The Rangers and Islanders meet for the third time season at MSG on Sunday. The Blueshirts are 0-1-1 against their subway rivals. Following tonight's contest, the team will meet one more time, April 7 at MSG.
After a rough patch in late-November and December, the Rangers (38-21-6, 82 points) have turned their season around. They are 11-3-1 in the past 15 games and hold a five-point advantage over the Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blueshirts come in off a gritty, gut-check 3-2 win over the division and conference leading Capitals. That win, which came after the loss to Pittsburgh, made the Rangers 10-0-0 in their last 10 games following a regulation loss since Dec. 22, the longest such streak in one season in franchise history. The Islanders (35-20-7, 77 points), with three games in hand, also come on a roll, having gone 5-1-0 on their recent road trip, which concluded with a 4-3 comeback win over the Jets.
The Rangers will once again be without Henrik Lundqvist; sidelined due to neck spasms. Antti Raanta did his best Lundqvist impression, stopping 32 shots Friday in the win over the Caps. The injury will prevent Lundqvist from even dressing tonight, so look for Magnus Hellberg, who was up from Hartford on Friday and back down yesterday to be up again today. The recent play of Raanta, after his prior difficulties, is a boon for the Rangers, as they can ease Lundqvist back without rushing him. Similar occurred last year with Cam Talbot, and while this injury is believe to be much less severe, having a quality back up is a huge benefit for AV and the team.
My comment about what Marc-Andre Fleury said drew some ire Friday. The point of my comment was that goaltending is a community and it's rare to see one criticize another. if he had that he understand why Lundqvist did what he did but it was uncalled for and not what he should have done, fine. But using a term like "baby stuff" was going a bit far. Now. using Braden Holtby, given his known issues with keeping his mask on may not have been the person to have as a defender, but it was interesting seeing how different the two comments were.
The Rangers' turnaround has been triggered by better goalie play. While the offense has been up-and-down, the netminding has been excellent. Pat Leonard wrote today: "Lundqvist has allowed two or fewer goals in 14 of his last 19 starts. He is the primary reason the Rangers are 19-9-2 in their last 30, 15-6-1 in their last 22, and 11-3-1 in their last 15. In those 14 games, while they have surrendered four or more goals in each of their four losses (19 goals against), the gritty Blueshirts have allowed a staggering total of only 14 goals in the 11 wins." Those numbers are excellent and credit has to go to goaltending coach Benoit Allaire along with Lundqvist and Raanta.
Much of the talk lately has been on player deployment and line combinations. My view on this is that it's way too early to read anything into who plays with whom. Coach Alain Vigneault is in experimentation mode, as well as he should be, following the acquisition of Eric Staal a week ago. That mad scientist routine will take on another level when Rick Nash returns from the bone bruise in his left leg around March 14. As such, getting overly discouraged or annoyed is somewhat pointless, since the lines may chance game to game and possibly shift to shift.
This is why while I am not please with Kevin Hayes on the fourth line, I am not blowing up about it. I think we all believe that Hayes deserves to be on the third; preferably at center but at least on the wing. But with AV mixing and matching and Viktor Stalberg showing more and deserving additional ice time with his speed and physical play, Hayes was moved down. With Staal getting eight shifts in the third Friday and also showing that he should be a force down the stretch, finding minutes and combinations will be harder and harder. Who moves down? JT Miller - no, because even with his scoring slump, he has remained a constant on the forecheck. We keep saying Jesper Fast should be, but like Miller, he has become a heart-and-soul player whose sum is greater than the individual parts. All this means AV has his work cut out for him and for now, I am cutting him a break.
Keith Yandle's goal Friday is just another reason to add to the list of why he needs to be re-signed. Part of that decision will likely depend on what happens with Nash, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal. G and Staal have had disappointing seasons, each of whom have become the team's whipping boy. If you go by advanced metrics, that moniker is warranted for each. In G's case. given how physically beat up he gets, I can give him a mild pass. Staal, however, is another case. Injuries have set him back but this quick of a decline has come as a bit of a shock. Maybe having his brother here will rejuvenate his game. I am unsure which one would be easier to move. Staal has one more year than G at $200k more per year but is younger and a team might think that his decline is a mild aberration. If that is the case, then you might be dealing a player who could rebound and retaining one whose decline will get more precipitous.
For tonight, that won't be a question, as Marc Staal will miss the game after re-aggravating Friday the back spasms that kept him out of the Feb. 23 game against New Jersey. Staal has had a tough week, missing the game against Pittsburgh with the flu and then limited against the Capitals due to his back and lingering effects of the flu. Dylan McIlrath will slide on to the third line, likely with Dan Boyle. AV must watch the match up to avoid having that line on against the John Tavares one.
Last, I would be remiss if I didn't pay a quick tribute to Shannon Dalton Forde, from the Mets Media Relations department, who passed at 44 from cancer Friday. Shannon, as I am sure you have read, was one of the true good ones in this world. Despite her insidious illness, she never let it get her down, always with a smile and a kind word for everyone. I had some interaction was Shannon and each time I came away more impressed by the last time we dealt with each other. Rest in peace Shannon and may your memory serve as a blessing for all who knew or hear about you.