Metro Pucks: A Week of Underachievement, and a Bit of Cheating

Our weekly review of the performances of the three local N.H.L. teams.

Grades

Rangers: What a strange trip it has been. Henrik Lundqvist won the game for the Rangers on Tuesday in Vancouver. They beat Calgary two nights later on a goal with two seconds left in overtime. The 2-0 loss in Edmonton on Saturday? Coach John Tortorella, who refused to take questions from reporters after the game, said the team was bad “from head to toe.” Unless you’re a goaltending aficionado, the Rangers have not been a fun team to watch on this marathon trip to start the season. Still, they won two of three this week. Grade: B

Devils: The week looked promising late in the third period Friday when the Devils held a one-goal lead over San Jose at Prudential Center. But the Sharks scored to tie the game after pulling their goalie for an extra attacker and earned the second point by beating the Devils in the shootout. A night later, the Devils lost, 4-1, in Pittsburgh to a team that manages to succeed without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Devils need more scoring outside of top talents llya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Patrik Elias. Grade: C

Islanders: “Except for the power play, we’ve got a lot to work on,” P.A. Parenteau said after the Islanders lost road games to the Lightning and the Panthers. The Islanders were dreadful for about 50 of the 60 minutes in their 4-1 loss in Tampa Bay on Thursday. In a 4-2 loss Saturday in Sunrise, Fla., the Islanders were inept during five-on-five play. Both goals were scored on the power play, but the Islanders failed to convert during four minutes of power play time at the end of regulation, including almost a minute of five-on-three play. The rebuilding Islanders, supposedly more mature with the addition of five elder statesmen, have to play more confidently and less tentatively on the road. Grade: D

Metro Puck Player of the Week

Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers: When the goalie took himself off the ice in the third period Saturday and word was he was suffering from dehydration, as opposed to a muscle injury, Rangers Nation exhaled. Lundqvist’s team would be worse than mediocre without him. His shutout in Vancouver was spectacular but also typical of how he keeps the Rangers in almost every game.

Dubious Achievement of the Week

Petr Sykora, Devils: Sykora managed to fool the referees in Pittsburgh by serving a four-minute high-sticking penalty called on Patrik Elias. When one of them realized what Sykora pulled – too late, after Elias scored a short-handed goal to tie the score at 1-1 – Sykora apologized and said his stunt was “unrespectful.” Worse, it was cheating and should be reviewed by the league for a fine for the player and his team. Maybe karma already exacted a price. After Elias’s goal, the Penguins scored three straight to win the game, 4-1.

Trending

Down: Brad Richards – The Rangers’ first-line center leads the team in scoring with one goal and four assists, but he has yet to take over a game. Richards will want to show more to the New York area fans when the Rangers start their home schedule Thursday against the Maple Leafs.

Up: Dan Girardi – In the absence of Marc Staal this season, Girardi is averaging 28 minutes a game and performing at a high level for the Rangers. “He can handle it,” said Tortorella, who has no choice but to lean on Girardi.

Down: Frans Nielsen – A strong playmaker, the Islanders’ second-line center has one goal and no assists in six games this season.

Down: Anton Volchenkov – For an annual salary cap hit of $4.25 million for the next five seasons, the defenseman is playing just 18 minutes a game and has not made a major impact in the Devils’ zone.

Theories

Kyle Okposo, the Islanders’ seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, is a power forward with skill and excellent work habits, but he may have to alter his game. Okposo has just one assist and no goals in the Islanders’ first six games this season. He has yet to reach the 20-goal mark in his young N.H.L. career, in part because shooting accuracy is not his strength. At 210 pounds, Okposo needs to shoot from the perimeter less and crash the opposition net a lot more. Goals scored off shin pads count just as much.

The loss of Jacob Josefson for three to four months with a broken clavicle sustained in the game Thursday hurts the young player’s development and the Devils’ playoff chances. Josefson was one of the Devils’ top three centers and, if Lou Lamoriello is unable to acquire a player in a trade or through waivers, the Devils do not have the depth to replace him.

In Yogi Berra fashion, Ryan Callahan shed some light in a recent broadcast interview on the pressures of being a captain: “I have to focus more on not thinking about it,” Callahan said. In the Rangers’ first six games, Callahan has one goal and no assists.

This Week’s Mystery

On Sept. 30, Nino Niederreiter, a prized right wing prospect who was the Islanders’ fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, sustained a groin injury. The club said his return to the lineup was day to day. More than three weeks later, Niederreiter has practiced infrequently with the Islanders and, on some days, has not even skated on his own. Like the Rangers regarding Marc Staal’s concussion symptoms, the Islanders have had nothing to say about Niederreiter’s status. Perhaps we’ll learn more this week. His development is crucial to the success of the Islanders’ rebuilding program.