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Game 5: NYR-TOR, Need to Get Back to Gritty Hockey, Arnott Signed |
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Coming off a poor overall effort against Philadelphia, the Rangers face Toronto at home tonight hoping to inch closer to .500.,
Much of the talk, not only since Thursday, but since the season began, has been the need for the team to get back to playing "Tortorella or Rangers" hockey. That means a strong forecheck, solid backchecking, creating constant pressure on the opponent, leading to scoring opportunities. Maybe it's the shortened training camp, which has led to a lack of conditioning and/or chemistry, but none of those critical factors have been evident, save for a few moments here and there. It was that style of sandpaper and gritty play that made the Rangers the Rangers and a favorite of the home faithful. Right now, they look like a hodgepodge thrown together who don't know where to go. I can understand that from some of the new players, and maybe that's impacted the others, but it's a bit surprising from the defensive crew, since that area has seen no turnover from last year.
In addition, the main focus, at least in today's paper, has been on Derek Stepan and how he needs to produce for the Rangers to go. You could almost say that about every second line center in the league, so to heap that burden on a third-year player seems a bit unfair. That said, yes, Stepan is a key component, as if he produces, which likely means the second line produces, it reduces the burden on the big trio. Stepan's lack of foot speed has brought up several times, and while that is a concern and an area he should improve. his hockey skills should be able to compensate for that lack of foot speed, enabling him to generate offense and create the attack for the second line.
Forwards:
Nash-Richards-Gaborik
Pyatt-Stepan-Callahan
Hagelin-Boyle-Rupp
Halpern-Ferriero-Asham
(The line combinations for tonight are a bit tweaked as Benn Ferriero, who came over for Chris Kolarik, gets into the lineup. Ferriero profiles as a bottom six player and the hope is that he produces a bit of offense that has been lacking there. In addition, in my opinion, the focus should be on Brian Boyle, who other than he first three games of the Ottawa series, prior to his concussion, has been invisible for the past year-plus. Scratched again is Chris Kreider, who has a bone bruise/chip in his ankle, which occurred in the AHL and was just diagnosed via an MRI. That injury might be a reason for his struggles but that seems like a convenient excuse for something that should have and probably could have been found earlier)
Defensemen
McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Del Zotto
Eminger-Stralman
(Staal has been much more physical this year, but he and MDZ have not meshed well. I would go back to last year's pairing, with MDZ playing with Stralman and Staal with Eminger. Bickel and Gilroy are scratched again)
Lundqvist
Arnott Signs
In a move that I had been advocating for weeks to be made, the Rangers signed Jason Arnott to a one-year, $1.6 million contract. Arnott can be used on the second and third line, as well as on the power play. He provides a veteran, winning presence and someone who can chip in on offense and should fit nicely in Torts' system, having played in NJ and St. Louis. The team desperately needed another forward that could score and some depth, which might allow a Rupp to be scratched.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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