The Rangers take on the Flyers tonight. New York is playing out the string while Philly is battling for a playoff spot and positioning. When divisional rivals meet, records can be thrown out the window, as no one wants to be embarrassed on the ice.
The lines tonight should be the same as recent:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Fast Vesey - Spooner - Buchnevich Namestnikov - Hayes - Zuccarello McLeod - Desharnais - Carey
Staal - Pionk Skjei - Sproul Gilmour - O’Gara
Georgiev
A few interesting parts from Larry Brooks today, some of which we have discussed. The first parts are from the column with the remainder my take:
1) Chris Kreider has recorded seven points (2-5) in the past three games and 11 (3-8) in 12 matches since returning Feb. 23 from his nearly two-month absence. He has been a force bearing down on defensemen, his uncommon speed equally as intimidating as his size, while combining with Mika Zibanejad to form a dangerous, legitimate first-line combination.
Kreider has become a lean, mean fighting machine since his return from rib resection surgery. The 15 pounds he dropped while out has made him quicker without adversely impacting his physical style of play. This is the Kreider we all hoped and expected to see when he first joined the Rangers from BC in the playoffs. When you see CK20 engaged like this, you believe he has turned the corner. Maybe, in an odd sort of way, the injury was a blessing in disguise as it made him realize how quickly it can all be gone.
2) Ryan Lindgren, the University of Minnesota sophomore defenseman whose rights the Rangers obtained from the Bruins in the Nash deal, is leaning toward leaving school and turning pro, sources have confirmed. If Lindgren does sign, he would report immediately to AHL Hartford and presumably finish the season with the Wolf Pack, who have 10 games remaining.
Lindgren could be the physical, d-man this team lacks. He won’t produce much offensively but possesses solid skating ability and a little snark. The d-man New York thought they had to fill that role dropped further down the rabbit hole...
3) Brendan Smith, who excelled down the stretch and in the playoffs after coming over to the Rangers, earning a four-year, $17.4 contract, fell off a cliff this year. Smith came into cane overweight and then was unable to recapture his prior form. As a result, he was passed through waivers and ended up in Hartford.
Now, to add injury to insult, Smith fractured his hand fighting with teammate Vinni Lettieri in practice Sunday. Think of this. You are already on thin ice in the organization and maybe in the NHL seeing how far and fast you fell off and you break your hand fighting with a teammate. Maybe you could argue a bit that you like he still has fire and passion but how misplaced could those emotions be?
Per Brooks, according to capfriendly.com, a buyout of Smith would come at the cost of $1,091,667 in dead-cap space each of the next two seasons, $3,266,667 in 2020-21 and $1,266,667 for each of the three seasons following that. If he is unable to make the Rangers and winds up in Hartford again, his cap charge would amount to $3.325 million next season and $3.275 million the two years after that.
The Rangers have a tough decision. If they believe he is done, buy him out because I highly doubt he is claimed and you still would be carrying salary. You would save 2 mil the next two seasons, be basically flat after that and then take a mnimal hit in 2021-22, so there is very little reason not to buy him out. With so many RFA, if one elects arbitration, New York will get a second buy out period, allowing more time to make that decision.
4) Henrik Lundqvist, who will miss today’s game with general soreness after colliding with Matt Calvert on Tuesday, is 4-13-2 with a 3.79 goal-against average and .897 save percentage since Jan. 20, with one win in relief and his past two victories coming in consecutive 50-save performances in Vancouver and Calgary on Feb. 28 and Mar. 2, respectively. Those numbers are staggering. Hank carrying New York after a 3-7-1 mark. Not all of those numbers can be attributed to the change around him and poor defense in front of him. Part of it has to lay on Lundqvist, especially seeing how Alexandar Georgiev, who starts tonight, has fared.
5) Coach Alain Vigneault said he plans to move Ryan Spooner, who has vanished the past three games, off the wing into the middle. He will switch with Vlad Namestnikov, who has recorded one point (a goal) in nine games following his two-point Blueshirts debut in Vancouver.
Spooner can play either spot, though I prefer him at wing, but why not see how looks as a pivot man. He has fit in fairly seemlessly since coming over from Boston on Feb. 25, likely earning a new deal as an RFA. The only questions are length and $, as New York might go short-term, but I could see a four-year deal.
Nam, other than a goal and assist his first game as a Ranger against the Canucks, has done little to disprove that he was a product of playing with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. He clearly has cost himself money since coming to New York and might be looking at another bridge type deal, if he isn’t dealt elsewhere. I am unsure the next nine games will change anyone’s mind.
6) As suspected, the Rangers did not promote Lias Andersson from the Wolf Pack for tonight’s game. The intent apparently is to summon both Andersson and Filip Chytil for Monday night’s Garden match against the Caps and have them each play the final seven games. I guess the view is strength in numbers and maintenance of familiarity by having the kids come up together. You figure McLeod and Holland will be the ones scratched, possibly Carey. Vesey is playing to show he belongs, so he is in prove it miss the rest of the way. Right now, all he has shown is that he might be a third liner, but very well could be a healthy scratch on a deep team.
7) Kevin Shattenkirk, shut down last week by the medical staff after his knee had swelled, practiced Wednesday, and said, barring a recurrence, he intends to “ramp it up… with the objective of returning before the season concludes. AV has said he wants Kirk to get at least one game to ease the mental uncertainty that might exist this offseason if he didn’t play before the end of the season. I agree with that view. Get Kirk at least one more game, hopefully he feels a good on the ice and can go into the offseason free of doubt and concern.
In continuing what I said last week, here is the run down for the last 16 games of the season. After losing to Winnipeg 3-0 on Tuesday, Tampa 5-3 on Thursday and Florida 4-3 in a shootout Saturday night, New York defeated Carolina 6-3 last night tonight and Pittsburgh 4-3 in overtime Wednesday. As noted above, St. Louis defeated New York 4-3 on Saturday. The Rangers fell 5-3 Columbus (Tuesday) and face Philly tonight, after which it's Buffalo (Saturday), Washington (home-and-road next Monday and Wednesday), Tampa (last home game) and Carolina (road) to close out March. In April, New York faces the Devils, Islanders and Flyers, all on the road. Tuesday, the Islanders won, Hurricanes lost to the Oilers while the Blackhawks lost yesterday, so the Rangers are one point behind Carolina in 22nd, have tie-breaker over the Isles, who in 23rd, are three points north of Edmonton in 24th while Chicago has mailed it in and are in 25th tied point-wise with Edmonton but with one more game played.