In a less than stellar game, the Rangers rode the G.A.S. line along with the continued fine of Dan Girardi plus solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist to their fifth straight victory; a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Wednesday.
For all the consternation that was given to coach John Tortorella moved Brad Richards down a line and Derek Stepan up to the top grouping; it's only fair that we praise him as that change has been a major reason for this win streak.
Stepan, and caveats have to be given that it's a relatively small sample size, has seemingly grown by leaps and bounds since this pairing with Gaborik. The addition of Artem Anisimov to that duo has provided a nice defensive balance while enabling AA to display the offensive skills that were invisible earlier in the season. Gabby is back to the Gabby of old, darting into holes, using his speed to create space and the wrister is deadly.
We speak about panic level. Nicklas Lidstrom is viewed to have a high one as he has the ability to wait to the last minute before making a pass. Stepan seems to have that as well, seen in his the pass on the 2-on-1 in Sunday's win and dish to Gabby yesterday for the top shelf goal.
In addition, if you saw the MSG highlights last night, Girardi also appears to have a high panic threshold, looking around when fighting for the puck to get his bearings and making the soft pass to open space in his own zone to clear the puck.
Overall, the Rangers were average yesterday, and that average number is there solely because of the G.A.S. line. The rest of the forwards were typically shuffled by Torts, Feds moving up to the second line, Dubi down a line etc., who was trying to find any combination that worked, though none did so.
The second through fourth lines really need to get going as relying on one line, as the Rangers did the past several years, is a recipe for future disaster. It was 2010 Rangers defense, as they blocked 23 shots and had 21 takeaways, which were the main reasons, along with the G.A.S line, for the win. Hank came up big when needed and was steady between the pipes, beaten only by two point-blank shots that he had little chance to save, Michalek from the slot went top shelf and Foligno from in close after Woywitka was beaten along the boards and Eminger to the slot (look for Stralman to replace one of them if he is ready to play Friday).
There was a lot of bluster before the game as to possible revenge for the hit on Alfie by Wolski that led to his concussion, but other than Avery vs. Konopka and Deveaux vs. Cowen, there was little in terms of fireworks.
As they say, a win is a win is a win, but it's clear that despite the win streak, there are several areas ripe for improvement. The good news is that the Rangers are winning, but to progress to the next level, these deficiencies must be resolved.
In addition, on the
HockeyBuzz Hot Stove blog it's way, way too early to comment here. My rationale is that much of the determination as to where these teams could go may be dependent on Marc Staal's status and who the Rangers might add to replace him if he misses the year. That won't play out for a while and will play a huge role on who might be the class of East.
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