Yesterday’s 2-1 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes was a feel-good win for Henrik Lundqvist. He needed a solid effort but the coaching staff knows the team got away with one. They got a mulligan. If they didn’t play the Hurricanes they might have gotten blown out again.

John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault have one thing in common. That’s the yo-yoing of J.T. Miller. At 21, both coaches have used just about equal parts of him with the same fleeting results. Coaches fault or broken player development model?

I loved Nicklas Jensen and Joel Armia in that same slot the Rangers drafted Miller in. Both of those players, the same age, are still in the AHL. Miller was rushed plain and simple. He physically looked the part at times but his mental game isn’t there, hence the problems with turnovers and play without the puck. I feel that there is a disconnect between Hartford and New York and that’s why more of their prospects who were drafted correctly aren’t sticking. Some of it is on Miller too. I never looked at him as more than a 30-35 point scorer so now hopefully he can get on a roll in the AHL.

Jesper Fast can play but there are some veterans in his path. We’ll see if he can get called up again later this season. Chris Mueller is a plug, I don’t expect much out of him. Ryan Malone looks like his reflexes aren’t as fast as they used to be around the net. It was easier for him to score in preseason but now it’s going to be more of a challenge. How much ice time do you devote to a player who may not be able to get more than 10 goals?

We all focus on defense but the Rangers are offensively challenged. The Rangers are ranked 13th in the league with 12 goals. Rick Nash has the majority of them and only 9 players have registered points. The Hurricanes have 15 players with points and the Sabres have 11. This will improve but it’s a big reason the Rangers are losing games. The Rangers blueline have combined for just assists on the season. Dan Boyle or not that has to change as well. Captain Ryan McDonagh has to get it in gear.

Rangers-Sharks should be an interesting Sunday matchup. The Sharks haven’t lost yet, they play and should be New Jersey on Saturday night but then have to play again on Sunday. The Rangers will be rested, they will have time to work on their line combinations and the POWER PLAY that’s 0-this year (0-16)!

It’s early but October points are important and making the playoffs isn’t a given. You have to earn it.

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