The Islanders said coming into Tuesday's game, it was a measuring stick contest. Well, following the game, it's clear they more than measure up to the Rangers, in fact, they were measures beyond them last. In addition, they took the stick and in fact the whole tree to the Rangers last night in winning 4-1; their third decisive win in the three games the team played.
Rather than going through my view, i thought it would be more interesting to give my view on some of the comments from last night blog. You guys, Rangers and for last night, Islanders fans, have always provided great insight and knowledge, so I thought that would be a nice change of pace. The blog won't be as long as usual in terms of content from me, for that I apologize. The reason for that is our dog (Kirby, named for Kirby Puckett) went in for surgery Monday for dislocated hip, I picked up him tonight, my wife is a way on a business trip and I am watching him till he finally falls asleep, so not an inordinate amount of time available.
Last night was just tough to watch. Give the Islanders credit. They attacked the Rangers with speed. The Rangers couldn't handle them. The Rangers also were a cluster(frank) defensively. The Islanders were making that cross ice pass and just killing the Rangers.
The Islanders were just hungrier to win last night and made the right plays. The Rangers backed up and didn't play their game; which is smart defensively and speedy transition offense.
Hard to argue with these prevailing views. The first goal was started by a bad play in the offensive zone and then laziness in getting back on the 4-on-2. in addition, Ryan McDonagh did a snow angel and Dan Girardi failed to make Mikhail Grabovski in front of the net. On the second, Derek Stepan left his man to go to the other side of the net and his man, Matt Martin had a wide open net on the rebound. On the third, McDonagh got caught in-between, failing to make a hard decision on charge or drop and the puck hit his stick. All three goals aided by poor defensive plays, and that doesn't even cover all the other ones that Henrik Lundqvist bailed out the Rangers. The only d-man who was okay was Marc Staal, as Dan Boyle was horrific and was moved down to the third pairing while Matt Hunwick is likely to be scratched Thursday, replaced by John Moore.
I will say that that the Rangers did put pressure on Halak, but the traffic in front was non-existent. While Halak made 40 saves, how many of them came from dangerous areas? Did any come from the Royal Road? The total shots look great on paper, but that clearly doesn't tell the accurate story of how the game went.
I refuse to overreact but I will say the defense has not been the same as it was last season and a large part of that is how mediocre to under par McDonagh has been for the majority of the season. Both he and Girardi were abysmal last night.
On another note, I am pretty much done with Zuccarello here. Makes careless plays almost every game and absolutely refuses to take the open shot. Recognition is key to getting results and he just doesn't know when to pull the trigger. A lot of people are looking for a Hagelin trade at the deadline. Scrap that idea, Zuccarello needs to get the hell off this team.
The first point, I kind of covered above. McD and G were both lousy last night. In fact, way too often they have been lousy. Maybe the minutes played last year's playoffs or the past several years are adversely impacting them. Maybe McD is still not 100%. But whatever the reason, those guys are big parts of the core, and while G can recover by just being solid defensively, the team needs McD to take that next step and be elite.
It's amazing how the tide has turned on Zucc. I will admit, he has struggled way more than iI expected, evidenced by one goal in 17 games. You have to wonder if the lack of a contract is having more of an effect that we believed, which we say last year with others in a similar state. That said, he still plays bigger than his size, was a big part of the winning streak, even without scoring goals and is one of the handful of players with grit. Maybe I am biased, as you know I am a big Zucc fan, but the talk of dealing him to me is ridiculous. He is the kind of player you need in the playoffs, as we saw last year. Hopefully, his struggles have made it easier to sign him, but before we say Duclair or Buchnevich can replace him, please remember those two are a pair of completely different players. In addition, there are several others ready for replacement.
I do think the Rangers can use a guy or two that have a little bite in their game that can actually play a little. I think the Rangers thought that Glass would step right into Dorsett's spot and they would be richer by having a third round pick in the Dorsett trade, but that hasn't turned out. Couple that with Carcillo not getting re-signed and the team lost a couple of useful sh*t stirrers that can create some energy when the team is flat, and get under the other team's skin. I think the Rangers could really use a fourth liner that can do this.
Aside from the whole lineman incident he (Carcillo) was a good Ranger, scored some big goals and played on that edge, Dorset for Glass trade off is a dud, there was no reason to trade him and construct a new 4th line which sucks.
The fourth line can use a player that brings a little toughness and maybe serves as a bit of a deterrent effect. That doesn't change the overall nature of the team. It doesn't mean that the Rangers aren't a speed team. It means: (1) that on nights when the Rangers just don't have it, you have somebody that can stir things up; (2) you have a guy that can create some energy; and (3) you have a guy that is going to deter teams from taking liberties...right now, the fourth line is non descript.
It would be foolish to panic because they fail to physically match up against the Islanders. The bigger problem against them is they can't match up forward depth. Islanders can roll four solid lines while the Rangers can barely throw out three. The fourth line, with Glass on it, really doesn't provide much. The Rangers need to address the depth a bit but no need to try and "beef up" because the Islanders fourth line played well against them in the last two contests.
All I can say, is yes, yes, yes and a part yes. I have written a lot about how the fourth line last year was a major difference maker. Not only did they forecheck well, but their physical play enabled games to be flipped, but they seemed to score timely goals. In addition, it allowed AV to roll four lines and not have a major drop off when the bottom two were on the ice, which hasn't been the case too often this season. I understood the Dorsett trade, as it freed up some salary and got pick a nice pick. But it removed a player who had good speed and provided grit with an edge.
The same and then some could be said about Carcillo. One incident, which came about due to a blown call earlier, tarnished how well he played in NY. If you remember, when he joined the team, that's what the team really seemed to gel and start their push forward. Glass, despite AV saying how these have been his best three games, lacks that skating and offensive ability to capitalize even when he does something well. While he can fight, he lacks any sort of intimidation factor, so he is more paper than real tiger.
This team needs a shakeup, maybe not a trade but I'm all for scratching Zucc, maybe it will jump start him like early last season, until Feb 16th nothing matters
Hindsight is 20/20 but we see our first example of where Duclair, Being sent back hurts them, nown we don't have a player to take from the bottom and plug in the top 6.
Win 16 of 20 and sky is falling. I understand the frustration, but they did beat some very good teams in this stretch. That's not to say holes don't exist, but massive upheaval is not the answer.
Playing time should be earned. However, if you sit Zucc or anyone else, and not saying they don't deserve it, who are you playing? Glass? Lee Stempniak? Oscar Lindberg? That lack of depth right now is a killer, which was the case last year until Carcillo arrived and Dorsett was healthy.
You know my view on the Duclair move. I would have kept him around. He would be great to plug in and see if some chemistry could be created with the other forwards or at least cause some pressure to be placed on them. Now, that can't occur, which as we have seen, prevents competition and limits options.
I would even like to see Miller get a chance on the top line, with Nash and Brassard. The second line is fine to me as is but I think the lines need tinkering for sure, and for the love of god, do whatever it takes to keep Glass out of the lineup. Even if they have to go with seven defensemen, and one less forward, enough with him in there. The fourth line is completely useless when he is out there.
I realize that Hags is not your prototypical first liner, but remember when he played with Stepan and Nash? He can go dig out pucks and create chances for Nash and Brassard.
While i like Hagelin, his lack of hands and true inability to finish makes him a third not first liner in my book. Maybe try it for a game or two and see if you get lucky, but it's not sustainable. If a change occurs, I think the lines as whole will be shuffled, rather than one guy moving between trios.
Miller did not have good game last night. As xcheckmajor pointed out, too many turnovers and rushed plays. Because of that, he has become the scapegoat again, despite others being deserving of that moniker, and likely will sit Thursday. In addition, I have heard some rumblings, he could be one of the keys in a deal to try and get Antoine Vermette, but nothing is close yet.
All the talk of shifting and what we get is the below:
-Rick Nash Nash, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello
-Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Marty St. Louis
-Carl Hagelin, Dominic Moore, Lee Stempniak
-Tanner Glass, Kevin Hayes, Jesper Fast
So Moore once again moves up to the third line, which is not where his talent are best suited. However, he and Hagelin seem to have some chemistry and maybe Stempniak can provide something. To me, Hayes is miscast as a fourth liner and it wastes his talent to be with Glass and less so with Fast.
Some form of reinforcements are needed. Be it a trade or call up, but I do agree, a move of some kind should occur.
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