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00:00The New York Rangers, they're rolling right now, three straight wins, a strong two-one-in-one road trip that showed a bit of grip, a bit of growth as well.
00:07So, we're going to break down what's been working for the Blue Shirts and what's ahead in the big week that they have coming up against the Hurricanes, the Red Wings, and the Islanders.
00:15I'm joined by Matthew Mugno, host of Forever Blue Shirts, who joins me now.
00:19Matt, what's going on? How you doing, my friend?
00:22I'm doing great. Podcast, Puck Talk, CS, going great.
00:25We're still keeping the writing chops up, and this is a better time to be talking about the Rangers than when I spoke to you two weeks ago.
00:32Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's much different, because if we had even spoken, we were talking about this before we started recording, six days ago, this whole conversation might be very different.
00:41But, Matt, the Rangers, they just wrapped up a road trip. As I mentioned, they went two-one-in-one. They've won three straight overall.
00:47What stood out to you the most about how this team responded after a tough start to that West Coast swing?
00:53Well, first, it's identity. This team's identity, they're not fast.
00:58Under Peter Laviolette, the previous coach, they had to learn that the puck moves faster than man.
01:03Now, are there a lot of players from those teams remaining? No.
01:06That 2024 team that made the President's Trophy went to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to Florida.
01:12Not many of those players remain.
01:15But, for the key pieces, it was a lesson in moving the puck first.
01:20Now, this team doesn't have the foot speed. They're a little bit older.
01:24They've got kind of a shot in the leg from Noah Laba, who's very fast, down the center lane.
01:30And without Vincent Trocek, you'd think, you know, the leaders are going to have to come through.
01:36I think what this showed was grit and the ability to find ways to win.
01:41Something we were not seeing earlier in the season was finding ways to win.
01:48Many ways.
01:50We're being outshot, but we'll win the game and steal it.
01:53Igor Shesterkin is putting on a 30-plus-8 performance.
01:56We'll just get one and get out of the building.
01:58We weren't seeing them find a way to win.
02:01And I think that's the key to this road trip was
02:04they were able to string together a few W's on the backs of one or two plays.
02:10It wasn't something that on the offensive side of the puck was a barrage, which we've waited for.
02:16But also, Dexter, the defense is really clamping down.
02:21It's funny.
02:21I know you cover the Knicks.
02:23Imagine Thibodeau's Knicks-level defense.
02:26That's what we're seeing Mike Sullivan implement into this Rangers team on the hockey side,
02:32the hockey rink at MSG.
02:33But that also returned to form.
02:37Last I spoke to you was, I believe, before the game in Calgary.
02:42And that was the low point of the season thus far.
02:45Early going, but it seemed like it was getting late early.
02:48Yeah, it did feel like that.
02:50And then I think when you look at this trip, right, and particularly, Matt,
02:53when you look at the wins against Edmonton and Seattle.
02:57Now, they weren't perfect games, but you used the word grit, but they were gritty.
03:00They were resilient in those games.
03:03What do you think it says about this group's ability to grind out points early in the season,
03:08even when they're not at their best?
03:11That could be this team's identity.
03:15And I think it harkens back somewhat to the John Tortorella years.
03:20I've compared this team to the 2011-12 New York Rangers just based on, as you mentioned, resilience, grit factor.
03:29Their top scorers, it's no secret, are not finding the score sheet.
03:33Even on this trip, they win three games in a row.
03:35Zibanejad, one goal, one point.
03:38Panarin, a whopping zero points for how productive and how he's scribed the history books in his tenure in New York.
03:48Haven't seen a lot of the fruitful production from 10.
03:51Miller, a goal and an assist.
03:54Just two points, but here's the key.
03:57JT Miller has been very vocal.
04:00I've really enjoyed watching his post-game press conferences, even after losses, for his leadership style.
04:08He's always been abrasive, drags his team into the fight.
04:12He had the overtime goal against Edmonton, willing his way to the net to score.
04:17And he had the assist on Will Cooley's OTG against Seattle.
04:21So, I think that although those top performers haven't come through, the fact you're getting scoring from Will Cooley, five points, a four-assist streak going on right now.
04:33Adam Fox from the back end with four apples.
04:36Alexi Lafreniere, who's taken a lot of heat after signing his massive contract last season.
04:41His full earnings this year are $10 million, three assists on this road trip, and Noah Laba finding the back of the cage for his first NHL goal and scoring last night off the rush with a new line.
04:56This team is starting to gel.
04:59And although we've seen a lot of lineup changes with the lines, especially the forward group, there's depth scoring here, which is something that has been both criticized and praised on the ups and downs.
05:11And so far in October.
05:13Yeah, you're wondering if you can see a lot of these guys continue to support guys like JT Miller as you move down into the season.
05:20They can get that resiliency factor throughout the entire roster, and hopefully that can build up.
05:25Now, fans always like to look at the young players that are coming, and Gabe Perrault, he's been making noise down in Hartford.
05:31How close do you think he is to getting a call-up?
05:34We saw what he could do a little bit in the preseason, and what could his eventual addition mean for this roster's depth that you just mentioned?
05:40And also their scoring balance.
05:42What do you think he could do for them there?
05:45Yeah, it's interesting, Dexter.
05:46Let's look at the lineup right now.
05:48They have a line where it's Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller.
05:52So they loaded the top line.
05:54We haven't seen a loaded top line like this, at least for maybe more than one game.
05:59I think since they tried it in the conference final in 2022.
06:06So there's always been a balance of scoring, which is necessary in hockey.
06:11But it's interesting to see that they united the top players on the first line.
06:17The second line last night featured Will Cooley, Noah Laba, and Alexi Lafreniere.
06:21Now, the center position, suffering without Vincent Trocek.
06:25The third line seems like it still lacks an identity with Parson and Sheery and Radish.
06:31Taylor Radish, the leading scorer at the moment of the New York Rangers.
06:35He scored against Edmonton.
06:37And then your fourth line, which I think has a lot of character and has contributed to this team so far this year with Edstrom, Carrick, and Brodzinski.
06:45So in terms of the lineup and the balance, do you want to bring in your first round selection from 2023?
06:53Highly decorated junior career.
06:55He's 20 years old.
06:57Now, as a professional hockey player, he played games last season with the New York Rangers and the big club.
07:03He's tied for second in scoring among rookies in the AHL at the moment with five goals, five assists, and ten points in nine games played.
07:12And I will give a shout-out to Dexter, you and I, in this media world.
07:18Keegan Jarvis is a great resource for material on the Hartford Wolf Pack.
07:24He's an account online.
07:26I believe he writes for Blue Shirt Banter.
07:29So that's someone to continue to monitor.
07:31He's done a great job with covering Gabe Perrault in this situation.
07:36That's where I've gathered a lot of my information from.
07:38But, yes, Gabriel Perrault, how close is he?
07:43It's hard to determine because I thought Brennan Othman was close, and it seemed that he just wasn't ready for the big NHL league yet.
07:51So I think it would be best served if the New York Rangers continue to let him grow until the team finds a steady balance.
08:00They're coming back into the fold.
08:02They've shot up the standings with this three-game win streak.
08:05Let's see if this can continue before you bring a 20-year-old into a locker room that, as we saw last year, fell apart.
08:15And as you know, handling and developing youth is very important, and it's been crucial for this team.
08:22And I don't think the club has hit the marks that they were expected to the last five years in that department.
08:27I think a couple good points you made there, too, right, which is you want to bring a guy up when you think he's ready.
08:33You don't want to put him in a high-pressure situation.
08:35You don't want to put him in a locker room that's not ready.
08:37Not saying that this Rangers locker room isn't ready, but you want to make sure the time is right.
08:41Now, look, he's killing it at Hartford, getting a lot of goals, as you said, five and ten games.
08:47However, you know, could use a little bit more development.
08:49All development is in linear, so we'll see with Perrault how that goes for him.
08:54All right, Matt, before we get out of here, let's look ahead to the upcoming games this week for the Blue Shirts
08:58because they're home for the Hurricanes on Tuesday.
09:00Then they go to the Motor City to battle the Red Wings on Friday.
09:03Then they're back home to host the Islanders on Saturday.
09:06So we talked about all they've done well on this road trip.
09:09How crucial is it for the Rangers to build on this momentum that they had on this road trip
09:13against some tough Metropolitan Division opponents here?
09:17Yeah, there's no easy night in the NHL.
09:19There's 32 teams, 31 other clubs that have skill players, have gritty players,
09:27and have at least a semblance of goaltending.
09:29This is no longer 10 years ago, post-dead puck.
09:33This is a time where there is a lot of skill in the league,
09:36and the Florida Panthers' back-to-back championships has forced teams to return to a physical identity.
09:42With that stated, this is going to be an important stretch.
09:46The Carolina Hurricanes, despite the fact that they're missing a lot of players,
09:51topping the Metro Division.
09:52Then you have the rival Islanders next weekend.
09:57So, boasting number one overall draft pick, Matthew Schaefer,
10:01who, for the Islanders, has been a seamless transition for a teenager on the back end.
10:06I love his character.
10:07I love the way he plays.
10:09So, I do think this stretch, as any stretch is, is crucial because we've talked about the –
10:15we've thrown the word around sustainability, Dexter.
10:18How sustainable was that three-game win streak?
10:20They're 0-4-1 at MSG.
10:23They have a huge nationally televised game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
10:28Can they swing that momentum and get their first home victory at home
10:32against one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division?
10:36Think about what that can do for this team's confidence.
10:38They're already starting to gain the big C, but how do they build upon that
10:43and continue to bring that into home ice matchups in Madison Square Garden?
10:48And then they're swinging on the road again to Detroit,
10:51and Detroit has also played a phenomenal first 10 games.
10:55They're one of the top teams in the Atlantic Division.
10:57So, there's no sleeper in this stretch the next three games.
11:02If I'm going to circle a game, though,
11:04although I mentioned nationally televised game against Carolina,
11:06a game against the Detroit Red Wings, who have been hot to start the year,
11:12I'm going to circle the Islanders matchup.
11:14Because if you can win that rivalry game, think about how far that could go for you.
11:20Even if you drop one, if you get some points out of the next two,
11:24it's still in the early goings.
11:25But I do think from the fans' perspective, from the players' perspective,
11:31you earn a victory over the New York Islanders,
11:34and that could go a long way for confidence and morale.
11:38Yep.
11:38A couple of games this week where things could go a long way for the Rangers
11:42if they are to secure some wins, pick up some points.
11:45We'll see how they do.
11:46Three games coming up this week.
11:48We talked about the Hurricanes, talked about the Red Wings,
11:51and then the Islanders next weekend.
11:54That is Matthew Mugnell.
11:56Check him out.
11:57Puck Talks, Forever Blue Shirts as well.
12:00Doing a great job covering the Rangers.
12:01Matt, always good to talk to you about some Rangers hockey.
12:04See, this time we got to talk after some wins.
12:07Hopefully we do that again next time.
12:09Thank you, sir.
12:10Thank you, Dexter.
12:11And by the way, final fact.
12:13teams, if they are below the playoff line by Thanksgiving,
12:18American Thanksgiving,
12:20I think there's around a 10% or 11% chance that they make the postseason.
12:26You can check my numbers on that,
12:28but that's also a major warning sign for the New York Rangers.
12:32Hopefully next time I talk to you, they're above that line.
12:36I'm going to note that in the next couple of weeks
12:38as we move towards the Thanksgiving holiday.
12:40Let's see if the Rangers are above that line.
12:43Thanks, Matt.
12:44Appreciate you, man.
12:45Yeah, have a good night.
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