Update 3pm: Derek Stepan will be back in the lineup today after missing Saturday's game. Jesper Fast had an MRI on his injured right knee but it has yet to be read by the doctors though he will miss a few games. Fast is out so Stempniak and Tanner Glass are both in again. After the game, AV will start to think about whether to bring an extra forward on the team's upcoming three-game road trip (TOR, COL, ARI). Due to back-to-back contests, he has yet to sit with team brass, but one would expect a call up, maybe Oscar Lindberg. (4:38PM) Looks like Matt Hunwick in for John Moore.
The Rangers put up a solid effort before falling 3-2 to Nashville on Saturday. For New York, it ended a three-game win streak while Nashville rebounded nicely after getting blown out Thursday. Pekka Rinne got the rust off his game Thursday after missing eight games with a sprained knee and was much better Saturday in defeating the Rangers.
There are games in a season that you lose you should have won. Similar in contests when you win that should have been a loss. There are others where we speak out sneaking away with a victory. Saturday, there was a clear chance for the latter and a few plays cost the Blueshirts a win,
Already without Henrik Lundqvist, due to the vascular injury he suffered when hit with the puck a week ago against Carolina, the Rangers learned that Derek Stepan would miss the contest with an illness, likely the flu. Lee Stempniak, who was to be scratched for JT Miller, got back in the lineup, making the line combinations:
Kreider-Brassard-Zucc
Nash-Hayes-MSL
Fast-Moore-Hagelin
Glass-Miller-Stempniak
For about 38 minutes, the Rangers played a great game. Controlling the puck against one of the the toughest teams in the league, who are even better at home at 21-3-1. Talbot was strong early, aided by Marc Staal and Kevin Klein in a wild sequence in front. Unfortunately, seven minutes into the second, New York lost Jesper Fast to a sprained knee suffered when he collided with Anton Volchenkov, robbing the team of one of their best defensive and shorthanded forwards.
A little less than 12 minutes in the second, who else, but Rick Nash, who drew the penalty, gave NY a 1-0 lead with a PPG, sticking with the puck in front of Rinne and backhanding it home. Two goals in 42 seconds changed the whole game. On the first, the Rangers, who won 41 of 64 face-offs, lost the draw and were scrambling in their own zone. New York was unable to get the puck out, seemingly missing several chances, and Roman Josi, on his bubblehead day, blasted in past a screened Talbot to even the game. With 40 seconds left in the stanza, a seemingly innocuous play turned out to be a goal, when all the Rangers were down below the fact circle, leaving Shea Weber open to blast the puck past Talbot.
Ryan McDonagh, who had a really good game, evened the score, dancing around Eric Nystrom to beat Rinne short-side, aided by a Chris Kreider screen. For the next 11 minutes, the contest was even, but another blast from a Predator beat Talbot. Seth Jones rushed up the ice and dropped the puck to Mike Ribeiro - how I wished the Rangers signed him this off-season - whose slapshot beat Talbot, who was screened by Girardi trying to block it and Jones going to the net on the shot. New York put pressure on Rinne late, but couldn't beat him.
The positives are that Talbot played well. Nash is still Nash. The team gave one of the better squads in the league all they could handle at home. Of course, conversely, the inability to close out to pick up the defensemen cost NY twice. In addition, the loss of Fast, even short-term, hurts the penalty kill and line balance, seen also with Stepan out, especially early in the game. Plus, there are no moral victories in this sport.
The Pens, Isles, and Rangers all lost Saturday. Pitt sits on top of the Metro with 68 points in 53 games. The Islanders are at 67 and 52. Washington is now third in the division with 66 points in 53 games. New York sits fourth and seventh in the conference with 64 points but just 50 games played. The Caps can tie Pens for first place in the Metropolitan today with a win over Philadelphia.
A quick turnaround with Dallas, who lost 3-2 to Buffalo last night in town. The Rangers lost 3-2 to the Stars on December 29, ending an eight-game win streak. Dallas comes in 4-5-1 in their last 10, having lost two in a row. For the Rangers, the hope has to be Stepan plays and with Fast out, look for someone - likely Oscar Lindberg - to be called up just in case. If Stepan is back, the lines should be:
Kreider-Brassard-Zucc
Nash-Stepan-MSL
Miller-Hayes-Hagelin
Glass-Moore-Stempniak
If Fast is out longer-term, it may accelerate the need to add a forward, since having to play Stempniak and Glass nightly is less than optimal. Defensively, John Moore has seemingly taken over the sixth d-man spot from Matt Hunwick,though that isn't set in stone. As such, Adam Herman of Blueshirt Banter has an interesting
column , where he indicates that the Rangers' blue line depth in the minors could result in Dylan Mcilrath or Conor Allen getting dealt. In addition, each would require waivers to go back to the AHL next year, increasing the possibility one could be traded, especially if an asset for this year could become part of the return.
I hate to say today is a big game with almost 30 left, but the loss yesterday, absence of Lundqvist and logjam in the division add to the importance of it. In addition, creating more space between NY and Florida to squash any thoughts of a run to the playoffs wouldn't hurt as well. Losing Fast against a strong PP team like Dallas is sub-optimal, so that will have to be a focus tonight.
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