2018-19 NHL thread

Plus. the weather blows - though I made the decision before I knew that!

 

I wish.

 

Fuck hockey. Glad I didn't go.

 

No, Im good.

What I said last summer was that there was a chance he wasnt going to play this year. That was true, and Kesler has admitted it. To his credit, he worked hard to get here. But we're still not sure how much he is going to play. Kesler knew I was writing that note at the time, and didn't object.

 

Rangers got their first win last night in OT vs. San Jose. This season isn't going to be as bad as it might have been. They are short on talent as they are currently constituted, but they do have some skill, and David Quinn has them playing really hard, at least.They are not going to ever be an easy win for other teams. The problem is that defensively, they are a bit of a mess, so even when they play relentless and get chances for say 50 or 55 minutes of a game, you know there are going to be several let downs with 3 on 1s and really terrible defensive plays. The nicest surprise from the first games has been Brett Howden, who they got as part of the McDonagh deal last year. He made the team as the 4th center, over Lias Andersson, and the thinking was that they probably made the decision in a season where they aren't going to do much, Andersson was better off getting first line minutes in the AHL than 10 or 12 minutes a night in the NHL. But Howden is showing he is better prospect than I had anticipated, and he's already getting major minutes. He's only 20, and he looks good. He scored a silly goal last night where he was crashing the net and Zuccarello whiffed on a shot, and Howden got the puck right in front of the net with his back to the goalie, and got a backhanded shot off between his legs off the defender's skate and past the goalie. It was totally instinctual.

 

BTW, San Jose is ridiculous with the addition of Erik Karlsson (and Evander Kane, too). It's just not fair to have Karlsson, Burns and Vlasic on one defensive unit. Their penalty kill may be the toughest in the NHL. They are so aggressive and generate a lot of really good short-handed attempts. And their forward lines are really good. Joe Thornton wasn't even playing, and they still looked like an all star team. I am wondering if that is why they may not gell.

 

I didn't know what he was talking about, and I was curious, so I googled and found your column, even before you responded. I saw the "there is a chance" that Kesler doesn't play this season. Seemed like you had it exactly right, from what you wrote. He was skipping surgery, was trying aggressive rehab and strengthening, and you wrote"we probably won't know until training camp, but there is a chance Ryan Kessler doesn't play in 2018-19." Just because he is good enough to play doesn't mean that wasn't what was going on.