Saturday, the Rangers faced a division rival, otherwise known to many of us as Rangers-Midwest, who will be a thorn in the Blueshirts side likely for many years to come. The uneven play which was on display in the Opening Night against the Blues was evident again last night. Unlike against St. Louis, New York was unable to get past that so-so effort, falling to Columbus 5-2.
First, let me say welcome to Russ Cohen. Between us, we hope to provide you even greater coverage of the Rangers than existed previously when I was the only one blogging on the team. There may be some overlap, but we will work out any kinks, as he and I will probably agree on some things but differ on others. That variant should allow for several conversation points daily.
Ryan McDonagh referred to the Rangers' effort the first two games as a B performance. While it was good to see him realize that the team's play was less than optimal as you will see by his quote below, recognize some of the problems, that grade is a kind one. Thursday, the Rangers used their speed to create chances. Saturday, that speed was evident at times, but their lack of strong physical play, especially in their own zone ultimately cost them the game.
McDonagh - "It is a process but we play strong in our own end and 4 goals tonight are D zone coverage stuff and working off that and coverage in front of the net and that stuff is a staple of our team usually and it's disappointing to see that as a main cause, we need to shore that up."
The Rangers play in their own zone was poor at best and at times embarrassing. Too many missed checks coupled with battles - 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 - lost against the boards, resulted in quality scoring chances. To me, not one defenseman had a good game, while Marc Staal and especially Kevin Klein struggled throughout. It got so bad that coach Alain Vigneault had to shuffle the pairings to try and find any combination that worked. I thought Matt Hunwick wasn't bad but Klein's inability to step up and replace Dan Boyle, out 4-to-6 weeks with a fractured hand, played a major role in the loss.
Boyle's absence coupled with the lack of quality depth in the system has created rumblings that NY will look to acquire a d-man. The first thought was to question the team's failure to bring back Raphael Diaz, who signed for $750k with Calgary. We found out recently that the Rangers did reach out to him but he didn't want to be a seventh d-man, which is understandable. Of course, now, with Boyle out, Diaz would have been in the lineup, but hindsight is always 20-20.
With Boyle out, while Klein is a key, to me John Moore has to be steadier and better in all zones. He has the talent, but the consistency has been lacking. If Klein falls to step up, and even if he does, if Moore can take that next step, the Rangers can make due without Boyle. In addition, I had tweeted last night and took some flak for considering putting Boyle on LTIR. If that option is available and/or if Boyle will miss six weeks, that gives NY some additional options to try and bring in a high-priced d-man. There is no guarantee they will, but this enables them to do so. If that proves not to transpire, nothing really lost in putting Boyle on LTIR if he will be sidelined long enough to warrant that move.
Michael Kotzka was called up Friday with Boyle out. Kostka struggled this pre-season and was beaten out for the seventh d-man spot by Hunwick. I tweeted last night that Dylan McIlrath, who came on late, and Conor Allen likely were sent down to play daily rather than remain in the press box. With Boyle out, that possibility of consistent playing time is now there. While McIlrath lacks the skating ability and speed to really succeed in Vigneault's system and Allen could use more seasoning, New York should consider calling up one or the other. I would pair that d-man with Marc Staal, who is steadier than John Moore, and leave Moore and Klein together. One other option is to pair Allen with Moore, as Allen is solid and steady, which allow Moore to rush and have Klein play with Staal again.
Up front, beyond the goalscoring by Rick Nash - how nice is that to see - the two forwards that have played well are Lee Stempniak and Anthony Duclair. The remainder of the centers and wingers fall into that B rating proposed by McDonagh or even below. Stempniak should remain on the PP at the point with Boyle out and has shown that he deserves to be in the lineup daily. Duclair's speed and quick release are as advertised. What was impressive to me is that he took shots from and dished it back out to a physical team in Columbus last night and did not look out of place.
The Carl Hagelin-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello have for the most part been invisible. Vignault may need to shift up the lines, possibly moving Chris Kreider up to that duo. In addition, Jesper Fast hasn't shown a lot while JT Miller, despite being given a chance to see more ice time, hasn't taken advantage of that chance. With a desperate Maple a Leafs team in town and the Rangers aiming to send the MSG faithful home happy, it wouldn't be surprising to see Kevin Hayes and Ryan Malone play tonight. Hayes could line up as the third center on a line with Miller and possibly Malone. If not, Miller and Malone could comprise part of the fourth line.
One personal note, as many of you know, it was a trying year for both of my parents health wise. I would like to wish my mom a happy 70th birthday today. Part of the delay in the blog is that I caught in traffic heading out to NJ, so my sister and I and all the grandkids could be together today. Happy birthday mom.
Let's Go Rangers!!!!