I wrote yesterday about the line combinations Saturday and some of the issues associated with them. Here are a few excerpts from it:
"It's amazing to see just how big of an impact (Chris) Kreider's injury has caused and how much it indicates more depth was needed. Coach Alain Vigneault has no confidence in JT Miller, seen in his comments when he was demoted. But the absence of Kreider and no true top-nine forward to fill in has resulted in complete chaos up front…given how bad (Brad) Richards has been in general, which I believe is five points his last 17 games, and (when paired) with (Martin) St. Louis, that's a combination that isn't working...I thought Dominic Moore was pretty good with St. Louis and playing him on that line, allowed Carcillo-Boyle-Dorsett, who were effective, to remain together. That lack of additional talent up front, which should have been addressed at the deadline, is really hurting the Rangers now."
I guess GM Glen Sather and AV must have heard/read us and Xcheckmajor was somewhat prescient this morning as well with his comments. The Rangers called up Jesper Fast, who has 13 points in his last 16 games, and his presence provides some additional speed to the Rangers' lineup that was lacking with Kreider's absence, though he does not remediate the size issue. Xcheckmajor his morning proposed moving Rick Nash from the right to left side and playing St. Louis on the top line on the right side, which was the line combination this morning used by the Rangers. The downside is you know have Carl Hagelin and Fast, each of whom can jet, with Richards, who clearly cannot. Based upon who is on the top line, keeping the Pouliot-Brassard-Zuccarello line together and not losing the chemistry on the Boyle-Moore-Dorsett fourth line, which was a major issue Saturday, there really is no other choice. Of course, AV could just move Moore back up to play with St. Louis, have Hagelin skate on the top line's left wing and play Carcillo on the fourth line, as he did against Colorado, but why make things easier. The Rangers definitely need speed up front, and going with Fast makes some sense, but his call up is a pretty good indication of Miller's current status with the organization.
I can write chapter and verse on rangerdanger94's comment on the blog but it may be somewhat of a futile exercise :"Rangers are 7-2-1 in their last 10. Of the last 2 losses, one of them was a minute away from being a win in high altitude at the end of a west coast road trip missing our best player. The other one was a loss where we generated a lot of good chances but the other team capitalized and has often given us matchup issues in terms of play style. To put it in perspective, Boston is 7-1-2 in their last 10, Pitt is 5-5, Philly is 4-4-2, St. Louis is 5-5, Colorado is 6-2-2, Chicago is 6-4, Anaheim is 5-4-1, and San Jose is 4-4-2. I guarantee all those Stanley Cup contenders outside of Boston lost to a team they "should've" beat." Unless the Rangers won all 10 convincingly, we wouldn’t be happy. That's not to say we should be content with 7-2-1 or with the manner in which they fell to Calgary after taking a 3-2 lead or lost the lead against Colorado with under a minute left or the poor first period against Ottawa, but some perspective is needed to look at the overall pattern of play rather than a game here or there. But, if they do finish behind Philly or Columbus, games that were lost where we felt they should have won will stick out like sore thumbs, regardless of if other teams have had similar outcomes.
The Playoff Race:
Starting with 12 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of March 27, the Rangers sit second in the division, 42-31-5 with 91 points. When I do a recap or game preview blog, I will include this at the bottom of the blog. However, on non-game/recap days, I will run this daily since this is a huge topic of conversation and a large component of our focus.
Sunday, neither result was surprise, though both hurt the Rangers. Philly beat Buffalo 5-2 while Columbus shutout the Islanders 4-0. Each narrowed the gap between the Rangers and those respective teams. The one game tonight of import, and it's a pretty big one, is Calgary at the Devils. If the Flames, who have proven to be spoilers, can defeat the Devils period, regardless of if in regulation or overtime or in a shootout, then the Rangers lock up a playoff spot. while the Islanders can help the Rangers by beating Columbus. Tuesday, besides Rangers-Hurricanes, games of major import to the Blueshirts are Philly-Florida and Phx-CMB and of minor import, since they impact the playoffs as a whole in the East, are Ott-NYI, Det-Buf, Tor-TB and Was-StL.
Division:
Philly - won 5-2 over Buffalo on 4/6. 4-4-2 last 10, one game in hand, third in division and two points behind the Rangers. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, those are @Fla, @TB, @Pitt, Canes)
Columbus - shutout Islanders 4-0 on 4/6, 5-4-1 in last 10, one game in hand, fourth in the division and four points behind the Rangers. Second Wild Card. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, Phoenix, @Dal, @TB, @Fla)
New Jersey - won 2-1 over Washington on 4/4 and 3-1 over Carolina on 4/5, 5-2-3 last 10, one game in hand, seven points behind NY. One point behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 38 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, Flames, @Ott, isles, Bos)
Washington - defeated the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on 4/4, 4-3-3 last 10, one game in hand, sixth in division and eight points behind NY. Two points behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road, Dallas, @St.L, @Canes, Chi, TB)
Carolina - lost 3-1 to NJ on 4/5, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand, 12 points behind NY, six behind last wild card spot. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @NYR, Was, @Det, @Phi) (likely to drop off list with next loss)
Conference (teams within 10 either way, as Boston has a lock of Atlantic division, with second, third and wild cards up for grabs)
Montreal - second in Atlantic, won 7-4 over Ott on 4/4 and 5-3 over Detroit on 4/5, 8-2-0 last 10, no games in hand and six points up on Rangers. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, two left at home, one on road, Det, @Chi, Isles, Rangers)
Tampa Bay - third in Atlantic, lost 5-2 to Dallas on 4/4, their second in a row, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand and two points up on Rangers. (played 38 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, Tor, Flyers, Columbus, @Caps)
Detroit - fourth place in Atlantic, lost 5-3 to Detroit on 4/5, 6-3-1 in last 10, have played one less game than Toronto, one game in hand and three points behind the Rangers. First Wild Card. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @Buff, @Pitt, Canes, @St.L)
Toronto - fifth place in Atlantic, lost 4-2 to Winnipeg on 4/5, 2-8-0 last 10, same number of games and seven points behind the Rangers. One point behind Columbus for second wild card, but Blue Jackets have two games in hand (played 41 games at home, 38 on road, none left at home, three on road, @TB, @Fla, @Ott)
Ottawa - sixth place in Atlantic, beat the Rangers 3-2 on 4/5, 5-4-1 last 10, one game in hand, 11 points behind the Rangers and five behind last Wild Card spot. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road). (likely to drop off with another loss or two, @NYI, NJ, Tor, @Pit)
Summary: Two huge wins over Columbus and New Jersey, followed by a gut-check win over Phoenix, solid team effort in victory over Philly, bad loss to Calgary, convincing rebound win over Edmonton, solid victory over Vancouver, disappointing shootout loss to Colorado and frustrating loss to Ottawa. The Rangers the past several seasons have been excellent down the stretch, to lock in a spot, they may need to do the same thus year. Rangers have three games left, two at home, Hurricanes and Sabres at the Garden on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before the Apr. 12 finale in Montreal.
In order:
3/21- @ CMB - win 3-1 3/22 - @NJ - win 2-0 3/24 - Phx - win 4-3, OT 3/26 - Phi - win 3-1 3/28 - @Cgy - lost 4-3 3/30 - @Edm - won 5-0 4/1 - @Van - won 3-1 4/3 - @Col - lost 3-2, S/O 4/5 - Ott - lost 3-2 4/8 - Car 4/10 - Ott 4/12 - @MTL
Also, as a reminder, I will be out starting next Thursday as need surgery to repair a hernia and then have the first two days Passover on April 15 and 16. I am still looking to see if anyone would like to write a blog while I am out. Please PM me and let me know so I can make sure we have robust and new coverage while I am out.