The Rangers return to MSG to face the Lightning off a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Friday. The overall effort was lacking, though New York did have some good moments, but they couldn't break the 1-4 system Carolina deployed in the third period. Tampa Bay also comes in off a defeat of their own, falling 3-1 to New Jersey on Saturday, so they are playing a back-to-back, which could be a factor if the Rangers can utilize their speed. New York will be without Chris Kreider again, while the same can be said for Tampa, who are missing Nikita Kucherov (late note: Kucherov was a bit surprisingly in the lineup).
Friday, it was the Mats Zuccarello show, as he had both goals. But the defense and goaltending was far from optimal. Much of the focus has fallen on Nick Holden, but the Marc Staal-Kevin Klein were on the ice for both even strength goals allowed Friday and as pointed out in the comments, on the ice for more than half the goals scored on the Rangers this season. As a result of this, AV has shuffled the pairings. Ryan McDonagh is back with Dan Girardi, Marc Staal is now paired with Nick Holden and Brady Skjei will skate with Kevin Klein.
Much of the clamoring has come to play Adam Clendening, who is scratched for the fourth straight game. I can understand not making a change while New York was winning, but why not make the swap now? McDonagh has looked more like his 2013-14 self while Skjei needs to play daily, since you can see just what he brings to the table. I actually thought Staal had been a bit better earlier in the season while Klein has struggled. Girardi's been a bit better, despite the hate that gets heaped on him daily. All that said, we and everyone knows the Rangers need a top-4 d-man. But as we all know, getting one isn't easy.
GM Jeff Gorton did a great job of building up the forward depth on the cheap. Doing the same on defense is exceedingly difficult. If we know the team needs a d-man, do you not think the league also does and will try and squeeze Gorton in any trade? Are you giving up Buch? McDonagh? What about Miller, a solid prospect and a #1 for someone like Jacob Trouba? That's presuming Winnipeg would even make a deal like that. St. Louis seems willing to slow play any Kevin Shattenkirk deal, meaning that what we see here is likely what we get for a while.
As Jimbo pointed out, Trouba is huge, 6-3 200 pounder, good both ends of the ice, right handed shot. He likely is perfect partner for Ryan McDonagh on what could be a pairing for years, both could handle 25 minutes a night for next decade. But Winnipeg also knows that. In my opinion, Trouba regressed the last two years, but that may be due to not seeing enough minutes and also possibly playing a bit on his offside. The puck may be in your side of the ice Gorton, how are you handling it? Gorton may feel that he doesn't need to overpay unless it becomes absolutely necessary.
That necessity could occur if Henrik Lundqvist continues to struggle. As others have pointed out, both in blogs and in newspaper columns, Hank has been a slow starter for several years. This year is no different. A 4-3-0 record, along with the 2.45 goals-against average and the .901 save percentage is not up to his usual standards. But does this signal the continuation of the decline some feel existed against Pittsburgh or just the norm for him early in the season? If the latter, then a move to shore up the D might be able to wait a bit. If the former, then AnttI Raanta, who is starting tonight, should get some additional run and a deal for d-man will need to occur sooner rather than later.
Raanta will see more work in the short-term, as New York plays five games in eight days, including a back-to-back this weekend in Boston on Saturday and home against the Jets on Sunday. November has the Rangers playing 15 games in 30 days, including a trip to Western Canada. As such, Raanta will need to get some action. How much remains to be seen based on how well he and Lundqvist each play.
With Kreider still out, the lines are the same as Friday:
Jimmy Vesey, Derek Stepan, Rick Nash Pavel Buchnevich, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, JT Miller Brandon Pirri, Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fast