Specialty Teams

The penalty kill is one of the consistent areas for this year’s group. They are ranked sixth in the American Hockey League for the penalty kill and third in the Eastern Conference.  Hartford has killed 88.6% of penalties.

The power play has it’s up and down moments, but overall, the performance has been good for the club. They are ranked sixth in the league and fourth in the Eastern Conference, operating at 23.3%. For instance, Friday’s game had six power plays which the Pack could not convert on. On Saturday and Sunday, they notched a total of four power-play goals in six opportunities.

Abundance of Roster Moves

The past few days have been busy for the organization, and the Hartford roster continues to be ever-changing. Saturday had the first move, with forward Matt Puempel being traded to Detriot, in exchange for Ryan Sproul. The Pack lost an offensive forward and gained an extra guy for the blue line. Sproul should debut on Friday against Bridgeport.

The second move was defenseman Garrett Noonan getting sent down to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. The move put Hartford back at seven defensemen.

Tuesday was active. The Rangers announced that they played Adam Cracknell on waivers.  He cleared and will be joining the Pack. In addition, Tony DeAngelo was sent down by the Rangers to Hartford. Currently, there are eight defensemen with Hartford, but another move is expected to happen soon to bring down the total back to seven. This organization cannot afford to healthy-scratch any prospects.

Later in the evening on Tuesday, the Rangers announced that Cristoval Nieves has been called up. He looks to help the struggling Rangers and provide more help on center.

Notes

1. Filip Chytil had an awkward collision with a Penguins player on Saturday night in the second period and did not return to the game. He was also scratched on Sunday. His injury is considered minor and he should be back over the weekend.
2. Brandon Crawley and Vince Pedrie recorded their first pro goals on Sunday against Bridgeport.
3. Alexandar Georgiev played on Saturday and held down the crease well. He faced 44 shots on net in the shootout loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  The game was his second start of the season.

Upcoming Weekend

Hartford has another three games in three days this weekend. They are home on Friday and are in Pennsylvania on Saturday and Sunday.

• Friday, October 27th vs Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at 7:15 pm, XL Center
  • This finishes a home-and-home series with Bridgeport. The first meeting was on last Sunday, which the Pack lost. A fast start with a full effort will benefit Hartford. The Sound Tigers had total control in the previous meeting beating the Wolf Pack 6-3.
• Saturday, October 28th vs Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Flyers) at 7:05 pm, PPL Center
  • The Phantoms won four straight games after losing their first two. The first meeting between the clubs resulted in a Wolf Pack win, 2-1 in the shootout. The offensively talented Phantoms will test Hartford again.
• Sunday, October 29th vs Hershey Bears (Capitals) at 5:00, Giant Center
  • Hershey is off to a slow start, winning one game out of six they have played this season. The Bears faced a significant roster turnover in the offseason. This is the third game in three days for Hartford, and it will test the prospects again on handling a lot of games in a short amount of time.

Last November, the Rangers’ claimed Matt Puempel of waivers, the speedy winger was picked in the first round by the Ottawa Senators in 2011. Since that time, Puempel has skated in 27 games with the Rangers scoring six goals and three assists.

Matt Puempel did not make the Rangers roster out of training camp and it was doubtful that he would ever crack the Rangers’ roster again. Ryan Sproul, the 6’4 defenseman was likely added to bolster the Wolfpack’s (Rangers AHL affiliate).

For more details on this trade:

The Rangers trimmed their roster today and made some interesting decisions in doing so.

These cuts make for some interesting talking points. First is Neal Pionk. The NCAA free agent had one of the better camps of all of the Rangers prospects and, in spite of that, was sent to Hartford. Knowing how AV prefers veterans over rookies, seeing Pionk get sent down shouldn’t be such a shock. It is also worth noting that like Tony DeAngelo and Steven Kampfer, Pionk is a right-handed defenseman who was competing for the sixth/seventh defenseman spot. For this reason, it wouldn’t make sense for the Rangers to keep all three of them up with the big club.

Second is Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil. The Rangers’ 2017 first-round picks both came into camp with high hopes and expectations and for the most part, those expectations were lived up to. Andersson was physical, made plays, and was a puck hound when he was on the ice. Unfortunately for the young Swede, it wasn’t enough to keep him on Broadway, and the Rangers sent him back to Frolunda HC in the Swedish Elite League; the same team Henrik Lundqvist played for before joining the Blueshirts in 2005.

As for his Czech counterpart, Chytil had three points, including two on the PP, was also noticeable every time he was on the ice. He took a couple of big hits, but as he progresses he’ll learn how to keep his head up more in the NHL game. For his efforts in the exhibition games, Chytil earned himself the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, as the Rangers’ top prospect at training camp. Past winners include Henrik Lundqvist, Jesper Fast, Jimmy Vesey and Mike Richter.

An interesting side note here is that Chytil may, I repeat may, not be here all season even if he is on the opening night roster. As CapFriendly noted on Twitter, recovering forward Jesper Fast is due back at the same time that the Rangers play their ninth game. If Chytil gets sent back to either Europe or his Junior team, the North Bay Batallion, the Rangers would not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.

“I’m really glad I’m here. It’s really exciting.” #NYR forward @filip_chytil speaks about making the team out of training camp. pic.twitter.com/nvZfbhRrx0

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 28, 2017

A third talking point is Vinni Lettieri. Another impressive camp from a NCAA free agent, Lettieri showed off his ridiculous release and kept his legs moving on every single shift. He took a couple of lazy penalties, which didn’t help his stock. But when you consider the Rangers will be without Jesper Fast for the first few games of the season, Lettieri seemed like a viable option to take over for the 25-year-old Swede. Lettieri will be able to go down to Hartford and develop, so that next September, he can be a serious contender for the Rangers lineup.

A fourth talking point is Andrew Desjardins. The veteran center, who was brought into camp on a PTO, did not do much to help himself during the preseason. He was suspended for the Rangers final two preseason games after a high hit on the Devils’ Miles Wood. Desjardins isn’t anything more than a fourth line center. But given the questions coming into camp at the center position, Desjardins may have cost himself a shot at sticking with the Blueshirts.

A fifth and final talking point is Matt Puempel. After being picked up by the Rangers off of waivers from the Senators during last season, Puempel played well enough in 27 games to earn himself a contract extension. With the Rangers youth movement and overabundance of wingers, and Paul Carey coming into camp and outplaying Puempel, there simply wasn’t enough room on the team for Puempel to be anything more than the 13th forward.

That’s all for now. Make sure to follow me, @ZakFTNYR, and the blog, @FullTiltNYRBlog, on Twitter for all the latest Rangers news!

The Rangers kicked off their 2017 Training Camp with Media Day, where the players and coaches meet with the media masses to discuss the upcoming season.

The players seemed to have a lot of fun, getting together again for the first time as a team (officially) since the Rangers were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators in May. And while the players were off doing their photoshoot, head coach Alain Vigneault was making some minor headlines of his own. Here are some of the things the bench boss discussed. You can listen to the full press conference here.

Miller in the Middle

One of the first things Alain Vigneault told the media was that JT Miller was going to be playing center to start the season. This isn’t much of a surprise, considering that the team was unable to find a trade for a third line center, as was mentioned previously. Miller does have experience playing center. He is a career 45% on faceoffs and is going to be counted on to step up and round out his game. This decision by the Rangers’ brass means a few things.

This decision by the Rangers’ brass means a few things. First, it means that 2017 draft pick Lias Andersson won’t be rushed into the NHL. The only chance the 18-year-old Swede had of sticking with this team was being the fourth line center; and with Jeff Gorton having brought in David Desharnais, Andrew Desjardins (PTO) and the rest of the more experienced prospects in Hartford, there simply wasn’t going to be room for Andersson on the roster.

 “This is a good chance for us to get him some work in the middle. At some point, whether it be early on in the season, he’s probably going to play a little bit of center. It happened last year, it happened the year before, so giving him that experience right off the bat is a good thing… He’s not a young player anymore. He’s a veteran player. I want to see that experience and I want to see what he can do at that position.” – Alain Vigneault

Second, this opens up a spot on the wing. Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Michael Grabner, Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich, Jesper Fast and Chris Kreider are all locks to be regulars for the Blueshirts. Fast won’t be ready to go until the end of October as he continues to recover from his offseason hip surgery. So that leaves two spots open for players to come in and compete. One would have to assume that Matt Puempel gets a long look in camp, given his time with the Blueshirts last season. That still leaves a single vacancy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Gropp, Ryan Kovacs or Ty Ronning to get long looks as well.

Deciding the Defense

Another revelation from the Rangers head coach was that Marc Staal and Nick Holden would be competing for ice time this year. Take this statement however you want, but the fact of the matter is that Marc Staal will be on the ice when the season starts in a few weeks. The veteran defenseman will be making $5.7 million next year and barring some disastrous playing from Staal, he won’t be seeing much of the press box.

Holden, on the other hand, should be competing for a spot. Head coach Alain Vigneault was quick to point out that Holden was one of the team’s better defensemen for 55 games (maybe that’s why he’s wearing the number now). But if Holden is to stick in the lineup, he’s going to have to be good for 82 games, not just 55. And Holden will have some serious competition coming into camp. The Rangers have a ton of young defensemen, all eager to break into the NHL. Anthony DeAngelo, Steven Kampfer Sean Day, Sergei Zborovsky and Alexei Bereglazov will all be getting looked at to make the opening night roster. Factor in NCAA free agent signings Vince Pedrie and Neal Pionk, and the Rangers depth on the blue line is something that will be exciting to watch over the next few years.

The King and His Crease

Heading into his age 36 season, Henrik Lundqvist is coming off one of his worst seasons as a professional. He recorded 31 wins, the eleventh time he’s recorded 30 or more victories in his career, but his season did not go smoothly. When asked about whether or not Henrik will have a games limit, Vigneault said: “after discussing with Benoit [Allaire] and Hank, I’m not giving him a number of games this year.” AV went on to explain that it will be based on how Henrik is feeling physically and mentally and that he will go from there. One little wrinkle here is that Henrik’s backup, Ondrej Pavelec, is a former starting goaltender himself. And with the help of Benoit Allaire, he can regain his previous form.

Media Day Fun

The Rangers players weren’t just being spoken about; they got to have some fun of their own on media day.

The Rangers announced today that they have re-signed forward Matt Puempel to a one-year deal, worth $725,000. The signing appears to be Jeff Gorton trying to add another player to the expansion draft, with the Blueshirts now being compliant for next week’s draft. With Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Antti Raanta and Michael Grabner all top candidates to be selected by Vegas, this gives George McPhee another player to look at from his former team. Should Puempel “survive” the expansion draft, he will be able to compete for a roster spot out of training camp.

The team also announced that they have hired former Rangers Jed Ortmeyer and Steve Eminger to their front office. Ortmeyer, who played with the Blueshirts from 2003-2007, will serve as the team’s director of player development. The role was recently vacated by Chris Drury, who was promoted to general manager of the Wolf Pack. When he was a player, Ortmeyer was one of the team’s hardest working players and was the recipient of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award in both the 2003-04 and 2006-07 campaigns. He was never the most skilled player, but he can instill his work ethic and dedication to the game in all of the Rangers young and talented prospects.

As for Eminger, he has been named as a professional scout. Eminger will be responsible for scouting the AHL and NHL’s talents. Eminger was always a serviceable defenseman, making the simple and smart plays.

Finally, the Blueshirts announced that they have hired Ben Prentiss as a strength and conditioning consultant. Prentiss, who owns Prentiss Hockey Performance in Connecticut, has been the offseason trainer for some of the NHL’s top current and former players including Jonathan Quick, Martin St. Louis, and Kevin Shattenkirk; and current Rangers Chris Kreider, Marc Staal and Pavel Buchnevich. Prentiss has become known as “the best-kept secret,” as this Players Tribune piece highlights. Perhaps this hiring may entice Shattenkirk a drop more to come back to his boyhood team.

Jesper Fast – He doesn’t put up the points to make him an invaluable member of the team, but Jesper Fast’s contributions are paramount to the team’s success. His tireless work in the corners, never giving up on loose pucks and making it tough for the opposition. Fast is one of those players who knows his role and executes it about as flawlessly as one could hope. His 21 points don’t tell the whole story of why he is someone that is necessary for the success of this team. And it is that work ethic that possibly makes him attractive to George McPhee and the Golden Knights.Grade: B

Oscar Lindberg – Lindberg possesses many of the same positive attributes that his Swedish linemate has. He is a tireless worker, looks to grind the opposition down in the corners, and has the ability to make plays with the puck, as evidenced by his beautiful goal against the Bruins. Like Fast and Grabner, Lindberg is a prime candidate for Vegas in the expansion draft. Personally, unless they take Antti Raanta, Lindberg would be my choice for a skater. Grade: B

Pavel Buchnevich – After the Rangers announced they were bringing the Russian forward across the ocean, there were some pretty big expectations levied on the 21-year-old. He got off to a good start, picking up eight points in his first month in the NHL, but was sidelined with back spasms for eight weeks between November 12th and January 13th. And when Buchnevich came back, he was not the same. Yes, he had twelve of his twenty points after returning from injury, but it took him a while before looking like the player he was to start the season. Buchnevich was in and out of the lineup during the postseason, with head coach Alain Vigneault mixing and matching his lines throughout the spring season. Buchnevich suffered from missing a big portion of the season, which did not allow the coaching staff to develop more confidence in him. He has the makings of a top six forward; now he has to stay on the ice to become one. Grade: C+

Brandon Pirri – When Jeff Gorton signed Brandon Pirri, the thought process was that he would come in and be the “heavy shot” on the Rangers power play. But Pirri’s inability to play in his own zone and lack of contributions at even strength kept him out of the lineup. It was a low-risk signing for the Blueshirts, with Pirri only on a one year deal, and seeing that he didn’t contribute much to this year’s team, don’t expect to see him back on Broadway next season. Grade: D

Tanner Glass – Though he is a fan favorite for his hard work and physicality, Glass spent 85 percent of the season down in Hartford with the Wolfpack. But upon being recalled in early March, Glass infused the Rangers with a new energy that became contagious in the final two months of the Rangers season. Glass won’t have the longevity of which to be given a real “grade” for this season, but there is no denying that he made an impact in his short time back on Broadway. Grade: C

Matt Puempel – After being claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators in the middle of November, Puempel was brought in to bring some offense in the absences of Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. He played sporadically after the turn of the new year but didn’t look out of place when asked to fill in for a game or two. Puempel scored his first NHL hat trick this season when he tallied three goals against the Arizona Coyotes at the end of December. Puempel is a restricted free agent this offseason, but don’t be shocked if the Rangers don’t re-sign the 24-year-old forward. Grade: C

Nicklas Jensen – The Rangers called up Danish winger Nicklas Jensen for a brief stint on Broadway between December 8th and January 7th. Jensen has been showing signs of progress, playing well in the defensive zone, getting in on the forecheck and playing at full speed every time he was on the ice. With the Rangers in a small transition period, seeing Jensen and some of the other younger guys come up and compete for spots in training camp should be fun to watch. Grade: C

Here is my recap of the Rangers 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets

https://twitter.com/BlueSeatBlogs/status/836014525757415424

NEXT GAME: The Rangers will look to bounce back on Tuesday night when the Washington Capitals come to MSG. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

https://twitter.com/BlueSeatBlogs/status/823690268016832512

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/823718950001410049

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/823703510218866688

“Carter… end of the first period, timely save. Give me a timely save any time of the day.” – Alain Vigneault on Henrik Lundqvist

NEXT GAME: The Rangers will lace ’em up for the last time before the All-Star break on Wednesday night when the take on the Flyers. Puck drops at 8!

LETS GO RANGERS!

Nicklas Jensen is taking Puempel’s spot in the lineup. Puempel started experiencing concussion symptoms after suffering a hit in Colorado.

OFFICIAL: #NYR Puempel out due to concussion symptoms and will be sidelined indefinitely. Jensen in tonight.

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 3, 2017

Pre-Game Notes

Henrik Lundqvist (16-8-1/2.45/.916) and Anders Nilsson (5-3-3/2.47/.925) in nets tonight here at MSG

— Steve Zipay (@stevezipay) January 3, 2017

Miller will go onto power play in Pumps net-front spot

— Steve Zipay (@stevezipay) January 3, 2017

NBC Clueless

Apparently we are in a rivalry with Buffalo…NBC still doesn’t get it. But at least it’s a sweet pic of Zuccarello

ZUUUUUUUUUUC.#RivalryNight pic.twitter.com/PaZqtZaXoL

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 3, 2017

Editor’s Note: to be fair…the Rangers are actually on NBCSN tonight and tomorrow (vs. Flyers). So this is on me….I guess.

Last night the Rangers were powered to victory by two very unlikely candidates, Matt Puempel and Nick Holden. The question begs to be asked, is what they’re doing legitimate?

Power Puempel

It was a little bit of skill and little bit of luck that netted 23 year old forward, Matt Puempel not only his first multiple point game, multiple goal game, and hat-trick in his young NHL career. His first came off a centering feed that was kicked in by a Coyotes’ defenseman. Puempel then deftly deflected the next two to complete the feat, all on the power play.

Watch all three goals courtesy of the NY Rangers twitter account below.

PUEMP DAY!!

Watch all 3 goals for Matt Puempel in tonight’s #NYR win including the game winner! ?????? pic.twitter.com/a9kg0c5mgi

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 30, 2016

For the former 2011 1st round pick, it was his 5th point in the last 4 games and easily the best stretch of his career. He now has 6 points with the Rangers, playing mostly 4th line minutes just under 10 a game. Of his 5 goals, 3 came in one night and all on the PP. His lone assist was an even strength helper.

Initially when the Rangers claimed Puempel off waivers, it occurred after Mike Zibanejad broke his leg. At the time, I called it a depth move at best. Most recently, I’ve been screaming to scratch or remove him off the PP… I’m looking pretty wrong right now.

Here’s his scouting report from Hockey’s Future:

Puempel is a natural goal scorer, thanks to his high-end shot and vision. He is also a good passer, and a quick skater. Although his defensive game needed quite a bit of work when he originally arrived in Binghamton back in 2012, he has put the time in to improve and is no longer as much of a liability. He has both the skill and drive required to have a good career as top-six NHL forward.

Now the question appears, can he continue to be a factor for the Rangers this season? The answer is yes, but we need to keep our expectations in check since he’s only playing 4th line minutes and PP time.

While Puempel seems to be solidifying his spot more than Marek Hrivik, Brandon Pirri, or Oscar Lindberg, he could still be a scratch once Zibanejad, Rick Nash, and Pavel Buchnevich return. The good news is, with the NHL trade deadline and expansion draft looming, Puempel could be a real factor for the Rangers sooner rather than later.

Hero Holden

Seriously, did ANYONE see this coming? You’re lying if you said yes. Things started out ok for Nick Holden with assists in each of the Rangers first two games. He finished with 3 helpers in the first 10 contests, but his defense was leaving somethings to be desired.

In fairness, Holden was adjusting to a new team, system, and being bounced around with different partners. He eventually settled in with Marc Staal and is flourishing. In his last 28 games, he has 7 goals, 10 assists, for 17 points. His current hot streak has 3 goals and a helper in the last 2 games. Who is this guy?

When the Rangers acquired him, many fans, including myself didn’t think much of it. Adrian Dater who covered Holden extensively tweeted this out as well.

Avs dump Nick Holden to Rangers for 4th round pick. He’s their problem now

— Adrian Dater (@adater) June 25, 2016

Yet, here we are and Holden might easily be our 2nd best defenseman. Patrick Roy his former coach told Alain Vigneault, “You just got one of my better defensemen”. At one point I thought to myself, “no wonder Colorado is a mess.” Looking back, maybe Roy quit because the Avs don’t know how to evaluate defensemen.

I’ve reached out to Adrian Dater for his insights on why Holden is playing so well and here’s what he said:

I think a change of scenery jolted him in right way, like his first year here. But I think it’ll tail off some https://t.co/TQmHjHVu7R

— Adrian Dater (@adater) December 30, 2016

The bottom line is this…Holden is 29 years old and has one year left on his contract. The reality is that due to Girardi’s and Staal’s no move clauses, the Rangers will likely lose him to expansion.

Jeff Gorton has some work to do before the NHL trade deadline to acquire another top 4 blue liner, preferably one who is right handed. For now though, Hero Holden has stabilized at least one pairing on defense with Marc Staal. Without a doubt, Holden is the real deal for the Blueshirts…at least for the rest of this season.