Red, White And Blueshirts

As Brandon Dubinsky put the gloss on a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night with an empty-net goal six seconds from time, the New York Rangers collectively slapped the exclamation mark on a strong year for the organisation. The Rangers won’t play again until New Years Day when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that sits directly above them in the Eastern Conference standings by a solitary point.

Dubinsky’s goal sealed the deal on a tight win for the Blueshirts at the Prudential Center. Henrik Lundqvist made 43 saves in perhaps his finest performance of the season so far, whilst Brian Boyle scored his 14^th goal of the year off the back of another superb outing for the former LA Kings project. Boyle has continued his strong play throughout the first half of the season, working alongside Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko on the Rangers’ third line to provide much needed offensive support to the likes of Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik.

The Rangers’ offence has been stretched by an injury sustained by alternate captain Ryan Callahan during a 4-1 win in Pittsburgh on December 15. Callahan, arguably the Blueshirts best player this season with 10 goals and 13 assists through 32 games, dove out to block a shot during a Penguins powerplay, breaking his hand with a 6-8 week timeline for return.

The game itself provided another marker for a young Rangers team that’s taken to comebacks this season. Henrik Lundqvist kept the team in the game after an early Evgeni Malkin strike, stopping 24 shots before Erik Christensen, Alex Frolov, Artem Anisimov and Boyle scored four times in the space of six minutes to seal a dramatic third period turnaround.

The Blueshirts took advantage of a listless Washington Capitals team three days prior, routing the visitors in a 7-0 win at Madison Square Garden, Lundqvist again making 24 saves as Callahan and Dubinsky combined to pick off the underachieving Capitals.

Outside of a mistake-filled 4-1 loss in Philadelphia on December 18, the Blueshirts have managed to remain competitive in almost all of their games. Derek Stepan, currently third in rookie scoring across the NHL, has recorded 17 points throughout his last 23 games and has found swift chemistry with fellow rookie Mats Zuccarello.

Zuccarello, a 5’7” Norwegian who boasts physical comparisons to Tampa Bay’s Martin St Louis, has skated in three consecutive games for the Rangers since his call-up from the AHL’s Connecticut Whale before Christmas. Despite having just one secondary assist to show for his efforts so far, Zuccarello’s lively play has helped to fill the gaping void left by Callahan’s injury.

Derek Stepan recorded goals in four straight games between December 16-27. The former Wisconsin Badger currently sits on a five-game point-scoring streak heading in to Saturday’s game against the Lightning, displaying a knack for clutch performances that will seldom surprise anyone that watched him captain Team USA to gold at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon last year.

The biggest discrepancy for the Blueshirts this season has been their ability to beat those teams below them in the standings. Putting aside character wins over Pittsburgh, Washington, Chicago, Boston, and Phoenix, the most pleasing aspect for Ranger management must be the dominant records against the likes of the Islanders and Devils. The Rangers are a clean 3-0 against the Devils this season and a decisive 3-1 over the Islanders, only losing an October 11^th game on Long Island after leading late in the third period. Edmonton, Calgary, Nashville, Minnesota, Toronto, Florida and Buffalo have all fallen by the wayside too, something you couldn’t so confidently expect during years past.

Lost in the Rangers strong run through December has been the inconsistent play of second-year defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto, sidelined by the flu earlier in the month, has been a healthy scratch on more than one occasion as coach John Tortorella tries to instill a hunger in the offensive blueliner.

Fellow second-year defenseman Matt Gilroy has stepped in to the fray, netting his first goals in 65 games during a 7-2 win over the Islanders on Monday night. Gilroy, the 2009 Hobey Baker Award winner with Boston University, has displayed a similar inconsistency after a fast start to his first season, often scratched in favour of emerging blueliner Michael Sauer.

Inconsistencies are to be expected from the young Blueshirts, especially those who have made the transition from college to pro hockey without skating in the minor leagues. Gilroy hasn’t played a single game for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, whilst Stepan too made the instant move from the University of Wisconsin to NHL hockey this past summer. The rookie centre will undoubtedly hit a wall at some point during the second half of the season, but for now his form - and, more pertinently - his consistency have been a welcome surprise.

This weekend the Blueshirts face the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers back-to-back on their annual swing through the sunshine state. To expect two wins would be foolish irrespective of current form, but both will provide tests that the Rangers must pass if they’re to continue to feel comfortable about their chances this season.

New York Rangers (21-14-2) @ New Jersey Devils (9-24-2) (7PM EST)

The New York Rangers will look to end 2010 with a bang as they pay a final visit across the Hudson River to take on the slumping New Jersey Devils tonight. The Devils sit at the foot of the National Hockey League with a dismal 9-24-2 record bolstered by a 5-game losing skid heading in to tonight’s contest. In contrast, the Rangers have had an excellent month, defeating Pittsburgh, Washington, Phoenix, Ottawa and the New York Islanders three times en route to 21-14-2 record, good enough for sixth in the Eastern conference.

The Devils are 1-9 across their last 10 games, whilst the Rangers sit a respectable 6-3-1 in their last 10. The Blueshirts thumped their cross-city rival Islanders 7-2 on Monday night and will look to hand another rival a similarly hefty defeat this evening. Martin Brodeur and Ilya Kovalchuk continue to underperform at both ends of the ice for the Devils, something Ranger rookies Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello will be all too keen to take advantage of. Zuccarello plays his third straight game since his initial call-up from the AHL pre-Christmas, whilst Stepan will be looking to score for the fifth straight game as his rookie year goes from strength to strength.

Michael Del Zotto again misses out for the Rangers due to a nagging groin problem, whilst Marian Gaborik should be OK despite leaving practice early yesterday. Matt Gilroy plays again after a 2-goal night against the Islanders on Monday.

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Projected lines; New York.

Mats Zuccarello - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Chris Drury (C)
Ruslan Fedotenko - Brian Boyle - Brandon Prust
Sean Avery - Erik Christensen - Alexander Frolov

Marc Staal (A) - Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger - Michal Rozsival
Michael Sauer - Matt Gilroy

Projected lines; New Jersey.

Ilya Kovalchuk (A) - Travis Zajac - Mattias Tedenby
Patrik Elias (A) - Jason Arnott - Jamie Langenbrunner (C)
Tim Sestito - Dainius Zubrus - Vladimir Zharkov
Rod Pelley - Adam Mair - David Clarkson

Colin White - Henrik Tallinder
Anssi Salmela - Anton Volchenkov
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne

It was shaping up to be one of those games for second-year defenseman Michael Del Zotto after an early giveaway led to Ilya Kovalchuk’s opener for the New Jersey Devils last night. Del Zotto looked to clear the puck down the boards three minutes into the game, only to have it taken away by the Devils’ Zach Parise, who in turn fed the fiery Russian sniper to roast Henrik Lundqvist high glove-side for a 1-0 lead.

Del Zotto, however, refused to dwell on his mistake. The 20-year old blueliner would eventually drag his young team to victory through a succession of third period powerplay assists and the subsequent extra-man winner in overtime for a 5-4 victory in the Rangers second pre-season encounter. It’s the second time in succession that the Blueshirts have dropped the Devils in overtime following Marian Gaborik‘s devastating wrister late Thursday night, but this one will be all the sweeter given the two sides on show at the Prudential Center last night. 

The Devils once more boasted their talented top line of Parise, Kovalchuk and center Travis Zajac, whilst the Blueshirts were shorn of lead forwards Gaborik, Alex Frolov, Brandon Dubinsky and Vinny Prospal, as well as first-pairing defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. It was an opportunity for the youngsters to shine as they continue to battle for spots out of training camp, but it was a familiar face that did the damage, with Del Zotto and fellow second-year blueliner Matt Gilroy quarterbacking a power play that went 4-for-5 through a destructive spell in the third period.

Goals for Ryan Callahan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Artem Anisimov and Gilroy dragged the Rangers level before Del Zotto hammered the Blueshirts to victory after a slick setup by Callahan and ex-Sabre Tim Kennedy.

The Rangers next take on the Detroit Red Wings at 5pm EST this afternoon.

The New York Rangers edged past the New Jersey Devils 4-3 last night thanks to Marian Gaborik’s powerplay goal mid-way through overtime at Madison Square Garden.

It was a game dominated by the two top lines. Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk all scored for the Devils, whilst the Blueshirts’ Alex Frolov, Derek Stepan and Gaborik showed excellent chemistry in a combined 6-point night. Stepan seemed assured throughout as he set up the first goal and created a handful of telling opportunities throughout his shift between the two European scorers. Fellow Wisconsin man Ryan McDonagh showed similair composure on the blueline, with a couple of particularly noteworthy hits exemplifying the young defenseman’s calm, confident play.

Frolov’s instant success will be of huge pleasure to Ranger brass, with the former LA Kings winger brought in to lighten the burden on leading scorer Gaborik this season. Frolov capitalised on a defensive blunder before moving in on the Devils’ Brodeur and deking left to right, stuffing it past the left hand of the NHL’s most decorated goaltender to put the Blueshirts - at this point - 2-1 up. New Rangers goalie Martin Biron was excellent for the most part, seldom beaten on a couple of blazing plays by Zajac and Kovalchuk, whilst backup Chad Johnson spilt an eronios late third that he’d undoubtedly have liked back.

The Rangers and Devils go again on Saturday evening, a game sure to further test the decision making of coach John Tortorella as cuts become commonplace.

The New York Rangers will hit the Madison Square Garden ice for the first time this season as they prepare to face the New Jersey Devils in the opening game of pre-season tonight.

The Blueshirts will be without Henrik Lundqvist, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, Vinny Prospal and Evgeny Grachev in a game that’s confirmed to see the Devils dominating trio of Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk, as well as Martin Brodeur in goal.

Derek Stepan will get his first competitive shot at center between offensive linchpins Marian Gaborik and Alex Frolov, whilst both Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh will make their Madison Square Garden bows tonight.

The National Hockey League has this afternoon won a crucial battle with the NHLPA as arbitrator Richard Bloch rejects the much-publicised 17-year Ilya Kovalchuk deal with the New Jersey Devils. Kovalchuk’s deal was seen as the clearest case of cap circumvention yet before the league threw it out, though it still comes as somewhat of a surprise to see the contract denied given the league’s leniency with these kind of deals before. Kovalchuk officially becomes a free-agent as of today and will be free to discuss terms with any and all clubs interested in his services; however, it’s hard not to see him staying in New Jersey under slightly altered terms.

Arbitrator Bloch;

“This is a retirement contract”. “Well beyond the typical retirement age for NHL players”.

The NHL have this morning rejected the 17-year $102m deal handed out to Ilya Kovalchuk by the New Jersey Devils this week. It’s a move that many have called for with the NHL citing clear circumvention of the salary cap as it’s reason, but it’s also one that’ll doubtless open the league up to a barrage of questions given their past history of allowing these kind of deals to go through. 

Just last summer Marian Hossa inked a 12-year $62.8m deal with the Chicago Blackhawks that was ultimately front-loaded over the first eight years, whilst Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vinny Lecavalier are amongst those that’ve also put their signatures to similarly questionable deals since the lockout of 2004-5.

Kovalchuk’s contract does however seem to be the clearest case of cap circumvention yet given the deal pays him a mere $3.5m over the final 6 years. The argument for the Devils will be that the league has shown tolerance for these deals before, though whereas the likes of Vancouver and Chicago perhaps tested the waters with their deals, it could be seen that the Devils have pushed things a little too far on this one.

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UPDATE - NHL Deputy Commisioner Bill Daly’s statement on the Kovalchuk contract;

“The contract has been rejected by the League as a circumvention of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Under the CBA, the contract rejection triggers a number of possible next steps that may be elected by any or each of the NHLPA, the Player and/or the Club. In the interim, the player is not entitled to play under the contract, nor is he entitled to any of the rights and benefits that are provided for thereunder. The League will have no further comment on this matter pending further developments.” Source.

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UPDATE #2 - New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello’s take on NHL rejection;

“We are extremely disappointed that the NHL has decided to reject the contract of Ilya Kovalchuk.  The contract complies with the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  We will have no further comment until the process outlined in the CBA is complete.” Source.

According to Ilya Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman, the unrestricted free-agent winger will finally make his decision today - Hedge your bets, folks. Kovalchuk’s signature should ensure swift movement to the free-agent market given the likes of Alex Frolov, Paul Kariya and Max Afinogenov still lay dormant as scoring options for a number of teams - including the Rangers.

Per Grossman’s twitter;

“Ilya Kovalchuk will make his decision today (for sure, this time!).” Source.

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UPDATE - Kovalchuk stays in New Jersey per the official New Jersey Devils twitter page;

“He’s back: Ilya Kovalchuk signs with the Devils. Press conference scheduled for Tuesday at the Rock.” Source.

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UPDATE #2 - Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov reports on a 17-year deal for Kovalchuk;

“Kovalchuk’s mother tells Pavel Lysenkov of Sovetsky Sport that Kovalchuk’s deal with #NJD is for 17 years.” Source.

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UPDATE #3 - Final terms on the deal have been confirmed as 17-years/$102m, working out to an average cap-hit of $6m per year. Source.

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And the continually baffling world of Ilya Kovalchuk gets yet stranger with the announcement that the Los Angeles Kings are indeed talking to the UFA winger. Again. Having publicly cut ties on their chase of the marquee free-agent late last week, Kings GM Dean Lombardi appears to have done what few general managers have managed to do before - forced the chased to become the chaser.

With reported interest from the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders being the sole legitimate options in Kovalchuk’s future to date, It’d seem a cut-price deal to the Kings may perhaps be in the works. The Russian winger would join the likes of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty as the centerpieces of an expectant cup-contender, instantly pushing the Kings to the very top of Western Conference contention alongside the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks and cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks.

With Dan Girardi’s recent arbitration filing sure to ensue haste to any prolonged contract talks regarding the restricted free-agent defenseman, it’s now reasonably safe to assume the Rangers are out of the running for highly-prized UFA forward Ilya Kovalchuk - that is, if they were ever in it.

Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman last night informed the media that the enigmatic Russian’s options were down to two - expected to be his former employers the New Jersey Devils and an as yet unnamed team from the KHL - though speculation refuses to cease amongst fans that GM Glen Sather’s infamous summer spend may yet take place. It seems an impossibility such are the raises due to Girardi and fellow stay-at-home blueliner Marc Staal, the latter of which must be an absolute necessity for the club this summer. But given the league’s apparent attitude toward decade-long contracts it’s certainly something the Rangers could entertain in order to once more attract the leagues big-ticket free agent.