Devils, Rangers meet one last time with little at stake
This spring marks the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest non-Stanley Cup Finals(stanley cup rings) playoff series in history -- the New York Rangers'(custom New York Rangers championship rings) epic seven-game Eastern Conference finals win over the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers, on their way to their first championship since 1940 that season, trailed three games to two before winning Game 6 when Mark Messier backed up his victory guarantee with a natural third-period hat trick and winning Game 7 on Stephane Matteau's goal in the second overtime. The tri-state rivals will not commemorate the anniversary with a similarly high-stakes meeting this spring. Instead, the Rangers and Devils will each be looking to take solace in playing out the string in inspired fashion Monday night, when they complete their season series as New Jersey hosts New York in Newark.
The Rangers will be completing a back-to-back set after earning a 3-0 win over the host Philadelphia Flyers(Philadelphia Flyers championship rings for sale) on Sunday afternoon. The Devils last played Saturday night, when they fell to the visiting St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. With the win, the seventh-place Rangers (31-34-13, 75 points) locked up a last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division for the Devils (29-40-10, 68 points) -- the most points New Jersey can finish with is 74, one fewer than New York's current total. The victory also created the first winning streak in more than two months for the Rangers, who hadn't won consecutive games since heading into the All-Star break with three straight victories from Jan. 15-19.
The Rangers have scored seven unanswered goals since falling behind the Blues 2-0 in the first period Friday. Such a surge has provided a bit of relief and redemption to New York, which absorbed five three-goal defeats in a seven-game stretch prior to Friday night. "Just seems like we've been putting ourselves in bad positions the last couple weeks -- we've been losing leads or getting behind the 8-ball early, so it's nice to kind of get out in front," Rangers center Ryan Strome told reporters after scoring a goal Sunday. "To get a win, I think any time a young team comes in a tough building like this...it's a good building block. We've got to finish these games off strong here and get ready for next year."
The Devils(championship rings for sale) took solace of their own in extending the Blues, who clinched a playoff berth despite losing Friday night, almost as far into overtime as humanly possible before defenseman Vince Dunn scored the game-winning goal with 2.8 seconds remaining. The loss marked the second straight time the Devils went into overtime or beyond with a team in the Western Conference playoff picture. New Jersey damaged the Arizona Coyotes' wild card hopes with a 2-1 shootout win on March 23.
"I thought we had great resilience," Devils center Kevin Rooney said following Saturday's loss. "It shows the character in this locker room. We are not going to give up. We are going to fight through the rest of the season and give it all for each other and for the fan base and organization."
Pekka Rinne’s difficulties against the Penguins(Pittsburgh Penguins championship rings), particularly in Pittsburgh, have been well documented. So, it felt good for the Nashville Predators’ star goaltender to put those questions to rest — at least for one night.n Rinne stopped 42 shots to lead the Predators to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
“It hasn’t been an easy building for me, personally,” Rinne said, “and for us as a team, either.” It was the second game in eight days between the teams and a rematch of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, won by Pittsburgh in six games. Rinne won for the first time in Pittsburgh and defeated the Penguins for just the second time in 10 career regular-season starts. In six previous career starts in Pittsburgh, including the playoffs, Rinne was 0-6-0 with a 5.14 goals-against average and a .822 save percentage. He allowed three goals or more in every other appearance in Pittsburgh. “Those kinds of things, you kind of recognize them and it’s in the back of your head, but at the same time, it’s always a great challenge and I love to come here and play,” Rinne said.
Viktor Arvidsson’s 32nd goal of the season — a power-play goal — set a career high and also was the 100th of his NHL(nhl championship rings) career. Craig Smith and P.K. Subban also scored for the Predators, who moved into a first-place tie in the Central Division. Nashville, which clinched its fifth straight playoff berth Monday, has won five of seven after losing four of its previous six. Rinne was 63 seconds from his fifth shutout of the season when Nick Bjugstad scored for Pittsburgh.
Matt Murray made 23 saves for the Penguins, whose three-game(cheap championship rings) winning streak ended. Pittsburgh, which had a chance to tie the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division, came in having won 10 of 15 games and earned points in 14 of 16. “I thought we had some really good chances in the first period,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “You can’t always control whether it goes in the net. Their goalie was good, you have to give him credit, but I thought our team battled hard.”
Rinne allowed 12 goals and made just 34 saves during three 2017 Stanley Cup Final games in Pittsburgh. He was strong on Friday, stopping 22 first-period shots. Rinne has eight wins and one shutout in his last 13 starts total.
As Nino Niederreiter looks to continue helping the Carolina Hurricanes'(Carolina hurricanes championship rings) push toward ending their nine-year playoff drought, he can also potentially deliver a hit to his former team's postseason plans. On Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C., the Minnesota Wild face Niederreiter for the first time since they traded him to the Hurricanes in this matchup of playoff hopefuls. A long-time contributor and fan-favorite for the Wild, Niederreiter was losing ice time in his sixth season with the club when it dealt him to Carolina on Jan. 17 for Victor Rask. Though the move was tough for the veteran Swiss forward at the time, he's been reborn while becoming a key piece to the Hurricanes' cause. Owner of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, Carolina is 18-7-2 since acquiring Niederreiter, who has 12 goals and 12 assists in 27 games there. Those 24 points are one more than he totaled in 46 with Minnesota this season.
Niederreiter registered a point in his third straight contest with a goal in the Hurricanes' irritating 6-3 home loss to Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay(nhl championship rings) on Thursday. Carolina led 3-2 after two periods, but for only the second time in 2018-19, lost in regulation when leading into the third. "It's not our style," forward Jordan Staal, who had a goal with an assist, told the Hurricanes' official website. "All in all, that third period was not what we wanted to see out of the group. "We'll have to learn from it, put it aside and move forward."
Carolina has not lost consecutive games in regulation since Jan. 15 and 18, but welcomes a desperate Minnesota club to town. The Wild are 12-11-6 since dealing Niederreiter, while Rask has one goal with an assist in 16 games for them. The Wild enter play Saturday owners of the West's final wild-card position following a 2-1 victory at Washington on Friday. Luke Kunin's tiebreaker with 7:35 left in regulation led to a much-needed win for Minnesota, which entered that game amid a 1-4-1 stretch. It also improved to 6-1-1 on the road over the last month.
"We've got to do it again (at Carolina)," coach Bruce Boudreau(custom championship rings) said. "I think the belief is there that they can win on the road." Ryan Donato assisted on both goals, giving him 11 and 15 points in 15 games since coming over from Boston. Devan Dubnyk, who made 21 saves at Washington, equaled a career high by stopping 52 shots during a 5-4 overtime home loss to Carolina on Oct. 13. Boudreau hinted he could again start Dubnyk, who has a 1.68 goals-against average in his last three outings. Sebastian Aho's goal 2:57 into overtime gave Carolina that win at Minnesota. Aho, with a team- and career-high 79 points, had two goals with two assists in that contest.
Aho went knee-to-knee with Niederreiter on Thursday, and though the former left the game, he returned to the ice. However, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Aho would be further monitored. Carolina's Curtis McElhinney, who had 26 saves Thursday in falling to 1-2-1 with a 4.75 goals-against average in his last four starts, needed just 19 at Minnesota in October. Petr Mrazek, meanwhile, has an 0.98 goals-against average while winning three straight home starts.
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche(custom Colorado Avalanche championship rings) needed somebody to step up to help their postseason hopes. They got two big performances before a crucial road trip.
Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves for his third shutout in his last five starts, and the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils(New Jersey Devils championship rings) 3-0 on Sunday to end a two-game skid. "We need wins and that was a good step in the right direction," Grubauer said. "We can't hope for another team to lose for us to get in. We have to keep playing the right way. Every shift for every guy matters." Tyson Barrie scored twice as Colorado (31-29-12) stayed in the mix for a second straight playoff appearance. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 37th goal and also had an assist to reach the 90-point mark for the second straight season. The Avalanche trail Arizona by four points for the second wild card in the Western Conference with 10 games to go. Colorado plays Minnesota and Dallas on the road in the next three days, and then hosts the Coyotes on March 29.
There are five teams(nhl championship rings) within six points of the two wild-card slots out West.
"Those games become must-win games," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It's not win 10 in a row. Win the game against Arizona and you're right behind them, then you can make up the ground. Those games become huge and we're going to have to play our best hockey. "I have faith that we can pull this off, that we can do it. We're going to fight to the bitter end to try and get it done." Cory Schneider stopped 31 shots for New Jersey. The Devils, who were eliminated from playoff contention Friday night despite winning at Vancouver, had just five shots in the first period. Barrie gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot at 2:22 of the second period. He got another goal at 11:05 when he sent the puck to the front of the net and it bounced off two New Jersey players and by Schneider. "You see our guy there and maybe don't react as quickly or don't expect what will happen," Schneider said. "You have to be ready for anything. This one came off a little hotter than I thought it might. Just a tough bounce."
Barrie now has 70 career goals, second all-time among defensemen in Colorado history. Schneider came off for an extra skater with a little more than two minutes left. MacKinnon sealed it with an empty-net goal at 18:26. Grubauer has recorded each of his three shutouts this season since Feb. 23. He has nine in his career. He faced just five shots in the third period when New Jersey was trying to rally.
"He has certainly stepped up. You see how athletic he can be and how athletic he is," Colorado defenseman Ian Cole said. "It was good to be able to help out and make sure some of his saves were easier as the game went on." New Jersey started its four-game trip with a 9-4 loss at Calgary but bounced back to win two of the last three. "It shows you there's a group in there that cares and works," coach John Hynes said. "After that Calgary game, to come back and win those next two games(championship rings for sale) speaks to where we're at culturally and where the guys are bought-in wise."
Given that New Jersey Devils(New Jersey Devils championship rings) played last night, they were generally terrible, and were left in the middle of seven game losses, I could not see any reason for Eulerz not to win this hockey match. Adding to the fact that the Oilers played some of their best hockey for the season right now, I had entered today's game with the expectation of two more big points in the bank and a further step closer to the second place on the Wild Card, and anything less than that would be unacceptable. What I'm saying to you is that I felt confident we'd be victorious with this ending. So when the first period ended and both teams traded with a pair of goals, I did not feel very encouraging, but I was not necessarily worried. The boys get a lot of chances in the net and if it was not for Cory Schneider, Oilers could put more than two on board.
As the game moved to the second period, the Olyrs had to find a way to stop the bleeding that started when Travis Zajac managed to score later with the remaining seconds within the initial frame. Unfortunately, this is the opposite of what happened. Instead of hitting the ice as a lunatic, the boys took their feet off the gas, pushed around, did not get the savings needed to conceal mistakes, and found themselves with a pair of goals for another 20 minutes to play. What has ever been lead now does not exist anymore. Thirdly, the Oilers had no choice but to cheat for a crime to try to get back into the game, but despite their best intentions they could not stop the Devils from saying that it was quite difficult to win at NHL(nhl championship rings) when you need to convert touchdown to make it happen.
From the folds outside, Oilers(custom Edmonton Oilers championship rings) were casual and superior to a team who had to win every night of the week and it was extremely frustrating to look at, given the importance of this hockey game.
Kenny Agostino, Damon Severson and Kevin Rooney each had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-3, Wednesday night to snap a season-high seven-game losing streak. Travis Zajac, John Quenneville and Blake Coleman also scored for the Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 36 shots. Sam Gagner, Alex Chiasson and Matt Benning had goals for the Oilers, who have lost two of their last three games. Mikko Koskinen gave up four goals on 18 shots before he was replaced midway through the third. Anthony Stolarz came on and finished with 15 saves on 17 shots.
Zajac showed some deft hands in front as he tied the score 2-2 with 19 seconds left in the first period. The Devils then scored the first three goals of the second to take control of the game(championship rings for sale). Severson scored on a power play to give New Jersey the lead for good at 6:23, and Quenneville made it a two-goal advantage on a screened shot with 7:11 remaining in the period. That chased Koskinen.
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (10-13-6) versus the Vegas Golden Knights (18-14-1)
The Time: 7:00 PM ET
The Broadcast: TV - MSG+
Moving Forward: The New Jersey Devils (New Jersey Devils championship rings) are in moderate trouble. There is definitely some dead weight on the team. However, there’s a chance for this team tonight. Paul Stastny, as of this time, is still out with injury. However, given the Devils’ luck for this year, I fully expect the Knights to take him off of injured reserve and stick him on the second line. The Knights do not have an outstanding offense, but their shot suppression is solid. The Devils will have to break the defensive structure of the Knights and get through to Marc-Andre Fleury, who has not been amazing this season.
The only thing that sticks out in here is that Will Butcher is on the second pairing with Sami Vatanen. I strongly hope Drew Stafford plays tonight instead of Stefan Noesen, because Noesen has been legitimately rough this year and needs to get straightened out before he can play. If Stafford doesn’t play well tonight, I would hope that John Quenneville gets a call from Ray Shero that sends him to Newark before tomorrow’s game.
I am also starting to wonder whether Miles Wood should be on the third line. This is not to say I have given up on Miles Wood ( nhl championship rings) - I think he’s just in a slump. But, I think that Wood needs to focus on playing a complete game in a fourth line role, so the team doesn’t need to rely on his ability to score in a middle six role.
The Top Line: Vegas has, as of this moment, a very balanced line structure. All four can have a positive possession differential on a night-to-night basis. However, they don’t have the firepower at the top that the New Jersey Devils have. Therefore, I’m looking at Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, and Kyle Palmieri to get into their early season form tonight against a lesser top line. This is the key to breaking down the Golden Knights - they can hang with any second and third line - but they cannot hang with top talent every single night. The best they can hope for is to suppress a top line with neutral zone structure and limit the damage, which is why John Hynes needs to have his forwards forecheck very aggressively tonight.
Goalies: Fortunately for the New Jersey Devils, the Golden Knights are not in a great goaltending situation for this year. Marc-Andre Fleury is playing in below-average form, and Malcolm Subban has been very subpar in a backup role. Regardless of who the Knights put in goal, the Devils need to go to Keith Kinkaid tonight. I still do not trust Cory Schneider, as much as it continues to pain me, and for the sake of this fanbase we need our best chance to see a win tonight.
Your Take: What are your thoughts on the game tonight? Will Miles Wood fight Ryan Reaves. Will Jonathan Marchessault score a natural hat trick in the first minute? Can our top line carry the team tonight? Can Pavel Zacha find his game? How hot are the coaching seats at the moment? Leave your thoughts in the comments below (championship sports rings).