NYR/PIT 3/16 Review: Rangers Open a Can of “Whoop Ass” in the Steel City on Austin 3:16 Day, Breadman’s Five Points > A Hero From Primanti Brothers; Miller’s Three-Pointer, BUY A LOTTO TICKET – Zibanejad & Kakko Actually Score Timely Goals, Trocheck for 2024 McDonald Award, Tons of Signings, Special Teams, Bring on the Isles & More

Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. I only wish that my dinosaur computer was as explosive as the Rangers were on Saturday afternoon – because if that was the case – then this blog would’ve been posted several hours earlier!

But alas, I’m here now!

While nowhere as defensively-minded as their last trip to Pittsburgh (11/22/23), when Jonathan Quick shut out the Penguins via a 1-0 final; by the time the final horn went off at the PPG Arena at around 6PM Saturday (and perhaps this venue was aptly named today following the two Ranger power-play goals scored), the Blueshirts, and as they were in November, were once again victorious, this time by a final score of 7-4.

I know what many detractors and concerned citizens of Rangerstown, USA are saying right now, things such as “this style of winning games is not sustainable,” “the Blueshirts got lucky,” and my favorite, “THIS WASN’T A GOOD WIN!” too; but for yours truly – a win’s a win – and there’s also my season-long daily disclaimer as well, where by now, you should know these following 25-words by heart:

“WHATEVER THE RANGERS DO IN THE REGULAR SEASON DOESN’T MATTER. THEY CAN ONLY BE JUDGED BY WHATEVER THEY DO IN THE 2024 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS!”

Similar to what I said after the loss in Tampa (https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/31424/ ) – I still believe that this horrendous schedule, a sinister plot orchestrated by the people who the league foolishly employs to play around with the calendar, did the Rangers no favors on Saturday afternoon – and where as a reminder – the Blueshirts will return for action once again this Sunday at 1PM, when they host the Islanders – or in other words – once returning home at around 10PM 3/16; come St. Patrick’s Day, 3/17, Lavy’s Lot are right back at it without a chance to catch their breath.

So much for player safety!

And yep – we can talk about the nomadic Islanders on Sunday, as on Saturday – it was all about the Rangers displaying their dominance over the down-and-out Penguins – and where who knows – come the summer, perhaps the future Hall of Famer, Sidney Crosby, chases his fourth Stanley Cup elsewhere.

And how about that Erik Karlsson contract too – perhaps the best joke in all of sports today – a joke almost as funny as EK65 winning the Norris Trophy last season.

There were a lot of regularities, and oddities too, on “Austin 3:16 Day” (3/16) in Pittsburgh – and where Mr. Panarin opened the biggest can of whoop-ass.

After watching Brayden Point pick up three goals and three assists on Thursday night, Panarin fell one goal shy of matching the Bolt on Saturday afternoon – but it sure wasn’t for a lack of trying – and where his empty-net attempt at the end of the contest narrowly fell shy of giving “The Breadman” another hat trick this season.

But long before the waning and remaining seconds of this match, Panarin had already left his mark.

While it came to the surprise of no Blueshirt backer in the land when John “No relation to Beethoven Joe” Ludwig scored the game’s first goal at just the 2:36 mark of the first period, which in turn, put Pittsburgh up on the scoreboard 1-0 – what immediately transpired afterwards sure as hell shocked every resident of Rangerstown, USA.

The versatile Jimmy Vesey, who was promoted to the third line while Will Cuylle skated with the fourth-liners, set up the equalizer – and just 31-seconds following Ludwig’s goal.

During a play that left my beer-guzzling gullet on the floor after seeing it – it was Kaapo Kakko who capitalized – as he was the man to beat Pens’ goalie Tristan Jarry following Vesey’s excellent pass.

For the Feckless Finn, who as a result of this score, notched his ninth goal in his 46th game played during this 2023-24 campaign – it was his first non-“A-Rod goal” since Halloween.

While we’ll see where this goes – and while without a doubt – this was a huge goal – I’m not so quick to anoint him as finally realizing his potential after just one goal – and especially when the backstops in Pittsburgh have been bad all season – and as today’s touchdown and (empty net) extra point would suggest.

But at least it’s something positive for a player who needs it.

Crazier than Kakko actually scoring?

Just 26-seconds following #24’s goal, it as #23’s turn to put the Rangers on the board again – and as the 2021 Norris Trophy winner did, following Adam Fox’s career-high 12th goal of the season – and a nifty one at that.

For the first time in 67-games this season, and after surrendering two or more goals within a time-span of two-minutes – it were the Rangers on the right end of this sequence, as not only were the Kakko & Fox goals scored just 57-seconds after Ludwig’s opener – but both of these Blueshirt goals were scored within 26-seconds of each other too.

Furthermore, and more importantly; just 3:33 following the first puck drop of the game and the Rangers were already up by a score of 2-1.

A Bryan Rust goal scored at the 12:27 mark of this first frame knotted the game at two-goals a piece.

But come the 15:32 mark, and in what we’ve seen a lot of this season, Pittsburgh native, NONNA TROCHECK’S BAMBINO, Vincenzo, set-up “THE BREADMAN” during a two-vs-one odd-man rush to regain the Rangers’ lead, now at 3-2.

Ryan Strome who? (I kid, I kid!)

By the time that CUYLLE HAND LUKE took the third Rangers’ penalty of the game at the 9:30 mark of the second stanza, the Blueshirts’ penalty kill was once again flawless, at a perfect two-of-two.

The Rangers’ man-down units, a major strength this season, finally broke here – and where really – the law of averages weren’t in their favor either.

In a goal that everyone, their mother and Ray Charles saw coming too, Lars Eller retied the game just forty-seconds into the Penguins’ power-play.

Now at 3-3 – it was finally time for the putrid Blueshirts’ power-play to earn their money – and at least for one day, Saturday, March the 16th – they did just that.

Crazier than that?

The Rangers once again scored two goals within a time-span of two-minutes – and with both strikes taking place during their power-play too!

JONNY HOCKEY drew Noel Accairi for tripping at the 16:15 mark. Twelve-seconds later, and who else besides #10, “The Breadman,” to bake the first Rangers’ power-play goal since seemingly the Harry S. Truman administration!

Now up 4-3, Kris Letang, and his nether regions, were very salty over the the Blueshirts’ biscuit in his goalie’s basket. In turn, he took a crybaby unsportsmanlike conduct two-minute minor, which as a result – gave the Rangers back-to-back power-plays.

Not even the cold-as-ice Mika Zibanejad, who outside of this play, was otherwise his usual all-out messy self, could louse up this power-play – and even if he tried to do so!

Just 65-seconds following Panarin’s second goal, the alleged first-line center scored the 5-3, GOOD GUYS, insurance goal.

And come the final horn – this rare power-play goal scored by the Swedish-Iranian, and as rare as seeing Haley’s Comet, went down as the game-winner.

With Pittsburgh all but throwing in the towel, a K’Andre Miller goal, scored at the 4:41 mark of the final frame, the end result of a terrific Trocheck screen applied on Tristan Jarry, put the Rangers up by a score of 6-3 – while also ending the night of the goalie too.

Up by a field goal – and while the Rangers never relented (in fact – some may argue that they were too aggressive and should have sat back some), Pens’ back-up backstop, Alex Nedeljkovic, only had to make four saves in his 12:44 worth of relief.

In an example of the Rangers’ foaming-at-the-mouth-offense, which then led to offense the other way; at the 7:23 mark, Valtteri “Who?” Puustinen scored his third goal of the season, following a Blueshirts’ turnover in the o-zone – and where the Pens then cashed-in on during a three-vs-one odd-man attack against Lindgren.

6-4, in favor of the good guys – but with plenty of time remaining – and where during this said time, Jonathan Quick, now one win shy of becoming the goalie with the most NHL wins by an American-born goalie, did his best work.

In another example of why ANALytics mean nothing and why the eye test trumps all; Quick’s stat line of four goals allowed, .895 save percentage and 34 saves don’t really scream out at you.

But don’t let the black-and-white stats fool you – as live-and-in-living-color – Quick had his ski-mask on, as the future Hall of Famer made a bunch of robbery saves throughout this tilt.

As Quick would successfully prevent the Penguins from ever striking within one goal again; a Chris Kreider empty-netter, his 33rd goal of the season, and with just eighteen-seconds remaining, sealed the deal.

7-4, GOOD GUYS, 7-4, GOOD GUYS, your final – and during a game while some hairiness was experienced – but at the same time – you never thought that the Penguins would overcome the Blueshirts’ barrage.

And kudos to the Rangers too, as what does it say when Crosby (no goals, 1 assist, -1), Letang (no points, -2), the not-my-Norris-Trophy-winner Karlsson (no points, -1) and Rakell, Rakell The Musical (no points, 0), were pretty much non-factors?

And I didn’t even notice that Jake Guentzel guy either!

NYC, known as “The City That Never Sleeps,” has lived up to those five-words during the past few days – and where man – can a beer-bellied blogger ever get a break?

This is my way of saying that it’s time to catch up on all of the news before moving on to our usual segments.

In our first item, and in a story that kind of slipped through the cracks a bit due to the excitement, or lack thereof at time, following the March 8th NHL Trade Deadline; two days after the acquisition of this year’s big prize, Jack Roslovic, the Blueshirts announced that they have re-signed Louis Domingue (who won one game earlier this season) to a new one-year deal.

The following comes courtesy of https://www.nhl.com/rangers/news/rangers-agree-to-terms-with-louis-domingue  :

The Blueshirts, who never announce such details, and as most of their 31-other competitors do, re-signed Domingue for $775,000.

For Mr. Pork Roll & Broccoli, he didn’t receive a raise from the two-year deal that he first signed in July of 2022, which guaranteed him $1.5M overall – or $775K annually.

But for Domingue, who must be loving Hartford, and who just turned 32-years-old on March 6th – he’s at least guaranteed a job in the profession/passion that he loves for next season – which is why he ultimately agreed to these terms.

In other goaltending news, and as the Blueshirts continue to develop Dylan Garand in Hartford; on Friday, the Ides of March (3/15), the club announced that they have come to terms with Hugo Ollas – who in a way – was kind of forgotten about- and where many didn’t even think that he had a path towards the organization neither.

Here’s what the Rangers had to say about the Wolfpack-bound goaltender, courtesy of https://www.nhl.com/rangers/news/rangers-agree-to-terms-with-hugo-ollas  :

Following the Rangers’ recall of Edstrom on Friday, also on 3/15, the Blueshirts announced that they have opened the voting for this year’s 2023-24 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner.

If you want to cast a ballot, then visit: https://www.nhl.com/rangers/community/extra-effort-award

I don’t think that there’s anyone alive that’s written more about this prestigious award more than yours truly, but if you want such text, then I’d urge you to check out the archives of this site – and my first book too: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/nyrroh/

Throughout this campaign, I’ve been torn on who to vote for – which is a good problem to have – as that means there are plenty of candidates to choose from.

At one point, I thought that Erik Gustafsson was a slam-dunk shoo-in candidate.

Then Jonathan Quick emerged following his cannon-ball splash into the fountain of youth.

This award, which was first founded in order to honor lunch pail/blue collar players, soon screamed JIMMY VESEY all over it – and where I also expect Matt Rempe, despite only playing in ten-games this season, to receive (casual) votes too.

Former winners, such as Adam Fox (2021), Chris Kreider (2022) and Ryan Lindgren (2023) have also made their own claims for a repeat, where elsewhere, another previous winner, a two-time winner to boot (2019 and 2020), Mika Zibanejad, doesn’t even deserve one look for a potential “three-peat.”

However, and when I thought long-and-hard about who to vote for once the polls opened, the answer soon became easy on who to back – Vincent Trocheck.

While #16’s status as an All-Star, due to the best season in his career, where he presently has 24 goals and 38 assists for a grand total of 62-points, earns him consideration to begin with – what has me championing for Trocheck more than ever is when I look at how this season began for him – and of course – what soon followed.

Perhaps you may have forgotten about this – but at the start of the season – Filip Chytil was the team’s number two center.

Nine games later – well you know what happened next – and this happy accident, where Trocheck was asked to fill-in between Panarin and Lafreniere, has been magic ever since.

But it’s not just Trocheck’s transition from bottom-six center to the team’s second-center.

Instead, it’s about Trocheck becoming the team’s first-line center – and as the man-in-the-middle of the GAG LINE 2.0.

It’s not very often when your projected third-line center becomes your first-line center – and when you consider that Trocheck has been a major contributor during the best seasons of both Panarin and Lafreniere’s respective careers – then to me – NONNA TROCHECK’S BAMBINO is a no-brainer for this award.

Of note – I’ll have a Phil Watson story for you in this space tomorrow after Rangers/Islanders – as his family, and much like other luminary alumni relatives, want to see the Fiery One get his day in the sun.

I was originally going to include this story tonight, but there are three things presently working against me right now, which is why today’s GAME REVIEW isn’t going to be long as it usually is either, and those three things are the following:

— My computer has brain freeze – and as if it had just consumed 10348378437373747373 gallons of ice cream.

— I attended a watch party at my local watering hole, where as a result, I didn’t take detailed notes to begin with.

— By the time that you read these words, and with a game at 1PM Sunday – then this blog will already be dated.

However, I do have some more thoughts about tonight’s win in Pittsburgh – and on the other side of these final pregame news and notes.

On Friday, and following the loss to Tampa, the team held an optional skate in Pittsburgh – and where only the spares attended.

Come Saturday morning, the head coach held his mandatory pregame edition of “LAVY’S LOUNGE” – and here it is for you below:

There were two things of note from this brief chat.

One, and as Laviolette often tends to do, he wouldn’t announce his line-up, as he hinted that some players could be injured.

Come puck drop – the line-up remained the same – but it was interesting that the Rangers, and prior to this interview, were -145 favorites.

Following this chat? The Rangers dropped thirty points and were now listed as -115 favorites.

A huge swing of thirty-points suggests that something was awry, but whatever it was, it never came to fruition.

The only thing that came to be was a better payout for fans who backed their favorite team after this “LAVY’S LOUNGE!”

Two, and the other thing, and as you may have been able to deduce – Chad Ruhwedel, acquired from these Penguins just eight-days ago – remained in his seat that was formerly reserved for Zac Jones – the comfy chair in the press box.

Going into this game, I thought that Ruhwedel would make his season debut – and perhaps the Penguins thought the same, as they honored him with a tribute video today (and it was just weird when the former Penguin had to acknowledge it when wearing a suit-and-tie from up above) – but the head coach decided to run out the same six rearguards that he’s been using ever since the Trouba injury.

Here was Laviolette’s line-up for the sixty-seventh game of this 2023-24 season:

FIRST LINE: Panarin/Trocheck/Lafreniere

SECOND LINE: Kreider/Zibanejad/Roslovic

THIRD LINE: Vesey/Wenneberg/Kakko

FOURTH LINE: Cuylle/Goodrow/Brodzinski

FIRST PAIR: Lindgren/Fox

SECOND PAIR: Miller/Schneider

THIRD PAIR: Gustafsson/Jones

STARTER: Quick

BACK-UP: CZAR IGOR

Healthy Scratches: Ruhwedel and Edstrom

Suspended: Rempe

Injured but not on the IR yet: Trouba

BOX SCORE time.

The following graphics and information come from ESPN.com:

SCORING:

PENALTIES:

TEAM STATS:

GOALIES:

As noted above, my computer has AIDS tonight – and unlike Magic Johnson – I have no cure for it, that is, outside of money (for a new one) – and just like the former Laker!

But as also stated – time is of the essence  – so no normal GAME REVIEW tonight – but such normal and regular formatting will return tomorrow.

With that said, just some thoughts from this 7-4 win:

— Despite the four goals allowed, I thought the Rangers’ new sextet grouping of d-men looked fine.

While not as strong as their earlier performances, and yes, four even-strength goals for is part of this – none of them finished with a negative plus/minus rating.

I thought that Miller was most noticeable early, as prior to his three-pointer (1G, 2A), he was blocking shots (2). His partner, B-Schneids, wound up with four blocked shots – the game’s high.

— Similar to the defense, and as noted above, I thought Quick looked strong too.

Again, while his stats don’t scream out to you, the ageless wonder made a bevy of robbery saves – and including when the game was either tied or with the Rangers leading by one.

And for a goalie that doesn’t have a regular routine – I thought Quick’s game today, and just like many of them this season, was commendable.

JIMMY F’N VESEY!

The player who I have nicknamed as “Bobby Carpenter 2.0,” a nickname in homage to the way that Vesey has transformed his entire game in order to stick around, continued to showcase how he can play anywhere in the line-up for Laviolette.

Today, it was on the third line, and where as noted up top – he assisted on a rare Kakko goal that wasn’t of the A-Rod variety.

MATT REMPE, despite not playing, remains a draw.

I thought it was noticeable that ESPN talked about #73 all-game, including during three separate video packages, despite you know – the giant serving his third game of a four-game suspension.

The negative about this?

All of this national spotlight only brings more attention to his “REMPUTATION” – where as we all know – Rempe’s next controversial hit will be judged under the lens of “repeat offender.”

The Rangers responded all game.

Between the Kakko and Fox early goals and the two power-play goals from Panarin and Zibanejad; whenever it looked like that Pittsburgh was on the cusp of breaking out – the Rangers “quickly” put an end to such notions – and would then put the Penguins out of their misery too.

Milestones.

In his 800th career-game, Kreider picked up his 33rd goal of the season – the 298th goal of his career too.

Only Jean Ratelle (336) and Rod Gilbert (406) have scored more goals for the Rangers than CK20 – and where come next season – Kreider should find himself second all-time in this department.

As a result of his five-point night, Panarin, with 38 goals and 55 assists this season (93-points) became the first Ranger in franchise history to record four seasons of 90 points or more.

While of course, this stat is also a product of its era – you can only do what’s asked of you in your own era too.

While Jaromir “Where’s My Bobblehead?” Jagr’s single-season franchise records of 54 goals and 123 points (both set during the 2005-06 season) may be out of reach for The Breadman; either way, in Year Five in New York – this has been Panarin’s finest work yet.

But of course – the only thing that matters is Panarin working himself into the Rangers’ franchise playoff scoring record books.

If not, then the positive narratives and storylines created by Panarin this season will be erased.

Furthermore, Panarin picked up his 500th career assist today in his 657th game played, and where only a pair of generational centers, Connor McDavid (527 games) and Sidney Crosby (554 games) have hit this milestone faster than the red-hot Russian.

The special teams looked special.

Following a fluttering and floundering first power-play, the Rangers then scored on their next two man-advantages, ultimately going two-of-three on the day.

The penalty kill, one of the team’s biggest strengths, also went two-of-three, and where the lone power-play goal afforded to Lars Eller wasn’t really something to hang on the man-down units – as it was more of a case of the other team is paid to play too.

And when you combine both the power-play and the penalty kill, then the Rangers had a net gain of one goal – and where again – it was a special team goal, Mika’s power-play goal, that held up as the game-winner.

Pretty special – but I’d cool it with the MIKA MARCH headlines – hyperbole headlines at that.

Closing thoughts?

It’s really what I said at the top.

Some fans will look at the final score and say that the Rangers “didn’t win right.”

That’s some grade-a bullshit to me – as again – the Blueshirts have a terrible schedule right now, and following their fifth game of a six-in-nine days stretch – they are now 4-1.

And let’s face it (and as many players have admitted over the years) – hockey players are a creature of habit and more times than not – afternoon matinees throw them off their routines.

More importantly?

So many players played well and positively contributed – and that’s all you can ask for – and as Mr. Laviolette noted during his postgame edition of “LAVY’S LOUNGE”:

Up next: Rangers vs Islanders hold St. Patrick’s Sunday Mass at M$G at 1PM.

And yep – sadly, there’s no chance of a Rempe v. Martin encore either.

I’ll be back Sunday afternoon – and hopefully talking about another big-time Blueshirts win!

But until then, it’s now bed time for me, which for you, means…

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/

Here are my last few blogs, in case you missed them:

NYR/TBL 3/14 Review: The Ides of No Mika March Robs Ranger Fans of “JACK THE RIPPER” Headlines; Bolts’ Big Guns Go Off Late, GAG LINE 2.0 Scores Again – But the Powerless Play Still Remains, Defense Plays Well Enough – But The Trouba & Rempe Absences Are Noticeable, Not a Loss To Be Mad About, Lavy, M$GN, Rosenism’s & More

NYR/CAR 3/12 Review: Blueshirts Bend But Never Break; CZAR IGOR Shuts Out Canes, Next Man Up Lavy’s Lot Go All Out; Young D-Men Improving Leaps-and-Bounds, Don’t Buy The Anti-Trouba Nonsense, The One “Concern” Against a Rangers’ Playoff Contender, Rempe’s Reputation “Earns” Him an Unwarranted Lengthy Suspension, New Faces Fitting Like a Glove, Maloney, M$GN & More

NYR/NJD 3/11 Review: Mika Zibanejad Finally Ends Ten-Week Drought – But Needs to Make It Rain From This Point Forward, Fans Pay To See Rempe For 40 Minutes; Jack Hughes No Goals In 60 Minutes, REMPESTEIN Talk of the League Again; What Did Siegenthaler Do To Him? Special Teams Swing Games, Lavy Relies On His New “R&R Boys” in Big Win, Quick Continues Epic Comeback Season, Sam “No Relations” Rosen Has a Night; M$GN & More

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