If the defense and player positioning weren’t the two main items that drew the ire of every Rangers’ fan, the inconsistent special teams surely were. Scott Arniel’s name had a certain adjective inserted between his fore and surname on most game nights. The power play went through stretches of inconsistency but overall, was a lot better than the penalty kill, finishing 11th in the league at a 20.2 success rate. This camp, the Rangers have focused on improving both, using a combination of new players and a new coach to hopefully improve the success rate of both.
When Anthony DeAngelo was acquired in the Derek Stepan trade, his power play abilities were highly touted in the deal evaluation. New York double down on the PP via adding Kevin Shattenkirk. In addition, it looks as if initially, David Desharnais will also have a role on the PP. Arniel said on Friday that adding Shattenkirk and DeAngelo, "heady kids that can fire the puck from the top, have great vision, can lug the puck up the ice" will help the Rangers on the man advantage. He added that Desharnais has a lot of "PP experience" and is a "fantastic passer."
One man’s meat is another man’s poison and hockey can be a zero sum game. So if someone if gaining PP time, then someone else has to lose it. Initially, Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey and Brady Skjei are the odd-men out. After last season, after seeing Skjei rack up points at even strength and display strong puck moving skills, I think we all felt he deserved additional time on the PP. That still may come, but it may take an injury or the PP to struggle for it to happen.
The first power-play unit will consist of Shattenkirk and Mats Zuccarello at the points with Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad down low. The second will feature DeAngelo and Ryan McDonagh at the points with Rick Nash, J.T. Miller and Desharnais down low. Zucc’s ability from the point moved McD to the second unit, helping to limit his minutes a bit, while also costing Skjei a spot.
Larry Brooks’ column Saturday had a few interesting quotes.
Arniel, who has the major coaching responsibility for that unit, said that there had been some “tinkering… with breakouts and end-zone play. Kreider, who will provide the net presence on the first unit, put it differently.We’ve got a larger bag of tricks,… said Kreider, whose six power-play goals tied second-unit net-front guy Rick Nash for the 2016-17 club lead. “We’re developing more options so we can respond to what the PK is trying to take away from us.“In the end — or maybe the beginning — so much of it comes down to our five outworking their four. If we jump and win the puck, then someone should be open, right?…
You would have thought developing options should have been something determined the last two years. Now maybe the additions of ‘Kirk and ADA provide those options. But wouldn’t you have expected options if the initial plan of attack was thwarted to be a component of the power play all along?
The penalty kill is under the helm of a third coach in three years. After scuffling under Ulf Samuelsson and then especially last year guided by Jeff Beukeboom, new assistant coach Lindy Ruff is calling the shots. The penalty kill ranked an aggregate 24th (79.0) overall, so changes clearly were needed. The keys for Ruff will be to develop a consistent strategy to be used by all the units and try and find four-man pairings to build chemistry.
As Brooks pointed out, Arniel cited head coach Alain Vigneault’s preference to avoid double-dipping on the specialty teams in order to keep a lid on his players’ ice time. That means that one forward duo - and the lead pairing - is expected to be Hayes and Michael Grabner. Watching Grabner play on the penalty kill last year and create shorthanded pressure, makes him a no-brained to land there again. His efficiency on the kill, as noted by Brooks, was best on last year’s team by a mile, on for net-five goals against (eight power-play goals minus three shorthanded goals) in 128 minutes. That equated to net-one power-play goal against per 25:36. Hayes came in at one per 9:48 in 108 minutes. But he will get a chance alongside Grabner.
Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg are gone, removing two possible options. Despite AV’s preference to avoid doubling up, Nash would seem to be the next best candidate for the PK. After Grabner, Nash had the next best rating at one per 10:00 among forwards with 80 minutes or more. We have long spoken about how Nash contributes all over the Ice and how Mike Babcock’s decision to play Nash on the PK in the Olynpics better rounded his game. So why not use him here? Maybe Vesey, who appears ticketed for fourth-line duty with Desharnais and Paul Carey, will pair with Nash, but to me that seems unlikely. However, if he isn’t on the PP or PK, Vesey might be limited to 8-10 minutes a night on the fourth trio, since Grabner-Hayes-Miller appears to be the third trip again. If it’s not Vesey, Zib or maybe even Miller could get a chance, since CK20, Buchnevich and Filip Chytil aren’t options for the PK.
I would expect Skjei, who had a penalty-kill sum of 23:31 during his rookie season, will line up across from Brendan Smith as one defensive duo. The second one becomes the challenge. Do you use Marc Staal there, hoping his reach and positioning outweighs his lack of foot speed? If so, is he paired with McDonagh, who lined up across from Dan Girardi on the penalty kill? If not, AV would then likely end up using the McD-‘Kirk combination, as he isn’t about to entrust ADA on the PK. But this would mean both top defensemen logging extra minutes in a situation that requires a heavy expedenditure of effort.
In other news, as reported yesterday, right wing Robin Kovacs, who was selected 62nd overall in the 2015 draft, was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of returning to Sweden to play. Kovacs had just two goals in 72 games with Hartford last season and was an early cut in training camp. With his entry-level pact terminated, the organization is five contracts under the 50-contract maximum. Losing Kovacs was a bit surprising, as it’s possible he truly contended for a spot next year, but that was no certainly. But the team sitting five contracts under 50 is even surprising, as maybe you are 2-3 contracts under the minimum, not five. But if the team stays at that level, look for them to be even more aggressive in college free agency this season to fill at least some of those open spots.