By: Pete V The regular seasons has been a long hard slog. The Rangers have had their good periods, and they have had their bad ones. As of next week, however, we press the reset button, and the second season starts, with opportunity being present for the Rangers to seize. If you believe the odds makers in Los Vegas, there are eight teams that stand ahead of the pack as favorites to win the Stanley Cup -- the Bruins (13/4), the Blues (9/2), the Blackhawks (6/1), the Ducks (7/1), the Penguins (17/2), the Sharks (10/1), the Avalanche (10/1), and the Kings (12/1). Behind those teams are a bundle of clubs that fall squarely within the second tier of Cup Contenders, including the Rangers who Vegas places at a 20/1 shot to win the Cup. So, what needs to happen for the Rangers to defy the odds, and challenge the elite teams in the NHL for playoff and league supremacy? What needs to happen for the Rangers to achieve the improbable, and make a deep run in the playoffs? There are undoubtedly several factors that go into answering those questions, but here are a few that I think are important. Please feel free to tell me your own.
Chemistry and Balance The acquisition of Martin St. Louis at the trade deadline clearly made the Rangers a more skilled team. But, in order for them to reap the benefits of that increased skill level, St. Louis has to find his place within the Rangers lineup, and begin to perform like the player that the Rangers thought they were acquiring when they sent Ryan Callahan and a sizeable package of picks to the Lightning for his services. The time for chemistry experiments is over, and St. Louis needs to finally stick with a pair of linemates and start putting the puck in the net. Most recently, St. Louis has moved to the top line with Stepan and Nash, with Nash switching to the left side to accommodate St. Louis’ greater comfort level on the right. Personally, I think that that combination gives each of those players the best opportunity to be productive in the playoffs and, therefore, provides the Rangers with the best chance of success. Does it make sense to stack the top line? Normally, it may not, but the continued productivity of the Brassard-Zuccarello-Pouliot unit allows the Rangers to play St. Louis with Nash without adversely affecting the Rangers’ balance. Indeed, putting their modest pedigrees and salary levels aside, the Brassard unit has produced at a high-end level for a NHL second line, and at times has looked more like the Rangers’ top line, rather than a second or third unit. That would leave the Rangers with a third line of Richards and Hagelin, with the last spot on the line left to be determined contingent upon the injury prognosis of Chris Kreider. Until Kreider returns, Fast seems like a good fit. Once Kreider does return, however, the Rangers will have some decisions to make, as both he and Hagelin have only played the left side throughout their careers. So, do you move one of them to the right side on Richards’ flank, or do you reshuffle the lineup again to accommodate Kreider’s return? It’s a difficult question, but one that will need to be addressed when the time requires. The Rangers have the necessary puzzle pieces, but their success will depend on putting those pieces together in a manner that maximizes each individual players productivity, while allowing the Rangers to maintain balance throughout the lineup.
Rick Nash In the summer of 2013, the Rangers effectively married Rick Nash by sending significant organizational assets to Columbus to acquire him. That acquisition, along with several other roster moves that summer, significantly changed the makeup of a forward unit that was two games away from the Stanley Cup Final. I say this only to highlight how important Rick Nash’s success is to the success of the Rangers, because the Rangers can’t contend for the Cup with Rick Nash playing pedestrian hockey. What separates elite players from very good players is the ability to play at an elite level on a consistent basis. In the time that he has been here, there have been periods of time where Nash has performed on an elite level. There have been periods of time where Nash seems like a monster on the ice, who can score at will. Unfortunately, however, there have also been times where he has been ineffective, and has not been anywhere near as noticeable on the ice as you would expect from a player making nearly $8 million a year. For the Rangers to be successful, they need the good Rick Nash to show up to the rink on a way more regular basis than the bad Rick Nash. Nash is at his best when he is taking the puck to the net and not floating around the perimeter. Last year, the signature Nash goal was when he would skate the puck up the right flank, and dip that left shoulder to go hard to the net. How many times have we seen that signature Nash goal this year? Less so than we saw it last year, right? Maybe his concussion issues have made him more hesitant to get to the net (at least on a subconscious level), but he needs to get to the dirty areas of the ice and create havoc in front of the oppositions’ goaltenders. That is where he is at his best, and he needs to do it consistently. Put simply, I can’t see the Rangers going deep into the tournament without a dominant Rick Nash. There have been some really positive signs. He performed like a superstar with a mean streak in an extremely important game against the Blue Jackets late in the season and he has had some real good games since. But, he needs to bring it consistently. He needs to be a force for the Rangers to have any hope of the achieving the ultimate prize.
Defense and Goaltending The bread and butter of the Rangers over the last several years has been their defense and goaltending, and that needs to remain so. There have been games this year where the Rangers have looked tremendous on defense, not giving up much to the opposition in terms of Grade A scoring chances. But, there have been others where their defensive zone coverage has been leaky at best, which has led to Grade-A scoring chances for the opposition. The Rangers simply cannot win without their blue line playing like a top-tier unit, no matter how much their skill level has increased upfront. McDonagh, Girardi and Staal need to perform like the high-end defenders that they are; Stralman needs play like the guy who Rangers fans were praising throughout the first half of the season, rather than the guy who experienced a late season funk; and a third unit comprised of two of Moore, Klein, and Diaz, needs to provide about 15 minutes or so of good hockey a game. The Rangers aren’t going to out-Bruin the Bruins. They aren’t going to beat the Bruins by attempting to become a poor man’s imitation of them. They are going to beat the Bruins by doubling down on their strengths, which are solid goaltending, defensive play, and speed throughout the lineup. With all the above said, the biggest key is the guy in net. Lundqvist has been the best goaltender in the World over the last several years, but he has had an uneven season in net. Lately, he has been great, and the Rangers need him to continue to play that way, rather than like the subpar imposter who wore his jersey during much of the first half of the season. It is quite obvious that the Rangers will only go as far as Lundqvist takes them, meaning that everything discussed above will be meaningless if Lundqvist doesn’t perform at an elite level, and make the big saves when the Rangers needs them. A hockey goalie is the great equalizer, and even more talented teams can be knocked-off when they run into a goalie who is playing out of his mind. To have any hope of winning the Cup, the Rangers need a playoff run from Lundqvist where he plays out of his mind.
Luck Very few teams win the Stanley Cup without getting a little luck. That luck can take several forms. It can take the form of an underdog knocking off one of the elite teams in the Conference before you have to play them, or it can take the form of a puck finding the back of the net of multiple deflections at a key time. Indeed, the difference between winning and losing can be insignificant, with a fortuitous bounce serving as the difference between victory and defeat. Against the Devils in the 2012 playoffs, the Rangers were on the wrong side of the luck ledger, with a puck slipping by Hank in the game six overtime. To challenge for the Cup, the Rangers will need to be on the right side of that ledger. So pray your prayers, and make your necessary sacrifices to the hockey gods.
Let’s go Rangers.