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PHT Morning Skate: Zetterberg on his injury; importance of Subban

By Sean LeahyNov 2, 2018, 9:30 AM EST

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg talks about the injury that ended his playing career. [Detroit News]

• How smaller goalie equipment will impact scoring in the NHL. [Sportsnet]

• Gone are the days when top pairing defensemen are carrying heavy minutes. [TSN]

• Why P.K. Subban may be the NHL’s most important player. [Tampa Bay Times]

• IIHF president Rene Fasel plans to retire when his term is up in 2020. [TASS]

• Willie O’Ree, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this month, gets the honor of having a street hockey rink named after him in Boston. [NHL.com]

• Examining the tough start for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line. [The Leafs Nation]

• William Nylander remains unsigned. So how might the Philadelphia Flyers fit in as a possible trade destination? [NBC Philadelphia]

• It’s been quite a road to 1,000 games for Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Pominville. [Buffalo Hockey Beat]

• A good read on the way New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes balances coaching and using analytics. [NJ.com]

• If Bruce Cassidy broke up his top line, how would the Boston Bruins look? [Bruins Daily]

• The Vancouver Canucks are off to a good start, but there’s reason to be cautious and optimistic. [Pass it to Bulis]

• Why Tyler Myers should be on Jim Benning’s shopping list this summer for the Canucks. [Daily Hive]

• A look at Filip Chytil‘s start to the season with the New York Rangers. [Blue Seat Blogs]

• Finally, Patrik Laine talks about his hat trick on home soil Thursday vs. the Panthers:

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

WATCH LIVE: Rangers visit Capitals on NBCSN

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By Adam GretzOct 17, 2018, 6:30 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Wednesday night’s matchup between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports App by clicking here.

After a hot start to the 2018-19 season that saw them score 18 goals in their first three games, the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals have dropped back-to-back games and been outscored by a 10-2 margin during that stretch. They look to end that brief two-game slide on Wednesday night when they host their divisional rivals, the New York Rangers, at the Capital One Arena in the nation’s capital.

The Rangers, meanwhile, come into the game having won two of their past three games after dropping three in a row to open the season but are still searching for their first regulation win of the season. It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams after the Capitals took three out of four from the Rangers a year ago.

The Capitals boast one of the league’s deepest lineups and are led by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has been one of the hottest players in the league to start the year with five goals and four assists in his first five games.

Trying to slow them down will be Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist who has been off to an outstanding start as he enters the game with a .939 save percentage in his first five appearances.

What: New York Rangers at Washington Capitals
Where: Capital One Arena
When: Wednesday, October 17th, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Rangers-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

Projected Lineups

New York Rangers

Forwards

Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Jesper Fast
Filip Chytil – Kevin Hayes – Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey – Brett Howden – Vladislav Namestnikov
Cody McLeod – Ryan Spooner – Vinni Lettieri

Defense

Brady Skjei – Neal Pionk
Marc Staal – Brendan Smith
Fredrik Claesson – Kevin Shattenkirk

Goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

[WATCH LIVE – 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

Washington Capitals

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Chandler Stephenson
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly
Nathan Walker – Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly

Defense

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – Christian Djoos

Starting Goalie: Braden Holtby

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

WATCH LIVE: Rangers, Predators open season at MSG

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By Sean LeahyOct 4, 2018, 7:00 PM EST

1 Comment

NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with a doubleheader on Thursday. First up, the New York Rangers host the Nashville Predators at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch that game online by clicking here.

The season opens on Thursday night for both the Rangers and Predators — two teams in two entirely different situations.

The Predators are aiming for the Stanley Cup after having reached the Final in 2017 and falling short last spring with a second-round exit, thanks to the Winnipeg Jets. They have pretty much the same roster as last season and remain one of the NHL’s staunchest defenses, led by reigning Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne.

New York is in a transitional phase where they’re kind of sort of rebuilding, but still have Henrik Lundqvist in goal. There are still plenty of veterans around like Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and Kevin Shattenkirk, but new head coach David Quinn will gives some kids a chance like Filip Chytil to allow them to solidify a spot in the lineup.

What: New York Rangers vs. Nashville Predators
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.
When: Thursday, October 4th, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch Rangers-Predators on NBC Sports’ live stream page.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Rangers
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey – Kevin Hayes – Mats Zuccarello
Vladislav Namestnikov – Brett Howden – Vinni Lettieri
Ryan Spooner – Filip Chytil – Jesper Fast

Brady Skjei – Adam McQuaid
Brendan Smith – Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal – Neal Pionk

Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

Predators
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala – Kyle Turris – Craig Smith
Calle Jarnkrok – Nick Bonino – Colton Sissons
Miikka Salomaki – Frederick Gaudreau – Ryan Hartman

Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis – Yannick Weber

Starting goalie: Pekka Rinne

Three questions facing New York Rangers

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By Adam GretzAug 20, 2018, 4:22 PM EST

3 Comments

Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to focusing on a player coming off a breakthrough year to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the New York Rangers.

Three questions to ponder for the New York Rangers during the 2018-19 season.

[Rangers Day: Looking back | Breakthrough | Under Pressure]

1. Does Henrik Lundqvist have a miracle in him?

Because that is probably what it will take for the Rangers to get back to the playoffs.

This is not a particularly strong roster — at least on paper — and is lacking in established, impact players all over the lineup. It’s not a terrible roster, it’s not a worst team in the league kind of roster, but it’s also probably not one that is strong enough to make up enough ground in the playoff race, especially in a division as strong as the Metropolitan Division.

If you’re a Rangers fan holding out hope for the playoffs, the biggest hope is that Lundqvist, in his age 36 season, can put the team on his back one more time and carry it to a level beyond any reasonable expectation. He has done it before, but it is probably asking quite a bit for him to do it again, especially as he has started to show some signs of slowing down over the past two years where his save percentage has dipped to .912 overall. Just for comparisons sake, his save percentage was .920 or better for eight consecutive seasons prior to the past two.

Even though it has not resulted in a championship, Lundqvist has been the face of the Rangers franchise for his entire career and its most important player. He has consistently given the team everything he has had and been one of the best players in the world. If the Rangers are going to make another run with him before his career runs out he is going to have to put together a herculean effort to make it happen.

2. What kind of coach will David Quinn be?

Alain Vigneault has had his share of success in the NHL, including with the New York Rangers.

But it became clear last season that it was time for a new voice and a new direction, especially as the team embarks on a rebuild of the roster. It is now a team that should be focusing on development and youth, something that probably was not going to happen in another season under Vigneault, a coach whose preference seems to be more with experienced and veteran players.

Replacing him will be first-year NHL coach David Quinn as he becomes the latest to make the jump from the NCAA ranks to the NHL (he will be joined this season by Jim Montgomery who is going from University of Denver to the Dallas Stars).

He is one of just five coaches to ever go from the NCAA to their first job in the NHL, a list that includes Montgomery, Dave Hakstol, Bob Johnson, and Ned Harkness.

Quinn comes highly regarded, especially when it comes to working with younger players, but as a rookie coach with no NHL coaching experience there is a lot of mystery as to what type of coach he will be.

With a roster that could have its share of younger talent his reputation as a talent developer will be put to the test.

That leads us to the third question facing the Rangers this season.

3. Which young players will take a big step forward?

From a big picture outlook, the success or failure of this Rangers’ season probably shouldn’t be measured by how many games the team wins or loses.

They are probably not going to be contenders for anything. They are probably going to be a bad team. They are probably going to miss the playoffs and trade more established players before the season ends.

The important thing to watch for this season is whether or not any young players take a big step forward and establish themselves as long-term building blocks.

Even though this is a “rebuilding” team there is still a pretty significant veteran presence here, especially on the blue line and in net. But after all of the draft picks they have had in recent years, and all of the trades they made last year, there is also a pretty big collection of young players that could also get an opportunity, from the young players they acquired in the Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller trades (Brett Howden, Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek), to their recent first-round draft picks (Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson), to still developing NHLers like Pavel Buchnevich, Brady Skjei, and Neal Pionk.

A couple of them taking a big step forward in their development would be a nice positive for what is almost certain to be another year outside of the playoffs.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

It’s New York Rangers day at PHT

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By Scott BilleckAug 20, 2018, 9:16 AM EST

2 Comments

2017-18:

34-39-9, 77 pts. (8th Metropolitan Division; 12th Eastern Conference)
missed playoffs

IN:

Frederik Claesson

OUT:

David Desharnais
Paul Carey
Dan Catenacci
Ryan Sproul
Ondrej Pavelec
Peter Holland

RE-SIGNED:

Ryan Spooner
Vladislav Namestikov
Jimmy Vesey
Kevin Hayes
Brady Skjei
John Gilmour
Boo Nieves
Cody McLeod
Ryan O’Gara
Chris Bigras

– – –

You could kind of feel that the season the New York Rangers had last year was a long-time coming.

[Rangers Day: Under Pressure | Breakthrough | Three Questions]

The team was getting a little too stale, a little too over-reliant on the heroics of Henrik Lundqvist night-in and night-out, plagued by years invested in players whose names didn’t match their talent level anymore and a coach who couldn’t seem to find the next gear with the team he had.

When the burden atop Lundqvist’s shoulders became too much to bear after the ball dropped in Time Square to usher in 2018, the Rangers simply imploded with him.

And so the purge began, long before the 2017-18 season came to a close — on Feb. 8, when the team announced that it was game over and before any more coins could be dropped into the machine, a rebuild would have to take place.

In hindsight, it started to happen before the season began. They had already shipped out Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta prior to last year’s NHL Draft for the No. 7 pick, which they used to snag Lias Andersson.

At the trade deadline several months later, the Rangers swung the blockbuster of the season, sending Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for Vladislav Namestikov, two prospects and a pick.

The move capped off a wild year in the Big Apple. The Rangers sold off Rick Nash, Nick Holden and Michael Grabner while amassing roster players, picks and prospects.

Here is the complete list (thanks to PHT’s Adam Gretz):

2017 first-round pick (from Arizona — used to select Andersson)
2018 first-round pick (Boston)
2018 first-round pick (Tampa Bay)
2018 second-round pick (New Jersey)
2018 third-round pick (Boston)
2019 conditional second-round pick (Tampa Bay — would become another first-round pick if Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup this season or next season)
2019 seventh-round pick
Vladislav Namestnikov
Ryan Spooner
Matt Beleskey
Anthony DeAngelo
Ryan Lindgren
Libor Hajek
Brett Howden
Ygor Rykov
Rob O'Gara

They also said goodbye to their old coaching staff after firing Alain Vigneault and replacing him with David Quinn from Boston University fame. He takes the reins at a perfect time for the Rangers, given his apparent ability to develop young players.

A rebuild, then, from top to bottom.

It’s also meant a pretty uneventful summer in the import category, other than Quinn’s hiring.

Fredrik Claesson, signed on July 1, is the only player brought in that has played NHL games. But the Rangers made some good decisions in re-signing a swath of restricted free agents in Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Spooner, Kevin Hayes, Namestikov, Brady Skjei, John Gilmour, Boo Nieves and Rob O’Gara.

New York’s forward contingent this season doesn’t look half bad on paper, but it’s on defense where things get a bit hairy.

Kevin Shattenkirk had knee surgery in January, ending his first season in a blue shirt, and while he’s probable for the start of the season, you never know how those are going to turn out. The Rangers are certainly hoping a healthy Shattenkirk and return to the same form that they saw when they gave him a four-year extension with a full no-movement clause. The last thing the Rangers need during a rebuild is having to eat a contract that was supposed to be the defenseman that solidified their top-four.

The Rangers gave up the second most shots per game (35.3) and the fourth most goals-against per game (263), so those numbers certainly need to improve if the goal is not to have the aging Lundqvist put in a bad spot each night.

That said, the expectation that the Rangers compete for a playoff spot is probably a futile one. The team is rebuilding, and to do it right means to take it slow. They’ve trimmed a lot of fat in a short period of time, but youth needs time to develop and shouldn’t be rushed.

Prospect Pool:

Lias Andersson, C/LW, 19, Frolunda/Hartford (SHL/AHL) – 2017 first-round pick

Perhaps the readiest of all of New York’s prospects, Andersson blends a strong two-way game with impressive speed, skill and shooting abilities. He got seven games with the Rangers at the end of the season, scoring once and adding an assist, had 14 points in 22 games in the Swedish Elite League with Frolunda, and in 25 games with the Wolfpack in the American Hockey League, posting 14 points in 25 games. There’s a spot open for him on the opening day roster if he wants it.

Filip Chytil, C, 18, CSKA Moscow (KHL) – 2017 first-round pick

There’s an argument that Chytil is just as ready for the Show as Andersson, perhaps slightly more. Chytil got nine total games with the Rangers, including making the team out of training camp last season. He posted a goal and two assists combined in his time with the Rangers and played most of the season in Hartford where he had 11 goals and 31 points in 46 games. Chytil also had four points in seven games with the Czech Republic at the world juniors and then two additional points at the world championships. Like Andersson, there’s room for Chytil providing he can make an impression in training camp.

Vitali Kravtsov, RW, 18, Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL) – 2018 first-round pick

The Rangers have a lot of skilled first round picks, don’t they? Kravtsov is their latest, taken ninth overall this past June. The kid is big, too. He’s 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds with plenty of room to fill out. He won the Aleksei Cherepanov Award for the KHL’s best rookie and set a playoff record for a junior-aged player with 16 points. He was named rookie of the month twice and rookie of the week three times and will be back with Traktor to begin next season after signing an extension in July. Assuming all goes well, he could play with the Rangers by years’ end depending on how far Traktor makes it in the Gagarin Cup.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck