NEW YORK (NY) – Expectations coming into the 2017-18 year for the Rangers ranged from falling off the map to legitimate Stanley Cup Contenders. Needless to say the start of the year has given confidence to the naysayers who picked the Blueshirts to finish lower in the division than they have in the past.
From defensive liabilities to the glaring hole at the center position, the problems reared their ugly head early. Now nine games in, New York is 2-5-2 and need to start stringing wins together against good teams to get themselves back in the “legitimate contender” conversation.
Holes galore at center position: The biggest issue coming into the year was who was going to replace Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg. Mika Zibanejad has done a fantastic job in taking over the first line center position, but that has caused a ripple effect down each line. The only serious centers the Rangers have after Zibanejad are Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais.
J.T Miller is a natural winger with original center experience, but slotting him into the center role hinders his ability to be an effective winger and also causes holes down the sides.
The only fourth line center option is newly acquired Adam Cracknell who has been healthy scratched and benched in games he’s dressed for.
First round draft pick Filip Chytil started the year as the second line center but was only given three minutes of ice time to prove his worth before head coach Alain Vigneault sent him down to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The good news – after a slow start, Hayes and Desharnais seem to be rounding into their respective forms. Once Jesper Fast came back from injury he has been the spark the Rangers desperately needed. He has been put on the wing next to Hayes and Jimmy Vesey and have turned out to be a reliable third line option. Despite only playing in four games, Fast is tied for first in +/- with Miller at +3.
Whose defensive line is it anyway?: The Rangers major offseason accusation was the signing of free agent Kevin Shattenkirk who came in to bolster the power-play and immediately be thrusted into a top four role. The idea was to have Shattenkirk and captain Ryan McDonagh play side-by-side on the top pairing which would severely help the bottom-4.
That top paring lasted one period of the first game as Vigneault started mixing defensive pairings, as he is one to do. Shattenkirk went to playing second line minutes with Brady Skjei, to third line with Marc Staal/Nick Holden and now back to the second unit with Marc Staal. Though the power-play has improved with Shattenkirk tied for second on the team with four PPP, he is still a minus-5 on the year, fourth worst on the team.
The constant line juggling doesn’t give the players any time to jell which results in miscommunication and defensive breakdowns.
The good news – recently the top four seem to be set (when you’re together for two whole games, in this system that’s a record), with McDonagh and Brendan Smith as the top paring and Marc Staal and Kevin Shattenkirk as the second pairing. Brady Skjei and Nick Holden have been the third line while Stephen Kampfer and newly acquired Tony DeAngelo are set as the fourth line, rotating into the lineup when applicable.
After starting the year 1-5-0, New York is 1-0-2 picking up points in their last three games. Recently the Rangers have been dressing 11 forwards and seven defenseman to keep DeAngelo in the game to put him on the power-play. His quick shot and play making ability help give the Rangers solid depth on the power-play chart. It also helps to not have to thrust another defenseman on the unit who can now get rest for regular 5-on-5 time (though I would rather have DeAngelo get more ice time, now is not the time).
Rocky road for Lundqvist: As is tradition, Henrik Lundqvist normally has a slow start to the year. This year has had its ups and downs but like almost every year since coming into the league, it has not been his fault.
After losing the first two games by a combined score of 12-7 (in which he was pulled in the second game after giving up five in the first period), Hank bounced back and recorded his first shutout of the year against the Montreal Canadians. His next two games and only let in two goals each, but had no support as the Rangers only scored once each time.
His next start against the Penguins he surrounded five goals, with the fourth goal coming from behind the goal line and bounced off his back and into the net.
Two days later against the Islanders the rangers lost 4-3 in a shootout but it was hardly his fault. In fact, he stopped two point blank shots with under five seconds left in the game to bring it into overtime.
He had another great showing in their most recent game against the Predators as the Rangers walked away with a 4-2 win, despite only getting 15 shots on goal.
The good news – Despite some shaky showings, the Swedish net minder has played as best as he can with the disruptions in front of him. When the Rangers have their lines figured out and start to click, so does Lundqvist and it propels the rest of the team. He is sporting a 2.99 GAA and .907 SV%, which isn’t all bad considering their rough start.
Whether or not the Rangers make a significant move soon to help out their center issue is yet to be seen, but a likely solution is going to come from within, whether they bring back Chytil or promote Boo Nieves or Vinny Letteri.
We’re only nine games in, but this is when contenders emerge and separate themselves from the pack. In a sport where each game is crucial, New York can’t afford to keep losing winnable games, especially during their homestand. The next couple of games are very winnable and going on a win streak will help put the blueshift faithful a little bit back at ease and prove to everyone that this is still a long season.
Follow Danny on Twitter: @Danny_PJones
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