(Prospect) Progress At the Whale

A week of mixed performances from the Whale (will take some getting used to writing that) still got a few points as the team continued to try and get out of the early season slump.

Friday; SO disappointment

Last Friday saw the Whale continue their recent improvement on offense as they scored 3 goals away to Bridgeport but the 3 weren’t enough to get the win. The Tigers were able to score 3 late goals in the third to take it to the extra session after which they won the game in the shootout. Given the way the Whale conceded so late it was a disappointing end to the game despite picking up a point. Despite the loss there were positives. Mats Zuccarello continued his recent strong play and if the Rangers scoring woes continue don’t be surprised to see him get a look in NY. Zuccarello scored 1 while Dale Weise, Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko all grabbed an assist making it a solid offensive night for the prospects. Chad Kolarik continued his excellent start to his Pack/Whale career. Kolarik looks a nice addition at this stage.

Saturday; SO success

Reversing their fortunes from the night previous, Saturday night saw the Whale win at home in the shootout against Bridgeport (they seem to never play anyone else…) although for the second straight game the Whale conceded a late goal to take the game beyond 60. Forgotten prospect Brodie Dupont got a goal while Ryan McDonagh got another assist to get his first professional point streak, even if it was a modest 2 game streak. Evgeny Grachev was a minus 2 on the night while Jeremy Williams and Chad Kolarik scored the shootout goals that gave the Whale the victory.

Sunday; Shutout Joy

Following the victory over Bridgeport, the Whale took it up a notch and shutout visiting Adirondack (Flyers’ affiliate) 3-0. Cam Talbot was in net instead of Chad Johnson and made 25 saves for a strong start. Despite the Whale struggling this year Talbot has proven to be an excellent pick up by the Rangers from the NCAA as in five appearances he has a 1.98 GAA and a .935 S% to go with two shutouts. More performances like that and Talbot will keep the pressure on starter Chad Johnson. Another good sign in this game was Evgeny Grachev finally getting another goal while Zuccarello grabbed 2 assists, Kolarik had 1+1 and Tomas Kundratek, McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko all had plus games, making it another solid game for the Rangers ‘main’ prospects.

Wednesday frustration

Following the weekend 3 in 3, the Whale took on San Jose’s affiliate in Worcester and lost 2-1 in the shutout, gaining a point. The game saw Tomas Kundratek grab the Whale’s only goal while Pavel Valentenko grabbed an assist.  Chad Johnson was solid in net stopping 18 of 19 while the special teams from each side cancelled each other out.

Looking Back

The Whale won 2 lost 2 but got points in all four games which, given their start to the year, is certainly progress. More promising are the increasing contributions from the Rangers prospects. Whether it was Zuccarello, McDonagh, Valentenko, Dale Weise, Chad Johnson or Tomas Kundratek each game saw some of the core prospects in the AHL make solid contributions. Slowly but surely the prospects seem to be finding their game and maybe by the mid-point of the season some of them may be serious candidates for a call-up. Particularly impressive over the weekend appeared to be Valentenko and Zuccarello who were both solid offensively. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the progress up this weekend.