2018-19 NHL thread

Islanders still playing most of their games in Brooklyn, which doesn't really qualify as Long Island. They also have been playing ridiculously well so far. I think they will come back down to earth, but I like what they are doing as a story so far. They deserve a lot of credit.

BTW, the Rangers have now won 4 in a row. I watch most games. Ine thing you can't argue with is the effort most games. Players are buying into Quinn's rah rah, all out effort stuff (for the most part), and I don't think they are going to be an easy 2 points for anyone this season. Yesterday, they fell behind a tired Montreal team (road trip, 4 games in 6 nights) 3-1 with some crappy play, especially in the second period. They came back to win 5-3, including this ridiculous game winning goal by Neal Pionk doing his best Bobby Orr impersonation.

The Rangers have some really good prospects sprinkled in leagues all over the place, especially after their draft haul this year, but Pionk is the kind of player you love as a fan. Undrafted free agent. Played college at U of Minnesota. Got some time late last year and handled the NHL remarkably well, despite there being few expectations of him being a player. Has a shoot first, offensive minded mentality, but surprisingly he is not a bad defenseman for a guy who gets involved offensively. They had a glut of mediocre defensemen heading into the season, and they kept 8 on the roster to start. Pionk is the only one who wouldn't have to clear waivers to go back down to the AHL, and I am sure they would have liked to have sent him down to clear space, especially when he was clearly outplaying Tony DeAngello early on, but he not only played himself into ice time, he is getting a ton of minutes. Then, he does something like that coast to coast. As a fan of a mediocre team, it makes things more exciting. Knowing there are a bunch of top prospects who will be ready in a year or two, and you are building a base of really young players who play hard and have a little talent at the NHL level. Here's hoping.

 

I love Hagelin. He skates like the wind. But I think he had really been kind of going through the motions recently. I read Jim Rutherford in some interviews recently, maybe not calling out Hagelin by name, but it was clear to me who he was talking about. How guys were not playing their role, waiting for Crosby, Malkin, Kessel to score and not pulling their own weight.

I think it's a good trade for both teams. Pittsburgh sheds a fairly big salary, and Hagelin wasn't doing much for them. I don't get to see Tanner Pearson play much, so maybe I am wrong about him. He strikes me as a soft player, too, and not much upside, but he is younger, can shoot a hockey puck well, makes less, so I think Pittsburgh did OK enough on the trade. For LA, maybe a change of scenery will ignite something in Hagelin.