Coming to a Garden near you...

Coming to a Garden near you…

We’re almost two weeks into the regular season, giving teams a light litmus test of where they stand against the league. It’s important to remember that it is still very, very early in the season, but 5 or 6 games gives coaches enough of an idea of which lines are working and which aren’t.

Here in Rangerland, we’ve spent a lot of time analyzing defensive woes and arguing over whether or not we should be worried. It’s easy to forget that there’s a whole league out there, even though there’s a team only 15 miles away from us. In the spirit of keeping our friends close and our enemies closer, we should take a look at what’s going on around the league.

So… what exactly is happening outside of the Garden?

  • Mike Smith has been abysmal for the Arizona Coyotes. He has one win (against Edmonton) in three starts, and has given up 16 goals. Sixteen! His save percentage is sitting at a comfortable .852, most of which is his own making. His positioning is completely off. It’ll be interesting to see what the Coyotes do to remedy this, if anything.
  • Henrik Lundqvist and Tuukka Rask have also started slow.
  • Of those who came out of the gate at full speed, I’m most impressed (yet unsurprised) about Jaroslav Halak. When the Islanders dominated the Rangers in the 3rd period last Tuesday, despite the dopey fans, it wasn’t a surprise. It’s a team built to finally win and, with a solid and determined Halak in net, there’s no saying how far they can go.
  • The Avalanche are doing about as well as a lot of hockey writers thought they would. Sitting with six games played at 1-5-1, with roughly zero goaltenders as all of theirs keep getting hurt and a ticking time bomb of a head coach, I would love to see how their season plays out.
  • Jason Spezza is absolutely shining in Dallas. The new atmosphere and loads of offensive talent around him are paying immediate rewards. His 6 assists place him 2nd overall in this young NHL season. Must be nice without the responsibility of leading an average-at-best team weighing you down each game.
  • With that being said, I love the ‘C’ on Erik Karlsson’s sweater. He wears it very well. Between backup goalie Robin Lehner playing well to start the season, rookie Curtis Lazar thriving in the spotlight, Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur having beautiful on-ice chemistry and Mika Zibanejad actually staying in the majors for a while, the Senators have started this season pretty well.
  • Rick Nash leads the league in goals. I know this isn’t really an update, but I just spotted it on the NHL’s website and it made me proud. Justin did a great job of explaining probable causes of why Nash had been struggling, and if he keeps this up, to say we’re lucky is an understatement.
  • Speaking of goals, Blues 22-year-old winger Jaden Schwartz got his first career hat trick last night. Schwartz missed a good chunk of camp and, when the Blues finally signed him, I’m pretty sure you could hear St. Louis cheering from hundreds of miles away. Schwartz is just very, very good at hockey. Missing camp was nothing for him. Sure, the Blues were beating up on the aforementioned Coyotes last night, but a 4 point night boosting the confidence of your 2nd line left wing will always do you good.
  • While we’re on the blues, Paul Stastny got injured last night. Coach Ken Hitchcock has him at day to day status.
  • This isn’t really a statistical musing, but I’ve been wondering… why is everyone so hard on Ryan Callahan? Cally has been doing well in Tampa, and while I could understand indifference, I can’t understand the animosity towards him that some fans seem to be harboring. He was traded from the Rangers last year – not due to a request – and played his heart out for our team until the day he left. I’m personally glad he’s doing well – at least until he plays the Rangers, of course. He’s never spoken ill of the Rangers as an organization or as teammates. Let’s relax with the hatred.

 

NHL Center Ice has been running a free preview so I recommend if you’re sick of football you watch some today. There are 3 games today, spread out pretty evenly starting at 3pm, including the Rangers at 5.

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