Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. And we’re off.
And following the Rangers’ 6-0 season opening win from Wednesday night – we are off with a bang too!
For those of you who are new here (what took you so long?), and regular readers alike who may have taken the summer off following the disgusting and heartbreaking 2024 Eastern Conference Final loss (and I get it); then at this time, I want to share our mantra/slogan/rallying call/disclaimer on this site for this 2024-25 season – and one that goes a little something like this:
“WHATEVER THE RANGERS DO FROM NOW UNTIL THE TRADE DEADLINE DOESN’T MATTER. THEY CAN ONLY BE JUDGED BY WHATEVER THEY DO FOLLOWING THE DEADLINE AND BY WHAT THEY DO IN THE 2025 PLAYOFFS!”
These thirty-three words above will be reprinted during every GAME REVIEW blog of this season, as the only thing that matters for this team is accomplishing their goal of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup come June of 2025 – and with Presidents’ Trophies, individual milestones, league awards and other such feats amounting to nothing more than trinkets for this current core be damned.
For the Rangers, talk is cheap.
Actions speak louder than words.
In turn, win the damn Cup!
Before getting into both tonight’s GAME REVIEW and all of the other pregame news and notes, I do want to share that heading into this 99th season opener in franchise history – my 42nd – I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t excited for puck drop.
That is, until tonight, Wednesday, October 9th.
In fact, this was definitely the least amount of enthusiasm that I’ve ever experienced for a Rangers’ opening night – or at least while as an adult anyway.
As Tuesday night turned into Wednesday morning and as Wednesday morning became 7:30PM – game time – and I had that same feeling and vibes shared to me from others within the fan base.
To me, and just like many of you, there just wasn’t any electrifying juice going into this game, and for all of the obvious reasons, such as this campaign feels like a continuation of the failed one that just ended, everything discussed in our daily disclaimer and so forth.
In addition, with both the Mets and Yankees contending for a World Series berth at the same time – then come puck drop – the Rangers fell to the wayside – which is only natural at this time of year – and especially considering the fact that it’s not very often when both local baseball teams are alive for a championship.
You may be aware of this!
Perhaps compounding to the “blah” emotions, emotions that made this hockey game feel as an afterthought, is the fact that both of the local football teams are in the news too – and especially the Jets, following their dismissal of their head coach, Robert Saleh.
If that wasn’t enough for you, you also have the local WNBA team, the Liberty, currently vying for their first league championship.
And of course, many people are distracted – or engrossed – with this whole U.S. Presidential election thing.
And oh yeah – there’s also a historic Category 5 hurricane presently taking place in Florida right now too.
In summary – yes – it was very easy and understandable to not be hyped about the first game of the Rangers’ season.
But after it?
While I guess that the Yankees and Mets wins did push the Rangers back a bit (or at least when it comes to the local papers) – but for us pure hockey fans – you had to love what you saw.
And as you can see from tonight’s blog – and despite my own negative feelings going into this season to boot – I’m still here.
And I’ll be watching every game – including when I’m in South Bend, IN this Saturday!
However, and as noted last time in this space – there probably won’t be a GAME REVIEW for the Rangers vs. Utah match – so savor this manifesto instead!
In what best can be described as an old school MOLLY-WHOPPING – or for the Gen Z crowd – an ASSKICKING – the Rangers just destroyed the Penguins on Wednesday night.
No joke, and after the first thirteen-minutes or so, back when the home town crowd had life – the Rangers just took complete control.
While the Blueshirts did kick off the scoring with a TROUBA BOMB to Sam Carrick deflection 1-0, GOOD GUYS, goal at the 2:24 mark; it were still the Penguins who seemingly had the advantage – which is acceptable due to their home opener circumstances.
But then it changed – and boy, oh boy, did the tables turn.
For the final 47-minutes or so, the Rangers were pretty much the stereotypical beach bully – and a “Blueshirts’ Bully” that was not only knocking down every Pittsburgh sandcastle on the beach – but kicking sand into the faces of every ice bird too.
No joke?
Once the game reached its conclusion – and this all felt like a mid-January game where the Rangers beat a bad team on the second-half of their own back-to-back.
That’s not good news for the Penguins.
That’s also not my problem either.
Simply put and the Blueshirts absolutely imposed their will on the tenants of the former Igloo, even making the Penguins meltdown in the process – and as was obvious when future Hall of Famer, Sidney Crosby, got into a catty little physical match with Rangers’ rookie, Victor Mancini.
While on Mancini, for the new rookie rearguard making his season debut on this night?
He looked splendid and also did his part in helping CZAR IGOR reach his eventual 29-save no-no.
While there were minor things to nitpick about (an 0-2 power-play, MIA Z. remaining on PP1 and Kaapo Krappo still on the roster) – none of that comes even close to matching the all-out positivity created by the Blueshirts.
And heck Part I: When it comes to The Feckless Finn – had Will Cuylle not been offside on a play that he scored on – then the Rangers would have had goals scored from all four of their lines – IN THE FIRST PERIOD!
And heck Part II: All four lines did score tonight!
Following Carrick’s fourth line goal, Alexis Lafreniere pushed the score to 2-0, GOOD GUYS, following a sweet and nifty move of his own – and one that seemingly the TNT broadcast would not give him credit for. (More about this in the GAME REVIEW.)
Lafreniere, who just looked like he picked up from where he left off last season, scored this goal late, as there were only 2:47 remaining in the first frame.
Hello Chris Kreider!
With just eleven-seconds left to be ticked prior to the first intermission and there was CK20 doing what he does best – cleaning up loose pucks in front of an opponent’s net for the 3-0, GOOD GUYS goal.
And that CZAR IGOR guy?
Following an initial barrage where he made ten clean saves in total (and where I’d say that eight of them were of that “HIGH DANGER” variety nonsense), he didn’t have to do much for the next ten-minutes of game-time – as the Penguins then had a hard time getting to him.
Entering the middle period and all you could think about was, “don’t blow the dreaded three-goal lead.”
You may have also been thinking, “CZAR IGOR isn’t exactly known for his shutouts” too.
Such fears were calmed on this night, as Filip Chytil, and whether he’s overcompensating or what I do not know, displayed a strong and physical presence, and for good measure, then scored the 4-0, GOOD GUYS, goal at the 9:39 mark.
The Rangers, dominant on the penalty kill last year, continued their back-breaking ways and wound up going a perfect two-for-two on the PK in this frame.
Come the third period and with the crowd in Pittsburgh so quiet (HOW QUIET WAS IT?) that you could hear the tears rolling off of the face of Crosby and hitting the ice – the Rangers, so prone to letting up in these situations, NEVER LET THEIR FEET OFF OF THE PENGUINS’ NECKS.
The Rangers, back on the penalty kill for the third time in the game, saved their best for last.
At the 11:35 mark, CK20, who was first turned into a penalty killer when Gerard Gallant entered town (2021-22 season), scored another short-handed goal – and his league-leading tenth SHG since making the leap to the first man-down unit.
For the cherry on top – this goal was sweet as sugar – as on a breakaway, Kreider displayed the mitts, and then went backhanded for a five-hole goal against Tristan Jarry.
5-0, GOOD GUYS.
Outside of keeping CZAR IGOR’s shutout in tact (and the Rangers, as mentioned, have been known to give up a quick goal after scoring themselves); then there was only one thing left to do in garbage time.
Get the hometown boy a goal in front of his family and friends.
And at the 16:59 mark, that’s exactly what happened, as NONNA TROCHECK’S BAMBINO, the center of the GAG LINE 2.0, put one more by Jarry for the TOUCHDOWN, 6-0, GOOD GUYS, goal!
Another bonus?
This was a PURE GAG LINE 2.0 goal, as Lafreniere (1 goal, 1 assist) and the returning-and-healthy Panarin (2 assists) helped their center out with this feel-good score.
As the clock ticked-ticked-ticked to triple zeroes, and with what was left of a formerly packed house (by the end of the game, all you saw were empty yellow seats – and traveling Ranger road-trippers in their faithful blue sweaters too) sitting in a state of shock, not only did the Blueshirts pick up their first win of the season – a dominating one at that – but CZAR IGOR, currently embroiled in a fierce contract negotiation, picked up his first NYET NYET of the campaign too.
And oh yeah – CZAR IGOR’s shutout was the first Ranger opening night no-no since 1956 – when Gump Worsley manned the pipes.
In other words, legendary Blueshirt icons such as Eddie Giacomin, John Davidson, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter and Henrik Lundqvist never posted an opening night shutout.
Wow!
For one night at least, all was right again for all of the good little boys and girls in Rangerstown, USA.
But of course, and while not trying to take away from this win, but to just give you the big picture:
So what.
Win the Stanley Cup.
At this time, let’s get into everything else that took place prior to tonight’s game and then into the GAME REVIEW itself.
If you haven’t been following this site all summer, then you my friend, have a lot to catch up on.
While I can’t rehash everything tonight, my previous blog has a ton of information on the present state of the team, including thoughts on every player who made the final cut.
You can find that tome here: 
DROP THE PUCK: Rangers Prepare To Set Opening Night Roster; Send Othmann & Others To Hartford, Thoughts On Every Single Blueshirt (All 23 Of Them!) Entering the 2024-25 Campaign, Final Takeaways on Training Camp/Preseason – And That Damn Isles’ Top Line Too, CZAR IGOR Gets Good News; Drury Doesn’t, Missing Goodrow, Alexis “Softball What?” Lafreniere, Predictions & Much More
Prior to getting any further into Wednesday night’s Rangers’ season opener against the Penguins, I just wanted to pick up from where I left off.
In other words, let’s hit all of the top talk in Rangerstown, USA – and then get into tonight’s GAME REVIEW.
Up first, and obviously of course too – the latest on CZAR IGOR’s contract negotiations.
On Tuesday, October 8th, and just a tad over 24-hours from the first puck drop of the Blueshirts’ season, one of the best NHL insiders around today, and a former Ranger goalie to boot, Kevin Weekes, tweeted out the following:
**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
I’m told the Stanley Cup contending & cap spending @NYRangers offer of $88M / 11M AAV has been rejected by G Shesterkin.
Igor has rejected the highest Goalie contract in @NHL history from #NYR . #HockeyX pic.twitter.com/assw8DGUH1— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) October 8, 2024
As you can expect – there was plenty of reaction to Weekes’ report.
As I’ve said all summer – while CZAR IGOR is my favorite Ranger – I also know my Blueshirts’ history – and recent league history too.
In other words – if I was Chris Drury, then I’m not making my goalie the highest-paid player on my team, nor giving him over 10% of my cap space.
And for what it’s worth, the 2024-25 league’s salary cap is $88M.
Furthermore, and just to extrapolate here, CZAR IGOR is currently playing on the final year of a major team-friendly contract that annually pays him $5,666,667.
In other words, CZAR IGOR is looking for a 100% raise, and while the figure that he rejected for next season, the $11M sum (which would make him the highest-paid goalie in the league), would be near 10% of the team’s salary cap; at the same time, the salary cap is expected to raise from $88M to over $90M next season.
And to just give you other factors to also consider, Jacob Trouba will most likely be traded by the start of the 2025-26 season, which would open up an extra $8M in cap space. However, players like K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Alexis Lafreniere will be looking for hefty raises.
And yep – damn that salary cap.
But enough about the salary cap topic – as I feel like I’ve already written about 9876786798698678 zillion words about it during the past ten-plus years on this site.
As previously noted on this site, CZAR IGOR, during one of his training camp interviews, made it clear that if he didn’t have a new contract/extension prior to the first puck drop of this season – then that’s it – and he’ll only address the matter come the Summer.
And while CZAR IGOR did say that he wouldn’t negotiate during the season; at the same time, we’ve seen plenty of athletes go back on similar ultimatums.
After all, it’s not like they are negotiating their own deals.
Instead, it’s their agents that are buzzing the phones.
What I mean by this is that while CZAR IGOR and Chris Drury may not be talking about years and figures; I also wouldn’t rule out CZAR IGOR’s agent going back-and-forth with the Rangers’ GM – and should Drury give a lucrative number to the liking of the agent, then of course, he’ll soon pass it along to his client.
As far as what happens next, it’s my belief that the Rangers (and Drury) should play out the season.
Let CZAR IGOR prove his value in his contract year.
Currently, there are some fans (and writers/reporters too), that have suggested that Drury trade CZAR IGOR away, as a way to avoid a John Tavares/Islanders situation, when the former blue-and-orange captain played out his final season for the Isles – and then immediately bolted to Toronto for no return.
Me?
I just can’t see such a scenario playing out here with CZAR IGOR – that is – unless the Rangers are dead-and-buried and far removed from playoff contention come the trade deadline.
And if that’s the case, then it’s my opinion that not only will CZAR IGOR be dealt – but Drury will be a goner too.
However, and I know that anything can happen – but I just can’t see how the Rangers won’t be a Stanley Cup contender this season.
While I don’t think that they’ll win the holy silver of hockey; at the very least, they SHOULD be in the mix.
And as fully explained in a previous blog, while I’m not a fan of the “LAST DANCE” moniker (such a thing implies that this team has actually won something); regardless, and because of the salary cap, this will be the final run of this core.
In other words, if WHEN the Rangers have a firm control of a playoff berth come the trade deadline – and assuming that he hasn’t re-signed yet by that time either – then I’m still not trading him.
I’m either sailing to the glory land with him – or sinking like the Titanic with him.
While yes, I do fully understand the idea of wanting to get something back for a potential town-splitting unrestricted free agent; but keep in mind, YES, 100%, this is a CUP OR BUST year (again)!
The obvious best-case scenario?
CZAR IGOR and the Rangers win the Stanley Cup.
And should that hopeful miracle ever become a reality, then who cares what his next contract is?
Pay him $31M a year for all I care.
After all, and as we still see today with 1994 – win one Cup and you’re immortalized forever – and then afterwards – you’ll have to hold onto that feeling for the next thirty years too!
(If not 54-years, but the less said about that, the better!)
But should the more realistic scenario play out, and the Rangers suffer their annual post-season failure?
Then you gave it all you had with your last best shot – and it’s nearly $5.7M off the books too.
Whatever happens next, my best advice for the organization is this:
I’d have Benoit Allaire, now part-time with the club, spend every single available minute not in New York – but in Hartford – and with the contingency plan of getting Dylan Garand as ready as possible – as in potentially the 2025-26 opener.
As everyone long knows by now, “The Maven” Stan Fischler is a close friend of mine, where as a result, I often contribute to his various articles that are published on both “The Hockey News” and NHL.com.
While we don’t agree on everything – there’s also a mutual respect – and we also enjoy going back-and-forth with our varying opinions.
I bring this up because recently, my good pal has been hammering the “SELFISH SHESTY” angle, and as he did again on Tuesday morning once reading Weekes’ report:
Something for the @NYRangers greedy goalie #IgorShesterkin to think about. From Craig Berube to his @MapleLeafs. “IT’S TEAM FIRST; NOT
INDIVIDUALS.” Iggy should think about the Salary Cap and his ridiculous $ demands for a new deal. Other Rangers will be impacted, negatively.— Stan Fischler (@StanFischler) October 9, 2024
While the reaction to Fischler’s tweet was mixed, it were the negative comments, including from some of the birdbrain beat reporters, that had me chuckling the most.
Heck, I don’t even agree with my fellow Maven on this topic (and I certainly don’t agree with him when he said that Henrik Lundqvist was never selfish – you may have heard my opinions on this subject once or twice before), but I do respect Stan’s rights to his opinions.
Put it this way: Fischler is 92-years-old and based on the reaction to his tweet that went viral – he remains as relevant as ever!
Furthermore, no one pumps out more daily content about the Rangers than Fischler, as he publishes 2-3 articles about the team every day, articles which mainly appear on The Hockey News website.
For every Maven zinger on “IGGY” – there’s also an equal amount of reaction – which is the mark of an excellent writer – and one that belongs in the Hall of Fame too.
In addition?
All of these Blueshirt birdbrain beat scribes could only hope to be as relevant and gain as much traction as Fischler does with an opinion – not only today – but in the event that they one day become nonagenarians too.
Tell Wince Mercogliano to go back to copying and pasting his charts from NaturalStatTrick – as that’s what he does best!
We’re not done with the beat just yet.
Last but not least while on this topic, the most amusing thing to me from the past 24-hours is when Larry Brooks called out the Rangers, then CZAR IGOR, for leaking information to Kevin Weekes.
Brooks didn’t sound too jealous about not getting the scoop himself – but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing about the irony, as Brooks relayed that leaking such information was nothing but a detriment for all parties involved.
Lost in such opinions of grand valor?
How it was Brooks who recently spearheaded the attack against Dr. Kelly Trouba – and the potential trade of her husband too, Rangers’ captain Jacob, over the summer.
That leak wasn’t detrimental?
Also omitted from Brooks’ time on the soapbox?
How it was he, while under the tenure of Senile Sather, who always wrote negative articles about pending Ranger free agents, as a way to drive their price down – and on behalf of the team/Sather.
I’ve recapped all of this before in real-time, but look no further to the likes of Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and even Chris Kreider, when they were negotiating for new deals with the team.
But I guess since it was Weekes, and not Brooks, who had the scoop – then it was only this contract negotiation story that was a true detriment!
And of course, publicly feuding with John Tortorella, and writing hit pieces on the former Ranger head coach when he was here, wasn’t detrimental to the team either.
MOVING ON!
Lars-Erik Sjoberg, who at the prime of his playing career, won three Avco Cups as the captain of the WHA Winnipeg Jets, where as a result, the defenseman was later inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame too; the Swede then became a scout (head of the European department) with the Rangers following his one-and-done NHL season in 1979-80.
(He only played in the NHL with the Jets because of the league’s merger with the second league.)
Sadly, on October 20th, 1987, and at only the age of 43-years-old; Sjoberg passed away after a battle with cancer.
During his eight-years with the Rangers, he helped general managers Craig Patrick and Phil Esposito discover the likes of Tomas Sandstrom, Jan Erixon, Kjell Samuelsson and Ulf Dahlen.
(And you can read about how all of these players were then traded away in my four-volume set of books, “Tricks of the Trade” – and where the Samuelsson trade “trumps” all.)
Due to Sjoberg’s work as a scout; starting in 1988, the Blueshirts created an award in his namesake, which annually honors the top Rangers’ rookie in camp.
For the sake of posterity, here are all of the winners:
1988: Mike Richter
1989: Troy Mallette
1990: Steven Rice
1991: Tony Amonte
1992: Peter Andersson
1993: Mattias Norstrom
1994: Mattias Norstrom
1995: Niklas Sundstrom
1996: Eric Cairns
1997: Marc Savard
1998: Manny Malhotra
1999: Kim Johnsson
2000: Filip Novak
2001: Dan Blackburn
2002: Jamie Lundmark
2003: Dominic Moore
2004: No winner (lockout)
2005: Henrik Lundqvist
2006: Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky
2007: Marc Staal
2008: Lauri Korpikoski
2009: Matt Gilroy
2010: Derek Stepan
2011: Carl Hagelin
2012: No winner (lockout)
2013: Jesper Fast
2014: Anthony Duclair
2015: Oscar Lindberg
2016: Jimmy Vesey
2017: Filip Chytil
2018: Lias Andersson
2019: Adam Fox
2020: No winner (pandemic)
2021: Nils Lundkvist
2022: Brennan Othmann
2023: Will Cuylle
2024: Adam Edstrom
As you can see from this list, it’s pretty much all over the place.
For legendary players such as Mike Richter and Henrik Lundqvist, there’s also Crybaby Andersson and Nils Lundkvist too.
However, if you look at this collection of names as a whole – then most of these players have gone on to have lengthy NHL careers – as the amount of “BUSTS” is minimal.
Congratulations to MR. ED, who won this two-horse race – and who most certainly deserved to win by a nose too.
On the morning of October 9th, GAME DAY, the Rangers held a light skate in Pittsburgh, PA.
When it comes to CZAR IGOR’s contract negotiations, Laviolette said, “I think Igor is focused on hockey. I don’t really get into that stuff and what’s written. We’ve got a group that came out here to play a game today, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
In my eyes, that was a perfect answer, as it’s not the coach’s responsibility to dabble into these dangerous waters.
In a nice human-relations story, Victor Mancini expressed his gratitude about making the team, even saying, “you couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face!”
Once officially making the cut, his parents, who live in Michigan, bought tickets and hauled ass to Pittsburgh – and what a game they saw!
Then, and in our final pregame story, was the news about Matt Rempe – and how he wouldn’t be part of the line-up against the black-and-yellow.
“This isn’t about scratching somebody. Sometimes it’s going to be about the opponent, sometimes it’s going to be about play. I think Jonny (Brodzinski) had a really good camp.” – Peter Laviolette, around noon on 10/9.
“It’s head-scratching that Rempe is scratched tonight.” – Wayne Gretzky, around 7PM on NHL on TNT.
I won’t go too long on this, as I’ve made these points well-known many times over ever since Rempe’s arrival – but for the life of me – I don’t understand what Laviolette was thinking when he scratched Rempe tonight.
And I had these thoughts GOING into the game – as well as AFTER the 6-0 win.
As most recent of last week (https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/10724/ ), I said that I believed for the Rangers to have their most success, and outside of their stars actually showing up in the playoffs, then it was that the team will also need some of their young guns to step up.
But if they don’t get a shot, then how are these guns supposed to go off?
This is my way of saying that I thought it was a huge mistake, for a coach who made a ton of them with his line-up during the 2024 playoffs, to scratch Rempe from his line-up tonight.
And I’m sure – in fact I KNOW – that both the league and their national TV partner, TNT, wasn’t thrilled with the league’s biggest draw being withheld from the game.
And for who? The captain of the Wolfpack? (And no offense to Jonny Brodzinski – but who has better value for the Rangers right now – JONNY BROADWAY OR REMPESTEIN?)
I just don’t know how Rempe, who worked his ass off all summer, is supposed to develop if he’s in-and-out of the line-up, rather than being a regular.
While I get that Rempe will most likely play on Saturday night, during the home opener at M$G – he should be in the line-up every game – that is – unless he gives Laviolette a reason to exclude him.
While I know that Rempe will take all of this in stride and that he won’t let this healthy scratch negatively impact his future performances; it’s still just mind-boggling that Laviolette would bench this up-and-comer – and especially against a team that’s projected to be weak/miss the playoffs this season.
If you’re still one of these moronic rubes that faithfully subscribes to the idea that Rempe is nothing more than a fighting plug; then you may be the one with CTE.
In reality, Rempe is one hell of a forechecker, puts every opponent on notice/keeps them honest, and does one hell of a job screening goalies too.
Furthermore, he’s now advancing his penalty killing skills as well.
To illustrate my point on this topic one last time for tonight – then ask yourself this:
Who benefits the most from Rempe being excluded from the line-up?
The Penguins or the Rangers?
In my eyes, it’s the former – and no doubt about it!
Another Lavy mistake?
Keeping the same first power-play unit together, as tonight’s PP1 was Fox, Zibanejad, Trocheck, Panarin and Kreider, while the second quintet was Miller, Lafreniere, Chytil, Smith and Kakko.
What does Lavy need to see in order to swap Zibanejad for Lafreniere?
Another 1-19 showing in an Eastern Conference Final series?
Or perhaps another 0-2 performance as was the case on Wednesday – and where not only did Mika whiff twice on one-timers – but he also looked scared to shoot during the back-end of a 4 x 3 power-play too.
Lafreniere?
All he did was score another sexy five-vs-five goal.
Here was Laviolette’s line-up for the first game of this 2024-25 season:
FIRST LINE: Kreider/Zibanejad/Smith
SECOND LINE: Panarin/Trocheck/Lafreniere
THIRD LINE: Cuylle/Chytil/Kakko
FOURTH LINE: Edstrom/Carrick/Brodzinski
FIRST PAIR: Miller/Fox
SECOND PAIR: Schneider/Trouba
THIRD PAIR: Jones/Mancini
STARTING GOALIE: CZAR IGOR
BACK UP GOALIE: Quick
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: Rempe and Ruhwedel
IR: Lindgren
LTIR: Vesey
BOX SCORE time.
The following graphics and information come from ESPN.com:
SCORING:
PENALTIES:
TEAM STATS:
GOALIES:
|
NYR
|
|
SA
|
GA
|
SV
|
SV%
|
ESSV
|
PPSV
|
SHSV
|
SOSA
|
SOS
|
TOI
|
PIM
|
| 29 | 0 | 29 | 1.000 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 0 |
|
PIT
|
|
SA
|
GA
|
SV
|
SV%
|
ESSV
|
PPSV
|
SHSV
|
SOSA
|
SOS
|
TOI
|
PIM
|
| 29 | 0 | 29 | 1.000 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 0 |
To jump ahead a bit, check out Trouba following his two-assist game:
Trouba off a two-point season opener so he expects to lead Adam Fox for defensemen points right…?
“Nope” -Jacob Trouba 😅 pic.twitter.com/Pf1wtWKMqe
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) October 10, 2024
Yeah, it’s only one game and all that; but man oh man, was it excellent to see Trouba get out to a hot start tonight – and prove that he’s much better when healthy!
DUH!
Similar to Carrick scoring the first Rangers’ goal of the season – then do yourself a favor and buy yourself another powerball ticket if you had Trouba logging two assists tonight.
Buy one more powerball ticket if you had Trouba as the only Rangers’ rearguard to pick up points tonight, as neither the offensively-gifted Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller pair got on the board, nor did Mancini, Jones or Schneider either.
(And to be clear – this is not to disparage any of the other five Blueshirts d-men – as all of them played well. This is just to illustrate how much Trouba stood out.)
Long-story short on Trouba’s night?
THANK YOU DOC KELLY!
Since this blog is already at 7,500 words as I type this – I won’t go long with the GAME REVIEW.
Plus, I got an early flight to Chicago on Thursday morning, in preparation of my weekend trip to both South Bend, IN and Green Bay, WI.
In other words, let’s hit everything else (and clips of the goal scoring too) that wasn’t covered in my opening recap.
And away we go!
FIRST PERIOD
Following a touching tribute for the Gaudreau brothers, and man oh man, did I feel bad for their close friend, former Ranger/current Penguin, Kevin Hayes too; the first of an eventual 246 regular season periods began.
Zibanejad lost the first draw of the night, but eventually went 14-8 (63.6%) – and where it should also be mentioned that most of his losses at the dot were d-zone draws.
CZAR IGOR made his first of 29-saves just ten-seconds in, which then prompted Penguin fans to bring back the old and mocking “I-GOR!” chants.
That sure worked out well for them tonight.
On their first shift together, Lafreniere almost had Panarin set-up for a quick goal, but while the right idea, the play was broken up.
But it was a sign of what was to come.
With Mancini clearing pucks following CZAR IGOR denials and rebounds; the fourth line then came on – and for this new makeshift trio – they scored during their first shift together:
Sam Carrick with the first goal of the season for the Rangers 🗽 pic.twitter.com/IDcmUBLXB6
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 9, 2024
There’s JONNY BROADWAY, from the corner, finding Trouba for a bomb from DOWNTOWN JULIE BROWN – and a bomb that Carrick successfully deflected by Jarry.
1-0, GOOD GUYS – and a nice start to Carrick’s Blueshirts’ career too.
And as a Trouba supporter in the face of an angry mob – I was happy for my captain!
Now down 1-0 and the Penguins relentlessly challenged CZAR IGOR – but it was all for naught.
And once weathering the storm – RANGER HOCKEY BABY!
One player that caught my eye in an impressive and star-studded manner, and one that I’m not high on at all to begin with, was “The Concussed Czech,” Filip Chytil.
On this night, he was challenging everyone during scrums and never skated away from physicality.
Again, I don’t know if he’s trying to prove to everyone that he’s Stone Cold Steve Austin right now – rather than possessing the CTE brain of a Chris Benoit – but I liked what I saw.
I still fear for his health, and I think it’s only a matter of time before the unfortunate inevitable transpires again too; but there’s no way I can knock him tonight – that is – except for his biggest weakness – faceoffs.
Your third line center went 2-7 (22.2%) at the circles.
He’s been the worst center at the dots ever since entering the league – and obviously – this is his downfall – and you can’t have him taking important draws during the playoffs either.
That is, assuming he’s healthy for the playoffs.
But he was healthy, and vibrant too – including when after an offside whistle, he fired a shot at Jarry – and then welcomed Matt Grzelcyk (I probably loused up the spelling of that surname) to a gentleman’s duel.
Thankfully, the refs broke this up before Matty G. could send Chytil to a Pittsburgh ER.
During this first period, there were two things to note from this broadcast – and another solid showing from TNT, best in the business, at that.
One, it was all but said that Kenny Albert would succeed Sam Rosen on M$GN broadcasts next season. This took place during a segment when TNT paid their respects to Rosen for winning the 2024 Lester Patrick Award.
Two, Albert, who didn’t confirm the news, but didn’t ask his partners to cool it either, told us that Hayes is currently renting out Trocheck’s Steel City home.
After tonight, Hayes may take an upper-decker in Trocheck’s toilet.
If Kakko didn’t have bad luck, then he’d have no luck at all, as this beautiful pass – and assist – was soon erased from the game’s ledger:
Its close. I’d say 50/50 #NYR pic.twitter.com/sReYDVWLqh
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) October 9, 2024
Yep.
I hate these video reviews where goals are erased because someone was offside by a c-hair – and especially when the offside had nothing to do with the score.
And I wonder if you had the time and went back – then how many of Gretzky’s 894 NHL goals would be stricken from the record?
But as they say in Brooklyn, “dems the rules” – and Cuylle – the person who went offside here – then had his goal erased – and Kakko’s assist wiped away too.
And while I don’t know Kakko on a personal level at all (no shit!); but it’s just my opinion as an outsider-looking-in that stuff like this gets to him – and it just completely derails him too.
It was noticeable early that a pair of “BABY BLUESHIRTS,” Adam Edstrom and Will Cuylle, were laying the body whenever they could.
In a game where the Rangers largely controlled the puck (meaning that hits were scarce), each young man picked up three hits a piece – the Blueshirts’ game high.
Then, and with 2:47 to go – Lafreniere, who I believe, that following his career-year last season, will only shatter all of his scoring totals this season, did it again:
Live, Laf, Love… Lafreniere 2-0 🚨 pic.twitter.com/vE38zHeUYS
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 10, 2024
2-0, GOOD GUYS.
For whatever reason, TNT was more focused on the bad Pittsburgh defense – and goalie too – rather than giving Lafreniere his credit for jukin’-and-jivin’ his way to the net.
As anyone who has played this game knows – or really – any other sport too – if you’re over-matched against an opponent, then your body can’t catch up to your brain.
Perfect example of this, outside of this goal?
The reason why if a baseball player hits .300 – then he’s considered a potential Hall of Famer – despite not getting a hit 70% of the time!
Simply put: Even the best betters can be fooled by bozo pitching – and in this case – the Penguins were fooled by a player looking to make his first All-Star Game this season.
Long story short?
I thought that Lafreniere deserved full credit, full marks, rather than blaming the shit over in Shitsburgh.
Towards the final seconds of the period, and the Rangers, with the Mika line and Trouba pair on the ice, picked up a late one, courtesy of who else – CHRISTOPHER JAMES KREIDER:
It is all New York in the 1st Period. Chris Kreider tacks on to the lead#NYR: 3#LetsGoPens: 0 pic.twitter.com/erlNb0YjsD
— Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) October 10, 2024
3-0, GOOD GUYS – and Reilly Smith’s first apple as a Ranger – and Trouba’s second of the game.
We remained at this score once the horn went off, and where I said the following at the time:
3-0, GOOD GUYS, after 20. 1P Thoughts:
— Penguins dominated about 18:00 of the period – Rangers turned it on late for two goals.
— Kreider is going to catch Gilbert one day.
— CZAR IGOR looks sharp.
— Imagine being asked to stop Crosby in your first game. Big ask for…— BlueCollarBlueShirts (@NYCTheMiC) October 10, 2024
SECOND PERIOD
At the 1:06 mark of the period, the pesky Chytil drew O’Connor for a tripping call.
This is when MIA Z did his usual act of nothing – while the team’s second-best 5 x 5 scorer from last season, only to Panarin, Lafreniere, watched.
End result?
An 0-1 PP.
As this period progressed, the Rangers totaled sixteen shots on goal before the Penguins got one – and kept them devoid of a SOG for over ten-minutes.
With 15:26 remaining, we had a questionable call, one that only grew more questionable later on, when Cuylle was boxed for goalie interference – and despite Matty G. clearly pushing Cuylle into Jarry.
No matter for the Rangers’ PK, who successfully shut down this tomfoolery.
While the Penguins’ struggled to muster anything up, CZAR IGOR got bored a bit, and then decided to go into HOMERUN PASS MODE – and where he made this quartet of long bomb passes in a time-span of three-minutes.
Then, and where a goal either way could have changed the fate of the final score; Chytil made sure it was in the Rangers’ favor:
And so Chytil will make it a 4-0 ballgame… pic.twitter.com/14GQhe4vK5
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) October 10, 2024
4-0, GOOD GUYS!
Talk about being aware.
On this play, Cuylle drove to the hopper, and once the puck was squirted loose by a defender, Chytil kept with it – and then buried the puck into the top of the net.
To follow, on his next shift, Panarin seemingly set-up four scoring plays, but Pittsburgh survived.
With 5:41 to go, Trouba was forced to trip Anthony Beauvillier (and where Albert, in an ode to Rosen, made sure to tell us that he was a former Islander) following a bad MIA Z d-zone faceoff loss.
No matter, as the Rangers almost got their first SHG here, but Jarry was able to deny Trocheck on a 3 x 2 odd-man rush.
During this successful kill, Crosby clearly bowled over CZAR IGOR, Mancini took offense, and Crosby slashed him in return.
Despite Cuylle getting a penalty for the same thing – and without the slash for that matter – no call.
Sid The Crybaby and his ref pals were in cahoots again.
But not even his yellow-black-and-white officials could help him win this game.
And that’s how dominant the Rangers were!
With 1:18 remaining, the useless and conceited idiot, Kaapo Kakko, had a clear-as-day breakaway.
Somehow, this dumb schmuck overskated the net and in turn, then gave Jarry his easiest save of the game.
A crashing Chytil looked for a rebound, but once at the net, was met by Marcus Pettersson.
In another example of Chytil’s willingness to get rough-and-rowdy – he was foaming-at-the-mouth to drop the gloves – but the refs once again prevented such a thing, and instead, boxed him and Pettersson for roughing.
Ten-seconds later, and now into foreplay (4×4), Crosby cross-checked Zibanejad – and probably because he knew that MIA Z. wouldn’t hurt him and his team, now on a Rangers’ 4 x 3 power-play.
#87 would be proven correct – but where it should also be mentioned that Jarry absolutely robbed Kreider at his door-step, following a cross-ice pass from Fox.
And who knows – had this went in – then Kreider may have wound up with a hat trick.
What we do know is that it was still 4-0, GOOD GUYS, through forty minutes.
Here’s what I said at the time:
4-0, GOOD GUYS, after 40. 42 seconds remain on a #NYR 4 x 3 PP. Thoughts:
— I still think it’s only a matter of time before Chytil goes down with injury again, but he’s looking good tonight. Like how’s been physical too.
— Everything I’ve been saying about Mika and Kakko for…— BlueCollarBlueShirts (@NYCTheMiC) October 10, 2024
THIRD PERIOD
As talked about above, the most impressive thing to me from these final twenty-minutes was the Rangers’ mission to close out – and not give the Penguins one dying breath of a last chance.
It should also be noted that during the intermission segment, Henrik Lundqvist, absolutely fantastic as usual as a talking head, supported CZAR IGOR’s desire to GET PAID.
You don’t say!
And I’ll drop anything more I have to say about this here too!
Following Zibanejad looking like a scared P. Diddy victim at the end of this power-play; Kakko came on – and then missed three glorious chances to score.
I’m telling you, this Feckless Finn could enter a Queens’ whorehouse with two fistfuls of $100 bills – and still not score – which then makes me wonder how his play has eroded into full-blown AIDS in the first place.
As the period progressed, and I’m not just piling on – I’m spitting truth – it seemed like Jarry grew stronger after denying the second-overall bust on his breakaway chance from the second period.
Following an arranged agreement with Crosby and the refs, Smith was then boxed for “hooking” Crosby at the 10:46 mark.
Kreider?
He put a rotten egg on this Pittsburgh/league accord with his second goal of the game – and a shorty to boot:
Chris Kreider SHORTY, 5-0 #NYR pic.twitter.com/ARUuEZR5AH
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) October 10, 2024
5-0, GOOD GUYS!
To close the game, and with only 3:01 remaining, this is when Trocheck scored the Rangers’ touchdown – and another pure line score for the GAG LINE 2.0.
6-0, GOOD GUYS!
I don’t know what happens come the playoffs, but for this night, I was mightily impressed – and while I’m not that heavily invested in the state of the Penguins – GM Kyle Dubas is looking like a loser too.
I mean, who else would trade for Erik Karlsson’s contract – the worst contract in the league?
Since the Rangers outright refuse to post post-game interviews on their YouTube channel these days – then I have no clue what Laviolette said afterward – but I imagine it was a happy flight on the way home.
If there’s anything left to discuss, then it was what CZAR IGOR said – or didn’t say – after the win:
Igor rejected 3 straight questions tonight about his contract.
“I don’t want to talk about my contract,’’ he said. “If you want, we can talk about our team. We played a really good game today. So… I can really talk about Mancini, the Laffy goal, like, everything else.’’— Colin Stephenson (@ColinSNewsday) October 10, 2024
While CZAR IGOR doesn’t do interviews on a regular basis like a Trouba or Kreider; as long as his contract status remains unsettled for next season, then he can expect these questions following every win.
After all, he rarely speaks to the media after losses.
Up Next: I’m off to see Notre Dame play on Saturday – and then the Packers on Sunday, on a bucket-list football stadium trip.
(There’s also a Chicago pizza stop scheduled in-between – and for all of the photos from my trip – follow my Elon Musk X account, over at @NYCTHEMIC)
I’ll be watching Saturday’s home-opener, when the Rangers host Utah, from the car on my phone.
But there will be no blog.
I shall return next Monday night following the Rangers vs. RangerWings game, where the Blueshirts will see a sextet of “OLD FRIENDS” – Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Erik Gustafsson, Cam Talbot, Tyler Motte and Andrew Copp.
Enjoy this win.
After all, you don’t get many of these victories in this style of fashion!
PLUGS TIME! (Buy a book and support my Rangers’ induced therapy bills. After all, I don’t run ads on this site!)
My fourth title and tenth book is now available!
“The Top 100 Villains of New York Rangers History,” is now available for sale!
For complete information, please visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/rangerkillers/
My second plug of tonight’s blog – the mandatory plug for my book, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden.”
As mentioned previously, the book is now available in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle formats. To purchase a copy of the book, visit this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Rafters-Madison-Square-Garden-ebook/dp/B09CM5N2WD
For those still looking for signed paperback versions of the book, I have re-ordered more copies. I now have a few signed copies for sale at $25 a pop (includes shipping price) through me directly. Here is all the information on that:
Order “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden” Book Today
My four-volume set of books, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is a game-by-game recount of the Rangers 2021-22 campaign.
My second title as an author, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats.
To obtain signed copies, visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/onegamebook/
To purchase all four volumes on Amazon, visit: Amazon.com – “One Game at a Time.”
The greatest volume-set of books on Rangers’ history today!
“Tricks of the Trade – A Century-Long Journey Through Every Trade Made In New York Rangers’ History,” a four-volume set of books that meticulously covers every trade made in franchise history, is now on sale.
All four volumes of the title can be purchased on Amazon.com and are presented in three different formats – eBook, paperback and hardcover.
To purchase Volume I: Conn Smythe (1926) – Craig Patrick (1986), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume II: Phil Esposito (1986) – Neil Smith (2000), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume III: Glen Sather (2000-2015), visit Amazon.com
To purchase Volume IV: Jeff Gorton (2015) – Chris Drury (2022), visit Amazon.com
To purchase signed copies of all four volumes, visit https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
If you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog for the next update:
Don’t forget to order my four-volume set of books, “Tricks of the Trade!”
If you don’t order through me, all four volumes are now available on Amazon.com
For more details, check out: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/
Thanks for reading.
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the Tweeter machine
