Rangers/Bolts recap

The Rangers lost a tough one tonight, 4-3 to the Lightning in overtime.  The Blueshirts looked tired and we generally outplayed by Tampa for the better part of the game.  Henrik Lundqvist played very well and Brandon Dubinsky made a return to the score sheet.  No one likes to lose but there were definitely some positive takeaways from this one.  To the bullets…

• 1st Period
• Tampa came out strong in the 1st, outshooting the Rangers 13-3 at one point.  Henrik Lundqvist was very sharp early, weathering the storm until the Rangers could put one on the scoreboard.
• Artem Anisimov did just that with a nice quick shot past Garon’s stick side. 1-0 Rangers.
• Dubinsky didn’t play a whole lot in the first period, paired on a line with Rupp and Scott.  I do remember noticing how hard he was working along the walls creating pressure from the big 4th line.
• McDonagh took another penalty that the MSG cameras didn’t have a camera on.
• 2nd Period
• The Rangers started the 2nd killing McDonagh’s penalty but soon found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage.  Torts used his time out, and the Rangers made the move work out.  Brad Richards set a nice pick on Adam Hall, which allowed a lane for Gaborik to develop.  He launched an absolute missile into the top corner.  PP goal, 2-0 Rangers.
• At this point, the Rangers were in good position despite being pretty severely outplayed by Tampa.  You just had that feeling that the Bolts would start chipping away.
• Tampa’s first goal came from a scramble in the crease, in which Tom Pyatt beat Ryan McDonagh to the spot in front of the net.  2-1 Rangers.
• It was about this time Sam and Joe told us that Toronto had fired Ron Wilson.  Never thought Burke would pull the trigger on that one.
• This was a game where the Rangers definitely missed Ryan Callahan.  When the Rangers get sluggish, Cally leads by example.  He would have been a huge spark tonight.
• Dubinsky continued to play well in 4th line duties.
• 3rd Period
• The Rangers began the third with a strong forecheck.  Their momentum wouldn’t last as a miscue on a defensive zone draw ended with Girardi kicking the puck to a driving St. Louis who fed the puck right on the door step to Teddy Purcell.  2-2.
• After Tampa tied the game, the Rangers responded well.  They began to control the play and a funny thing happened; Brandon Dubinsky started getting top 6 minutes.
• Tampa would again squash the Rangers momentum as Steven Stamkos sent a rocket to the top corner past Lundqvist about halfway through the 3rd.  3-2 Tampa.
• Carl Hagelin would end up taking a high sticking double minor about 15 seconds after Stamkos’ goal.  It would take the clock down to about 6 minutes for the Rangers to tie the game.  The penalty kill was phenomenal and actually gave the Rangers some momentum heading into the final minutes.  Hank made an enormous glove save on the penalty kill to keep the deficit to one.
• Brandon Dubinsky would get that tying goal after he moved into prime scoring position after Martin St. Louis lost his edge in the high slot.  Dubi ripped one over the blocker of Garon and gave the Rangers new life.  3-3.
• OT
• Brad Richards almost set Dan Girardi up perfectly a couple minutes into overtime.  He made a nifty move in the slot and send a perfect pass toward the Ranger d-man, but Steven Stamkos made a terrific defensive play to keep Girardi from getting the shot off.
• Ryan Malone would win it for the Bolts on a well-placed screen shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist at 1:58 of the OT period. 4-3 Tampa.

Obligatory Goaltending Analysis

• Mathieu Garon played well tonight.  None of the goals the Rangers scored were soft and came up with several nice saves on Carl Hagelin and Brad Richards.  It was a little disappointing to see the offense stymied by Garon to this extent, since he’s, you know…not very good.
• Hank ended up with 27 saves in this one, but the stats don’t do his performance justice.  He weathered enormous pressure in the 1st period and made several more difficult saves as the game went on.  This one could have easily been 3-0 Tampa in the first 10 minutes or so.
• This game was a prime example of why save percentage is a faulty stat.  Both Garon and Lundqvist played very well.  Their save percentages?  .842 and .871, respectively.

Random Thoughts

• I thought Richards played a strong game tonight.  He had a team high in shots and was generally more involved on both sides of the puck.
• I decided tonight that Mitchell irritates me on top-6 duty simply because he is too much Swedish and not nearly enough Finnish. (If ya know what I mean.)
• Stepan was a beast on the forecheck tonight.  He had his stick in every passing lane and played well in both ends of the ice.
• Carl Hagelin “just missed” about 5 plays tonight where his speed could have send him in all alone.  He played well, but that timing was just a little off.
• Marian Gaborik now has 23 points in his past 21 games.
• Steven Stamkos isn’t fair.
• I thought Torts handled Dubi perfectly.  He started him with the fourth line and Dubinsky played well enough the coach couldn’t ignore him anymore.  He had a jump and an edge to his game and never stopped working.  Torts rewarded him with well deserved top 6 minutes and Dubinsky came through.  Hopefully this is just what he needs to get going a little bit.

Off tomorrow and then a matinee with Boston at home on Sunday afternoon.  That one will be a 12:30pm start on NBC.

Is Stamkos worth the Money and why Richards is worth his

No player has scored more goals in the NHL over the past two years than Steven Stamkos. Today, Stamkos got his reward as he signed a 5 year deal for $37.5 million with his Tampa Bay Lightning. The first thing to note is the lack of a ridiculous length on the contract engineered by Steve Yzerman. Beyond that, something got me thinking – Is Stamkos worth a $7.5m cap hit? Well the answer isn’t necessarily as obvious as you may believe.

Right now, Stamkos is absolutely worth his new deal but will he still score the goals as frequently when he loses one of the very best playmaking wingers in the league in Marty St Louis to eventual retirement? That’s a big question and may be a reason behind the length of the Stamkos deal. Maybe Tampa wants to see how Stamkos does minus his wingman before re-upping him again and maybe they learnt from the ugly deal they gave Vinny Lecavalier?

At 36 years of age St Louis is still one of the very best players in the league but he will likely be retired when Stamkos’ deal expires in 5 years. The diminutive winger is an elite set-up man; having notched at least 50 assists every season since 2006. Back to Stamkos; the goal scoring center thrives off the quality service he gets and is able to use that wicked shot of his, something that will remain long after St Louis is gone. However, will Stamkos get to use his shot the same way he does now, minus the elite service? That remains to be seen.

One the reason Rangers fans should be happy with the arrival of Brad Richards is the fact he has proven he can thrive with different players and on different teams. His success has never been linked to any one player too much. Richards has had elite seasons in both Tampa and Dallas and it can be argued that Richards is a type that makes players around him better rather than being a product of those on his line.

Naturally, Richards has benefitted from having good line mates along the way but whereas previous big ticket recruits may have benefitted from their previous surroundings rather than thriving because of their own game (Holik in the Devils defensive system, Redden on a stacked Ottawa blue line etc, etc) Richards has done it as the main guy at two different clubs – another reason his contract can be justified.

The Obligatory Stamkos Post

Warning: this post is a rant.  If you don’t like sarcasm or me being somewhat arrogant, then don’t read it.

Well, it’s July 13, and Steven Stamkos hasn’t been signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning.  This really isn’t anything surprising.  Stamkos is a star, and he expects to be paid like a star.  However, he is a RFA, and has little leverage.  He doesn’t even have arbitration rights.  But yet, there has been no offer sheet, no trade, and no signing.  Every single hockey blog has asked why their team hasn’t presented Stamkos with an offer sheet or traded for him. (If you want to skip to the part where I discuss the Rangers, it’s after the jump.)

Well, I can answer both for you.  I’ll start with the latter.  He isn’t being traded. Period.  End of story.  Don’t bother with the “what-ifs” until December, when it’s a “sign him or he can’t play for the year” scenario.

Now, why hasn’t he been offer sheeted, like some in the media think he should be? Well, let’s start with the basics: It’s poor form and poor relationship management to offer sheet a team’s star player.

But Dave, why do relationships with other teams matter?

Well Jimmy, it’s because if you have poor relationships with other teams, good luck trying to trade with them.  Yes, that was an R-Truth reference.

Anyway, more reasons why Stamkos hasn’t been presented an offer sheet: It would have to be a ridiculous sum of money to both a) sign him and b) not have Steve Yzerman match the offer.  I’m talking a max contract until Stamkos is 50.  Ok, maybe not 50, but probably until he’s 27 (five years).  That’s $12 million a season.  That’s Marc Staal’s AND Marian Gaborik’s contracts combined!

A third reason: Compensation.  Not many teams are willing to hamstring their cap (see point above) AND give up four first round picks in the process.  An offer sheet for Stamkos would actually be counter productive.  It kills your farm system and your cap.  People complain about the Rangers having $12 million tied up in Player X and Player Y….but Stamkos’ contract would be a combination of the two.

These are very obvious reasons as to why he hasn’t been presented with an offer sheet, but yet a ton of people STILL think he should be.  Lesson number one: Just because it was published doesn’t mean it’s a) accurate, b) thought out, or c) all of the above.  Just because a team needs to hit the cap floor doesn’t mean they are going to destroy their future cap situation by signing Stamkos to an absurd contract.

Let’s also factor in that the Islanders, who hemorrhage more money than desperate fat guys at a strip club, are not operating on a cap that is dictated by the NHL.  They are operating on a cap that is dictated by Charles Wang.  That internal cap is likely right at the current salary cap floor, or possibly even below it.  Would it shock anyone if the Islanders didn’t hit the cap floor?  Maybe saving that $10 million is more important to Wang than the mid-round draft pick penalty it will cost to get to the floor*.

*-No one knows what the penalty for this is yet. I am guessing it won’t be extreme.

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Stamkos Available?

As per Larry Brooks, apparently the Lightning are shopping Steven Stamkos.

Tampa Bay management can deny, deny, deny in the best tradition of all sorts of scoundrels, but it is most certainly true that 2008 first-overall draft pick Steven Stamkos is available for trade, at least according to two franchises that have been in contact with the Lightning and have no reason to fib about it.

If this is true, the tires should be kicked by Sather on this one. Anyone not named Staal and Lundqvist should be made available too. Stamkos has a cap hit of $3.725 million, and is under contract for the next two seasons, then becoming an RFA. He is also only 19.

This is probably never going to happen, but I think we would all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Sather at least made a call to Brian Lawton.