The Rangers complete their mini, three-game road trip tonight against the Jets. If Tuesday's loss to Carolina can be summed up as occurring due to a lack of effort, last night's 2-1 loss to the Wild was due to a pair of things. First, a lack of offensive execution. Second, not doing the little things, and as we have discussed over and over, doing the little things matter, but when you struggle offensively, the failure to do those little things the right way takes on even more import.
Game Lowlights:
The Lack of Offensive Execution:
You can almost say this is a hallmark of Rangers' teams. For a while, it looked as if the pattern was changing. Then, the team added Martin St. Louis, and the expectation shifted to one whereby four goals a night should be within reach. Of course, as we know, that has not happened, nor should the expectation have been that, but when you get a sniper, immediately - and rightfully so - you would thing goals should result from that.
Unfortunately, as has been the pattern here, a sniper comes and production falls. It's easy to say Ryan Callahan already has a goal and Martin St. Louis does not. In addition, Rick Nash has just 20 goals while Artem Anisimov has 19 while Brandon Dubinsky has provided 41 points. Those two sentences make the argument that the Rangers may have better off not doing either deal, yet, in the case of St. Louis and Callahan, the hope/expectation/prayer is that if/when the Rangers make the playoffs having St. Louis will help the team go further than if they had Callahan. Similarly, in the case of Nash, we all felt Dubinsky had to go because of the poor year he had and difficulties his contract would case with the fan base, while AA was a nice player, and one we wanted to keep, but if he had to be the piece that got Nash, it was worth it.
All that said, what matters is production, of in the case of the Rangers, the lack thereof. I can talk chapter and verse how the trades were good and wise hockey ones, but if the production doesn't meet or exceed the expectations created when those players arrived, or at least matched those who had gone, it's a failure of a trade. Now the fun part comes, how to resolve it.
Coach Alain Vigneault has been patient, but now maybe the time to scrap it. He tried shifting the left wing on the the top two lines to little avail. Maybe you give it one more game, but having lost two in a row and sitting 4-5-1 in the last 10, making the playoffs has to trump all. So doing what you can to make the playoffs is all that matters. Play St. Louis and Zuccarello together with Brassard or Richards. Restore Nash with Kreider along with Stepan. Shift Hagelin down to the third line and have him play with Pouliot and either Richards or Brassard, depending on who centers Zucc and St. Louis. You want to play Zucc or St. Louis with Nash and have Kreider on the other line, fine, but that reported balance has been so in not scoring, so why not shift things up and try and restart the offense.
The Little Things:
John Moore, instead of taking the hit and playing the puck around the boards, handcuffs Rick Nash with a pass. Nash makes a stupid play, and I don't care if he was surprised by the puck, you can't under any circumstances play a soft pass to the middle when no one is there, leading to the first goal. On the second goal, Stepan fails to get the puck in deep, Staal fails to clear it hard around the boards, Anton Stralman falls down - again - allowing the Wild unfettered access to Cam Talbot. No one puts a Wild player on their ass or even hits one of them, with Hagelin out of position beaten by Pominvile and Nash up high, allowing four whacks at the puck to be taken before Parise beats Talbot.
There has been lots of talk as to how the loss of Callahan has resulted in a lack of leadership. Maybe Brad Richards has a differing view, but in my opinion, the bigger difference has been on accountability on the ice, which could impact it off the ice. Callahan showed how to play the game the right way, willing to take punishment when needed to make a play. That carried over to the rest of the team, with the mentality a key component of the guts and make up of the organization. Now, that "leadership" is gone, leaving a void.
The Rangers have players who have been captains on their teams, Richards, St. Louis and Nash. They have others who have worn the A here in NY, so leadership should not be an issue. What the need is a leader by example again to go with the leadership in the locker room. They someone willing to take the team on their back and win a game. I think St. Louis is trying to do that, but the more he tries and struggles, the harder he grips the stick and the scrutiny increases. Nash wanted the big money and then a deal to NY, he needs to do it. Richards, the same thing. Girardi, similar. Staal, you want another big deal, prove you deserve it. Stralman, you may have turned down $9 million, but with the way you have played lately, you aren't worth a tenth of that. Show us you warrant that kind of salary.
I think AV has to sit Stralman one of these games to have him watch from the press box and see what he is not doing on the ice. If not, maybe shift up the second and third d-pairings to see if that limits the mistakes. If Pouliot continues to struggle, call up JT Miller and really give him a chance. The team failed to address the size issue at the deadline, so if they aren't scoring, it will be tough to wear teams down or respond to physical play, but Miller has show a willingness to get dirty when necessary.
It's not yet time to panic, but it's getting late, early. That hot streak from a few weeks ago is a memory and now a playoff berth is at risk. Columbus has a game in hand and is second by a point. Philly has two in hand and only a point back.New Jersey with a game in hand is three back with Washington looming. There are 15 games left, it may take 11 or so wins to get in, if that happens, then you reset and start a new. But as of now, making the playoffs is no given and if point one above isn't happening, then point two sure as heck better be done the right way.
Let's Go Rangers!!!