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Game 72: St. Patrick’s Day Rangers
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Photo: Getty
The Rangers are back in action tonight in St. Louis, taking on Blues in a battle for draft positioning. Neither team is making the playoffs, so neither team has much to play for. The Blueshirts are getting long looks at the kids, and the Blues are gearing up for next season.
On the bright side, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. And there shouldn’t be any more Susan Sarandon between the benches. So those are two positives for this game. This could have been a homecoming for Kevin Shattenkirk as well, but he’s not playing. He should be shut down for the year, but who knows. Anyway, let’s enjoy some stress free hockey.
Chytil scores again in Pack shootout win
Posted by: | CommentsHartford Wolf Pack 4, Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 (SO)
Hartford, CT, March 16, 2018 – The Hartford Wolf Pack snapped an 0-5-1-0 drought Friday night at the XL Center, with a 4-3 shootout win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The Wolf Pack are now 5-0-0-0 on the year against the Phantoms, who lead the Atlantic Division with a 40-16-3-5 record.
Dan DeSalvo had the only goal of the shootout, and also scored in regulation, and Marek Mazanec made 28 saves and went 3-for-3 in the shootout, after having been out since January 19 due to an injury.
Quick thoughts on tanking
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With the win last night, there seems to be two groups of people. One group is upset the Blueshirts won (over the Penguins!) because they need to tank. The other group is happy they won. There are a few people that want the tank and want to beat the Pens, but they seem to be few and far between. I fall in that group.
Let’s be clear about the tank. The front office sold off assets to set up for the future. They did not deliver a message to the players to lose on purpose. For starters, that’s just wrong. You don’t want that message to come from anyone in the club. It sets the wrong precedent and gives these kids, who we want to grow and develop and have that “competitive attitude” we all want. Telling them to tank does the opposite.
That was the most fun I’ve had watching hockey in a while
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AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
The Rangers and the Penguins played a fairly fast paced game, one that was pretty entertaining actually. The Pens dominated the first two periods, then their defense took a nap in the third and the Rangers poured it on. The teams traded chances in the third, which ended with Evgeni Malkin missing on a penalty shot with ten seconds remaining, forcing overtime. Was a fun period. But in the end, you can’t match the Penguins in 3-on-3 hockey. It’s really not fair. Can you tell I expected them to lose? Hah. Sorry. I forgot I wrote that and didn’t proof read!
Alex Georgiev played very well in net, but he will want that Carl Hagelin wrap around back. Casey DeSmith wasn’t so bad either. In a game where the teams really traded chances, the goalies played very well. The teams traded chances. It was open. it was fun hockey. Sure, there was some sloppy play too, but this was the most entertaining game I’ve seen this team play in a long, long time.
On to the goals:
Game 71: Brassard in a Penguins uniform….ugh
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Derick Brassard is in a Penguins uniform, reunited with Carl Hagelin. Seeing Hagelin in a Pens uniform was bad. Adding Brassard to that is even worse. I really hate the Penguins. And I hate it when they add ex-Rangers. Bah.
Anyway, that’s the main story for this game. The Blueshirts are without Tony DeAngelo, likely done for the year with an ankle injury. Ryan Sproul is up. Alex Georgiev gets the start. Same old, same old as we wrap up the season.
Some Wednesday thoughts
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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
It’s Wednesday, and I honestly have a little bit of writer’s block. Blame the NCAA tournament, I guess. There are a bunch of little things on my mind, but nothing big enough to make a full post. Then it hit me. How about a musings post? Works for me. Hope it works for you.
1. Jimmy Vesey got a hat trick on Monday night. Good for the kid. Happy for him. He’s a decent bottom six forward, capable of 15 goals, 20 points. He may get some penalty killing minutes. However there is a growing –and very vocal– group that thinks this kind of production belongs in the top-six. I staunchly disagree. Even based on the current production, he isn’t a top-six forward. Simply put, 15 goals and 20 points doesn’t cut it.
Rangers recall Ryan Sproul
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The Rangers have recalled defenseman Ryan Sproul from Hartford. This likely means that Tony DeAngelo, who looked to suffer a pretty gruesome leg injury yesterday, is not going to play tomorrow against the Penguins. This shouldn’t shock anyone, although we are still pending the severity of the injury.
Sproul’s call up is his second, playing four games in his prior stint. He notched a pair of assists.
When will we see Chytil and Andersson?
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With Game 70 under the belt, we are in the home stretch of games. The Blueshirts have 12 games remaining until the season ends, and eyes are more on the kids and less on wins and losses. It is a bit refreshing to watch stress free hockey, but also a little depressing when you realize there is probably at least another year of this.
The good news is that we are expected to see 2017 first rounders Lias Andersson (7th) and Filip Chytil (21st) for the tail end of the season. The organization has confirmed they will be up with the Blueshirts for an extended look, and the question is when.
Hats off to Vesey in Rangers win over Carolina
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AP Photo/Kathy Willens
The Rangers and Hurricanes alternated goals last night, and luckily for the Rangers they scored first and it was an odd number of goals. They came out with a 6-3 win after leading 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2. This wasn’t a pretty game by any means, as both teams had extended periods of sloppy play. But it was the Jimmy Vesey hat trick that left us all smiling last night.
Neither goalie was outstanding, but Alex Georgiev was certainly better than Scott Darling in this one. That said, Georgiev did make some nice stops to close out the game. The constant pressure was nice to see, even if the potential for a higher draft pick was on the back of everyone’s minds. Also on the back of everyone’s mind is the injury to Tony DeAngelo, who had a gruesome spill in the boards. Legs don’t bend like that in that place.
On to the goals:
Game 70: Shoot on the bad goalie
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AP Photo/Gerry Broome
The Rangers are back in action again tonight, taking on a Carolina team that really should be better than they are. They have had terrible goaltending basically all season, and that’s a big reason why they are on the outside of the playoffs looking in. It’s unlikely they get in now, but stranger things have happened.
As for the Blueshirts, it’s another game in the rebuild. This is more about seeing how the kids play, as opposed to getting points. You can’t ask players to tank, and you want to create a winning mentality. Play to win, but hopefully grab a top-five pick.