Update: Bob McKenzie was the first to report that Chris Kreider will miss about a month with a hand injury. Initial speculation is that it is a broken hand, but mysteriously the tweet has disappeared and no one has yet to confirm it, though a Rangers spokesman has said that Kreider will not be in the lineup Wednesday against the Flyers but no further info has been given. If the injury and prognosis is true, and TSN has the story on their website, while Kreider hadn't been scoring, his speed and physical play has helped create room for Derek Stepan and Rick Nash, so it would be a big loss. New York could play both Dorsett and Carcillo but that would require a major reshuffling of the lines and adversely affect the offense. Instead, if the report is proven to be accurate, which given how accurate and reliable McKenzie is, unless his account was hacked, I expect it to be so, especially with Kreider definitely out against Philly (with Carp reporting that MSG showed Kreider shaking his hand in the second period), look for JT Miller to be called up. New York could insert Miller on the top line, or instead, move Mats Zuccarello or Martin St. Louis to the top line and play Miller on the second line with Derick Brassard. AV should not break up the Hagelin-Richards-Pouliot trio that was so good yesterday, though I could see him mixing and matching to find three lines that click.
On a night where the flu rendered a pair of Rangers and a full line useless and it looked like the pre-game ceremony to honor Henrik Lundqvist has sucked all the life out of the squad, leaving them a step slow, and crowd, making them lifeless, the Rangers found a way to pull out a crucial 4-3 overtime win over the Coyotes. The key contributors were easy to see, as it was the Block Ness Twins who became the goal-scoring, offensive leading duo. However, as xcheckmajor pointed out, it was an unsung hero who made a huge difference, with Carl Hagelin playing a major role in the victory.
b>Game Highlights:
The Garden and the Rangers always do a great job with ceremonies, it's the other aspect of running a team that usually leave us scratching our heads. I know many, including Larry Brooks and a fellow Hockey Buzz, who questioned the necessity of having the ceremony yesterday. Brooks more so from the point that Hank, like many goalies is a create of habit, which was thrown off by the ceremony. In addition, as he also is emotional, the weight of the ceremony, coupled with parents attending the game, may have thrown him initially, partially contributing to the 2-0 deficit. The HB reader's view was honor him now? It's a franchise, not league record and he's hasn't retired yet, so why do so at this point? I can understand each view to an extent, but again, the Rangers have recently shown that they will honor at the drop of a hat, and since he set the win record and then also notched the shutout record shortly thereafter, this seemed an apt time to recognize both achievements.
On the ice, a pair of defensive breakdowns and it was 2-0. Ryan McDonagh, for as good as he was late, got caught at the blue line, leading to a 2-1 and blast by OEL over Lundqvist's slow-rising glove to make it a 1-0 deficit. On the second, Marc Staal also was flatfooted, the forwards did a lousy job covering down low, and boom, 2-0. To me, the biggest play of the game was Lundqvist's save on Antoine Vermette on a 2-on-1 that developed after Derick Brassard was caught up high behind the Coyotes' net on the man-advantage and the Rangers got caught. If not for that save, the comeback likely would not have happened and I could have seem AV putting in Cam Talbot to try and spark the team.
Then the unsung hero started the comeback, as xcheckmajor noted. The first goal was a direct result of his hard work. After passing the puck to Benoit Pouliot behind the net, Hagelin found open space on the hash boards on the man advantage, regained control of the puck and put it towards the net where Brad Richards deflected it home. The second goal was luck that resulted from good passing initially, and Brassard, the new emotional leader of the squad, blasted it home and it was even at two. Brassard, after a rough patch, is not back on the beam, and regardless of what is done with Richards after the season, the skill and talent is apparent in Braassard, but now, he seems to have matched those with effort, spurring his recent rise.
Late in the second, after gaining the momentum, it all went away due to an unlucky bounce. Chris Kreider missed the net with a slap shot by so much that it rebounded all the way around the boards to create an odd-man advantage. I was wrong in the comments on the blog, Kreider did make it back in time, but all he got for being defensively responsible was to have the puck go off his stick and into the net following an attempted pass. The Rangers broadcast was so confused after the puck go off Kreider that it said 3-2 Rangers on the screen.
Heading into the third, most of us felt this still was the Rangers' game but it took an unfortunate injury and hard work to get it. Late in the third, Brassard was knocked over by Derek Morris onto Mike Smith, knocking him from the game and likely out for two weeks, which could have a major impact on the Coyotes' playoff hopes. With Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan basically useless due to the flu and AV just about benching the Stepan-Kredier-Nash trio, it was the Hagelin-Richards-Pouliot once again to the rescue. Good hard work behind the net by Richards and then Hagelin, who got the puck to Pouliot, which was sent to McDonagh at the point and a great deflection by Girardi and boom 3-3. If not for the work behind the net, there is no way the game is evened up.
On the game-winner, it's was four of those previously mentioned five on the ice for the game-tying goal that made it happen. Richards was able to fight off a check and get the puck to Hagelin. Hags found Girardi at the point and his low blast was saved by Thomas Greiss, but the rebound went to a perfectly placed McDonagh, who was able to get his stick on the puck and put it in the open net. Big efforts by Richards, Hagelin and Pouliot offensively while the fourth line was solid again, with Dominic Moore having another strong contest. Of course, Mack Truck (possible Norris Trophy candidate with career-highs in goals (13), assists (29), points (42), GWG (three), PPG (two), and SHG (three)) and G were huge, lifting the Rangers on a night they should have - and likely earlier in the season - would have lost, especially at home.
The Playoff Race:
Starting with 12 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of March 25, the Rangers sit second in the division, 40-29-4 with 84 points. When I do a recap or game preview blog, I will include this at the bottom of the blog. However, on non-game/recap days, I will run this daily since this is a huge topic of conversation and a large component of our focus.
Monday, the Rangers got help as Philly lost to LA in regulation. Today, a few games of import, mainly Det-CMB but also StL-Tor, LA-Was and Buf-Mtl
Division:
Philly- lost 3-2 to LA on 3/24 ending s streak of five straight victories, 7-2-1 last 10, two games in hand on the Rangers, one point behind NY, in third place. (played 36 games at home, 35 on road, five left at home, six on road)
Washington - won 3-2 in shootout over Phoenix on 3/22, 5-4-1 last 10, no games in hand and is three points behind NY. (played 36 games at home, 36 on road, five left at home, five on road)
Columbus - lost 2-0 to Islanders on 3/23 , two straight defeats and 5-4-1 in last 10, one game in hand, fifth n division with game in hand. (played 35 games at home, 36 on road, six left at home, five on road)
New Jersey - won 3-2 over Toronto on 3/23, 5-5-0 last 10, no games in hand, seven points behind NY. (played 35 games at home, 37 on road, six left at home, four on road)
Carolina - 3-2 win over Winnipeg on 3-22, 5-5-0 last 10, one game in hand, 11 points behind NY. (played 36 games at home, 35 on road, five left at home, six on road)
Conference (teams within 10 either way, as Boston has a lock of Atlantic division, with second, third and wild cards up for grabs)
Tampa Bay - second in Atlantic, lost 4-3 in a shootout to Ottawa on 3/24, two straight losses, 5-1-4 last 10, one game in hand and three points up on Rangers. (played 34 games at home, 38 on road, seven left at home, three on road)
Montreal - third in Atlantic, won 2-1 over Boston in a shootout on 3/24,, two straight wins, 6-4-0 last 10, no games in hand and three points up on Rangers. (played 37 games at home, 36 on road, four left at home, five on road)
Detroit - tied for fourth place in Atlantic, but two games in hand on Toronto. Lost 4-3 to Minnesota on 3/23, 5-3-2 last 10, no games in hand and two points behind the Rangers. First Wild Card. (played 36 games at home, 35 on road, five left at home, six on road)
Toronto - tied for fourth place in Atlantic, lost five in a row, including 3-2 to NJ on 3/23, 4-5-1 last 10, played one more game than the Rangers, two points behind Rangers. Second Wild Card. (played 36 games at home, 37 on road, five left at home, four on road)
Ottawa - sixth place in Atlantic, won 4-3 in shootout over TB, 2-6-2 last 10, two games in hand, 13 points behind the Rangers and nine behind last Wild Card spot. (played 34 games at home, 37 on road, seven left at home, fpur on road)
Summary: Two huge wins over Columbus and New Jersey, but nothing is clinched. The Rangers the past several seasons have been excellent down the stretch, to lock in a spot, they may need to do the same thus year. A pair of home games followed buy two road ones this week. monday against Phoenix, who are in a dogfight for the eighth spot out West, followed by what should make the game against Columbus look like a walk in the park based on the clippings expected, with Philly in on Wednesday. The two road games this week kick off a huge west coast swing from 3/28 to 4/3. Remaining games overall are five on the road and five at home. Last three of four at MSG. The Rangers are going to get no help from others, so they will need to keep winning in order to make the post-season.
In order:
3/21- @ CMB - win 3-1 3/22 - @NJ - win 2-0 3/24 - Phx - win 4-3, OT 3/26 - Phi 3/28 - @Cgy 3/30 - @Edm 4/1 - @Van 4/3 - @Col 4/5 - Ott 4/8 - Car 4/10 - Buf 4/12 - @Mtl
Philly at home Wednesday in what should be a knock-down, dragged out, backyard brawl.