DIVISION OF LABOR
Rangers would have work cut out for them in anticipated NHL setup
YES, IT will be significantly more difficult for the Rangers to make the playoffs under 2020-21 realignment and the anticipated playoff format, in which the top four teams in each division will qualify for the tournament, than under the traditional setup that features conference wild cards.
For it will be a rumble in the jungle with the Rangers set to compete against the Islanders, Devils, Penguins, Flyers, Capitals, Bruins and Sabres in a 56-game, self-contained, intradivisional schedule in which opponents will face off eight times apiece.
This, of course, will be subject to Board and union approval, but that is expected once the NHL and the NHLPA establish all-encompassing guidelines and rules of engagement for the season that is tentatively set to open on Jan. 13.
But there is a benefit to the rigorous competition the Blueshirts should expect to face, coming off a season in which the club finished 18th overall (37-28-5) and thus earned an invite to the 24-team Stanley Cup tournament before suffering a humbling three-game sweep against the Hurricanes.
The bar will be set high for a franchise that is building to become a perennial Cup contender, not one that is hoping to finish eighth and become one of the teams that wins because “anything can happen.” The Rangers will be required to elevate their game in order to succeed. That is a good thing.
Plus, eight games against, in particular, the Bruins, Caps and Islanders will force the team to develop more of a regular-season grind mentality than would otherwise be necessary in a traditional go-round. The Rangers won’t be able to lean exclusively on their elite skill and dance through the schedule, only to be gobsmacked in the mouth come playoff time.
The need to play with more grit and adopt more of a north-south, forecheck, drive-to-the-net, smallspace mentality will be necessary beginning with Game 1 of the season, not of the tournament. The faster the Rangers get there, the better not only this year but over the long haul.
The Candy ’Canes, who in turn were thrashed by the Bruins in the official first round of the playoffs, drop out of the Blueshirts’ division, as do the Blue Jackets, replaced by Boston and Buffalo. Otherwise, it is more or less ye olde Patrick Division.
Without fans in arenas, will Rangers-Islanders be as intense? Or will the increased exposure and baseball-like series expected to be a feature of the schedule organically elevate emotions? Speaking of which, how much emotion will be attached to Henrik Lundqvist facing the Blueshirts in an empty Garden?
There is obviously an added element of the unknown to this upcoming season, just as when the NHL entered into its bubble over the summer. Different teams adapted differently. Veteran teams that had won before and were not quite considered favorites, such as the Caps and Blues, were early fodder. Now, there will be a short camp, perhaps without exhibition games, and a sprint to the finish line.
The shortened schedule would seem to act against the Rangers. Older teams like the Bruins and Caps should be at an advantage playing fewer games, though if the schedule is condensed, maybe not quite so much. The Islanders, who grind every night, should also benefit from a shorter schedule, though the same disclaimer applies.
Of the four redesigned and yet unnamed divisions, the one with the Rangers appears the most powerful. Boston (1), Washington (5), Philadelphia (6) and Pittsburgh (7) finished among the top seven teams in last season’s overall standings. The division’s eight teams had an average finish of 12th overall with one qualifying round series victory and four playoff round wins.
The division featuring Cup champion Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Columbus, Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville and Detroit — you could call this one the Gerrymandered Division — had an average finish of 17th overall with four playoff series victories (all by the Lightning) and three qualifying wins.
The western one with Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Jose, St. Louis and Vegas had an average finish of 16th overall, with six playoff round victories and one qualifying round triumph.
The Canadian Division including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver had an average finish of 19th-overall, with one playoff round and three qualifying round victories.
The Maple Leafs get away from the Bruins and Lightning. The Lightning get away from the Bruins and Maple Leafs. The Bruins get away from the Lightning and Maple Leafs. The ’Canes and Jackets get a reprieve from the Metro meat grinder and get a softer landing.
The Rangers? It does not appear as if they are going to be able to get away with anything. Big picture, what else would you want?
UFC 256 from Las Vegas on Saturday is the last pay-perview event of the year. Originally scheduled for 12 bouts, the production now has 10 competitive fights on tap. Throughout the challenges of 2020, the UFC has been tenacious about presenting the sport to the masses in a safe environment.
Last week’s fight slate was hugely affected by cancellations, and it’s unfortunate that the fight I released with John Allan +190 actually went off. Allan fought as well as he could but got decisioned by a better fighter, which happens. We turn the page now to UFC 256.
Deiveson Figueiredo -290 vs. Brandon Moreno + 250
Flyweight (125 pounds) Championship
Champion Figueiredo has a chance to be the most dominant flyweight champ since Demetrious Johnson. He is unusually large for the division and cuts weight aggressively to make the 125pound limit. Figueiredo possesses profuse striking power with arms, elbows and leg kicks, and he buttresses those bludgeoning wallops with unrelenting pressure and bad intention.
Most Figueiredo opponents either force themselves into a mistake as Alex Perez did three weeks ago, or they wilt under his aggression and pressure as Joe Benavidez did two fights back.
Figueiredo’s size, power striking and submission skill make him a dynamic challenge for any flyweight. That said, Figueiredo has a recent loss. Tips from that fight, coupled with the realization that he has never fought past the third round as a pro may provide a blueprint by which to attack this monster.
Jussier Formiga employed forward pressure transitioning to wrestling to take Figueiredo into a three-round decision loss. In that fight, Figueiredo slowed substantially in the third round. If any flyweight is to whip Figueiredo, it will take a fighter who can force him into expending effort from the opening bell and have the fortitude and stamina to manage the fight into the championship rounds.
Moreno is the No. 1-ranked flyweight, and many believe he should have received the shot at Figueiredo’s title a few weeks ago in place of Perez. Moreno is the only real threat to Figueiredo in this weight class.
Moreno is taller by two inches, six years younger and has a twoinch reach advantage. Figueiredo has fought 10 times since 2017, and in all but one of those bouts, he has been the taller, longer, larger fighter. Moreno’s physical attributes and fighting style put him in position to test Figueiredo and take him deep into this bout. The abundantly confident Figueiredo’s plan will be to take this fight to Moreno from the opening bell and pressure him into a slugfest, then force a mistake in order to put out the challenger’s lights. If this plan is ineffective, however, I wonder how Figueiredo will react. Fight total: 2.5 Under -115.
Tony Ferguson -165 vs. Charles Oliveira +145
Lightweight (155 pounds) Comain Event
Ferguson, at 36, must fight his way back into elite position within the UFC lightweight division after enduring a beating for the ages in his last fight against Justin Gaethje in May. Ferguson is dangerously well-versed in all aspects of MMA, and he supplements those skills with tremendous toughness and finishing ability. Before Gaethje beat him, Ferguson had been on a torrid winning streak, but the manner in which he won some of those fights may have taken a toll on him.
Ferguson has long been regarded as a cardio machine. His trademark is the comprehensive, strenuous training he engages in every day before every fight. That effort to train as only he does, coupled with his age, not to mention the thorough beating he absorbed some months ago and in bouts previous to that one, force me to consider that it’s Ferguson’s skills, not his commitment or desire, that have waned.
When it goes in the fight game … it goes quickly. Ferguson will have to prove he is not washed up. And he’ll have to do it against a killer absolutely everyone in the division has been ducking.
Oliveira is a former featherweight fighter who strained to make the 145-pound weight. Now competing as a lightweight, Oliveira looks fresh, strong, quick, more explosive, and the boxing component of his striking has improved dramatically. Ranked seventh in the division, Oliveira is dangerous anywhere, he has tremendous confidence, and he’s finally getting a fight in which he can display his talents. Oliveira, who couldn’t find a fight in the division, now has a main event-type platform to display his skills to the mixed martial arts world.
To his credit, Ferguson did not balk at such a dangerous fight, which further displays his warrior mentality. Oliveira, on the other hand, desires what Ferguson has, and a pelt like Ferguson’s on Oliveira’s mantle will solidify him as the next one to compete for the lightweight title.
This fight is going to be absolute bedlam. Oliveira +150 Fight total: 2.5 Under -150.
Daniel Pineda -150 vs. Cub Swanson +130
Featherweight (145 pounds)
Pineda, 35, beat Herbert Burns in August, which seems to be the fuel for his being favored in this bout. A closer look into the Burns fight, though, and we see that Burns effectively did not train for the bout and came in overindulged and overconfident against a formidable fighter in the UFC. Pineda is in fact a formidable fighter in the UFC.
Swanson, 37, finds himself an underdog. He fought against and lost to four of the absolute elite in the division before an injury in 2019 sidelined him until now. Swanson is durable, experienced and in a great position as an underdog to win this fight. In fact, it’s my judgment that this fight should be closer to a pick ’em. Lean Swanson +130 Fight total: 2.5 Over -125.