time given in this experiment was reasonable as Laffy could simply need more time to be able to take off. With his talent, it feels like he should be given that space and confidence to progress. It could make a huge difference.

5-2-1

Last Monday the Rangers got trounced 5-1 by Calgary. It was the Washington game all over again. The Rangers were slow, not working as a team, turnovers all over the place, and bad special teams. The all-stars on the team didn’t do anything. Calgary is playing really well, currently one of the best in the league. You can’t be sloppy against teams like that.

Four days later the Rangers showed up at the Garden. Columbus isn’t a team to take lightly, their goalie is one of the best between the pipes right now. After a bumpy first 5 minutes, the Rangers took control and never let up.

4-0 Rangers. Igor Shesterkin’s third career shut out, first of this season. He’s been playing very well and the team in front of him finally put the pieces together to match his efforts. The difference in this 60 minutes? The Rangers played as a team.

Much better discipline with 3 penalties against. The Penalty Kill lines were perfect. The Power Play lines got 3 chances and scored twice. Huge improvement. Passes were way more careful and thoughtful so turnovers didn’t become an issue (something like 20 vs Calgary). They were fast and took all the smart chances to hit. Panarin- 3 assists, Fox- 2 assists, Kreider- 2 goals. Strome opened the night with a blistering goal with Nils Lundkvist getting his first NHL point. Panarin looks like he’s about to hit his stride, whether that’s a timing issue or he had more room to move because their offense was so much better is debatable. Mika didn’t get a point but he was a threat and contributed to the win in every period. He just needs to pop off too. Every goal was special (the pass Fox made to Laffy from behind the net was nuts). I think almost every stat was in the Rangers’ favor at the final horn.

The Rangers can be a scary team when they are firing on all cylinders. There’s more depth now which means scoring chances can come from every line. There are a lot of guys who can score that need to be covered, and teams are wary of that. It’s not just the first line that needs the best defense lines anymore. Lesser teams are going to get overwhelmed and the better teams have more to pay attention to. Last night the Rangers were the team we’ve been waiting for. Can they keep this focus and energy together? It looks like the new coaching system is starting to settle in. The real test is coming in the next month. If more elements coalesce in that time like they are expected to, by this time in November the Rangers could be a monstrous team on the ice. Those stats will likely be what we can expect through the rest of the season.

Next: First game ever against the Seattle Kraken.

1-1-1

Not the kind of start you want for a season. Soundly beaten by Washington, a dumb overtime loss to Dallas, and a closer than necessary win against Montreal.

It felt like there was a lot of wind in the Rangers sails coming into the season and getting a 5-1 drubbing by Washington stopped those good vibes. The first half was competitive, and then it all fell apart. The seasons long problem of too many penalties reared its head and you can’t do that against Washington. Georgiev getting worked like that isn’t going to help him get out of last season’s rut and made the whole team look bad.

The Dallas game was a better contest that slipped away, another old problem where the Rangers can’t close out a game. They did rally to push it to overtime so the effort was there at least. That game was more a letdown than a second crushing blow.

Montreal had a lot to prove last night, the first home game in more than a year and the added pressure of not going 0-3 to start the season. So they came out hot as anticipated and the Rangers handled it well. Penalty kill teams did their job at the start and then Montreal went nuts on the penalties, which the Rangers turned into a goal. Good for this to happen in favor of the Rangers instead of the other way around for once. Montreal did keep it close and this was largely a contest of goaltending. Plenty of robberies on both sides and Shesterkin was the one who managed to keep it on lockdown. Lafreniere got the bonus of his family being in the stands for his game-winning goal. Brilliant rush and pass from Mika made for a hell of a highlight-reel goal.

It feels like after this game the team is starting to gel better. Kreider has 3 goals in 3 games, which is incredible. Very few are as good at deflecting in goals as he is. If he can keep this up–and not disappear like he usually does for giant stretches of time–he’ll continue to be a huge PITA in front of the net and slap away any discussion that he got too generous of a contract extension.

Mika has been more noticeable than Panarin so far. Mika is an all-star and now he has an all-star contract. He’s making waves on assists, he almost had a breakaway goal with 2 guys chasing after him. He’s just goal-shy now, whiffing on an odd amount of one-timer shots. That’s weird to see. Last year he was doing that because it took him weeks to shake off the effects of covid. Now we’re just waiting on Panarin to hit his stride.

Of the new players on the team, I’m most impressed with Ryan Reaves. He’s incredibly fast for his size, he hits anything that moves, and he pounces on every opportunity to be a playmaker. Kakko and Lafreniere have been moved up on the lines and getting a lot more ice time. Kakko looks much stronger, he had a productive off-season. He got hurt last night with an upper body injury and he’ll be off the ice for a week. Hopefully no longer than that. We’ll see if Morgan Barron can get some traction in his absence.

A bumpy start for sure but nothing to panic over. Still a lot of promise.

The seemingly unstoppable force turned out to be unstoppable. Despite dazzling the entire Playoff run through 3 rounds, Montreal couldn’t figure out how to handle Tampa Bay. Their only win was a hell of a fight and one other game they could have won. But close calls don’t give you wins so the Cup finals was only 5 games.

This was a brutal season for everyone. A condensced season with very few days off and then right into the unrelenting playoff schedules. Tampa was the favorite all season long and now one of the very few teams to win 2 Stanley Cups in a row. The only question is how much of this team will stay together because this team, as a whole, shows no signs of slowing down. Seattle will be playing their first season and the regular season is currently planned to start on time in October with a full 82 games, so the standard grind will be back. Way more traveling for teams (no more division bubbles) and reasonable breaks between games. Right now, there’s no reason not to believe Tampa will have another fantastic season.

The expansion draft for Seattle is next up on the 21st and then the normal entry draft about a week later. Expect to see a ton of trades after that. Many teams will have many changes in place come October, and the New York Rangers will be on top of that list. New coach, new assistant coaches will be announced soon, roster changes, then training camp to figure out who goes where.

With this break, we can all look forward to a wild NHL season starting in just a few months. A lot to keep an eye on.

The underdog keeps jumping on top of the bodies it leaves behind.

Montreal, a team only the most wishful thinking die hard Habs fans thought could get anywhere, beat Las Vegas 4-2. It’s an incredible story, it’s hard to believe anyone got this year’s bracket 100% right and very few would put down this Cup match up.

It’s the team in last vs the team in first. As much of a surprise it is to see Montreal here, Tampa Bay has been the expected finalist from the jump. The Islanders fought hard against Tampa and got close, a tremendous effort. Montreal vs Islanders would have been amazing. One team who last won the Cup in 1993 and the other in 1983.

Every single round, no one thought Montreal would win. They swept Winnipeg in Round 2. Now against Tampa, the odds haven’t changed. The hands down favorite is Tampa and rightfully so. I don’t think Tampa will run them over, these playoffs have proved that. It’s going to be a hard series that I think will go 6 games. Goal tending will be clutch. If Carey Price can keep his magic going, this series will forever be etched in the history books. I’d like to se Montreal keep Tampa from being back to back champions.

I completely lost track of time and missed writing about the second round which completed last night.

Las Vegas beat Colorado 4-2. I thought this one would go seven games but something fell apart inside Colorado. Looked like the killer instinct came through only for Vegas.

NY Islanders beat Boston 4-2. Another series I thought was going seven games, the Islanders successfully smothered Boston. Outside of their killer first line, Boston doesn’t have as much offensive options. Islanders played to that weakness and is a good indicator that Barry Trotz out coached Bruce Cassidy.

Tampa Bay beat Carolina 4-1. This was a solid beating. Carolina came in with a lot of wind in their sails and Tampa didn’t think much of it. I was thinking six game series and Tampa was in no mood. They are riding a serious Defending Stanley Cup Champions wave that doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.

Montreal beat Winnipeg 4-0. Montreal is the Cinderella story of the season and crushing Winnipeg sends the message: everyone stop underestimating us. With the only sweep of this round, Montreal gets the biggest break between games. It’s also sorely needed, the team played an insane amount of games to end the regular season and into a late start, rapid fire post-season schedule for the North division.

We now have the final four.

I’m rooting for the Islanders. It’s been a long time since they’ve won the Cup and it’s the most local team to me. A Canadian team hasn’t won in ages either, so the underdog story for them is the strongest. No one thought they would make it through the first round against Toronto but here they are. So they say the same thing about beating Vegas. It certainly won’t be easy, but I think Montreal has a good chance. With a good amount of time to rest and prepare, Montreal will be ready. Vegas can’t let their guard down or they are going to get into trouble. I can see this going 6 games.

In comparison, the Islanders are better matched up against Tampa Bay. This series should be incredibly intense. I know Trotz is going to come up with every game plan imaginable for this series and he’s going to need that extra edge to get his team the win. This will not be an easy round for either team. At least 6 games, I wouldn’t be surprised to go 7.

I’d say the betting odds are for a Vegas/Tampa Bay Finals but as of now I’m leaning towards Vegas/Islanders.

The Rangers’ season ended more than a week ago and the regular season was extended for a few teams to make up for missed games due to covid stops. The Playoffs started this past Saturday with Capitals v Bruins while some Canadian teams were still finishing their season.

I didn’t write anything until now because the end of the Rangers’ season hit a brick wall and I waited for the fallout from that to happen to get a better perspective of what’s possible going forward.

With a week to go in the season, the owner of the team, Jim Dolan, fired GM Jeff Gorton and team president John Davidson. It was a shock to everyone. It also put a direct target on coach Quinn. After the season ended with the Rangers beating Boston, stopping a brutal 5-game losing streak, Quinn was let go too. Not surprising. Along with him was the release of all coaching staff except for the goalie coach, Benoit Allaire.

It was a weird and strenuous season, and that goes for every team. The Metro division is the most stacked so the odds of making it into the playoffs was a reasonable goal, but still a long shot. There are still depth issues on the team and there are a lot of rookies that are still finding their game. There’s a lot of potential we got to see this year and a lot still left to be wrung out. And that’s what the new GM. Chris Drury will be focused on this off-season. Getting the right staff and moving the right pieces to find the missing players to get to the playoffs. Drury is an accomplished former NHL player and he’s been with the organization for many years. I think everyone feels positive that these decisions are in the hands of a capable person. He also has to deal with major looming cap issues, so money is going to be an issue for the foreseeable future. A lot of smart moves need to be made or the rebuild is going to go from a wavering point to a full stop.

The most damning thing about Coach Quinn this year was the lack of adjustment during games. The same plays, the same problems, no adaptations to fix them. Just different line ups that didn’t really work.

So now Gerard Gallant is the current front runner for a head coach. It’s public that he’s going to be interviewed. Landing a new, appropriate head coach is the first step (anyone who thinks Torts is coming back is nuts. He’d be an awful fit.) Then he gets to pick his staff. He did wonders with Vegas so it’s easy to see why he’s the favorite. We really need a face-off coach. I’ll leave it at that.

The playoffs end in July, which leads us right to the Seattle expansion draft. Nothing can really be done roster-wise until Seattle’s selections are finalized. Then everyone knows what pieces they have to work with. Then the regular draft. The Rangers need a fantastic veteran center and defenseman. That’s the minimum. I think there will be an aggressive play for both.

So, all of that is months away. I always observe this level of stuff from afar as I have no idea what the right choices are to make. Time will tell. I engage with the team when the team comes back together for training season (Sept).

That leaves the playoffs. The safe front runners to get to the Finals: Vegas, Colorado, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Capitals.

Florida could upset Tampa Bay. Islanders could make a serious run this year. Bruins look fiesty. Pittsburg had a tremendous end of the season but they almost always look good going into the playoffs and the past few seasons they got obliterated in the first round. The decade-old core of that team is still together and they are fantastic. But they aren’t as good as they used to be. And competition has caught up with them. When the screws are turned to kick in the Playoff Push Thrusters by the competition, Pittsburg struggles to hold their opponents off.

Edmonton has basically slapped around everyone in the North. The question is, do they have the depth to make it past the 3rd round? Two amazing players can’t fend off an entire team for a series.

It’s going to be an excellent and hard fought two months.

13-13-4

This will probably be the weirdest NHL season in the history of the league. On top of normal player absences due to injury, Covid protocol for infections are another layer. It’s been hitting every team, removing players from the roster for days at a time, even postponing a few games that will be scheduled later. New Jersey and Buffalo, for example will have brutally stacked schedules to catch up on total games played. The rest of the season is going to be an endurance race and that’s not even talking about the crush of playoff hockey.

Injury and covid absences have strained the Rangers for a few stretches. Panarin, in particular, was out for a stretch along with Chytil, and Trouba at the same time. Right now, Igor Shesterkin has been out for 2 weeks putting a strain on the team’s goaltending (unreliable, to say the least). Panarin was also sidelined for weeks by allegations out of Russia from something that allegedly happened 10 years ago.

The record shows the struggles of the season. Cold goal-scoring veterans, missing players, spotty goaltending. It’s led to a max win streak of 3 games. A handful of 2 games in a row which doesn’t count as a streak. They frequently lose multiple games in a row. I think I said this last time, but they haven’t been playing up to the team’s potential. Struggling to stay close to, not even over, .500 is absurd with the talent on this team.

When they do, it’s amazing stuff. In the video above you can see the clinic they put on the Flyers this week. The game before that, they lost in overtime in a game where they came back from a quick 2 goal deficit. It looked like a horrific game, they rally in the second, and end up not pulling it off. Then they go to Washington where they lose a close game they dominated for 54 minutes. Yesterday they got revenge on the Caps for that loss.

When the whole team shows up, I think they can beat anyone. They just haven’t been able to sustain good luck and momentum. It looks like Mika Zibanejad is emerging from his puzzling point-scoring coma. Kreider has stepped up to try and fill that void but it isn’t enough. Panarin is back and doing everything he can. Pavel Buchnevich is finally hitting his potential. It looks like there is a lot of upside coming but I temper my expectations after so many disappointing losses.

Is it a coaching issue? Maybe? Many fans think Quinn needs to go, citing the destruction of the Flyers as proof (he and the other 2 coaches were out for Covid protocols and the Hartford Wolfpack guys stepped in and up to fill in for 3 games now). That’s not a big enough sample size for me to say the guy needs to go but struggling this much into year 3 of a rebuild where so many player picks have gone right does raise an eyebrow to the idea.

Playing no one but the same 7 teams 8 times is really weird too. It’s a very small sample size of talent and any low-performing team is going to get trounced by the same teams and skew point totals. The Rangers have to get past Philadelphia and Boston to make the playoffs. With the way Philly has been playing lately (serious goal tending issues) moving one step up the ranks is feasible. It’s going to take a serious run in wins to get over Boston and keep them back. Pittsburgh just hit a gnarly injury patch to their roster so a lot of players will need to step up to keep them from sliding. Currently, they are 10 points about the Rangers and that’s a mountain to climb with 26/27 games remaining. If they hit the skids, it is possible but I think that’s a moonshot. No one in the East division is going to catch up to the Islanders or Capitals who are tied with 44 points.

If they make the playoffs, it’ll be a redemption story for the Rangers that will go down in the books.

5-0

A 5-0 win. The Rangers played the exact opposite of game 1. Fast, aggressive, communication, great passing. Alexandar Georgiev planted his flag into the ice in minute one and had the entire crease on lockdown. His fifth career shutout; his second against the Islanders.

Whatever coach Quinn told them and however practice went after that, it worked. This was the team everyone was expecting. Putting in Phillip Di Giuseppe turned out to be smart, putting Tony DeAngelo in a time out for throwing a temper tantrum and getting a stupid unsportsmanlike penalty in game one…could pay off. It’s up to DeAngelo to get it through his head that he needs to be an adult. Quinn ain’t having that noise this season. He was benched last season for discipline reasons too, enough of the nonsense.

Discipline made the difference in this game. The Islanders got way more penalties. They were the ones who struggled to get any kind of control. The Rangers took the lead right away and it made a big difference. You could see the confidence. Kakko even got a sweet goal!

The future looks bright.