March 19, 2015

Versteeg scratched, Yakupov sizzles, the pending return of Hall and more…

 

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Quite the defensive battle in New York last night as the Rangers and Blackhawks skated to a tight 1-0 conclusion with the Blackhawks prevailing. That's textbook post-Kane injury Blackhawks for you. Just stifling but also opportunistic like they were on the lone goal of the game. That goal came on a sweet bit of patience by Brad Richards but also never happens if Dan Boyle's effort on the other end doesn't hammer the crossbar. Inches, we're all that divided these two teams last night.

 

That crossbar helped Scott Darling to his first career NHL shutout. Really interesting situation brewing in Chicago. They don't actually have to make a move with their three goalies. Having three capable goalies is actually quite the good problem to have in case one gets hurt. However, while all three are under contract for next season, Antti Raanta has just one year remaining and seems to be the odd man out in terms of pecking order. Legit trade candidate right there.

 

So who do you prefer between Raanta and Darling? A part of me is inclined to say Raanta because if he is traded this summer he could land in a spot where he actually has a chance of grabbing the starting role. He could have played like vintage Hasek and wouldn't have displaced Corey Crawford. I just can't shake the fact that I don't think Raanta is that good. As always, I mean that relative to the average starting goaltender. Raanta is really good but I don't think he's got starter skills. Darling though? Darling, I think could do it so even though he's stuck behind Crawford, he's the one I prefer. When in doubt bet on talent.

 

An interesting thought experiment is what if the Blackhawks had done with Crawford what they did with Antti Niemi and let him go elsewhere instead of signing him to a lucrative extension? Knowing what we know now about Raanta and Darling both having NHL skills, might they have gotten away with letting Crawford walk?

 

It's hard to say. Crawford is really good even if his job is quite peachy. But had they known they'd have Raanta and Darling ready to go at this point maybe they don't give Crawford this deal. And maybe that means they don't have to make big cap decisions this summer. It's a moot point now but it is interesting. When you've got a team like Chicago the temptation to skimp in goal has got to be relatively high.

 

That whole conversation is really a lament for the pending loss of Patrick Sharp but given the season he has had you could make an argument that "having" to trade him this summer isn't the substantial loss it once was.

 

Sharp actually had some good moments last night and fired five SOG. No points but he had recorded four points in the previous two games after getting promoted onto the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. If he doesn't produce on that line, you know he's cooked. I'm thinking he has a nice end to the season on that top line.

 

Kris Versteeg, on the other hand, needs to get himself out of the dog house. He was benched last night for a "lack of pace", which is apparently Joel Quenneville's go-to excuse. He has just one point in the last eight games but I don't see how he gets it going again. His golden goose flew away the second Kane's collar bone snapped.

 

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How crazy is it that Keith Yandle has just one point in eight games as a Ranger? That one point shouldn't even count either as it came against the Sabres. The Rangers have typically kept Yandle's minutes down, while playing the crap out of him on the power play. That didn't change as far as the power play goes but Yandle skated 24:07 last night, a Ranger high (even more than Ryan McDonagh) and just the second time he has topped 20 minutes with New York. He looked really good too. Just can't seem to make it click.

 

Derek Stepan is now scoreless in 11 straight games. He did have some really good chances and fired off six SOG but couldn't get a point. I suppose he's just getting himself into playoff form here as he has been a perennial disappointment in playoff pools. We're trending towards yet another downer.

 

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Another awesome game last night between the Ducks and Kings. The Ducks eventually took it in overtime on a goal from Ryan Kesler.

 

I was very excited to see Bruce Boudreau stop messing around and sticking Corey Perry on the top line and top power play unit after experimenting the past couple of weeks. Nothing like a big rivalry game to remove one's head from one's… well you get the idea.

 

No points for Perry but the top line did get a goal from Patrick Maroon, who was back up with Perry and Ryan Getzlaf for the first time in a bit. That meant Matt Beleskey slid back onto line two and Tomas Fleischmann was relegated to the fourth line.

 

Fleischmann got a decent shot at a top-six role but could only click for two points in six games. Off to the fourth line!

 

That's better than Jiri Sekac's fate. He spent the night in the press box.

 

Jakob Silfverberg extended his scoring streak to three games but was down on line three. I think he's going to cool off here shortly just due to a reduction in minutes. He looked really good with Andrew Cogliano though, displaying creativity at high speed.

 

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How gorgeous is this Kings goal?