The Rangers return to action Sunday against the Ottawa Senators. New York comes in off a 3-2 win over the Flyers Saturday, a game in which they were outplayed but rode Henrik Lundqvist's 40 saves to the win. Ottawa has won three in a row, including Saturday's 2-1 win over the Hurricanes, and is 6-3-1 in their last 10, thanks to solid net play by Craig Anderson. The contest has a little more juice thanks to the subplot of Matt Puempel versus his former team beyond the return of Derick Brassard to MSG.
Puempel/Boucher:
Puempel was waived last Sunday by Ottawa and claimed by New York the following day. After sitting out Wednesday's game, Puempel saw action Friday against Philly, scoring to help key the Rangers win. Following that contest, Puempel made a fairly disparaging remark about his old organization, clearly focused on his former coach Guy Boucher.
“They let you play here, they let you play to your strengths,… Puempel said after the Rangers’ 3-2 victory over the Flyers in which he beat Steve Mason from close in off a gorgeous backhand feed from Jimmy Vesey at 14:50 of the first period. “They know there are going to be mistakes. They’re not barking at you every time you come off the ice. It’s beneficial.…
Boucher responded, attempting to take the high ground:
"I don't want to hear about another team's player. He's not on our roster. I wish him good luck. That's it. When they're here we talk about them and we grow with them. And when they are somewhere else, they are somewhere else."
A little subplot in today's game.
A quick recap from Friday's game:
The Rangers have been more of a finesse team this year, so their ability to stand up to physical play has been questioned a bit. Friday, the Rangers answered some of the questions. They were credited with a season-high 37 hits - though much of that occurred because they were chasing the puck so much - after racking up 17 in a first period in which Brandon Pirri and Chris Kreider picked up the club’s first two fighting majors of the season. For all that physical play, New York nearly blew a 3-0 lead in the third.
Philly got one off Chris VandeVelde’s skate at 1:34 of the period, then it scramble mode central. The Flyers kept coming in waves and the Rangers' strategy was to just chip the puck out of the zone and brace for the next salvo. Because of this style of play, aka the shell, the Blueshirts were pinned in their own end for the most part, outshot 21-8 and out-attempted 34-10. Overall. New York was outshot 42-23 and out-attempted 78-39 but some fans will focus on the win, 27 blocked shots and physical play and say all is well.
To me, it was an ugly game. The Rangers lacked any semblance of a consistent forecheck. in fact, they didn't have form of an attack at all, converting on three plays to get the win. I get an ugly win is better than a pretty loss, but their play of late has been uneven and ragged. Last year, the hit start was built on stellar play from Lundqvist. This year, it's been an unsustainable shooting percentage helping to key the 15-6-1 beginning to the season.
I know you don't like advanced metrics, but Steve Zipay today pointed out three stats that don't portend well for the future, unless some changes are made. The third one concerns the shooting percentage. The first one relates to 5x5 play, which we know the past 10-11 games has been a significant concern. The middle one is a good indication that New York isn't dominating puck possession or play as they did earlier in the year:
1. Although the Rangers lead the NHL in goals per 60 minutes (five on five) at 3.30, they are 19th in goals against per 60 at 2.35.2. Early in the season, the Blueshirts were outshooting opponents every game, but that has leveled off. In shots per 60 (five on five), they are averaging 27, which puts them in 29th place. And in shots against per 60, they are 23rd, with 30.4.
3. A high PDO, which combines save percentage and shooting percentage. Teams on average should be around 1.000. The Rangers lead the league at 1.053. Last season, they finished at 1.014, and the prior year, were at 1.019.
Seeing those three stats makes me question even more what AV said post-game Friday and it makes me wonder if he was watching the same game we were.
“I didn’t expect anything less from this group,… Vigneault said of his team’s response from Wednesday. “This is a very proud group that in my mind is very accountable. We knew that we needed to come up with a better effort. I thought we were real good in the first two periods. We were able to get some Grade-A chances and capitalize on them. In the third Hank did what Hank’s supposed to do. Made some big saves, and that’s why we got him here.…
The physical response was there but I don't know if they played much better. The compete level was higher but the defensive play was horrific and offensive play non-existent. In terms of Hank, it wasn't just the third period but the entire game he was on top of his game. Without him Friday, a likely loss, without him in general, the success the past decade plus would not have occurred.
Against Ottawa, I expect the forward lines to remain as they were Friday, when AV jugged them.
Michael Grabner-Kevin Hayes-J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast, Rick Nash-Brandon Pirri-Mats Zuccarello Vesey-Josh Jooris-Puempel
(Update: 11:30 am, revised lines: Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast Michael Grabner-Kevin Hayes-Brandon Pirri Rick Nash-J.T. Miller-Mats Zuccarello Matt Puempel-Josh Jooris-Jimmy Vesey)
Defensively, despite my repeated entreaties to shift up the pairings back to where they were in Western Canada and/or play Adam Clendening, the duos likely will be the same. In goal, I expect to see Lundqvist between the pipes. Though, Antti Raanta could play versus Carolina on Tuesday or Buffalo on Thursday. (Update: 11:30 - Raanta between the pipes)