The Rangers did not win a game. The Islanders and Devils did, but not after enduring the embarrassment of getting shut out before capacity crowds at their home openers. What was learned from the first six games of the season for the Rangers, Devils and Islanders? Not much in the 82-game big picture. But for the faithful who couldn’t wait for the second weekend in October, hockey provides plenty to analyze.
Grades
Rangers: Their two-game stand in Stockholm was nothing to write home about. The Rangers failed to protect a 2-1 lead Friday against Los Angeles and lost in overtime. Brad Richards scored late to tie the game against Anaheim on Saturday, but the Rangers lost in a shootout. Without Henrik Lundqvist’s heroics in net, they would have returned to New York pointless. Next up: a week of workouts in Westchester before facing the Islanders on Saturday at the old barn on Hempstead Turnpike. C-plus
Devils: They played their opener Saturday against the Flyers as if they were still in the exhibition season. “It looked to me like we were at practice speed and they were at N.H.L. game speed,” said Devils Coach Peter DeBoer said. Their 4-2 win over Carolina on Monday was imperfect, but important because they were led by their best forwards. Zach Parise had two goals and Ilya Kovalchuk scored the game-winner. Johan Hedberg was solid in goal. The Devils host the Kings on Thursday. B-minus
Islanders: They weren’t ready to play their home opener in front of a Nassau Coliseum crowd on Saturday packed with true believers. An injury-prevention preseason schedule – with most of the Islanders’ best players participating in only two games – may have been the reason the Panthers skated circles around them. But they got off the mat to beat Minnesota, 2-1, on Monday. The Islanders’ penalty-killing units were exceptional. Still, the team played only one strong period – Monday’s first – over the first six of the regular season. They’ll need to do a lot better when they host Tampa Bay on Thursday and the Rangers on Saturday. B-minus
Metro Puck Player of the Week(end)
Al Montoya, Islanders: Jack Capuano’s No. 1-for-now allowed a combined three goals over two games and none of them were softies. He may not have made the spectacular stops Lundqvist made in Sweden, but he was poised and in control of his rebounds – exactly what the Islanders’ defense needs. Among the appointed No. 1s, including Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur, only Montoya earned his team a win. In this era of shootouts, when standing points are handed out in the N.H.L. like Snickers on Halloween, a win still has to mean something.
Trending
Up: Zach Parise, Devils – In a positive development for a team that badly needs him back at his best, Parise scored two goals in the Devils’ win over Carolina. “He was everywhere on the ice,” DeBoer said. Parise has shown no ill effects from the torn meniscus that kept him out of all but 13 games last season.
Down: Evgeni Nabokov, Islanders – The longtime first-string Sharks goalie said and did all the right things in training camp, but still finds himself sitting in a luxury suite during games as the No. 3 behind Montoya and Rick DiPietro. You have to wonder how long the 36-year-old Nabokov will stand for getting fewer reps in practice as he makes barely over the league minimum while his family stays in California. Right now it looks as if it will take an injury to one goalie and substandard play by another for Nabokov to get regular action. Let’s see how patient he is.
Theories
It took Adam Larsson all of, well, about two shifts to establish himself as the Devils’ No. 1 defenseman. The assistant coach Larry Robinson provided the 18-year-old from Sweden an average of 23 minutes 10 seconds over his team’s first two games of the season – most among Devils defensemen. Especially since New Jersey has plenty of capable defenders, this seems like too much, too soon for Larsson. The N.H.L. season is 82 games plus playoffs. Not including his work for the national junior squad, Larsson played a combined 86 regular-season games over the last two years in the Swedish Elite League.
After 65 games this season, count up the games lost to injury by the Islanders’ top three defensemen: Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald. If the combined total is fewer than 20, the Islanders will still be in the playoff hunt.
The Rangers waited a year to get Richards to center Marian Gaborik. They will now probably spend the better part of this season finding the most effective left wing to play with Gaborik and Richards. John Tortorella will grow tired of thinking and talking about it, and he will not be alone.
Spin vs. Straight Talk
Spin: In explaining to Howie Rose of the MSG Network why the Islanders were carrying three goaltenders on their roster, Capuano used a football analogy:
“Look at the Indianapolis Colts.”
The Islanders coach was referring, of course, to the Colts’ lack of depth at quarterback with Peyton Manning probably lost for the season. But there is no comparison between the talent pools of N.F.L. quarterbacks and N.H.L. goaltenders. The Lightning reached the Eastern Conference finals last season behind Dwayne Roloson, acquired on Jan. 1 from the Islanders for the low cost of a minor prospect. The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2010 with two goalies, Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, who have been regular residents on the waiver wire. When the Islanders ran out of healthy goaltenders in February, General Manager Garth Snow acquired Montoya from Phoenix for a sixth-round draft pick. Now Montoya is the starter.
The N.F.L. doesn’t have 32 first-rate quarterbacks, let alone backups skilled enough to take a team to a title. Capuano has three goaltenders because the Islanders already had two when they decided to take Nabokov off waivers after he signed with the Red Wings. Montoya, Nabokov and DiPietro are good goalies, but are replaceable. Manning is not.
Straight Talk: When the Rangers had completed their 12-day European trek through the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden, Tortorella had some lovely words in praise of the cities they visited, arenas they competed in and people they met. But he also did not hold back his feelings on Saturday about getting back to New York and a more typical practice routine and travel schedule:
“I just want to leave.”
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