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Game 7: NYR-NJD, Focus on the Blue Line Due to Girardi's Injury - Updated |
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The Rangers head to the Prudential Center to face the Devils in their seventh game of the season. Conference games are important but divisional ones have greater import, due to the potential four-point swing. To date, of their six games, three (CMB, Car and NYI) have been within the division, one (Tor) in the conference and two (St. L and SJ) against the West. For New York, it's their third divisional game in their last four contests and a good early season test.
If the focus heading into Sunday's game against SJ was on the forward combinations, tonight's is on the blue line. The lines today are the same as Sunday. This will be the sole mention of the forwards, since the focus is on the blue line.
Mats Zuccarello-Derick Brassard-Marty St. Louis
Chris Kreider-Kevin Hayes-Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin-Dominic Moore-Lee Stempniak
Tanner Glass-Chris Mueller-Ryan Malone
(12:30 PM Update - Dan Girardi has said he's 'good to go' and will play tonight. So the below is obviated a bit, save for the points on Girardi's importance, need to re-sign Staal and questionable depth)
Dan Girardi is questionable at best, as the cut he received to his lower leg while blocking a shot against the Sharks, which required stitches, was still bleeding yesterday morning. The options available to coach Alain Vigneault - at least the ones widely discussed - are not optimal. The most likely one calls for Michael Kostka - he of the two egregious giveaways leading to goals versus the Isles last week - sliding into the lineup in place of Girardi.
I can understand the clarion call for Dylan McIlrath or Conor Allen or Mat Bodie. In addition, the viewpoint why not to call one of them up makes a lot of sense. To me, if Girardi will only miss a game or two, then try and survive with Kostka. Anything beyond that, whereby an IR stint could be needed, then a call up is a better option. Of course, if Kostka - presuming he is in - implodes again tonight, all bets are off and a change immediately may be required.
Last year, there was some questioning as to the deal length and dollars that New York should be willing to pay Girardi. While he did have some struggles in the playoffs, the value of a top-pair, right-handed d-man who almost never misses a game can be seen here as we contemplate who to slide in for him. If Girardi, who has missed a total of four games because of injuries over the course of his nine years in the league, is thought of in this light, how far off is Marc Staal in terms of value to the squad? While Staal has clearly had more injuries issues and inconsistent play than Girardi, when he is on, as he was Sunday, you see just how much he means to the Rangers and how dangerous it would be to move on without him. So GM Glen Sather, find a way to get him signed already.
Larry Brooks wrote that If Girardi can’t go, the Rangers could move Ryan McDonagh to the right to form a shutdown pair with Marc Staal. In that case, John Moore and Kevin Klein could become the second pair with Kostka and Matt Hunwick the third. If reading that doesn't scare you, nothing will. McDonagh, who played the right in the Olympics last year, could make the switch and the top line would be fine, but the third line would have all of us reaching for the antacids. Hunwick hasn’t been bad, but Kostka is untrustworthy, based on his Devils' performance and play in training camp, so using him with someone who is not yet proven would mean a lot of work for the top-four. Plus, Moore and Klein have been fine as a third pair, but Klein didn’t excel when moved up a grouping and Moore has been spotty to date.
The most interesting stat posted by Brooks was: "Over the course of their tenure as teammates that began midway through 2010-11, Staal and McDonagh have been on the ice together at even-strength for a total of 29:12 according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, including 3:56 this year as per naturalstattrick.com." So while the duo have been teammates for several years and are solid on their own right, the chemistry between the two really doesn’t exist, as they have not played much together. Continuity on the blue line has been a strength of this team, especially in the top pairing. As we see, when/if Girardi is out, the trickle down impact can be huge, since it impacts all three pairings. I would almost prefer Hunwick move up, because McDonagh can cover up for any of his deficiencies, but that would blunt McD impact a bit since he would have to focus more on D and less on providing offense. Shifting Staal may prove to be the best option, though clearly not an optimal one.
Blog to be updated once a call on Girardi's status is made.
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