Don't Mess With The Metro

When you're chasing the New Jersey Devils, your season can’t have started all that well. I’ll be straight up here, watching my Florida Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins was a weird experience, knowing exactly what players are doing what well, what poorly, and what had to be improved with. It good game, back and forth both ways, both goalies making great saves and ultimately a Pens 4-3 win at home thanks to a dominant performance by Sidney Crosby. If somebody told me before the season that the Pens would bag a win by their teeth against the Florida Panthers, keep in mind I could spend all day talking about how low my expectations were for the Panthers this season, and the fact that the Penguins couldn't put the game out of reach a few times would have seriously shocked me. Watching the Penguins play for the first two weeks of the 2017-18 season, and I was stunned the Penguins actually beat us, and that’s not because the Penguins lost 10-1 to a team the Panthers beat 7-0 last year, and that was when Tom Rowe(yes, I am shuddering at the sound of that name) was the Cats’ head coach. So what is going wrong in Pittsburgh right now? Is it a repeat hangover, or is it bad coaching, lack of chemistry, or just pure bad play? No matter what excuse you choose, it’s inexcusable the Penguins look so… average, for a lack of better word, and it’s time to expose some of the issues going on right now with Mike Sullivan’s Penguins.

1. No Pressure on the Shooter

This is a hockey team, right? It may not be the same Penguins that were involved in the Brawl at the Barn game with the Islanders in February 2011, but this is still a hockey team. I’m not talking about fights or hits, but the lack of physicality from the Penguins this year is weak. Watching the opener vs St. Louis and almost every goal had zero attempt shown by any Penguins player on the ice to try to close down a defender trying to take a shot, and there are A LOT of bad examples. The first saw the puck log-jammed by Blues and Penguins players alike in the Blues’ attacking zone, which three Penguins against two Blues couldn't get the puck back, Matt Hunwick being well out of position, and they got it to Parayko, who could have texted his wife what he wanted for dinner afterwards, who slotted it past Matt Murray. I’m no math whiz, I scraped an A this past nine weeks, but I’m pretty sure three players>two players, correct me if I’m wrong though. Pietrangelo’s goal came on a 4-on-4, in which, even before the pass to the defenseman, saw Paul Stasny and Sobodka walk straight through the neutral zone as Brian Dumolin and Greg McKegg dropped backwards. Sobodka is allowed to cut inside of Dumolin with the puck following a cut by Stasny, and backhands it to the oncoming Alex Pietrangelo. Keep in mind, as Pietrangelo receives the puck, there are still two Penguins, Kris Letang and Brian Dumolin who could have stepped up. Neither of them do and Pietrangelo fires it past Murray.

2. Sloppy on the Boards

Goals like the Parayko goal really expose this issue, but hey, sometimes your team will get sloppy on the boards, but this is a reoccurring issue through six games. Being good on the boards will prevent these kind of chances, let alone goals, from happening. In the Chicago Blackhawks game in which the Penguins were completely embarrassed(understatement of the year), the first goal Brian Dumolin whiffs at the puck as Brandon Saad tries to return it to the blue line, keep this info in mind. Sidney Crosby is stuck marking Ryan Hartman as the puck is fired from Michal Kempny to Patrick Kane behind the goal. Kris Letang is caught a few strides behind Kane at this point, and Crosby’s eyes instantly shift from his man to Kane. No disrespect to the play Kane makes to backhand it through Letang to a wide-open Hartman(huh, another defenseman), who has been completely forgotten about by Crosby, but this is schoolboy’s defending from Pittsburgh. Crosby could have easily told Letang to switch before committing to going after Kane behind the net, taking away the pass right out in front. You can easily blame those two, or even Matt Murray for being too slow to react, but if Dumolin gains control of the initial pass from Saad, this never happens. From this most recent Saturday, Panthers players win not just one, not two, not three, but four pucks up against the boards before finding Aaron Ekblad(huh, another defenseman), who fires it off the post and in giving the Panthers a way back into the game. Seriously though, the fact Vincent Trocheck beats Matt Hunwick to the puck at the exact same spot twice in the span of, I don’t know, six seconds is just awful, maybe Trevor Daley could have stopped that.

3. Earth to Second Line, Come In

Bryan Rust, you get a pass here. No, literally, all you're doing is passing, it’s worked for you though! Seven assists in eight games is an unbelievable achievement, and to think you're doing it with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel as your line mates. That’s a good thing you say? No, no, no, maybe last season, not right now. Earth to Phil, the Pens traded for an elite scorer when they got you from Toronto, they were prepared to take on the lethargy on defense and bullheaded chemistry problems. 1 goal on a total of 24 shots in 8 games isn't going to cut it, it might cut you the way you're playing. Malkin, everyone gets it, he doesn't like playing with Phil Kessel, but this is no excuse to see Malkin struggling so badly, especially with the red-hot Rust with him, and there’s no direct issue. He’s not totaling points, he’s nowhere near one of the best defenders, and for someone wearing an A on his jersey, this is pretty embarrassing.

4. Coaches Challenging

Since this was initiated into the NHL, Mike Sullivan has typically been one of the better coaches at using it, whether it’s a bad call or it’s a call worth challenging to prevent a comeback from the opposition. This season it’s looked rough, he's wasted challenges way too early, in the first period against the Blues, in the second period against the Panthers, and they aren't exactly great challenges, either. He challenged Jonathan Huberdeau’s 2nd goal for goalie interference even though Murray got down to make the save on the initial Florida shot. The true reason it’s hurting is the lack of a timeout, because Sullivan is going to need to draw up better defensive plays the way the Pens are playing in massive games down the stretch.

So even with all these issues aside, the Penguins are still third in the Metro at the time of writing, only trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils by one point, with a chance to go top with a win against the New York Rangers tonight at the Garden. Following three nights off, this should be a game the Penguins improve on the majority of the issues listed against a Rangers team that has looked awful to start the season. Two points are necessary to write the ship early for this team, which would be their fourth win in five before heading to take on the Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise on Friday, then a three hour drive across state to take on the Lightning at Amalie Arena for the second time in two weeks.

The always-hated-on Rangers’ prospect system has been revamped over the past few years. Currently, the Rangers have developed two Strengths: Defensive depth and Goaltending Potential. The prized possession being Igor Shestyorkin, arguably the top goalie prospect in the world, a monster who is shutting down the KHL in every start. Rangers fans are already soaking their pants over this kid and the thought of him working with Benoit Allaire. Yet, closer to New York 2 Rangers Prospect goalies dominated Hockey East last year and don’t show any signs of slowing down. 

As a Freshman last year, Tyler Wall at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell posted a .918 SV%, which was good for 2nd in Hockey East (18th in the NCAA) while his 2.06 GAA placed 7th in the Nation and 1st in Hockey East. Wall, a 2016 6th round pick, led UMass Lowell to the Regional Final as a freshman and is the main reason the River Hawks are ranked 5th in this years preseason polls. This year will be big for Wall, he probably needs to repeat last year’s success for Lowell to remain a force. Yet, as long as Wall stays healthy, it shouldn’t be a surprise if Lowell is playing in St. Paul in the Frozen Four and if Wall is one of the top goalies in the NCAA. For Tyler, 4 College Years is probably the optimal route for him to take..as long as he doesn’t stay to explore his UFA right...which the Rangers have exploited in the past.

Another Hockey East Freshman, Adam Huska, faced a tougher challenge at the University of Connecticut. One of the Worst teams in Hockey East, Connecticut's defense was AWFUL in 2016-2017 allowing nearly 30 shots a game. On a team that only had 12 wins, Huska notched 7 of them. Huska placed 3rd among all Hockey East Goalies and 7th among NCAA Freshman in SV% last year. The Huskies likely won’t be much better this year, yet Huska should shoulder the majority of the Huskies’ workload this season. The Huskies likely won’t be much better than .500 but with a Goalie like Huska they can upset any team in a loaded Hockey East. As for Huska, it may be beneficial to move into the AHL after this year but that will be told with time.

Although Shestyorkin has already been pegged as the King’s successor, as a Rangers fan you have to be excited about these 2 goalies shutting down the NCAA in their freshman years. As for Wall and Huska they both started their seasons Friday. Huska visited Nolan Vesey and Maine, while Wall and the #5 River Hawks dropped a heart-breaker to New Hampshire. Each Goalie is now 1 and 1 on the Season. Huska and Wall will face off twice this year with a home and home series the 17th and 18th of November.

Blue Jackets v Islanders: Thomas Greiss v A Traffic Cone, Who will stop more shots?

So....This game....my god. The Blue Jackets are really good, or the Islanders are just very very bad. I myself went to the game and noticed a few things. First of all the best part of the game....wasn’t actually while it was played...It was beforehand. However we will get to that later so be ready for that fruitful story. The Blue Jackets played very well, some players that never score, hint hint Ryan Murray, scored. 2 players got their first NHL goals as well, overall tonight was a great night for Columbus. Panarin racked up 3 assists in his first game as a Blue Jacket, and proved that he is very, and I mean very quick. For the Islanders on the other hand....wow. Thomas Greiss looked like Matt Murray 2.0, as he was pulled midway through the second period after letting in 5 goals. Jaroslav Halak, who last year went to the Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers because he played so terribly, played very well in my opinion. The Islanders seem as if their defense is overpaid, slow, and terrible...well this is a true statement. All in all for the Islanders it was a terrible performance, and was just completely dreadful. For the Blue Jackets on the other side of the spectrum, the NHL better watch out. They made a statement...and they still have Boone Jenner on IR and Josh Anderson in the minors for a conditioning stunt. The young talent on the team really showed this game as Zach Werenski, Ryan Murray, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Sonny Milano got on the board, all 24 of under...the Blue Jackets young talent is nothing to be weary of that is for sure. Next, for the part you all have been waiting for, the pregame antics. First things first, never insult an old couple. 97.1 the fan, the local radio station for Columbus sports had a live show at pregame. Joking around one of the analysts was calling out people with different uniforms than Blue Jackets clothing items on. One of the analysts called out an older lady, 70’s or so about how she was wearing Steelers gear on live radio. Her husband, also about 70 decided to go to the radio booth, in which they are live, and on air and start a fight. Keep in mind this man is 70 years old...this did not go over well, let’s just say that there were many different exchanges that happened. Okay..I’m done. Hopefully you all enjoyed that little story of mine. Now back to hockey. I give you one final thought. The New York Islanders are bad and the Columbus Blue Jackets are good.

3 Stars

1.) Artemi Panarin (3 Assists)

2.) Pierre-Luc Dubois (First NHL Goal)

3.) Sergei Bobrovsky (Shutout)

Blue Jackets v Islanders: Thomas Greiss v A Traffic Cone, Who will stop more shots?

So....This game....my god. The Blue Jackets are really good, or the Islanders are just very very bad. I myself went to the game and noticed a few things. First of all the best part of the game....wasn’t actually while it was played...It was beforehand. However we will get to that later so be ready for that fruitful story. The Blue Jackets played very well, some players that never score, hint hint Ryan Murray, scored. 2 players got their first NHL goals as well, overall tonight was a great night for Columbus. Panarin racked up 3 assists in his first game as a Blue Jacket, and proved that he is very, and I mean very quick. For the Islanders on the other hand....wow. Thomas Greiss looked like Matt Murray 2.0, as he was pulled midway through the second period after letting in 5 goals. Jaroslav Halak, who last year went to the Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers because he played so terribly, played very well in my opinion. The Islanders seem as if their defense is overpaid, slow, and terrible...well this is a true statement. All in all for the Islanders it was a terrible performance, and was just completely dreadful. For the Blue Jackets on the other side of the spectrum, the NHL better watch out. They made a statement...and they still have Boone Jenner on IR and Josh Anderson in the minors for a conditioning stunt. The young talent on the team really showed this game as Zach Werenski, Ryan Murray, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Sonny Milano got on the board, all 24 of under...the Blue Jackets young talent is nothing to be weary of that is for sure. Next, for the part you all have been waiting for, the pregame antics. First things first, never insult an old couple. 97.1 the fan, the local radio station for Columbus sports had a live show at pregame. Joking around one of the analysts was calling out people with different uniforms than Blue Jackets clothing items on. One of the analysts called out an older lady, 70’s or so about how she was wearing Steelers gear on live radio. Her husband, also about 70 decided to go to the radio booth, in which they are live, and on air and start a fight. Keep in mind this man is 70 years old...this did not go over well, let’s just say that there were many different exchanges that happened. Okay..I’m done. Hopefully you all enjoyed that little story of mine. Now back to hockey. I give you one final thought. The New York Islanders are bad and the Columbus Blue Jackets are good.

3 Stars

1.) Artemi Panarin (3 Assists)

2.) Pierre-Luc Dubois (First NHL Goal)

3.) Sergei Bobrovsky (Shutout)

Blue Jackets v Islanders: Thomas Greiss v A Traffic Cone, Who will stop more shots?

So....This game....my god. The Blue Jackets are really good, or the Islanders are just very very bad. I myself went to the game and noticed a few things. First of all the best part of the game....wasn’t actually while it was played...It was beforehand. However we will get to that later so be ready for that fruitful story. The Blue Jackets played very well, some players that never score, hint hint Ryan Murray, scored. 2 players got their first NHL goals as well, overall tonight was a great night for Columbus. Panarin racked up 3 assists in his first game as a Blue Jacket, and proved that he is very, and I mean very quick. For the Islanders on the other hand....wow. Thomas Greiss looked like Matt Murray 2.0, as he was pulled midway through the second period after letting in 5 goals. Jaroslav Halak, who last year went to the Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers because he played so terribly, played very well in my opinion. The Islanders seem as if their defense is overpaid, slow, and terrible...well this is a true statement. All in all for the Islanders it was a terrible performance, and was just completely dreadful. For the Blue Jackets on the other side of the spectrum, the NHL better watch out. They made a statement...and they still have Boone Jenner on IR and Josh Anderson in the minors for a conditioning stunt. The young talent on the team really showed this game as Zach Werenski, Ryan Murray, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Sonny Milano got on the board, all 24 of under...the Blue Jackets young talent is nothing to be weary of that is for sure. Next, for the part you all have been waiting for, the pregame antics. First things first, never insult an old couple. 97.1 the fan, the local radio station for Columbus sports had a live show at pregame. Joking around one of the analysts was calling out people with different uniforms than Blue Jackets clothing items on. One of the analysts called out an older lady, 70’s or so about how she was wearing Steelers gear on live radio. Her husband, also about 70 decided to go to the radio booth, in which they are live, and on air and start a fight. Keep in mind this man is 70 years old...this did not go over well, let’s just say that there were many different exchanges that happened. Okay..I’m done. Hopefully you all enjoyed that little story of mine. Now back to hockey. I give you one final thought. The New York Islanders are bad and the Columbus Blue Jackets are good.

3 Stars

1.) Artemi Panarin (3 Assists)

2.) Pierre-Luc Dubois (First NHL Goal)

3.) Sergei Bobrovsky (Shutout)

What in the wide world of sports is Doug Weight doing...we have TALENT and we are sitting it for Jason Chimera. This is not a knock on Jason Chimera he just isn't as good as Josh Ho-Sang. This better not be a reoccurring thing like it was with Capuano and Strome. There's no reason to play Chimera over Ho-Sang for what? An extra PK guy okay like Cizikas, Clutterbuck, Tavares and Kulemin isn't enough...? There's no sightings saying if Kulemin will be playing in assuming he is but for sure is Tavares, Eberle, Lee, Beauvillier, Bailey, Barzal, Lee, Ladd and Nelson. So I'd assume for sure Cizikas Kulemin Clutterbuck will be playing so what is the need for Chimera over the stud Ho-Sang?

Honestly it sucks to see as a fan but as long as this situation doesn't escalate to another Capuano thing where Ho-Sang is in the dog house there's nothing to panic about. If this is a rotation then there's a problem but as of now we will have to wait and see what Islanders coach Dough Weight throws out there for game 1 and game 2 of this brand new NHL season.

Varlamov, Avalanche ruin Shattenkirk’s Rangers Debut

It was so perfect, The Rangers got to open up the season against the worst team and start out with an easy win, until it wasn’t. Simply put, the Rangers were the better team tonight. Yet, Semyon Varlamov simply stole a game at The Garden tonight while the Rangers dominated for most of the game. While there will be a lot of disappointment surrounding this game, I take a lot of positives from tonight. Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich were fantastic, while Brady Skjei was one of the best players on the ice tonight. As for the disappointments, defensively the McDonagh/Shattenkirk D-Pair has a lot of kinks to work out while Henrik Lundqvist struggled tonight. This isn’t a “Henrik Lundqvist is too old for this” article BUT going forward, NYR will need more from him. After a high scoring 1st Period, the teams went into the locker room tied. The Rangers seemed to dominate the next 40 minutes, however the Avalanche took the scoring 2-0 (including an EN tally). Credit the Avalanche, but it wasn’t the Rangers night. Onto Toronto for NYR. 

3 Stars 

3. Mika Zibanejad (NYR- 2 Goals)

2. Matt Duchene (COL- 1 Goal, 1 Assist)

1. Semyon Varlamov (COL- 37 Saves, 1.000 ES SV%)

Alex Ovechkin’s Excelling Performance Leads the Capitals Past the Senators in a Shootout

A wild night in Ottawa that featured 5 third period goals ended up with the Capitals overcoming a 3-1 deficit to win in a shootout 5-4. The Senators scored 3 of their goals tonight off of turnovers by the Capitals in the defensive and neutral zones. Derick Brassard lead the Senators with a goal and 2 assists, while Mark Stone put a couple in the back of the net. Chris Wideman has the first goal and Bobby Ryan picked up a couple of helpers in addition to Ottawa’s lone shootout goal. Craig Anderson made 24 saves on 28 shots in the losing effort, as Ottawa starts the season 0-0-1 (1 point). They next host Detroit on Saturday night. The Capitals, despite the defensive lapses, managed to pull away with this one, thanks in large part to Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin scored 3 goals tonight, plus one in the shootout, to start off the season with a hat trick, the 18th one of his storied-career. Brett Connolly scored the other goal for Washington, while Jakub Vrana notched 2 helpers. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the winning shootout goal and tallied 3 assists to his resume. The Capitals penalty skill was solid, as they went 5/5 on the night that included a kill in overtime. Braden Holtby made 28 saves on 32 shots as Washington starts the season at 1-0-0 (2 points). They open their home campaign on Saturday night vs Montreal.

3 Stars

1) Alex Ovechkin

2) Derick Brassard

3) Mark Stone

Hockey in Pittsburgh has always been different, home to the black and gold that’s been laced into NHL history. It’s not just the colors, its the players who have been attached to its history, Paul Coffey, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, and now its emerging icons. The current squad is pretty good too, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, Phil Kessel so on and so forth. The back-to-back champions face a challenge not many teams get the opportunity to face ever, a three-peat in NHL. The strength comes in depth, being able to have every line contribute through every game. Some players we can already expect greatness from, but some might be diamonds in the rough, others may be challenged throughout this year, and rising to the challenge is something Penguins always do. So with the season facing-off this week, here are five Pens players I’ll have my eye on to grow and develop throughout the year.

Evgeni Malkin: One of the great Pens of all time, Evgeni Malkin never fails to disappoint wherever role he's in. He will always one of the players that don't have an answer for, one of the most well-rounded players in the league. Malkin commands the top scoring line of the Pens, plus the power play which simply has to stay consistent for Pittsburgh to boss it this year. With all the plusses, there have to be bottoms, the chemistry issues occurring at the end of last year with winger Phil Kessel have to be absolved if the Pens are to keep their team intact from the last two seasons.

Zach Aston-Reese: Free agency had the Pens lose a lot of squad depth, especially down the middle, not being able to really replace either Nick Bonino or Matt Cullen, but the replacement may come through the youth. Zach Aston-Reese’s chances won’t come plentiful, if those chances even come. ZAR’s stats with Northeastern and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in NCAA and with the AHL respectively speak for themselves, 63 points in 38 games with Northeastern and 8 points in 10 games. A chance to get game time with Tom Kuhnackl to drop back in defense and allow ZAR to push up with Carl Hagelin on the third line could be vital role for him, even if it is 15 more games. He's drawing comparisons to another Pen later on this list, and maybe for the chances he gets, he’ll take them.

Jake Guentzel: In one year, Jake Guentzel went from barely making the Pens’ AHL team after 3 years of minor league hockey, to Sidney Crosby’s left winger. Guentzel’s Penguin career was saved following an outburst in the 2015 AHL playoffs vs Providence, and that same career rose to stardom following an outburst in the 2017 NHL playoffs vs Columbus and Nashville, being robbed of the Conn Smyth in my eyes. 21 points in 25 playoff games says it all, his agility helps the Pens play from the back, his duo with #87 became lethal as the two play off each other well, his stamina keeps him in big games allowing him to play 17 minutes a night, that’s not even getting to his shooting, 13 playoff goals including 5 game winners, scoring on every 4th shot he takes. Guentzel will be someone the Pens may have to rely on to take a few less minutes with the center depth, lets say… not ideal. Even with that, no 22 year old will complain about playing with Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin.

Bryan Rust: Proving grounds for Bryan Rust this season, with the Pens continuing to stack on right wingers(Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Tom Kuhnackl, Ryan Reaves). For a player of Rust’s quality, this isn't the perfect situation to have to fight for a spot on this team, but it'll be interesting to see how he responds to the pressure. The lack of development is concerning, injury-riddled and chemistry issues have been problems. He knows the task at hand, and he’s one who's ready to fight for his place in this team. Still 25, he still has room to improve, but Rust still has to impress this year, or otherwise he could be shipped out.

Matt Hunwick: Losing Trevor Daley to Detroit means someone has to step in to fill the veteran role in defense for the Pens, nobody really knows how healthy Kris Letang can be, Olli Maatta may have been a rock, but his penalty minutes still raise eyebrows. Matt Hunwick isn't someone who most people would expect to see on this list, but may be the answer to a few problems for Pittsburgh. His talent may be fading in old age, but his leadership is still there. A good puck mover is something that Daley struggled with, Hunwick can step right in and be able to move the puck to a lot more teammates than in Toronto. Hunwick’s 8 +/- also raised some eyebrows, and the injuries daunting him may be a thing of the past after playing 72 games for TOR last year, his 2nd best tally dating back to 2009-2010 with Boston. He's no stranger to big games and big atmospheres, and he might be a sleeper to Mike Sullivan’s system.

Hello hockey fans, hot take specialist Andy here. While readers are familiar with the rest of this site dedicated to discussing the various strengths of each Metropolitan division team, it’s time to knock them all down a peg. This is all for jokes, so put the pitchforks away as I present to you: The Mess that is the Metro

New York Rangers

As many of you know, I’m a Rangers fan. And I’m sure that most non-Rangers fan readers out there (all five of you) thought “He’s not gonna bash the Rangers also. Typical biased New York fan trashing the Devils, Flyers, etc but won’t even point out his own team’s flaws. I bet he’s never even lived to see the Rags win the cup!” Guess again folks! Four months old when they last lifted Lord Stanley. Suck it! Also, here comes my bashing my own team.

Last year was a roller coaster of “Alright, so we’re contending this year!” and “Welp, there goes Hank’s window.” One of the best skaters was Michael Grabner who basically took the second half of the season off and still almost led the team in goals. But this was a well constructed forward group, along with a solid goalie tandem of Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Raanta. How could they be beaten?

Welp, only having 2-3 legitimate defensemen a game tends to hurt. At any give time, this team had the likes of Girardi, Klein, Staal, and Holden put in situations that were unfair to them. If only this team employed an Olympic defenseman...or an All rookie defenseman...or traded for a another solid defenseman at the deadline. Too bad Alain Vigneault was sold on putting Staal-Holden out there for important minutes. At times, Clendenning and Kampfer were even better.

The second round elimination, where this team could’ve easily won in 5 had they known how to protect a lead (Thanks again AV, appreciate it my guy), led to a few questions. Will this team go all in to contend within the next few years? Will they tear it down and rebuild? And simply put, the Rangers decided to attempt both. Moves like trading Stepan for a high draft pick would point towards a rebuild. Moves like signing Shattenkirk would point to contending now. Buying out Girardi and watching Lindberg get taken by the Knights were also unavoidable moves, however pointing in opposite directions.

Center? I hardly know her! Hahaha…(three of the five readers close this article) Anyways, this team took a major hit down the middle. Just turned 18 Filip Chytil is going to be needed right away for this team, and David Desharnais will be found on the fourth line because apparently it’s 2015. Otherwise, the wingers look good until AV gets his hands on them. First line of Paul Carey - Kevin Hayes - Jimmy Vesey by mid-December, book it.

At a glance, this is a vastly improved defense. Top four of Mac-Shatty, Skjei-Smith looks to make for one of the better blue lines this franchise has seen in years. Then...there’s the bottom pairing. Despite the trade lobbying of a certain twitter user who shall remain nameless, Marc Staal is still in New York. And like Chicago, he’s been on Broadway far too long. Along with him of course is the glorified 4th forward at any given moment Nick Holden.

But wait, there’s more! As part of the Stepan & Raanta trade, this team decided to go out and get DeAngelo. Clearly having one Defenseman who pinches needlessly wasn’t enough, let’s get another one who’s only 21 years old and spends a good chunk of the game in the box! But off the ice I’m sure he’s not a controversial gu-...WOAH, forget that! No way am I going to support someone who would associate with such a barbaric group of individuals. This is not my defenseman! I will not support an..an...EAGLES FAN!

Moving on to the goalies, Henrik Lundqvist remains the starter. This of course is at the dismay of many feeble minded “Start Talbot” and “Keep Raanta” fans. I mean the guy’s only been one of the greatest goalies in the history of the NHL, but that doesn’t appease the simpleton section of this fanbase. This year, it will be Ondrej Pavelec who will revive his career under Hank and spring such articles as “Should the Rangers start using Pavelec instead of Lundqvist?” “Ondrej the Giant dethrones the King!” and other such paint chip eating tomfoolery.

On paper, this team could be a Stanley Cup winner. They could also be a lottery contender. Honestly, would not surprise me either way. Ohh, and before I forget: Staal for Yak.

PS: You know what would help this team’s need? If they had drafted a competent center back in the second round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Too bad that bust Boo Nieves was taken instead.

Murray, Defense Struggle as Pietrangelo and Blues Spoil Banner Raising

A little over a minute into overtime Alex Pietrangelo launched a puck off Matt Murray’s glove and into the net, spoiling the Penguins’ ceremonial night. The Penguins played almost as expected, their offense was at times was dominant. However, their defense looked really poor and Matt Murray looked extremely shaky (allowing 5 goals on 34 shots). Colton Parayko and Paul Stastny both looked great tonight for the Blues. The Pens are back at it tomorrow in Chicago.

3 Stars

3. Colton Parayko (STL-1 Goal)

2. Paul Stastny (STL-1 Goal, 1 Assist)

1. Alex Pietrangelo (STL- 2 Goals, GWG) 

The Wayne Train Steams Ahead

Wayne Simmonds started the season off on the right foot notching a hat trick en route to a 5 - 3 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Flyers started off hot by capitalizing on a turn over and a PP goal by Claude Giroux and Jordan Weal respectively. Kevin Labanc responded with 2 goals of his own to tie the game up at 2 at the end of the first. The Flyers power play remained hot as they scored a PP goal in the second period that Simmonds got credit for, as a rocket of a shot by Gostisbehere hit his shin pad and went in. Simmonds would tally another deflection PP goal in the third period to go up 4 - 3, and would later lock up the game with an empty net goal. Both Gostisbehere and Voracek had 3 assists and the fourth line for the Flyers was fantastic and the team, despite penalties and some rough patches, looked very good. Robert Hagg took a penalty and despite that looked very solid as did Nolan Patrick in his first game, making some great offensive plays that nearly lead to goals. The Flyers have another tilt the following night against the LA Kings.

3 Stars

3. Shayne Gostisbehere (3 Assists)

2. Brian Elliott (3.00 GAA)

1. Wayne Simmonds (Hat Trick)

Biggest Winner: The Power Play. They looked great on all 4 chances, with the last being nullified and at the end of the game.

Biggest Loser: Andrew MacDonald. He sucks.

Waterloo Blackhawks @ University of Vermont

UVM took their exhibition match over Waterloo 6-1 on Sunday. It was a dominating effort as they outshot Waterloo 49-21. Sophomore goaltender Stefanos Lekkas (UFA) had 13 saves on 14 shots through 2 periods of play while freshman goaltender Tyler Harmon (UFA) went a perfect 7 for 7 in the 3rd. Sophomore Forward Ross Colton (TBL) had a goal and 3 assists in the rout and sophomore defenseman Matt O’Donnell also notched 2 goals and an assist. It was a dominating performance as expected, including UVM going 3-8 on the PP. Waterloo got their only goal shorthanded.

USNTDP @ #8 University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame won their exhibition match over the U18 United States National Team Development Program. Sophomore forward Cam Morrison (COL) got the Irish on the board first with a 2-on-1 goal at 7:42 of the first on a feed from senior captain Jake Evans (MTL). USNTDP did strike back though and took a 2-1 lead in the second. ND struck back with a Dello slap shot from the point, then 2 goals less than two minutes apart put the Irish up 4-2. Mattias Samuelsson notched an extra attacker goal but it was too late as ND held on. Oliver Wahlstrom, Jon Gruden and Mattias Samuelsson all scored for the USNTDP, while the Irish got tallies from sophomores Morrison (COL) and Dello (UFA), junior Joe Wegwerth (FLA) & freshman Colin Theisen (UFA). Sophomore goaltender Cale Morris (UFA) started and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced in 30:48 of play while freshman Dylan St. Cyr (2018 draft eligible) played the final 29:07 and turned aside 10 of 11 shots to earn the win.

Acadia @ #5 UMass Lowell

A big night (1 Goal and an Assist) from Ryan Lohin (TBL) led the 5th Ranked River Hawks to a 4-2 exhibition win over Acadia. Goalies Chris Hernberg and Tyler Wall (NYR) combined for 14 saves on 16 Acadia shots. UML dominated play outshooting Acadia 27-16 and Out-Attempting Acadia 55-29. Acadia was able to block 16 shots limiting the RIver Hawks chances. In the End the River Hawks were too dominant and an empty net goal by Nick Master sealed the deal.

St. Francis Xavier @ UConn

Led by 2 Shutout Periods from Adam Huska (NYR) the Huskies took down St Francis Xavier 2-1. Uconn took 11 penalties but great Goaltending made the mistakes irrelevant. Although St. Francis led 38 to 27 in the Shot Department Huska’s 27 Saves bailed out the Huskies defense. Goals from Kasperi Ojantakanen and Karl El-Mir gave the Huskies a comfortable 2-0 lead, St. Francis made it interesting with a 6 on 4 goal in the last minute but it was too little too late. The Huskies start their season in Maine on Friday.

University of Alberta @ #3 University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota doesn’t usually face off against Canadian universities like most schools do before the season, but they did tonight for the first time in three years, using the strength of a four-goal third period to beat the University of Alberta, 6-2. The game marked the highly-anticipated collegiate debut of Sabres first-rounder Casey Mittelstadt, and he certainly did not disappoint, posting a goal and three assists. Mittelstadt is expected to be an instant contributor for the Gophers, but he wasn’t the only one with a standout performance against the Golden Bears. Junior Gates (ANA), Rem Pitlick (NSH), Scott Reedy (SJ), and UFA senior Mike Szmatula each finished with multi-point games, while Tommy Novak (NSH) and UFA senior Leon Bristedt added third-period tallies. The three goalies split time, but likely starter and UFA junior Eric Schierhorn was the busiest goalie, with ten saves in the first period. Minnesota will open up their season on Friday against Minnesota Duluth as part of the Ice Breaker tournament. Despite having 13 draft picks on the roster, only one Gopher, Tyler Nanne (NYR), has his rights held by a Metro Division team.

Hello hockey fans, hot take specialist Andy here. While readers are familiar with the rest of this site dedicated to discussing the various strengths of each Metropolitan division team, it’s time to knock them all down a peg. This is all for jokes, so put the pitchforks away as I present to you: The Mess that is the Metro

New York Islanders

Wait...Brooklyn Islanders

Er...Queens Islanders

No...Hartford Islanders?

I thought we were done with the little brothers of New York needing a new home a few years ago? I mean jeez, for a fanbase that trashes how often MSG needs renovations, at least the Rangers have a home. Meanwhile the Isles are still real estate shopping for somewhere that will let them play. But at least wherever they land, it’ll be an upgrade from their current rink with blind spots and off center jumbotrons.

After 2016’s playoffs, people were convinced the Isles would take the next step towards contention. Well some were, others were celebrating their first playoff series win since Friends premiered. WOOOOO! Anyways, the Isles sure did take a step...then fell down a bunch of stairs. This team that was supposed to beckon the likes of certain College graduate free agents fired their coach midway through the season, then scrambled to compete with an injury plagued Tampa team that sold at the deadline for the final wild card spot. Who did they eventually lose to? Auston Matthews and the 2015-16 Toronto Marlies.

Speaking of former first overall draft picks, come one come all to the John Tavares Sweepstakes!! That’s right folks, we all know JT’s booking it from this cast of characters so misshapen that they make the Gallagher family from Shameless look like the Cleavers from Leave it to Beaver. The question is will the Isles trade him during the season or try and negotiate a contra- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA sorry I just couldn’t finish that thought without bursting out laughing.

We all know JT’s gonna command a lot on the FA Market, especially with teams like the Sharks, Blues, and hell even the Knights looking for a first line center of the future (Laugh at Las vegas all you want, THEY have a home after this year). To think the incredibly miserly Isles will break be able to compete with them is one thing, but there’s also that whole “Salary cap” boondoggle. I mean this is the same team that just took on Eberle’s contract that expires a year after JT’s, as well as paying Ladd $5.5 mil for another 6 years. Oh, and half the team is still unsigned past this year. But at least Cizikas and Clutterbuck are inked long term! Priorities, amiright?

How’s the revolving door of a blue line going? I see Boychuk and Leddy are still signed for a while, and...Adam Pelech? Good grief Garth Snow, either some RFAs are gonna need to be dealt or JT’s skating with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers as his blue line. You know, that’s not a bad idea, moving the Isles to Bridgeport…

I mean, I can think of someone who had plenty of experience with that stadium already: Jaroslav Halak! Yes, King Jaro, as the kids with enormous inferiority complexes called him back in 2014-15, spent half the season in the minors last year. And it wasn’t necessarily because he was on a rehab assignment or anything. This would be the classic case of waivers: a sizeable contract that came back to bite you pretty bad. But at least you have all those cringeworthy white text memes to fall back on! After all, why be a king when you can be in the minors?

And when he leaves as a free agent this year, that’s yet another void to fill on the team: A goaltender. Say, don’t you have a goalie on the books? You know, someone you drafted first overall that’s still in his 30’s? Ohh, that’s right, you bought him out from yet another ridiculous contract. Don’t worry, this upcoming free agency market is the perfect place to shop for the next washed goalie to don the blue & orange. Cam Ward, Kari Lehtonen, Jonathan Bernier strike your fancy?

Short term: Islanders’ best hopes are to struggle out the gate, trade JT for a good return, and build for the future. After all, you don’t want to be out of the playoffs and really fumble a pending free agent like Matt Moulson. Or Thomas Vanek. Or Kyle Okposo. Or Frans Nielsen. Besides, finding a new face of the franchise or a starting goalie are problems for a normal team to have. You all have much bigger fish to fry (Obligatory 90’s jersey joke), where the hell are you going to play next year?

PS: I hear the Videotron Centre in Quebec is open…

Hello hockey fans, hot take specialist Andy here. While readers are familiar with the rest of this site dedicated to discussing the various strengths of each Metropolitan division team, it’s time to knock them all down a peg. This is all for jokes, so put the pitchforks away as I present to you: The Mess that is the Metro

Philadelphia Flyers

Ahh Philly…Classic Philly. You never change, do you? I made a few jokes about the Devils being stuck in 2012, but the Flyers are a different type of “living in the past”. See for Philly fans, they know their team has a rough past and is still teeter tottering between rebuilding and a first round exit from the playoffs. But they adamantly believe if they stick with the 70’s mentality of beating the snot out of everyone, their team will win the cup.

Of course this grinder first mentality has produced many legends in Philly that the rest of the hockey world would be perfectly fine without. Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Chris Pronger to name a few. Heck, even the best goalie in franchise history was a well known goon. While their tactics would have led to a cup back when half the league didn’t even exist yet, the game has evolved in 40 years. The Flyers have not.

Remember going into last year how fans were saying “We made the playoffs as a wild card in 2016, we’ll finish top 3 in 2017”? I’m sure that worked out completely in your favor. After all, you had a 10 game winning streak, and no team that has ever missed the playoffs if they went on a 10 game winning streak. I mean, how pathetic would it be to be handed 20 points in 10 games and still fail to get 75 in the remaining 72 games? But I digress…

Claude Giroux is dead & was replaced by a look alike. a conspiracy theory thread:

Just kidding. But his regressive play sure would back this claim. 80 point season, 70 point season, 60 point season, 50 point season. The guy hasn’t even turned 30 and he’s already pumping the brakes. Good thing he’s already on pace with most other Flyers Captains for dwindling careers. Speaking of overpaid forwards (Not Filppula, but he’s also here), Jakub Voraceck still only has one season where the league took notice. But it’s a good thing Philly’s paying both these skaters over $8 mil a year, I’m sure that won’t interfere at all with their youth.

Was it a bit premature to ink Ghost to a 6 year deal? Probably. Did the Flyers still do it? Absolutely! Don’t worry, at least you don’t have someone struggling on the blue line with a $5 mil cap hit or somethi- oh hey Andrew MacDonald! Didn’t see you there, kinda zoomed right by you. Much like every young skater in the league.

Goaltending in Philly remains a circus act of short lived and off to become successful elsewhere, overpaid and unable to live up to expectations, and regularly injured. Out goes Mason, in comes Elliott. He’ll wind up playing a good chunk of the season despite having the ceiling of a backup netminder when Neuvy goes down with yet another injury in his short career. Good thing this path was paved with Bryz, Bobrovsky, Leighton, Emery, Biron, Niittymaki, etc, or fans would expect something as crazy as longevity from a netminder. What a crazy concept!

Congrats on the second overall pick, but the last time someone with so much hype went to Philly at such a young age, he cost the Flyers the player they took 5 spots later who wound up being just as good, if not better, as well as Philly’s best goalie of all time, a few draft picks, and something in the neighborhood of $15 million.

Flyers fans swear they’re on the rise. But let’s be real, the story remains the same in Philadelphia

PS: I’m sure a kid with injury problems already will fit in just fine on a team that plays such a physical game.

With so much talent, expectations build. Interestingly enough, there doesn’t seem to be much consensus on a preseason favorite for the Stanley Cup but rather the general belief is that a Stanley Cup Favorite will emerge from the Metro. A Penguin 3peat, a King’s first crown, or the breaking of the Capital Curse seem most likely; however, I wouldn’t count out the Hurricanes or Blue Jackets just yet. While some think the Preseason answers questions, this year I think it only made me ask more. Here are my top Questions for the Metro Division: 

Who Emerges as the Thanksgiving Favorite?

Care about it or not, history shows that the Division leader around Thanksgiving will make the playoffs. As cliche as it sounds: all you need is a chance, with the talent these rosters have, to get hot at the right time. If one team explodes out of the gate they’ll possess an advantage for that #1 seed, who gets to play the wildcard rather than facing that 3rd place metro team.

Are the Rookies the Real Deal?

We’ll see if they all make it past the 9 game ELC mark, but for now the metro rookies add so much more talent to such a stacked talent pool. Can Nico actually be a game changer? Has Nolan’s development been thrown off course with all the Injuries? Can Lias and Filip survive with NYR? What does Dubois add to a strong CBJ lineup? A rookie having a great year could make a contender, while signs of under development could break one.

Who’s gonna be THAT Duchebag?

For future reference that will be the worst pun ever made on this site so I do apologize. The worst kept secret in the NHL is that Matt Duchene would walk him and his bags from the Pepsi Center to PPG Paints arena if it meant he could be traded out of Colorado. Yet somehow, Sakic won’t pull the trigger on any offer and is demanding a mega-package for his 2nd line center. A desperate metro division team could make that offer. Columbus, Pittsburgh or even New Jersey could be in on Duchene and oh god would it cause madness in the Metro.

Who is the Metro’s best Goalie?

A competition normally dominated by Henrik Lundqvist has opened up over the past 12-18 months. Arguably, one could say that the Metro has 5 of the top 8 Goalies in the league. Here’s my question: who’s the best. Almost no one would say lundqvist or Murray, although in any game 7 I’m taking Hank. Most would argue it’s likely between Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby, the last 2 Vezina winners. Which goalie is better could be irrelevant but great goalies steal games. Those stolen games will show their relevance when the final standings roll around.

To another year of goals, hits, saves, excitement and disappointment. Happy Hockey Season.

Follow Matt on Twitter @Anttiup32

Hello hockey fans, hot take specialist Andy here. While readers are familiar with the rest of this site dedicated to discussing the various strengths of each Metropolitan division team, it’s time to knock them all down a peg. This is all for jokes, so put the pitchforks away as I present to you: The Mess that is the Metro

Carolina Hurricanes

In life, there are often two ways to look at various situations: you can be an idealist or a realist. This can especially be said for this franchise of the Carolina Hurricanes. Upon first moving from Hartford to Raleigh, the Carolina fans were greeted to hockey with the playoffs three times in 5 years, even so much as a stanley cup finals run in 2002. And in all reality, the Carolina Hurricanes have made the Eastern Conference Finals in their last three ventures in playoff hockey. For an idealist, that’s pretty good is it not?

Well reality check: they’ve only made the playoffs three times since 2001. Outside of those years has been a team that is a perennial lottery contender. Not to mention the dumpster bin for Chicago’s bad contracts and fringe depth players. Most athletes used to celebrate winning a championship by going to Disneyland. Imagine a Blackhawks player lifts up the cup and yells “I’m going to NC State!”

The makeup of this 2017-18 roster looks more like a reality show than a hockey team. Team chemistry is definitely a factor in the sport, and one that was overlooked when this squad was assembled. Half this team is playing until their AARP card comes in the mail, while the other half’s first cell phone was the iPhone 4. Man, how I’d love to listen in on the conversations in the locker room: “Why are there dog ears on your head in this picture?” “No I don’t have a VHS player.”

Hey, you guys still have a Staal! That’s pretty cool, I guess. I mean he’s not exactly the best Staal, even though Eric used to be the face of your franchise and your most marketable player. Nor the worst Staal, but we’ll look back at him later *crowd boos cheap joke*. Instead, you guys have...Jordan Staal. $6 million a year for a glorified third liner. Well, half of that is thanks to his last name.

Justin Williams is coming home. Yes, after coming through clutch in numerous Game 7s for the Hurricanes and Kings, he had to experience a game 7 loss in order to say “Welp, my career’s circling the pipes. Wonder if there’s a team foolish enough to look at my DC inflated points from the last two years and sign me?” And really he didn’t have to look far at all, he’s able to join Lee Stempniak now in the locker room as they complain about these young kids and their damn fidget spinners.

The defensive core is young. Very young. “Isn’t this a school night for half those kids?” young. And some might say that’s a great thing, which it is a few years down the road. But to throw this young core out onto the ice in a division featuring Ovi, Crosby, Tavares, Nash, Atkinson, Voracek, etc and expect them to survive? I give it about five weeks into the season before someone hits Ron Frances with a child endangerment lawsuit. I mean these kids aren’t old enough to remember 2006’s cup run for the Hurricanes. But apparently management loves that year so much, that they keep trotting out…

Cam Ward! Yep, he’s still between your pipes. He’s held onto the starting gig before the Kim K/Ray J tape was leaked. And his numbers have gone down ever since she went do-anyways, the Carolina management has been looking for a replacement in net for quite some time now. And sure, Scott Darling could be the answer. Just like Eddie Lack was supposed to be the answer. And Dan Ellis. And Justin Peters. Point is, expect some more of Ward in net.

Ideally, everything works out for this team. They straighten it all out and you’ll see the fans finally pack their stands again. But realistically, it’s gonna take some time. They’re still not there.

PS: A good chunk of fans want them to return to Hartford. Yeah, because sticking them in a state filled with Rangers and Bruins fans will really solve attendance issues. Chill Connecticut, be thankful you have the Sound Tigers & WolfPack.

Konecny, Giroux sink Rangers in Overtime

After a thrilling 3 periods the Rangers and Flyers entered overtime tied at 3. Late in overtime Travis Konecny threw a rebound on net, which snuck past Ondrej Pavelec giving the Flyers a 4-3 win. Sam Morin and David Desjardins were the most notable players tonight, both put in very respectable performances. For the Rangers, this marks the end to a solid Preseason where Filip Chytil and Neal Pionk impressed and made cases for roster spots. The Flyers have 1 game left to play but they’ll be happy where they’re at with their young players.

3 Stars 

3. Claude Giroux (2 Assists)

2. David Desjardins (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

1. Travis Konecny (GWG, 1 Assist)

Biggest Winner: 3 on 3 Overtime. Seriously, nothing is better than 3 on 3 overtime and tonight was another example. 

Biggest Loser: Rangers Twitter. We all know Dan is gonna have a FIELD DAY with DeAngelo’s last overtime shift tonight. Please prepare your mentions if you try and defend him. As for Tony... well blocking Dan on Twitter was his best defense all night.

Blue Jackets eJackulate Their Way to Victory

What a game for both sides in this one. You have the Blue Jackets final home preseason game with a great crowd of 5000 to witness a 5-2 drought of the blues. Some players really stood out to me in this one....Tage Thompson and Ivan Barbashev were two I was very impressed with. Tage Thompson the Phoenix born and raised center that amasses at a 6’5 height put a good show out there today. Drafted 26th ovr. In 2016, he gave his own tallying a goal and playing some power play minutes. Ivan Barbashev, who got his 3rd assist this preseason on Tage Thompson’s goal was another player I was particularly impressed with. Playmaking skills mixed with raw talent and some hockey IQ make up this boy who has a real shot at making the big team full time this season. The Blue Jackets piled on a whopping 5 goals in this one and Korpisalo even got an assist. 5 different goal scorers on this one, and they were some beauties...and then there was Markus Hannikainen’s goal that was just pure atrocity at its finest. Dean Kukan, in which who had the 5th, and final goal of the night had the most impressive in my eyes. A Nikita Kucherov type one-timer from the top of the circle for a kid who may not make the team, heck, he might be better then some of the NHL guys on the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets have a very deep Defensive core, players upon players, they have 10-12 NHL ready guys that can step in next day and not miss a step. Enough about the Blue Jackets aspiring D-corps, this game was all about new players, new faces, and new strategies. Oliver Bjorkstrand who has had a great camp, and a great preseason pretty much had a roster spot before camp started, but in this one he proved why by showing his dynamic skills and how he can transform a game. Pierre-Luc Dubois, I feel like I’m gonna be saying that name more and more as the year goes on. He had a tremendous game. Racking up a goal and showing why he was selected 3rd overall. However, he was playing wing, we will see over the next few days what cuts are made for both sides and I have a feeling Ivan Barbashev, and Pierre-Luc Dubois are two names you won’t see on that list.

3 Stars

3. Ivan Barbashev (1 Assist)

2. Oliver Bjorkstrand (2 Assists)

1. Pierre-Luc Dubois (1 Goal)

Hello hockey fans, hot take specialist Andy here. While readers are familiar with the rest of this site dedicated to discussing the various strengths of each Metropolitan division team, it’s time to knock them all down a peg. This is all for jokes, so put the pitchforks away as I present to you: The Mess that is the Metro

New Jersey Devils

You know how typically the first few questions on a test are easy? Writing about why the Devils are bad is like being handed a history question and the first question is “What year are we in right now?” And about 98% of the Hockey world would all put down “2017”. This would of course be the correct answer because most of us live in the present. Keyword: most.

See for many Devils fans, it’s still 2012. Carly Rae Jepsen’s atop the charts, London’s about to host the Olympics, and apparently I’m about to graduate high school. And the Devils? Why it was the best year you folks have had since Mark Zuckerberg was some 19 year old Harvard nerd yet to even come up with Facebook. Your team just went to the Stanley Cup Finals after missing the playoffs the year before. So naturally you’re gonna bask in it for a bit…

Oh, has it been 5 years already?

Well let’s just go down the list of all that has transpired since then: You let your star center go back home right before his prime. You get off to a good start, then missed the playoffs. Your star sniper that cost the Devils three draft picks in order to cheat the salary cap leaves for Russia, in year two of a 15 year contract nonetheless. You sign an ageless wonder in Jagr thinking he’ll bring you back to the playoffs. You miss the playoffs. You let the face of your franchise go to the Blues. You fire your coach and trade the aforementioned ageless wonder. You miss the playoffs. You bring in Palmieri thinking now you can contend. You miss the playoffs. You bring in Taylor Hall thinking now you can contend. You miss the playoffs.

Finally you manage to suck bad enough that you win the first overall pick, and now had the honor of drafting from a class whose best prospects would’ve been taken with the 6th or 7th picks in 2015 or 2016. But hey, this is the Devils! You guys will be just fine with an offense that has a top line, a third line, and two lines composed of AHLers, right? And congrats, you got MoJo, who got almost 60 points. Put anyone on a team with Ovi, Backstrom, Kuzy, Oshie, etc and they’re gonna put up at least 55 points a season also.

I was planning on skipping covering your defense because your front office did that too. Oh, did they just sign Will Butcher? Congrats, the kid goes from playing at the college level to shouldering top 2 minutes in a division with Crosby, Ovi, Panarin, JT, Giroux, Nash, etc. I’m sure that won’t screw up his growth any. Besides, when last year’s Hobey Baker award winner signed with an NHL team, wasn’t he going to be a bust? Gee, I wonder why the narrative flipped…

Cory Schneider came off his worst statistical year. He is 31. But heaven forbid I mention that to a Devils fan, of course. You'll bring up the fact that the crosstown rival netminder had a bad year also, despite 1) still posting better numbers than Cory, and 2) being 4 years older. The same way you’ll continue to bring up Henrique every chance you get. Congrats, like a frat boy or the average Barstool writer, the man peaked at age 21! He’s a third liner that you occasionally throw out there to get top minutes because of one playoff run half a decade ago. Speaking of peaking when Mitt Romney was running for president, congrats on signing Drew Stafford. Nice for him to make one more North American paycheck before heading to the SHL.

This isn’t 2011-12 anymore. You can’t just go from trash one year to playoff team and cup finalist the next. You’re still rebuilding. But hey, at least you’ll get plenty of Rangers and Flyers fans to fill your empty arena when they come to town.

PS: Almost forgot, the Sixers own you. Let that marinate.

Lundqvist...well pulls a Lundqvist at MSG

Familiar Sight for Flyers and Rangers fans? Yep. Another Flyers/Rangers battle ended the same way many of them have with Lundqvist stealing the show. Although preseason, Lundqvist looked sharp making 37 saves on 39 shots in the OT win for NYR. Filip Chytil again impressed for the Rangers, with many feeling he’ll make the opening night roster. For Philadelphia, they’ll be happy with the play of Travis Sanheim-the only player to crack Hank’s code tonight-who added 2 goals to his fantastic defensive play. The teams will rematch tomorrow night, although Lias Andersson will sit out after missing overtime tonight. He blocked a shot in the thigh late in the 3rd and was seen limping in the locker room.

3 Stars

3. Travis Sanheim (2 Goals)

2. Ryan McDonagh (GWG Goal, Assist)

1. Henrik Lundqvist (37 Saves, .949 Sv%)

Biggest Winner: Travis Sanheim & Filip Chytil. Both are in similar positions looking to crack opening rosters yet started on the fringe. After tonight I don’t see how either player could be left off an opening night roster.

Biggest Loser: Lias Andersson. Although the injury is no more than educated speculation; missing overtime tonight as well as Tuesday’s game for a player who doesn’t have a spot locked up is not good. Lias has looked adapted to the NHL game defensively so far, yet offensively he’s struggled and an injury at this point could buy him a plane ticket back to Sweden. He’ll have to hope he’s done enough to earn a spot or 9 game tryout.

Greiss shutout leaves net as empty as Barclays Center Seats

Where can we start with this one? Well for starters the Devils, and Islanders looked atrocious except for the Mathew Barzal Goal that left most fans and players, coaches alike speechless with his speed. However apart from that one goal the islanders looked like they shouldn’t be allowed in the NHL. Defending was horrible, except for the 5.5 million dollar man Johnny Boychuk slotting 1 home. The offense was just as bad...but they did play particularly average. It’s preseason and you have to test out new combos, and sometimes it doesn’t work in my opinion, that is what happened here. They still came away with a 3-0 win. For the Devils it was even worse. The team wasn’t ready to play together, and it was a very slow paced hockey team as you could see by the defending. On the other side of the spectrum however, the New Jersey Devils put up 8 goals In spectacular form against the Senators where they won 8-1 in their other split squad game.

3 stars (In Brooklyn)

 3. Mathew Barzal (1 Goal)

2. Johnny Boychuk (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

1. Thomas Greiss (25 Save Shutout) 

Devils Win in “Hockeyville”

Blacked out in New Jersey, but still on national television, The Devils and Senators faced off in the Kraft Hockeyville Game, from Prince Edward Island! For The Devils, the goals came, and quickly including 2 from Pavel Zacha, one from Marcus Johansson and the 3rd goal in 3 games for rookie Nico Hischier. All in all, this was a beatdown and the score after one period of play was 5-0 New Jersey. One more game to go until it counts, the Devils will be happy with this performance

The Final Score, Devils 8, Senators 1

3 Stars

3. Drew Stafford (2 Goals, 1 Assist)

2. Pavel Zacha (2 Goals)

1. Marcus Johansson (1 Goal, 2 Assists)

Hurricane causes Oil Spill in Edmonton

The Hurricanes flew past the previously undefeated Oilers tonight in a dominating 6-2 performance. Jordan Staal netted 2 goals as did new addition Teuvo Teravainen. Teuvo scored both of his in the first period while Staal got both of his in the third. The Carolina Blackhawks also had a solid showing from Scott Darling, stopping 27 of 29 and Trevor van Riemsdyk getting his second assist of the preseason for the squad. On the other hand, Cam Talbot looked bad giving up 6 on 29 shots including one shorthanded but also 3 on the powerplay. The Canes might be something legit, their defensive core played well and Darling was solid in net, giving up only one even strength goal.

The Final Score: Canes 6, Oilers 2

3 Stars

3. Jordan Staal (2 Goals)

2. Janne Kuokkanen (1 Goal, 2 Assists)

1. Teuvo Teravainen (2 Goals)

Wings Fly Past Penguins

The Penguins had a poor showing without their stars as they dropped this one to the Red Wings 4-1. Scott Wilson was the lone goal scorer in a 19 shot team performance by the Pens. Penguins were 0 for 2 on the Power Play and had 8 PIM, where one lead to a Red Wings PPG scored by Michael Rasmussen. Bryan Rust had a rough game as did Adam Johnson, but there were some bright spots. The Penguins did have a good showing from former Capitals draft pick Thomas DiPauli, who made a diving play after being tripped but the Penguins couldn’t finish.

3 Stars

3) Scott Wilson (1 Goal)

2) Thomas Tatar (1 Goal)

1) Anthony Mantha (1 Goal)

Filip Chytil Saves Kevin Shattenkirk’s Perfect MSG Debut

With less than 5 seconds left in overtime, assisted by Shattenkirk himself, Filip Chytil scored his first goal in a Rangers jersey capping off a thrilling 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Kevin Shattenkirk had a brilliant debut with 3 assists while Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei starred for the blueshirts. On the flip side the Rangers should be extremely disappointed with the performance from defensemen Marc Staal and John Gilmour who both looked miserable. As for the Devils they should be thrilled with their performance. They hung around in a game and PTO player Jimmy Hayes impressed in his first brother v brother of the year (Kevin also has a goal for the Rangers).

Biggest Winner: Kevin Shattenkirk. It could not have gone better for Shattenkirk. 

Biggest Loser: The NHL. Yet again penalties were the story of a game that is supposed to be used for 5v5 player evaluation. The refs have other ideas calling 17 penalties.

3 Stars

3. Jimmy Hayes-NJD (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

2. Kevin Shattenkirk-NYR (3 Assists)

1. Chris Kreider-NYR (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

Nolan Patrick Gives Ghost the Sauce for Philly's First Preseason Win

Just 43 seconds into what was Philadelphia’s 3rd overtime this pre season, Nolan Patrick picked up the puck and began a 2 on 1 rush. This rush ended with Patrick dishing a saucer pass to Shayne Gostisbehere who wired it home for the 3 - 2 win. The young NHL-hopeful (Hagg, Morin, Sanheim) defenseman of the Flyers all had solid nights. Morin and Sanheim looked especially calm and smart with the puck as well as physical defensively. Morin used his size well and Sanheim looked great with the puck and took the puck into the zone himself with ease. Gostisbehere was healthy and especially sharp this game even before his OT winner, as he was as fast and shifty like in his rookie season, with his laser shots hitting their target (After having trouble with that last season). Patrick was solid all night and looked as poised as he could for a just-turned 19 year old savior of the city of Philadelphia, and topped his solid night off with a perfect saucer pass to Ghost, who once again scores in a 3 on 3 overtime. The Flyers won the game off the back of 2 very solid periods form goalie Michal Neuvirth and 2 PP goals from 23 year old Taylor Leier. The islander goal scorers for this game were Barzal and Lee. The Flyers lost their other split squad game 3-2 in Brooklyn.

Biggest Winner: Leier. Pushing for a spot on the Flyers roster and making the veterans above him work for theirs.

Biggest Loser: Coaches who wanted to evaluate players and not watch a 5 on 3 for ghost slashes and faceoff violations. 

3 Stars (PPL Arena)

1 - Taylor Leier (2 G)

2 - Michal Neuvirth (16 Saves)

3 - Shayne Gostisbehere (1 G 2 A)

HM: Patrick, Wiese

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Love him or hate him, Chris Kreider has quietly become the most important player on the Rangers roster, and yes that is a scorching hot take. Here we go again, yes I do think the Rangers 26 year old Power Forward is more important than Ryan Mcdonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk or dare I say it Henrik Lundqvist. Kreider’s natural ability paired with his unique combination of speed, size and strength make him a dynamic threat any time he touches the ice. My personal favorite way to describe Kreider is “he’s the type of player where on any given play the Rangers can be in their own zone and one pass later you’ll see Kreider off on a breakaway”. His speed changes games instantly and his strength lets him power past defenders (yes sometimes multiple) right to the front of the net (How ya doin Carey Price?).

Now, allow me to quiet down #Numbers twitter. Stating the Basics, Kreider’s 28 total goals led the Rangers along with his 6 Power Play Goals, also first among Rangers. His 25 assists were good for 2nd among Rangers wingers, while his 53 Points finished 4th on the team. Kreider missed 7 games due to back injury preventing him from hitting the 30 goal plateau (his 82 game pace was 31). Now to satisfy #GRIT Twitter: Kreids was 4th in the team in hits and led the team with 58 penalty minutes (Don’t worry a decent chunk were fighting, he went 3-0 in my book and 2-0-1 on the official scorecard/Hockey fights.com). And Lastly for those #FancyStats lovers: Kreider’s Corsi and Fenwick both ranked 1st last season among returning Rangers.

Leaving the past in favor of the present, Kreider will need to produce big time this season while expectations rise. While everyone is asking which Center will replace Derek Stepan’s void, while I believe the player to replace Stepan is Winger Chris Kreider. Now I’m not saying we should move Kreider to center; Kreids should play this whole season with Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad. I would love to see the “KZB” line we drooled over reunited. Zibanejad, a natural playmaker could easily put up 23-42-65 with these linemates; while Buchnevich a true offensive talent could easily have a 45-50 point sophomore season. Now my Stepan replacement, Chris Kreider, his 28 goal 53 point season last year is just the beginning for him. A realistic 82 game projection would be 32-27-59 for Chris Kreider but I’m not here to be normal. With these linemates I think 35-30-65 is where Kreider ends this season, possibly higher (CC: Gianni and Palmeri, Kreider’s gonna blow you out of the water). With those 3 KZB players solid jumps in production Stepan’s void is almost completely filled, leaving Kevin Hayes or JT Miller much more rope to work with. In addition, this leaves the 3rd line center position to Lias Andersson, who should get a chance to produce right away, but not pressured to replace a top 6 center right off the bat.

Is Kreider an Undervalued Star or just another power forward? Well I say he’s an all around star, but we might just have to watch to find out. (Sidenote: Hello to everyone retweeting this in April when Kreider has either put up 80 points or failed to score 20 goals).