The Rangers, off their 4-0 win over the Sharks, take on the Coyotes tonight. New York’s victory ended a three-game losing streak, during which the team looked like a shell of it’s former. Arizona is a surprising 3-2-1, keyed first by strong play by Mike Smith, but more so by their young talent, which includes Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.
Domi and Duclair each have connections to the Rangers. Domi’s is from the far past, as his father Tie was a Ranger. Duclair’s history however is a lot more recent and intriguing, since he was the key component going back to Arizona for Keith Yandle.
The jury is still far out on that trade. When it was made, we all knew it was exchanging the long term prospect for the short term blue line fix. To date, that blue line fix hasn’t really materialized, since Yandle has struggled transitioning from the Coyotes’ style to the one preferred by the Rangers. Coach Alain Vigneault and the team still believe that Yandle has way more to give, but his pass-first, shoot only when needed mentality, especially on the man-advantage, doesn’t fully mesh with the talent around him.
For that trade to be considered rational, and that term may be a stretch, the Rangers likely need to win a Cup with Yandle playing a key role. In fact, he might have to win the Conn Smythe for the deal to be considered a win in the eyes of many. That’s not to be construed as a downgrade of Yandle but more so just how bright Duclair’s future may be.
The expectation was that future would be further down the road. Early on, it looks like the future is now. Duclair notched his first hat trick a week ago and has five goals in six games this season while playing with Domi. There was never a question of talent with Duclair, but if he would be willing to put in the work, especially mentally, to make sure his physical gifts shone through repeatedly. So far, the work ethic and mental aspects of the game have matched the physical. In addition, for all those saying that given the depth on the Rangers, Duclair might have started the year in the NHL, just stop. If NY had retained him and his play for them mirrored what he is doing in Arizona, the team would have made room for him, possibly on the second line to start the season.
Center Derek Stepan, who missed practice on Wednesday to have a wisdom tooth extracted, participated in the Rangers’ optional morning skate but coach Alain Vigneault said he will be a game-time decision tonight. Stepan, in addition to having his tooth extracted, also had two screws removed from when he broke his jaw on a hit from Brandon Prust during Game 3 of the 2014 Eastern Conference final against the Canadiens on May 23. The belief and expectation is that Stepan will play. If he is unable to go, Kevin Hayes would likely start the game in Stepan’s spot centering Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello with Emerson Etem getting back in the lineup. Etem is the only extra forward, as Tanner Glass cleared waivers yesterday and was assigned to Hartford. The $950k in salary cap created by that move means that NY has around $1.1 million available under the cap.
Lines presuming Stepan plays:
Rick Nash-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello Chris Kreider-Derick Brassard-Jesper Fast J.T. Miller-Kevin Hayes-Oscar Lindberg Viktor Stalberg-Dominic Moore-Jarret Stoll
Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Klein Keith Yandle-Dan Girardi Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Henrik Lundqvist
And yes, I am very happy Mets fan today :)